Briefing Archive

The White House has reportedly ordered the Pentagon to reposition drones for possible retaliatory strikes in Libya — the latest evidence that drones are dislodging manned aircraft from the central role they have played in U.S. warfighting since World War II. After a decade of wars that have cost billions of dollars and claimed thousands of American lives, the American people overwhelmingly support this transition to an unmanned air force. After all, unmanned combat aerial vehicles (UCAVs) deliver a lethal punch at low economic cost, with zero risk to American personnel. That explains why 83 percent of the country approves […]

South Sudan has embarked on a program to transform the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA), the country’s preindependence guerrilla army, into a professional, conventional force by 2017. However, the success of this transformation strategy, referred to as Objective Force 2017, is contingent on a number of factors, including the absence of major conflict with Sudan, South Sudan’s ability to recover from the impact of this year’s austerity budget and the military’s ability to undertake a significant reduction in force. The precise size of the SPLA is not known, but is estimated to be as high as 210,000 soldiers. As Objective […]

During last week’s presidential debate on foreign policy, Republican nominee Mitt Romney missed an opportunity to criticize one aspect of President Barack Obama’s foreign policy that has gone largely unnoticed: the shift away from U.S. international radio broadcasting in favor of more high-tech media outlets. The dangers of the shift were underscored by a new law spearheaded by Russian President Vladimir Putin that will ban radio broadcasting in Russia starting Nov. 10 by companies that are more than 48 percent foreign-owned. Without protest, the American station Radio Liberty — Radio Svoboda in Russian — has decided to comply with the […]

Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard’s recent visit to New Delhi gave India-Australia relations a major boost. In a speech at the end of the trip, Gillard stressed the “compelling” need for a robust bilateral relationship and included India in a select group of countries that matter most for Australia. Security has been catapulted to the forefront of India-Australia relations. The two countries are planning to re-engage in a lapsed quadrilateral security dialogue, an idea initially mooted by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in 2007 with the U.S. as the fourth partner. The “arc of democracies,” as the association came to […]

Australia is officially seeking to shore up its role in the Asia-Pacific regional order, following the United States in pivoting toward a fuller embrace of Asia. A government strategy document released over the weekend, “Australia in the Asian Century,” sets out an all-encompassing plan for Australia to engage with and capitalize on relations with its Asian neighbors. Australia has ridden out the global financial crisis largely due China’s insatiable demand for natural resources. Future economic growth, however, will require broadening Australia’s export base. The government of Prime Minister Julia Gillard commissioned the white paper to start planning for a future […]