LyrArc Article Gist
Shigeru Ishiba was reappointed LDP party secretary-general in Japan. Ishiba served three terms as defence minister, is popular with the rank and file and the public. He has a good grasp of security issues. He will be the No. 2 person in the cabinet after prime minister Shinzo Abe. Ishiba was the first LDP official to give a specific trading range for the yen by publicly calling for a range of 85 to 90 yen to the dollar. The yen closed at about 85 yen to the dollar on Dec. 25, 2012. Two women join Ishiba and Abe in the leadership positions. Seiko Noda is now chairwoman of the party general council. And six term parliamentarian Sanae Takaichi is policy chief for the LDP.

LyrArc Article Gist
A U.S. Navy destroyer travels within 12 nautical miles of the Spratly Islands on October 26, 2015. The Spratly islands are reefs that are submerged under high tides and only recently turned into islands through land reclamation by China. Under international law all nations can uses the seas near the reefs as opposed to rock. The U.S. wants to keep the sea lanes open for all countries. The Spratly Island reefs are located in the shipping lanes near Vietnam and Indonesia in the South China Sea, a great distance from the Chinese mainland. U.S. Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter made it his top priority when he took this position in 2015 to assert the freedom of navigation in the South China Sea. The action was taken after the Xi Jinping visit to the U.S. to tackle this issue without affecting bilateral economic and global cooperation relations with China.

LyrArc Article Gist
Former Defense Secretary Leon Panetta's "Worthy Fights" provides a better perspective on the Syria-Iraq conflict- about a conflict in Syria that was the result of president Obama not acting when a "red line" of the use of chemical weapons was crossed. A similiar point is made by U.S. Secretary of State Clinton. Both advisors to Obama were ignored in favor of Mr. Donilon and other White House adviosrs who lacked the experience of Panetta and Clinton. On the Iraq conflict Maliki's misguided sectarian policies were not sufficiently constrained by U.S. effort to preserve earlier hard won gains under the Bush administration. At the end of the Bush administration Iraq was returning to a peaceful period and the war had largely been won against old Saddam loyalists in Anbar province. Ultimately Obama's lack of experience in foreign policy and his failure to heed the advice of people with that experience such as Panetta and Clinton, was the basis of the crisis inadvertently created in Syria by a tendency of inaction. The Syrian situation was not fully grasped as leaving Sunnis to suffer Assad regime air attacks creating 2 million refugees, something that should have prompted action by the international community. With Sarkozy gone in France and Cameron unable to convince the U.S. alone, or move forward with the French unilaterally, the inaction phenomenon of the Obama White House left the entire Sunni communty throughout the Middle East without any support as they watched the destruction in Syria. ...

LyrArc Article Gist
Gen. Matttis, the U.S. Defense Secretary has completed a strategy review on U.S. presence in Afghanistan. The U.S. policy is now set to put in more troops to support the additional 3900 American troops to advise the Afghan Army authorized in June 2017, as it fights both the Taliban and the Islamic State affiliate in Khorasan, Afghanistan. Two differences from the policy of the Obama administration are the increased focus on Pakistan's border with Afghanistan, the Haqqani network, and other related matters which are coming under increased review so that sanctuaries are shut down. Lt. Gen. McMaster, the national security advisor, headed the governance, anti corruption review in Afghanistan during the Obama administration. This is now the focus of the Trump administration- to ask the Afghan government for improvement in these areas in return for aid. Other changes are to secure the support levels of NATO countries in the effort, so that the U.S. is not shouldering the burden alone. Gordon, Schmitt and Haberman cite the report of Gen. Nicholson, head of the American forces in Afghanistan to the U.S. Congress. This report shows deterioration in the fight against the Taliban and Islamic State. As of Nov. 2016 the areas under Afghan government control dropped 15% to 57% since 2015. About 8,400 American troops are part of the 13,000 troop international force in Aghanistan, supporting the Afghan military. An addition 2,000 troops are in counterterrorism missions.   ...

LyrArc Article Gist
Jens Stoltenberg, Secretary General of NATO, says European nations are spending 2% of their combined GDP on defense spending in 2024. There are variations between EU and NATO members yet Europeans are already at 2% of combined GDP on defense spending. There is more defense spending that is happening beyond the 2% as the Ukraine war continues into 2024. Stoltenberg also said two thirds of this defense spending is going to US manufacturers and for manufacturing in the US as there was great demand for  American made Himars rocket launchers, Patriot missile systems, and for F35 jet fighters. The statements that the Europeans are not taking their defense seriously and that American jobs and American factories as part of defense infrastructure rebuilding are not part of the story no longer hold true.

LyrArc Article Gist
Rockwell Collins CEO, Clay Jones, talks to the Journal's David Kesmodel, about Rockwell's strategy as the U.S. Defense Department faces large cutbacks. Rockwell supplies the cockpit electronics on military aircraft. With the growth in sales of Boeing's 787 Dreamliner and Airbus's jumbo jet, Jones is shifting resources, capital investments and engineers to the commercial aircraft business. He tells Kesmodel that his No.1 problem is to position Rockwell in the international area to benefit from sales to India, Saudi Arabia, Brazil, Turkey, South Korea, Australia, countries which he says will have to build their own aircraft capabilities as the U.S. pulls back from overseas bases. He sees international sales going up from 33% to 40%. Only small acquisitions are planned, of between $50-100 million, as Rockwell prefers organic growth.

LyrArc Article Gist
Defense secretary Gates supports a big expansion of the Afghanistan forces b doubling the Afghan army from 65,000 to 134,000 between 2010 and 2014.

LyrArc Article Gist
US Navy is in trouble from slow shipbuilding and industry sent overseas like other industries. Note this about the USS Constellation being built in Wisconsin in 2025- After 2.5 years only 10 percent complete. Time to build of 9 years. An Italian shipyard does this in 4.5 years. Of 20 frigates being built in 10 countries of this type 19 are being built faster. Budgeted at $1.3 billion already cost overruns of $600 million cost tag now $1.9 billion. No wonder says the WSJ, no one in the world wants to build ships here. China now makes 50% of the world's ships, before that Japan and South Korea made 50% of the ships in the 1980's and before that the US in the 1950's. One of DJT's mandates- rebuild the American Navy. This means bringing shipbuilding like other industries back to the US where it belongs. Without the US Navy in good shape there is no defense. “Every shipbuilding delay, every maintenance backlog and every inefficiency is an opening for our adversaries to challenge our [naval] dominance." -John Phelan, DJT's nominee for Secretary of the Navy, to the Senate Armed Services Committee in Feb. 2025.   ...

LyrArc Article Gist
After a 90 minute meeting with Putin in Hangzhou, China, president Obama wonders aloud whether Putin " is willing to live with constant, low-grade conflict." Richard Haas of the Council of Foreign Relations, says its affirmative, that low grade conflict is Putin's thing. Other experts say Putin's intention is largely to build up his image at home at a time when the Russian economy is facing problems, and to create confusion through cyberattacks. In the case of cyber intrusions into voter rolls of Arizona and Illinois, FBI Director Comey says it  may be intended to just sow seeds of doubt on the whole election process."

LyrArc Article Gist
The Washington Post gives the green light to most of the nominees of DJT except Pete Hegseth at Defense, RFK Jr. at Health and Human Services, Tulsi Gabbard for National Intelligence, and Russell Vought for Office of Management and the Budget (OMB). RFK Jr has support for his stand on obesity and drug costs, if he convinces the Senate on vaccines. Jamieson Greer was Deputy Trade Representative under USTR Robert Lighthizer, Greer and Stephen Miran at Council of Economic Advisers give DJT the resources to create a level playing field for America in world trade, business and manufacturing at home, to reverse the lack of government support of three decades that destroyed much of American manufacturing. Elise Stefankik is a good choice of young Congresswoman from upstate NY who has potential to put America's position before the world.  Kristi Noem brings good experience at Homeland Security as 2 term governor of South Dakota, and experience in Congress. Dough Borghum is a two term governor of North Dakota and is a good choice for Interior Secretary. Tom Homan as Border Security Head complements Noem and Borghum as a Border Patrol Agent who has worked, the WSJ says, under 6 administrations including the Obama administration and is likely to combine immigration goals of DJT with realism. Homan would focus on getting immigration right so that the migration issue is resolved cutting out crime, illegal migration, and restoring the southern border.    ...

LyrArc Article Gist
This article describes the increasing cooperation between Finland, Sweden and Norway. Compatibility between Swedish forces has been improved to the point that a Swedish squadron can easily be integrated into a NATO led operation. This improves NATO capabilities in the Baltic region as Russia expands its military presence. Sweden is officially neutral, yet its values and security challenges are the same as that of the rest of Europe.

LyrArc Article Gist
Inherent conflicts between views of Reidel, Biden and other policy advisors such Richard Holbrooke, all wary of Hamid Karzai's government in Afghanistan and General McChrystal -whose experience in tactical strategy was his strong point, not an overall perspective that took into account factors outside US control such as the people, their history, recent history, the terrain, lack of viable government, neighboring Pakistan- spill out into the open. Holbrooke, the special ambassador to the South Asian region has serious differences over Karzai with ambassador to Kabul, Eikenberrry, and with Jones, National Security Advisor. Eikenberry has his own differences with Karzai. See the group "Eikenberry Cables," which provides his cable reports from Afghanistan which talk about Karzai, the Afghan military, and the prospects there, in bleak terms. The same Eikenberry is shown here telling Jones that Holbrooke's chilled relations with Karzai are not helping, and Jones assuring Eikenberry that Holbrooke is on the way out. Followed by Secretary of State Clinton supporting Hilbrooke by talking to Obama. See also the group "April 2010 Biannual Defense Departmet Report on Afghanistan," which shows that of 92 districts surveyed none supported the Karzai government, somethig that must cause policy team members to pause and think....

LyrArc Article Gist
The prospects for direct U.S. talks with the Taliban after the planned opening of a Taliban office in Qatar. The preliminary efforts were started by U.S. special envoy for S. Asia, Richard Holbrooke. Holbrooke died in 2010, and his successor, Marc Grossman, a former ambassador to Turkey, has continued the efforts as senior representative to Afghanistan and Pakistan. Grossman now has a team of officials from the Defense Department, the State Department and Intelligence agencies working with him. After a decade of war, a shift in public opinion in the U.S. to domestic issues, and a withdrawal date by the international forces set for 2014, the time appears right for the negotiations that would end this war. Grossman has the backing of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in this push for a negotiated settlement with the Taliban. The recent deterioration of U.S. relations in Pakistan to a breaking point, the complex relationship between the Taliban and the Pakistan military, the growing unpopularity of the U.S. in Pakistan, the meaningless struggle with a Taliban with intrinsic links in the Pakistan military, and the fragility of the elected government in the country are other factors that may be leading the U.S. government to look at the bigger picture and grasp any opportunities towards a negotiated settlement. ...