A Perennial Task with No Finish Line: U.S. Defense Planning and Procurement in 2016
How can the military fund its current forces while preparing for the future? There’s no simple answer to such a question. 2016 was a mixed […] More
North America
U.S. Air Force: A Return to Full Spectrum Readiness
The core missions of the U.S. Air Force demand that it always be prepared to defend the United States while also being prepared to carry […] More
Watching Cybernorms Get Made
Butch Cassidy graphically demonstrated that there ain’t no rules in a knife fight. Well, so far, there ain’t no rules in cyberspace or precious few […] More
Violence in Mexico Surges
Mexico’s homicide rate is surging. Government and independent sources are reporting an up to 18 percent increase for 2016, compared to last year. This comes […] More
The Future of U.S.-Mexico Security Cooperation
Earlier this month, a police truck burned on the side of the road in Zihuatanejo, Guerrero, with meter high flames melting the interior and the […] More
Reform the Mexican Judicial System
The increase in violence over the last year has spread evenly across Mexico (as shown in Figure 1 below) which compares state-level intentional homicide rates […] More
Trumping Trade: The Future of NAFTA
The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) has stitched the economies of Mexico, Canada, and the United States together since 1994. However, over those twenty-plus […] More
Tearing Up NAFTA: Easier Said than Done
President-elect Donald Trump consistently lambasted the North American Free Trade Association (NAFTA) as a “the worst deal, possibly in history,” one which unfairly disadvantages American […] More
Renegotiating NAFTA – A Blueprint for Success
President-elect Donald Trump will tell Canada and Mexico – our NAFTA partners – that we intend to “immediately renegotiate the terms of that agreement,” and […] More
Response to Russian Hacking: “Time and Place of Our Own Choosing”
President Barack Obama says the U.S. will respond to the Russia’s interference in the 2016 campaign. In an interview with NPR on Friday, Obama said, […] More
An Open Letter to the Men and Women of the U.S. Intelligence Community
Editor’s Note: The ongoing debate over the intelligence involving the Russian hack of the Democratic National Committee is highlighting a lot of other underlying issues […] More
Tillerson’s Task: Mastering Mind-Numbing Expectations at State
Exxon Mobil Chief Rex Tillerson, like almost all post World War II Secretary of State nominees, if confirmed, will come to the job with extensive […] More
Trump's Attacks Do Not Bode Well for the CIA, Former Officers Say
What impact will President-elect Donald Trump’s attack on the Intelligence Community have on the CIA as it steels itself to deal with its already contentious […] More
Keane: U.S. ‘Ill-Prepared’ to Meet Threats
Weeks after declining an offer to serve in president-elect Donald Trump’s administration, retired Army Gen. Jack Keane on Tuesday testified before Congress that the United […] More
UK and Japan Ambassadors Affirm American Alliance
On the campaign trail, Donald Trump made several foreign policy statements which if, as President-elect, were to be put into practice, would undercut several traditional […] More
Mattis as Defense Secretary: Wartime Experience for a Country at War
Late Thursday, President-elect Donald Trump announced that he would appoint retired Marine General James Mattis – nicknamed “Mad Dog” – as Secretary of Defense. “They […] More
The Security Clearance Process Might Need a Revamp
As the security clearance process comes under the microscope during President-elect Donald Trump’s transition, some experts and former intelligence community members say the system for […] More
Agility and Innovation in the Third Offset Strategy
Secretary of Defense Ash Carter firmly believes that in order for the U.S. armed forces to maintain their global preeminence, they must innovate at a […] More