ForeignPolicy.com May 30, 2012 By Cara Parks and Joshua E. Keating As summer blockbuster season kicks into high gear, big-budget action movies like The Avengers, Battleship, and Prometheus remind us that there's one thing that unites Americans: Our shared fear of an alien attack. They also remind us that when the invading space fleet arrives, …
Defense Official Says Automatic Cuts Will Cause ‘Absurdities’ By Mike Mount
The Pentagon's chief budget officer is ringing the alarm bell about looming budget cuts that could destroy the department's new defense strategy and force the defense industry to face "absurdities" as defense programs are shuttered. "This is not the way to do defense planning and budgeting," said Deputy Defense Secretary Ashton Carter. Carter was speaking …
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The Amazing Expanding Pentagon By Thanassis Cambanis
Boston Globe May 27, 2012 After a decade of 'mission creep'--into diplomacy, agriculture, even energy policy--the Department of Defense has become America's default tool for dealing with the world. Where does this leave the next president? When President Obama and Mitt Romney cross swords on defense policy, it can sound like a schoolyard fight: Who …
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John Nagl: No more war-hero presidents?
John Nagl Friday, May 25, 2012 In every presidential election since 1992, the candidate with the less distinguished military résumé has triumphed. Bill Clinton defeated war heroes George H.W. Bush and Bob Dole; National Guard pilot George W. Bush beat Vietnam veterans Al Gore and John Kerry; and Barack Obama was decisively elected over John …
5 Things the Pentagon Isn’t Telling Us About the Chinese Military by TREFOR MOSS
View original / Foreign Policy Think of it like an iceberg: The top lies in plain sight, but a lot more hides beneath the surface. In its annual appraisal of the Chinese military published last week, the U.S. Department of Defense seems to be describing an object it finds both familiar and mysterious. The report …
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The Exit Interview
by J. William DeMarco In the Military we have a rather unique "tradition" of the exit interview. When a commander is about to leave, public affairs or in the case of the Bloody Hundredth, the Wing Historian will give a quick interview regarding accomplishments, plans and vision. It seemed to last no more than five minutes …
NATO’s Blind Spot
Washington Post May 22, 2012 Pg. 14 NATO's Blind Spot A summit in Chicago ignores the thousands dying in Syria. NATO's "victory" in Libya, senior U.S. officials recently wrote, was a "model intervention," a "teachable moment." "The first lesson is that NATO is uniquely positioned to respond quickly and effectively to international crises," the U.S. …
Retired General Talks Frankly On Defense Spending By Walter Pincus
Washington Post May 22, 2012 Pg. 13 Fine Print Retired Marine Corps Gen. James Cartwright aired some fresh ideas about U.S. defense policies last week. About the same time, the House was preparing to pass next year's Pentagon authorization bill and, in the process, illustrating Cartwright's point that the nation isn't downsizing correctly. The former …
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White House Team Picks Attack Targets By Kimberly Dozier
Miami Herald May 22, 2012 Pg. 3 A change has been made in how the U.S. determines which terrorists should be targeted for drone attacks. Associated Press WASHINGTON — White House counterterror chief John Brennan has seized the lead in choosing which terrorists will be targeted for drone attacks or raids, establishing a new procedure …
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House Puts Squeeze On Military’s ‘Musical Arsenal’ By Walter Pincus
Washingtonpost.com May 18, 2012 Checkpoint Washington: Reporting on diplomacy, intelligence and military affairs Drum roll, please. The House, for a second year in a row, has approved a measure limiting Pentagon spending on military bands next year to only $200 million. An amendment by Rep. Betty McCollum (D-Minn.), a member of the House Appropriations Committee, …
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