Defense Department Plans New Intelligence Gathering Service

New York Times April 24, 2012 By Eric Schmitt WASHINGTON — The Pentagon is revamping its spy operations to focus on high-priority targets like Iran and China in a reorganization that reflects a shift away from the war zones of Iraq and Afghanistan that have dominated America’s security landscape for the past decade. Under the …

Strategic Stability In Today’s Nuclear World By Henry A. Kissinger and Brent Scowcroft

Washington Post April 23, 2012 Pg. 13 A New START treaty reestablishing the process of nuclear arms control has recently taken effect. Combined with reductions in the U.S. defense budget, this will bring the number of nuclear weapons in the United States to the lowest overall level since the 1950s. The Obama administration is said …

China, Russia Run Joint Naval Drills

Boston Globe April 23, 2012 Pg. 3 BEIJING - China and Russia launched joint naval exercises Sunday that highlight warming ties between their militaries and growing cooperation in international affairs. Chinese state broadcaster CCTV said the six days of drills feature simulated antiaircraft, antisubmarine, and search-and-rescue operations, including electronic countermeasures and other sensitive technologies. Retired …

Fear Itself: Americans Believe Iran Threat on Par With 1980s Soviet Union

by Max Fisher, theatlantic.com April 19th 2012 4:05 PM A new poll shows that Americans today are more afraid of Iran than they were of the USSR in 1985, a peak of the Cold War. In November 1985, CNN commissioned a poll asking Americans to gauge the Soviet Union's threat to the U.S. It's hard …

Blast-Off: 6 Recent Missile Advances By Arthur Bright

Christian Science Monitor (csmonitor.com) April 20, 2012 Missiles have been prominent in the news lately, with India's successful test, North Korea's failed one, and much talk of missile defense systems in Europe and the Persian Gulf. Here are six noteworthy missile-technology advances – three offensive, three defensive – revealed in recent weeks. 1. India's Agni-V …

Air Force’s $1 Billion IT System Has ‘Negligible’ Capability, Comptroller Says

FederalTimes.com April 19, 2012 By Sean Reilly A seven-year, billion dollar investment by the Air Force in a new logistics management system has turned out to be a bust, officials say. "I am personally appalled at the limited capability the program has produced relative to that amount of investment," Air Force Comptroller Jamie Morin told …

3 Essential Steps to Thinking Strategically by Lauren Perkins

 It's amazing how many entrepreneurs don't think deeply about their strategy. Here's how to start the process. I’ve been working with a variety of entrepreneurs recently on their companies’ positioning and differentiation in the marketplace. It’s surprising how many young companies overlook the importance of doing some solid research, analysis, and old-fashioned thinking on this …