By Colleen Garcia and Michele Zilka Published in the Northwest Arkansas Times on May 1, 2008 Following the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 the United States embarked upon a global war against an enemy unlike any it had faced before. In drafting a new strategy to defeat the threat of international terrorism, the United […]
Nuclear Terrorism is a Likely Event
By Lt. Gen. Robert Gard, Senior Military Fellow Published in the Knoxville News Sentinel on May 10, 2008 At a Senate hearing recently, Undersecretary of Energy for Intelligence and Analysis Charles Allen testified, “Al-Qaida wants a nuclear weapon to use.” It is well-known that al-Qaida considers it a religious duty to acquire a nuclear weapon, […]
Iraq War Senate Appropriations Hearing: Nussle’s Nonsense Distorts the Record
The Bush administration requested $190 billion in war funding for fiscal year (FY) 2008. Congress approved $87 billion of this request in late 2007, leaving the remaining $103 billion to be considered in 2008. Additionally, in February 2008 the administration submitted a placeholder $70 billion request for war funding in FY 2009. Press reports indicate […]
Tying U.S. Defense Spending to GDP: Bad Logic, Bad Policy
by Travis Sharp Arguing that defense spending is historically low as a percentage of GDP, and therefore must be increased, is a bit like a landlord arguing that because a tenant received a much-deserved pay raise, their rent should be increased automatically. Intelligent defense planning relies on requirements, tradeoffs, and a thorough evaluation of […]
Fiscal Year 2009 Federal Funding for Bioweapons Prevention and Defense
The Administration proposes $6.8 billion in regular funding on bioweapons prevention and defense activities in FY2009. This is an increase of approximately $340 million (5.2%) over the amount appropriated by Congress for FY2008.