The Challenge of Setting in Motion US Foreign and Defense Policy Regime Change: The Perspective of Ron Maxwell

07/31/2017
2017-07-31 In a piece published on July 31, 2017 by Ron Maxwell, the writer and director of the Civil War trilogy of movies: Gettysburg, Gods and Generals, Copperhead looks at why the legacy dominates, and why new approaches remain in the wings. How Romney Loyalists Hijacked Trump’s Foreign Policy Those who…

Assessing Russian Military Power in East Asia

07/17/2017
2017-07-18 By Richard Weitz The Western media has recently highlighted the Russian military buildup in Asia, which generally receives less attention than Russian defense activities in Europe and the Middle East. Russia’s Far Eastern armed forces have benefited from the country’s overall military modernization program. During the past decade, the…

Tailsman Sabre 2017 is Underway

07/17/2017
2017-07-17 The Tailsman Sabre exercise is a biennial military training exercise between the US and Australia held in Australia. According to an article published on the Commander, US Pacific Fleet website and dated June 28, 2017: FORT Shafter, Hawaii - More than 33,000 U.S. and Australian personnel will participate in the…

The Trump Administration and Nuclear Weapons: Shaping Priorities

07/09/2017
2017-07-09 Richard Weitz Does President Trump’s budget execute the president’s nonproliferation through firmness and strength approach?. The Trump administration’s proposed FY2018 Presidential Budget Request (PBR) would allocate approximately $19 billion for the Defense Department’s nuclear enterprise, of which some $5 billion would support recapitalization, rising to $43 billion during the…

South African Defense and Its Evolution

06/29/2017
2017-06-29 By Helmoed Romer Heitman Another year, another defence budget, and once again the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) is left short-changed and under-funded, as it has been for almost a quarter of a century, despite periods of high operational commitments and tempo. That mismatch between funding and commitments has…