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By Steven Metz
30 Jan 2012
Briefing
As the United States disengages from Iraq and Afghanistan, the argument that technology is rendering land power obsolete has been resurrected. The appeal of substituting standoff military methods for a balanced capability means that as the U.S. military downsizes, land power may take a disproportionate cut. But before committing to such an approach, Americans must think carefully about its implications.
By John Ryan
13 Jan 2012 |
Briefing
From the start, the eurozone crisis has been a battle over who will ultimately be liable for the losses on sovereign debt held by European financial institutions. For political reasons, the EU has implemented what amounts to a covert bank bailout to prop up peripheral countries. However, a restructuring that allows peripheral economies to reduce their debt to sustainable levels is economically necessary now.
By Veronique de Rugy, Benjamin H. Friedman
06 Jan 2012 |
Briefing
The prospect of $500 billion in cuts to the U.S. defense budget from 2013-2021 has Washington in a panic. In unveiling an updated military strategy yesterday, Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta warned that such cuts would lead to a “demoralized and hollow force.” We should not allow such claims to scare us into letting the Pentagon off the hook. The cuts would indispose the Pentagon, not destroy it.
By Alexander Benard
09 Dec 2011 |
Briefing
The difference between the U.S. and China's aid policies is that China deploys its aid as part of a broader strategy to open markets to Chinese companies and gain access to natural resources. The lesson for the United States, then, is not to do away with foreign aid, but to take a page out of the Chinese playbook and begin deploying aid in such a way that it will yield economic benefits for the United States.
By Gian P. Gentile
22 Nov 2011 |
Briefing
There is perhaps no better measure of the failure of American strategy over the past decade than the fact that in both Iraq and Afghanistan, tactical objectives have been used to define victory. In particular, both wars have been characterized by an all-encompassing obsession with the methods and tactics of counterinsurgency. Now, the U.S. Army is in dire need of a conversation on strategy.
By Johan Bergenas
17 Nov 2011 |
Briefing
The U.S. government’s efforts to reduce its budget deficit has put funding for development aid and even defense spending on the chopping block. With advocacy groups and lobbyists in Washington now fighting to minimize the damage to their interests, little attention has been given to an innovative way to achieve security and development objectives amid financial austerity: leveraging the private sector.
By Chris Luenen
21 Oct 2011 |
Briefing
Last year, the European Union invested a record $3.6 billion in southern Mediterranean countries to demonstrate support for sustainable growth and job creation in the region. But despite these economic initiatives, the EU still lacks a political strategy for dealing with the Arab Spring. Nowhere is this clearer than in the continuing debate over whether to establish official relations with the Muslim Brotherhood.
By Richard Weitz
30 Sep 2011 |
Briefing
Like many policy issues regarding North Korea, the U.S. has no good options regarding the restoration of food aid. Experts and moralists may debate the merits of North Korea's request for the food assistance. But resuming U.S. food aid to North Korea may be warranted for political as well as humanitarian reasons, as it could help establish the conditions needed to resume a dialogue with the North Korean government.
By Laicie Olson, Kingston Reif
26 Sep 2011 |
Briefing
Getting America's fiscal house in order will require making smart decisions about what is most needed to safeguard U.S. national security in the 21st century. But a close look at the Pentagon budget reveals numerous programs that are more suitable to defeating the Cold War-era Soviet Union than to addressing current security threats. A particularly egregious example is the budget for nuclear weapons programs.
By Richard Gowan, Emily O'Brien
21 Sep 2011 |
Briefing
This Thursday, the U.N. Security Council will hold a special session on preventive diplomacy -- the art of averting imminent wars, coups and massacres. The event will be attended by heads of state and foreign ministers who will certainly be distracted by the Palestinian drive for recognition as a state. Nevertheless, even if Thursday's debate turns out to be turgid, the subject matter is worth taking seriously.
By Alexander Bollfrass
12 Sep 2011 |
Briefing
Eight years after Moammar Gadhafi gave up his nuclear weapons program and chemical munitions in exchange for détente with the West, he has been chased from power by a rebel army backed by Western airpower. While Gadhafi's fall is good news, it heightens the challenge of getting the Irans and North Koreas of the world to give up their nuclear ambitions in exchange for better relations with the West.