Afghan-Pakistan Border Incidents: The Underlying Problem

11/29/2011
11/27/2011 By Richard Weitz Pakistan and the United States have experienced their most serious incident along the Afghan-Pak border. According to Pakistani sources, confirmed by NATO, U.S. helicopters acting as part of NATO’s International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan attacked a military checkpoint in northwest Pakistan on Saturday, killing…

Putin Seeks Arctic Riches

11/27/2011
By Dr. Richard Weitz 11/27/2011 - Given the importance that Putin assigns to maintaining control of Russia’s energy resources, it is unsurprising that he has already outlined have ambitious goals to develop Arctic hydrocarbon resources in coming years. Geological experts believe that the Arctic holds more than 22% of the…

The USAF Takes a Decision (2)

11/24/2011
by Ed Timperlake How many bad press releases can one firm issue? https://www.sldinfo.com/the-usaf-makes-a-decision/ Hawker Beech just issued another one: Following the notification last week that Hawker Beechcraft Corporation (HBC) was excluded from the Light Air Support (LAS) bidding process, the company has requested that the Government Accountability Office (GAO) review the…

MemoGate Affair Highlights Need to Reform Pakistan’s Security Sector

11/24/2011
12/24/2011 by Richard Weitz The resignation of Husain Haqqani as Pakistani Ambassador to the United States over the so-called “memogate” scandal highlights the need for further reform of Pakistan’s security sector. Its main elements--the Pakistani armed forces, intelligence agencies, and police force—are responsible for ensuring Pakistan’s external and internal security…

F-35As to Korea: Shaping a Defense Transition

11/22/2011
11/22/2011 - by Michael W. Wynne There has been much said about the cost structure for the current premier program for re-building airpower, the Joint Strike Fighter.  Though the Trillion Dollar moniker was rapidly debunked for its more definitive view on inflation in general than for any accuracy as to…

Turkey and Afghanistan

11/21/2011
[caption id="attachment_14313" align="alignleft" width="150" caption=" "][/caption] By Dr. Richard Weitz 11/21/2011 - On November 1, 2011, Turkey officially extended its command of the all-important region of Afghanistan’s Kabul region for another year. Furthermore, Istanbul hosted two vital multinational meetings on November 1 and 2 designed to support international peace efforts…

A Neutron Bomb in the Marketplace?

11/20/2011
11/20/2011 by Dr. Harald Malmgren The unique characteristic of a neutron bomb explosion is that it kills all the people while leaving all the buildings, homes, and other structures intact.  How much of the world could be at risk of a financial neutron bomb exploding in the Eurozone? World leaders…