The ongoing federal government shutdown threatened to cancel San Francisco’s annual celebration of the United States military. But with the aid of international allies, Fleet Week prevailed. Over Italian Heritage Weekend, four military jet fleets and one commercial airline team roared across the Bay Area skies. Rather than the traditional parade of ships that grace […]
Tag: U.S. Military
The Case for Military Justice Reform
For eight years, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand of New York has introduced the same bill in the Senate: the Military Justice Improvement Act (MJIA). Despite the fact that this bill has failed year after year, Gillibrand’s bill has time and time again been cosponsored by the most unlikely of allies – Texas Senator Ted Cruz. Thus, […]
Confronting China: Restoring U.S. Military Hegemony in East Asia
Over the last decade, Americans of all political parties have been waking up to the threat posed by China. With rapidly growing military and economic might, China seems determined to further its own interests at the expense of the freedom, liberties, and sovereignty of neighboring countries and the liberal-democratic institutions which underpin the global order. […]
The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter: Government Waste or Areal Titan?
Over the last decade, the F-35 joint strike fighter has received a steady stream of bad press. Literally everything that could go wrong with the development of a new weapons system did, and there was seemingly no end to cost overruns, delays, failed technologies, crashed prototypes and more. As a result, critics point to the […]
Can the United States Defend Its Allies in East Asia?
Lately, tensions between the United States and China have been heating up. With a raging trade war, increasingly-scrutinized Chinese investments, Chinese companies banned from the United States and even talk of conflict, it is no wonder that many are starting to wonder if a new Cold War has begun. Nowhere in the world has this […]
The Ghost of Zheng He: China’s Naval Base in Djibouti
Six hundred years after the Ming Dynasty explorer Zheng He landed in Mombasa and brought back a giraffe, China’s trade presence in East Africa is very much alive. In recent years, China has been expanding a web of infrastructure projects across the African continent. Now, China is in the process of constructing a naval base […]
The Fate of Futenma
In a historic decision, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has accepted a court-mediated settlement to halt the construction of the American military base in Henoko. The victory for the local anti-base movement signals the first time in history that the federal government has sided against American military interests. However, given the back-and-forth nature of this […]
Are Cold War Politics at Play in the Closure of Manas Air Base?
Next fall will be a busy time of year for our dysfunctional government. Faced with the prospect of midterm elections for a Congress with some of the lowest approval ratings ever and the near complete withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan, our country’s bureaucrats will be hoping that nothing else will shake up the second […]