2013-03-15 By Harald Malmgren ECB President Mario Draghi dramatically declared last year “the ECB would do whatever it takes” to stabilize Eurozone bond markets. It would purchase sovereign debt of troubled Euro member governments on condition that such governments would permit a European Union or Eurozone body to oversee and…
2013-03-10 by Robbin Laird I was spending my Sunday working on the last chapter of our book on shaping a 21st century Pacific strategy. The F-35 among other systems figures prominently in how to build a 21st strategy, not simply funding a 20th century residue. We have interviewed many of…
2013-03-08 By Richard Weitz In the past decade, Sino-African relations have increased in importance. Recent trends point to Chinese involvement in three areas of interest: economic policy, diplomacy, and military cooperation. Beijing’s policies with reference to sub-Saharan Africa reflect clear goals: 1) expanding export markets (to Africa’s growing middle class) 2) …
2013-03-07 by Richard Weitz In the past decade, the PLA has increasingly participated in multilateral peacekeeping operations in Africa. Since 2000—when China deployed fewer than 100 peacekeepers—there has been nearly a twenty-fold increase in troops-on-the-ground. In recent years, China has provided more troops, police, and observer teams to UN peacekeeping…
2013-02-26 by Richard Weitz At a press briefing on Monday, the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman called for calm and that all parties avoid taking action that could worsen the situation on the Korean Peninsula following the Feb 12 nuclear test of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK). He said…
2013-02-26 By Richard Weitz According to newly released data by Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), the weapons and military service sales of the largest companies (the SIPRI Top 100) amounted to $410 billion in 2011, a 5 percent fall in constant dollars from the previous year. SIPRI calculates that…
2013-02-23 America Praises the Work of the French Army By Laure Mandeville, Le Figaro Washington Correspondent Published in French in Le Figaro, February 23, 2013. Translated by Second Line of Defense. Admiration, anxiety and relief. Those are the prevailing sentiments in Washington as Americans watch the French operation in Mali. The…
2013-02-22 The latest report from the IAEA makes it clear that Iran continues building out its nuclear capabilities. When one adds to this the synergy between North Korea and Iran in delivery systems, it is hardly another happy moment in the Middle East and beyond. Among the major comments made…
