By Lt. Gen. Robert Gard and Kingston Reif Published in Defense News on October 20, 2008 Despite the Bush administration’s investment of an estimated $60 billion since 2001, U.S. national missile defense continues to be an unnecessary and counterproductive enterprise. Testing objectives consistently are not met, cost overruns and scheduling delays are rampant, and relations […]
Don’t Be Fooled By Calls for New Nukes
by John Isaacs Operation Teapot nuclear explosion at Nevada Test Site, Apple-2 tower shot (May 5, 1955). Over the past several months, a handful of conservative security analysts have begun to argue for upgrading the current U.S. nuclear arsenal. These arguments typically call for bolstering America’s “nuclear deterrent,” which of course is a euphemism for […]
Obama vs. McCain: A Side-By-Side Comparison on Arms Control
BARACK OBAMA JOHN MCCAIN Reliable Replacement Warhead (RRW) and New Nuclear Weapons “I do not support a premature decision to produce the RRW.” “I would only support the development of any new type of nuclear weapon that is absolutely essential for the viability of our deterrent, that results in making possible further decreases […]
Analysis of FY2009 Defense Appropriations in the Consolidated Security, Disaster Assistance, and Continuing Appropriations Act (CR) for FY2009
by Travis Sharp SUMMARY With members of Congress eager to leave town for the campaign trail, and Fiscal Year (FY) 2009 starting on October 1, Congress slapped together a consolidated appropriations package that includes several appropriations bills and a continuing resolution (known as a ‘CR’) all rolled into one. A CR is designed to fund […]
Analysis of House-Senate Agreement on the FY2009 Defense Authorization Bill (S.3001)
by Travis Sharp and John Isaacs SUMMARY Facing both a full workload before leaving town for the campaign trail and ongoing member objections to earmarks, Congress decided to skip the normal conference procedure for the Fiscal Year (FY) 2009 Defense Authorization bill (S.3001). Working together, the House and Senate produced a joint bill that now must […]
