Missile defense approaches its 30th anniversary with both great accomplishments behind it and great challenges before it. President Reagan’s vision of a defense sufficient to blunt the use of ballistic missiles and their nuclear warheads as instruments of coercion, blackmail, and
Fifty years ago, the Soviet Union put nuclear missiles in Cuba. History may be repeating itself in the Caribbean. Russian military officials have confirmed they are “considering” basing nuclear bombers in Cuba or Venezuela. They have been offered basing and
It looks like the nation’s national security may soon take it in the shorts, a repeat of the 1990s but worse. Then, defense spending declined in real terms by a cumulative $300 billion from 1993-2000. At the same time, the
Neil King, Jr., writing in the October 8-9 Wall Street Journal, “Romney Calls for Defense Boost”, apparently believes that a speech by a pro-defense candidate for national office needs it own simultaneous rebuttal which he tries mightily to give us.
The United States does not now have a defense and national security “vision” for the future appropriate to the threats, challenges and opportunities of the 21st century. What we have is a series of sometimes contradictory tactical strategies that are
A dear friend, courageous Senator, brilliant defense thinker, and one of the few politicians that always spoke in declarative sentences, left us this September 14th at his beautiful ranch home in Wyoming. Wallop: the independent cowboy spirit Malcolm Wallop, US
A decade after 9/11 it is hoped America’s security establishment better understands what threats we face of which the attacks of 9/11 were one facet. The answer to that question remains incomplete. After the end of the Cold War we
A senior Administration delegation has just left the People’s Republic of China. While there, the Chinese were told not to worry about the US paying its debts to the country — their investments in the US were safe. True enough.
There is good news and bad news in the debt agreement for defense . The good news is that in the next two fiscal years beginning October 1, 2011, national security accounts–including defense, homeland security, foreign assistance, nuclear weapons programs
It looks like the nation’s national security may soon take it in the shorts, in a repeat of the 1990’s but worse. Then, defense declined in real terms by a cumulative $300 billion 1993-2000. At the same time, the major
On Drudge July 22, 2011, in a news story about the stalled debt talks, there is buried the disclosure that $1 trillion in spending “cuts” being proposed in the debt extension discussions are estimated to come from the already agreed
041211 NATIONAL DEFENSE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION AND NATIONAL DEFENSE INDUSTRIAL ASSOCIATION BREAKFAST FORUM WITH SENATOR JON KYL (R-AZ), ON “SENATE PERSPECTIVES ON IRAN, MISSILE DEFENSE AND NUCLEAR DETERRENCE.” (For additional information on NDUF/NDIA forums contact Peter Huessy at huessyp@nduf.org) [This is
US security policy in North Africa and the Middle East faces a dramatic test: will we be able to weave a strong tapestry of help for our allies and take down our enemies or will a new stronger coalition or
The Democratic strategy is to split the Tea Party supporters from the Republican Party leaders and thus depress support for the Republican Party at the congressional level and at the Presidential level in the run-up to the 2012 elections. But
A sterile map of the Middle East belies the political and social havoc on the ground. US Security policy should help our friends and hurt our enemies. In the Middle East and North Africa, we are apparently unsure of exactly
The use of military force against Gaddafi is welcome but simultaneously worrisome. Welcome in that American ground troops will not be landing in Tripoli and that US and a coalition of other nations are trying to stop Libya from a
President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela’s is sending $1 million a year of his oil revenue to an American organization bent on keeping America’s borders wide open. Casa de Maryland openly helps migrants illegally in the United States. It also receives
Yesterday I called my friend Jeane J. Kirkpatrick, President Reagan’s ambassador to the United Nations. She was busy leading a contingent of folks speaking with Saint Peter about reducing the media budget of the socialist parties that run a blog
Ronald Reagan’s three most important pillars of national security policy were (1) peace through strength; (2) trust but verify; and (3) beware of evil in the modern world. We followed that wisdom. And communism collapsed. The Soviet empire crumbled. Tyrants
Ahmadinejad imagines a “world without America.” Nearly a decade after the attacks of 9/11, Americans remain terribly confused as to the nature of the terror threats we face. A jarring collection of disparate daily events appears to make little overall
Now that new START has been ratified by the US Senate and is apparently close to ratification by the Russian government, it might be useful to ask “What is the Future of Nuclear Arms Control?” Most Americans would think that
“Trust us…no, really” Americans are frustrated with China. Big time. The most recent leaks of State Department documents reveal Peking with explicit complicity in arming Iran with ballistic missiles and nuclear weapons technology. An article also appeared in the Washington
The US Senate gave its assent to ratification of the new START treaty but added significant new policy requirements that may require the US to actually improve its nuclear arsenal and modernize its nuclear enterprise even as we reduce our
The Washington Post reports that the administration has once again strongly asserted that the new START treaty, under consideration by the US Senate, does not limit “our” missile defense plans as they are currently being proposed by the United States.
The United States and its allies are now sitting down–once again– with Iran over Tehran’s nuclear program. What will happen? What should happen? Two recent headlines give us some clues. Three years after the Israelis destroyed the Syrian Al-Kibar nuclear
Leaked documents from America’s leftist enemies generally seek to undercut America’s military power. In some respects the new material dumped across the internet and news outlets of America did that. This sad and treasonous behavior will no doubt make it
Save START! That is the new rallying point of the national security team of the administration. The New START treaty is getting an extraordinary push to secure ratification prior to the end of the calendar year while Congress is in
The North Korean regime has now murdered ROK soldiers, shelled a South Korean island, and built hundreds of new nuclear centrifuges. It continues to send arms to Syria and Hezbollah all the while assisting Iran in its missile programs. Are
Many analysts continue to concentrate on individual terrorists and their network of mosques from which they emerge. Many assume they represent the most serious security threats facing the country–often termed “Al Qaeda and its affiliates.” But the Administration’s recent Asian
The new majority in the House of Representatives will be much more friendly to a strong United States defense and foreign policy but will have a minority with far less knowledge and understanding of defense and foreign policy issues than
This week, fifty of our nuclear armed Minuteman missiles in Wyoming momentarily lost connectivity to one of the many command capsules at the F.E. Warren USAF base. The 1960’s computers in question got out of time-sharing sequence as they routinely
In the one area where bipartisan support was fairly robust, such as the Nunn-Lugar program to dismantle nuclear materials in the former Soviet Union, the recent defense budget requests of the new administration have outlined a plan for a four
When the Bush administration took office a decade ago, the specter of proliferating nuclear weapons was high on its agenda. During the previous decade, six key nations acquired, tested or had sought or had come close to acquiring nuclear weapons,
A number of recent studies have purported to prove that nuclear weapons no longer serve an important strategic purpose for the United States. This view animates much of the push for “Global Zero,” the campaign to eliminate nuclear weapons from
Traditionally, Americans are a trusting lot. If you say you want to build a cultural center devoted to mutual understanding of various religions, most of us will take you at your word. If you claim to be helping legal immigrants
That then is our dilemma. Though we rhetorically see Iran as a state sponsor of terror, and even officially say so in our annual State Department reports on the same subject, our actions to date, and from every administration since
The Iranian Mullahs want to talk. So does the United States. Tehran wants to negotiate because the economic sanctions are hurting. The US wants to negotiate because it wants to be sure Iran is not building nuclear weapons. But can
The New York Times expresses unhappiness that a number of Senators are questioning the wisdom of the New START treaty that may be voted upon in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee this Wednesday. Of concern to the scribblers at the
President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela’s is sending $1 million a year of his oil revenue to an American organization bent on keeping America’s borders wide open. Casa de Maryland openly helps migrants illegally in the United States. It also receives
For what purposes is China going to use its growing military? No, they are not going to invade Florida. (Just drill for oil some 50 miles from Spring Break). Nevertheless, they are asserting hegemonic power and it is primarily related