Matthew Fay writes that the debate in Washington over the future of the defense budget is acrimonious and points readers to some interesting analysis on the subject.
Even as another arctic blast hit the Beltway this week, the debate over the defense budget remains hot. Here are a few articles on the issues shaping that and other defense debates for your weekend reading pleasure:
– Janine Davidson of the Council on Foreign Relations adapted comments she recently made at the New America Foundation’s “Future of War” conference into an essay identifying four myths both driving and, in her estimation, endangering U.S. defense policy.
– One of the myths Davidson identifies is the perception that special operations forces (SOF) as a panacea for a variety complex international problems. Michael Noonan of the Foreign Policy Research Institute agrees and had an essay to that effect at War on the Rocks this week, arguing that the focus on surgical strikes such as the raid that killed Osama bin Laden has led to a misperception about what SOF actually do.
Read more here.
