Defense Budget

Public Opinion Supports Progressive National Security Policies ahead of Midterms As next week’s midterm elections approach, many pundits and analysts expect that a handful of close races will determine who will control Congress for the rest of President Obama’s term in office. A poll by the Pew Research Center found that many Americans view the midterms as a referendum on the President’s performance, noting that “Fully 61% of Republican voters consider their congressional ballot as a vote against the president.” Despite the hard electoral battle faced by many Democrats, recent polls have also found strong popular support for progressive policies on national security and foreign policy issues. The polling data on the issues are clear: The American public is confident in the Obama Administration’s response… Read More ›

Fighting the Islamic State:  Assessing the Impact on the Pentagon’s Budget October 1, 2014 As the United States expands the war against the Islamic State to include striking targets in Syria, the issue of funding the campaign has garnered increased interest from policymakers. Recent analyses by outside experts project that the costs of a sustained campaign could rise to $8 billion per year for airstrikes – depending upon their intensity – and $20 billion per year overall when taking into account other factors, such as arming partner ground forces. These projected costs come at a time when Congress has called to drawdown Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO) spending and Pentagon officials are indicating that in the future they will need more OCO funding to execute the… Read More ›

Ghani’s Inauguration Will Allow Progress in Afghanistan September 24, 2015 On Sunday, Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai was officially declared the winner of Afghanistan’s presidential election after months of political deadlock and accusations of voter fraud. President-elect Ghani has said he will share power with the election’s runner-up, Abdullah Abdullah, who will be appointed the country’s chief executive. Ghani’s inauguration is scheduled for next Monday, September 29, at which point he will take power from President Hamid Karzai, who has been president since 2004 and has strained relations with the United States in the last years of his tenure. Ghani has pledged to sign the stalled Bilateral Security Agreement and a Status of Forces Agreement (BSA) that would formalize the U.S.-NATO counterterrorism mission in Afghanistan beyond the… Read More ›

Washington Leads with Militarized Responses September 17, 2014 | Project on Defense Alternatives Budget Effects Proponents of increasing the DoD budget have been busy ‘making hay’ from the ISIS and Putin threats.  The National Security Network has a good summary of why new military activities in the Middle East do not require additional defense spending: “The President’s campaign against the Islamic State has revived debate over the Budget Control Act (BCA) caps on Department of Defense spending. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) said last Friday, ‘If we don’t replace the cuts in sequestration, we’re going to compromise our ability to be successful against [the Islamic State] and other emerging threats,’ and Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) shared similar views, saying, ‘I know that if we don’t, we… Read More ›

  Service members from the Senegal Military Police, United States Army, United States Marines and Senegalese Paratroopers stand in formation for Exercise Western Accord opening ceremony [US Army Africa photo by by Staff Sgt. Donna Davis, 6/16/14]As the Senate begins consideration of Pentagon spending next week, several issues in the proposed defense budget warrant closer scrutiny. The Defense Appropriations Bill will be marked up at the subcommittee level next week and legislators should pay careful attention to  the Administration’s proposals for a Counterterrorism Partnerships Fund (CTPF) and European Reassurance Initiative (ERI); both programs have been framed with sound policy objectives, but Congress should not fund these expensive measures without greater clarity about their implementation, which could circumvent base defense budget caps and critical human rights… Read More ›

Overseas Contingency Operations Funding: Vigilance Required June 27, 2014 Yesterday, the White House submitted its Fiscal Year 2015 request for Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO) funding. The request totaled $65.8 billion – what would be the  fifth highest-funded military in the world if it were a stand-alone force – $58.6 billion of which is slated for the Pentagon. While modestly below last year’s $80 billion, this year’s request appears larger than necessary to fund ongoing contingency operations given that the expected cost of war in Afghanistan this year was previously cited at $20 billion by administration officials. This $40 billion difference fuels the bipartisan concern already voiced by lawmakers that OCO dollars will continue to be used as a slush fund to avoid the spending caps… Read More ›

 Challenges and Opportunities in Europe June 4, 2014 This week, President Obama is meeting with European leaders to discuss security and economic issues amidst continued uncertainty surrounding Ukraine’s future and recent European elections. The European tour offers the opportunity to further the kind of multilateral leadership the President reiterated during his foreign policy speech at West Point last week. And there’s no shortage of challenges. With uneasy NATO allies in Eastern Europe, the United States must offer right-sized reassurance to partners without unnecessarily provoking a Russian response. While this mark may have been hit by Obama’s announced $1 billion initiative to adjust U.S. military activity in Europe, follow-through will depend upon finding the right funding sources in the Pentagon’s half-a-trillion-dollar base budget. While Ukraine’s recent… Read More ›

  A member of the 380th Expeditionary Aircraft Maintenance Squadron assists in the removal of the temporary landing gear on a U-2 April 19, 2014, in Southwest Asia. [U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Russ Scalf, 4/20/13]Progressive Talk Radio’s Frank Knapp interviews NSN’s John Bradshaw on the NDAA May 30, 2014 | Frank Knapp Show On Frank Knapp’s “U Need 2 Know,” radio program, Executive Director for the National Security Network, John Bradshaw, discussed the House’s defiance of the Pentagon over its defense budget in the recent passage of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). Uncharacteristically, the House Armed Services Committee went against the Pentagon’s request for a more realistic budget to accommodate its shifting defense strategies. The House’s budget included measures to overhaul outdated… Read More ›

Improving the House NDAA: Top 5 Amendments May 21, 2014 This afternoon, the House will debate and vote on floor amendments to the FY 2015 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The NDAA has so far been riddled with problematic provisions in terms of both Pentagon budget andpolicy issues. But a number of the offered amendments can improve the House version of the bill. In terms of policy, Congress has the opportunity to approve measures that would clear the way for closing the Guantanamo Bay detention facility and allow the trial of detainees in the U.S. federal court system. There is also a measure that would sunset the 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF), something consistent with avoiding the risk of perpetual war and capitalizing on gains… Read More ›

Pay reform unlikely for years, budget experts say Critics say House committee members ‘chose pork and hardware over readiness’ By Leo Shane III May 14, 2014 | Army Times Meaningful military compensation reform is likely years away, and even then will happen only if the White House insists on a major overhaul, defense budget experts said Wednesday. In a conference call with reporters, a panel of progressive defense critics with the National Security Network blasted the House Armed Services Committee’s recently passed defense authorization bill for fiscal 2015, calling it a shortsighted plan that ducks budget realities. Committee members “chose pork and hardware over readiness,” said Gordon Adams, a former Clinton administration defense budget official. “They seem to imagine a parallel future where defense budgets… Read More ›