As others had before them, BRAC commissioners criticized the timing of the 2005 base closure and realignment process, saying, in a chapter titled “Issues for Further Consideration,” which begins on p. 305 of their final report, that they had conducted their work “during a national strategic debate with an uncertain outcome.” They are referring, of course, to the ongoing Quadrennial Defense Review—now not due to be completed till after the New Year. Essentially, say the commissioners, their analysis rested on the 2001 QDR—a lot has changed since then. (Need bedtime reading? Here’s the final report.)
The U.S. and Sweden signed a bilateral Defense Cooperation Agreement on Dec. 5 that will strengthen military ties between them and likely lead to U.S. troops and prepositioned gear on Swedish soil. Swedish Defense minister Pal Jonson said the war in Ukraine prompted Sweden's joining NATO and he laid out…