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Erdogan Denounces U.S. Position on the PYD
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s exceptionally harsh comments directed at the United States on February 10 for its links with the Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) have brought to the surface simmering tensions in the relationship because of the Syrian crisis.
The European Reassurance Initiative
The president’s FY 2017 budget proposes to quadruple funding for the European Reassurance Initiative (ERI) to $3.4 billion, up from $789 million in FY 2016. The request represents a significant reinvestment in the U.S. military presence in Europe after decades of gradual withdrawal.
Defense versus Mandatory Spending: What Drives the Burden on the Budget and Economy?
There is a mild irony in the fact that the New Hampshire primary will occur on the same day that the Department of Defense issues its new FY2017 defense budget briefing.
PacNet #14R - Response to PacNet #14 “The Japan-Korea comfort women deal: this is only the beginning”
I concur with most of the points in “The Japan-Korea comfort women deal: this is only the beginning” by Scott Snyder and Brad Glosserman. Let me add several points to clarify this complex issue.
North Korea’s February 2016 Satellite Launch
Q1: What did North Korea launch?
PacNet #16 - North Korea missile launch: what comes next?
A month and a day after conducting its fourth nuclear test, North Korea launched a multi-stage rocket carrying a 440-pound satellite. The launch of the Taepodong missile defied a United Nations ban, once again placing North Korea in direct defiance of international norms.
The Absence of Consensus
- The latest missile test this weekend (February 7) indicates DPRK fluency with long-range missile launch technology -- they know how to put a payload into orbit. Unclear is whether they can accurately guide a warhead back through the atmosphere to a target thousands of miles away.
The Changing Patterns of Arms Imports in the Middle East and North Africa
Now Comes the Hard Part: Five Priorities in the Continuing Fight against Boko Haram
Boko Haram militants launched a brutal assault on three villages just outside of the Borno State capital of Maiduguri on Saturday, fire-bombing houses, detonating improvised explosives and suicide vests, and leaving an estimated 85 to 100 people dead. Assailants reportedly seized food and livestock before torching the villages of Dalori, Walori, and Kofa.
Leadership Changes and Upcoming Obama Visit Give U.S. New Opportunities in Laos
Leadership changes announced at a recently completed congress of the ruling Lao People’s Revolutionary Party and President Barack Obama’s planned visit to Vientiane in September, the first ever to Laos by a sitting U.S.
Issues and Insights Vol. 16, No. 2 - Next Steps for Nuclear Security Governance in the Asia Pacific
The Pacific Forum CSIS, in partnership with the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS) and with the support of the Carnegie Corporation of New York, held a Nuclear Energy Experts Group (NEEG) meeting in Singapore, Singapore on October 15-16, 2015. It brought together 34 specialists from 15 countries in the Asia-Pacific and beyond, all attending in their private capacities.
PacNet #10A-R - Response to PacNet #10A “What is North Korea up to with its fourth nuclear test?”
James Przystup (Przystupj@ndu.edu) is a Senior Fellow at the National Defense University Institute for National Security Studies (INSS).
Evaluating Future U.S. Army Force Posture in Europe
This report offers a reexamination of U.S. Army force posture in Europe amid heightened tensions between the United States and Russia over the geopolitical orientation of Ukraine. This study reviews Russian military capabilities; considers alternative U.S.
PacNet #15 - The threat to China’s security isn’t THAAD, it’s North Korea
The Human Cost of War in the Middle East: A Graphic Overview
War is always a tragedy in human terms, but the four wars in the Middle East have raised the level of that tragedy to truly massive proportions. These costs are summarized in detail in a new analysis by the Burke Chair at CSIS entitled The Human Cost of War in the Middle East: A Graphic Overview.
PacNet #13R - Response to PacNet #13 “Here we go again!”
Winston Lord served as president of the Council on Foreign relations, US ambassador to China, and assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific Affairs. He responded via the Nelson Report, which had kindly reprinted PacNet #13.
PacNet #14 - The Japan-Korea comfort women deal: this is only the beginning
The cycle of negativity surrounding Japan-South Korea relations since the Abe-Park era began in early 2013 has at times eclipsed North Korea as a source of angst among observers of Northeast Asia.
Creeping Incrementalism: U.S. Forces and Strategy in Iraq and Syria from 2011 to 2016: An Update
Please note: This commentary has been updated to reflect a new briefing by a Department of Defense spokesman.
New Tools for Collaboration
The Intelligence Community does not lag far behind the private sector in using collaborative tools; indeed, it has developed an impressive array.