Topic: Loren B. Thompson

ARLINGTON, Va., Aug. 20 (UPI) -- During its eight years in office, the Bush administration has tried to transform every facet of the military enterprise. In some areas, such as joint cooperation against irregular threats, it has made real progress. In other areas, it has failed miserably.

ARLINGTON, Va., Aug. 12 (UPI) -- The United States currently accounts for nearly half of all global military expenditures. There is reason to believe the armed forces will need to make do with less money in the future. But the core missions of the military won't go away, so the search is on for more cost-effective solutions to security challenges.

ARLINGTON, Va., Aug. 5 (UPI) -- Surveys of public opinion indicate consumer confidence is very low and four out of five voters think the nation is on the wrong track. President Bush gets much of the blame for the public's pessimism. But maybe the presumptive nominees of the two major parties who are running to replace him deserve some of the blame too, because neither seems willing to face up to the parlous state of the nation's finances. Any voter who pays attention to economic news can sense the nation is in decline, and yet the candidates continue offering extravagant promises that would make the problems worse. Consider some trends...

ARLINGTON, Va., Aug. 1 (UPI) -- Some of the saddest stories to come out of recent military conflicts concern children who found the unexploded remains of cluster bombs.

ARLINGTON, Va., July 22 (UPI) -- This summer marks the 10th anniversary of a powerful metaphor for the decline of U.S. air power.

ARLINGTON, Va., July 1 (UPI) -- The Government Accountability Office's stinging rebuke of the U.S. Air Force tanker competition published in June was so sweeping that some observers say a new award may not be made for years.

ARLINGTON, Va., June 26 (UPI) -- As U.S. Air Force planners struggle to balance their final budget request for this disappointing decade, it is becoming increasingly apparent that many of the service's planes will require the aerospace equivalent of geriatric care for the foreseeable future.

ARLINGTON, Va., June 19 (UPI) -- The forced resignation of the U.S. Air Force's top civilian and uniform leaders earlier this month is the latest chapter in a chronicle of decline that has been unfolding for decades.

ARLINGTON, Va., June 10 (UPI) -- If you think having three surface warfare officers in a row at the helm of the U.S. Navy has created a bias in favor of surface combatants, then you must not be paying attention to news about naval shipbuilding.

ARLINGTON, Va., June 4 (UPI) -- It is now three months since the U.S. Air Force shocked the world by awarding the contract for its next-generation aerial-refueling tanker to Northrop Grumman and to the European Aeronautic Defense and Space Co., the European parent of Airbus.