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Obama’s Iran Policy Shifts to Containment
As recent events underscore the growing Iranian nuclear threat, the Obama administration appears to be pivoting toward a policy of containment. The emphasis of its rhetoric has shifted from preventing an “unacceptable” nuclear Iran to “isolating” it. When coupled with recent weaker action against Iran, we fear it signals a tacit policy change/…/
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Doomsday War Games: Pentagon’s 3 Nightmare Scenarios
Pentagon planners have plenty to deal with these days – Iran in search of nuclear-weapons technology, suicide bombings in Afghanistan, and the final pullout of US troops in Iraq potentially leaving behind a security vacuum in the Middle East. But in war games in Washington this week, US Army officials and their advisers debated three nightmare scenarios in particular/…/
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OMB Asks Defense to Shift Programs Out of War Bill
The White House is placing new limits on war spending, making it more difficult for the Pentagon to outmaneuver its new budget caps, according to recent guidance from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Instead, the White House wants the Pentagon to start funding more activities through its base budget, shutting off a potential loophole to the Budget Control Act passed in August/…/ The Senate, in its versions of the defense appropriations and authorization bills, has already made use of this loophole, shifting billions out of the base budget and into the contingency bill, while still complying with the spending caps for 2012.
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Obama Administration Urges Flat 2013-2017 Defense Spending Plan
The White House and Pentagon are near agreement on a draft five-year defense budget that flattens expenditures though 2017, with the lowest war spending since 2004, according to an Office of Management and Budget document/…/
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Uncertainty is Looming Over US Military Strategy
Military leaders have adapted US strategy as the Pentagon faces major budget cuts, but experts fear the new plans could be shattered due to the threat of automatic financial reductions/…/
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CNO: INSURV Reports Should Stay Classified
After a furor over ship and submarine inspection failures in 2008, Navy brass later that year imposed a blackout on readiness reports, an action that officials maintained was for security concerns and wholly unrelated to the string of failures. The blackout continues to this day/…/