Newsweek – An Empire at Risk
We won the cold war and weathered 9/11. But now, Niall Ferguson says, economic weakness is endangering our global power.
Afghanistan – Newly deployed Marines to target Taliban bastion
Washington Post – Newly deployed Marines to target Taliban bastion
Days after President Obama outlines his new war strategy in a speech Tuesday, as many as 9,000 Marines will begin final preparations to deploy to southern Afghanistan and renew an assault on a Taliban stronghold that slowed this year amid a troop shortage and political pressure from the Afghan government.
US Marines – Marines plow ahead with anti-poppy campaign in Afghan district
Los Angeles Times – Marines plow ahead with anti-poppy campaign in Afghan district
The U.S. troops emphasize persuasion in trying to get farmers to change to other crops to keep drug money out of the Taliban’s hands. They’re also planning an assault on an insurgent stronghold.
Afghanistan – Soviets' Afghan Ordeal Vexed Gates on Troop-Surge Plan
Wall Street Journal – Soviets’ Afghan Ordeal Vexed Gates on Troop-Surge Plan
The future of the war in Afghanistan was on the line as Gen. Stanley McChrystal met with Defense Secretary Robert Gates in a secret rendezvous at a Belgian airbase in August. Gen. McChrystal, the top Western commander in Afghanistan, pushed for more U.S. troops to roll back the spreading Taliban-led insurgency. Mr. Gates, officials say, was skeptical. A quarter-century ago, he was a top Central Intelligence Agency officer aiding the anti-Soviet rebels in Afghanistan, and he remembered how a 1985 decision by the Soviet Union to widen that earlier war had failed to turn the tide.
Afghanistan – Holiday in Afghanistan
Washington Post – Holiday in Afghanistan
Some troops get turkey, others get MREs, but everyone gets a tiny taste of Thanksgiving. With the Marines in Afghanistan.
French Navy – Arrival of French Ship Fuels Debate
St. Petersburg Times – Arrival of French Ship Fuels Debate
Hundreds of St. Petersburg residents, many of them navy officers and shipbuilders, lined up in the fog on Wednesday to visit the French warship The Mistral, which arrived in the city on Monday and which the Russian military hopes to buy.
US Navy – US use sea lions in terrorism fight
Daily Telegraph – US use sea lions in terrorism fight
Sea lions are being trained to locate mines and detain suspicious divers in the fight against terrorism.
Nuclear Warfare – Defending the Arsenal
New Yorker – Defending the Arsenal
In an unstable Pakistan, can nuclear warheads be kept safe?
Afghanistan – Obama's War
PBS Frontline – Obama’s War
Excellent documentary overview of the current situation in Afghanistan. You can read the Transcript but I also recommend you read the Interviews and Analysis.
French Navy – French ship Russia wants to buy in St Petersburg
Associated Press – French ship Russia wants to buy in St Petersburg
A French amphibious assault ship like the one Russia hopes to buy arrived Monday in St. Petersburg, fueling concern in Georgia and other ex-Soviet nations that Russia is upgrading its navy to intimidate its neighbors.
Japanese Maritime Self Defense Force – Japan to build fleet's biggest helicopter destroyer to fend off China
Daily Telegraph – Japan to build fleet’s biggest helicopter destroyer to fend off China
Japan is set to commission the largest destroyer to join its fleet in response to a Chinese military buildup.
US Marines – Marines in Afghanistan hear a plea: Don't leave too soon
Los Angeles Times – Marines in Afghanistan hear a plea: Don’t leave too soon
Others in Helmand would like them to leave immediately. And frustrating to most involved, the work of U.S. forces to instill a sense of security and confidence in the government is going slowly.
Geopolitics / Cold War – The Fall of the Wall
The Atlantic – The Fall of the Wall
Robert D. Kaplan says we may have gained victory in the Cold War, but lost Europe to apathy and decadence in the process.
Air Warfare – Air Defense Push Inspired by 9/11 Gets a 2nd Look
New York Times – Air Defense Push Inspired by 9/11 Gets a 2nd Look
The US may not be able to afford the cost of defending its skies…
Royal Navy – UK 'sorry' for shooting at 'Spanish flag' buoy
BBC – UK ‘sorry’ for shooting at ‘Spanish flag’ buoy
The UK has apologised to Spain after the Royal Navy used a buoy with the Spanish colours for target practice.
Royal Navy – Astute Move
Defense Technology International – Astute Move
The first of the Royal Navy’s Astute-class nuclear-powered attack submarines has finally made it to its home base only four year behind the original in-service date. The navy now intends accept HMS Astute into service in 2010.
Nonlethal Weapons – Maersk Alabama: Should ships use armed guards to stop Somali pirates?
Christian Science Monitor – Maersk Alabama: Should ships use armed guards to stop Somali pirates?
Lethal or nonlethal weapons? The attack on the US-flagged Maersk Alabama reignites the debate over how to stop Somali pirates.
Christian Science Monitor –
Five new weapons the Maersk Alabama could use to foil pirates
US Navy – Hot Hot Hot
Defense Technology International – Hot Hot Hot
US Navy amphibious ships operating MV-22B Osprey tilt-rotors will need major structural repairs after less than half their planned service lives, according to a newly released Navy document, unless a new Deck Thermal Management System (DTMS) can be developed to protect the decks from exhaust heat. The only other alternative identified so far is a heavy structural modification to the deck. The JSF is considered likely to cause similar problems.
Piracy – Maersk Alabama repels 2nd pirate attack with guns
Associated Press – Maersk Alabama repels 2nd pirate attack with guns
Somali pirates attacked the Maersk Alabama on Wednesday for the second time in seven months, though private guards on board the U.S.-flagged ship repelled the attack with gunfire and a high-decibel noise device.
Geopolitics / Arctic – Cold Call
Ottawa Citizen – Cold Call
Security specialist says nuclear sub’s northern exposure sends a message that Canada should heed: Take Arctic claims seriously.
(Thanks to Justin for the link!)
US Navy – Drones scour the sea for pirates
BBC – Drones scour the sea for pirates
Sleek and sinister-looking, the latest weapon against piracy could have flown directly out of a science fiction film.
US Marines – Defusing the threat
Sand Diego Union Tribune – Defusing the threat
The Marines are getting critical info and training to help them defeat improvised bombs.
Indian Navy – What the Tourists in the Maldives Don't Know
Defense Technology International – What the Tourists in the Maldives Don’t Know
“Asia Sentinel” an independent website, reports that now India is preparing to reopen the former RAF base in the Maldives islands to surveillance aircraft, helicopters, and possibly ships, to monitor Chinese vessels in the Indian Ocean. Under a deal signed in August, India is also installing radar across the Maldives, linked to its coastal command.
US Navy – Keel laid for new carrier Gerald R. Ford
Associated Press – Keel laid for new carrier Gerald R. Ford
Construction of the aircraft carrier Gerald R. Ford got its official kickoff Saturday with a keel-laying ceremony at the shipyard where the $7 billion nuclear-powered ship is being assembled.
US Navy – USS Texas pays icy visit to Arctic
Honolulu Advertiser – USS Texas pays icy visit to Arctic
After a dearth of news since it left its base on the East Coast bound for Pearl Harbor, the submarine USS Texas finally resurfaced — near the North Pole. The 7,800-ton attack submarine, with a crew of about 134, last month completed a historic exercise in the Arctic when it became the first of the new Virginia-class submarines not only to operate in the region, but also to surface through the ice.
NOSI - Naval Open Source Intelligence™ 
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