On February 8, the United States and Japan jointly announced changes to the existing bilateral accord for realigning U.S. Marines on Okinawa. While both sides affirmed commitment to relocating a Marine air unit on the island, more significantly, the Obama Administration abandoned longstanding U.S. insistence that Japan fulfill pre-conditional commitments… Read more
Abstract: In passing the FY 2012 defense authorization and appropriations bills, Congress missed an ideal opportunity to reverse the damage that the Obama Administration inflicted on U.S. missile defense programs in 2010. Congress specifically failed to move the U.S. toward a more defensive nuclear… Read more
It is already clear that the U.S. capabilities necessary for meeting the nation’s global security requirements will not be met if current defense budget policies are left in place. The lack of funding will translate into a U.S. military that might not be able to control the skies, have enough… Read more
Last week, six U.S. Senators, including John McCain (R–AZ) and Jon Kyl (R–AZ), endorsed draft legislation that would block the automatic defense cuts mandated by the Budget Control Act of 2011for fiscal year (FY) 2013. Under their proposal, those additional cuts to the Pentagon would be offset by targeting spending… Read more
On January 26, Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta provided the public with a preview of the defense budget request the Obama Administration will submit February 13. The full details of the fiscal year (FY) 2013 defense budget request will be released next month, but Panetta’s presentation makes it clear that… Read more
President Obama’s new defense strategy is long on rhetoric but bereft of details on how it will actually be implemented. The President boldly promised to maintain or augment U.S. military capabilities against a spectrum of global threats, but planned draconian defense cuts of $1 trillion would undermine the U.S.’s ability… Read more
Iran is rattling sabers. Iraq may be falling apart. In North Korea, one of the world’s most inexperienced and unpredictable leaders has his thumb on the country’s nuclear button. Talks with the Taliban look like an instant replay of the Paris peace negotiations with Hanoi. The Arab Spring has turned… Read more
Following the enactment of the Budget Control Act earlier this year, the budget for the core defense program is already operating under stringent spending caps. At the same time, per capita expenditures for paying military personnel and operating the force are high and growing rapidly. Under these circumstances, funding for… Read more
Abstract: The failure of the Congressional Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction (“Super Committee”) to come to agreement on reducing the federal deficit raises the real prospect of a total of $1 trillion in … Read more
Abstract: The Budget Control Act, which ended the impasse over the debt ceiling and created a Super Committee to identify more deficit reduction proposals, cuts the defense budget by $1 trillion and paves the way for further reductions next year. These cuts come on top of successive rounds of deep… Read more
Abstract: President Barack Obama’s defense budget request perpetuates a long-standing pattern of underfunding defense needs. Defense spending is already near historic lows, and the Administration’s budget would reduce it to levels unprecedented during wartime. Furthermore, Congress appears poised to repeat the past mistake of… Read more
Washington policymakers, facing unprecedented deficits and drastic measures to deal with a $14.3 trillion debt, are considering cutting the budget for national defense. Yet as former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, his successor Leon Panetta, and other U.S. officials like Admiral Mike Mullen have said, defense spending is not the… Read more
Abstract: The President’s budget request would maintain homeland security funding at current levels, but the budget request would increase funding for several programs that add little additional security while cutting others that could significantly enhance U.S. homeland security. Congress should use the budget process… Read more
America’s military is witnessing yet another attempt to recast the negative impact of massive defense cuts, this time...… Read more
In a recent comment George Will threw down the gauntlet to conservatives to explain how the White House hasn’t stolen...… Read more
[caption id="attachment_90721" align="alignnone" width="550" caption="A soldier of the 2nd cavalry regiment participates...… Read more
Since the May 2, 2011, Navy SEAL raid on Osama bin Laden’s compound, President Obama has lauded the mission’s success...… Read more
In discussing the Department of Defense’s upcoming budget request, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta stated “our approach...… Read more
The future is not bright for the U.S. military. Yesterday, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta gave America a glimpse of the...… Read more
Defense Secretary Leon Panetta today laid out details of a plan to cut a half a trillion dollars from defense...… Read more
Editor's note: Earlier this month, the Huffington Post published a “commentary” on the F-35 by four left-leaning defense...… Read more
A recent article by the Associated Press leaves the reader with the impression that there haven’t been any defense cuts...… Read more
Supporters of Ron Paul have re-launched an old ad promoting the old idea of American isolationism. “We now are a...… Read more
F.M. Kirby Research Fellow in National Security Policy