Author Archives: Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D
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Cyberwars: Will The Pentagon’s Plan For Defeating Insider Attacks Work? (From Forbes)
March 31, 2014- Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D The Pentagon seems to be experiencing a resurgence in leaks of sensitive information comparable to the devastating disclosure of nuclear details to Russia that Manhattan Project insiders perpetrated. Like those Cold War traitors, people such as Bradley Manning and Edward [Read More...] -
Air Combat: Five Reasons Fifth-Gen Fighters Don’t Need Help From Jammer Planes (From Forbes)
March 28, 2014- Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D An arcane controversy has bubbled up in military circles about whether jamming aircraft will be needed in the future to support the combat operations of fifth-generation fighters like the F-35 Lightning II. The Air Force and Marine Corps apparently have [Read More...] -
Cybersecurity: The Pentagon Has A Plan For Dealing With Insider Threats, But Will It Work?
March 27, 2014- Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D There was a time not so long ago when federal cybersecurity efforts were focused mainly on keeping foreign agents out of U.S. networks. It turns out those were the good old days. More recently, vast damage has been caused to [Read More...] -
Obama Abroad: U.S. Political Trends Undermine Global Military Role (From Forbes)
March 24, 2014- Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D In the 40 years following American defeat in Vietnam, the nation’s two major political parties embraced distinctly different attitudes towards military power. The Democrats were all about fixing problems on the homefront, while the Republicans were much more about defending [Read More...] -
Why Sequestration Savings Are Largely An Illusion
March 21, 2014- Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D In the three years since it was signed into law, the Budget Control Act of 2011 has become a focus of continuous partisan controversy. That’s especially true of the provision in the law called “sequestration” that imposes caps on spending [Read More...] -
Ukraine Fallout: Putin Hands The Pentagon A Rationale For New Nuclear Weapons (From Forbes)
March 20, 2014- Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D Russian annexation of Crimea has provoked concern in Western capitals about what Moscow’s next moves might be. Dealing with Russia isn’t like dealing with most countries, because it has an extensive arsenal of nuclear weapons. So any hint of resurgent [Read More...] -
Ukraine Crisis: Poland’s Air Defenses Become A Pressing Concern For Washington (From Forbes)
March 17, 2014- Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D In a surprise twist for a program that has had more than its share of twists and turns, the Obama Administration last week decided to make the Medium Extended Air Defense System (MEADS) available to Poland — even though the [Read More...] -
Lockheed Martin Moves To Dominate Cyber Defense Of Electric Grid & Energy Complex (From Forbes)
March 14, 2014- Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D Defense contractor Lockheed Martin, the federal government’s biggest IT provider, did something unusual this week. For the first time ever, it purchased an outside cybersecurity firm rather than developing cyber skills internally. The name of the privately-held company is Industrial [Read More...] -
Ukraine Crisis: Six Reasons Why U.S. Use Of Military Forces Is Unthinkable (From Forbes)
March 13, 2014- Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D Ukraine’s interim leader was in Washington this week asking that America protect his nation’s territorial integrity — a move some hardline critics of President Obama seem inclined to support. However, any use of U.S. forces to influence events in Ukraine [Read More...] -
White House Budget Move Ties Defense Industry Fortunes To Obama Domestic Agenda (From Forbes)
March 11, 2014- Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D For three straight budget cycles, the Obama White House has strained to escape the strictures of the Budget Control Act aimed at limiting federal spending. Its big gambit for fiscal 2015 is something called the Opportunity, Growth and Security Initiative [Read More...]