Deterrence in Space: It’s Not Complicated

Outer space is often described in strategic terms as the “high-ground” or a “contested-domain,” depending on the political environment and policy objectives. The application of deterrence, most often discussed in a nuclear context, ebbed and flowed over the past six decades with successive changes in policy. It is often over-thought and complicated to support academic […]

November 5, 2023
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The Pentagon’s China Military Report: Why Americans Should Be Alarmed

The Department of Defense’s (DoD) Military and Security Developments Involving the People’s Republic of China, 2023 Annual Report to Congress was released on October 19, 2023. The threats discussed should be a wake-up call for Americans. The report, which is an annual requirement mandated by Section 1202 of the 2000 National Defense Authorization Act, provides […]

November 5, 2023
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Congressional Dysfunction Impacts American Defense in the Pacific

Reports from Palau suggest the mood in government is disappointing. Why? The United States Congress missed the September 30, 2023, deadline to confirm the funding of the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), the Marshall Islands, and Palau. These three island states are in the northern Pacific and have control over the air, sea, and land […]

November 5, 2023
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The Danger of Minimum Deterrence

Arms control advocates often propose a minimal deterrence strategy as a first step toward the abolition of nuclear weapons. Closely connected to a “no first use” policy, much of such thinking advocating these two positions flows from a mistaken view that nuclear weapons are not useful in deterring adversaries, irrelevant to new threats, and a […]

November 5, 2023
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The Value of Panda Diplomacy

Living in Washington, DC, since 2000, they are like many residents of the nation’s capital—immigrants from another country. Tian Tian and Mei Xiang hail from Sichuan, China. Their cub, Xiao Qi Ji “Little Miracle,” was born during the pandemic. Sadly, the family will return to China by mid-November, but not for any reason you might […]

November 5, 2023
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