Among the amendments cleared for action during House consideration the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for fiscal year 2014 is an amendment sponsored by Representative Chris Van Hollen (D–MD). It would reducing the funding level for overseas contingency operations (OCO), primarily for ongoing operations in Afghanistan, to the level in …
Last Wednesday, off the coast of Kauai, Hawaii, the Navy cruiser USS Lake Erie conducted a successful test of the next-generation missile defense weapon, engaging and destroying a dummy target warhead that had separated from a short-range attacking rocket. The Standard Missile-3 (SM-3) is designed to seek and kill both …
Reform of the U.S. arms export control took a major step forward this week when the Departments of State and Commerce released final rules governing aircraft and gas turbine engines. However, the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT), which the Obama Administration voted to adopt at the United Nations earlier this month, …
Tomorrow, President Obama will finally release his overdue budget request, and the next day, the House Armed Services Committee will hold a hearing on that request. The hearing witnesses will be Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Martin Dempsey. It appears likely …
On March 28, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) released its annual assessment of the performance of the Department of Defense (DOD) in purchasing specific new weapons in a cost-efficient manner and reducing the overall cost to the taxpayers of a wide variety of weapons purchases. This year’s assessment was generally …
Yesterday, Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel gave his first major speech since he was confirmed for the job in February. “The Department must understand the challenges and uncertainties, plan for the risks, and, yes, recognize the opportunities inherent in budget constraints and more efficient and effective restructuring,” he said. Secretary …
Public perception may be that the sequestration cuts to the defense budget is about eliminating waste and inefficiency in the Department of Defense (DOD). In reality, sequestration will result in the loss of military capabilities. Then-Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta acknowledged in a January press conference that of the Obama …
A February 26 article by CATO Institute Analyst Christopher A. Preble wrongly asserts that the imposition of automatic spending cuts, called sequestration, will not make the U.S. less safe. In fact, these reductions, which come on top of reductions to the defense budget that are already being made, will not …
In an area of the Pacific Ocean near Hawaii on February 12, 2013, the Navy and Missile Defense Agency conducted a successful intercept test of a combined sea-based and space-based system against a medium-range ballistic missile. The sea-based component was the Aegis ballistic missile defense system and its already -deployed …
President Obama will propose large-scale nuclear arms reductions worldwide in tonight’s State of the Union address, according to The New York Times. The White House, however, has stated that a proposal of the sort described in the NYT article will not be made in the address. Perhaps the White House …
