All I Wanted for Christmas Was a National Defense Authorization Act
Brandon ValerianoWe finally have an NDAA! This is exciting news for many, mainly because operating under a Continuing Resolution is detrimental to national defense, since it funds past priorities without updating our outlays in light of evolving events and challenges.The FY 2020NDAA includes some provisions that might excite us, such federal parental leave, more support for child care within the military, and a pay increase for the military to retain the best and increase social services. Other contributions are less than enthralling (a paragraph on firefighting foam?!?).AsChris Preble notes, one of the main failings of ...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - December 10, 2019 Category: American Health Authors: Brandon Valeriano Source Type: blogs
Trump ’s Needlessly Dangerous Saudi Arabia Deployment
Ted Galen CarpenterThe Trump administration has approved the deployment to Saudi Arabia of Air Force F-15s, new air defense systems, and other military hardware, along with U.S. troops to operate and maintain those weapons systems.These new measures the Pentagon announced on October 11 will bring the total U.S. troop deployment to the kingdom to 3,000 since a mid-September attack on Saudi oil facilities.Speaking to reporters after the announcement,Secretary of Defense Mark Esper said that it is now “clear that Iranians are responsible” for the attacks and warned that Washington has additional units “on alert” that ...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - October 14, 2019 Category: American Health Authors: Ted Galen Carpenter Source Type: blogs
Striking Iran In Response to Abqaiq Attack Would Be a Mistake
Christopher A. PrebleThe smoke hasn ’t yet cleared from the attack on Saudi Aramco’s facility, but U.S. officials were quick to pin blame on Iran, with some even going so far as to suggest thatmilitary strikes could be – and should be – in the offing.Such a move should upset constitutional purists; Congress hasn ’t authorized military action against Iran for these purposes. The case that the Trump administration might present to Congress in an attempt to build support for strikes is unlikely to be compelling. Indeed, the story of the attack and what U.S. military strikes in retaliation would achieve is a lot more...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - September 16, 2019 Category: American Health Authors: Christopher A. Preble Source Type: blogs
The 2019 Arms Sales Risk Index
Caroline Dorminey andA. Trevor ThrallThe 2019 Arms Sales Risk Index, designed to help policy makers assess the potential negative consequences of international arms sales, is now online at Catohere. It represents an expanded and improved version of the original risk index published in Risky Business: The Role of Arms Sales in U.S. Foreign Policy, published in 2018 by A. Trevor Thrall and Caroline Dorminey.The United States has long been the world ’s leading arms exporter. In 2018 the Trump administration notified Congress of $78 billion in major conventional weapons sales, giving the United States 31% of the global a...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - September 11, 2019 Category: American Health Authors: Caroline Dorminey, A. Trevor Thrall Source Type: blogs
Trump ’s “Cakewalk” Fantasy about an Iran War
Although President Trump apparently called off a planned airstrike on Iran at the last minute in late June, he subsequently warned Iranian leaders that the military option was still very much on the table. He emphasized that if the United States used force against Iran, Washington would not put boots on the ground but would wage the conflict entirely with America ’s vast air power. Trump exhibited no doubt about the outcome, asserting that such a war “wouldn ’t last very long, ” and that it would mean the “obliteration” of Iran.His boast was eerily reminiscent of the statement that Kenneth Adelman, a former ass...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - July 3, 2019 Category: American Health Authors: Ted Galen Carpenter Source Type: blogs
The Right Call on Iran, But It Shouldn ’t Be Trump’s Call
It says something about the way we go to war now that one almost feels like thanking President Trump for deciding, at the last minute, not to kill (at least) 150 people —and risk catastrophic conflict with Iran—in order to avenge one unmanned Northrup-Grumman RQ-4 Global Hawk drone, downed by an Iranian missile. It wouldn’t be “proportionate,” hesaid, and he ’s right—though that apparentlydidn ’t bother National Security Adviser John Bolton, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, and CIA Director Gina Haspel.While you ’d never call the man cautious, much lesssqueamish about foreign casualties, it ’s not the fi...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - June 21, 2019 Category: American Health Source Type: blogs
America Is Nearly Alone on Iran Policy
The Trump administration continues to pursue an extremely confrontational policy toward Iran, and Washington finds itself increasingly alone in doing so. Even most of the traditional European allies show little enthusiasm for the U.S. approach. Indeed, many of them now are openly defying Washington’s wishes. As I discuss in a recentNational Interest Onlinearticle, such resistance has been building for some time, but the administration ’s newest actions have intensified the opposition. NATO governments are especially uneasy about Washington ’s decision todeploy B-52 bombers, sendan additional 1,500 troops to t...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - June 3, 2019 Category: American Health Authors: Ted Galen Carpenter Source Type: blogs
DEFENSE DOWNLOAD: Week of 2/7/19
Welcome to the Defense Download! This new round-up is intended to highlight what we at the Cato Institute are keeping tabs on in the world of defense politics every week. The three-to-five trending stories will vary depending on the news cycle, what policymakers are talking about, and will pull from all sides of the political spectrum. If you would like to receive more f requent updates on what I’m reading, writing, and listening to—you can follow me on Twitter via @CDDorminey. “Sold to an ally, lost to an enemy, ” Nima Elbagir, Salma Abdelaziz, Mohamed Abo El Gheit, and Laura Smith-Spark. CNN broke a story...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - February 7, 2019 Category: American Health Authors: Caroline Dorminey Source Type: blogs
American Weapons in Yemen: A Cautionary Tale
CNNbrokean important story today outlining how Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have intentionally transferred American-made weapons to violent non-state actors. Intended as a government to government sale, everything from American rifles to Oshkosh armored vehicles to TOW anti-tank missiles have made their way into the hands of “Al Qaeda-linked fighters, hard-line Salafi militias, and other factions waging war in Yemen. ”Although the extent of the problem in Yemen is disturbing, the illegal dispersion of American weapons is nothing new. And the fact that Saudi Arabia and the UAE are unreliable customers...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - February 5, 2019 Category: American Health Authors: A. Trevor Thrall, Caroline Dorminey Source Type: blogs
DEFENSE DOWNLOAD: Week of 1/31/19
Welcome to the Defense Download! This new round-up is intended to highlight what we at the Cato Institute are keeping tabs on in the world of defense politics every week. The three-to-five trending stories will vary depending on the news cycle, what policymakers are talking about, and will pull from all sides of the political spectrum. If you would like to receive more f requent updates on what I’m reading, writing, and listening to—you can follow me on Twitter via @CDDorminey. “Warren, Smith introduce bill to bar US from using nuclear weapons first, ” Joe Gould. Two Democratic leaders just introduced a bil...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - January 31, 2019 Category: American Health Authors: Caroline Dorminey Source Type: blogs
Travel Ban Separates Thousands of U.S. Citizens from Their Spouses & Minor Children
President Trump announced the first version of his “travel ban” 2 years ago this weekend. The policy has already separated thousands of U.S. citizens from their spouses and minor children. In its current form, the travel ban blocks visas to nationals of five majority Muslim countries. By the end of this fiscal year, the government is on pace to separate an estimated 15,000 spouses and adopted minor children of U.S. citizens.While the State Department has not publicly revealed the exact figures, prior trends in visa issuances indicate that as of January 1, 2019, the travel ban had already prevented 9,284 spouses and ado...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - January 29, 2019 Category: American Health Authors: David Bier Source Type: blogs
DEFENSE DOWNLOAD: Week of 12/13
Welcome to the Defense Download! This new round-up is intended to highlight what we at the Cato Institute are keeping tabs on in the world of defense politics every week. The three-to-five trending stories will vary depending on the news cycle, what policymakers are talking about, and will pull from all sides of the political spectrum. If you would like to recieve more f requent updates on what I’m reading, writing, and listening to—you can follow me on Twitter via @CDDorminey. The Senate just passed (and I mean, just passed, that ’s why the Defense Download is going out a bit late today) SJ Res 54: Ordering ...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - December 13, 2018 Category: American Health Authors: Caroline Dorminey Source Type: blogs
Trump Cut Muslim Refugees 91%, Immigrants 30%, Visitors by 18%
ConclusionThe bottom line is that the Trump administration is leading a major overhaul in the types of travelers, immigrants, and visitors who are coming to the United States. His administration reduced Muslim refugees by 91 percent and has overseen a 30 percent cut to immigrant visas for majority Muslim countries and an 18 percent cut to temporary visas. These policies lacka valid national security justification, but they are nonetheless having a significant effect. President Trump is certainly following through on his promise to limit Muslim immigration, even if a “total and complete shutdown” has not happened.Table ...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - December 7, 2018 Category: American Health Authors: David Bier Source Type: blogs
DEFENSE DOWNLOAD: Week of 12/6
Welcome to the Defense Download! This new round-up is intended to highlight what we at the Cato Institute are keeping tabs on in the world of defense politics every week. The three-to-five trending stories will vary depending on the news cycle, what policymakers are talking about, and will pull from all sides of the political spectrum. If you would like to recieve more f requent updates on what I’m reading, writing, and listening to—you can follow me on Twitter via @CDDorminey. This first suggestion actually comes in two parts: The Texas National Security Review hosted two policy roundtables. “The Future of C...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - December 6, 2018 Category: American Health Authors: Caroline Dorminey Source Type: blogs
