Now for the Hard Part: From Iraq to Afghanistan

Posted by Matt in July 16th, 2008 | 2 comments

Published in Military, U.S., Afghanistan, Barack Obama, Brigades, Bush Administration, Careful Consideration, Casualties, Democratic Party, Haste, Inauguration Day, iraq, John Mccain, Left Wing, Many Dimensions, Number Of Troops In Iraq, Obsessions, Political Dimension, Position Papers, Posture, Rapid Withdrawal, Sen John Mccain, Single Most Important Aspect, Troops In Iraq

The Bush administration let it be known last week that it is prepared to start reducing the number of troops in Iraq, indicating that three brigades out of 15 might be withdrawn before Inauguration Day in 2009. There are many dimensions to the announcements, some political and some strategic. But perhaps the single most important [...]

France’s Strategic Posture: The Temptation of Forward Defense

Posted by Matt in June 12th, 2008 | no comment

Published in Europe, Military, Conflict, Cooperation With Russia, Defense Ministry, Deterioration, France, Military Capacity, NATO, Posture, Priority, Temptation, Uncertainty, united_nations

Others were driven by the uncertainty of the future. The posture Russia chooses to adopt in its efforts to reclaim its former status, in particular, was mentioned as cause for concern. The deterioration of Russian military capacity and the unlikelihood of a direct conflict make it more of a destabilizing factor than a threat. Nevertheless, [...]

Russian nuclear forces, 2008

Posted by Matt in May 28th, 2008 | no comment

Published in Russia, Air Defenses, arsenal, Arsenal World, Dismantlement, Exercises, Icbm, Launches, Missile Test, moscow, Nuclear Forces, Nuclear Warheads, Nuclear Weapon, Nuclear Weapons, Operational Stockpile, Posture, Resurgence, Russia, Russian Nuclear Forces, Security Posture, Ss, Topol

Russia reduced its total nuclear weapon stockpile by about 1,000 warheads during the last year; however, it still has the largest arsenal in the world. As of early 2008, we estimate that Russia has approximately 5,200 nuclear warheads in its operational stockpile and 8,800 in reserve or awaiting dismantlement, for a total of 14,000 nuclear [...]

China boosts Jiangxi air defense

Posted by Matt in May 16th, 2008 | no comment

Published in China, Military, Air China, Army Air Force, Battalions, China Air, China People, Defense Capabilities, Defense Coverage, Defense Posture, Fujian, Jiangxi, Launch, Liberation Army, Nanchang, Northern Suburbs, Operational Deployment, Posture, Surface To Air, Surface To Air Missiles, Taiwan

China’s air force has substantially reinforced its air defense posture in Jiangxi province in the past year. There are indications that China has completed its second-line air defense operational deployment against Taiwan centered on Fujian and Jiangxi provinces. This has greatly expanded the depth of China’s air defense coverage.
The People’s Liberation Army Air Force has [...]

Taiwan: China taking more aggressive stance, MND report shows

Posted by Matt in May 16th, 2008 | no comment

Published in China, Taiwan, Aggressive Posture, Aggressive Stance, Annual Report, China, China Taiwan, China War, Chinese Fighters, Fas, Fighter Plane, Nuclear War, Posture, Quemoy, Report Said That, Security Project, Sixty Years, Strategic Security, Taiwan China, Taiwan Crisis, Taiwan Strait, War Over Taiwan

China has been steadily stepping up fighter plane patrols in the Taiwan Strait, according to the Ministry of National Defense?? (MND) annual national defense report released yesterday.
The report said that while Chinese fighters patrolling the Strait made about 400 sorties per year before 1998, there were 1,500 sorties in 2001 and 1,700 in 2005.
The figures [...]

Russian Nuclear Missile Submarine Patrols Decrease Again

Posted by Matt in April 28th, 2008 | no comment

Published in Military, Russia, Ballistic Missiles, Bulletin Of The Atomic Scientists, Cold-War, Decline, Deterrence, Nuclear Missile Submarine, Nuclear Notebook, Nuclear Weapon, Posture, Russia, Russian Nuclear Missile, Russian Patrol, Ssbn, Submarine Patrols, submarines, Three Times

The number of deterrence patrols conducted by Russia’s 11 nuclear-powered ballistic missiles submarines (SSBNs) decreased to only three in 2007 from five in 2006, according to our latest Nuclear Notebook published in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists.
In comparison, U.S. SSBNs conducted 54 patrols in 2007, more than three times as many as all the [...]