Backgrounder posted January 27, 2012 by Baker Spring, Michaela Bendikova
Time to Modernize and Revitalize the Nuclear Triad
Abstract: The U.S. nuclear triad of heavy bombers, intercontinental-range ballistic missiles (ICBMs), and submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs) is aging. The nuclear testing moratorium, which has reached nearly two decades, and the required reductions under New START are magnifying questions about the U.S. nuclear arsenal’s reliability. These growing questions will eventually…
Read more
WebMemo posted January 6, 2012 by Bruce Klingner
The Missing Asia Pivot in Obama's Defense Strategy
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
WebMemo posted November 7, 2011 by Baker Spring, Michaela Bendikova
Nuclear Certification for a New Bomber
The Obama Administration’s 2010 Nuclear Posture Review says that bombers are central to extended deterrence. But at the same time, the Obama Administration is willing to let the capability of the bomber force decline for the next several decades. This makes no sense.
…
Read more
Play Movie
Video Recorded on September 22, 2011
Defense Spending and the Super Committee
On Thursday, September 8, 2011, the Defending Defense coalition, a joint project of the American Enterprise Institute, the Foreign Policy Initiative, and The Heritage Foundation, hosted "Defense Spending and the Super Committee." The event took place on Capitol Hill with Senators Kelly Ayotte (R-NH), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), and Jon Kyl…
Read more
WebMemo posted August 1, 2011 by Kim R. Holmes, Ph.D.
A Dangerous Debt Ceiling Deal
The deep cuts in defense spending envisioned in the just-announced debt ceiling deal[1] raise a fundamental question for Americans: Will we let a deal stand that promises to end American security as we know it? Or will Americans demand that the deal, born of crisis-driven politics in…
Read more