The Department of Defense is currently preparing to conduct a Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR). The end goal of this process is the production of a document that will guide U.S. strategic planning and procurement for the next two decades. In past QDRs, the process regrettably amounted to the Pentagon’s way …
With just a few weeks left in 2012, all eyes in Washington are on Capitol Hill and the “fiscal cliff” negotiations. As usual, Congress and the President are taking highly contentious issues down to the wire before cutting a deal—never a situation that ends well for taxpayers. Federal Reserve Chairman …
A recently released report from the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, “Strategic Choices: Navigating Austerity,” argues that allowing some hollowing out of our military forces is acceptable. The report is raising eyebrows around Washington, mainly because it is so at odds with what Pentagon leadership is saying. The individuals …
Earlier this year, the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments conducted an exercise that purported to show how a smaller defense budget wouldn’t be so bad after all. However, the assumptions behind this exercise have significant shortcomings. The exercise forced the participants to accept defense funding levels mandated in the …
Following the start of Israeli air strikes against Hamas, hacker groups, including Anonymous, have declared open season on Israeli cyber defenses. However, Israel has invested heavily in cybersecurity and cyber operations, allowing it to defeat more than 44 million hacking attempts on government websites, losing only one website for about …
With sequestration—the automatic reductions to the federal government set to occur January 2, 2013—looming ever closer, The Heritage Foundation has put forth a proposal to replace these cuts and avert the disaster. Heritage’s Patrick Louis Knudsen recently detailed $150 billion worth of savings to be found in the federal budget …
In an op-ed in The Washington Times, Heritage’s Kim Holmes voices concerns about how pride may prevent President Obama from reassessing or changing course on certain foreign policies, leaving him and the United States unprepared for the daunting challenges facing the country. Any student of history recognizes that concerns on …
According to research by Politico, interest in the impending automatic defense cuts took a dive leading up to the election. But as the post-election polling and punditry subside, American citizens are returning their focus to pressing matters such as the so-called fiscal cliff and sequestration. Yet on Capitol Hill—where these …
The lame-duck session begins today, with retiring and defeated Members of Congress coming back to Washington to make their last legislative decisions. Because of the lack of accountability to voters, the lame-duck period brings heightened scrutiny. Congress has 16 working days scheduled between now and the end of the year, …
