The PNSR Case Studies: What Matters? By Richard Weitz Given this mixed historical record, what organizational and procedural factors underpin the (in)ability of the U.S. national security system to achieve desired outcomes? To better analyze this dynamic, PNSR cases sought to identify which conditions best explain the strengths and weaknesses…
by Richard Weitz The PNSR Case Studies: Outcomes, Achievements and Costs The case studies provide examples of policy successes that resulted in better relations with other countries, diminished strategic threats, improved economic opportunities, and enhanced American prestige. Effective U.S. planning and engagement in post-war Japan demonstrates the enormous benefits to…
by Ed Timperlake The US Intelligence Community is a famously federated league of like-minded sleuths conjoined by parallel mandates. It is not dysfunctional, merely less effective than it has to be. Like any large cobbled together organization the Intelligence Community (IC) operates on the maxim that “people are people,” and…
by Kenneth Maxwell Brazil will soon decide on reequipping its air force with a new generation of fighters. The decision was postponed by President Dilma Rousseff last year. The competitors are the French Dassault Rafale, the US Boeing F-18 Super Hornet, and the Swedish Saab Gripen. The US, France, and…
Rising above Paradigm Paralysis…It’s Time to THINK by Bill Anderson In 2006, the U.S. Air Force threw down the gauntlet. The vulnerability of global fuel supply lines and the volatility of price presented a significant risk to the military’s ability to project power across the globe. So, Air Force leadership…
by Richard Weitz When the Obama Administration says it will shift national security strategy to the Asian pivot, can it do so? Richard Weitz looks at the historical record in Administrations seeking to provide for a policy shift and a core strategic focus. The PNSR Case Studies: Achieving Unity of…
Second Line of Defense had a chance to discuss with Lt. Col. “Uber” Williams who served as Col. Shorter’s deputy from MAG-14 headquarters during Bold Alligator 2012. According to Williams, “While he’s back in Cherry Point running the rest of his MAG, I will be out aboard the Kearsarge basically…
by Harald Malmgren As global economic growth slows, the price of oil should be falling. Instead, fears of disruption of supply are causing users of gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel to increase storage and encouraging traders to speculate on continuing elevation of oil. This is already having the effect of…
