Publishing Institution:
Defense Priorities
The most important function of government is to secure the rights and liberties of individual citizens, in part by providing for the common defense. As such, the United States should maintain the strongest military in the world to defend our homeland and maintain our national security, safeguard the conditions for our prosperity, and protect our cherished freedoms. These vital interests must be weighed against the prevailing Washington narrative that compels U.S. military entanglement in so many places and at so many times. Too often, these needless and exhausting ventures are undertaken absent thoughtful consideration of the costs and consequences here at home and abroad. In contrast, Defense Priorities believes U.S. engagement around the globe should derive from a realistic grand strategy focused on protecting and securing our vital national interests. American power is derived from our economic prosperity, and we must be mindful of the fiscal consequences of our foreign policy. Alternatives to military engagement, such as the softer yet powerful tools of diplomacy and economic leverage, might exist at our disposal. Overall, the United States should pursue a more prudent, restrained foreign policy that assesses the world as it exists, carefully considering the numerous complexities and nuances of each situation. A principled, constitutional foreign policy would send our brave men and women into harm’s way only after the American people, through their duly elected representatives in Congress, have debated the merits of military action.
Visit Site
Resources:
-
October 31, 2023
Moving to an Offshore Balancing Strategy for East Asia
By:
Peter Harris
-
October 11, 2023
Reset U.S.-Syria Policy
By:
Daniel Depetris
-
August 31, 2023
Overreach in Africa: Rethinking U.S. Counterterrorism Strategy
By:
William Walldorf
-
July 12, 2023
Neutrality Not NATO: Assessing Security Options for Ukraine
By:
Benjamin H. Friedman
-
June 16, 2023
The Restraining Effect of Nuclear Deterrence
By:
William D'Ambruoso
-
June 07, 2023
Assessing Realist and Liberal Explanations for the Russo-Ukrainian War
By:
Christopher McCallion
-
April 11, 2023
How Would Europe Defend Itself?
By:
Mike Sweeney
-
December 07, 2022
Don’t Fear Vacuums: It’s Safe To Go Home
By:
Benjamin H. Friedman
-
November 23, 2022
Reconfiguring NATO: The Case for Burden Shifting
By:
Rajan Menon
-
October 24, 2022
Lessons for Taiwan from Ukraine
By:
Sascha Glaeser
-
October 12, 2022
Who Is an Ally, and Why Does It Matter?
By:
Natalie Armbruster, Benjamin H. Friedman
-
October 05, 2022
Semiconductors Are Not a Reason to Defend Taiwan
By:
Christopher McCallion
-
September 26, 2022
Spheres of Influence in a Multipolar World
By:
Andrew Latham
-
September 14, 2022
American Interests in the Ukraine War
By:
Joshua Shifrinson
-
July 19, 2022
War Is a Choice, Not a Trap: The Right Lessons from Thucydides
By:
Michael C. Desch
-
July 17, 2022
Ukraine-Russia War Military Analysis
By:
Daniel L. Davis
-
July 14, 2022
Implications of a Melting Arctic
By:
Sascha Glaeser
-
June 30, 2022
At the End of Its Tether: U.S. Grand Strategy of Advancing Democracy
By:
David C. Hendrickson
-
June 29, 2022
Questions Concerning Finnish Membership in NATO
By:
Mike Sweeney
-
June 07, 2022
Hypotheses on the Implications of the Ukraine-Russia War
By:
Barry R. Posen
-
May 16, 2022
Deterring a Chinese Invasion of Taiwan: Upholding the Status Quo
By:
Peter Harris
-
May 12, 2022
Bases, Logistics, and the Problem of Temptation in the Middle East
By:
Benjamin Denison
-
April 12, 2022
How Militarily Useful Would Taiwan Be to China?
By:
Mike Sweeney
-
April 05, 2022
Raising the Minimum: Explaining China’s Nuclear Buildup
By:
Lyle J. Goldstein
-
March 15, 2022
The Wisdom of U.S. Military Withdrawal from Afghanistan
By:
Andrew Doris
-
March 07, 2022
Apply the Logic of the Afghanistan Withdrawal to Syria
By:
Natalia Armbruster
-
February 19, 2022
To Prevent War and Secure Ukraine, Make Ukraine Neutral
By:
Stephen W. Van Evera
-
February 18, 2022
NATO Should Defend Europe, Not Pivot to Asia
By:
Jan Gerber
-
February 15, 2022
A New and Better Security Order for Europe
By:
Rajan Menon
-
December 08, 2021
The Folly of a Democracy-based Grand Strategy
By:
Benjamin Denison
-
December 01, 2021
Phantom Empire: The Illusionary Nature of U.S. Military Power
By:
Richard Hanania
-
November 19, 2021
“Maximum Pressure” Harms Diplomacy and Increases Risks of War with Iran
By:
Daniel Depetris
-
November 15, 2021
The Futility of U.S. Military Aid and Nato Aspirations for Ukraine
By:
Sascha Glaeser
-
October 18, 2021
End the Failed Regime Change Campaign in Venezuela
By:
Daniel Depetris
-
September 22, 2021
What the Quad Is, Is Not, and Should Not Be
By:
Daniel Depetris
-
December 21, 2020
A Plan for U.S. Withdrawal from the Middle East
By:
Mike Sweeney
-
September 30, 2020
The Case for Withdrawing from the Middle East
By:
Justin Logan
-
September 14, 2020
Reconsidering U.S. Nuclear Weapons in Europe
By:
Mike Sweeney
-
March 01, 2020
Considering the "Zero Option"
By:
Mike Sweeney
-
December 01, 2019
Deter and Normalize Relations with North Korea
By:
-
November 01, 2019
Counting the Cost of Financial Warfare: Recalibrating Sanctions Policy to Preserve U.S. Financial Hegemony
By:
Enea Gjoza
-
August 01, 2019
Exiting Afghanistan: Ending America's Longest War
By:
Benjamin H. Friedman
-
May 01, 2019
Disentangling from Syria's Civil War
By:
Benjamin H. Friedman, Justin Logan
-
January 01, 2019
End U.S. Military Support for the Saudi-Led War in Yemen
By:
Enea Gjoza, Benjamin H. Friedman