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| February 3, 2010 |
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No Surprise in the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (Opinion)
Some have remarked that the cost overruns, management screw-ups, performance failures and schedule delays on the F-35 were surprises, unexpected or unanticipated. This would be the case only if you are new to defense as an issue, willing to mindlessly follow empty-headed conventional wisdom as it wriggles its way through the corridors of power in Washington, or wake up each morning believing in the tooth fairy. Friend and military reform colleague Chuck Spinney explains and documents his more than decade-old prediction from the past of what is now happening in the F-35 program. Needless to say, all of Washington's national security elite ignored Chuck's predictions back then, just as they will hope to ignore his reminder and his broader lesson today.
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| February 2, 2010 |
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Latest Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD) System Test (Reports)
In a test on Sunday afternoon, Jan. 31, 2010, of the Ground-based Midcourse Defense system (GMD), the missile defense system with interceptors based in Alaska and California, the interceptor failed to hit its target. According to a posting on its Vandenberg Air Force Base Web site, the U.S. Air Force reported that both the target and the interceptor seemed to launch properly, but the Sea-based X-band radar (SBX) did not perform as expected.
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| February 1, 2010 |
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The Pentagon's "New" Budget (Opinion)
Enough has leaked regarding the Pentagon's "new" 2011 budget and the recent Quadrennial Defense Review to understand their basic character and many details, explains CDI's Straus Military Reform Project Director Winslow Wheeler. In advance of the official release of these documents on Monday, Wheeler has written up his findings and conclusions.
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| January 15, 2010 |
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Just What We Need: More Pentagon Spending (Opinion)
The recent news that President Obama wants more Pentagon spending, ostensibly to pay for the 30,000 U.S. troops and Marines to go to Afghanistan, should not make us feel more secure, explains CDI's Straus Military Reform Project Director Winslow Wheeler.
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| January 11, 2010 |
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Is Accountability Expendable? (Opinion)
Some seem to think so. They have for years. Earlier this week, we observed another painfully obvious example as the so-called intelligence community squirmed under the glare of a public all agog over its incompetence. The solution is to fire those responsible for the latest debacle, explains Straus Military Reform Project Director Winslow Wheeler in The Huffington Post.
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| September 30, 2009 |
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Obama's New Approach to Missile Defense in Europe (Analysis)
The Obama administration's recently announced "Phased, Adaptive Approach" to missile defense in Europe will strengthen ties with European allies and will provide for better security, explains CDI Research Assistant Jenny Shin.
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| June 5, 2009 |
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Pentagon Officials Point Out Flaws in Missile Defense Programs (Analysis)
Recent statements by Pentagon officials point out flaws in the technical and operational concepts of missile defense programs that have been cut in the Fiscal Year 2010 missile defense budget request. Their statements should provide a realistic look at the current and future state of the ballistic missile defense system, explains CDI Research Assistant Jenny Shin.
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| November 4, 2008 |
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The Other Meltdown: Little to Show for Huge Defense Budgets (Opinion)
The financial and economic collapse, our deeply flawed healthcare system, the gridlock in Washington, two long wars not going well, and long-term, fundamental problems with energy and Social Security do not complete the list of raging crises the new president must face. Add the ever expanding cost of America's shrinking, aging, less ready military forces, now approaching the meltdown stage. The nature of the problems our defenses face and the basic nature of some possible real solutions are outlined in a commentary Winslow Wheeler wrote for the Nov. 3, 2008 issue of Defense News.
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| October 29, 2008 |
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Space Security Update #7: Oct. 10, 2008 (Briefing)
No Separate Command For AFCYBER • It’s Official: Galileo Can Have Military Users • U.S. Seeking Out Cyber Warriors • Fourth SBIRS Satellite to be Bought • Israel Hoping for Commercial Funding for Its Milsat Programs • TSAT Delayed, Again • SpaceX’s Falcon I Goes Into Orbit • Chinese Astronauts Successfully Perform Spacewalk • Cuba and Venezuela May Join GLONASS • U.S. in Need of Official Space Strategy • India’s Space Program Blasting Off • DoD Decides to Acquire Two Commercial-Class Spy Satellites • Future of the New Cyber Command Uncertain • Leery of the Millennials?
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| September 18, 2008 |
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It's Not Just the Bases - or the Nukes
(Opinion)
A series of commentaries is being sponsored on the Mother Jones website about the sprawl of American military bases around the world and the implications. Straus Military Reform Project Director Winslow Wheeler contributed to this series with a piece entitled "It's Not Just the Bases - or the Nukes."
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| September 16, 2008 |
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Ask McCain and Obama about Missile Defense (Opinion)
Since President Reagan’s famous “Star Wars” speech in 1983, the U.S. has spent at least $120 billion, $110 billion just since 2003, on missile defense, making it the most expensive defense procurement program in history. Philip Coyle, Senior Advisor for Center for Defense Information, analyzes the future of the U.S. missile defense program, particularly in light of the 2008 presidential elections.
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| August 29, 2008 |
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Countdown to Air Force Cyber Command Stopped (Analysis)
Air Force Cyber Command (AFCYBER) was intended to become operational Oct. 1, 2008, but the launch of this controversial command has been halted. The Air Force's new leadership has wisely decided to evaluate the command's mission, capabilities and size to be sure that if continued, it will be a reasonable and legitimate command. Although all efforts related to AFCYBER have been suspended, many Air Force officials are confident the command will continue. The Air Force's new Chief of Staff along with the Joint Chiefs of Staff should have a decision on AFCYBER this month. CDI Research Assistant Chelsea Dilley analyzes this recent halt in Air Force Cyber Command development.
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