Defense
Key Technological Trends Since World War Two
In the years after World War Two, the industrial west simultaneously experienced three technological revolutions -- a nuclear revolution, a biomedical revolution, and a computing revolution. The interaction between these three hugely. . .
Origins of the Current Technological Revolution
The goal of this lecture is to provide historical context for the technological ferment we see all around us today. As I told you last week, I believe we have arrived at a pivotal moment in human history, a moment made . . .
The Military: Is Help on the Way or on the Wane?
Like the San Gabriel Mountains emerging from the morning haze, the dim outlines of a Bush administration defense posture have begun to appear through the fog of bureaucratic warfare at the . . .
B1 Versus B-2: A Defining Moment for Donald Rumsfeld
Shortly after the Kosovo air war ended, a senior Air Force officer called me into his office, closed the door, and said, "The B-1 bomber is a piece of shit. We ought to get rid of every one of them." He was . . .
Stormy Seas: U.S. Shipbuilders Face Big Challenges
During America's long ascent to global economic dominance, many industries have been left behind. Whaling. Footwear. Transistor radios and televisions. Economists say that such industrial evolution is . . .
Aircraft Carrier (In)Vulnerability
The Navy’s twelve nuclear-powered aircraft carriers are among the most potent expressions of American military power. In recent years, though, there has been growing concern that changing mission . . .
Rumsfeld’s Reformation: The New Defense Secretary Faces Tough Choices
These are difficult days for Donald Rumsfeld. A quarter century after serving as the nation's youngest defense secretary in the years following the Vietnam War, he has returned to the Pentagon to find it in . . .
Comanche: One Means of Assuring America’s Margin of Safety
According to Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, the Department of Defense will pursue strategic and force planning "to assure that the U.S. invests in the force for the future to assure that we have the . . .
Naval Shipbuilding: Sinking Fast
Like the people they employ and the products they produce, industries have a life-cycle. They are born amidst hope and uncertainty; they grow explosively in adolescence; with luck they reach stable maturity. . .
Jeffords Defection May Be Good News for Defense
Vermont Senator James Jefford's decision on Thursday to exit the Republican Party and overturn President Bush's majority in the upper chamber is being widely interpreted as bad news for the . . .