New York Times – Robert Kaplan discusses whether countries should intervene militarily in order to provide humanitarian relief to the cyclone victims in Burma.
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Operations Other Than War – US Ships in Frustrating Wait Off Burma's Coast to Deliver Aid
VOA – Burma’s government is denying entry to helicopters and relief supplies from U.S. Navy ships waiting offshore, near the Irawaddy Delta. Relief groups say as many as two million people remain in desperate need of food, water, medicines and other relief supplies following the storm on May 3 that killed nearly 78,000 people.
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French Navy – Burma Denounces Warship
Bangkok Post – The Burmese military junta showed signs of paranoia on Friday, denouncing a French naval ship packed with 1,500 tonnes of food aid, with aircraft capable of delivering it, as a “warship” standing off its coast. France said a demand to deliver the aid through Rangoon airport was nonsense.
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Royal Navy – Defence chiefs have last-minute doubts about £4bn carriers
The Times – They were meant to be the pride and joy of Britainís 21st-century fleet, an emblem of its pre-eminence as a military and diplomatic power. But last night it emerged that the imminent announcement of the commissioning of two aircraft carriers at a total cost of £4 billion has left some of the countryís senior military leaders deeply unhappy.
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Royal New Zealand Navy – Protector Fleet Comes Together
Defense Technology International – The New Zealand navy has just launched the third of four Inshore Patrol Vessels (IPVs), the Pukaki, marking another step in the countryís plan to field seven Protector fleet ships before year end.
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Iraq – The Surge and Beyond
Harvard Political Review – Former CENTCOM Commander Anthony Zinni discusses the future of Iraq and more.
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Operations Other Than War – Britain Orders Warship to Deploy off Burma
Irrawaddy – A British Royal Navy frigate has been ordered to stand by off Burma with emergency aid for the survivors of cyclone Nargis. The 4,900-ton HMS Westminster will join US and French warships waiting in international waters off the Burmese coast, ready to rush relief supplies to the Irrawaddy delta if instructed by the UN or invited by the Burmese regime.
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Air Warfare – Air Combat by Remote Control
Wall Street Journal – Another look at how the Predator is changing the way the US Air Force operates.
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Operations Other Than War – US sends in first aid, awaits green light on bigger Myanmar role
Associated Press – The USS Essex Amphibious Ready Group is standing by to assist cyclone-devastated Burma, all it needs is permission to begin relief operations???
US Navy – Marines, sailors prepare for possible operations in Burma.
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Piracy – Captain: My 'heart sank' when pirates attacked
CNN – A first person account of what it is like to be captured by pirates.
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Chinese Navy – Chinese nuclear submarine base
Daily Telegraph – China has secretly built a major underground nuclear submarine base that could threaten Asian countries and challenge American power in the region.
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Editorial Note – NOSI on break until May 12
NOSI is taking a short break and will next update on May 12.
During this time, please consider visiting our related site and downloading the War Studies Primer for an introductory course on the study of war.
Look at slides 2 and 3 in the War Studies Primer for its Table of Contents, and then choose a lecture to read and enjoy.
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US Navy – USS Kitty Hawk makes last port call in Hong Kong
Associated Press – The U.S. aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk sailed into Hong Kong on Monday on its final away-from-home port call five months after being turned away by China.
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US Marines – US Marines deploying in Afghanistan for first time in years
Associated Press – U.S. Marines are crossing the sands of southern Afghanistan for the first time in years, providing a boost to a NATO coalition that is growing but still short on manpower.
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US Navy – Lesson on How Not to Build a Navy Ship
New York Times – A critical look at the troubled gestation of the Littoral Combat Ship.
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US Navy – Norfolk-based destroyer Stout deemed unfit, triggering fleet review
Virginian Pilot – The Navy will review maintenance and training across the surface fleet after a recent inspection found the Norfolk-based destroyer Stout unfit for sustained combat.
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US Navy – What makes a Global Hawk into a BAMS?
Defense Technology International – Surprisingly few airframe changes are needed to make Northrop Grumman’s Global Hawk into the US Navy’s Broad Area Maritime Surveillance System, although the RQ-4N will have a different mission profile than the US Air Force’s RQ-4B.
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US Navy – Flight-Test Program Accelerates for U.S. Navy's E-2D
Aviation Week – Within three years, the U.S. Navy’s fleet will have fielded the technology for precisely locating small, flying targets. The target set embraces some of the Navy’s latest nightmares, including the next-generation of stealthy – sometimes supersonic – cruise missiles.
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Information Warfare – Behind Analysts, the Pentagon's Hidden Hand
New York Times – The Pentagon has cultivated “military analysts” in a campaign to generate favorable news coverage of the Bush administrationís wartime performance.
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History – Teamwork saved stricken warship
San Diego Union Tribune – A look at what saved the frigate Samuel B. Roberts when it hit an Iranian mine in the Persian Gulf 20 years ago.
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Geopolitics / Venezuela – An Empty Revolution: The Unfulfilled Promises of Hugo Ch-vez
Foreign Affairs – Even critics of Hugo Ch·vez tend to concede that he has made helping the poor his top priority. But in fact, Ch·vez’s government has not done any more to fight poverty than past Venezuelan governments, and his much-heralded social programs have had little effect. A close look at the evidence reveals just how much Ch·vez’s “revolution” has hurt Venezuela’s economy — and that the poor are hurting most of all.
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Geopolitics / Asia – Robert Kaplan on the new balance of power
Spero – An essay summarizing Robert Kaplan’s keynote address at Foreign Policy Research Instituteís Fourth Annual Partners Brunch.
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German Navy – Germany Fields Braunschweig-Class
Defense Technology International – The Germany navy this week has formally put into service the K-130 Braunschweig corvette, the first of five boats in a new class.
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US Navy – Taking risks
Armed Forces Journal – A comparison of good risk with bad risk. Successful implementation of the new maritime strategy depends on the Navy leadership seizing the first while mitigating the latter.
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US Navy – The big gamble
Armed Forces Journal – A questioning of the wisdom of introducing three major new ship platforms (DDG 1000 destroyer, CVN 78 carrier and LCS) at the same time – all based on untested designs. Is this bold new thinking or reckless risk?
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