News
Search News
In the News
Debating Counter-Factuals: Was the Rise of ISIS Inevitable?
Brands and Feaver contended that different American policy choices could have thwarted the rise of the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL. They reached this conclusion after considering a range of counter-factual scenarios, including alternatives to US disengagement from Iraq in 2010–11, robust early intervention in the Syrian civil war, and action against ISIS before its assault on western Iraq. They argued, however, that the Iraq invasion did not make the rise of ISIS inevitable; quite the contrary, they showed that different, but plausible decisions by the Obama administration could have profoundly reduced the ISIS threat before it emerged.
In the News
TANK WARFARE: Russia Builds Platform to Rival the Abrams
A robust APS that is baked in from the start is likely to be a key component of the T-14 Armata, said David Johnson, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank.
In the News
This is What a War Between Iran and America Might Look Like
The best research to guide us in such a discussion is a 2011 report from the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments (CSBA) that looks at Iranian A2/AD capabilities and possible U.S. responses, titled: “Outside-In: Operating from Range to Defeat Iran’s Anti-Access/Area-Denial Threats.”
In the News
A Budget Report to Check Out
In May when the Trump administration sent a 2018 budget proposal to Congress, senior Pentagon officials said not to expect a large military buildup — the kind Trump talked about on the campaign trail — until 2019. So what does the military want to buy with the $125 billion it asked lawmakers to approve for new weapons and equipment? A new report by Katherine Blakeley of the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, examines just that, and how the procurement accounts stack up against budgets in recent years.
In the News
No rest for the weary: Lack of sleep threatens safety and readiness
Jan van Tol, a retired skipper who works as an analyst with the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, commanded several warships during his career, including the amphibious assault ship Essex from 2003 to 2005.
In the News
Mark Gunzinger: Upgrading nation’s aging nuclear arsenal
Military planners are hard at work on what they say are badly needed upgrades to the nation’s aging nuclear arsenal. A new bomber, new submarines and new intercontinental ballistic missiles – all under development contracts. Still undecided is whether the U.S. will develop a new air-launched cruise missile. For more on that program, we turn to Mark Gunzinger, analyst at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments.