Military & Defense Policy

Publication Date: 2007/06/03

Publication / Source: Washington Post

Author: Brigid Schulte

With many claiming the US Military to be "broken", why are recruiters turning away smart, fit and eager young recruits, but granting moral, medical and age "waivers" for for less than ideal candidates? HINT: look at their citizenship status...

Publication Date: 2007/04/13

Publication / Source: Institute for National Strategic Studies, National Defense University

Author: Leo Michel

The attached INSS paper asks whether the next French president's NATO agenda will differ from his or her predecessor's. Some analysts have taken a "plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose" approach. This assessment suggests, however, that while no U-turns seem likely, the winner of the May 6 run-off might resurrect the soothing formula of le changement dans la continuité (attributed to Georges Pompidou) to reshape French policy regarding two near-term challenges—the NATO-EU relationship and France’s role in NATO-ISAF—and, over the longer-term, to re-evaluate the level of French participation in NATO structures.

Publication Date: 2007/04/11

Publication / Source: Democracy Arsenal

Author: Gordon Adams

What do Mitt Romney, Hillary Clinton, George Bush, Bill Richardson, and Gen. Pete Schoomaker, among others, have in common? They all think the U.S. military is on the verge of breaking and the solution is to make it bigger. Yet, none of them have told us why it should grow. Every one of them has put the expansion cart ahead of the strategic horse. There is no compelling reason to expand the land forces of the United States; in fact, there may be reasons to make them smaller.

Publication Date: 2007/04/11

Publication / Source: The Los Angeles Times

Author: Robert Malley

The White House condemned Speaker Pelosi's trip to Syria as counterproductive, asserting that it undermined U.S. policy aimed at marginalizing a so-called pariah regime. The charge is, on its face, absurd. The European Union's top diplomatic envoy just visited Syria. Assad attended the recent Arab League summit in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Republican and Democratic officials have been traveling to Damascus for months. The Syrian regime is no more isolated in the world than the Bush administration is embraced by it. But the fuss about Pelosi's perfectly legitimate visit obscured a far more intriguing question: What should be done about Syria?

Publication Date: 2007/02/23

Publication / Source: Los Angeles Times

Author: Rosa Brooks

In just a few years we've grown disturbingly comfortable with the fact that the U.S. practices torture.

Publication Date: 2007/02/19

Publication / Source: The Washington Post

Author: Greg Craig and Ronald D. Asmus

Russian President Vladimir Putin's bellicose speech at the Munich security conference on Feb. 10 has caused some to revive their arguments against enlarging NATO. The critics were wrong when they opposed adding nations to the alliance in the 1990s, and they are still wrong.

Publication Date: 2007/02/02

Publication / Source: Slate

Author: Daniel Benjamin

The U.S. government seems bent on destroying the friendships and tools we need to protect ourselves. The most obvious case is the alienation of millions of the world's Muslims through the invasion of Iraq. But there are other examples, such as the way we have put at risk key relationships with allies through misguided intelligence operations and endangered one of our most valuable tools, the practice of rendition.

Publication Date: 2007/02/08

Publication / Source: The Washington Post

Author: Vali Nasr and Ray Takeyh

As Iran crosses successive nuclear demarcations and mischievously intervenes in Iraq, the question of how to address the Islamic republic is once more preoccupying Washington. Economic sanctions, international ostracism, military strikes and even support for hopeless exiles are all contemplated with vigor and seriousness. One option, however, is rarely assessed: engagement as a means of achieving a more pluralistic and responsible government in Tehran.

Publication Date: 2007/02/05

Publication / Source: International Herald Tribune

Author: Karl F. Inderfurth and Bruce Riedel

NATO defense ministers need to make some tough decisions about Afghanistan when they meet in Seville this week. The violence in Afghanistan is four times more intense than it was a year ago. Suicide attacks have jumped from 27 in 2005 to 139 in 2006; the use of roadside bombs has doubled. Aid and reconstruction workers are targeted, setting back development efforts. First and foremost, more troops are needed.

Publication Date: 2007/02/12

Publication / Source: International Herald Tribune

Author: Philip Gordon

For several years now, one of the most important trends in international relations has been the apparent disintegration of what was once called "the West." Viewed from the other side of the world, however, and in light of recent developments, the differences within the West no longer seem so great. On a wide range of global issues, Americans and Europeans are coming together. As they do so, engaging a rising China will be one of their greatest challenges.