On the same day, we have two arguments presented about whether to increase military-to-military engagement of the Chinese military, also known as the People’s Liberation Army (PLA). On the one hand, we have Admiral Mike Mullen, the outgoing chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, arguing that the very act of engaging the Chinese in military-to-military talks will facilitate the creation of strategic trust. As Admiral Mullen states in his op-ed in The New York Times, dialogue is critical, because it clears up misunderstandings and helps keep a focus on …
Catching you up on clips, commentary and news of the day. Sign up for the daily email update from Scribe. 10 Reasons Each Side Thinks It Can Win the Debt Debate – Carl M. Cannon GOP leaders to conservatives: ‘How could you’? – Jonathan Strong Grab Your Pitchforks – Lucia Rafanelli Some Facts About the Debt Limit – John Hinderaker Obama’s Battleground-State Blues – Josh Kraushaar Obamacare, a death panel for jobs – Nita Ghei Both Sides See Same-Sex Marriage as Winning Issue in 2012 – Mallie Jane Kim Sen. Mark …
In this week’s Heritage in Focus podcast, Heritage Action for America CEO Mike Needham discusses the latest on the debt negotiations. Listen to the full interview, here. With the shadows of default looming, what’s the likelihood that Congress strikes a deal? Are there any positive options? Furthermore, what’s the conservative strategy to deal with the debt limit while controlling government spending? For answers to those questions and more, click here. To get regular updates on Heritage in Focus podcasts, visit our RSS feed or subscribe on iTunes. To listen to …
Hoping to reverse the trend of “enormous [defense] cuts” ahead, House Armed Services Readiness Subcommittee chairman J. Randy Forbes (R–VA) held a hearing on the state of the military. Testifying before Congress were the vice chiefs of the four services: Army General Peter Chiarelli, Navy Admiral Jonathon Greenert, Marine Corps General Joseph Dunford, Jr., and Air Force General Phillip Breedlove. One of the primary drivers of decreased military readiness, according to the vice chiefs, is the unrelenting pace of operations for the past decade. No military service has been immune …
In one of the most illuminating moments of the Obamacare debate, then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi said “we have to pass the bill so that you can find out what is in it.” Pelosi meant that we would learn the truth about the bill after the controversy had died down. However, her words apply to Obamacare more than she knew. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is not really a law, and we still do not know its full affects. Laws set norms to regulate conduct. Obamacare, like most major laws, …
Senator Tom Coburn’s (R–OK) plan to reduce the federal deficit by $9 trillion over the next 10 years includes cuts to the State Department and Foreign Affairs budget of nearly $190 billion. Part of that calculus, in turn, adopts a strategy advocated by The Heritage Foundation to move away from the traditional development assistance model long used by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). In place of USAID’s tired and failing programs, Coburn urges a new approach that emphasizes a developing country’s commitment to good governance (as measured by …
On the night of December 15, 2010, U.S. Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry joined with other agents in an effort to catch several bandits targeting illegal immigrants in Arizona near the border. In a firefight, Agent Terry was shot and killed. When law enforcement rushed to the scene, they discovered two Romarm/CUGIR 762 assault rifles dropped by the killers. Tragically, it emerged that these guns were allowed to “walk” from the original purchaser or straw buyer to others in Operation Fast and Furious, a weapons-sting operation conducted by the Department …
The recent shooting in Oslo, Norway, which took dozens of lives and utterly shocked the foundations of Norwegian society, should serve as a stark reminder that the intrigues of deranged individuals possessive of extreme ideologies continues to prove a threat to the world community. Many within the domestic law enforcement and national security community have long sounded the clarion call that such an event as occurred in Oslo—a coordinated and multifarious attack against soft and hard targets alike—remain the preeminent danger facing the American homeland. Much attention is paid to …
For months, Washington has focused on solving its uncontrolled addiction to spending. But while Congress and the White House use one hand to reach into your back pocket to take and spend your hard-earned dollars, they’re using another hand to wreak a different kind of nefarious harm—the proliferation of regulations, rules, and red tape, all of which impose heavy costs on America. In the just-released “Red Tape Rising: A 2011 Mid-Year Report,” The Heritage Foundation’s James Gattuso and Diane Katz explain the pervasiveness of government’s intrusive regulatory hand (that oftentimes …
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D–NV) introduced legislation to raise the debt ceiling this week. In evaluating his plans for future government spending, it becomes clear that budgeting for prudent defense is considered just another line item. While Americans intuitively know that national security is unlike any other category of federal spending, it is often treated with inherent bias through insider budgeting methods. Congress tends to selectively ignore what are called “baselines” used for comparing different spending proposals. This is convenient if a Member of Congress wants to generate more …
