2012-08-26 By Richard Weitz The 9/11 terrorist attacks in the United States provided the Japanese government with an opportunity to reaffirm fidelity to the Japanese-U.S. alliance and Japan’s emerging role as an important international security actor. Immediately following the September 11, 2011 al-Qaeda suicide strikes, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi’s administration initiated…
2012-08-23 In a wide-ranging interview with Christopher Thayer, Director, Contractor Operated Ships, Military Sealift Command, the role of his Directorate in the re-structured MSC was discussed as well as a new asset coming into the MSC fleet, the Joint High Speed Vessel. Mr. Thayer was appointed as the Director, Contractor…
2012-08-22 By Robbin Laird Throughout the competition for the USAF aircraft to supply a light attack aircraft to the Afghans, HB has focused on getting its trainer to grow into an attack aircraft. And among its bag of tricks has been a clear sense of the U.S. Company against a “foreign”…
2012-08-21 By Richard Weitz I have dealt with the bilateral relationship between Iraq and Saudi Arabia. In this piece, I am going to deal with Iraq’s bilateral relationships with the other GCC states. Kuwait Historical factors make Iraq’s relations with GCC member Kuwait especially important. Kuwait’s territorial integrity and sovereignty were…
2012-08-19 By Richard Weitz The back-to-back visits of U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense Ash Carter and Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin, in charge of that country’s military-industrial complex, to India last month demonstrate the heightened competition for India’s defense import market, currently the largest in the world. India accounted for…
2012-08-19 by Ed Timperlake A group of special operations warriors and intelligence agents have had enough. In speaking out about the politicization of Top Secret Sensitive Compartmented Intelligence (TS/SCI) they are bring much need sunlight to a stop a dangerous and deadly practice. These shadow warriors in service to America…
2012-08-18 By Richard Weitz The GCC governments generally defer to Saudi leadership regarding Iraq. For years, the Saudi authorities have seen Iraqi Prime Minister al-Maliki as an Iranian agent, but it should not be forgotten that they also had poor relations with his predecessors, Ilyad Allawi and Ibrahim al-Jaafari, as well.…
2012-08-16 by Robbin Laird The Japanese government released its latest Defense White Paper late last month. This is the first white paper released since they announced their decision to acquire the F-35, and provides a further elucidation upon the new defense policy announced in 2010. The Japanese announced in that…
