Our military is second to none, but eight years of negligence, lack of accountability, and a reckless war in Iraq have left our ground forces facing shortfalls in both recruitment and readiness. Every service is out of balance and ill-prepared. We need a new strategy to give the military the tools it needs for the challenges we face today. And we need leadership that meets our obligations to the men and women who put their lives on the line.
News
Yahoo News 12 December 2011
Report
1 December 2011
Debate has flared anew this week over whether and how military spending figures into deficit reduction, with House Majority Leader Eric Cantor working to renegotiate the terms of the Budget Control Act and delay reductions to the Pentagon's budget. House members are arguing over the inflated cost of our nuclear weapons complex, as the U.S. plans to replace the three delivery platforms for our nuclear arsenal, the cost of which has grown 25 percent over the past year. Experts in and out of government have called for reexamining the weapons' deterrent value and ballooning costs - just one of many examples of why lawmakers from both sides of the aisle continue to support smart, strategic reductions in military spending.
Report
21 November 2011
With the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction poised to close up shop with no recommendations, the discussion has turned to the sequester and what it will mean for military spending. Gordon Adams, former associate director for national security and international affairs at the Office of Management and Budget, tells NSN to "expect endless garment rending over the impact of a sequester, but do not expect a sequester. It is mostly for show. Managing a build down is still the issue, and it will be the issue after the election."
Report
17 November 2011
With a deadline looming for the Super Committee to agree to a deficit reduction plan, and the 2012 National Defense Authorization Act headed to the Senate floor, questions loom large about the defense budget and what might happen if the Super Committee fails to reach an agreement. The warnings have been dire, and the facts have been loose. Instead, lawmakers and others should consider the actual magnitude of proposed reductions in growth and ask serious questions about strategy, missions and outdated Cold War capabilities. In many cases, the answers point the way toward future savings.
News
Council on Foreign Relations 8 November 2011
Report
27 October 2011
As the Super Committee convened yesterday to discuss possible deficit-reduction deals, its members were bombarded with faulty claims about the relationship between defense spending and jobs. Economists and strategists alike point out that, because military spending is capital-intensive, not labor-intensive, it is a poor job creator.
News
The Jeff Santos Show, WWZN-AM 1510 Boston 26 October 2011
News
Washington Monthly 25 October 2011
News
Manitoba Radio 21 October 2011
Report
20 October 2011
Information is still emerging about the apparent death this morning of Muammar Qaddafi and the last of his inner circle in Sirte. What is clear is that Libyans are celebrating the departure of a tyrant who caused terror at home and abroad for decades. Americans will also welcome the defeat of a man who killed and terrorized our citizens - a defeat which came without U.S. troops on the ground and by sharing the burden with our allies and partners who are more directly affected by the events on the ground.
Military