Nov 19, 2008
While the election of Barack Obama heralds an impending change in U.S. policy toward Iraq, defense officials in Washington and Baghdad continue to focus on transforming the Iraqi military into a legitimate fighting force. Both the United States and Iraq seem to agree that no matter what President-elect Obama’s new strategy looks like, bolstering the strength and effectiveness of the Iraqi Security Forces will play a key role in stabilizing Iraq in the wake of U.S. troop withdrawals.
Nov 17, 2008
In this full-length essay published in the autumn 2008 issue of Parameters: U.S. Army War College Quarterly, military policy analyst Travis Sharp argues that spending four percent of GDP on defense is a policy proposal that should be rejected by budget experts and national security analysts alike.
Oct 20, 2008
Despite the Bush administration's investment of an estimated $60 billion since 2001, U.S. national missile defense continues to be an unnecessary and counterproductive enterprise. In this commentary published in Defense News on October 20, Lt. Gen. Robert Gard and Kingston Reif outline three essential changes that could set missile defense back on a productive course.
Oct 16, 2008
Many Americans may not realize that the United States will spend more on defense over the next 365 days than on the $700 billion bailout package. In this commentary for Foreign Policy in Focus, Travis Sharp considers what might happen with future U.S. defense budgets now that the economy is in shambles.
Oct 2, 2008
At a time when people are losing their homes and struggling to make ends meet, many Americans find the $700 billion cost of the financial rescue package to be simply unacceptable. What many Americans probably don’t realize is that the United States is likely to spend $711 billion, more than the cost of the financial bailout, on national defense in the fiscal year that began on October 1, 2008.
Sep 25, 2008
With members of Congress eager to leave town for the campaign trail, and Fiscal Year (FY) 2009 starting on October 1, Congress slapped together a consolidated appropriations package that includes several appropriations bills and a continuing resolution (known as a 'CR') all rolled into one. The package provides $487.7 billion in total defense funding, $4 billion less than the administration's request but 6.2 percent above the FY2008 funding level.
Sep 24, 2008
Congress decided to skip the normal conference procedure for the Fiscal Year (FY) 2009 Defense Authorization bill (S.3001). Working together, the House and Senate produced a joint bill that now must gain final approval from the House and Senate before it can be sent to President Bush for his signature. The bill fully authorizes the administration’s $542.5 billion National Defense (function 050) request. The bill also authorizes $68.5 billion in "bridge" funding for ongoing military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, for a “base” budget plus “bridge” budget grand total of $611.1 billion.
Sep 23, 2008
This report, written by a taskforce of experts in fields including military budgeting, forces and policy, nonproliferation, development, alternative energy, and homeland security, outlines a way to do the rebalancing between military and non-military security tools, rather than just talking about it.
Sep 10, 2008
In early September, several news outlets reported that Iraq is interested in buying 36 F-16 fighter jets from the United States. This proposed sale is the latest development in an intense push by the United States and Iraq to transform the Iraqi military into a legitimate fighting force. Recent weapons acquisition proposals would enlarge the Iraqi Security Forces’ purview from merely enforcing internal order to counterbalancing other countries in the region.
Sep 10, 2008
On September 10, the Defense Department announced that it was terminating the current competition to build the next generation of the Air Force's airborne refueling tanker, leaving the final decision on who would control the $35 billion program to the next Administration.
Aug 7, 2008
During the last week of July, the Department of Defense notified Congress about the proposed sale of $10.9 billion in U.S. military equipment and support to Iraq. Besides the eye-catching price tag, the equipment included in the proposed agreement represents a potential watershed in the development of Iraq’s military capabilities. In this new article published on IraqSlogger.com, military policy analyst Travis Sharp considers the implications for the balance of power in the region and raises questions about oversight, accountability, and transparency in a country riddled with internal violence.
Jul 25, 2008
On July 22, news broke that the Navy had decided to terminate its DDG-1000 destroyer program. Formerly known as "DD(X)," the vessel is intended to perform a land-attack/fire-support mission for the Navy. According to the Department of Defense, the total value of the program is roughly $29 billion.
Jul 23, 2008
A summary of Iraq and Afghanistan war funding to date.
Jul 17, 2008
U.S. defense spending has increased markedly under the Bush administration and is now at its highest level, in inflation-adjusted terms, since World War II. Tying defense spending to GDP basically amounts to using overall wealth creation to justify ever-increasing defense budgets. If the American economy triples in size, should our grandchildren spend three times more on defense than we do today just because they are three times richer?
Jun 30, 2008
This spring, the New York Times exposed a six-year-long Bush administration propaganda campaign using retired military officers to disseminate pro-Iraq war messages to the American public. In this op-ed published in the Asheville Citizen-Times on June 27, Outreach Coordinator Ashley Hoffman explains how the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation is fighting back against the administration's spin through its own Military Outreach Program.
Jun 18, 2008
On June 18, the Government Accountability Office agreed with a protest by Boeing which argued that the Air Force made errors when it awarded a $40 billion contract to Northrop-Grumman earlier this year for the production of the new KC-45 airborne tanker aircraft. In this new fact sheet, Military Policy Fellow Christopher Hellman explains the basics of the tanker contract and GAO's review process.
Jun 16, 2008
The past decade has seen incredible growth in the amount of money spent by the United States on its national defense. But DOD can only recover from the past and present, while preparing for the future, if it fixes the acquisitions process and starts giving American taxpayers the return-on-investment they deserve. Steps must be taken right away to ameliorate the crisis in weapons acquisitions.
Jun 12, 2008
The Senate Armed Services Committee released its markup of S. 3001, the Fiscal Year 2009 Defense Authorization bill, on May 1, 2008. S. 3001, as reported to the full Senate by the Armed Services Committee, fully funds the administration's $612.5 billion FY2009 National Defense request. As part of this total, the Committee authorized $70 billion in additional funding for operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.
May 21, 2008
If the new $165.4 billion Iraq war funding supplemental is enacted into law, Congress will have approved approximately $864 billion in DOD, State/USAID, and VA funding for the Global War on Terror (GWOT) since 2001. This would cement Iraq and Afghanistan's place as the second costliest conflict in U.S. history.
May 20, 2008
The House Armed Services Committee completed its markup of the Fiscal Year 2009 Defense Authorization bill (HR 5658) on May 15, 2008. The marked up bill recommends an overall authorization level of $601.4 billion, the amount requested by the administration.
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