Defense Resources
Defense Resources
National security is neither a “sacred cow” nor just another federal budget line item. Providing for the common defense of the American people and our homeland is the primary responsibility of policymakers in Washington. Unless Congress passes a law by mid-January 2012 that reduces the long-term federal deficit by more than $1.2 trillion, the U.S. Department of Defense will automatically face deep spending cuts over the next 10 years – cuts that America’s civilian and military leaders have candidly described as “devastating” and “very high risk.”
The precarious state of the Pentagon’s future fiscal affairs is due to the Budget Control Act of 2011, the controversial August deal by which Congress and the President agreed to raise America’s debt limit. As part of the bargain, the debt-limit deal immediately placed ceilings to cap the defense budget and other forms of discretionary spending—and the effect of these limits was to cut Pentagon spending over the next decade by an estimated $350 billion to $500 billion. Defense spending stands to be slashed even more severely if Congress fails to meet its deficit-cutting deadline of January 12, 2012. In the worst case scenario, the Budget Control Act’s so-called “trigger” provision would cut an additional $600 billion from the Pentagon’s 10-year budget.
The stakes couldn’t be higher for the Defense Department—and America’s long-term national security. Civilian leaders in the Executive Branch and Congress, military leaders in the U.S. Armed Forces, and presidential candidates have all voiced grave concerns about the dangers of deep defense cuts. Significant defense spending reductions now being considered will result in a “hollow force” characterized by fewer personnel and weapons systems, slowed military modernization, reduced readiness for operations, and continued stress on the all-volunteer force. If realized, this modern day “hollow force” will be less capable of securing America’s interests and preserving the international leadership role that rests upon military preeminence.
FPI Resources - Suggested Resources - Government Reports - Multimedia
FPI Resources
- Defending Defense: Sequester’s Shadow on the Defense Industrial Base – Foreign Policy Initiative, American Enterprise Institute, Heritage Foundation – July 12, 2012
- [UPDATED] FPI Fact Sheet: The Dangers of Deep Defense Cuts: What America’s Civilian and Military Leaders are Saying – May 23, 2012
- Defending Defense: Sequestration Must Be Stopped – Foreign Policy Initiative, American Enterprise Institute, Heritage Foundation – May 7, 2012
- FPI Bulletin: President Still Silent on How to Halt Devastating Defense Cuts – FPI Policy Director Robert Zarate and Policy Analyst Evan Moore – Foreign Policy Initiative – April 4, 2012
- Ryan's Budget Protects Defense – FPI Director William Kristol, Arthur Brooks, and Edwin J. Feulner – Wall Street Journal – March 27, 2012
- Defending Defense: A Response to the Obama Administration’s Preview of the Fiscal Year 2013 Defense Budget Request – Foreign Policy Initiative, American Enterprise Institute, and Heritage Foundation – January 27, 2012
- FPI Bulletin: New Defense Guidance Embraces Strategic Decline – FPI Policy Director Robert Zarate and Policy Analyst Evan Moore – January 6, 2012
- Defending Defense: Defense Spending, the Super Committee, and the Price of Greatness Foreign Policy Initiative, American Enterprise Institute, and Heritage Foundation – November 2011
- The Defense Budget Has Already Suffered Cuts – FPI Executive Director Jamie M. Fly – Foreign Policy’s blog, Shadow Government – October 18, 2011
- The Military’s Steep Cuts – FPI Policy Director Robert Zarate – The Weekly Standard Blog – October 17, 2011
- Panetta: Further Cuts Will ‘Truly Devastate Our National Defense’ – FPI Policy Director Robert Zarate – The Weekly Standard Blog – October 14, 2011
- Sequestration's Hidden Trillion Dollar Cut to Defense – FPI Policy Director Robert Zarate – The Weekly Standard Blog – September 16, 2011
- FPI Analysis: Defense Spending and the Super Committee – September 12, 2011
- Decline Is a Choice – FPI Director William Kristol – The Weekly Standard Blog – August 1, 2011
- Will the Debt Ceiling Deal Gut Defense? – FPI Director William Kristol – The Weekly Standard Blog – July 31, 2011
- General Calls Deep Defense Cuts "Very High Risk" – FPI Policy Director Robert Zarate – The Weekly Standard Blog – July 28, 2011
- The National-Security Case for the Boehner Plan – FPI Executive Director Jamie Fly – National Review’s The Corner – July 27, 2011
- Defending Defense: Warning: Hollow Force Ahead! – Foreign Policy Initiative, American Enterprise Institute, Heritage Foundation – July 21, 2011
- Obama Tries to Have it Both Ways on Defense – FPI Executive Director Jamie Fly – The Weekly Standard Blog – July 18, 2011
- No Deal – FPI Director William Kristol – The Weekly Standard Blog – July 7, 2011
- Defending Defense: China's Military Build-up: Implications for U.S. Defense Spending – Foreign Policy Initiative, American Enterprise Institute, Heritage Foundation – March 7, 2011
- Defending Defense: Response to Obama Administration's FY 2012 Budget – Foreign Policy Initiative, American Enterprise Institute, Heritage Foundation – February 14, 2011
- Defending Defense: A Response to Recent Deficit Reduction Proposals – Foreign Policy Initiative, American Enterprise Institute, Heritage Foundation – November 23, 2010
- Defending Defense: Setting the Record Straight on US Military Spending Requirements – Foreign Policy Initiative, American Enterprise Institute, Heritage Foundation – October 13, 2010
Suggested Resources
- Ryan vs. Dempsey – Gary Schmitt and Thomas Donnelly – The Weekly Standard – March 31, 2012
- Cutting Navy While Obama Pivots To Asia Does Not Add Up – Mackenzie Eaglen – AOL Defense – March 30, 2012
- A Path to Security – Gary Schmitt and Thomas Donnelly – The Weekly Standard – March 24, 2012
- Nearing Coffin Corner: US Air Power on the Edge – Mackenzie Eaglen and Douglas Birkey – American Enterprise Institute – March 21, 2012
- Obama's Shift-to-Asia Budget Is a Hollow Shell Game – Mackenzie Eaglen – AOL Defense – March 15, 2012
- The Specter of Sequestration – Mackenzie Eaglen and Michael O’Hanlon – CNN – February 24, 2012
- Leading Indicator of Decline – Thomas Donnelly and Richard Cleary – The Weekly Standard Blog – February 16, 2012
- Slashing America's Defense: A Suicidal Trajectory – Max Boot – Commentary – January 2012
- U.S. Defense On The Defensive – Editorial – The Washington Post – November 6, 2011
- Decimating the 9-1-1 Force – Reps. Randy Forbes (R-VA) and Todd Akin (R-MO) – Defense News – October 31, 2011
- The Dangerous Debate Over Cutting Military Spending – Robert J. Samuelson – Washington Post – October 30, 2011
- Defense Cuts Imperil US Asia Role – Rep. Randy J. Forbes (R-VA) – The Diplomat – October 26, 2011
- Will Congress Pull the Trigger and Shoot the U.S. Military? – Mackenzie Eaglen – AOL Defense –October 21, 2011
- Don't Rush to Gut Ground Forces – Nathan Freier – AOL Defense – October 21, 2011
- This is No Time to Cut Defense – Paul Miller – Foreign Policy’s blog, Shadow Government – October 17, 2011
- Why Defense Cuts Don't Make Sense – Rep. Buck McKeon (R-CA) – Wall Street Journal (subscription required) – October 14, 2011
- Defense Spending is Not the Problem – Maj. Gen. Bentley B. Rayburn (USAF, Ret.) – National Review Online – October 10, 2011
- No More Cuts – Gary Schmitt and Tom Donnelly – The Weekly Standard – October 10, 2011
- Cutting Defense Won’t Create More Jobs – Gary Schmitt and Tom Donnelly – FoxNews.com – September 14, 2011
- Prepared Testimony on Defense before the House Armed Services Committee – Tom Donnelly –House Armed Services Committee – September 13, 2011
- Save the Lightning: Why we need the F-35 – Tom Donnelly – The Weekly Standard Blog – September 12, 2011
- 'Doomsday' Planning Will Fail Without OSD Guidance – Mackenzie Eaglen – AOL Defense – September 1, 2011
- Defining Defense Down – Gary Schmitt and Tom Donnelly – The Weekly Standard – August 24, 2011
- A Welcome Convert: If the Secretary of Defense won't Defend Defense, Who Will? – Tom Donnelly – The Weekly Standard Blog – August 17, 2011
- Secretaries of State, Defense Acknowledge Entitlement Spending Crisis – Mackenzie Eaglen – The Heritage Foundation – August 16, 2011
- The (Raw) Deal on Defense – Gary Schmitt and Tom Donnelly – The Weekly Standard Blog – August 2, 2011
- Slashing Defense Makes America Less Safe While Allowing Politicians to Kick the Can Down the Road on Entitlement Reform – Mackenzie Eaglen – The Heritage Foundation – July 21, 2011
Government Reports
- Defense Budget Priorities and Choices – January 2012
- Fact Sheet: The Defense Budget – January 2012
- CBO Long-Term Implications of the 2012 Future Years Defense Program: Testimony Before the House Budget Committee – July 7, 2011
- National Defense Budget Estimates For FY 2012 (Green Book) – March 2011
- Department Of Defense Fiscal Year 2012 Budget Request – February 2011
- The President’s Budget for the Department of Defense FY2012 – February 2011
Multimedia
- [Event] – Defending Defense - Choosing Decline: The Meaning of Obama's Defense Guidance and Budget – Foreign Policy Initiative, American Enterprise Institute, Heritage Foundation – February 16, 2012
- [Hearing] – The Future of the Military Services and Consequences of Defense Sequestration – House Armed Services Committee – November 2, 2011
- [Hearing] – Readiness in the Age of Austerity – House Armed Services Committee, Subcommittee on Readiness – October 27, 2011
- [Hearing] – The Future of National Defense and the U.S. Military Ten Years After 9/11: Perspectives of Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Martin Dempsey – House Armed Services Committee – October 13, 2011
- Defense Priorities: Today and Tomorrow – Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta – Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars – October 11, 2011
- [Hearing] – The Future of National Defense and the U.S. Military Ten Years After 9/11: Perspectives from Outside Experts – House Armed Services Committee – September 13, 2011
- Rep. Buck McKeon delivers remarks on defense spending and the Super Committee at the American Enterprise Institute - September 13, 2011
- Defending Defense: Defense Spending and the Super Committee - September 9, 2011
- FPI Director Robert Kagan warns that cutting our defense budget could lead to "preemptive superpower suicide" - August 16, 2011
- The Heritage Foundation's Mackenzie Eaglen discusses the debt deal's defense cuts on 8/5/11's Washington Journal on C-SPAN - August 5, 2011
- Rep. Buck McKeon (R-CA) and House Republicans hold press conference on defense cuts in the debt deal - August 1, 2011
- July 26 HASC Subcommittee Hearing - Total Force Readiness - July 26, 2011
Mission Statement
The Foreign Policy Initiative seeks to promote an active U.S. foreign policy committed to robust support for democratic allies, human rights, a strong American military equipped to meet the challenges of the 21st century, and strengthening America’s global economic competitiveness.
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