Author Archives: Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D
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Remembering George Washington’s Advice About How To Avoid Wars (From Forbes)
June 30, 2015- Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D As the nation’s birthday of July 4th approaches, America is awash in foreign commitments that might lead to war — in Eastern Europe, in the Middle East, in the Western Pacific. One patriot who was present at the creation, George [Read More...] -
How Much Does The Pentagon Spend On Weapons? Less Than You Think. (From Forbes)
June 26, 2015- Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D There’s a big debate going on in Congress about how to fix the way the Pentagon buys weapons. However, many legislators don’t seem to know how much the nation actually spends on military gear. Less than it spends on beer [Read More...] -
Top Job For Boeing’s Hyper-Competitive New CEO: Shoring Up Defense Business (From Forbes)
June 24, 2015- Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D Tuesday’s announcement that Dennis A. Muilenburg will become the 10th CEO in Boeing’s 99-year history did not come as a big surprise to insiders, but it still will set a different tone for the world’s biggest aerospace company. For starters, [Read More...] -
Watchdog Agency Warns Of “Weaknesses” In Nuclear War Command Links (From Forbes)
June 22, 2015- Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D U.S. nuclear strategy depends on the threat of retaliation to deter aggression. However, effective deterrence requires more than having an arsenal of bombers and missiles that can target potential attackers. It also requires being able to detect an attack promptly, [Read More...] -
The Marines Desperately Need A New Ship-To-Shore Fighting Vehicle (From Forbes)
June 18, 2015- Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D The U.S. Marine Corps is the world’s premier naval expeditionary force. But getting from ship to shore is a tricky task even when enemies aren’t shooting at you, and the Marines have to assume that in future wars they will [Read More...] -
Crazy Crusade To Kill Ex-Im Bank Hurts America, Helps China (From Forbes)
June 12, 2015- Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D If you want to understand why the economic recovery has been so anemic, look at America’s trade deficit. It’s so huge it shaved a full percentage point off economic growth last year, and the impact was even greater during the [Read More...] -
SBIRS: The Pentagon’s Most Important Space Program For Preventing Nuclear War (From Forbes)
June 8, 2015- Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D The United States lacks defenses against a large-scale nuclear attack. Instead, it depends on the threat of retaliation to deter aggression. But deterrence can’t work unless U.S. command authorities have timely warning that an attack is under way. The Space [Read More...] -
Air Force Acquisition Has Become A Hotbed Of Innovation (From Forbes)
June 5, 2015- Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D The new millennium has not been a good time for the Air Force’s acquisition community. Lack of funding, doubts about requirements, and a contracting scandal have made it hard to execute a balanced modernization program. However, a new generation of [Read More...] -
How Export Controls Can Hurt National Security (From Forbes)
June 2, 2015- Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D The federal government regulates the export of items with potential military uses to assure they do not fall into the hands of America’s enemies. The Obama Administration recognized early in its tenure that the export-control regime had become outdated, and [Read More...] -
Failed State: Five Reasons Iraq Can’t Be Fixed (From Forbes)
May 29, 2015- Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D Over the course of its 8,000-year history, the area we now call Iraq has played host to at least a dozen major civilizations — some indigenous, some imposed from afar. Knowing so many empires have come and gone there, U.S. [Read More...]