America’s decade of misbegotten war in the early 21st century will be remembered for many things, but when it comes to technology, the rise of the drone will stand out. When America invaded Iraq in 2003, it had a couple of hundred; by the time it left, it had almost 10,000.
The juxtaposition of recent images was jarring: Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel unveiling a defense budget that substantially shrinks the U.S. Army, while insisting that “after Iraq and Afghanistan, we are no longer sizing the military to conduct long and large stability operations.” And then there were the images of masked Russian troops seizing Crimea and threatening to carve apart Ukraine with naked aggression.
Experts question whether Obama can and should put the elusive Russian president directly in his sights.
Budget constraints and force requirements in other regions will likely stall the Pentagon’s plans to beef up the U.S. military presence in the Asia-Pacific and send more high-tech weaponry to deter a rising China, officials and analysts say.
Nine days after a senior U.S. Navy official told congressional lawmakers the service might need more models of a fighter jet partially constructed in Southern California — the Boeing E/A-18G Growler — the manufacturer held a pro-jet rally Friday at the plant of a Torrance subcontractor.
The president won’t arm Ukraine or use U.S. forces despite Russian troop deployment.
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