Topic: Robert Gates

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North Korea abandons armistice: 4 key questions answered

Tensions on the Korean peninsula are ratcheting up. The US has started its annual war games with South Korean forces, and North Korea has used that fact to declare that it is invalidating the armistice agreement that ended the Korean War in 1953. What really has North Korea upset, though, is the tough, new sanctions passed by the United Nations in response to the North's nuclear test last month.Here are the top four questions analysts are wrestling with on the heels of these developments.
Pentagon budget: top 3 winners and losers

In Pentagon parlance, the word “cut” is a relative term. The Defense Department’s base budget decreases from $553 billion this year to $525 billion in 2013, but it rebounds steadily to $567 billion in 2017. With this in mind, here are the top three winners and losers:
Five ways 9/11 has transformed the US military
Who will carry out Obama's Afghanistan exit plan? Three new guys.
In Pictures: Leon Panetta's career

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Qaddafi's death leaves a Libya that must build itself from scratch

Muammar Qaddafi's government was one of a kind, with no independent institutions. That means Libya's new government has nothing, good or bad, to build on.
LRA leader Joseph Kony: Why Obama sent US troops to Uganda to get him

The feared group LRA is responsible for the murder and rape of thousands in Central Africa. Siding with interventionist advisers, Obama sent the US troops to help remove Joseph Kony from the battlefield.
GOP candidates show more loyalty to a foreign country (Israel) than their own

Republican presidential candidates do the United States a disservice in trying to bind an American president to the policies of Israel and its leader, Benjamin Netanyahu. Whatever happened to GOP foreign-policy realists, like Bush I?
Good Reads: Amanda Knox released, Panetta in Israel, and US foreign aid cuts

With Amanda Knox's murder conviction overturned, the world's press can now return to other matters, such as the Israeli-Palestinian peace process and looming US foreign aid cuts contemplated by Congress.
Leon Panetta in Israel: Will his urgent messages bring action?

Amid US concerns over Israel's growing isolation from its Mideast neighbors, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has an urgent message for the country's leaders: Re-engage in the peace process.
Hillary Clinton: more 'smart power' needed in terrorism fight

Hillary Clinton announced Friday the creation of a new Global Counterterrorism Forum, which will use 'smart power' such as diplomacy and democracy to fight terrorism.
Five ways 9/11 has transformed the US military

The attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, fundamentally transformed the way the United States military wages war. With the invasion of Afghanistan and, months later, Iraq on the heels of 9/11, the wars have caused the Pentagon to rethink the way it fights, how it spends money in times of crisis, and what it values in both its highest and lowest-ranking commanders. The Monitor asked experts to weigh in on the Top 5 ways in which 9/11 has changed the US military.
The Monitor's View: Libya's lessons for NATO – and US defense cuts

NATO airstrikes were critical to Qaddafi's fall, but behind the scenes, the weakness of Europe's militaries and its leadership revealed problems for the US in its prime alliance – and in coming defense cuts.
Could NATO's Libya mission be its last hurrah?

With the austerity gripping Europe and a new generation of leaders not shaped by cold-war politics, NATO's future is increasingly in question.
Opinion: Afghanistan and Libya point NATO to five lessons

Both the wars in Afghanistan and Libya reveal serious flaws in the alliance. If they can’t be fixed, perhaps it's time for a 'back to basics' NATO and a return to coalitions of the willing.
Pentagon chief Panetta: US within reach of defeating Al Qaeda

On his first trip to Afghanistan as Secretary of Defense, Leon Panetta offered an upbeat assessment. "We're within reach of strategically defeating Al Qaeda," he said.
America, you're not in Kansas anymore: New threats define new security landscape

US pullout from Afghanistan must be seen in light of threats from Iran, Pakistan, North Korea. Going forward, there will be fewer troops, more drones, and a massive contest of wits.
Opinion: Does the US military have a clear purpose?

Those we ask to serve don’t know what they’re defending – and why. How do you inspire citizens to serve when victory isn’t a goal?
The Monitor's View: Obama as risk manager of Afghanistan war

His top generals reveal an internal debate over the risks of a premature troop pullout in Afghanistan. Like modern-war commanders, Obama is mainly a risk assessor.
Libya rebel council prepares for the day after Qaddafi

The council, responding to grumbling that they'll make a power grab once Muammar Qaddafi is deposed, says it's preparing for a democratic transition that's fair for all Libyans.
Troop exit plan means hard choices for US commanders in Afghanistan

Obama's decision that all 30,000 'surge' forces must leave Afghanistan by end of next summer is not the troop exit plan US military leaders were hoping to hear. What choices confront them?
Who will carry out Obama's Afghanistan exit plan? Three new guys.

After President Obama outlines his strategy Wednesday for winding down the 10-year war in Afghanistan – including the rate of US troop withdrawals – it will be the duty of three men, all new in their roles, to get it done. It will be a tough job, and there is likely to be plenty of second-guessing not only about the strategy itself, but also their handling of it, from Congress, pundits, and ex-military types. Here are some clues into what priorities these three defense leaders might set and a look at the particular skills each brings to the task of managing America’s longest war.
New Al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri: Do his flaws diminish group's threat?

Intelligence analysts say Ayman al-Zawahiri, the successor to Osama bin Laden, is disliked in Al Qaeda as an irritable micromanager, but he's also a skilled military tactician and should not be discounted.
Budget math: Is too much 'off the table' to really fix US deficit?

With Republicans and Democrats taking tax hikes and half of US spending off the table, what's left is big whacks from defense and other discretionary items in the US budget. It's as if a family needs to stop deficit spending, but won't adjust its income, mortgage, or health care and retirement plans.
US covert attacks in Yemen: A better template for the war on terror?

The new campaign follows US concerns about a fortified Al Qaeda in conflict-torn Yemen. It’s very likely a harbinger of things to come, some national security experts say.
Report of CIA informant arrests another blow to Pakistan's military

Already beset by unprecedented criticism, Pakistan's military now tries to head off reports that an Army major was arrested for informing the CIA of activities on the bin Laden compound.
Bachmann and Romney dominate, but don't discount Palin and other no-shows

Last night's CNN-hosted debate among GOP presidential hopefuls showed Republicans are gaining confidence that they can unseat President Obama. Michelle Bachmann stole the show, but some of the major players – like Huntsman, Palin, Giuliani, and Perry – have yet to formally announce.
Gates: NATO's retreat from combat assignments 'unacceptable'

Defense Secretary Robert Gates made the pronouncement in a speech Friday in Brussels, as part of a European tour before he retires at the end of this month.
Syrian troops strike flashpoint town as refugees recount violence

The assault on the restive northwest town of Jisr al-Shughur may prove to be a pivotal moment in the rebellion against the regime of Bashar al-Assad.
Gates rebukes Europe for lacking commitment to NATO

Secretary of Defense Gates said today in Brussels that NATO isn't pulling its weight in Afghanistan and Libya. Without more support from Europe, he said, NATO's future is 'dim if not dismal.'