By Dr. Richard Weitz 02/20/12 - A central agenda item of Vladimir Putin’s reelection campaign is his call for a “Eurasia Union” among the former Soviet republics. Although denying any effort to simply restore the Soviet Union, Putin emphasizes the value of consolidating the former republics into something like the…
SLD Coverage of Jamestown’s PLA Conference (Part 2) by Richard Weitz The conference’s second panel reviewed trends in China’s conventional force modernization. Moderator RADM Michael McDevitt, USN (Ret.), a Senior Fellow at the CNA Corporation and former head of their China program, said that how the PLA had gone about…
by Robbin Laird A time of budget constriction is a time for thinking; not shrinking from innovation. And as the U.S. shifts its strategy, post-Iraq and post-Afghanistan, highlighting agile forces, which can accelerate innovation in con-ops, training and equipment is crucial. http://www.defensenews.com/article/20110724/DEFFEAT05/107240311/Reshape-U-S-Force-Structure-Agility As Secretary Wynne has highlighted in his recent…
SLD Coverage of Jamestown’s PLA Conference (Part 1) By Richard Weitz The Jamestown Foundation held its Second Annual China Defense and Security Conference on February 16. In his opening remarks, Glen E. Howard, President of The Jamestown Foundation, rightly noted the importance of China defense developments for the United States…
[caption id="attachment_12920" align="alignleft" width="150" caption=" "][/caption] By Dr. Richard Weitz 02/14/2012 - In support of greater integration within the former Soviet Union, Kazakhstan has supported several initiatives: the Eurasian Economic Community, the Russia-Belarus-Kazakhstan Customs Union, and most recently a Eurasian Union, which would expand the Customs Union geographically and functionally,…
[caption id="attachment_12920" align="alignleft" width="150" caption=" "][/caption] By Dr. Richard Weitz 02/13/2012 - One of the results of the Pentagon’s recent global posture review has been to authorize further reductions in the number of U.S. troops based in Europe. NATO and European officials profess unconcern about the decision, but the reduction…
[caption id="attachment_12920" align="alignleft" width="150" caption=" "][/caption] By Dr. Richard Weitz 02/13/2012 - The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), consisting of all the former Soviet republics except for the Baltic countries, initially represented Kazakhstan’s most important regional institution after the USSR’s disintegration. On December 16, 1991, Kazakhstan became the last of…
02/09/2012 by Ed Timperlake In an excellent piece of reporting Joseph C. Anselmo in Aviation Daily, on Wednesday February 8th 2012 reported an important breaking news story about another huge management shake-up at Hawker Beechcraft. “Robert S. “Steve” Miller was appointed CEO on Feb. 7, replacing longtime chief executive Bill Boisture,…
