Robert Farley

The destruction (and subsequent reconstruction) of the Iraqi Army has been a boon to arms dealers. Similarly, the War on Terror has generated any number of new channels for arms sales, often from one shady country to another, all in the name of fighting terrorism. The shifting political climate has produced an uncertain legal environment, […]

Wingnuts are freaking out because of the “discovery” in Iraq of a supply of uranium that has been monitored and sealed by the IAEA since the 1980s. This “discovery” is supposed to have vindicated a variety of assertions regarding Iraq’s nuclear weapons program. Degroot and Mahablog have the rundown. It’s nice to know that Right […]

Apparently, one of the sticking points between SecDef Gates and the Air Force leadership involved a dispute over whether to deploy the F-22 to Iraq: The Air Force wanted to send the F-22 to the Middle East and Defense Secretary Robert Gates nixed the plans, citing the strategic danger from the deployment if it were […]

Matt writes: As you can perhaps tell from my dyspeptic response to some of our Ideas Festival sponsors’ efforts to brand themselves as “green,” (see also Boeing’s hilarious hand-crank powered flashlight) I don’t see the “corporate social responsibility” movement as having a ton of promise. I think large firms will more-or-less inevitably seek to maximize […]

Doug Muir has a couple of posts on the slow progress that Kosovo is making toward international recognition. So far, 43 states have recognized Kosovo, including eight of the fifteen current UN Security Council members, and three of the five permanent members. Some of the holdouts are predictable — countries like Russia, China, or Indonesia […]

I have to agree with Noah; the evidence for inter-service tension between the Army and the Air Force in this article is largely inferential. Shanker relates some anecdotes about Army frustration with the performance of the Air Force, notes that the Army is developing a UAV force, and concludes that the former must have brought […]

Last week, Hugo Chavez pressed for a new law on Venezuelan domestic intelligence: Mr. Chavez argues the law will help Venezuela guarantee its national security and prevent assassination plots and military rebellions. The new law requires Venezuelans to cooperate with intelligence agencies and secret police if requested. Refusal can result in up to four years […]

I’ve written a few times about the Iraqi Air Force’s security dilemma: It will be very difficult for the Iraq and the US to build an organization that can protect Iraq’s borders without simultaneously threatening Iraq’s neighbors (including Israel). As Pat Lang points out, Lebanon faces a similar problem: Amin Gemayel was not particularly forthcoming, […]

Noah at Danger Room has an excellent summary of the Air Force brass firing. In particular: The Air Force’s leadership has been on the brink of open conflict for months with Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England. That’s because in the halls of the Air Force’s chiefs, the talk has been […]

As is being reported everywhere,Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Michael Moseley and Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne have been asked to resign. The proximate cause appears to have been the mishandling of nuclear weapons last year, but it’s fair to say that’s only the tip of the iceberg; SecDef Gates has been extremely critical […]