05/20/2013
The Diplomat
The Chinese navy's surface forces are on the march. Destroyers, frigates, corvettes, fast-attack craft, and, most recently, the newly commissioned aircraft carrier comprise the surface fleet.
05/20/2013
The National Interest
One of the apparent subtexts in the contemporary debate over what the United States ought to be doing in Syria is the interest in relitigating the Iraq War. Thus, some of the arguments that are being advanced rely less on actual conditions on the ground in Syria and have just as much to do with justifying the stance taken on Iraq ten years ago.
05/15/2013
NPR
"Women have done wonderful jobs in the military in many things. I just don't think they are necessary in the infantry," says Mac Owens, who teaches at the Naval War College. He says having women in combat will also erode "unit cohesion." "Cohesion, I think, is based on mutual trust," he says. "Sexual tensions and things like that which are possible can undermine that cohesion."
05/15/2013
Harvard University Belfer Center
North Korea [Democratic People's Republic of Korea—DPRK] conducted its third nuclear weapons test on 12 February 2013 with a yield that most estimate was around 6 to 10 kilotons. The test came on the heels of a December 2012 missile launch that placed a satellite into orbit though reports soon indicated that the satellite was not functioning properly. Given North Korea's actions and apparent determination, any chance to achieve complete and verifiable denuclearization may be long gone.
05/15/2013
NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence
Professor Michael N. Schmitt, Professor Wolff Heintschel von Heinegg, Dr Louise Arimatsu and Professor Sean Watts received yesterday the honorary title of NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence’s Senior Fellow for their contribution to the legal projects undertaken by the Centre.
05/13/2013
Lawfare Blog
The article appears in 89 International Law Studies 362 (2013). (This is the famous “Blue Book” long published by the Naval War College; under the leadership of editor-in-chief Michael Schmitt, it is now moving to online publication, and I’m privileged to serve on the advisory board.)
05/12/2013
Toronto Star
In Syria, the red lines set long ago have now been crossed. And yet nothing changes, at least not in U.S. or Canadian policy, even as the slaughter continues. U.S. President Barack Obama’s administration continues to express “concern” (whatever that means), Secretary of State John Kerry is in Moscow asking the Russians to “co-operate” (whatever that means), and Canada’s Foreign Minister John Baird last week insisted that the answer in Syria lies with a “political solution” (whatever that means).
05/10/2013
World Politics Review
John Kerry undertook his maiden voyage to Moscow as U.S. secretary of state this week, and the initial impression is that his visit was a success. There was a perceptible thaw in what, over the past year, has been described as a much more contentious relationship.
05/09/2013
Jerusalem Post
“Bosnia tells Iranian spies to leave to no avail,” John Schindler, a US counter-terrorism expert, wrote in his blog on Tuesday. In his blog (The XX committee), Schindler wrote that the Glas Srpske daily, based in the city of Banja Lukam reported on Friday that the two Iranians – Hamzeh Dolab Ahmad and Jadidi Sohrab – were still in Bosnia.
05/08/2013
Lawfare Blog
We disagree strongly, though, with the proposal that the UN — and in particular the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights — play a lead role in developing a legal and ethical framework to regulate these systems globally. As we argue in our paper (and as US Naval War College professors Michael Schmitt and Jeffrey Thurnher have shown in doctrinal detail) existing law of armed conflict already provides a robust set of baseline requirements and standards.
05/08/2013
The Monterey Institute
The editors of The Nonproliferation Review selected Prof. David Cooper of the National Security Affairs Department as the feature author from their spring March 2013 issue to give a public lecture and discussion last month at the George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs.
05/08/2013
The Takeaway
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is visiting Moscow, in the hopes of reaching an agreement with Russia on how to move forward in Syria. Nikolas Gvosdev, National Security Affairs Professor at the U.S. Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island, discusses the meetings and its possible outcomes.
05/08/2013
The Diplomat
After a year-long hiatus, the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD)’s annual report on Chinese military developments is back and better than ever. Its 43-page 2012 predecessor was widely criticized for arriving far later than Congress requested and containing little substance or new data.