Analysts Call for Bipartisan US Budget Reform April 29, 2015 WASHINGTON — A group of 38 defense analysts and former US Department of Defense officials from across the ideological spectrum are calling for “bold action” on the Pentagon’s budget. In an open letter posted Wednesday on a number of websites, the group laid out its goal for major cuts to the military’s infrastructure and civilian workforce to coincide with a modernization of benefits. “Too much of the defense budget is currently consumed by institutional inefficiencies, some of which are mandated by law,” the authors wrote. “This is leaving a smaller share of the budget to pay for the manning, training and equipping of our armed forces that make the US military without peer. Now is… Read More ›

Defense Bill Creates Needless New Obstacles for Guantanamo Transfers April 29, 2015 The House Armed Services Committee is reviewing the proposed National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) today. The legislation, which covers a range of subjects, would authorize new restrictions on the transfer of detainees from Guantanamo Bay, including the 57 individuals who have been cleared for release by all relevant government agencies. The NDAA would also impose new reporting requirements on released detainees and recidivism rates based on concerns that have been inflated by misleading statistics. These new, unwarranted restrictions are a step away from President Obama’s stated goal of closing the detention facility, which remains a threat to U.S. national security. The Guantanamo provisions in the NDAA would hinder or prevent the transfer of… Read More ›

The U.S.-Japan Alliance Gets an Upgrade April 27, 2015 This week, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is in Washington to address a joint session of Congress. This is the first time any Japanese prime minister has addressed both chambers of Congress. The historic event stands as a stiff rebuke to conservatives who charge that the United States has allowed its system of global alliances to decay. On the contrary, the U.S.-Japan alliance – the cornerstone of America’s network of friends in the Asia-Pacific – is becoming stronger and more central to Tokyo and Washington’s mutual interest in a peaceful and prosperous Asia-Pacific region. During Abe’s trip, the United States and Japan are poised to finalize a long-negotiated upgrade to the military alliance between the two… Read More ›

Deaths of Hostages Demonstrate Need for Reform of Drone Strikes April 24, 2015 The Obama Administration’s admission yesterday that it killed two hostages in a drone strike in Pakistan, as well as other al-Qaeda operatives it was not intentionally targeting, underscores the hazards of  permissive polices for the CIA’s targeted killing program and the need for reform. Yesterday, unnamed U.S. officials confirmed to the Washington Post that the attack had been a “signature strike,” a controversial category of strikes in which the target is identified based on a pattern of observed behaviors without specific intelligence about who the targets are or their affiliation with a terrorist group. Despite such extremely limited intelligence, the Administration authorized the strike. These strikes – which are not limited to… Read More ›

Saudi Arabia, Iran, the United States, and the Way out of Yemen April 22, 2015 Saudi Arabia announced yesterday that it was transitioning from a military to a political emphasis in its intervention in Yemen, ending Operation Decisive Storm and beginning a new phase, Operation Restoring Hope. Though airstrikes continued today, Saudi and Houthi officials said they were nearing an arrangement to revive the country’s collapsed political dialogue. The promise of renewed talks has weakened the Houthis’ support, as their most powerful allies have come out in favor of negotiations. This includes Iran, which has provided limited support to the Houthis, but which reports indicate had little influence over the organization. The United States has pressured Saudi Arabia to wind down its air campaign, and… Read More ›

Reagan still Republicans’ reference point for White House seekers By Ivan Couronne April 18, 2015 | AFP Washington (AFP) – Barack Obama is weak and Ronald Reagan exuded power, Republicans say. But while conservative White House hopefuls revere the 1980s president as a foreign-policy icon, oversimplifying Reaganism may mask nuances of his diplomacy… “One of the things that these Republican candidates are missing is that Ronald Reagan always believed that even though the Soviet Union was our enemy, we could negotiate with them, we could resolve issues like the nuclear issue while other issues we still disagreed on,” said John Bradshaw, executive director of the National Security Network, a Democratic-leaning think-tank. When Reagan officials started negotiating with the Soviets, “neoconservatives… were horrified,” he said. To… Read More ›

Bring back the drone debate, Sen. Paul By Tobias Gibson April 21, 2015 | The Hill When Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) declared his candidacy for the presidency, I will admit to having a certain excitement. In part, this feeling is based on the opportunity he offered to literally blanketmyself in the Constitution. Another is the opportunity to read a political comic book — but the real reason is that he clearly embraces his willingness to be a voice of concern about American use of drones. In other words, Paul’s campaign offers the most likely possibility that discussion and debate around the U.S. counterterrorism, military and diplomatic use of drones will reemerge. Despite the fact that the drone debate has quieted dramatically in the recent past,… Read More ›

Congress Takes on Risky Role in Iran Deal April 20, 2015 Last week, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee removed the most toxic provisions from a bill that would allow Congress to review and vote its approval or disapproval of a nuclear agreement with Iran. The legislation could come before the Senate floor as early as this week and represents a compromise between the original bill, spearheaded by Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN), and more pro-diplomacy positions. The result is not a good bill – as Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) said at the markup hearing, it is a “largely unnecessary endeavor” that “doesn’t reserve for Congress any power that we don’t already have.” But the compromise has removed the worst provisions of the bill and the Obama… Read More ›

Can an arms embargo deter the Houthis? April 15, 2015 | Al Jazeera This interview is in Arabic.        The United Nations Security Council has passed a resolution banning arms sales to Houthis, who condemned the move. They described it as a move that supports “aggression”. At the same time, Iran said it will present a peace plan for Yemen. It involves a ceasefire, humanitarian assistance, a dialogue between Yemeni factions and a broad-based government. But can the UN resolution change things on the ground? And what is behind Tehran’s plan? Presenter Shiulie Ghosh Guests: Khaled Batarfi – senior columnist at the Saudi Gazette Mohammad Marandi – professor at the University of Tehran Dana Stuster – policy analyst at the National Security Network.… Read More ›

Rubio’s Platform is All Criticism, No Alternatives April 14, 2015 Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) punted on foreign policy and national security issues in his speech  announcing his candidacy for president,  limiting his discussion of these issues to a single paragraph. Still, his positions are as clear as they are familiar: Sen. Rubio espouses the same Cold War mentality that made Sen. John McCain such a troubling candidate for commander-in-chief in 2008. He is quick to criticize what he sees as American weakness, from the nuclear negotiations with Iran to U.S. policies toward Russia and China, but he fails to present credible alternatives. As he builds his platform in the months to come, he will need to make a compelling case for not just what’s wrong… Read More ›