04/13/2015: As part of US led Coalition air operations, the F/A-18A Hornets from Number 75 Squadron have replaced the Super Hornets to continue combating the Daesh terrorist threat in Iraq. The incoming F/A-18A Hornet is a single-seat multi-role fighter while the F/A-18F Super Hornet is a two-seater. In addition to…
2012-11-15 by Robbin Laird Throughout the past two years a number of events have occurred which although discrete add up to a single story: the role of the West in the Middle East and North Africa is changing. And with the changing role of the West in the region, the…
2012-09-19 by Robbin Laird Instead of flying into buildings, Muslim extremists are killing American representatives abroad. In a vote of thanks for ending the Gaddafi repression, the American ambassador to Libya has been humiliated and killed. In an act reminiscent of the Nazis burning down the Reichstag and blaming various…
by Robbin Laird As BA-12 was unfolding, the Iranian threat to mine the Straits of Hormuz was a real world event which seemed to remind folks of the need for amphibious capabilities and the sea basing approach. The Navy's biggest amphibious exercise in a decade, Bold Alligator, is not specifically…
12/23/2011 by Richard Weitz Recently, Vice President Joe Biden made his seventh visit to Iraq as vice president and 16th visit overall. Biden spent two days in Baghdad meeting with Iraqi political leaders, then he travelled to Erbil, capital of the Kurdistan Regional Government, to meet with President Massoud Barzani.…
By Dr. Harald Malmgren 03/16/2011 - Underlying political instability in Bahrain is a fundamental conflict between the Sunni Arabs and the Shi'a Arabs. Bahrain is a Red Line for all Sunni royals and Sunni business and banking leaders in the Persian Gulf. Keep in mind that Bahrain is the banking…
How Amphibious Forces Create Strategic Options By Vince Martinez 03/06/2011 - The world is changing. For many who have studied the subject over the last decade, the Arc of Instability is coming to fruition. Old powers are beginning to falter under the pressures of collapsing economies, the lack of resources,…
