Security & Defense

White House confirms cyberattack

By Tim Mak, Politico

From Tim Mak, Politico:  The White House confirmed but sought to downplay a report by a conservative website on Sunday that it had been the victim of a cyberattack, volunteering to POLITICO that no harm had been done. The Washington Free Beacon reported that Chinese hackers had attacked a computer system in the White House […]

The US Needs to Discuss Implications of Iran War

By Fallon Hagel Hamilton Pickering and Zinni

War with Iran is not inevitable, but U.S. national security would be seriously threatened by a nuclear-armed Iran. Particularly given the recent speeches at the U.N. General Assembly, military action is being discussed intensely. Public discussion of military action, however, is often reduced to rhetoric and partisan politics. We propose a nonpartisan, reasoned debate about […]

Punching Above Their Weight

By Michael Hannan

The U.S. admires certain nations for their willingness to be involved in crises and contingency operations, but we rarely challenge them to lead. We must change this — by helping carefully selected nations to improve their ability to participate in and ultimately take charge of regional security efforts, and by championing them as fuller partners […]

Afghanistan and defense capabilities top agenda for upcoming meeting of NATO defense ministers

By Anders Fogh Rasmussen, NATO

From Anders Fogh Rasmussen, NATO:  Next week, NATO Defence ministers and our partners will meet here in Brussels. We will have two major items on our agenda. Firstly, our missions in Afghanistan and Kosovo, and secondly, our Defence capabilities.

Video: US cyber warrior accuses China of targeting Pentagon

By Jim Wolf, Reuters

Smart Defense Not a Trojan Horse

By Leo Michel

Is “smart defense”—NATO’s effort to promote greater cooperation among the allies in military capabilities and training— a “Trojan Horse” at the service of the “war machine of the American defense industry”?  That would appear to be the conviction of one French senator, according to his remarks before a few hundred parliamentarians, high-ranking officials, general officers, […]

Obama v. Romney: More Style than Substance

By Jeffrey Lightfoot

The 2012 US presidential campaign is decidedly not about foreign policy. For Governor Mitt Romney, the campaign is about convincing the American electorate that President Barack Obama has been a poor steward of the economy and should be replaced. For Obama the task is to convince voters that Romney is too out-of-touch with the American […]

HPSCI Chair Rogers: ‘U.S. Is Losing Cyber Espionage War’

By Colin Clark, AOL Defense

From Colin Clark, AOL Defense:  The United States is "losing the cyber espionage war" against China, Russia and other countries, but even in the face of such a grave threat the country cannot agree on how to protect its precious intellectual seed capital from these predations, the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee says.