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1. Missile Defense Malfunction: Why the Proposed U.S. Missile Defenses in Europe Will Not Work

Author:
Philip E. Coyle and Victoria Samson
Publication Date:
03-2008
Content Type:
Journal Article
Institution:
Carnegie Council
Abstract:
The U.S. proposal to establish missile defense sites in Poland and the Czech Republic has exacerbated relations with Russia to a degree not seen since the height of the Cold War, and has done so despite the fact that the system has no demonstrated capability to defend the United States, let alone Europe, under realistic operational conditions. Further, it is being built on the shoulders of a missile defense system that has not come close to proving itself in testing and is still missing major components. Indeed, even the branch of the Pentagon charged with developing missile defense, the Missile Defense Agency (MDA), claims only to be able to address an ''unsophisticated threat.'' As this paper will demonstrate, the proposed U.S. missile defense system in Europe creates much havoc and provides no security in return.
Topic:
Cold War
Political Geography:
Russia, United States, Europe, and Poland

2. Defense Monitor, Who Will Pay for this Puny Defense Budget?

Author:
Eric Hagt, Philip E. Coyle, Whitney Parker, Rachel Stohl, Winslow Wheeler, Victoria Samson, and Rhea Myerscough
Publication Date:
03-2007
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Center for Defense Information
Abstract:
This analysis first appeared in the Fort Worth Star-Telegramon March 5, 2007.The new 2008 defense budget has been on the street for weeks. A consensus has emerged in Washington about its size. That consensus has little to do with the facts and much to do with political maneuvering, which has been orchestrated with brilliant success by the very same White House that everyone in Washington discounts as washed up.
Topic:
Defense Policy and Arms Control and Proliferation
Political Geography:
United States, China, and Asia

3. Defense Monitor: Where is America Going? Five Years After Sept. 11

Author:
Philip E. Coyle, Whitney Parker, Rachel Stohl, Winslow Wheeler, Victoria Samson, Jessica Ashooh, Mark Burgess, and Rhea Myerscough
Publication Date:
09-2006
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Center for Defense Information
Abstract:
In the days before Sept. 11, riding the post-Cold War high, America was blissfully unaware of the threats it faced, and why. A few in the William J. Clinton administration tried to warn their successors about al-Qaida's danger, but overall, most Americans were blindsided by the Sept. 11 attacks. Five years later, America is still largely in the dark.
Topic:
Defense Policy, Terrorism, and War
Political Geography:
Afghanistan, United States, Iraq, Middle East, and Asia

4. Defense Monitor, Not What We Were Hoping For

Author:
Philip E. Coyle, Whitney Parker, Rachel Stohl, Winslow Wheeler, Victoria Samson, and Theresa Hitchens
Publication Date:
11-2006
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Center for Defense Information
Abstract:
For decades, the U.S. Air Force has promoted the F-22 as its fighter for the 21st century. Advocates tout its technical features: fuel efficient, high speed “super-cruise,” advanced electronics, and reduced profile against enemy sensors, known as “stealth.” While those are popular amenities, the measures that really determine winning or losing in air combat have been overlooked by the Air Force. The F-22 fails to improve America's fighter force and degrades our combat capability.
Topic:
Defense Policy, Arms Control and Proliferation, and Nuclear Weapons
Political Geography:
United States

5. The Defense Monitor: Congress Steps Back From Nukes

Author:
Victoria Samson
Publication Date:
01-2006
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Center for Defense Information
Abstract:
The United States just took one small step away from the brink. Congress has opted against funding research for a nuclear weapon that would target underground bunkers. This decision squelched a program that would likely have created a new nuclear warhead, something that is particularly incongruous at a time when nations around the world are fervently trying to convince the leaderships of North Korea and Iran that their countries do not need nuclear weapons. However, this wisdom on the part of the U.S. government may prove to be temporary.
Topic:
Government, Nuclear Weapons, Terrorism, and War
Political Geography:
Afghanistan, United States, Asia, and North Korea

6. Fear of China is overplayed

Author:
Victoria Samson
Publication Date:
03-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Center for Defense Information
Abstract:
WASHINGTON -China is rapidly becoming, to many U.S. conservatives, the primary menace to U.S. national security. In fact, the attitude seems to be that China is the new Soviet bear. This mentality would have you believe that any gains by China are directly at the expense of the United States. But this attitude is unsubstantiated and based largely on racism -- which it would behoove the United States to drop immediately.
Topic:
Security and Science and Technology
Political Geography:
United States, China, and Asia

7. The Defense Monitor: Philip E. Coyle, III, CDI Senior Advisor, Appointed to Base Realignment and Closure 2005

Author:
Victoria Samson
Publication Date:
07-2005
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Center for Defense Information
Abstract:
The Center for Defense Information is proud to announce that Philip E. Coyle III, a senior advisor at the center, has been appointed by President George W. Bush to serve on the independent Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) 2005 commission.
Topic:
Defense Policy and Nuclear Weapons
Political Geography:
United States, Iran, and Middle East

8. The Defense Monitor, Challenging Conventional Threat

Author:
Rachel Stohl, Victoria Samson, Marcus Corbin, and Tomas Valasek
Publication Date:
12-2004
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Center for Defense Information
Abstract:
This issue of The Defense Monitor presents several of the projects currently underway at the Center for Defense Information, and describes how the work of CDI is making a difference, inside and outside of Washington, D.C. Of the many and varied CDI initiatives, highlighted here are projects on several of the hot topics of the day: the arms trade, small arms and light weapons; security cooperation with Europe; missile defense and space weapons; and, the war in Iraq, the size and shape of the military, and the role of Congress in overseeing and ensuring national security. At a time when too often public debate is cut short and poorly informed, in these and other areas CDI continues to supply the independent information. Its well-grounded analysis, and creative solutions are vital to help policy-makers make sound choices, and to support a healthy discourse on important national security issues affecting the nation and the world.
Political Geography:
Iraq, Europe, and Washington

9. The Defense Monitor, Rogue States: Nuclear Red-Herrings

Author:
Eric Hagt, Victoria Samson, Thomas R. Pickering, Lawrence J. Korb, Bruce.G Blair, and Yali Chen
Publication Date:
02-2004
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Center for Defense Information
Abstract:
For all the talk about rogue states acquiring nuclear weapons to threaten the United States, and all the heated debate about the United States developing mini-nukes and bunker busters to keep the rogues at bay, the U.S. nuclear weapons establishment does not pay much attention to the “axis of evil.” The real obsession of the U.S. nuclear enterprise at all levels — from Strategic Command in Omaha to the bomb custodians and designers in New Mexico — is keeping U.S. nuclear forces prepared to fight a large-scale nuclear war at a moment's notice with … Russia.
Topic:
Security and Defense Policy
Political Geography:
Russia, United States, and Mexico

10. Boost-Phase Intercept: Billions Spent, Little Return

Author:
Victoria Samson
Publication Date:
07-2003
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Center for Defense Information
Abstract:
The American Physical Society's July 16 study on boost-phase intercept missile defense programs provides an exhaustive and objective analysis of the science and technology behind the programs. However, it lacks one key element: the cost of boost-phase intercept.
Topic:
Defense Policy, Arms Control and Proliferation, and Science and Technology
Political Geography:
United States and America