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611. The FY2013 Defense Budget, the Threat of Defense Cuts and Sequestration and the Strategy-Reality Gap

Author:
Anthony H. Cordesman and Robert M. Shelala II
Publication Date:
06-2012
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Center for Strategic and International Studies
Abstract:
The US may not face peer threats in the near to mid term, but it faces a wide variety of lesser threats that make maintaining effective military forces, foreign aid, and other national security programs a vital national security interest. The US does need to reshape its national security planning and strategy to do a far better job of allocating resources to meet these threats. It needs to abandon theoretical and conceptual exercises in strategy that do not focus on detailed force plans, manpower plans, procurement plans, and budgets; and use its resources more wisely. The US still dominates world military spending, but it must recognize that maintaining the US economy is a vital national security interest in a world where the growth and development of other nations and regions means that the relative share the US has in the global economy will decline steadily over time, even under the best circumstances. At the same time, US dependence on the security and stability of the global economy will continue to grow indefinitely in the future. Talk of any form of "independence," including freedom from energy imports, is a dangerous myth. The US cannot maintain and grow its economy without strong military forces and effective diplomatic and aid efforts. US military and national security spending already places a far lower burden on the US economy than during the peaceful periods of the Cold War, and existing spending plans will lower that burden in the future. National security spending is now averaging between 4% and 5% of the GDP -- in spite of the fact the US has been fighting two wars in Iraq and Afghanistan -- versus 6-7% during the Cold War.
Topic:
Defense Policy, Economics, Government, and Monetary Policy
Political Geography:
Afghanistan, United States, and Iraq

612. Nuclear Notes

Author:
Sarah Weiner
Publication Date:
06-2012
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Center for Strategic and International Studies
Abstract:
Twenty years after the fall of the Soviet Union, Russia is experiencing the most significant level of public dissatisfaction with Vladimir Putin since he assumed power a decade ago. While the sizeable street protests in Russia may well signal a political and social watershed moment for the country, a more minor political event a few months ago provided a telling sign regarding one of the regime's most important projects—a massive program for military modernization.
Topic:
Defense Policy, Arms Control and Proliferation, Nuclear Weapons, and Weapons of Mass Destruction
Political Geography:
Russia, United States, and Europe

613. The Launch of the Project on U.S. Leadership in Development:The Role of Development in U.S. Foreign Policy and National Security

Author:
Condoleezza Rice and James L. Jones
Publication Date:
06-2012
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Center for Strategic and International Studies
Abstract:
The terrorist attacks of 9/11 represent a watershed for the United States, redefining its national security priorities in the twenty- first century. Today, the greatest threat to the United States is no longer powerful rival states; rather, it is fragile and failing states that pose the greatest danger to U.S. borders. These “ungoverned spaces” with poor, ineffective, or absent governments lack basic services and fall behind on economic development. With today's interconnectivity, these unchecked pockets of the world that propagate corruption, terrorism, and the trafficking of drugs, arms, and humans create major security threats that can permeate across insecure borders
Topic:
Foreign Policy, Defense Policy, National Security, Terrorism, and Fragile/Failed State
Political Geography:
United States

614. Interim Report-Planning for a Deep Defense Drawdown—Part I

Author:
Clark A. Murdock
Publication Date:
05-2012
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Center for Strategic and International Studies
Abstract:
As the defense budget is reduced in the coming years, the Department of Defense (DoD) will be confronted with not one but two budgetary threats: it will face not only fewer defense dollars but also a weakening defense dollar in terms of purchasing power. This weaker defense dollar, driven by the internal cost inflation of personnel, operations and maintenance (O), and acquisition accounts in particular, threatens to hollow out the defense budget from within. -
Topic:
Defense Policy, Economics, and Monetary Policy
Political Geography:
United States

615. U.S. Department of Defense Services Contract Spending and the Supporting Industrial Base, 2000-2011

Author:
David J. Berteau, Guy Ben-Ari, Gregory Sanders, Jesse Ellman, and David Morrow
Publication Date:
05-2012
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Center for Strategic and International Studies
Abstract:
Spending by the Department of Defense (DoD) on services contracts, which range from clerical and administrative work to vehicle maintenance to research and development (R), has been largely neglected by past studies of DoD spending trends. Yet DoD spending on services contract actions amounted to just under $200 billion in 2011, more than 50 percent of total DoD contract spending and nearly a third of the entire DoD budget. Both the executive branch and Congress have implemented policies to improve acquisitions of services, but the impacts of their efforts remain uncertain without a clear, concise analysis of past spending. And the then Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics, Dr. Ashton Carter, has stated that: “Most of our services acquires, unlike weapons-system acquires, are amateurs… I intend to help them get better at it” (Speech at the Heritage Foundation, April 20, 2011).
Topic:
Defense Policy, Economics, Government, and Monetary Policy
Political Geography:
United States

616. Preparing Advisers for Capacity-Building Missions

Author:
Nadia Gerspacher
Publication Date:
07-2012
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
United States Institute of Peace
Abstract:
As part of their efforts to support the rebuilding and reform of postconflict and transitional states, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the United Nations, and other members of the international community are sending international advisers to work alongside high-level officials in national institutions. Advisers are recruited for their strong professional expertise in fields such as logistics and human resources. However, they have had little preparation in transferring that knowledge to others, especially in a transitional or postconflict environment. If they are to contribute to sustainable reforms, advisers need to be taught how to transfer knowledge in a complex and alien environment, how to operate without formal authority, and how to cultivate local ownership. Launched in 2010, a U.S. Department of Defense program to train advisers for institution-building activities in Afghanistan—Ministry of Defense Advisors, or MoDA—has incorporated lessons learned by former advisers and emphasized four principles originally developed for a USIP training course: supporting local ownership; designing for sustainability; doing no harm; and demonstrating respect, humility, and empathy. As of March 2012, five MoDA cohorts have been deployed and have performed effectively. The MoDA experience, together with insights gained from teaching courses at USIP and other venues, suggests that a good curriculum for training high-level advisers in any sector of government should include four parts: lessons on about how to be an effective adviser, including techniques for building relationships and communicating across cultures; briefings on the situation in the country; substantive information about the sector in which the adviser will work; and preparation through practice.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Defense Policy, NATO, Peace Studies, United Nations, and Peacekeeping
Political Geography:
Afghanistan

617. Meeting the Cyber Security Challenge

Author:
Gustav Lindstrom
Publication Date:
06-2012
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Geneva Centre for Security Policy
Abstract:
While most policymakers agree that there are substantial risks in cyber space, there is disagreement on whether or not it poses a threat to national security. The divergence in opinions is most obvious when references are made to terms such as cyber war and cyber warfare. In spite of these differences, there are many reasons why policymakers should care about developments in cyber space. With society's growing reliance on cyber space, a disruption can have wide ranging implications and cascading effects.
Topic:
Security, Defense Policy, Crime, and Science and Technology

618. Military capabilities in the Arctic

Author:
Siemon T. Wezeman
Publication Date:
03-2012
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Stockholm International Peace Research Institute
Abstract:
In recent years the forecast of far-reaching climate change in the Arctic has led to fears of future conflict in the region. Such fears have been expressed in official documents, including defence policy documents, of the five Arctic littoral states—Canada, Denmark, Norway, Russia and the United States. Three of them—Canada, Denmark and Russia—have recently adopted foreign and defence policies that have put a special emphasis on the Arctic. They have strengthened their military presence in the Arctic or increased military capabilities for Arctic use and have presented plans for additional military strengthening. Meanwhile, Norway has moved a substantial part of its operational forces to the north of the country. Of the five littoral states, only the USA has placed less focus on Arctic security.
Topic:
Conflict Prevention, Defense Policy, Arms Control and Proliferation, Climate Change, Natural Resources, and Territorial Disputes
Political Geography:
Russia, United States, Canada, Norway, and Denmark

619. Managing the Global Response to Maritime Piracy

Publication Date:
10-2012
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Atlantic Council
Abstract:
The Atlantic Council promotes constructive US leadership and engagement in international affairs based on the central role of the Atlantic community in meeting the international challenges of the 21st century. The Council embodies a nonpartisan network of leaders who aim to bring ideas to power and to give power to ideas by stimulating dialogue and discussion about critical international issues with a view to enriching public debate and promoting consensus on appropriate responses in the Administration, the Congress, the corporate and nonprofit sectors and the media in the United States and among leaders in Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas. Through its diverse networks, the Council builds broad constituencies to support constructive US leadership and policies. Its program offices publish informational analyses, convene conferences among current and/or future leaders, and contribute to the public debate in order to integrate the views of knowledgeable individuals from a wide variety of backgrounds, interests and experiences.
Topic:
Security, Defense Policy, Economics, Military Strategy, and Maritime Commerce
Political Geography:
Africa, United States, Europe, Asia, and Atlantic Ocean

620. Smart Defense: A Critical Appraisal

Author:
Jakob Henius and Jacopo Leone MacDonald
Publication Date:
03-2012
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
NATO Defense College
Abstract:
The concept of "Smart Defence" has in the last few months gained a critical position within the political and technical debates surrounding NATO and its future prospects as a security provider. Secretary General Rasmussen has adopted the concept as one of the core objectives of his mandate, often describing it as a vital priority for the Alliance. According to the keynote speech he delivered at the Munich Security Conference in February 2011, Smart Defence can be defined as a specific approach capable of "ensuring greater security, for less money, by working together with more flexibility," ultimately cooperating with others "with the aim to pool and share resources so that [NATO members] can together afford to acquire the necessary capabilities."
Topic:
Defense Policy, NATO, International Cooperation, International Security, and Reform