WASHINGTON: The US economic vice is beginning to tighten on Recep Tayyip Erdogan, president of Turkey, who has made it a mark of his presidency to test just how far he can stretch the bonds that knit his country to NATO and the United States. The Pentagon announced today, as my Reuters’ colleague Mike Stone… Keep reading →

  Turkey’s increasingly autocratic president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is an erstwhile NATO ally. Turkey flies F-16s and is a partner in the F-35 program. But Erdogan has committed his country to buying Russia’s reportedly excellent surface to air missile system, the S-400. This op-ed by Bradley Bowman, former aide to Sen. Todd Young of the Senate… Keep reading →

When I visited Turkey last year, it was clear that President Erdogan was on a path to break with the traditions of Ataturk and the secular state. In a period when the global impact of the various strands of Islam are having significant global impact, the President of Turkey has focused on emphasizing Turkey’s Islamic… Keep reading →

In an era when NATO gets slammed on a regular basis by President Trump, there’s one key alliance success — the ability of 29 countries to work together on the battlefield.

Paris wants to partner with the US, but a top French defense official says an unpredictable White House is forcing Europe to strike out on its own.

Acting Defense Secretary Shanahan took it on the chin from a series of lawmakers Thursday, leaving the Capitol with a direct order to produce border wall details by the end of the day.

The Cold War has not returned, but the Russians have. The challenge for the Trump Administration is less about whether the US cares about European defense; it is much more about a strategic shift of American attention to dealing with the Chinese and North Korean threats.

Boeing, Lockheed, Dassault Aviation of France, the European Eurofighter consortium, Sweden’s Saab, and United Aircraft Corporation of Russia are all jockeying for position for an Indian fighter contract worth $15 billion for 110 planes, and an $8 billion navy program of around 60 aircraft.

France’s commitment to a cutting-edge sixth-generation fighter — working in tandem with drones and long-range sensors — is a sign of its commitment to deterring Putin’s Russia.

The best way for America to develop a consensus on what our defense and global security commitments should be is for Congress to have a lengthy series of posture hearings that delve deeply into these issues.    They could be jointly held by the Armed Services and Foreign Affairs committees from the two chambers, patterned… Keep reading →