2014-05-27 by Robbin Laird During my visit to Denmark in May 2014, I had a chance to discuss with Danish analysts and policy makers various aspects of Danish assessments of Baltic defense and Arctic defense and security issues. One of those analysts was our strategic partner, Hans Tinon Hansen, founder…
2014-05-28 by Robbin Laird The evolving nature of 21st century military threats and challenges have shaped a common challenge for Japan and Latvia – countering indirect threats serving a competitor’s national agenda. The Japanese are dealing with China and Latvia with Russia, but in each case the state working to…
2014-05-27 by Robbin Laird In an interview with Prime Minister Abe, the Wall Street Journal summed the discussion up with this title for their article: "Abe's Strategy: Rearrange Region's Power Balance." According to the article: Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe laid out an assertive foreign policy agenda, saying he hoped…
2014-05-27 This past Sunday, elections were held throughout Europe for the European Parliament. The result was a significant anti-establishment vote, and an increase in popular support for the European right wing. Nowhere was this more dramatic than in France where the governing party received 13% of the vote as opposed the…
2014-05-26 PARIS, France U.S. Marines, French counterparts, and the American Battle Monuments Commission will host the Belleau Wood Memorial Day Ceremony at Aisne-Marne American Cemetery in Belleau, France. The ceremony on May 25, 2014, commemorates its 96th anniversary as well as the long-term friendship between France and the United States…
2014-05-26 The election in Ukraine may provide Ukraine with a legitimate government to represent its interests in dealing with the Russians. But the clear absence of a mandate from the eastern regions of the Ukraine, and the Russian engagement in those regions, ensure that the question of the future of…
2014-05-25 By Robbin Laird Vladimir Putin has pursued an agenda to expand his role within Russia and Russia’s role within the world since at least 2005. The roll back of EU and NATO expansion is clearly part of the agenda, but rebuilding Russia’s ability to be a key player in the…
05/24/2014: Japan is a key ally for the U.S. in dealing with Pacific defense. In the meetings with Secretary of Defense Hagel in the Fall of 2013, the Japanese highlighted that new F-35s, P-8 maritime patrol aircraft and Global Hawk long-range reconnaissance UAVs were to be deployed to Japan. Indeed,…
