News
The Five Lessons That Must Guide U.S. Interactions with Vladimir Putin
U.S.-Russian relations are worse today than at any time since the end of the Cold War — worse, indeed, than at any time since the dangerous years of the early 1980s. Crises and confrontations have become more the norm than the exception in recent years; the rhetoric in Washington and Moscow alike has become increasingly hostile.
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.
Why Beating Islamic State Could Start a Crisis with Iran
The U.S. is rapidly heading down the path of confrontation with a rogue-state adversary, a potential foe that has proved rational yet ruthless in pursuit of its interests, including the aggressive development of its nuclear program and associated military capabilities. The rogue state this description best fits, however, may not be North Korea, but Iran.
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.
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.
Senate Tees up NDAA Endgame for Monday
TRUMP DELAYS DEFENSE PROCUREMENT BOOST, the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments writes via your Morning D correspondent: The Trump administration requested $125.2 billion in procurement funding for the Pentagon in fiscal 2018, putting off any substantial growth until future years, the CSBA reports.