Elections May Doom Obama’s Arms Export Reforms

NATIONAL PRESS CLUB: The ambitious arms export reforms proposed and largely prepared by the Obama administration may founder if the White House changes hands. The State, Commerce and Defense departments have completed “for all intents and purposes” the drafts of the major reforms after a week of all-day meetings. The administration has built a new…

Iran Attack Could Be Game-Changer For Defense Stocks

In the latest evidence that bad news for everyone else can often be good news for military contractors, defense investors are perking up as rumors spread that Israel might attack Iran’s nuclear complex in the Autumn. Any new Middle East war would give a boost to the stocks of military suppliers, while also making equities…

Swing State Voters Want Hill Action On Sequester BEFORE Elections: AIA Poll

WASHINGTON: In a poll sure to be read with some trepidation on Capitol Hill, a Harris poll has found that almost 80 percent of “likely voters in critical battleground states” want lawmakers to do something to avoid the automatic budget cuts known as sequestration. The poll, commissioned by the Aerospace Industries Association as part of…

National Security Virtually Vanishes From GOP Conversation, Convention

UPDATED: AEI Analyst Eaglen Argues Strong Economy Best National Security Remember the Republicans, those muscular supporters of America’s military, those vigorous champions of an ascendant Western military alliance. Where are they now? Well, they’re around, but you are unlikely to hear more than a few sentences about defense during the GOP convention. The Romney campaign…

Akin, Mr. F-18, Stumbles Badly In Senate Race; Senior GOP Leaders Question His Future

WASHINGTON: Rep. Todd Akin, a senior member of the House Armed Services Committee and major supporter of Boeing’s F-18, has stumbled horribly in his Senate race against Sen. Claire McCaskill, speaking of “legitimate rape.” Akin’s defense knowledge and experience in the House would have made him a likely shoo-in for a spot on the Senate…