2013-09-09 By Robbin Laird In the oft debated and discussed arms transfer export reforms, slow is an understatement. Irrelevance to this century might be another one. The nature of the arms business has changed so much from the late 20th century in response to global manufacturing, that debating which widgets should…
2013-09-09 by Richard Weitz South Korea’s total military expenditure reached almost $31bn in 2011, making it the third largest defense spender in Asia and the 12th largest in the world. Since the end of the Korean War, the United States has been the largest supplier of defense systems to South…
2013-09-06 by Robbin Laird In a rare moment when a designer of a policy and an implementor of the policy sit down and discuss their convergent experiences, the way ahead for the re-norming of airpower was highlighted. On September 4, 2013, Secretary Wynne visited the 33rd Fighter Wing accompanied by…
2013-09-04 by Robbin Laird A key consideration for building any post-strike policy in Syria in the region clearly is working with key allies in sorting out the new power balance. The President has made it clear in recent comments that the strike is part of a broader strategy for regime…
2013-09-03 By Harald Malmgren As most of Europe went on its customary August holiday, the Eurozone’s strains temporarily disappeared from consideration. In late August, complacency was abruptly shocked by top-level German politicians’ admissions that more money would soon be needed for Greece. Chancellor Merkel went so far as to say…
by Robbin Laird President Obama has made it clear that the Syrian Administration has crossed a “red line” by using chemical weapons against its own people. The Assad government is a brutal one, which has used force for a long time to stay in power, which hardly is unique in…
2013-09-02 Any limited strike by the United States and a “coalition of the willing” will play out in reshaping policy in the region. It cannot by itself be limited; nor are the effects designed to be so. A key player in the evolution of policy is clearly Turkey. Earlier this year…
2013-09-01 By Richard Weitz As events heat up in the Middle East, Asia remains a primary focus for American foreign policy. The next few months will see the agenda filled with a number of critical issues, which need to be dealt with in order for the US and its allies…
