11/06/2011 - by Richard Weitz The Russian media is now reporting that the Russian Navy leadership has recommended building two aircraft carrier battle groups by 2027. One would serve in the Northern Fleet (for deployment primarily in the Atlantic Ocean) and one with the Pacific Fleet. Navy leaders considered but…
11/07/2011 By Dr. Harald Malmgren For most of 2011 world economic growth has been slowing. Deceleration of the rate of economic growth was recently evident in weakening manufacturing growth and increasing inventories in many advanced economies. What has been less well recognized is that the rate of growth of world…
11/07/2011 by Richard Weitz Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was in Berlin last week to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the migration of Turkish workers to Germany. He used the occasion to attack Germany and other European countries for blocking Turkey’s accession into the European Union (EU) and for…
10/31/2011 - by Richard Weitz October 24, UN Day, was not marked with joyous celebrations in Turkey. The Turks we met on our trip earlier this month universally share the general critique common in many of the emerging powers -- that the United Nations is unrepresentative and, in reflecting the…
10/31/2011 by Ed Timperlake "Can't anybody here play this game?" Casey Stengel More than three months have passed since Undersecretary Robert Work’s July 7th 2011 Memo “Navy Tactical Air (TACAIR) Portfolio Analysis-Warfighter Capability and Affordability Trades” http://www.sldforum.com/2011/08/under-secretary-of-the-navy-robert-works-july-tac-air-memo/ The memo was written while U.S. forces were engaged in combat in Operation “Odyssey…
10/27/2011 Dear Mr. Secretary: Your tour of Asia comes at a crucial time. It is important to re-enforce the perception of American support for the defense of South Korea and Japan and other allies in the region. This is particularly important in a period where some are suggesting reckless defense…
10/26/2011 By Richard Weitz One of the few points of division we encountered among Turkish government officials and analysts was their competing views regarding future political developments in Central Asia. One group believes that Central Asia was ripe for deep political change through its own version of the Arab Spring.…
10/25/2011 - By Dr. Richard Weitz During our time in Turkey, a key issue of interest was getting an update on their relationship with Iran. Although we were in Turkey for only one week, it was evident that Turkey’s relationship with Iran is complex. The two countries cooperate in some…
