Tag Archives: national security

State of unreadiness

by on Wednesday, April 17, 2013 at 3:16 PM | 2 Comments
Not shooting blanks yet, but...

Not shooting blanks yet, but…

My colleague Timothy Whiteman highlighted last Thursday the number of Air Force squadrons that will have to cease training later this year because the Air Force doesn’t have funds for the flying hours.  This is real, and it is astounding.  It will mean that, at a certain point in the near future – as early as this fall, if no additional funds become available – the cost of mounting an operation big enough to eliminate Iran’s nuclear weapons-related installations is likely to be too high. Continue reading →

The Shakiest Nukes in the West

by on Wednesday, March 20, 2013 at 5:16 PM | Comment
Deterrence.

Deterrence.

“Listen up, yo: I’m deterring you now”

In case everyone in Northeast Asia missed it, in spite of their intelligence and early-warning networks which have assuredly been tracking it in fine detail, the Obama Defense Department announced on Monday that the U.S. has been deterring North Korea by sending B-52 bombers on practice runs in its vicinity.  The specter of nuclear deterrence was clarified by Deputy Secretary Ashton Carter: Continue reading →

Missile defense mash-up: Reagan’s vision derailed

by on Monday, March 18, 2013 at 12:48 PM | Comment
Russian Topol-M ICBM on display in Moscow

Russian Topol-M ICBM on display in Moscow

If you went strictly by the MSM reporting on the Defense Department’s recent announcement about missile defense, the thought in your head would be “we’re deploying more interceptor missiles because of North Korea.”

The “North Korea” deployment

What’s probably not in your head is the auxiliary details.  DOD has requested that funding for the additional deployments Continue reading →

Russian bombers do Guam

by on Sunday, February 17, 2013 at 10:21 PM | 1 Comment
USAF F-15C escorts a Tu-95 Bear H near Alaska in 2006 (USAF photo)

USAF F-15C escorts a Tu-95 Bear H near Alaska in 2006 (USAF photo)

The Washington Free Beacon reports that the Russian Tu-95 “Bear” bomber aircraft operated near Guam on 12 February, a few hours before President Obama’s SOTU address.

A few things about this.

1. It’s not the first time the Russians have timed bomber flights to coincide with Obama events. As early as February 2009, Russian bombers buzzed Canada hours before Obama’s first visit there to confer with Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

Continue reading →

Poll finds Obama no better than Bush on balancing security vs. civil liberties

by on Wednesday, February 13, 2013 at 9:22 AM | Comment

A newly released poll commissioned by The Hill finds that Barack Obama is either worse or no better than his immediate predecessor, George W. Bush, at balancing national security against civil liberties:

Thirty-seven percent of voters argue that Obama has been worse than Bush while 15 percent say he has been ‘about the same.’

Continue reading →

It's a trifecta!

by on Wednesday, January 9, 2013 at 8:23 AM | Comment

KerryTo all right wing-nut conspiracy freaks: you have just been proved completely and utterly wrong. President Barack Obama has nominated, for three national security cabinet positions, not long-time, semi-known ideologues from the far left fever swamps, but…well-known national figures with dozens of years of experience under their belts.

Continue reading →

Is the TSA on its way out? We can only hope

by on Monday, December 3, 2012 at 9:15 AM | Comment

I don’t agree with most of what is published on Huffington Post, but it does happen. This piece from Friday is one example of a piece I hope is right on:

If you don’t believe the TSA is doomed after watching Thursday’s House Aviation Subcommittee hearing, then you’ll have to at least agree that the agency as we know it can’t continue to exist as it does.

Continue reading →