Five of the nation’s top national security think tanks presented widely varying ideas Oct. 18 on the strategy, the military force structure and funding needed to meet the global security environment 10 years in the future.
The proposed funding ranged from a 10-year cut of $1.1 trillion below the administration of President Barack Obama’s long-term budget projects by the libertarian-leaning Cato Institute to a $1.3 trillion increase from the conservative American Enterprise Institute (AEI), with the force reductions or increases corresponding to the funding levels.
Three other think tanks, the Center for a New American Security (CNAS), the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments (CSBA) and the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) fell in the middle on both funding and force levels. The conference was held in the Newseum’s Knight Studio.