by Robert G. Gard Jr. (USA, Ret.) and Tom Andrews Published on the Huffington Post on December 1, 2008 The media obsession over who’s in and who’s out of consideration for the Obama Cabinet brings the admonition on the famous “War Room” wall of Bill Clinton’s 1992 presidential campaign to mind: “It’s the Economy Stupid!” […]
Obama and Clinton: More Agreement than Disagreement on Foreign Policy
by John Isaacs President-elect Barack Obama announced today that he will nominate Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY) to be Secretary of State. Selecting a former rival for the most prestigious of cabinet positions has unleashed a torrent of media coverage, most of which has focused on grossly exaggerated disagreements during the presidential campaign and behind-the-scenes political […]
How Comfortable is the U.S.-Iraq SOFA?
by John Isaacs by Travis Sharp CONCLUSIONS IN BRIEF The agreement represents a stunning reversal in policy for the Bush administration, which until now rejected any timeline for troop withdrawals. The Bush administration has fallen in line behind the policy of President-elect Barack Obama, who has proposed removing U.S. combat troops from Iraq within 16 […]
New Systems Boost Iraqi Surveillance Capability
by Travis Sharp Lynx II radar system’s electro-optical/infrared (EO/IR) output (General Atomics) While the election of Barack Obama heralds an impending change in U.S. policy toward Iraq, defense officials in Washington and Baghdad continue to focus on transforming the Iraqi military into a legitimate fighting force. Both the United States and Iraq seem to agree […]
Obering’s Missile Defense Exaggerations
by John Isaacs On November 12, Lt. General Henry Obering, head of the Missile Defense Agency (MDA), gave a press briefing where he wildly exaggerated the capabilities of U.S. missile defense systems. Gen. Obering: Our testing has shown not only can we hit a bullet with a bullet, we can hit a spot on the […]