Meeting the Korean Defense Challenge: The View from 7th Air Force

08/03/2012
2012-08-03 In an interview this month with Lt. General Jan-Marc Jouas, Second Line of Defense had a chance to discuss the challenges of defense in the Korean Peninsula.  This area remains a key driver for U.S. forces in the Pacific, and any consideration of how to strengthen alliances in the…

Iran’s Widening Tool Box in Iraq

08/03/2012
2012-08-03 By Richard Weitz Iran had several motives for assisting the Iraqi insurgents during the 2005-2008 period. A first goal was to create a security buffer zone. Many Iranians saw Iraq as their first line of defense against a foreign invasion, considering that many past attacks had come from the west.…

Iran and Mining the Straits of Hormuz

08/03/2012
2012-08-03 By Scott C. Truver (An earlier version of this was posted on the U.S. Naval Institute News.USNI.org website.) Iran threatens to mine the Strait of Hormuz, petroleum markets react, world economies take notice, and more U.S. and allied naval forces are sent to the region, upping the ante for Tehran and…

The UK, the F-35 and Strategic Considerations

08/03/2012
2012-08-03 by Robbin Laird We have posted a number of articles during the UK government's deliberation with regard to the F-35C versus the F-35B.  In a PDF special report included in this article, we have brought those articles together into one report.  A key element not so obvious within the…

Understanding the Challenge of Deterring North Korea

08/02/2012
2012-08-02  An Interview with Lt. General (Retired) Charles R. Heflebower Lt. Gen. Charles R. Heflebower was Deputy Commander in Chief, United Nations Command; Deputy Commander, U.S. Forces Korea; Commander, Air Component Command, Republic of Korea and U.S. Combined Forces Command; and Commander, 7th Air Force, Pacific Air Forces, Osan Air…

The Role of the F-35 in the Future of Power Projection

08/01/2012
By Robbin Laird and Ed Timperlake The F-35 and its ability to work with, to leverage and to enhance the capability of the power projection forces is at the heart of the next 20 years of rebuilding U.S. and allied forces. It is clear that a fundamental reconstruction is required…

The Strategic Consequences of the Euro Crisis

07/31/2012
We have just published the second Strategic Inflection Report. This report focuses upon the Euro crisis and its strategic consequences. The Euro crisis is not simply a financial dynamic. It is the end of a period of history. The confluence of several trend lines: the unification of Germany, the end…

The Iranian Offensive in Iraq: The Initial Push

07/30/2012
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…