Sec. Donley On Readiness: Air Force Must Shrink Or Go Hollow By Michael Donley

DeM Banter: more from the SECAF...wondering if the series of articles is having the desired effect... AOL Defense (defense.aol.com) January 10, 2013 Exclusive Michael Donley is Secretary of the Air Force. This is the third of four op-eds Sec. Donley wrote exclusively for AOL Defense on the future of the Air Force. Today's piece deals …

Experts: Drones Basis For New Global Arms Race By Jim Michaels

DeM Banter: wonder where this goes? USA Today January 9, 2013 Pg. 4 The success of U.S. drones in Iraq and Afghanistan has triggered a global arms race, raising concerns the remotely piloted aircraft could fall into unfriendly hands, military experts say. The number of countries that have acquired or developed drones expanded to more …

Sec. Donley On The Air Force’s Budgetary Balancing Act

DeM Banter: Important piece and first in a series....these are strategic questions that have to be answered at the highest levels...do we have the right leaders in places like congress that can make the tough decisions that go beyond local issues? Yes, I know...all politics are local...such is the case here. One thing to address …

Cut Out Of The Conversation The important talk we’re not having about defense spending. By Michael O’Hanlon

DeM Banter: would feel a lot better if these convos were coming out of other buildings in the Capitol as opposed to Brookings...it's all about the strategy....it all about what we want to do and what we won't do or won't fund in the future...it is funny we will talk about "entitlement" reform when it …

No-Draft Military Creating A Warrior Class? By Matthew Schofield

DeM Banter: was this not an obvious outcome of ending the draft? The bigger issue is avoiding a gap in Civ-Mil relations, how do we do that? Ensure both sides are clearly understood and represented. Thoughts? January 2, 2013 Miami Herald January 1, 2013 Pg. 1 McClatchy News Service Some fear that an all-volunteer military …

Sequester and the fate of America’s national security by Lt. Col. Tony Shaffer (ret.)

View original DeM Banter: well, probably would have offered a different title...but other than that...spot on. Very much what we were driving toward at Stanford with Wondering Where The Lions Are. It's all about the strategy (or lack thereof). What will be the effects of “sequester” to our national security infrastructure now that it appears …

5 Key National-Security Issues For 2013 By Sara Sorcher

DeM Banter: not sure there is anything earth shattering or new here...but, heck--if nothing else it is a good refresher as we step toward the fiscal cliff and the New Year.... NationalJournal.com December 27, 2012 It has been a turbulent year, with violence continuing in Syria, heated debates over the defense-budget topline, and the terrorist …

APOCALYPSE NOT QUITE YET By Christopher Dickey

DeM Banter:  So how's that pivot to the East coming?  MidEast will be the focus for a long time coming... Newsweek.com December 26, 2012 The Middle East and North Africa are teetering on the brink. Notwithstanding sundry doomsday predictions—from the Mayans to Nostradamus and the ever-impending threat of Armageddon—we can now say with some assurance …