The Atlantic – Wipeout
Guam’s surfers fret about the impact of a $15 billion defense buildup on their island.
Wargaming – The military-consumer complex
Economist – The military-consumer complex
Military technology used to filter down to consumers. Now it’s going the other way.
Wargaming – War games
Economist – War games
Consumer products and video-gaming technology are boosting the performance and reducing the price of military equipment.
Piracy – Navy patrols may extend as Somali pirates widen attacks
BBC – Navy patrols may extend as Somali pirates widen attacks
The British admiral in charge of the EU flotilla carrying out anti-piracy patrols off Somalia is considering extending the area which they patrol.
Russian Navy – Russian missile test launch fails
BBC – Russian missile test launch fails
A Russian test launch of the Bulava intercontinental missile has failed, resulting in a white light seen over parts of Norway.
Indian Navy – India to 'fence' naval harbours
BBC – India to ‘fence’ naval harbours
India is planning to secure its naval harbours with electronic fences.
Afghanistan – Afghanistan: Connecting Assumptions and Strategy
US Naval Institute Proceedings – Afghanistan: Connecting Assumptions and Strategy
Three well-known military thinkers re-evaluate what we’ve assumed to know-that just wasn’t so-about a country where we’ve been fighting for eight years.
Indian Navy – Navy ship thwarts pirate attack on US tanker in Gulf
Press Trust of India – Navy ship thwarts pirate attack on US tanker in Gulf
An Indian Navy warship today successfully repulsed a pirate attack on a US-owned tanker in the Gulf of Aden off Somalia coast.
US Marines – Where's the Special Trust and Confidence?
US Naval Institute Proceedings – Where’s the Special Trust and Confidence?
Marines stand in harm’s way and make tough, split-second decisions in battle. Back home, they face seminars about liberty conduct and fastening seatbelts. Is this smart training for “strategic corporals”?
Geopolitics – What Obama's Nobel Really Means
The Atlantic – What Obama’s Nobel Really Means
Robert D. Kaplan writes that a growing contingent wants Obama to lead a post-nationalist global society. If he does things right, the U.S. could become history’s first truly international nation.
US Marines – The Marines' Factory of War
Der Spiegel – The Marines’ Factory of War
Every year, 21,000 fresh recruits are transformed into warriors at the Marine Corps boot camp Parris Island. With US President Barack Obama now boosting troop levels in Afghanistan, many of them will be on a plane within just a few months.
Dutch Navy – Dutch navy arrests Somali pirates
BBC – Dutch navy arrests Somali pirates
The Dutch navy has arrested 13 Somali pirates who attempted to hijack a cargo ship south of Oman.
Piracy – Admiral: Sea too large to stop all pirate attacks
Associated Press – Admiral: Sea too large to stop all pirate attacks
International naval forces will never be able to completely secure the vast area of ocean where Somali pirates are hijacking ships off East Africa, the commander of the EU Naval Force’s counter-piracy efforts said Tuesday.
Russian Navy – Second Russian Stealth Frigate In Works
Defense Technology International – Second Russian Stealth Frigate In Works
The Severnaya Verf shipyard in St Petersburg officially laid down the second Project 22350 frigate for the Russian Navy on November 26. The ship was named Admiral Flota Kasatonov. The first frigate of the class – Admiral Flota Sovetskogo Soyuza Gorshkov – has been under construction at Severnaya Verf since 2006.
Indian Navy – Russian shipyard launches Indian stealth frigates 'Teg'
PTI – Russian shipyard launches Indian stealth frigates ‘Teg’
Russia’s defence shipyard “Yantar” has launched first of the three Indian stealth frigates – INS Teg (Sabre) – at a colourful ceremony in the Baltic enclave of Kaliningrad.
(Thanks to Harry for the link…)
Geopolitics / Economics – An Empire at Risk
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.
NOSI - Naval Open Source Intelligence™ 
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