The U.S. Marine Corps is nothing if not versatile. What explains the Corps’ talent for metamorphosis and its ability to take on so many roles and missions was summed up by Marine …

The crucial Indian Ocean

Five hundred years ago, the Portuguese conquered the Indian Ocean with a dozen ships. In the 21st century, the U.S. Navy may find itself hard-pressed to maintain control …

Deputy undersecretary of defense and principal QDR point man, one last QDR-related bolt. Proving that the Pentagon’s leadership is still stuck in the transformational past, pre-Sept. 11, Henry presented the review’s force-shrinking …

Recruiters struggle to keep the Army from breaking

As the U.S. enters the third year of its war in Iraq, there is mounting concern about its impact on the health of the …

China’s submarines pose regional, strategic challenges

For the first time since the end of the Cold War, the United States faces a resurgent submarine challenge from a state that is seeking to …

In two Iraqi cities, signs of progress and frustration

“Another day fighting the war on drugs.” So commented a Marine Corps platoon commander as he stood atop a dirt- and rock-strewn hill …

The history of the U.S. Marine Corps has been marked by a series of existential crises; the question often has been, “What do we need the Marines for?” At least now, if …

The Quadrennial Defense Review must stimulate long-term change

The report summarizing the work of the 2005 Quadrennial Defense Review will be sent to Congress on Feb. 6. I’ve spent a lot of …

This month’s AFJ marks an initial appearance on these pages by Michael Vickers, whose primary paycheck comes from the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments in Washington, D.C., but whose background makes …

The emergence of a new front in the war on terrorism

Although the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan after Sept. 11, 2001, did not start the deterritorialization of al-Qaida, it certainly accelerated the …