Archive for April, 2008

It was after the phone call from their boss, the secretary of defense, that the two most senior leaders of the Air Force clarified their service’s position.

“The Air Force wholeheartedly supports …

It might be tempting to dismiss the U.S. Navy’s potential focus on China as a passing fad — part of the now-familiar phenomena of “China fever.” Another perspective holds that this focus …

UCAVs, budgets and improbable threats

Unmanned air vehicle development has sharply accelerated in recent years principally because UAVs can overcome a major shortcoming of manned aircraft — limited persistence — while offering …

U.S. national strategy should refocus from military operations to intelligence

Polls show that most non-Kurdish Iraqis blame the U.S. for the condition of their country and believe that their situations will improve …

The Defense Department’s new China Military Power Report, released in March, portrays China as a rising military power, but one whose intentions are unclear. Uncertainty over China’s future course and how that …

Iraqis at home and displaced weigh changes in Baghdad

Last April, this column described initial responses by Iraqi bloggers to the “surge” of American troops in their country. Writing from shattered Baghdad …

TO THE ARMY, for the new FM 3-0 Operations Field Manual, a welcome capstone doctrine document that is long on common sense and thankfully short on acronyms and “Army talk.” This is …

Emperor Qin, the first emperor of China, is a confounding character. A warrior whose many battle wins secured the victory of a unified China, Qin masterminded projects to cement that unification, including …

Words have a utilitarian function in the uniformed world. We have checklists ringing with verbs, notes and warnings, and military evaluations are brimming with superlatives and exclamatory punctuation. Words are, as everywhere, …

Properly structured adviser teams are key to winning the Long War

Today’s strategic realities outline a world in which many states face internal and transnational threats from terrorist organizations and other violent …