Pollster Scott Rasmussen says the planets may be coming into alignment for deeper cuts in defense spending than are already being discussed. Writing in the latest issue of Reason, a libertarian magazine, he argues that it’s …
National Security
Wars? What Wars?
Wednesday night was supposed to be “foreign policy night” at the Republican convention in Tampa, and it was: the speeches were conventional.
Neither GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney nor his running mate, Rep. Paul Ryan …
What Good Are Acts of War If You Don’t Get Credit For Them?
Big-thought-thinker Martin Libicki has long focused his attention on cyber warfare. But now the Rand Corp. senior scientist is studying what he calls non-obvious warfare, of which cyberwar is only one part:
Innovations, both
…
Bin Laden Raid SEAL Author Faces “Double Jeopardy”
If Rupert Murdoch’s Sun newspaper can defy British royalty by publishing pictures of a naked Prince Harry, why should we be surprised when a Navy SEAL bares all in an upcoming book on the raid last year that killed Osama bin …
Winning Cyber Battles Without Fighting
In military operations, good leaders never make a move without the best available intelligence and a strong sense of situational awareness. To do otherwise is tantamount to flying blind, something a good pilot or business leader …
A Chart Is Worth 1,000 Words
Todd Harrison, the defense-budget whiz over at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, has a new report out on how the prospect of sequestration might affect the Pentagon. Lots of interesting data.
But it was a …
A Smarter Way to Trim the Pentagon Budget
As the U.S. economy struggles to recover from the Great Recession, most American families have had to make tough decisions about their current needs and future spending.
Similarly, one year ago, Congress passed the Budget …
Mitt-Picking
Jim Kitfield, the intrepid military correspondent at National Journal for many years, turns his eyes on Mitt Romney, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, for a keen but nuanced look at his national-security chops. The …
An Iraq Vet Commanding In Afghanistan?
A new general’s name emerges in the Afghanistan context. Julian Barnes of the Wall Street Journal reports (sub. req.) that Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has forwarded Marine Corps General Joseph Dunford’s name to the White …
Meanwhile, Back in Baghdad…
It has been a rough few months in Iraq. Killings in June and July are higher (though nowhere near the 2006 and 2007 highs) and Sunday’s New York Times publishes the not-so-shocking revelation that the Iraqis and Iranians trade …
Today’s Slow-Motion U.S. Military Coup
A Congressional Insider on Why the U.S. Political System Is Broke
Mike Lofgren came to Washington to work on Capitol Hill 30 years ago, when Ronald Reagan was rebuilding America’s “hollow military” after its Vietnam hangover, and the Cold War was in its final throes – although we didn’t know it yet. He spent 28 years working for Congress, the last 16 as a senior analyst on the House and …
Armed With Hope
A senior U.S. defense official met Wednesday with defense reporters in Washington to discuss the way ahead in Afghanistan. He insisted he’s a “glass half-full” kind of guy, and blasted the press for its continued reporting …