FEATURES
Weapons Stratego
(July 2008)
When George W. Bush was inaugurated as president in 2001, he inherited a military budget from the Clinton administration totaling about $300 billion. In six months, Bush’s successor...
BY LOREN THOMPSON
When George W. Bush was inaugurated as president in 2001, he inherited a military budget from the Clinton administration totaling about $300 billion. In six months, Bush’s successor...
BY LOREN THOMPSON
Think small
(July 2008)
The Navy has a relatively large number of surface combatants capable of conducting a wide range of missions in a high-intensity conflict. However, the Navy lacks adequate capabilities to...
BY MILAN VEGO
The Navy has a relatively large number of surface combatants capable of conducting a wide range of missions in a high-intensity conflict. However, the Navy lacks adequate capabilities to...
BY MILAN VEGO
Generation gap
(July 2008)
The F-22 Raptor and F-35 Joint Strike Fighter stand at the pinnacle of fighter aircraft technology, integrating low observability, fused sensor interfaces, cutting-edge networking and...
BY CHRISTOPHER GRIFFIN
The F-22 Raptor and F-35 Joint Strike Fighter stand at the pinnacle of fighter aircraft technology, integrating low observability, fused sensor interfaces, cutting-edge networking and...
BY CHRISTOPHER GRIFFIN
Coming up short
(July 2008)
Fighter gap? Or credibility gap? The Air Force swooped into a Senate hearing in April to drop a budget bomb: The service faces a shortage of 800 jet fighters beginning about a decade from...
BY WILLIAM MATTHEWS
Fighter gap? Or credibility gap? The Air Force swooped into a Senate hearing in April to drop a budget bomb: The service faces a shortage of 800 jet fighters beginning about a decade from...
BY WILLIAM MATTHEWS
IAEA indicts Iran
(July 2008)
New intelligence continues to blast away like a sledgehammer at Iran’s rocklike insistence that its nuclear program is purely peaceful and not a nuclear weapons effort as many strongly...
BY PETER BROOKES
New intelligence continues to blast away like a sledgehammer at Iran’s rocklike insistence that its nuclear program is purely peaceful and not a nuclear weapons effort as many strongly...
BY PETER BROOKES
Cause for relief
(June 2008)
We are now more than six years into a war that spans the globe. American forces are engaged on the land, from the sea and from the air, around the planet. More than 1.6 million service...
BY LT. COL. ROBERT L. BATEMAN
We are now more than six years into a war that spans the globe. American forces are engaged on the land, from the sea and from the air, around the planet. More than 1.6 million service...
BY LT. COL. ROBERT L. BATEMAN
The counterterrorism paradox
(June 2008)
Almost seven years after the 9/11 attacks, the primary military manifestations of America’s global war on terrorism are the seemingly interminable campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan....
BY BRIAN BURTON
Almost seven years after the 9/11 attacks, the primary military manifestations of America’s global war on terrorism are the seemingly interminable campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan....
BY BRIAN BURTON
Beyond the joint force
(June 2008)
It is early 2012, and six months have passed since the death of North Korean tyrant Kim Jong Il. The Korean People’s Army is clearly on the move, but American intelligence officials...
BY CHRISTOPHER GRIFFIN
It is early 2012, and six months have passed since the death of North Korean tyrant Kim Jong Il. The Korean People’s Army is clearly on the move, but American intelligence officials...
BY CHRISTOPHER GRIFFIN
An odd prescription
(June 2008)
The House Armed Services Committee, chaired by the venerable and serious Rep. Ike Skelton, D-Mo., established a panel in 2007 to look at the military’s roles and missions.
BY SETH CROPSEY
The House Armed Services Committee, chaired by the venerable and serious Rep. Ike Skelton, D-Mo., established a panel in 2007 to look at the military’s roles and missions.
BY SETH CROPSEY
From red to green
(June 2008)
When studying the rise of global jihadism, one often sees the term “Islamofascism.” This label is not very workable and emerges not so much as an explanatory model but as a way...
BY DMITRY SHLAPENTOKH
When studying the rise of global jihadism, one often sees the term “Islamofascism.” This label is not very workable and emerges not so much as an explanatory model but as a way...
BY DMITRY SHLAPENTOKH
Flashpoint: The not-so-final frontier
(June 2008)
China destroyed one of its own aging, low-Earth-orbit (LEO) weather satellites last winter while it was circling at 500 miles above the planet, using a ground-based, direct ascent...
BY PETER BROOKES
China destroyed one of its own aging, low-Earth-orbit (LEO) weather satellites last winter while it was circling at 500 miles above the planet, using a ground-based, direct ascent...
BY PETER BROOKES
Warfighter in chief
(May 2008)
If he’d shown signs of being interview-weary, it would have been understandable. It was late afternoon on the Friday that capped a week of congressional hearings during which...
BY KAREN WALKER
If he’d shown signs of being interview-weary, it would have been understandable. It was late afternoon on the Friday that capped a week of congressional hearings during which...
BY KAREN WALKER
The nonlinear future
(May 2008)
The network metaphor dominates current thinking about national security. Network centricity carried to its logical conclusion, however, portends an environment that becomes increasingly...
BY CLEMENT C. CHEN
The network metaphor dominates current thinking about national security. Network centricity carried to its logical conclusion, however, portends an environment that becomes increasingly...
BY CLEMENT C. CHEN
Obsessed with tactics
(May 2008)
The Navy today is overly focused on the tactical employment of its combat forces, in its doctrine and practice. This might not be a problem in case of a conflict with numerically and...
BY MILAN VEGO
The Navy today is overly focused on the tactical employment of its combat forces, in its doctrine and practice. This might not be a problem in case of a conflict with numerically and...
BY MILAN VEGO
Carpet bombing in cyberspace
(May 2008)
The world has abandoned a fortress mentality in the real world, and we need to move beyond it in cyberspace. America needs a network that can project power by building an af.mil robot...
BY COL. CHARLES W. WILLIAMSON III
The world has abandoned a fortress mentality in the real world, and we need to move beyond it in cyberspace. America needs a network that can project power by building an af.mil robot...
BY COL. CHARLES W. WILLIAMSON III
The fuel gauge of national security
(May 2008)
Military doctrine favors the indirect and unexpected path to decisive results, hence the prevalence of the flanking maneuver. As we are reminded nearly daily, the seemingly intractable...
BY CMDR. JEFFREY W. EGGERS
Military doctrine favors the indirect and unexpected path to decisive results, hence the prevalence of the flanking maneuver. As we are reminded nearly daily, the seemingly intractable...
BY CMDR. JEFFREY W. EGGERS
Fueling alternatives
(May 2008)
Air Force Capt. Rick Fournier made history March 19 when he flew a B-1B Lancer over Texas and New Mexico — marking the first time an Air Force aircraft had flown at supersonic speed...
Air Force Capt. Rick Fournier made history March 19 when he flew a B-1B Lancer over Texas and New Mexico — marking the first time an Air Force aircraft had flown at supersonic speed...
Running on empty
(May 2008)
We are likely standing today on the precipice of a radical shift. The U.S. must therefore prepare to endure — or to survive — the arrival of the event that will signal this...
BY MAJ. DANIEL L. DAVIS
We are likely standing today on the precipice of a radical shift. The U.S. must therefore prepare to endure — or to survive — the arrival of the event that will signal this...
BY MAJ. DANIEL L. DAVIS
Ending our oil dependency
(May 2008)
Oil, and our reliance on it, is a catalyst for terrorism. Yet the U.S. military is powered, fueled and transported by it. Cmdr. Jeff Eggers urges a major research and development effort to...
Oil, and our reliance on it, is a catalyst for terrorism. Yet the U.S. military is powered, fueled and transported by it. Cmdr. Jeff Eggers urges a major research and development effort to...
Insurgents in Afghanistan have mastered media manipulation
(April 2008)
U.S. officers in Afghanistan are increasingly concerned at the Taliban’s use of “information operations” to pressure the Afghan government into placing constraints on...
BY SEAN D. NAYLOR
U.S. officers in Afghanistan are increasingly concerned at the Taliban’s use of “information operations” to pressure the Afghan government into placing constraints on...
BY SEAN D. NAYLOR
Contending with CHINA
(April 2008)
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...
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...
Cold wars at sea
(April 2008)
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...
By Lyle J. Goldstein
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...
By Lyle J. Goldstein
China’s space ambitions
(April 2008)
Nearly a decade after the U.S. clamped down on the transfer of dual-use American space technology to China, commercial aerospace cooperation between the two countries has all but died. Yet...
BY CHRISTOPHER GRIFFIN AND JOSEPH E. LIN
Nearly a decade after the U.S. clamped down on the transfer of dual-use American space technology to China, commercial aerospace cooperation between the two countries has all but died. Yet...
BY CHRISTOPHER GRIFFIN AND JOSEPH E. LIN
Pumping up the numbers
(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.
BY WILLIAM MATTHEWS
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.
BY WILLIAM MATTHEWS
Flashpoint: Separation anxiety
(April 2008)
While it was welcomed in some parts of the world — including Washington, London, Paris and Berlin — many other capitals viewed Kosovo’s declaration of independence from...
By Peter Brookes
While it was welcomed in some parts of the world — including Washington, London, Paris and Berlin — many other capitals viewed Kosovo’s declaration of independence from...
By Peter Brookes
The fight for friends
(April 2008)
Polls show that most non-Kurdish Iraqis blame the U.S. for the condition of their country and believe that their situations will improve after we leave. If, some five years after the...
BY CHET RICHARDS
Polls show that most non-Kurdish Iraqis blame the U.S. for the condition of their country and believe that their situations will improve after we leave. If, some five years after the...
BY CHET RICHARDS
Hedging strategies
(April 2008)
Unmanned air vehicle development has sharply accelerated in recent years principally because UAVs can overcome a major shortcoming of manned aircraft — limited persistence —...
By Group Capt. Peter Layton
Unmanned air vehicle development has sharply accelerated in recent years principally because UAVs can overcome a major shortcoming of manned aircraft — limited persistence —...
By Group Capt. Peter Layton
Hoisted by its own PR
(April 2008)
Obscured amid the failures of Israel’s 2006 Lebanon War was the extent to which Tel Aviv’s wartime leaders were willing to wager on speculative, strategically dubious,...
By Barbara Opall-Rome
Obscured amid the failures of Israel’s 2006 Lebanon War was the extent to which Tel Aviv’s wartime leaders were willing to wager on speculative, strategically dubious,...
By Barbara Opall-Rome
Undersea warfare: The hidden threat
(March 2008)
Sunday, Sept. 11, 2011, passed without incident. New Yorkers breathed a sigh of relief, as did most Americans who were glad there were no terrorist attacks since that fateful day 10 years...
By Karl M. Hasslinger
Sunday, Sept. 11, 2011, passed without incident. New Yorkers breathed a sigh of relief, as did most Americans who were glad there were no terrorist attacks since that fateful day 10 years...
By Karl M. Hasslinger
Taking risks
(March 2008)
Accept no unnecessary risk.” — Navy Operational Risk Management
By Capt. William K. Lescher
Accept no unnecessary risk.” — Navy Operational Risk Management
By Capt. William K. Lescher
Reshaping the Pentagon
(March 2008)
In this two-part call for a radically new approach to the U.S. national security system, Frank Hoffman makes the case that it’s not dollars the Pentagon lacks; it’s strategic...
In this two-part call for a radically new approach to the U.S. national security system, Frank Hoffman makes the case that it’s not dollars the Pentagon lacks; it’s strategic...
Dead reckoning
(March 2008)
The U.S. Navy’s new maritime strategy sets forth a vision of the role of naval forces in defending and protecting U.S. national interests against new threats.
The U.S. Navy’s new maritime strategy sets forth a vision of the role of naval forces in defending and protecting U.S. national interests against new threats.
Carried away
(March 2008)
The new maritime strategy is out, and for the first time in 20 years, the Navy finds itself with a new course and a new set of strategic priorities. The maritime services have formally...
BY CMDR. HENRY J. HENDRIX
The new maritime strategy is out, and for the first time in 20 years, the Navy finds itself with a new course and a new set of strategic priorities. The maritime services have formally...
BY CMDR. HENRY J. HENDRIX
Strategic security spending
(March 2008)
In a speech at Kansas State University in November, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates noted that, “Four times in the last century the United States has come to the end of a war,...
By Frank Hoffman
In a speech at Kansas State University in November, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates noted that, “Four times in the last century the United States has come to the end of a war,...
By Frank Hoffman
Request for proposals
(March 2008)
A new congressional committee is welcoming ideas for restructuring the agencies that are in charge of our national security. The Panel on Roles and Missions is a bipartisan group of seven...
By U.S. Rep. Jim Cooper
A new congressional committee is welcoming ideas for restructuring the agencies that are in charge of our national security. The Panel on Roles and Missions is a bipartisan group of seven...
By U.S. Rep. Jim Cooper
The big gamble
(March 2008)
Like no other military service in history, the Navy is betting a very large — and expensive — chunk of its future fleet on untested technologies and practices. Large destroyers...
BY CHRISTOPHER P. CAVAS
Like no other military service in history, the Navy is betting a very large — and expensive — chunk of its future fleet on untested technologies and practices. Large destroyers...
BY CHRISTOPHER P. CAVAS
Flashpoint: The cyber challenge
(March 2008)
It is no secret that modern warfare is increasingly dependent on advanced computers — and no country’s armed forces are more reliant on the digital age for information...
By Peter Brookes
It is no secret that modern warfare is increasingly dependent on advanced computers — and no country’s armed forces are more reliant on the digital age for information...
By Peter Brookes
An irregular challenge
(February 2008)
First, IW [irregular warfare] is a form of armed conflict. As such, it replaces the term “low-intensity conflict.” Second, IW is a form of warfare. As such, it encompasses...
BY MAJ. GEN. RICHARD COMER (RET.)
First, IW [irregular warfare] is a form of armed conflict. As such, it replaces the term “low-intensity conflict.” Second, IW is a form of warfare. As such, it encompasses...
BY MAJ. GEN. RICHARD COMER (RET.)
Mine blindness
(February 2008)
In discussing the problems of mine warfare and the Navy, too much of the focus is on the technology and tactics of various platforms and sensors. While the tactical employment of mine-laying...
By Milan Vego
In discussing the problems of mine warfare and the Navy, too much of the focus is on the technology and tactics of various platforms and sensors. While the tactical employment of mine-laying...
By Milan Vego
Iran and the nuclear nightmare
(February 2008)
Is Iran covertly developing atomic weapons in defiance of international constraints, and is it playing fast and loose with the facts as it rationalizes its nuclear activities? The Dec. 3...
BY MARVIN BAKER SCHAFFER
Is Iran covertly developing atomic weapons in defiance of international constraints, and is it playing fast and loose with the facts as it rationalizes its nuclear activities? The Dec. 3...
BY MARVIN BAKER SCHAFFER
The Air Force we want
(February 2008)
In August, the Air Force issued a new doctrinal publication, Irregular Warfare. Chief of Staff Gen. T. Michael Moseley said in his foreword to the document that air power produces asymmetric...
In August, the Air Force issued a new doctrinal publication, Irregular Warfare. Chief of Staff Gen. T. Michael Moseley said in his foreword to the document that air power produces asymmetric...
Support grows for standing up an unconventional warfare command
(November 2007)
An idea that wouldn’t die may be getting a new lease on life. Despite years of the idea being shot down at the highest levels, there are again growing calls from inside and outside the...
BY SEAN D. NAYLOR
An idea that wouldn’t die may be getting a new lease on life. Despite years of the idea being shot down at the highest levels, there are again growing calls from inside and outside the...
BY SEAN D. NAYLOR
Risking critique
(November 2007)
Openly critiquing one’s boss or his concepts is dicey. Such criticism carries risk and requires wisdom, as well as courage, to successfully transmit a controver¬sial but important...
BY COL. ALLEN BATSCHELET, MAJ. BARRY HAFER AND MAJ. MIKE RUNEY
Openly critiquing one’s boss or his concepts is dicey. Such criticism carries risk and requires wisdom, as well as courage, to successfully transmit a controver¬sial but important...
BY COL. ALLEN BATSCHELET, MAJ. BARRY HAFER AND MAJ. MIKE RUNEY
Robots on the battlefield
(November 2007)
In Afghanistan and Iraq, “battle bots” are spying, patrolling, securing and even “dying” in combat. Soldiers give their scout robots names, honorary...
In Afghanistan and Iraq, “battle bots” are spying, patrolling, securing and even “dying” in combat. Soldiers give their scout robots names, honorary...
Flashpoint: Arms racing
(November 2007)
Instability in Iraq, sectarian violence, Islamic extremism, ethnic rivalries, the rise of Iran and questions about America’s long-term commitment to the region are making for a Middle...
By Peter Brookes
Instability in Iraq, sectarian violence, Islamic extremism, ethnic rivalries, the rise of Iran and questions about America’s long-term commitment to the region are making for a Middle...
By Peter Brookes
The Army after Bush
(October 2007)
George W. Bush’s 2000 election campaign promise to the military was “help is on the way.” But a prickly White House-Pentagon relationship and a war in which the civilian...
George W. Bush’s 2000 election campaign promise to the military was “help is on the way.” But a prickly White House-Pentagon relationship and a war in which the civilian...
Washington’s war
(October 2007)
The human and material cost of America’s occupation of Iraq is reaching a climax. The ongoing “surge” of ground combat troops into Baghdad and its surroundings is producing...
BY COL. DOUGLAS MACGREGOR (RET.).
The human and material cost of America’s occupation of Iraq is reaching a climax. The ongoing “surge” of ground combat troops into Baghdad and its surroundings is producing...
BY COL. DOUGLAS MACGREGOR (RET.).
Flashpoint: Hamas haven
(October 2007)
From Lebanon’s refugee camps to Iraq’s desert sands to Pakistan’s mountainous tribal areas, Islamic extremism is on the march across the Muslim world, while mod¬erate,...
From Lebanon’s refugee camps to Iraq’s desert sands to Pakistan’s mountainous tribal areas, Islamic extremism is on the march across the Muslim world, while mod¬erate,...
Two decades of decay
(September 2007)
The Air Force begins its sixth decade in circumstances that aviators elsewhere might consider enviable: unrivaled for global air dominance. But that is not the way Air Force leaders view...
BY LOREN THOMPSON
The Air Force begins its sixth decade in circumstances that aviators elsewhere might consider enviable: unrivaled for global air dominance. But that is not the way Air Force leaders view...
BY LOREN THOMPSON
The dual-role dilemma
(September 2007)
The Air Force finds itself at an unwelcome and unexpected crisis at its 60th birthday. Although the service is tremendously successful at its core capacities, as demonstrated in a series of...
BY CHRISTOPHER GRIFFIN
The Air Force finds itself at an unwelcome and unexpected crisis at its 60th birthday. Although the service is tremendously successful at its core capacities, as demonstrated in a series of...
BY CHRISTOPHER GRIFFIN
Flashpoint: No bungle in the jungle
(September 2007)
Whether you agree with it or not, it’s likely there will be some changes to the current size and shape of U.S. forces in Iraq over the next year. For reasons from the political to the...
BY PETER BROOKES
Whether you agree with it or not, it’s likely there will be some changes to the current size and shape of U.S. forces in Iraq over the next year. For reasons from the political to the...
BY PETER BROOKES
The silent crisis
(August 2007)
If there is a crisis in civil-military relations, but nobody acknowledges it, is the relationship sound?
BY GREGORY D. FOSTER
If there is a crisis in civil-military relations, but nobody acknowledges it, is the relationship sound?
BY GREGORY D. FOSTER
Peril at sea
(August 2007)
Great maritime powers that forget their oceanic roots or allow themselves to be unduly distracted by continental affairs pay a high cost. We are a maritime power with a fleet that has been...
BY SETH CROPSEY
Great maritime powers that forget their oceanic roots or allow themselves to be unduly distracted by continental affairs pay a high cost. We are a maritime power with a fleet that has been...
BY SETH CROPSEY
America’s security puzzle
(August 2007)
Is America safer today than it was on Sept. 10, 2001? Is there a grand security strategy? To better understand these questions, AFJ assembled a round table of analysts from across the...
Is America safer today than it was on Sept. 10, 2001? Is there a grand security strategy? To better understand these questions, AFJ assembled a round table of analysts from across the...
What’s America’s grand plan?
(August 2007)
Earlier this year, Seth Cropsey, a regular contributor to AFJ and a former deputy undersecretary of the Navy, set in motion a round table discussion via e-mail with the question: Does...
An AFJ round table
Earlier this year, Seth Cropsey, a regular contributor to AFJ and a former deputy undersecretary of the Navy, set in motion a round table discussion via e-mail with the question: Does...
An AFJ round table
What if there is no terrorist network?
(August 2007)
The National Strategy for Combating Terrorism published in February 2003 candidly acknowledged that “our knowledge of the inner workings of some terrorist organizations remains...
BY LT. COL. SCOTT MORRISON
The National Strategy for Combating Terrorism published in February 2003 candidly acknowledged that “our knowledge of the inner workings of some terrorist organizations remains...
BY LT. COL. SCOTT MORRISON
Flashpoint: Russia resurgent
(August 2007)
Both Moscow and Washington insist one Cold War was enough. But considering the chilly rhetorical winds blowing back and forth between the two capitals recently, it appears at least a passing...
BY PETER BROOKES
Both Moscow and Washington insist one Cold War was enough. But considering the chilly rhetorical winds blowing back and forth between the two capitals recently, it appears at least a passing...
BY PETER BROOKES
An even keel
(July 2007)
The Coast Guard has been under fire in the press and on Capitol Hill for a variety of problems associated with the Deepwater fleet recapitalization program. But ahead of the storm of...
BY ADM. JOHN CURRIER
The Coast Guard has been under fire in the press and on Capitol Hill for a variety of problems associated with the Deepwater fleet recapitalization program. But ahead of the storm of...
BY ADM. JOHN CURRIER
The digital battlefield
(July 2007)
The ever-growing access to information up and down the chain of command is changing leadership models. If information means power, then the soldier has never been more empowered. On the...
The ever-growing access to information up and down the chain of command is changing leadership models. If information means power, then the soldier has never been more empowered. On the...
Technology and leadership
(July 2007)
The ubiquitous nature of data and technology, which transforms every soldier and pilot into a node in a network-centric environment, is irreparably changing existing leadership models for...
BY BARRY ROSENBERG
The ubiquitous nature of data and technology, which transforms every soldier and pilot into a node in a network-centric environment, is irreparably changing existing leadership models for...
BY BARRY ROSENBERG
12 new principles of warfare
(July 2007)
Now that dramatic improvements in weaponry, communications, sensors and even the utility of individual combatants have been demonstrated in Afghanistan and Iraq, it is clear that America...
BY LT. CMDR. CHRISTOPHER E. VAN AVERY
Now that dramatic improvements in weaponry, communications, sensors and even the utility of individual combatants have been demonstrated in Afghanistan and Iraq, it is clear that America...
BY LT. CMDR. CHRISTOPHER E. VAN AVERY
Flashpoint: Venezuelan vagaries
(July 2007)
If you think the passing of Cuban President Fidel Castro — the larger-than-life leader of the anti-Yanqui, Latin left for almost 50 years — will eliminate a major problem for us...
BY PETER BROOKES
If you think the passing of Cuban President Fidel Castro — the larger-than-life leader of the anti-Yanqui, Latin left for almost 50 years — will eliminate a major problem for us...
BY PETER BROOKES
Planes
(June 2007)
Take one of Washington’s closest allies, a successful and cost-effective commercial airframe, and wed them with a newly developed suite of radar, communications and electronic warfare...
BY CHRISTOPHER GRIFFIN
Take one of Washington’s closest allies, a successful and cost-effective commercial airframe, and wed them with a newly developed suite of radar, communications and electronic warfare...
BY CHRISTOPHER GRIFFIN
Facing up
(June 2007)
A question of cost
(June 2007)
Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Michael Mullen has outlined the Navy’s plan for constructing the next-generation fleet in the 30-year shipbuilding plan, which details the road to a...
BY REAR ADM. Charles “CHUCK” GODDARD, HOWARD FIREMAN AND CHRIStopher DEEGAN
Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Michael Mullen has outlined the Navy’s plan for constructing the next-generation fleet in the 30-year shipbuilding plan, which details the road to a...
BY REAR ADM. Charles “CHUCK” GODDARD, HOWARD FIREMAN AND CHRIStopher DEEGAN
The maritime strategy we need
(June 2007)
Strategy formulation requires an in-depth assessment of history, theory, future capabilities and threats, national policy, and the realities of international relations. Analyses of the...
By Cmdr. John Patch
Strategy formulation requires an in-depth assessment of history, theory, future capabilities and threats, national policy, and the realities of international relations. Analyses of the...
By Cmdr. John Patch
Shootdown solution
(June 2007)
Helicopter pilots flying in the lethal environment of Iraq are faced with a dilemma — one that may prevent them from seeing the world as it is and instead lead them to see it as...
BY COL. JIM SLIFE
Helicopter pilots flying in the lethal environment of Iraq are faced with a dilemma — one that may prevent them from seeing the world as it is and instead lead them to see it as...
BY COL. JIM SLIFE
Flashpoint: Peril in Pakistan
(June 2007)
In the global struggle against Islamic extremism and terrorism, Pakistan may be the most important country most Americans don’t know is important. That state of blissful ignorance had...
BY PETER BROOKES
In the global struggle against Islamic extremism and terrorism, Pakistan may be the most important country most Americans don’t know is important. That state of blissful ignorance had...
BY PETER BROOKES
Our cover story
(May 2007)
Perhaps the most rewarding aspect of being part of the team that created the “new AFJ” is seeing the ever-growing and enthusiastic response to the mission we set: to make this a...
Perhaps the most rewarding aspect of being part of the team that created the “new AFJ” is seeing the ever-growing and enthusiastic response to the mission we set: to make this a...
A failure in generalship
(May 2007)
For the second time in a generation, the United States faces the prospect of defeat at the hands of an insurgency. In April 1975, the U.S. fled the Republic of Vietnam, abandoning our allies...
By Lt. Col. Paul Yingling
For the second time in a generation, the United States faces the prospect of defeat at the hands of an insurgency. In April 1975, the U.S. fled the Republic of Vietnam, abandoning our allies...
By Lt. Col. Paul Yingling
Essay: Leader, transform thyself!
(May 2007)
Leaders tell us that we have to change. Every senior leader in Washington is proclaiming that we are in a time of unprecedented change. Everything we do must be transformational. But...
By Edward Lundquist
Leaders tell us that we have to change. Every senior leader in Washington is proclaiming that we are in a time of unprecedented change. Everything we do must be transformational. But...
By Edward Lundquist
See no evil
(May 2007)
The Bush administration launched the war in Iraq ostensibly to secure weapons of mass destruction and prevent al-Qaida from acquiring them. The president has said repeatedly that nothing is...
By Barry Rosenberg
The Bush administration launched the war in Iraq ostensibly to secure weapons of mass destruction and prevent al-Qaida from acquiring them. The president has said repeatedly that nothing is...
By Barry Rosenberg
Russia rising
(May 2007)
In February, Russian President Vladimir Putin made an unusually strong statement that openly blasted the U.S. and NATO. This led pundits to proclaim that Russia, after two decades of...
BY DMITRY SHLAPENTOKH
In February, Russian President Vladimir Putin made an unusually strong statement that openly blasted the U.S. and NATO. This led pundits to proclaim that Russia, after two decades of...
BY DMITRY SHLAPENTOKH
Horn hotbed
(May 2007)
Since the early 1990s, the Horn of Africa — the descriptive name for the East African countries of Kenya, Ethiopia, Djibouti, Somalia, Eritrea and Sudan — has been considered by...
BY PETER BROOKES
Since the early 1990s, the Horn of Africa — the descriptive name for the East African countries of Kenya, Ethiopia, Djibouti, Somalia, Eritrea and Sudan — has been considered by...
BY PETER BROOKES
Power struggle
(May 2007)
George W. Bush “is the president of the United States, not the king of the United States,” Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., declared. “He has another branch of government, a...
BY WILLIAM MATTHEWS
George W. Bush “is the president of the United States, not the king of the United States,” Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., declared. “He has another branch of government, a...
BY WILLIAM MATTHEWS
Sea Power
(April 2007)
As the Navy fine-tunes its new maritime strategy, scheduled for public release this summer, the temptation is to make Sea Power 21 its foundation. But Naval War College professor Milan Vego...
As the Navy fine-tunes its new maritime strategy, scheduled for public release this summer, the temptation is to make Sea Power 21 its foundation. But Naval War College professor Milan Vego...
Searching for a strategy
(April 2007)
The very core of the Navy’s transformation is Sea Power 21. The Navy is making a major effort to create a new maritime strategy, to be formally completed in June. Perhaps it is also...
BY MILAN VEGO
The very core of the Navy’s transformation is Sea Power 21. The Navy is making a major effort to create a new maritime strategy, to be formally completed in June. Perhaps it is also...
BY MILAN VEGO
A working plan
(April 2007)
As the ice melts in the Hindu Kush mountains this year, all parties know that the informal truce forced by winter is being lifted and the intense fights of 2006 will soon start again. A key...
BY CHRISTOPHER GRIFFIN
As the ice melts in the Hindu Kush mountains this year, all parties know that the informal truce forced by winter is being lifted and the intense fights of 2006 will soon start again. A key...
BY CHRISTOPHER GRIFFIN
Mind maneuvers
(April 2007)
T. E. Lawrence was not the first irregular warfare theorist, but he was the first practitioner to note that the cognitive domain is crucial in such conflicts. In “Seven Pillars of...
BY FRANK G. HOFFMAN
T. E. Lawrence was not the first irregular warfare theorist, but he was the first practitioner to note that the cognitive domain is crucial in such conflicts. In “Seven Pillars of...
BY FRANK G. HOFFMAN
Own the blue water
(April 2007)
“Partner in the brown water; secure the green water; own the blue water,” is a colorful new Navy mantra. It refers to the need to work closely with other nations to...
By Edward Lundquist
“Partner in the brown water; secure the green water; own the blue water,” is a colorful new Navy mantra. It refers to the need to work closely with other nations to...
By Edward Lundquist
Blue beret
(April 2007)
Irregular warfare is a nightmare. It is underhanded, vicious, cruel, thankless and interminable. Like the undead or those characters in sci-fi films that reconstitute themselves after being...
BY MARTIN N. MURPHY
Irregular warfare is a nightmare. It is underhanded, vicious, cruel, thankless and interminable. Like the undead or those characters in sci-fi films that reconstitute themselves after being...
BY MARTIN N. MURPHY
Iran emboldened
(April 2007)
With the creeping possibility of a nuclear breakout, its vigorous sponsorship of international terrorism and its escalating intervention next door in Iraq, the Islamic Republic of Iran is a...
By Peter Brookes
With the creeping possibility of a nuclear breakout, its vigorous sponsorship of international terrorism and its escalating intervention next door in Iraq, the Islamic Republic of Iran is a...
By Peter Brookes
Growing the Army
(March 2007)
Administration proposals for end-strength increases for the Army and Marine Corps were welcome, if overdue, news for a force that is at its smallest size since the mid-1990s and that is...
Administration proposals for end-strength increases for the Army and Marine Corps were welcome, if overdue, news for a force that is at its smallest size since the mid-1990s and that is...
Create a U.S. foreign legion
(March 2007)
America is a land of immigrants. Their spirit of resolve, adventure, hard work and devotion to an idea bigger than themselves has made this country great. Whatever one thinks of the...
BY MAX BOOT AND MICHAEL O’HANLON
America is a land of immigrants. Their spirit of resolve, adventure, hard work and devotion to an idea bigger than themselves has made this country great. Whatever one thinks of the...
BY MAX BOOT AND MICHAEL O’HANLON
We should defend ourselves
(March 2007)
Between an already shrunken military, the requirements of combat in Iraq and Afghanistan, the public’s perception that the war in Iraq is not going well and a healthy domestic economy,...
By Seth Cropsey
Between an already shrunken military, the requirements of combat in Iraq and Afghanistan, the public’s perception that the war in Iraq is not going well and a healthy domestic economy,...
By Seth Cropsey
Pacific arms race
(March 2007)
The conclusion of a second memorandum of understanding on the Joint Strike Fighter in December opened the door for the JSF to progress from being a paper airplane to an aircraft in...
By Christopher Griffin
The conclusion of a second memorandum of understanding on the Joint Strike Fighter in December opened the door for the JSF to progress from being a paper airplane to an aircraft in...
By Christopher Griffin
Transformation reality check
(March 2007)
With the Iraq operation failing, his battle plan for that conflict widely discredited and even Afghanistan looking like a partial success at best, Donald Rumsfeld’s vision for...
By Michael O’Hanlon
With the Iraq operation failing, his battle plan for that conflict widely discredited and even Afghanistan looking like a partial success at best, Donald Rumsfeld’s vision for...
By Michael O’Hanlon
Spending greenbacks to entice Leathernecks
(March 2007)
The Marine Corps admits it’s going to take more than a poster campaign to meet its goal of growing its end strength from just under 180,000 leathernecks to 202,000 over the next five...
BY KAREN WALKER
The Marine Corps admits it’s going to take more than a poster campaign to meet its goal of growing its end strength from just under 180,000 leathernecks to 202,000 over the next five...
BY KAREN WALKER
The right-sized Army
(March 2007)
The number of soldiers in the U.S. Army, both active and reserve, will continue to be a critical determinant of America’s ability to win future wars and, above all, the peaces that...
BY TOM DONNELLY, FREDERICK KAGAN AND GARY SCHMITT
The number of soldiers in the U.S. Army, both active and reserve, will continue to be a critical determinant of America’s ability to win future wars and, above all, the peaces that...
BY TOM DONNELLY, FREDERICK KAGAN AND GARY SCHMITT
New strategic partners
(February 2007)
The Bush administration’s 2004 Global Posture Review was primarily about reshaping America’s global military footprint for easier deployment in the changed geopolitical...
The Bush administration’s 2004 Global Posture Review was primarily about reshaping America’s global military footprint for easier deployment in the changed geopolitical...
Tanker
(February 2007)
The Northrop Grumman/EADS partnership continues to advance its proposed KC-30 replacement for the aging Boeing KC-135 aerial tanker, winning an important point with the U.S. Air Force and...
By Scott Hamilton
The Northrop Grumman/EADS partnership continues to advance its proposed KC-30 replacement for the aging Boeing KC-135 aerial tanker, winning an important point with the U.S. Air Force and...
By Scott Hamilton
Trans-Atlantic trade challenges
(February 2007)
Defense cooperation among allies, whether programmatically or intellectually, is critical. As the saying goes, “No one’s got a monopoly on good ideas.” And treasuries...
BY VAGO MURADIAN
Defense cooperation among allies, whether programmatically or intellectually, is critical. As the saying goes, “No one’s got a monopoly on good ideas.” And treasuries...
BY VAGO MURADIAN
Eye on a $100 billion pie
(February 2007)
U.S. aerospace and defense companies are stepping up efforts to secure a major portion of an estimated $10 billion in annual purchases that India says it plans to spend over the next decade...
By Karen Walker
U.S. aerospace and defense companies are stepping up efforts to secure a major portion of an estimated $10 billion in annual purchases that India says it plans to spend over the next decade...
By Karen Walker
Nuclear fusion
(February 2007)
The most important fact of America’s new strategic partnership with India is not just that it recognizes India as a nuclear power, but that it also represents open American acceptance...
BY STEPHEN BLANK
The most important fact of America’s new strategic partnership with India is not just that it recognizes India as a nuclear power, but that it also represents open American acceptance...
BY STEPHEN BLANK
A blossoming relationship
(February 2007)
For all the recent developments in the U.S.-Japan alliance, perhaps the most striking is that the alliance managers have made it look so easy. This is no mean accomplishment — the...
By Christopher Griffin
For all the recent developments in the U.S.-Japan alliance, perhaps the most striking is that the alliance managers have made it look so easy. This is no mean accomplishment — the...
By Christopher Griffin
Homer's Greek epic offers leadership lessons for modern warriors
(January 2007)
It is 10 years since the Greek coalition fought their way on to Troy’s wide beaches — longer than anyone expected — and still both sides persist. Just when one side seems...
By Seth Cropsey
It is 10 years since the Greek coalition fought their way on to Troy’s wide beaches — longer than anyone expected — and still both sides persist. Just when one side seems...
By Seth Cropsey
Big nations, small wars
(January 2007)
Pitch large, powerful armies against substantially smaller, weaker enemies and the result can be the David vs. Goliath effect.
Pitch large, powerful armies against substantially smaller, weaker enemies and the result can be the David vs. Goliath effect.
The indirect approach
(January 2007)
When it comes to winning small wars, air power is more than putting steel on target. Air Force strategic thinking continues to be grounded in a theory of strategic attack that fails to...
BY CAPT. JOHN W. BELLFLOWER
When it comes to winning small wars, air power is more than putting steel on target. Air Force strategic thinking continues to be grounded in a theory of strategic attack that fails to...
BY CAPT. JOHN W. BELLFLOWER
Unconventional thinking
(January 2007)
At a seminar on the subject of NATO and its further evolution, the basic premise was that the global situation had changed significantly and NATO must adjust if we are to succeed...
By Lt. Col. Mike Bullock, Canadian Forces
At a seminar on the subject of NATO and its further evolution, the basic premise was that the global situation had changed significantly and NATO must adjust if we are to succeed...
By Lt. Col. Mike Bullock, Canadian Forces
The NCW illusion
(January 2007)
Proponents of network-centric warfare (NCW) envision the future war as fought by small, geographically dispersed and highly deployable forces operating offensively, in parallel and...
By Milan Vego
Proponents of network-centric warfare (NCW) envision the future war as fought by small, geographically dispersed and highly deployable forces operating offensively, in parallel and...
By Milan Vego
Change of guard
(December 2006)
Donald Rumsfeld’s greatest strengths — his self-confidence, insistence on efficiency, faith in technology and problem-solving practicality — were equally his weaknesses....
Donald Rumsfeld’s greatest strengths — his self-confidence, insistence on efficiency, faith in technology and problem-solving practicality — were equally his weaknesses....
Looking beyond Iraq
(December 2006)
In the run-up to the November elections, even as President Bush repeatedly vowed to deliver “victory” in Iraq, mounting evidence indicated that the war there had long since...
By Andrew J. Bacevich
In the run-up to the November elections, even as President Bush repeatedly vowed to deliver “victory” in Iraq, mounting evidence indicated that the war there had long since...
By Andrew J. Bacevich
The Thousand-Ship Navy
(December 2006)
It’s an innocuous shipping container, no different than thousands of others moving every day across the globe. Traveling on a Taiwanese container ship across the Pacific, the box...
By CHRISTOPHER P. CAVAS
It’s an innocuous shipping container, no different than thousands of others moving every day across the globe. Traveling on a Taiwanese container ship across the Pacific, the box...
By CHRISTOPHER P. CAVAS
LCS: A solution for the Asia littoral
(December 2006)
The Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) was born of controversy and is likely to remain one of the most hotly debated ships in the Navy inventory.
By Christopher Griffin and Dan Blumenthal
The Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) was born of controversy and is likely to remain one of the most hotly debated ships in the Navy inventory.
By Christopher Griffin and Dan Blumenthal
The global trident
(December 2006)
Even before it emerged as an international power, the U.S. sought the practical end of protecting itself from traditional threats and the idealistic objective of expanding the circle of...
BY SETH CROPSEY
Even before it emerged as an international power, the U.S. sought the practical end of protecting itself from traditional threats and the idealistic objective of expanding the circle of...
BY SETH CROPSEY
The next maritime strategy
(December 2006)
At the launch of the first Littoral Combat Ship, Freedom, in September, Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Mike Mullen described LCS as a ship that might help steer the U.S.’s traditional...
At the launch of the first Littoral Combat Ship, Freedom, in September, Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Mike Mullen described LCS as a ship that might help steer the U.S.’s traditional...
Racing the clock
(December 2006)
Robert Gates is a Washington insider in a way Donald Rumsfeld never aspired to be. The new secretary will smooth the military’s hackles. He will reduce the Pentagon’s profile as...
Robert Gates is a Washington insider in a way Donald Rumsfeld never aspired to be. The new secretary will smooth the military’s hackles. He will reduce the Pentagon’s profile as...
New face — same choices
(December 2006)
Will a new occupant of Pentagon office 3E729 mean a new direction for American strategy in Iraq? Will a new Democratic leadership in Congress deliver a new strategy?
BY TOM DONNELLY
Will a new occupant of Pentagon office 3E729 mean a new direction for American strategy in Iraq? Will a new Democratic leadership in Congress deliver a new strategy?
BY TOM DONNELLY
The Islamabad dilemma
(November 2006)
Long ago, in a galaxy far, far away — that is, the 2000 presidential race — candidate George W. Bush could not recall the name of the president of Pakistan. Since Sept. 11, the...
by Tom Donnelly
Long ago, in a galaxy far, far away — that is, the 2000 presidential race — candidate George W. Bush could not recall the name of the president of Pakistan. Since Sept. 11, the...
by Tom Donnelly
The spec ops
(November 2006)
he impending expansion of Army special operations forces laid out in this year’s Quadrennial Defense Review is spreading waves of unease throughout the Special Forces community.
By Sean D. Naylor
he impending expansion of Army special operations forces laid out in this year’s Quadrennial Defense Review is spreading waves of unease throughout the Special Forces community.
By Sean D. Naylor
Challenges and choices
(November 2006)
Since the fall of the Taliban in November 2001, Afghan leaders and the international community have worked in concert to devise a political compact and an economic recovery strategy. So far,...
By Greg Mills and Terence McNamee
Since the fall of the Taliban in November 2001, Afghan leaders and the international community have worked in concert to devise a political compact and an economic recovery strategy. So far,...
By Greg Mills and Terence McNamee
Afghanistan: What Next?
(November 2006)
Afghanistan’s winter of discontent will throw NATO daunting challenges that extend far beyond skirmishes with the Taliban. In their thoughtful essay, Greg Mills and Terence McNamee...
Afghanistan’s winter of discontent will throw NATO daunting challenges that extend far beyond skirmishes with the Taliban. In their thoughtful essay, Greg Mills and Terence McNamee...
The spec ops stretch
(October 2006)
The impending expansion of Army special operations forces laid out in this year’s Quadrennial Defense Review is spreading waves of unease throughout the Special Forces community.
By Sean D. Naylor
The impending expansion of Army special operations forces laid out in this year’s Quadrennial Defense Review is spreading waves of unease throughout the Special Forces community.
By Sean D. Naylor
Essay: A question of faith
(October 2006)
Do we yet understand the nature of the “Long War” for the future of the Middle East?
By Tom Donnelly
Do we yet understand the nature of the “Long War” for the future of the Middle East?
By Tom Donnelly
New rules for new enemies
(October 2006)
We put an Army on the battlefield that I had been a part of for 37 years. It doesn’t have any doctrine, nor was it educated and trained, to deal with an insurgency. ... After the...
BY LT. COL. JOHN A. NAGL AND LT. COL. PAUL L. YINGLING
We put an Army on the battlefield that I had been a part of for 37 years. It doesn’t have any doctrine, nor was it educated and trained, to deal with an insurgency. ... After the...
BY LT. COL. JOHN A. NAGL AND LT. COL. PAUL L. YINGLING
Air power’s lost lessons
(October 2006)
The period between the first and second world wars served as the formative years for the development of American military aviation and air power theory. The practical application of air...
BY LT. COL. SKIP HINMAN
The period between the first and second world wars served as the formative years for the development of American military aviation and air power theory. The practical application of air...
BY LT. COL. SKIP HINMAN
Why doctrine matters and how to fix it
(October 2006)
Not too long ago a bright war college student said to his instructor, “I know all this Clausewitz stuff is important, but I’m going to the Army Staff and what I really need to...
By COL. ROBERT KILLEBREW (Ret.)
Not too long ago a bright war college student said to his instructor, “I know all this Clausewitz stuff is important, but I’m going to the Army Staff and what I really need to...
By COL. ROBERT KILLEBREW (Ret.)
Debating Doctrine
(October 2006)
Air power
(September 2006)
It is a quintessentially American way of war. Over the past decade, new technologies have seemed to further fulfill the visions of air power theorists. Yet, new adversaries have adapted....
It is a quintessentially American way of war. Over the past decade, new technologies have seemed to further fulfill the visions of air power theorists. Yet, new adversaries have adapted....
Searching for the next B-52
(September 2006)
The Air Force owes its existence to the strategic bombing mission. The rise of American air power from obscurity to independence during the first half of the 20th century can be attributed...
By Loren Thompson
The Air Force owes its existence to the strategic bombing mission. The rise of American air power from obscurity to independence during the first half of the 20th century can be attributed...
By Loren Thompson
The Air Force in the urban fight
(September 2006)
As the world grows ever more urbanized, it is imperative that the Air Force prepare airmen to fight in cities. Cities are complex domains where military operations are constrained by...
By Lt. Col. Brian M. Newberry
As the world grows ever more urbanized, it is imperative that the Air Force prepare airmen to fight in cities. Cities are complex domains where military operations are constrained by...
By Lt. Col. Brian M. Newberry
America’s asymmetric advantage
(September 2006)
Is air power the new face of successful war-fighting? Much to the dismay of the boots-on-the-ground zealots, or BOTGZ (pronounced bow-togs), the answer for today’s democracies may well...
By Maj. Gen. Charles J. Dunlap Jr.
Is air power the new face of successful war-fighting? Much to the dismay of the boots-on-the-ground zealots, or BOTGZ (pronounced bow-togs), the answer for today’s democracies may well...
By Maj. Gen. Charles J. Dunlap Jr.
The fleet we need
(August 2006)
We require for the guidance of our naval policy something of a wider vision than the current conception of naval strategy, something that will keep before our eyes not merely the enemy...
BY FRANK HOFFMAN
We require for the guidance of our naval policy something of a wider vision than the current conception of naval strategy, something that will keep before our eyes not merely the enemy...
BY FRANK HOFFMAN
A better war in Iraq
(August 2006)
“Fighting an irregular war is an extremely difficult conversion for any regular army, even a superpower.”
By Lt. Col. John A. Nagl
“Fighting an irregular war is an extremely difficult conversion for any regular army, even a superpower.”
By Lt. Col. John A. Nagl
America’s adventure
(August 2006)
The struggle for Iraq is, even as the fighting continues, a struggle to shape history; how Iraq is understood and remembered may be as strategically important as any other facet of the...
The struggle for Iraq is, even as the fighting continues, a struggle to shape history; how Iraq is understood and remembered may be as strategically important as any other facet of the...
“Fiasco”
(August 2006)
By the winter of 2003-04, the Marine Corps was ordered to head back to Iraq to lend a hand. Its units would replace the Army in one of the toughest parts of the country, al Anbar province,...
By Thomas E. Ricks
By the winter of 2003-04, the Marine Corps was ordered to head back to Iraq to lend a hand. Its units would replace the Army in one of the toughest parts of the country, al Anbar province,...
By Thomas E. Ricks
Clausewitz: Right or wrong?
(July 2006)
It’s not an entirely egregious bit of hyperbole to say that, since the publication of Vom Kriege in 1832, all writings on the way of war have been nothing more than commentaries on...
It’s not an entirely egregious bit of hyperbole to say that, since the publication of Vom Kriege in 1832, all writings on the way of war have been nothing more than commentaries on...
The global dragon
(July 2006)
When Chinese Premier Deng Xiaoping unleashed economic reforms in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) almost 30 years ago, no one imagined the effect it would have on China — or...
BY PETER BROOKES
When Chinese Premier Deng Xiaoping unleashed economic reforms in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) almost 30 years ago, no one imagined the effect it would have on China — or...
BY PETER BROOKES
Clausewitz and World War IV
(July 2006)
The essence of every profession is expressed in the writings of its unifying theorists: Freud for psychology, Adam Smith on economics, Justice Marshall on law, and — depending on...
BY Maj. Gen. ROBERT H. SCALES (ret.)
The essence of every profession is expressed in the writings of its unifying theorists: Freud for psychology, Adam Smith on economics, Justice Marshall on law, and — depending on...
BY Maj. Gen. ROBERT H. SCALES (ret.)
Why Clausewitz had it backward
(July 2006)
Even those who have never read a line written by Carl von Clausewitz, the Prussian military philosopher, accept as truth his dictum that “War is simply a continuation of policy with...
By Ralph Peters
Even those who have never read a line written by Carl von Clausewitz, the Prussian military philosopher, accept as truth his dictum that “War is simply a continuation of policy with...
By Ralph Peters
‘New’ ideas that look old
(July 2006)
Ah, the “revolution in military affairs” — the “RMA.” A term that is a blast from the past, a piece of pre-9/11 prehistory. But bold predictions about the...
BY FRANK HOFFMAN
Ah, the “revolution in military affairs” — the “RMA.” A term that is a blast from the past, a piece of pre-9/11 prehistory. But bold predictions about the...
BY FRANK HOFFMAN
The power & limits of jointness
(June 2006)
It has been 20 years since Congress passed the Goldwater-Nichols Act, committing the U.S. armed forces to a vision of “joint warfare” wherein the strands of the separate services...
It has been 20 years since Congress passed the Goldwater-Nichols Act, committing the U.S. armed forces to a vision of “joint warfare” wherein the strands of the separate services...
Janus and the god of jointness
(June 2006)
This year marks the 20th anniversary of the U.S. military’s airstrike against five terrorist training camps in Libya, a retaliation for the bombing of a Berlin discotheque in which...
By Seth Cropsey
This year marks the 20th anniversary of the U.S. military’s airstrike against five terrorist training camps in Libya, a retaliation for the bombing of a Berlin discotheque in which...
By Seth Cropsey
Conformity needs competition
(June 2006)
It has been nearly two decades since the passage of the Goldwater-Nichols Department of Defense Reorganization Act of 1986. That’s a long time, but perhaps more importantly, the...
By Mackubin Thomas Owens
It has been nearly two decades since the passage of the Goldwater-Nichols Department of Defense Reorganization Act of 1986. That’s a long time, but perhaps more importantly, the...
By Mackubin Thomas Owens
Rummy & his generals
(June 2006)
In early April, a number of retired U.S. general officers stepped forward to call for the resignation of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. Although the immediate bone of contention was the...
In early April, a number of retired U.S. general officers stepped forward to call for the resignation of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. Although the immediate bone of contention was the...
Oil obsession
(June 2006)
The reason for skyrocketing gasoline prices isn’t the greed of oil-company executives — it’s something over which we have even less control: the Chinese economy.
By Dan Blumenthal and Joseph Lin
The reason for skyrocketing gasoline prices isn’t the greed of oil-company executives — it’s something over which we have even less control: the Chinese economy.
By Dan Blumenthal and Joseph Lin
What shipbuilding crisis?
(April 2006)
After a decade-long decline in U.S. military shipbuilding budgets, from $11.5 billion in 1991 outlays to $6.7 billion in 2000, spending on ship construction is back to the $10 billion level....
By Pierre Chao, Jeremiah Gertler and Seth Seifman
After a decade-long decline in U.S. military shipbuilding budgets, from $11.5 billion in 1991 outlays to $6.7 billion in 2000, spending on ship construction is back to the $10 billion level....
By Pierre Chao, Jeremiah Gertler and Seth Seifman
Who is Steve Cambone?
(April 2006)
On a Tuesday afternoon in January, Stephen Cambone, the undersecretary of defense for intelligence, sat in his spacious but Spartan E-ring office in the Pentagon, contemplating very...
By Victorino Matus
On a Tuesday afternoon in January, Stephen Cambone, the undersecretary of defense for intelligence, sat in his spacious but Spartan E-ring office in the Pentagon, contemplating very...
By Victorino Matus
Understanding strategy: A delicate dance
(April 2006)
It was often said during the Cold War that the Soviet Union had a hard time understanding the United States. There was a clash of strategic cultures that made clear calculations of the...
By Dan Blumenthal and Christopher Griffin
It was often said during the Cold War that the Soviet Union had a hard time understanding the United States. There was a clash of strategic cultures that made clear calculations of the...
By Dan Blumenthal and Christopher Griffin
Plan for growth
(April 2006)
During 2005, the Chinese government noisily celebrated the 600th anniversary of the voyages of the fabled Adm. Zheng He. At home and across the Chinese diaspora, the admiral was memorialized...
By Richard D. Fisher Jr.
During 2005, the Chinese government noisily celebrated the 600th anniversary of the voyages of the fabled Adm. Zheng He. At home and across the Chinese diaspora, the admiral was memorialized...
By Richard D. Fisher Jr.
Beyond the 3-block war
(March 2006)
Traditional amphibious warfare remains the focus of Marine Corps planning and drives its spending priorities. But the service is more likely to engage in stability operations, says Max Boot,...
Traditional amphibious warfare remains the focus of Marine Corps planning and drives its spending priorities. But the service is more likely to engage in stability operations, says Max Boot,...
The Corps should look to its small-wars past
(March 2006)
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 Lt....
By Max Boot
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 Lt....
By Max Boot
How Marines are preparing for hybrid wars
(March 2006)
British historian Michael Howard observed long ago that during extended eras of peace, military planners are like sailors. He meant true sailors, those who use sextants and abhor the Global...
By Frank Hoffman
British historian Michael Howard observed long ago that during extended eras of peace, military planners are like sailors. He meant true sailors, those who use sextants and abhor the Global...
By Frank Hoffman
More than door-kickers
(March 2006)
For the United States’ special operations forces, these should be the salad days. In late 2001, a relatively small number of Army Special Forces (SF) A-teams worked with the CIA and...
By Sean D. Naylor
For the United States’ special operations forces, these should be the salad days. In late 2001, a relatively small number of Army Special Forces (SF) A-teams worked with the CIA and...
By Sean D. Naylor
Rescue mission
(March 2006)
The Air Force combat search-and-rescue (CSAR) force is reaching a critical juncture as the HH-60G Pave Hawk reaches the end of its expected service life. Our U.S. military’s operations...
By Lt. Gen. Michael Wooley
The Air Force combat search-and-rescue (CSAR) force is reaching a critical juncture as the HH-60G Pave Hawk reaches the end of its expected service life. Our U.S. military’s operations...
By Lt. Gen. Michael Wooley
Trouble below
(March 2006)
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 challenge American pre-eminence in Asia, and likely...
By Richard D. Fisher Jr.
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 challenge American pre-eminence in Asia, and likely...
By Richard D. Fisher Jr.
al-Qaida in southern Africa
(February 2006)
Although the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan after Sept. 11, 2001, did not start the deterritorialization of al-Qaida, it certainly accelerated the process.
By Kurt Shillinger
Although the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan after Sept. 11, 2001, did not start the deterritorialization of al-Qaida, it certainly accelerated the process.
By Kurt Shillinger
What the QDR should say
(February 2006)
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 time and effort contributing to this process over the...
By Michael G. Vickers
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 time and effort contributing to this process over the...
By Michael G. Vickers
License to steal
(February 2006)
In a mid-December commentary, Commerce Department Undersecretary David McCormick announced that his department would soon publish guidelines to govern which foreign nationals can gain access...
By Gary Schmitt
In a mid-December commentary, Commerce Department Undersecretary David McCormick announced that his department would soon publish guidelines to govern which foreign nationals can gain access...
By Gary Schmitt
Give & take
(February 2006)
In December’s cover story, “The sun also rises,” AFJ examined the transformation of the U.S.-Japan alliance in the post-Cold War world. This month, MIT Professor Richard J....
By Richard J. Samuels
In December’s cover story, “The sun also rises,” AFJ examined the transformation of the U.S.-Japan alliance in the post-Cold War world. This month, MIT Professor Richard J....
By Richard J. Samuels
The waiting game
(February 2006)
For the 18,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan, the appearance of victory could be a recipe for defeat. American commanders in Afghanistan say they are in a high-stakes race against time. Their...
By Sean D. Naylor
For the 18,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan, the appearance of victory could be a recipe for defeat. American commanders in Afghanistan say they are in a high-stakes race against time. Their...
By Sean D. Naylor
Off the radar
(January 2006)
“The deployment of effective missile defenses is an essential element of the United States’ broader efforts to transform our defense and deterrence policies and capabilities to...
By David J. Trachtenberg
“The deployment of effective missile defenses is an essential element of the United States’ broader efforts to transform our defense and deterrence policies and capabilities to...
By David J. Trachtenberg
Tipping period
(January 2006)
American soldiers and strategists in the Vietnam War were forever in search of a “tipping point” that would tilt the balance of forces in Southeast Asia away from the North...
American soldiers and strategists in the Vietnam War were forever in search of a “tipping point” that would tilt the balance of forces in Southeast Asia away from the North...
The political battles ahead
(January 2006)
The idea of a more-extended “tipping period” in Iraq was first advanced by Jeffrey White, a longtime analyst with the Defense Intelligence Agency and now an analyst at the...
By Tom Donnelly
The idea of a more-extended “tipping period” in Iraq was first advanced by Jeffrey White, a longtime analyst with the Defense Intelligence Agency and now an analyst at the...
By Tom Donnelly
Measuring success
(January 2006)
How can we know if we are succeeding in Iraq? This is one of the central problems facing the Bush administration, and America, today. The counts of “enemy” bodies that...
By Frederick W. Kagan
How can we know if we are succeeding in Iraq? This is one of the central problems facing the Bush administration, and America, today. The counts of “enemy” bodies that...
By Frederick W. Kagan
Building an Iraqi Army
(January 2006)
There was Sgt. Noah, the tough, squared-away Iraqi soldier who had no problem giving orders to anyone — including American journalists. And there was the nameless, smiling Iraqi...
By Gordon Trowbridge
There was Sgt. Noah, the tough, squared-away Iraqi soldier who had no problem giving orders to anyone — including American journalists. And there was the nameless, smiling Iraqi...
By Gordon Trowbridge
Strategic redeployment
(January 2006)
The only measure of where and when to use our military forces is: Does it make us safer? More than 2½ years into the continuous deployment of more than 100,000 troops to Iraq, the clear...
By Lawrence Korb and Brian Katulis
The only measure of where and when to use our military forces is: Does it make us safer? More than 2½ years into the continuous deployment of more than 100,000 troops to Iraq, the clear...
By Lawrence Korb and Brian Katulis
Disruptive voice
(January 2006)
Retired U.S. Navy Vice Adm. Arthur Cebrowski, who died Nov. 12, joins George S. Patton, Billy Mitchell, Hyman Rickover and others in that great brotherhood of military innovators who...
By James Blaker and Robert Holzer
Retired U.S. Navy Vice Adm. Arthur Cebrowski, who died Nov. 12, joins George S. Patton, Billy Mitchell, Hyman Rickover and others in that great brotherhood of military innovators who...
By James Blaker and Robert Holzer
The sun also rises
(December 2005)
Until recently, the U.S.-Japan alliance has been little more than a Cold War relic. The main issue of discussion — other than economic and trade — has been how rapidly and...
Until recently, the U.S.-Japan alliance has been little more than a Cold War relic. The main issue of discussion — other than economic and trade — has been how rapidly and...
Transforming the alliance
(December 2005)
While the American public and most policymakers have fixated on the war in Iraq, and Asian hands flagellate themselves over the rise of China, the Bush administration has been quietly and...
By Christopher Griffin
While the American public and most policymakers have fixated on the war in Iraq, and Asian hands flagellate themselves over the rise of China, the Bush administration has been quietly and...
By Christopher Griffin
What the Japanese military needs
(December 2005)
As Japan’s Self-Defense Forces prepare to respond to the challenges of operating in a combined way with U.S. forces, the question of whether Japan’s own military services can...
By Adm. Hideaki Kaneda (ret.)
As Japan’s Self-Defense Forces prepare to respond to the challenges of operating in a combined way with U.S. forces, the question of whether Japan’s own military services can...
By Adm. Hideaki Kaneda (ret.)
What the United States wants
(December 2005)
There is no issue in American long-range strategic policy that exceeds in importance the question of the United States’ relationship with Japan. It is the only one of America’s...
By Aaron Friedberg
There is no issue in American long-range strategic policy that exceeds in importance the question of the United States’ relationship with Japan. It is the only one of America’s...
By Aaron Friedberg
Know your enemy
(December 2005)
As the “war against Islamic radicalism” — President Bush’s new designation for what used to be the war on terrorism — enters its fourth year, it is unmistakably...
As the “war against Islamic radicalism” — President Bush’s new designation for what used to be the war on terrorism — enters its fourth year, it is unmistakably...
Osama bin Laden: a ‘worthy enemy’
(December 2005)
America is engaged in a war of survival against an enemy unlike any our country has fought. We have been so engaged for the best part of a decade, and yet we have not begun to understand our...
By Michael Scheuer
America is engaged in a war of survival against an enemy unlike any our country has fought. We have been so engaged for the best part of a decade, and yet we have not begun to understand our...
By Michael Scheuer
A split on strategy?
(December 2005)
On Oct. 11 the White House released a translation of a communiqué from al-Qaida’s second-in-command, Ayman al-Zawahiri, to the leader of al-Qaida in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. The...
By Tom Donnelly
On Oct. 11 the White House released a translation of a communiqué from al-Qaida’s second-in-command, Ayman al-Zawahiri, to the leader of al-Qaida in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. The...
By Tom Donnelly
Price break
(December 2005)
U.S. Congress has set its sights on cutting what it perceives to be alarming rises in weapon costs. The head of the House Armed Services Committee is leading a campaign to force the U.S....
By William Matthews
U.S. Congress has set its sights on cutting what it perceives to be alarming rises in weapon costs. The head of the House Armed Services Committee is leading a campaign to force the U.S....
By William Matthews
Spec ops Marines
(December 2005)
The Marine Corps, for two decades the only service that was not part of U.S. Special Operations Command, plans to establish a SOCom unit to deploy alongside Navy SEALs, Army Special Forces...
By Christian Lowe
The Marine Corps, for two decades the only service that was not part of U.S. Special Operations Command, plans to establish a SOCom unit to deploy alongside Navy SEALs, Army Special Forces...
By Christian Lowe
Finesse trumps firepower
(December 2005)
It is sometimes said of Americans that they have high hopes for the future and little sense of the past. When you look at what long memories have done for places like Iraq, maybe that...
By Loren Thompson
It is sometimes said of Americans that they have high hopes for the future and little sense of the past. When you look at what long memories have done for places like Iraq, maybe that...
By Loren Thompson
The Air Force’s ‘Big Five’
(December 2005)
During the Reagan military buildup of the 1980s, the Army made impressive progress in its modernization efforts by identifying its five most important new programs, and never missing an...
During the Reagan military buildup of the 1980s, the Army made impressive progress in its modernization efforts by identifying its five most important new programs, and never missing an...
The sleeping service
(December 2005)
If any service is out of sight and out of mind in our present wars, it’s the Navy. Even our Air Force, which has made almost every wrong decision it could, is more visible in our...
By Ralph Peters
If any service is out of sight and out of mind in our present wars, it’s the Navy. Even our Air Force, which has made almost every wrong decision it could, is more visible in our...
By Ralph Peters
Hearts & minds model?
(December 2005)
Last month AFJ took a look inside Provincial Reconstruction Teams in Afghanistan, and Vance Serchuk pronounced these joint civilian-military efforts to be a key to winning the hearts and...
By Robert Perito
Last month AFJ took a look inside Provincial Reconstruction Teams in Afghanistan, and Vance Serchuk pronounced these joint civilian-military efforts to be a key to winning the hearts and...
By Robert Perito
The War We’re Winning
(November 2005)
Even the New York Times, no friend to the Bush administration, has noticed “the Afghan difference.” After the recent legislative elections, the Times editorialists allowed that...
Even the New York Times, no friend to the Bush administration, has noticed “the Afghan difference.” After the recent legislative elections, the Times editorialists allowed that...
Afghans have voted for change, but it will come only if the U.S. stays the course
(November 2005)
Afghanistan is emerging from medieval chaos. The country is on the front end of creating an organized, law-based civil state. During a visit to Afghanistan in August, I saw dramatic,...
Gen. Barry R. McCaffrey, U.S. Army (ret.)
Afghanistan is emerging from medieval chaos. The country is on the front end of creating an organized, law-based civil state. During a visit to Afghanistan in August, I saw dramatic,...
Gen. Barry R. McCaffrey, U.S. Army (ret.)
The Taliban lost the war in Afghanistan, but still bedevils coalition efforts to establish security
(November 2005)
After the two Chinook helicopters descend from the cobalt sky and land amid a flurry of whirring rotors and flying grit, 48 figures emerge from their ramps.
By Sean D. Naylor
After the two Chinook helicopters descend from the cobalt sky and land amid a flurry of whirring rotors and flying grit, 48 figures emerge from their ramps.
By Sean D. Naylor
Innovative teams are building goodwill at the grass-roots level
(November 2005)
The front-line fighters in the battle for hearts and minds in Afghanistan are in the American and coalition Provincial Reconstruction Teams, or PRTs. In the classic counterinsurgency mold,...
By Vance Serchuk
The front-line fighters in the battle for hearts and minds in Afghanistan are in the American and coalition Provincial Reconstruction Teams, or PRTs. In the classic counterinsurgency mold,...
By Vance Serchuk
Success in Afghanistan means fighting several wars at once
(November 2005)
Why are we winning in Afghanistan? In the simplest terms, we’ve gotten the strategy reasonably right.
By Col. David Lamm
Why are we winning in Afghanistan? In the simplest terms, we’ve gotten the strategy reasonably right.
By Col. David Lamm
Weathering the storm
(November 2005)
When Hurricane Katrina slammed into the central coast along the Gulf of Mexico on Aug. 29, the storm struck a region that is home to some of the U.S. Navy’s most important...
By Christopher P. Cavas
When Hurricane Katrina slammed into the central coast along the Gulf of Mexico on Aug. 29, the storm struck a region that is home to some of the U.S. Navy’s most important...
By Christopher P. Cavas
Surface ship, submarine missions are coalescing
(November 2005)
The Navy is at a crossroads of great consequence. It faces decisions that will shape ship-based war-fighting requirements for the next century. In an era of reduced blue-water...
By Cmdr. John Perkins
The Navy is at a crossroads of great consequence. It faces decisions that will shape ship-based war-fighting requirements for the next century. In an era of reduced blue-water...
By Cmdr. John Perkins
Friend or foe?
(November 2005)
The remarkable economic growth of the People’s Republic of China during the past two decades, combined with its geopolitical clout and increasing military power, has made Beijing the...
The remarkable economic growth of the People’s Republic of China during the past two decades, combined with its geopolitical clout and increasing military power, has made Beijing the...
China’s grand strategy is to make war while avoiding a battle
(November 2005)
China’s impact on world affairs is growing and poised to grow further in coming decades. Whether the People’s Republic continues to prosper and maintain a strong measure of...
By Laurent Murawiec
China’s impact on world affairs is growing and poised to grow further in coming decades. Whether the People’s Republic continues to prosper and maintain a strong measure of...
By Laurent Murawiec
The Taiwan problem
(November 2005)
China’s military, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), is in the midst of a remarkable modernization of its naval, air and ballistic missile forces. Although facing no imminent...
By U.S. Navy Rear Adm. (ret.) Eric A. McVadon
China’s military, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), is in the midst of a remarkable modernization of its naval, air and ballistic missile forces. Although facing no imminent...
By U.S. Navy Rear Adm. (ret.) Eric A. McVadon
China plans to control space and win the coming information war
(November 2005)
The engine of the ongoing Sino-Russian “strategic partnership” remains unchanged: countering U.S. superiority in the development and employment of ever-emerging weaponry,...
By Mary C. FitzGerald
The engine of the ongoing Sino-Russian “strategic partnership” remains unchanged: countering U.S. superiority in the development and employment of ever-emerging weaponry,...
By Mary C. FitzGerald
DoctrineDebate
KILLEBREW Why doctrine matters and how to fix it 16
JOIN THE DEBATE
Take part in discussions about the articles in the current issue of Armed Forces Journal, or other defense-related topics, in AFJ Forums.
Mine blindness
Posted 7/2/2008 by Administrator
Posted 7/2/2008 by Administrator
An irregular challenge
Posted 7/2/2008 by Administrator
Posted 7/2/2008 by Administrator