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2. The Defense Monitor, Volume XXXVIII - July/August/September 2009
- Publication Date:
- 09-2009
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Center for Defense Information
- Abstract:
- The international Global Zero Commission, a group of political and military leaders from the United States, Russia and other key countries, held an intensive two-day meeting in Washington, D.C. on June 28-29, 2009 - where they presented a practical and comprehensive plan calling for the phased and verified elimination of all nuclear weapons over the next 20 years, and briefed senior Obama administration officials on their recommendations in advance of the July 6-8 Moscow Summit.
- Topic:
- Conflict Prevention, Security, Defense Policy, Arms Control and Proliferation, and Counterinsurgency
- Political Geography:
- Russia, United States, Washington, and Moscow
3. The Defense Monitor, Volume XXXVIII - April/May/June 2009
- Publication Date:
- 06-2009
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Center for Defense Information
- Abstract:
- Global Zero was publicly launched at its inaugural conference in Paris on Dec. 9, 2008 - bringing together a truly extraordinary group of more than 100 leaders from around the world toward the goal of a world without nuclear weapons. They discussed the outline for a step-by-step policy plan for the phased elimination of nuclear weapons and the public education and outreach plan for the coming year. The meeting generated widespread enthusiasm, as well as serious and constructive dialogue among participants.
- Topic:
- Security, Defense Policy, and Arms Control and Proliferation
4. The Defense Monitor - Volume XXXVIII, No. 1 - January/February 2009
- Publication Date:
- 02-2009
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Center for Defense Information
- Abstract:
- For the second year in a row, an unexpected major "national security" crisis threatened to reignite - again - into the latest round of armed conflict since the two countries were created 61 years ago. Headlines throughout most of December speculated about the added damage war would bring to an already financially weakened international system. Then, on Dec. 26, 2008, Israeli warplanes struck the Hamas-run Gaza Strip in what Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak would label an attempt to destroy Hamas once and for all.
- Topic:
- Security, Defense Policy, and Arms Control and Proliferation
- Political Geography:
- Israel
5. The Defense Monitor, Volume XXXVII - November/December 2008
- Publication Date:
- 12-2008
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Center for Defense Information
- Abstract:
- In their January 2007 Op-Ed , George Shultz, William Perry, Sam Nunn and Henry Kissinger advocated "A World Free of Nuclear Weapons." To imagine a world without nuclear weapons means that the United States and the other nuclear powers can find a way to get rid of them. In other words: "Getting to zero." But, how to reach "zero" is usually where the debate stalemates. With characteristic candor, Shultz himself admits he doesn't know how to get to zero, and doubts if his colleagues do.
- Topic:
- Security, Defense Policy, and Arms Control and Proliferation
- Political Geography:
- United States
6. The Defense Monitor, Volume XXXVII, No. 5 - September/October 2008
- Publication Date:
- 10-2008
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Center for Defense Information
- Abstract:
- In early 2001, the Pentagon anticipated an approximate budget of $900 billion for the Navy and Marines for the period 2001 to 2009. Not counting $95 billion subsequently received for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Navy/Marine Corps "base" (nonwar) budget was increased by $174 billion to $1.074 trillion. The data used for these calculations are displayed in the table on this page.
- Topic:
- Defense Policy, Arms Control and Proliferation, War, and Maritime Commerce
- Political Geography:
- Afghanistan and Iraq
7. Defense Monitor, Volume XXXVII, No. 3 - May/June 2008
- Publication Date:
- 05-2008
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Center for Defense Information
- Abstract:
- On July 1, 2008 when France assumes the European Union (EU) presidency for six months, one of French President Nicolas Sarkozy's top priorities will be the European Security and Defense Policy (ESDP). According to Le Monde, Sarkozy is planning a "Saint-Malo (B)" – a reference to the Anglo- French declaration signed on Dec. 4, 1998, relaunching movement towards an EU defense capacity, and leading eventually to the birth of ESDP.
- Topic:
- Security, Defense Policy, Arms Control and Proliferation, War, and Counterinsurgency
- Political Geography:
- Europe and France
8. Defense Monitor, Vol. XXXVII, No. 2 - March/April 2008
- Publication Date:
- 04-2008
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Center for Defense Information
- Abstract:
- The new 2009 defense budget has just been released. The more you look into the numbers, the more things become unclear, very unclear. Most of the numbers that have been released are inaccurate or incomplete, or both. Other numbers will change as the year progresses, but we do not know if they will go up or down.
- Topic:
- Security, Defense Policy, Arms Control and Proliferation, Debt, Nuclear Weapons, and Weapons of Mass Destruction
9. Defense Monitor, Vol. XXXVII, No. 1 -January/February 2008
- Publication Date:
- 01-2008
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Center for Defense Information
- Abstract:
- Until Dec. 27, the "success" of U.S. President George Bush's defiant rejection of the American public's repudiation of his Iraq and Afghanistan war policies – evidenced by the November 2006 congressional election – looked to be the most significant aspect of major armed conflicts around the world during 2007.
- Topic:
- Conflict Resolution, Security, Defense Policy, and Arms Control and Proliferation
- Political Geography:
- Afghanistan, United States, Iraq, and America
10. Defense Monitor, Civil Wars Turned Regional
- Author:
- Col. Daniel Smith
- Publication Date:
- 01-2007
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Center for Defense Information
- Abstract:
- No conventional, state-sponsored opposing armies took to the field of battle in 2006. Nonetheless, the number of overt armed interventions by out-side powers in other nations civil wars increased, illustrating a trend away from conventional armed conflicts and toward more complex civil wars that increasingly transform into larger regional wars.
- Topic:
- Defense Policy, International Political Economy, and War
- Political Geography:
- United States
11. Defense Monitor, Who Will Pay for this Puny Defense Budget?
- Author:
- Eric Hagt, Philip E. Coyle, Whitney Parker, Rachel Stohl, Winslow Wheeler, Victoria Samson, and Rhea Myerscough
- Publication Date:
- 03-2007
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Center for Defense Information
- Abstract:
- This analysis first appeared in the Fort Worth Star-Telegramon March 5, 2007.The new 2008 defense budget has been on the street for weeks. A consensus has emerged in Washington about its size. That consensus has little to do with the facts and much to do with political maneuvering, which has been orchestrated with brilliant success by the very same White House that everyone in Washington discounts as washed up.
- Topic:
- Defense Policy and Arms Control and Proliferation
- Political Geography:
- United States, China, and Asia
12. The Defense Monitor, U.S. Missile Defenses in Europe: The Putin Alternative
- Author:
- Philip E. Coyle, Whitney Parker, Theresa Hitchens, and Richard May
- Publication Date:
- 07-2007
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Center for Defense Information
- Abstract:
- At the G-8 Summit in early June, the difficulties and complexities of proposed U.S. missile defenses in Europe were on full display. In the weeks preceding the G-8 Summit, Russian President Vladimir Putin had set the Bush administration – and the world – back on its heels with talk of Russian missiles aimed at Europe in retaliation for proposed U.S. missile defenses in Poland and the Czech Republic. This set the stage for what the Bush administration thought might be a G-8 confrontation over its proposed missile defense system. Then, on June 7, Putin proposed a smart missile defense technical and policy solution that the Pentagon should have thought of first: establishing a missile defense radar site at the existing Qabala early warning radar station in Azerbaijan.
- Topic:
- Defense Policy and Nuclear Weapons
- Political Geography:
- Russia, United States, Europe, and Asia
13. The Defense Monitor, Conventional Weapons Pose Challenges for U.S. Forces in Afghanistan
- Author:
- Rachel Stohl, Winslow Wheeler, Mark Burgess, Marta Conti, Monica Czwarno, and Ana Marte
- Publication Date:
- 10-2007
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Center for Defense Information
- Abstract:
- Six years Ago, the United States began its operations in Afghanistan in response to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. At the time, scant attention was paid to the dangers of landmines, unexploded ordnance and small arms that plagued the country. Now, six years later, U.S. and coalition military forces serving in Afghanistan continue to face a variety of dangers, beyond the unfriendly geography and resurgent Taliban forces. Troops supporting the international Security Assistance Force (ISAF) and operation enduring Freedom (OEF) face additional challenges from landmines, unexploded ordnance, man-portable air defense systems and other small arms.
- Topic:
- Defense Policy, Terrorism, and War
- Political Geography:
- Afghanistan, United States, and Asia
14. The Defense Monitor, The U.S. Military: By the Numbers
- Author:
- Winslow Wheeler and Ana Marte
- Publication Date:
- 11-2007
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Center for Defense Information
- Abstract:
- This issue of the Defense Monitor will highlight CDI's 2007 Military Almanac, a compilation of government, academic and other research data that depicts the cost, structure, history and makeup of the U.S. military. For this issue, we have chosen to display several Almanac charts that highlight significant issues such as the recent composition of the U.S. Armed Forces, the basic U.S. force structure relative to the military service budget, the companies being awarded top defense contracts for new weapons, the size of the U.S. military spending relative to the defense budgets of other countries around the globe, and the overall composition of the U.S. military commands.
- Topic:
- Defense Policy and Political Economy
- Political Geography:
- United States
15. The Limits and Liabilities of Missile Defense
- Author:
- Philip E. Coyle
- Publication Date:
- 11-2006
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Center for Defense Information
- Abstract:
- This analysis first appeared in the November 2006 issue of Current History. “The most effective route in dealing with nuclear and missile proliferation threats may be through creative diplomacy, not military technology.”
- Topic:
- International Relations, Security, Defense Policy, and Arms Control and Proliferation
16. Conventional Arms Transfers to Developing Nations, 1998-2005
- Author:
- Richard F. Grimmett
- Publication Date:
- 11-2006
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Center for Defense Information
- Abstract:
- This report is prepared annually to provide Congress with official, unclassified, quantitative data on conventional arms transfers to developing nations by the United States and foreign countries for the preceding eight calendar years for use in its various policy oversight functions. All agreement and delivery data in this report for the United States are government-to-government (FMS) transactions. Some general data are provided on worldwide conventional arms transfers by all suppliers, but the principal focus is the level of arms transfers by major weapons suppliers to nations in the developing world.
- Topic:
- Security, Defense Policy, and Arms Control and Proliferation
- Political Geography:
- Russia, United States, Europe, and Asia
17. The Defense Monitor, “Wars decrease”
- Author:
- Col. Daniel Smith
- Publication Date:
- 06-2006
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Center for Defense Information
- Abstract:
- Set against non-stop cable news broadcasts recounting the ongoing daily carnage in Iraq and the resurgent violence in Afghanistan, the headline “wars decrease” was a jolt.
- Topic:
- Defense Policy, International Political Economy, and War
- Political Geography:
- Afghanistan, United States, and Iraq
18. Defense Monitor, Missile Defense: An Expensive Bluff?
- Author:
- Eric Hagt, Philip E. Coyle, Whitney Parker, Rachel Stohl, Winslow Wheeler, and Anthony Zinni
- Publication Date:
- 08-2006
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Center for Defense Information
- Abstract:
- North Korea's launch of numerous missiles the first week of July raised serious questions about the capabilities of both the U.S. missile defense system and North Korea's ballistic missile program. CDI Analyst Victoria Samson and Senior Advisor Philip Coyle appeared on numerous radio talk shows and TV news programs nationwide, helping viewers, listeners and readers to understand that the missile defense system being deployed in Alaska and California has no demonstrated capability to defend the United Sates against an enemy attack. Meanwhile the Bush administration is losing precious time. As Coyle points out in the article below, it's time to enter into one-on-one talks with North Korea before Pyongyang improves its short and long range missiles further. The six-party talks are important and necessary, but not sufficient to stop North Korea's missiles. And neither, unfortunately, are U.S. missile defenses.
- Topic:
- Defense Policy, Arms Control and Proliferation, and United Nations
- Political Geography:
- United States, China, Iraq, Middle East, Asia, and North Korea
19. Defense Monitor: Where is America Going? Five Years After Sept. 11
- Author:
- Philip E. Coyle, Whitney Parker, Rachel Stohl, Winslow Wheeler, Victoria Samson, Jessica Ashooh, Mark Burgess, and Rhea Myerscough
- Publication Date:
- 09-2006
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Center for Defense Information
- Abstract:
- In the days before Sept. 11, riding the post-Cold War high, America was blissfully unaware of the threats it faced, and why. A few in the William J. Clinton administration tried to warn their successors about al-Qaida's danger, but overall, most Americans were blindsided by the Sept. 11 attacks. Five years later, America is still largely in the dark.
- Topic:
- Defense Policy, Terrorism, and War
- Political Geography:
- Afghanistan, United States, Iraq, Middle East, and Asia
20. Defense Monitor, Not What We Were Hoping For
- Author:
- Philip E. Coyle, Whitney Parker, Rachel Stohl, Winslow Wheeler, Victoria Samson, and Theresa Hitchens
- Publication Date:
- 11-2006
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Center for Defense Information
- Abstract:
- For decades, the U.S. Air Force has promoted the F-22 as its fighter for the 21st century. Advocates tout its technical features: fuel efficient, high speed “super-cruise,” advanced electronics, and reduced profile against enemy sensors, known as “stealth.” While those are popular amenities, the measures that really determine winning or losing in air combat have been overlooked by the Air Force. The F-22 fails to improve America's fighter force and degrades our combat capability.
- Topic:
- Defense Policy, Arms Control and Proliferation, and Nuclear Weapons
- Political Geography:
- United States
21. The Defense Monitor: Will There Ever Be Another BRAC?
- Author:
- Philip E. Coyle
- Publication Date:
- 02-2006
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Center for Defense Information
- Abstract:
- The final recommendations of the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) Commission became law in November. Congress or the president could have rejected the commission's recommendations entirely, but could not “cherry pick” the parts they liked or reject parts they didn't.
- Topic:
- Defense Policy and Political Economy
- Political Geography:
- Afghanistan, United States, and Asia
22. The Defense Monitor: Military Spending: CDI Analysts Take a Close Look at Defense Budgets
- Author:
- Rhea Myerscough
- Publication Date:
- 04-2006
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Center for Defense Information
- Abstract:
- How do Congress and the Bush administration prioritize the issues monitored by the Center for Defense Information's Challenging Conventional Threats project? This examination of the fiscal year (FY) 2006 and 2007 budget appropriations and requests for U.S. government programs involving small arms and light weapons (hereafter referred to as “small arms”) and landmines attempts to determine just that.
- Topic:
- Defense Policy, Government, Political Economy, and Politics
- Political Geography:
- United States
23. Law Watch: Abu Ghraib Court Martial: "Ring Leader" Spc. Charles A. Graner, Jr., Sentenced to Ten Years
- Author:
- Steven C. Welsh
- Publication Date:
- 01-2005
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Center for Defense Information
- Abstract:
- Spc. Charles A. Graner, Jr., on Jan. 14, 2005, became the fifth U.S. soldier convicted for Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse, all of them reservists. Graner, a prison guard in civilian life, was convicted at a general court martial for maltreatment of persons subject to his orders, conspiracy, assault, indecent acts and dereliction of duty. Unlike several earlier trials for Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse, this trial took place not in Iraq but at Fort Hood, Texas. The jury of 10 officers and enlisted men, all of whom had served in Iraq or Afghanistan, sentenced Graner on Jan. 15, 2004, to 10 years in prison (five less than the maximum possible) and to reduction in rank to private, dishonorable discharge and forfeiture of pay and allowances.
- Topic:
- Defense Policy, Human Rights, and War
- Political Geography:
- Afghanistan, United States, Middle East, Arabia, and Arab Countries
24. The Defense Monitor, The Mess in the Defense Budge
- Author:
- Marcus Corbin, Michael Donovan, Winslow T. Wheeler, and Ivan Safranchuk
- Publication Date:
- 02-2005
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Center for Defense Information
- Abstract:
- The new fiscal year (FY) 2006 defense budget from President George W. Bush and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld is riddled with contradictions and duplicity. By the time Congress is finished, the problems will be worse.
- Topic:
- Security and Defense Policy
- Political Geography:
- United States
25. The Defense Monitor, Secretary of defense donald rumsfeld, dec. 8, 2004
- Author:
- Daniel Smith
- Publication Date:
- 02-2005
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Center for Defense Information
- Abstract:
- If made 63 years and one day earlier – Dec. 7, 1941 – that assertion would have reflected reality as the United States suddenly found itself an active participant in World War II. It arguably was the case on Oct. 8, 2001, when U.S. cruise missiles targeted Taliban and al-Qaida installations and personnel in Afghanistan following the Sept. 11 attacks.
- Topic:
- Security and Defense Policy
- Political Geography:
- Afghanistan, United States, and Taliban
26. The Defense Monitor: Philip E. Coyle, III, CDI Senior Advisor, Appointed to Base Realignment and Closure 2005
- Author:
- Victoria Samson
- Publication Date:
- 07-2005
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Center for Defense Information
- Abstract:
- The Center for Defense Information is proud to announce that Philip E. Coyle III, a senior advisor at the center, has been appointed by President George W. Bush to serve on the independent Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) 2005 commission.
- Topic:
- Defense Policy and Nuclear Weapons
- Political Geography:
- United States, Iran, and Middle East
27. The Defense Monitor: Give Iraqis a Government Worth Dying For
- Author:
- Chet Richards
- Publication Date:
- 10-2005
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Center for Defense Information
- Abstract:
- There is a principle of engineering that says that when what you're doing isn't working, and trying harder makes the situation worse, you may be solving the wrong problem. With the attacks on London proving that occupying Iraq is not making the world safer, it is time for a radically new approach.
- Topic:
- Defense Policy, Government, Terrorism, and War
- Political Geography:
- United States, Iraq, Europe, Middle East, and London
28. The Proliferation Security Initiative in Perspective
- Author:
- Andrew Prosser
- Publication Date:
- 06-2004
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Center for Defense Information
- Abstract:
- Participant countries of the Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI), a U.S.-led effort to stem the illicit trafficking of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and delivery systems, met on the first anniversary of the initiative, from May 31 to June 1 in Krakow, Poland. Russia announced on the first day of the meeting its decision to participate in the PSI, a move that U.S. officials had supported as an important step in augmenting the effectiveness of the initiative. However, Russia's participation will only occur, according to the Russian Foreign Ministry, as long as PSI activities do not violate national or international law. Russian officials have similarly expressed concerns that the PSI's land, sea, and air-based WMD interdiction activities could endanger international commerce, and give unwarranted powers to the U.S. Navy to act as a global police force.
- Topic:
- Defense Policy, Arms Control and Proliferation, Terrorism, and Weapons of Mass Destruction
- Political Geography:
- Russia and United States
29. Operation Iraqi Freedom: Theater Air and Missile Defense History
- Author:
- Howard B. Bromberg
- Publication Date:
- 05-2004
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Center for Defense Information
- Abstract:
- Although we did not fully realize it at the time, our planning for Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) and our role in the Global War on Terrorism actually started within minutes after the attack on the World Trade Center. On September 11, 2001, the command began assuming roles in three major operations which culminated over nineteen months later with the Coalition victory in removing the Regime of Saddam Hussein and freeing the Iraqi people and the region from his threats.
- Topic:
- Defense Policy, Arms Control and Proliferation, and War
- Political Geography:
- United States, Iraq, and Middle East
30. A Unified Security Budget for the United States
- Author:
- Miriam Pemberton and Marcus Corbin
- Publication Date:
- 03-2004
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Center for Defense Information
- Abstract:
- Since September 11, 2001, the question of how to provide for our security has loomed large over our national life. Many of the Bush administration's answers to this question have come under intense challenge—from the doctrine of preventive war to the development of new designs for “usable” nuclear weapons to the choice of war with Iraq as the centerpiece of its war on terrorism. But until recently one aspect of the administration's strategy has gone virtually unchallenged, namely its military budgets and the spending priorities contained within them. From 2000 to 2004, these budgets have increased by more than 50%. Congress has approved each of these budgets, and virtually the entire menu of programs specified in them, with hardly a whisper of debate.
- Topic:
- Foreign Policy and Defense Policy
- Political Geography:
- United States
31. The Defense Monitor, The Wrong Deterrence: The Threat of Loose Nukes is One of Our Own Making
- Author:
- Colin Robinson, Bruce.G Blair, Nikolai Zlobin, and Alan F. Kay
- Publication Date:
- 10-2004
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Center for Defense Information
- Abstract:
- Nuclear terrorism, thankfully, is still only a specter, not a reality. But the recent wave of bloodshed in Russia underscores the urgency of the need to prevent terrorists capable of indiscriminate slaughter from acquiring nuclear bombs.
- Topic:
- Security and Defense Policy
- Political Geography:
- Russia and United States
32. The Defense Monitor, The Real Problem with Intelligence
- Author:
- Mark Burgess, Lawrence Korb, Winslow T. Wheeler, and Philip E. Coyle
- Publication Date:
- 08-2004
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Center for Defense Information
- Abstract:
- The reports of the 9/11 Commission and the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence miss the real problem facing the intelligence community. The real problem is not organization or culture, but the Team B concept which began in 1976 and the real villains are those hardliners who refuse to accept the unbiased and balanced judgments of intelligence professionals about the threats facing the country.
- Topic:
- Security and Defense Policy
- Political Geography:
- United States
33. The Defense Monitor, Ten Mistakes History will Record About War in Ira
- Author:
- Rachel Stohl, Anthony Zinni, Steven C. Welsh, Michael Donovan, and Colin Robinson
- Publication Date:
- 06-2004
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Center for Defense Information
- Abstract:
- [T]he first mistake that will be recorded in history [is] the belief that containment as a policy doesn't work. It certainly worked against the Soviet Union, has worked with North Korea and others. It's not a pleasant thing to have to administer, it requires troops full-time, there are moments when there ... are periods of violence, but containment is a lot cheaper than the alternative, as we're finding out now.
- Topic:
- Security and Defense Policy
- Political Geography:
- United States and North Korea
34. The Defense Monitor, Keeping Presidents in the Nuclear Dark: The SIOP Option that Wasn't
- Author:
- Rachel Stohl, Winslow Wheeler, Theresa Hitchens, and Bruce.G Blair
- Publication Date:
- 04-2004
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Center for Defense Information
- Abstract:
- ONE OF THE MOST RAREFIED experiences of a newly installed president is his receiving of the “nuclear football” conferring the right to order the use of nuclear weapons in defense of the American national interest. Few, if any, presidents have had a firm grip on the “football” however, as all U.S. presidents receive a misleading briefing on their nuclear weapons rights and responsibilities, and options.
- Topic:
- Security and Defense Policy
- Political Geography:
- United States and America
35. The Defense Monitor, Rogue States: Nuclear Red-Herrings
- Author:
- Eric Hagt, Victoria Samson, Thomas R. Pickering, Lawrence J. Korb, Bruce.G Blair, and Yali Chen
- Publication Date:
- 02-2004
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Center for Defense Information
- Abstract:
- For all the talk about rogue states acquiring nuclear weapons to threaten the United States, and all the heated debate about the United States developing mini-nukes and bunker busters to keep the rogues at bay, the U.S. nuclear weapons establishment does not pay much attention to the “axis of evil.” The real obsession of the U.S. nuclear enterprise at all levels — from Strategic Command in Omaha to the bomb custodians and designers in New Mexico — is keeping U.S. nuclear forces prepared to fight a large-scale nuclear war at a moment's notice with … Russia.
- Topic:
- Security and Defense Policy
- Political Geography:
- Russia, United States, and Mexico
36. Evolution of U.S. Policy on Small Arms
- Author:
- Victoria Garcia
- Publication Date:
- 11-2003
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Center for Defense Information
- Abstract:
- The following is a compilation of speeches, official documents, and policy notes by U.S. government officials on small arms from 1995-2003. This summary is intended to be a survey of the evolution of U.S. governmental policy, in order to give a broad history, as well as insight, into the U.S. position on the small arms issue in future international fora.
- Topic:
- Security, Defense Policy, and Arms Control and Proliferation
- Political Geography:
- United States
37. Air Force Space Command Strategic Master Plan FY06 and Beyond
- Author:
- Lance W. Lord
- Publication Date:
- 10-2003
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Center for Defense Information
- Abstract:
- Air Force Space Command (AFSPC) develops the Strategic Master Plan (SMP) as the capstone document of the command's Integrated Planning Process (IPP). The SMP presents the AFSPC Vision, outlines a strategy to implement that Vision, and defines a 25-year plan. That plan is integrated across the AFSPC mission areas to provide the space capabilities required to achieve the Vision.
- Topic:
- Defense Policy, Economics, and Science and Technology
- Political Geography:
- United States
38. The Truth About Missile Defense: Will Science Make A Difference?
- Author:
- Philip E. Coyle
- Publication Date:
- 10-2003
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Center for Defense Information
- Abstract:
- In political Washington, one can get the impression that everything is “spin”, that there are no real truths. In the news media different views are aired and debated, but one view is said to be no better than another, and certainly political views cannot be proven the way we learn mathematical proofs in school.
- Topic:
- Defense Policy, Arms Control and Proliferation, and Science and Technology
- Political Geography:
- United States
39. Boost-Phase Intercept: Billions Spent, Little Return
- Author:
- Victoria Samson
- Publication Date:
- 07-2003
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Center for Defense Information
- Abstract:
- The American Physical Society's July 16 study on boost-phase intercept missile defense programs provides an exhaustive and objective analysis of the science and technology behind the programs. However, it lacks one key element: the cost of boost-phase intercept.
- Topic:
- Defense Policy, Arms Control and Proliferation, and Science and Technology
- Political Geography:
- United States and America
40. Stand-off with North Korea: War Scenarios and Consequences
- Author:
- Colin Robinson and Stephen H. Baker
- Publication Date:
- 05-2003
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Center for Defense Information
- Abstract:
- North Korea's military threat and somewhat peculiar approaches to international relations have been a central difficulty in dealing with the isolated regime during the past decade. In the early 1990s, North Korea, formally known as the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), was expected by many observers to collapse, just as communist regimes in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union did.
- Topic:
- Security, Defense Policy, Arms Control and Proliferation, Nuclear Weapons, and Science and Technology
- Political Geography:
- Eastern Europe, Asia, North Korea, and Soviet Union
41. A Swift, Elusive Sword: What if Sun Tzu and John Boyd Did a National Defense Review?
- Author:
- Chester W. Richards
- Publication Date:
- 02-2003
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Center for Defense Information
- Abstract:
- What kind of question is: “What if Sun Tzu and John Boyd did a National Defense Review?” Sun Tzu, if he existed at all, has been gone some 2,500 years. The late Col. John R. Boyd, U.S.A.F., while intimately involved in fighter aircraft design during his active duty years, wrote practically nothing on hardware or force structure after he retired, when he created the strategic concepts for which he is best known today.
- Topic:
- Foreign Policy and Defense Policy
- Political Geography:
- United States and Europe
42. Honing the Sword: Strategy and Forces After 9/11
- Author:
- Marcus Corbin
- Publication Date:
- 02-2003
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Center for Defense Information
- Abstract:
- In 2001, prior to the attacks of Sept. 11, the Center for Defense Information published a national security review and force structure entitled Reforging the Sword: Forces for a 21st Century Security Strategy. Happily for the authors of Reforging, the Sept. 11 attacks did not make it obsolete. To the contrary, its emphases on working more closely with allies, on lighter, more agile forces, on intelligence, and on the importance of nonmilitary components of a conflict were important elements of the conduct of the counterattack by the administration of U.S. President George W. Bush. The events of Sept. 11 and Operation Enduring Freedom have reinforced the need raised in Reforging to prepare for new threats, and have enhanced the prospects for some of its proposed new directions, particularly in the area of allied collaboration if a multilateralist administration took office. This report updates Reforging the Sword in light of events on and since Sept. 11, 2001. The suggestions here use as a foundation the predilections spelled out in Reforging for working with allies, for taking the nonmilitary elements of modern war into consideration, and for trying to keep humans in the war-fighting loop.
- Topic:
- Foreign Policy, Defense Policy, and Terrorism
- Political Geography:
- United States
43. The Defense Monitor, Vital Statistics: The U.S. Military
- Author:
- Marcus Corbin and Olga Levitsky
- Publication Date:
- 12-2003
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Center for Defense Information
- Abstract:
- This issue of the defense monitor provides basic information about U.S. and foreign military forces, including facts on size, equipment, and cost. It is intended as a snapshot reference guide — more data is available on the CDI website at www.cdi.org/ news/vital-statistics/ and on the government Internet sources listed at the back of the issue.
- Topic:
- Security and Defense Policy
- Political Geography:
- United States
44. The Defense Monitor: Little Room in Politics for the Facts of the Matter
- Author:
- Philip E. Coyle, Rachel Stohl, Winslow Wheeler, Theresa Hitchens, Victoria Garcia, Colin Robinson, Krista Nelson, and Jeffrey Lewis
- Publication Date:
- 10-2003
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Center for Defense Information
- Abstract:
- Few things are more routinely abused than facts when people in government — any party, any branch — set out to make a decision. I've been reminded of this truth watching the current administration parry revelations that it manipulated “facts” about weapons of mass destruction as a pretext for the war against Iraq that Congress authorized a year ago this past week. But I'd learned it the hard way much earlier. During a 31-year career as an evaluator for the General Accounting Office and a staffer for four different U.S. senators from both parties, I spent a lot of time trying to use facts to influence decisions made by the U.S. government. The facts took a beating all too often.
- Topic:
- Security, Defense Policy, and Government
- Political Geography:
- United States and Iraq
45. The Defense Monitor: Liberation and Occupation in Iraq
- Author:
- Michael Donovan
- Publication Date:
- 07-2003
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Center for Defense Information
- Abstract:
- S of this writing, 39 U.S. soldiers have been killed in Iraq in the 10 weeks following the declared conclusion of the campaign to over throw Saddam Hussein on May 1. This fact stands in sharp contrast to the optimistic pre-war rhetoric of the George W. Bush administration regarding the “liberation” of Iraq and testifies to the arduous road that lies ahead.
- Topic:
- Security, Defense Policy, and War
- Political Geography:
- United States and Iraq
46. The Defense Monitor: Nuclear Recollections
- Author:
- Bruce Blair
- Publication Date:
- 04-2003
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Center for Defense Information
- Abstract:
- Rear Adm. Eugene (Gene) Carroll, our beloved colleague who passed away this February, often shared with me his recollections of the role he once played in planning for nuclear war. As quoted in his obituary in the Washington Post, Gene once wrote: “During the horrible confrontation with the Soviet Union we called the Cold War, I frequently stood nuclear alert watch on aircraft carriers. For a period of time my assigned target was an industrial complex and transportation hub in a major city in Eastern Europe … My bomb alone would have resulted in the death of an estimated 600,000 human beings. Multiply that by 40 or 50 times and you can understand what two carriers alone would have done.”
- Topic:
- Security, Defense Policy, and Cold War
- Political Geography:
- United States, Europe, and Soviet Union
47. The Defense Monitor: The World At War
- Author:
- Col. Daniel Smith
- Publication Date:
- 02-2003
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Center for Defense Information
- Abstract:
- At the start of 2003, the United States remains focused on fighting global terrorism in general even as it zeroes in on Iraq as the nexus of evil. But a number of factors in play today make international support for such a venture less effusive than in 1990-91, when the last anti-Saddam “coalition of the willing” formed. Many economies, including those of three of the four big financial supporters of the 1990-91 war — Japan, Germany, and Saudi Arabia — are weaker. Any war would be relatively more expensive. Suspicions about U.S. motives, fueled by the Bush administration's initial unilateralism, remain alive despite Washington's patient work in obtaining a UN Security Council resolution on new inspections. Germany has declared it will provide no forces; use of Saudi Arabian airbases to launch combat missions against Iraq remains unclear; and troop contributions, as well as moral support, from other Arab states such as Egypt and Syria may not materialize.
- Topic:
- Security, Defense Policy, Terrorism, War, and Weapons of Mass Destruction
- Political Geography:
- United States, Japan, Iraq, Germany, Saudi Arabia, Syria, and Egypt
48. Homeland Security: A Competitive Strategies Approach
- Author:
- F. G. Hoffman
- Publication Date:
- 03-2002
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Center for Defense Information
- Abstract:
- The much-reported 'end of history' was rudely shattered by the events of Sept. 11, 2001. America's illusion of security, sense of complacency, and triumphalism were abruptly dispelled by a series of brutal acts that were simply audacious and unfathomable. What used to be unthinkable is now apparently doable.
- Topic:
- Foreign Policy and Defense Policy
- Political Geography:
- United States
49. The Defense Monitor: Victory At An Unknown Cost
- Author:
- Stephen H. Baker
- Publication Date:
- 12-2002
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Center for Defense Information
- Abstract:
- Throughout the spring, summer and fall of this year thousands of U.S. military planners have worked on the various contingencies and strategies concerning a possible invasion of Iraq.
- Topic:
- Security, Defense Policy, Terrorism, and Weapons of Mass Destruction
- Political Geography:
- United States and Iraq
50. The Defense Monitor: The Afghan Campaign One Year On
- Author:
- Mark Burgess
- Publication Date:
- 09-2002
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Center for Defense Information
- Abstract:
- An Afghan Blitzkrieg? Sept. 11, 2001, transformed Afghanistan even more than it did America. The pariah state which harbored Osama bin Laden, and was the base camp for his al Qaeda network, immediately became the focus of the U.S. war against terrorism. The Afghan campaign began amid dire warnings of the dangers historically faced by foreign interlopers in the country that was center stage of central Asia's “great game” during the 19th and 20th centuries and that would become the first battlefield of an even greater one during the first year of the 21st. The experience of the British and the Soviets was held up as an example of what fate potentially awaited any American intervention in Afghanistan. A year later, such warnings seem overstated. Al Qaeda's camps in Afghanistan have been destroyed, the Taliban ousted, and an Afghan Transitional Government rules in their place. Meanwhile, life for the average Afghan is a considerably less nasty and brutish affair than it was a little over a year ago — all in short order and at a relatively low cost in human life. Such successes notwithstanding, the Afghan campaign is not yet over. It has not been without failings, some of which may return to haunt ongoing operations there. Similarly, some of the methods used to achieve this success, while effective in the short term, may yet prove polemical.
- Topic:
- Security, Defense Policy, Terrorism, and Weapons of Mass Destruction
- Political Geography:
- Afghanistan