July 27, 2011

Command Post: "Is U.S. National Security Gun-Heavy And Butter-Light?"

By John A. Nagl, David W. Barno and USA (Ret.)

One of the intriguing things about recently-departed defense secretary Robert Gates -- pretty much a lifetime spy -- was his concern that the U.S. toolkit was out of whack when it comes to weapons v. diplomacy. He'd frequently mention how there were more sailors on an aircraft carrier, or musicians in the Pentagon's bands, as there are foreign service officers working for the State Department. Does he have a point? Debating the issue is your Battlander joined by John Nagl of the Center for a New American Security and Nora Bensahel and Dave Barno, two of John's colleagues at CNAS.

  • Commentary
    • The National Interest
    • September 25, 2017
    The Problem with 'the Best of Intentions' Foreign Policy

    The nineteenth-century Germans focused so much on philosophy partly in order not to compete with the protean genius of Goethe, who had dominated all the other literary genres ...

    By Robert D. Kaplan

    • Commentary
    • The Wall Street Journal
    • August 24, 2016
    Australia’s Ambivalence Makes It Vulnerable

    With Washington’s rising focus on Asia, America’s close and longstanding alliance with Australia has taken on new significance. Australia today is boosting its military streng...

    By Richard Fontaine

    • Commentary
    • The Diplomat
    • July 27, 2016
    A Thaw in the US-New Zealand Nuclear Freeze

    The visit of a U.S. Navy warship to New Zealand in November will mark the close of a 30 year period of security estrangement between two democratic nations. Announced during V...

    By Richard Fontaine

    • Commentary
    • The Wall Street Journal
    • June 30, 2016
    How to Crash Putin’s Brexit Party

    For decades, NATO and the European Union have silently worked in unison. The former required a foundation of European unity, and the EU to a significant extent provided that, ...

    By Robert D. Kaplan

View All Reports View All Articles & Multimedia