DeM Banter: Excellent points... and views... could we add the Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan in there as well... as warnings or surprises that were missed? SmallWarsJournal.com August 24, 2012 This Week At War In my Foreign Policy column, I explain why better strategic warning won't by itself make the U.S. and its allies safer. The Defense Intelligence …
How ‘Air-Sea Battle’ Fits In U.S. Planning By Michael O’Hanlon and James Steinberg
Washington Post August 24, 2012 Pg. 13 The new concept of American overseas military operations known as “Air-Sea Battle” has come under scrutiny and criticism. Popular with the Air Force and Navy, it has been construed as an aggressive policy, and some in the Pentagon see it as a way for those two services to …
A Time To Redesign Government By Michele A. Flournoy
DeM Banter: Brilliant lady...used much of her work at Hoover and honored to work with her (at much distance) in the Pentagon. Always thought provoking. Washington Post August 23, 2012 Pg. 15 As the United States peers into the abyss beyond the "fiscal cliff," we must come to terms with a sobering reality: Even if …
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Giving In to the Surveillance State by Shane Harris
DeM Banter: Good, Bad, Ugly? Tough call when you are looking at greater good type operations...but it does reek of a good Orwellian novel I once read... information age in now....thoughts? Is there a better way? NY Times: OP-ED CONTRIBUTOR Published: August 22, 2012 Washington IN March 2002, John M. Poindexter, a former national security …
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Darpa Looks to Make Cyberwar Routine With Secret ‘Plan X’ by Noah Shachtman
view original / wired.com DeM Banter: So do I believe this will lead to the "Rise of the Machines?" No, but the Info Revolution is coming home to roost...especially when you combine this with the computing and internet power required of RPAs (drones)....things could get interesting if we were to fight a near peer competitor... The Pentagon’s …
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Interesting PRO and CON on Freezing Military Pay Raises: Good Idea/Bad Idea
Article/Exhibit 1 Army Times August 27, 2012 Pg. 8 Cover story Dial Back Pay Raises, Report Says By Rick Maze The time is right to scrimp on military pay raises, says a new report that appears to agree with a Pentagon proposal to cap basic pay hikes starting in 2015. The report, commissioned by the …
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USAF Tests New Missions for UAVs by Marcus Weisgerber
defensenews.com / view original The U.S. Air Force is widening the use of UAVs such as the MQ-1 Predator.Photo by: U.S. Air Force NELLIS AIR FORCE BASE, Nev. — Predator UAVs are becoming key players in the U.S. Air Force’s premier combat exercises — Red Flag — signaling yet another major cultural shift in the way the …
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Tailspin or Stall? Challenges Face New USAF Chief But Money Not the Problem by Lawrence Korb
Co-written with Robert Ward Stories about the decline of the Air Force are flooding the media. For example, in AOL Defense Mackenzie Eaglen and Doug Birkey claim that the Air Force is "slowly going out of business" because of budget cuts and won't be able to modernize its fleet, maintain military supremacy or adapt to …
Keeping The Faith: Can the military save on pay and benefits without breaking faith? By Kellie Lunney
DeM Banter: Probably too close to this to comment... Government Executive August 15, 2012 America’s military community has long felt disconnected from the civilian population it protects. In the latest survey from the nonprofit military support group Blue Star Families, 95 percent of respondents, who included service members, veterans, spouses and children, agreed with the …
Conflict with China: What It Would Look Like, How to Avoid It: by James Dobbins
view original / thediplomat.com DeM Banter: A more realistic view of "the Pivot?" Since the disappearance of the Soviet Union, China has become America’s default adversary, the power against which the United States measures itself militarily, at least when there is no more proximate enemy in sight. With America’s war in Iraq over and the one in Afghanistan winding …
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