China Strives to Join the Big League

Unraveling Iraq: Why, and What Now

* Anthony Cordesman from the CSIS think tank couches in strong terms the case that al Qaeda’s resurgence in Iraq is largely the result of Prime Minister Maliki’s violent, corrupt and sectarian attempts to consolidate power. * Ted Galen Carpenter from the...
China Strives to Join the Big League

Pacific Pivot: What Can the US Really Afford While Japan and Taiwan Keep Small Budgets

* T. X. Hammes, a research fellow at the US National Defense University, asks in the National Interest: “[T]he discussion of military strategy [in response to Chinese expansionism] should force the deeper and more important discussion of whether or not the...
China Strives to Join the Big League

Gates without Gatekeepers: Just Read His Book!

What Else Would You Expect * Former US Defense Secretary Robert Gates’ memoir has been the talk of the town this week. John Dickerson argues in Slate that the Washington commentariat has been guilty of selective quoting and spin, whereas Gates’ actual...