2012-07-30 By Richard Weitz Many consider Iran the ultimate victor of the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003. Although the subsequent military occupation of Iraq that ended in 2011 was carried out by the United States and its allies, Iranian influence in Iraq grew tremendously following the elimination of the Saddam…
by Murielle Delaporte From the SLD interview (in French) of General Philippe Boussard, French Air Force, Commander, Multi-Modal Transport Center At the vortex of managing the logistics support chain to deployed French forces is the Multi-Modal Transport Center (CMT). Similar to TRANSCOM, the CMT uses various levers to move goods and…
2012-07-30 By Richard Weitz In recent years, Turkey has become one of the most influential countries in NATO, backstopped by dynamic diplomacy, one of the world’s most powerful economies, and a rough neighborhood whose security vacuum propels Turkish involvement. The Turkish-American relationship has existed for two centuries, but their strategic alliance…
2012-07-28 by Richard Weitz The handoff of the Iraq mission from the Department of Defense (DOD) to the Department of State (DOS) has represented one of the most complex military-to-civilian transitions in American history. DOS has taken over many DOD programs while changing their missions and scale. Mission Iraq, under the…
2012-07-27 By Richard Weitz The Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) have achieved the capacity for internal defense against guerrillas and terrorists, but they still lack the essential capabilities and equipment needed to combat a foreign military. The ISF need more combat air power, sophisticated intelligence, mobilization capacity as well as vital…
2012-07-26 An overview of the F-35 program from the standpoint of the pilots in the program is provided in the videotape of the session at the Air Show on July 10, 2011 As readers of Second Line of Defense know, we have spent considerable time with F-35 test pilots and…
2012-07-26 By Robbin Laird and Ed Timperlake There were only four men in U.S. History awarded the five star rank of Fleet Admiral: Chester Nimitz, “Bull” Halsey, William Leahy and Earnie King. From their days at Annapolis to commanding the greatest Naval Fleet in history, each man spent significant time at…
2012-07-23 In this piece translated from the French. General Patrick Tanguy one of the architects of modern Army aviation con-ops discusses the modern air mobility concept relied upon by the French forces, and highlighted in Libyan and Afghan operations. General Tanguy is on the editorial board of our partner publication…
