By Dr. Richard Weitz 07/07/2011 - Notwithstanding his achievements during his more than four years as Defense Secretary, Robert Gates left some unfinished tasks for his successor, Leon Panetta.He has many tough challenges ahead. The Senate’s 100-to-0 vote in favor of Panetta’s confirmation showed strong confidence in Panetta’s ability to…
[caption id="attachment_630" align="alignleft" width="150" caption="Michael Wynne at Normandy"][/caption] Secretary of the Air Force Donley together with the Air Force Chief of Staff Schwartz wrote an oped over this past summer wanting to put the contentious F-22 debate behind them. With their then recent installation and the heated debate on 'next…
In late September, the President announced the termination of the plans to place missile interceptors in Central Europe. In so doing, Secretary Gates and President Obama indicated that they were replacing the old plan with a new one (for an interesting comment on this decision see Colin Clark on DOD…
The military budget under President Obama and Secretary Gates is dominated by the twin themes of Afghanistan and austerity. The focus on Afghanistan is shaping the strategic perspective for the Administration’s military strategy and austerity is re-shaping the defense portfolios. The power projection forces so dependent upon proprietary military space…