Defending against the invisible menace of online cyber-attacks has become one of the Pentagon’s biggest growth areas. But should it be? Kristin Lord of the Center for a New American Security, who recently led a study into the issue, discusses the balancing act associated with this new way of war. She’s joined by colleague John …
Military
Libya: Dirty Thoughts About Dirty Bombs
Before the rebels finish celebrating — and catch Libyan strongman Muammar Gaddafi (or don’t) — it’s worth noting that 42 years of dictatorship can leave some dangerous residue behind. Olli Heinonen, a senior fellow at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard University, is a former deputy director of the …
The Pentagon’s Annual China Report…
….is going to be released Wednesday afternoon. Can we all calibrate our threat-hype meters beforehand? Fearsome new warplanes? Check. Scary aircraft carrier? Check. Able to gobble up Taiwan as mainland China keeps our carriers at bay with its fearsome carrier-killing missiles? Check. May need to sell Taiwan — think of it as a …
Women are Heroes, Too
Let the generations know that women in uniform also guaranteed their freedom. That our resolve was just as great as the brave men who stood among us. And with victory our hearts were just as full and beat just as fast – that the tears fell just as hard for those we left behind.
— World War II Army Nurse.
Those …
Meeting Tomorrow’s Recruits Today
This past weekend, something astonishing happened that made me see repeal of the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy in a new light. I was out shopping with my boyfriend, and as he went to buy a smart looking button-down shirt he asked the store clerk about their military discount. The clerk responded with delight and said he couldn’t …
The Pentagon’s Foreign-Language Frustrations
As Defense Secretary Leon Panetta told 2,500 troops Tuesday about the foreign-language skills he championed as a congressman, an active-duty Army officer was complaining about the paucity of military personnel who can speak anything other than English.
The current push to train soldiers to speak the local languages in Afghanistan …
Libya’s Non-Practical Endgame
When an airplane stops flying fast enough to generate the lift it needs to stay aloft, pilots call it a stall. We tend to call it a crash. That’s what has happened to the Libyan rebels in the last 36 hours or so. Their triumphant ride into Tripoli has crashed onto the pockets of tenacious resistance still occupied by those loyal to …
Firebird
How Gaddafi Lost His Grip on Libya
Muammar Gaddafi is falling as Libya’s leader after 42 years because of sharpening NATO air strikes, allied intelligence shared with the rebels, the rebels’ own improved military tactics, and the simple passage of time. Additional allied assistance — consisting of training and equipping the rebel forces – also has helped speed up …
Pullin’ Gs with the Blue Angels
[youtube+http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7tO_Sw3P5Bs]
Always fun to watch the Navy’s Blue Angels fly — especially when their exploits are as skillfully edited as in the above video. WARNING: Do not watch on a large-screen monitor right after eating.
Libya Falling: A Less-Costly (American-led) Way of Waging War
So the U.S. was able to spearhead the imminent collapse of Muammar Gaddfi’s regime in Libya on the cheap. We launched full-fledged invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq against murderous tyrants, but elected not to do the same in Libya. Is this a new template for U.S. wars, or just an acknowledgement of a war-weary nation?
It’s a …
Walter Reed, In Transit
There was a pretty big movement of U.S. troops this weekend, and here’s betting you didn’t even hear about it. Some 200 wounded military personnel traveled five miles from the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., to Bethesda Naval Hospital in Maryland. That’s because, on September 15, after 102 years in operation, …
“Is a Cyber Pearl Harbor on the Horizon?”
This week on Command Post, John Nagl of the Center for a New American Security and I discuss the potential horror — and the potential hype — of cyber war with James Lewis of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, and Kristin Lord of CNAS. Key question: now that the Cold War has melted into history, is the …