6/10/12: By Richard Weitz Wielding power in a country so easily divided by competing allegiances and identities has never been easy. Although Iraqis’ nationalist sentiments are strong, the nation faces the challenge of overcoming major internal divisions. These include sectarian tensions between the majority Shiites and the minority Sunnis, ethnic…
By Richard Weitz Today’s Iraq is an aborted democracy that falls considerably short of the original U.S. goal of creating an attractive democratic, prosperous, ethically mixed country that partners with the United States to maintain regional stability and security. Iraq’s political leaders cannot cease feuding, wary investors hesitate to make…
6/7/12: By Richard Weitz Following a controversial public relations campaign, the United States and its allies launched Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) in March 2003. The Iraqi regime collapsed in a few weeks. In addition to searching for weapons of mass destruction, the occupation authorities sought to establish a new Iraqi…
6/6/12: On the Second Line of Defense Forum, we have a regular column which looks at life and language Inside the Beltway. This Memorial Day, Boomer has reflected on the legacy of LBJ and the Inside the Beltway approach to policymaking. by Ed Timperlake On days other then Memorial Day,…
6/3/12: By Richard Weitz From its initial emergence as a British mandate following World War I, to the post-independence monarchy from 1932-1958, through the military coups that ushered in the rule of first the Baath Party in 1968 and then Saddam Hussein in 1979, external threats and internal tensions have…
6/3/12: by Robbin Laird The ability of the United States to re-shape its forces for the post-Afghan military world will be difficult. But it is less about money, than about culture change. It is about failing to understand and generate support for the game changing technologies already entering the inventory…
5/31/12: by Robbin Laird I was saddened to learn of the passing of Joe Fitchett. It is not just a loss of a friend and dialogue partner on the evolution of Europe, but the true passing of an era. Joe was in many ways the representative of a passing era.…
By Robbin Laird During the Airbus Trade Media 2012 event in Toulouse, I had a chance to sit down with Pravin Sawhney, Editor of the Indian defense magazine, Force, and to get caught up on the state of play in the Indian fighter selection process. http://www.forceindia.net/ Last year, Sawhney provided…
