Author Archives: Daniel Gouré, Ph.D.
Don’t Worry. Eventually We Will Do The Right Thing In Libya Critics and supporters of U.S. actions regarding Libya agree on one thing: the Obama Administration’s rhetoric does not match its actions. There is a general concern that the current approach will be sufficient only to get the U.S. bogged down [Read More...]
Applying The Principle Of Coalition Building In U.S. Defense Procurement A central principle of the emergent Obama Doctrine appears to be limiting the role of the United States. In the current Libyan campaign the President sought to downplay his personal role, letting French President Nicolas Sarkozy take center stage. French [Read More...]
Libyan Operation Shows Need For Marine Version Of F-35 The coalition air operation against Muammar Ghadaffi has demonstrated the enormous capacity of the U.S. military. Precision weapons took out Ghadaffi’s surface-to-air missile sites and aircraft shelters. E/A-18G Growlers jammed Libyan electronics. F-15s and F-16s conducted both counter-air and surface-attack [Read More...]
Handing What Over To Whom, Why And To What End In Libya As I understand it, the thrust of the White House plan for the Libyan intervention is to provide an initial intense “blast” of U.S. military power and then fade into the background while our allies take on the remaining effort. [Read More...]
GAO Assessment Of F-35 Is Old News The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program is the keystone to the future U.S. tactical aircraft fleet. For this reason and because the program has had some challenges, any time an institution as influential as the Government Accountability Office (GAO) warns [Read More...]
Missile Defense Plans Rely On A True “System-of-Systems” Approach The administration’s current plan to deal with the growing threat from ballistic missiles is to develop missile defenses in four phases between now and 2020; each phase will have greater capability than its predecessor and will be deployed, it is [Read More...]
The Air Force Is Smart To Make Helicopter Procurement Competitive The Air Force is looking to buy a new fleet of utility helicopters to support its domestic operations. The Common Vertical Lift Support Platform (CVLSP) will replace the aging UH-1 Huey helicopters which are employed to inspect and protect ballistic [Read More...]
Navy/Marine Corps Reaffirm Commitment To F-35 The much maligned F-35 program recently received a vote of confidence from two of its three major constituencies, the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps. A revised interservice agreement between the two envisions the procurement of 680 F-35s. The Navy will [Read More...]
U.S. Army Needs To Better Protect Soldiers In Combat From Burns The U.S. Army has striven valiantly to respond to the needs of individual soldiers in the middle of two wars. The Army acquired tens of thousands of Mine Resistant, Ambush Protected (MRAP) and MRAP-All Terrain vehicles. It is adding a [Read More...]
Insecurity “Tsunamis” Could Wash Away U.S. Defense Plans Today’s earthquake in Japan and the resultant tsunami that swept across the Pacific stand as an immediate reminder of how swiftly unexpected events can change the circumstances for individuals, nations and entire regions of the globe. Although earthquakes cannot be [Read More...]