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2. Leashing the Surveillance State: How to Reform Patriot Act Surveillance Authorities
- Author:
- Julian Sanchez
- Publication Date:
- 05-2011
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- The Cato Institute
- Abstract:
- Congress recently approved a temporary extension of three controversial surveillance provisions of the USA Patriot Act and successor legislation, which had previously been set to expire at the end of February. In the coming weeks, lawmakers have an opportunity to review the sweeping expansion of domestic counter-terror powers since 9/11 and, with the benefit of a decade's perspective, strengthen crucial civil-liberties safeguards without unduly burdening legitimate intelligence gathering. Two of the provisions slated for sunsetroving wiretap authority and the so-called “Section 215” orders for the production of records—should be narrowed to mitigate the risk of overcollection of sensitive information about innocent Americans. A third—authority to employ the broad investigative powers of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act against “lone wolf” suspects who lack ties to any foreign terror group—does not appear to be necessary at all.
- Topic:
- Defense Policy, Intelligence, National Security, Counterinsurgency, Governance, and Law
- Political Geography:
- United States
3. Budgetary Savings from Military Restraint
- Author:
- Benjamin H. Friedman and Christopher Preble
- Publication Date:
- 09-2010
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- The Cato Institute
- Abstract:
- The United States needs a defense budget worthy of its name, one that protects Americans rather than wasting vast sums embroiling us in controversies remote from our interests. This paper outlines such a defense strategy and the substantial cuts in military spending that it allows. That strategy discourages the occupation of failing states and indefinite commitments to defend healthy ones. With fewer missions, the military can shrink its force structure—reducing personnel, the weapons and vehicles procured for them, and operational costs. The resulting force would be more elite, less strained, and far less expensive. By avoiding needless military conflict and protecting our prosperity, these changes would make Americans more secure.
- Topic:
- Defense Policy, Arms Control and Proliferation, and Debt
- Political Geography:
- United States and America
4. Cracks in the Foundation: NATO's New Troubles
- Author:
- Stanley Kober
- Publication Date:
- 01-2008
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- The Cato Institute
- Abstract:
- The North Atlantic Treaty Organization is beginning to fracture. Its members, sharing the triumphalism that underpinned U.S. foreign policy after the Cold War, took on burdens that have proved more difficult than expected. Increasingly, they are failing to meet the challenges confronting them.
- Topic:
- International Relations, Defense Policy, NATO, and International Organization
- Political Geography:
- United States
5. Taiwan's Defense Budget: How Taipei's Free Riding Risks War
- Author:
- Justin Logan and Ted Carpenter
- Publication Date:
- 09-2007
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- The Cato Institute
- Abstract:
- Taiwan spends far too little on its own defense, in large part because the Taiwanese believe the United States is their ultimate protector. The Taiwan legislature's six-year delay and severe down- sizing of a budget to pay for weapons systems that Washington has offered the island since 2001 is only one piece of evidence of Taiwan's free riding. Although Taiwan recently approved roughly US$300 million of the original budget of about $18 billion, the underlying problem remains: even with the new appropriation, Taiwan's overall investment in defense—approximately 2.6 percent of GDP—is woefully inadequate, given the ongoing tensions with mainland China. America is now in the unenviable position of having an implicit commitment to defend a fellow democracy that seems largely uninterested in defending itself.
- Topic:
- Conflict Prevention, Security, and Defense Policy
- Political Geography:
- United States and Asia
6. CATO Institute: Flying the Unfriendly Skies: Defending against the Threat of Shoulder-Fired Missiles
- Author:
- Charles V. Peña
- Publication Date:
- 04-2005
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- The Cato Institute
- Abstract:
- Shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles, or MANPADS (man-portable air defense systems), have proliferated throughout the world. They can be purchased on the military arms black market for as little as $5,000. More than two dozen terrorist groups, including Al Qaeda, are believed to possess such weapons. The FBI estimates that there have been 29 MANPADS attacks against civilian aircraft resulting in 550 deaths. At least 25 of the reported attacks have been attributed to nonstate actors.
- Topic:
- Defense Policy, Science and Technology, and Terrorism
- Political Geography:
- United States
7. Nuclear Deterrence, Preventive War, and Counterproliferation
- Author:
- Jeffrey Record
- Publication Date:
- 07-2004
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- The Cato Institute
- Abstract:
- During the Cold War, the principal function of nuclear weapons was to deter nuclear attack. Nuclear deterrence was not considered a tool of nonproliferation. The primary mechanisms for halting the proliferation of nuclear weapons were the nonproliferation regime established by the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) of 1968 and the U.S. extension of nuclear deterrence to states that might otherwise have sought security through the acquisition of nuclear weapons.
- Topic:
- Defense Policy, Arms Control and Proliferation, Cold War, Nuclear Weapons, and Treaties and Agreements
- Political Geography:
- United States
8. Missile Defense: Defending America or Building Empire?
- Author:
- Charles V. Peña
- Publication Date:
- 05-2003
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- The Cato Institute
- Abstract:
- The rationale for missile defense put forward by its advocates is often a “doom and gloom” picture: America and its citizens are defenseless against the threat of ballistic missiles, and missile defense is supposed to protect the American people. The administration's vision of missile defense is not just a global system that protects the United States against long-range missiles but a global system capable of engaging all classes of ballistic missiles to protect U.S. forces deployed worldwide, U.S. allies, and other friendly countries. Thus, the purpose of missile defense is extended well beyond protecting America and Americans.
- Topic:
- Foreign Policy, Defense Policy, and Nuclear Weapons
- Political Geography:
- United States and America
9. Wrong War, Wrong Place, Wrong Time: Why Military Action Should Not Be Used to Resolve the North Korean Nuclear Crisis
- Author:
- Doug Bandow
- Publication Date:
- 05-2003
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- The Cato Institute
- Abstract:
- Ever since North Korea's dramatic revelation that it was producing materials that could be used to make nuclear weapons, the Bush administration has considered a range of policy options—including a military strike on North Korean nuclear facilities. Although the administration officially dismisses such talk, President Bush has left the military option on the table, and influential advisers outside of the administration have openly called for military action along the lines of the Israeli attack on Iraqi nuclear facilities at Osirak in 1981.
- Topic:
- Foreign Policy and Defense Policy
- Political Geography:
- United States, Iraq, Israel, and North Korea
10. The China-Taiwan Military Balance: Implications for the United States
- Author:
- Ivan Eland
- Publication Date:
- 02-2003
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- The Cato Institute
- Abstract:
- China's economy is four times the size of Taiwan's and apparently growing at a faster rate; that economic disparity between China and Taiwan could eventually lead to a military disparity as well. Nonetheless, even an informal U.S. security guarantee for Taiwan against nuclear-armed China is ill-advised. Taiwan is not strategically essential to America's national security. Moreover, China has significant incentives to avoid attacking Taiwan. Perhaps the most crucial is that hostile behavior toward Taiwan would jeopardize China's increasing economic linkage with the United States and other key countries.
- Topic:
- Security and Defense Policy
- Political Geography:
- United States, China, America, Taiwan, and Asia
11. After Victory Toward a New Military Posture in the Persian Gulf
- Author:
- Christopher Preble
- Publication Date:
- 06-2003
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- The Cato Institute
- Abstract:
- Donald Rumsfeld's announcement that U.S. troops will be removed from Saudi Arabia represents a significant and welcome change in U.S. policy toward the Persian Gulf. This wise decision to shift U.S. forces out of the kingdom should be only the first of several steps to substantially reduce the American military presence in the region. In addition to the removal of troops from Saudi Arabia, U.S. forces should be withdrawn from other Gulf states, including Qatar, Kuwait, and Iraq, and the U.S. Navy should terminate its long-standing policy of deploying a carrier battle group in the Persian Gulf.
- Topic:
- Defense Policy
- Political Geography:
- United States, Iraq, Middle East, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia
12. A Grand Façade: How the Grand Jury Was Captured by Government
- Author:
- W. Thomas Dillard, Stephen R. Johnson, and Timothy Lynch
- Publication Date:
- 06-2003
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- The Cato Institute
- Abstract:
- The grand jury is perhaps the most mysterious institution in the American criminal justice system. While most people are generally familiar with the function of the police officer, the prosecutor, the defense lawyer, the judge, and the trial jury, few have any idea about what the grand jury is supposed to do and its day-to-day operation. That ignorance largely explains how some over-reaching prosecutors have been able to pervert the grand jury, whose original purpose was to check prosecutorial power, into an inquisitorial bulldozer that enhances the power of government and now runs roughshod over the constitutional rights of citizens.
- Topic:
- Defense Policy
- Political Geography:
- United States, America, and Middle East
13. Bring the Troops Home: Ending the Obsolete Korean Commitment
- Author:
- Doug Bandow
- Publication Date:
- 05-2003
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- The Cato Institute
- Abstract:
- The U.S. alliance with the Republic of Korea has been America's most consistently dangerous commitment since the end of World War II. Yet South Korea is beginning to look away from the United States for its defense. Newly elected President Roh Moo-hyun campaigned on a plat-form of revisiting the security relationship, and he has attempted to adopt the role of mediator between America and North Korea.
- Topic:
- Security and Defense Policy
- Political Geography:
- United States, America, Israel, East Asia, and Korea
14. Building Leverage in the Long War: Ensuring Intelligence Community Creativity in the Fight against Terrorism
- Author:
- James W. Harris
- Publication Date:
- 05-2002
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- The Cato Institute
- Abstract:
- Intelligence is often cited as a critical element in the war against terrorism and, indeed, it is. The U.S. intelligence community has a golden opportunity to develop the capabilities that will make a decisive difference in a war that may last a generation or more. The adversary will not disappear as the campaign to root the al-Qaeda out of Afghanistan winds down. It is essential that intelligence make the transition to the longer-term fight, and the time to begin that transition is at hand.
- Topic:
- Defense Policy, National Security, and Weapons of Mass Destruction
- Political Geography:
- Afghanistan and United States
15. Befriending Saudi Princes - A High Price for a Dubious Alliance
- Author:
- Doug Bandow
- Publication Date:
- 03-2002
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- The Cato Institute
- Abstract:
- Although the House of Saud, Saudi Arabia's royal family, has long leaned toward the West, it is a corrupt totalitarian regime at sharp variance with America's most cherished values. Despite the well-publicized ties between the two governments, Saudi Arabia has seldom aided, and often hamstrung, U.S. attempts to combat terrorism.
- Topic:
- Defense Policy
- Political Geography:
- United States, America, Middle East, Arabia, and Saudi Arabia
16. Should the United States "Weaponize" Space?
- Author:
- Edward Hudgins and Charles V. Peña
- Publication Date:
- 03-2002
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- The Cato Institute
- Abstract:
- Control of space is at the crux of the debate about the future of U.S. military space policy. The question is not about militarizing space. Clearly, we have been using and will continue to use space for military purposes. But, whereas we are currently using space assets to support terrestrial (ground, sea, and air) military operations, what Sen. Robert C. Smith (R-N.H.), the Space Commission (which was chaired by current Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld), and others have proposed is that the United States move toward “weaponizing” space for space control.
- Topic:
- Security, Defense Policy, International Cooperation, and Science and Technology
- Political Geography:
- United States
17. Going Too Far: Bush's Pledge to Defend Taiwan
- Author:
- Ted Galen Carpenter
- Publication Date:
- 05-2001
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- The Cato Institute
- Abstract:
- When he pledged to do whatever was necessary—even use U.S. military forces—to help Taiwan defend itself, President George W. Bush seemingly replaced Washington's long-standing policy of “strategic ambiguity” with a policy of strategic clarity. Although the president and his advisers subsequently retreated from his initial rhetorical stance, both China and Taiwan are likely to believe that Bush's original statement accurately reflects U.S. policy. That creates an extremely dangerous situation for the United States.
- Topic:
- Security, Defense Policy, and Politics
- Political Geography:
- United States, China, Washington, Taiwan, and Asia
18. The Rogue State Doctrine and National Missile Defense
- Author:
- Ivan Eland and Daniel Lee
- Publication Date:
- 03-2001
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- The Cato Institute
- Abstract:
- The Clinton administration underestimated the technological ability of several of the “rogue” states to develop long-range missiles and politicized its intelligence estimate. However, missile threats to the United States from any one of those states also depend on the intentions of that state and political developments that might affect those intentions.
- Topic:
- Security, Defense Policy, Politics, and Terrorism
- Political Geography:
- United States
19. Arrogance of Power Reborn: The Imperial Presidency and Foreign Policy in the Clinton Years
- Author:
- Gene Healy
- Publication Date:
- 10-2000
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- The Cato Institute
- Abstract:
- In his classic 1973 book The Imperial Presidency, historian Arthur Schlesinger Jr. warned that the American political system was threatened by “a conception of presidential power so spacious and peremptory as to imply a radical transformation of the traditional polity.” America's rise to global dominance and Cold War leadership, Schlesinger explained, had dangerously concentrated power in the presidency, transforming the Framers' energetic but constitutionally constrained chief executive into a sort of elected emperor with virtually unchecked authority in the international arena.
- Topic:
- Foreign Policy, Defense Policy, and Government
- Political Geography:
- United States and America
20. From the Sea: National Missile Defense Is Neither Cheap Nor Easy
- Author:
- Charles V. Peña
- Publication Date:
- 09-2000
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- The Cato Institute
- Abstract:
- Sea-based missile defense is being advocated as an alternative to the Clinton administration\'s limited land-based national missile defense (NMD), which is in the early stages of testing. Proponents of sea-based NMD (which is only a concept, not a program) argue that such a system can be deployed more quickly and will be less expensive than the Clinton administration\'s land-based system. Some argue that the Navy Theater Wide (NTW) system—which is being designed to provide midcourse intercept capability against slower, shorter-range theater ballistic missiles—can be upgraded to attack longrange intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) in their boost phase (when under powered flight at the beginning of their trajectories). Interestingly enough, advocates of sea-based NMD include not only traditional supporters of missile defense but also people who were previously opposed to missile defense.
- Topic:
- Defense Policy
- Political Geography:
- United States
21. Arms Control and Missile Defense: Not Mutually Exclusive
- Author:
- Charles V. Peña
- Publication Date:
- 07-2000
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- The Cato Institute
- Abstract:
- Traditionally, strategic offensive arms control and ballistic missile defense have been viewed as mutually exclusive. During the Cold War, the general belief was that anti–ballistic missile (ABM) systems would call into question the ability of the superpowers to successfully survive a first nuclear strike and inflict sufficient damage with a second strike. That is, missile defense could allow one superpower to launch a first strike and then use its defenses to intercept a second strike with the other superpower's surviving warheads—thereby undermining deterrence and stability. Furthermore, the thinking was that this situation would result in a dangerous offensive arms race as each side sought to counter the effects of the other's defenses.
- Topic:
- Defense Policy, Arms Control and Proliferation, and Nuclear Weapons
- Political Geography:
- Russia, United States, Europe, and Asia
22. Let's Make National Missile Defense Truly "National"
- Author:
- Ivan Eland
- Publication Date:
- 06-2000
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- The Cato Institute
- Abstract:
- Not all proposals for deploying a national missile defense live up to their name. Many are for “international” missile defense systems that would also defend U.S. allies and “friends,” even though they are wealthy enough to build their own missile defenses. For example, some policymakers and analysts on both the left and the right advocate sea-based missile defense as a substitute for the Clinton administration's limited land-based system, which is designed to protect only the territory of the United States. Conservatives would like to build a more comprehensive, layered defense consisting of sea- and space-based weapons or land-, sea-, and space-based weapons. George W. Bush, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, is clear that he wants a comprehensive defense to defend U.S. allies and seems to favor the latter approach.
- Topic:
- Foreign Policy and Defense Policy
- Political Geography:
- United States
23. Ballistic Missile Proliferation: Does the Clinton Administration Understand the Threat?
- Author:
- Ivan Eland and Timothy M. Beard
- Publication Date:
- 02-1999
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- The Cato Institute
- Abstract:
- Although the end of the Cold War reduced the likelihood of a nuclear exchange between the superpowers, several smaller rogue states, through their dedicated efforts to acquire weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missiles, have emerged as potential threats to U.S. national security. National Intelligence Estimate 95-19 stated that no new missile threats to the United States would develop before 2010. However, given the curious circumstances of the estimate's release and the many analytical faults contained in the document, its results have been questioned.
- Topic:
- Defense Policy and National Security
- Political Geography:
- United States
24. Corporate Welfare for Weapons Makers the Hidden Costs of Spending on Defense and Foreign Aid
- Author:
- William D. Hartung
- Publication Date:
- 08-1999
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- The Cato Institute
- Abstract:
- The defense and foreign aid budgets are the largest single source of government funding for private corporations. More than half of U.S. weapons sales are now being financed by taxpayers instead of foreign arms purchasers. During fiscal year 1996 (the last year for which full statistics are available), the government spent more than $7.9 billion to help U.S. companies secure just over $12 billion in agreements for new international arms sales. The annual $7.9 billion in subsidies includes taxpayer-backed loans, grants, and government promotional activities that help U.S. weapons makers sell their products to foreign customers. Also, the provision of low-cost facilities and extensive subsidies for research and development and mergers and acquisitions to major contractors fosters a “risk-free” environment in which weapons makers have little economic incentive to produce effective systems at affordable prices. Furthermore, a portion of the $120 billion the Pentagon spends each year on contracts with U.S. defense contractors is being wasted on defense pork—that is, redundant or unneeded weapons systems. Such subsidies and spending for defense pork can interfere with the fulfillment of legitimate security needs.
- Topic:
- Defense Policy, Arms Control and Proliferation, Climate Change, Government, and Industrial Policy
- Political Geography:
- United States
25. Old Wine in New Bottles: The Pentagon's East Asia Security Strategy Report
- Author:
- Doug Bandow
- Publication Date:
- 05-1999
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- The Cato Institute
- Abstract:
- To contain Soviet-led communism and, secondarily, to prevent a militarily resurgent Japan, Washington established a network of alliances, bases, and deployments throughout East Asia after World War II. By the 1990s the Soviet Union had imploded, China had become a reasonably restrained international player, and other communist states had lost their ideological edge. At the same time, the noncommunist nations had leaped ahead economically. Despite such momentous developments, however, U.S. policy remains fundamentally the same.
- Topic:
- Security, Foreign Policy, and Defense Policy
- Political Geography:
- United States, Japan, China, Washington, Israel, and Soviet Union
26. Is Readiness Overrated? Implications for a Tiered Readiness Force Structure
- Author:
- James L. George
- Publication Date:
- 04-1999
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- The Cato Institute
- Abstract:
- Readiness, the capability to respond quickly to a conflict with the appropriate force, is considered one of the most important elements in defense planning. From one-third to well over one-half of the defense budget goes toward maintaining readiness. Few people questioned the need for readiness, especially after the attack by North Korea against South Korea in 1950 and during the Cold War, when the Soviet-led Warsaw Pact was poised to quickly thrust into Western Europe without much warning.
- Topic:
- Security, Defense Policy, and Cold War
- Political Geography:
- United States, South Korea, North Korea, and Western Europe
27. National Missile Defense: Examining the Options
- Author:
- Charles V. Peña and Barbara Conry
- Publication Date:
- 03-1999
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- The Cato Institute
- Abstract:
- To date, the debate surrounding national missile defense (NMD) has been dominated by political rhetoric. Supporters (usually conservatives) often paint a “doom-and-gloom” picture, pointing out that the United States is vulnerable to an attack by ballistic missiles. Critics (usually liberals) defend the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty as the cornerstone of deterrence and stability and argue that any defensive deployment would upset the balance between the offensive strategic nuclear forces of the United States and Russia.
- Topic:
- Defense Policy
- Political Geography:
- Russia and United States
28. Tilting at Windmills: Post-Cold War Military Threats to U.S. Security
- Author:
- Ivan Eland
- Publication Date:
- 02-1999
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- The Cato Institute
- Abstract:
- Serious military threats to U.S. security have diminished dramatically since the end of the Cold War. The threat from conventional Russian military forces has all but disintegrated and would take many years to reconstitute. China would take 20 to 30 years to transform its bloated and obsolete military into a major threat to U.S. vital interests. The militaries in both nations should be watched, but they may never develop into credible threats.
- Topic:
- Security, Defense Policy, Arms Control and Proliferation, Cold War, Nuclear Weapons, and Terrorism
- Political Geography:
- United States