America's national interests in the Asia-Pacific region are deep and enduring. We seek to maintain a balance of power that fosters a peaceful expansion of free societies, free trade, free markets, and free commons, air, sea, space, and cyber. These are values that we share with increasing numbers of Asia's citizens. For 7 decades, administrations of both parties have worked with our friends and allies in the region to uphold this rules-based order and to enlist new partners in this shared effort, an effort that now extends to states like Indonesia and Vietnam. No country has benefited more...
America's national interests in the Asia-Pacific region are deep and enduring. We seek to maintain a balance of power that fosters a peaceful expansio...
The black flags of Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) are now flying over yet another major Iraqi city, Ramadi, the capital of Iraq's Anbar Province, and reports overnight suggest that ISIL now controls the Syrian city of Palmyra, as well. The fall of Ramadi and capture by ISIL of American-supplied military equipment is another setback for the United States and further undermines our credibility as a reliable strategic partner in the region. And yet, the Obama administration seems unwilling or unable to grasp the strategic significance. As ISIL terrorists ransacked Ramadi-the...
The black flags of Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) are now flying over yet another major Iraqi city, Ramadi, the capital of Iraq's Anbar P...
Director of National Intelligence, James Clapper, testified before Congress, "in my 50-plus years in the intelligence business, I don't know of a time that has been more beset by challenges and crises around the world." Nowhere is that truer than in the Middle East. From Libya and Yemen, to Iraq and Syria, the old order in the Middle East, both the regional balance among states and the social order within states, is collapsing and no new vision has emerged to take its place. This underlying dynamic is made worse by the failure of U.S. strategy and leadership to shape events in this vital part...
Director of National Intelligence, James Clapper, testified before Congress, "in my 50-plus years in the intelligence business, I don't know of a time...
Just like the United States, Europe confronts a diverse and complex array of crises that are making the world a more dangerous place. Radical Islamists have attacked Paris and Copenhagen. In the Mediterranean, over 700 migrants perished tragically in a shipwreck fleeing the conflict and instability of North Africa. Then there is Russia. In 2012, the Defense Strategic Guidance argued that the changing global security environment offered a chance to rebalance the U.S. military investment in Europe while building a closer relationship with Russia. The Obama administration eliminated two heavy...
Just like the United States, Europe confronts a diverse and complex array of crises that are making the world a more dangerous place. Radical Islamist...
The United States and other major powers have signed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action JCPOA] with Iran. We don't know how this agreement will affect regional security, proliferation, and the balance of power in the Middle East; what impact it may have on Iran's malign activities and hegemonic ambitions in the region; what it means for perceptions of American credibility and resolve among our allies and partners; and what the consequences are for U.S. defense policy, military planning, and force structure. Iran is not just an arms control challenge. It is a geopolitical challenge. Iran...
The United States and other major powers have signed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action JCPOA] with Iran. We don't know how this agreement will a...
Despite an accumulating array of complex threats to our national interests, we are on track now to cut $1 trillion from America's defense budget by the year 2021. The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), has taken over a swath of territory the size of Indiana in the Middle East. We are now on track to having nearly 3,000 U.S. troops back in Iraq, and we are flying hundreds of airstrikes a month against ISIS in Iraq and Syria. China has increased its aggressive challenge to America and our allies in the Asia-Pacific region where geopolitical tensions and the potential for miscalculations...
Despite an accumulating array of complex threats to our national interests, we are on track now to cut $1 trillion from America's defense budget by th...
The preeminent responsibility of the Federal Government is to provide for the common defense. In order to fulfill this foundational responsibility of our Government, Congress has been explicitly charged, in Article 1, Section 8, of the Constitution, with the authority and responsibility to raise and support armies, and provide and maintain the Navy. We have to begin with an objective assessment of our national security interests and the threats that we're facing around the world. We then should determine what defense capabilities and capacities we need in order to protect our interests...
The preeminent responsibility of the Federal Government is to provide for the common defense. In order to fulfill this foundational responsibility of ...
The rules-based international order that has furthered global prosperity and security is not self-sustaining. As challenges to that order multiply around the world, there is no substitute for robust American engagement to ensure its preservation. Though America has many effective tools of global influence, including diplomacy and economic engagement, all of these are critically intertwined with and dependent upon the perceived strength, presence, and commitment of U.S. Armed Forces. $487 billion in cuts to national defense under the Budget Control Act (BCA) of 2011 and billions more under...
The rules-based international order that has furthered global prosperity and security is not self-sustaining. As challenges to that order multiply aro...
Four decades ago, Secretary of State Dean Acheson titled his memoir on the construction of the post-World War II order, "Present at the Creation." Looking out at the state of that order today, it is fair to ask if we are now present at the unraveling. For 7 decades, Republican and Democratic leaders alike have committed America's indispensable leadership and strength to defending a liberal world order, one that cherishes the rule of law, maintains free markets and free trade, provides peaceful means for the settlement of disputes, and relegates wars of aggression to their rightful place in...
Four decades ago, Secretary of State Dean Acheson titled his memoir on the construction of the post-World War II order, "Present at the Creation." Loo...
