Drones

Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan poses challenge for Obama

By Paul Richter, the Los Angeles Times

Why the future of air power belongs to unmanned systems

By the Economist

From the Economist:  American officers, with their passion for acronyms, prefer not to call the machine that killed al-Awlaki a drone. They have a point. In nature, drone bees are poor, useless things that produce no honey and have no sting.

Panetta outlines key concerns to be addressed at NATO’s Chicago Summit

By Leon Panetta, U.S. Department of Defense

From Leon Panetta, U.S. Department of Defense:  These are the concerns that we must work together to address as we look towards the NATO Summit next May in Chicago.  Ideally, we will be able to halt additional cuts in defense or at a minimum keep defense spending at current levels.

Panetta: Achieving fiscal and national security “will test the very future of leadership throughout NATO”

By Leon Panetta, U.S. Department of Defense

From Leon Panetta, U.S. Department of Defense:  We are nearing the end of a successful campaign in Libya, and are closer than ever to achieving our shared goals in Afghanistan.  But there is no doubt that this is also a time of challenge to the alliance. 

Obama urges Erdogan to resolve Turkey’s problems with Israel

By Matt Spetalnick and Laura MacInnis, Reuters

Turkey announces site for NATO missile defense radar

By Selcan Hacaoglu, the AP

U.S. considering Ankara’s request to base Predators in Turkey

By Craig Whitlock, the Washington Post

From Craig Whitlock, the Washington Post:  The Obama administration is considering a request from Turkey to base a fleet of Predator drones on Turkish soil for counterterrorism operations in northern Iraq, a decision that could strengthen a diplomatic alliance but drag the United States deeper into a regional conflict.

SecGen says NATO must address weaknesses exposed by Libya

By David Brunnstrom, Reuters

From David Brunnstrom, Reuters:  NATO may have managed to do its job in Libya but the operation there has exposed weaknesses in capabilities of non-U.S. allies that need to be addressed, the head of NATO said on Monday.

White House relabels foreign policy from “leading from behind” to “rebalance burden-sharing”

By David Ignatius, the Washington Post

From David Ignatius, the Washington Post:  Tom Donilon, Obama’s national security adviser, argues that this isn’t an accident — and that the president deserves more credit for accomplishing the goals he set in 2009.