Center for a New American Security - CNAS

09/20/2023

On Wednesday, September 20, from 10:00AM–11:00AM ET, the Center for a New American Security will host Prof. Tanya Monro AC, Australia's Chief Defence Scientist, to discuss the latest developments and challenges in developing emerging technologies and delivering advanced defense capabilities under AUKUS Pillar 2.

For more information visit: https://www.cnas.org/events/mission-brief-gaining-the-asymmetric-advantage-emerging-technology-and-the-aukus-pillar-2-promise-with-prof-tanya-monro

09/16/2023

“Militarily, Tokyo believes purely defensive capabilities such as missile defense systems are no longer adequate in the face of threats from China and North Korea,” write CNAS experts Jacob Stokes, Lisa Curtis, and Joshua F**t, with Lt. Col. Joseph Grimm and Rebecca Wittner, in their new report. Read it now:

Developing strong, pragmatic and principled national security and defense policies.

09/15/2023

Please join the Center for a New American Security on Friday, September 15, at 11:00 a.m. ET for a virtual fireside chat with the Honorable Dr. William LaPlante, Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment, moderated by Dr. Stacie Pettyjohn, Senior Fellow and Director of the CNAS Defense Program.

The conversation will focus on the U.S. defense industrial base and procurement issues raised in the recent CNAS report ‘Production is Deterrence:’ Investing in Precision-Guided Munitions to Meet Peer Challengers.

For more information visit: https://www.cnas.org/events/virtual-fireside-chat-the-honorable-dr-william-laplante-under-secretary-of-defense-for-acquisition-and-sustainment

09/14/2023

Read it now: Strengthening the Shield Japan’s: Defense Transformation and the U.S.-Japan Alliance from Jacob Stokes, Lisa Curtis, and Joshua F**t with Rebecca Wittner and Lt. Col. Joseph Grimm.

Developing strong, pragmatic and principled national security and defense policies.

09/13/2023

The 2023 DoD Cyber Strategy establishes how the Department will operate in and through cyberspace to protect the American people and advance the defense priorities of the United States. To discuss the newly release unclassified strategy document, the Center for a New American Security will host Dr. John Plumb, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Space Policy, who will give opening remarks, followed by an expert panel and audience Q&A session. The featured panelists include Mieke Eoyang, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Cyber Policy, experts from across industry, and Richard Fontaine, Chief Executive Officer of CNAS who will moderate the discussion.

For more information visit: https://www.cnas.org/events/virtual-event-cyber-resiliency-discussing-the-2023-dod-cyber-strategy

09/13/2023

The event will feature an expert panel discussion among Zack Cooper, Senior Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, JIMBO Ken, Managing Director at the International House of Japan and President of the Asia-Pacific Initiative, Jacob Stokes, and Yuki Tatsumi, Senior Fellow and Co-Director of the East Asia Program and Director of the Japan Program at the Stimson Center. Joshua F**t will moderate the session, which will examine the issues covered in the report.

For more information visit: https://www.cnas.org/events/virtual-launch-event-strengthening-the-shield-japans-defense-transformation-and-the-u-s-japan-alliance

08/30/2023

Since McCain’s death, competition with authoritarian adversaries — China, in particular— has escalated. The U.S. possesses everything necessary to triumph in it, and redoubling our coordination with democratic allies and partners is crucial. Dictatorships seek a world ordered in accordance with their authoritarian vision. The United States and its allies must instead help create the conditions for democracy to thrive. In so doing, they can build a world favorable to freedom, security and prosperity.

Richard Fontaine and Daniel Twining, who each served as McCain's national security advisor, remember the late Senator in The Hill.

McCain’s foresight was grounded in his fundamental worldview. He recognized the innate connection between the behavior of governments at home and abroad.

08/28/2023

Beloved by small “d” democrats and loathed by dictators, a word from John McCain could hearten and inspire activists, protestors and political prisoners. The senator understood the essential connection between dictators’ oppression at home and the threats they pose abroad. Many years before most of Washington, he anticipated the global danger of resurgent authoritarianism.

Read more from Richard Fontaine and Daniel Twining, who remember Sen. McCain five years after his passing.

McCain’s foresight was grounded in his fundamental worldview. He recognized the innate connection between the behavior of governments at home and abroad.

08/23/2023

“The DoD should emphasize forces and capabilities that can contribute to denying China and Russia a quick victory in the most stressing warfighting scenarios,” Becca Wasser recommends in her new report:

Developing strong, pragmatic and principled national security and defense policies.

08/23/2023

A deeply philosophical and technical mission, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) brings together scientists and service members to recover and identify the fullest number of missing personnel for their families and the nation. Please join the Center for a New American Security on Wednesday, August 23 from 11:00AM—12:00PM EST for a virtual conversation between Mr. Kelly McKeague, Director of the DPAA, and Katherine Kuzminski, Senior Fellow and Director of the CNAS Military, Veterans, & Society program, as they discuss DPAA's mission to recover and identify all of America's fallen service members.

For more information visit: https://www.cnas.org/events/virtual-event-fulfilling-our-nations-promise-a-conversation-with-kelly-mckeague

08/22/2023

🚨Read it now🚨 “Campaign of Denial: Strengthening Simultaneous Deterrence in the Indo-Pacific and Europe” from Becca Wasser. Find it here:

Developing strong, pragmatic and principled national security and defense policies.

08/18/2023

"To meet the challenge of protecting the country and its national interests, the federal government must attract, recruit, and retain experienced, educated individuals with skills specific to national security, including foreign language proficiency, regional knowledge, legal expertise, or a background in engineering, computer science, or data analytics. It also needs people who can lead, manage, and communicate."

Visit the NEW interactive report from Katherine Kuzminski, Nathalie Grogan, and Celina Pouchet:

The U.S. national security workforce requires talent for federal agencies. Qualified people want to serve, but federal employers face hiring obstacles.

08/17/2023

The federal government needs people with specific skills, knowledge, and experience in the national security workforce.

While there are qualified individuals who want to serve and are actively seeking opportunities, employers within the federal government aren’t always able to access them.

What is standing in the way?

Learn more in our new interactive report from Katherine Kuzminski, Nathalie Grogan, and Celina Pouchet.

The U.S. national security workforce requires talent for federal agencies. Qualified people want to serve, but federal employers face hiring obstacles.

08/15/2023

“The direct consequences of these losses is that it is now primarily an infantry-led fight with artillery firing on Russian positions,” Franz-Stefan Gady tells The Messenger. “Only on occasion do you get advances or attacks spearheaded by mechanized forces.”

Read more:

Developing strong, pragmatic and principled national security and defense policies.

08/14/2023

"The harms from AI in today’s society come from yesterday’s models. The most cutting-edge systems are not yet widely used or understood. Even less is known about future models, which are growing more powerful every year. Scientists appear on track to automate most of the tasks that a human can do in front of a computer, and progress probably won’t stop there."

Read more from Markus Anderljung and Paul Scharre in Foreign Affairs:

How dangerous is AI? The honest and scary answer is that no one knows.

08/10/2023

Yesterday, the White House released an executive order (EO) detailing a ban on U.S. private-equity and venture-capital investments in some Chinese technology companies with potential military applications through a series of outbound investment mechanisms. Experts from CNAS explain what is included in the EO, and what it means for national security and U.S. companies.

Read more from Emily Kilcrease, J Travis Mosier, Thomas Krueger, John Hughes, Jacob Stokes, Tim Fist, Hannah Kelley, and Sam Howell:

Developing strong, pragmatic and principled national security and defense policies.

08/09/2023

"For the foes of democracy, distorting electoral politics now seems to be a low-cost, high-reward way to support their favored candidates, harm their perceived enemies, or simply deepen polarization and sow internal distrust—often with the added benefit of plausible deniability."

Read the latest from Richard Fontaine in Foreign Affairs:

The stakes have grown too high and the threats too pervasive to leave every democracy to its own devices.

08/08/2023

"It will require immense political will and courage to reform an Iraqi defense establishment that continues to perpetually hollow itself through corruption, indifference, and over-dependence on foreign assistance."

Read the latest from Jonathan Lord in Breaking Defense:

It will require immense political will and courage to reform an Iraqi defense establishment that continues to perpetually hollow itself.

08/07/2023

"It is time for democracies to muster such combined action against foreign political interference. To better coordinate their common defenses, they must create a formal response mechanism akin to Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty, binding allies to come to the aid of one of their own in the event of an attack. The stakes have grown too high and the threats too pervasive to leave every democracy to its own devices."

Read more from Richard Fontaine in Foreign Affairs:

The stakes have grown too high and the threats too pervasive to leave every democracy to its own devices.

08/04/2023

"These high designation numbers targeting Chinese and Russian entities indicate that the Biden administration has increasingly used a combination of sanctions, export controls, and Entity List FDP Rule designations to target the military industrial complexes in China and Russia."

Read more in "Sanctions by the Numbers: 2022 Year in Review" from Michael Frazer and Jocelyn Trainer.

Developing strong, pragmatic and principled national security and defense policies.

08/03/2023

"Ukraine’s victory will not be secured by any single capability or weapon, but by effective use of force, better training and sustained Western support."

Read more from Franz-Stefan Gady and Michael Kofman in The Economist. More:

Ukraine’s victory will not be secured by any single capability or weapon, but by effective use of force, better training and sustained Western support.

08/02/2023

"The rapid pace of development of AI systems calls for interim measures as both the U.S. and EU attempt to develop well-thought-out regulation that will stand the test of time. The transatlantic partners cannot afford to be hamstrung by their divergent regulatory approaches to AI."

Read the latest from Carisa Nietsche and Camille Ford in Euractiv:

The transatlantic partners can promote a foundation for global AI governance that does not encroach on their respective regulatory frameworks.

08/01/2023

ICYMI: Data from Tom Shugart formed the backbone of a The Economist analysis on Chinese military buildup. Read now:

Developing strong, pragmatic and principled national security and defense policies.

08/01/2023

"Quantum technologies’ promising but unknown potential has led the Biden administration to rank U.S. leadership in this area among its highest priorities, but the United States currently lacks access to the talent required to maintain competitiveness. The United States’ QIST talent shortage is a national security risk—and the White House has no solid plan to fill critical vacancies."

Read the latest from Sam Howell in Foreign Policy:

The United States has QIST advantages but can only maximize them by first prioritizing the development of a robust, diverse, and agile quantum workforce.

07/31/2023

"Previous battles in Ukraine had given grounds for caution. Ukrainian forces struggled to co-ordinate attacks on a large scale or to synchronise use of forces, often resorting to long phases of attrition, as in Kherson last year. The initial breaching attempt during Ukraine’s summer offensive showed that many of these problems remain."

Read more from Franz-Stefan Gady and Michael Kofman in The Economist:

Ukraine’s victory will not be secured by any single capability or weapon, but by effective use of force, better training and sustained Western support.

07/29/2023

“The inconsistency and whataboutism are inevitable byproducts of a foreign policy that seeks changes in other countries’ domestic situations,” Richard Fontaine tells The New York Times. “That’s not ground for abandoning the effort to support democracy abroad — just for understanding that it’s no easy task.”

Read more:

Developing strong, pragmatic and principled national security and defense policies.

07/28/2023

This week, CNAS held the inaugural meeting of the Joseph S. Nye, Jr. Intern Alumni Engagement Network. CNAS CEO Richard Fontaine, intern alumna and Director of the Military, Veterans, and Society Program Kate Kuzminski, and intern cohort leader Ayla McBreen spoke to the assembled group of past and present Joseph S. Nye, Jr. interns.

07/28/2023

🚨NEW🚨 "U.S.-China Competition and Military AI" from authors Jacob Stokes, Alex Sullivan, and Noah Greene. Read the full report👇

Developing strong, pragmatic and principled national security and defense policies.

07/25/2023

Listen: Ambassador Douglas Lute and Ambassador Kurt Volker join Carisa Nietsche and Jim Townsend to discuss key deliverables from the NATO Summit in Vilnius in the latest episode of Brussels Sprouts. Listen here:

Developing strong, pragmatic and principled national security and defense policies.

07/24/2023

"With EU enlargement back on the political agenda following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the West has an opportunity to revitalise its policy toward the Western Balkans. To capitalise on this renewed geopolitical momentum, greater leadership from the United States is key."

Read more from Kristen Taylor and Nicholas Lokker in Euractiv:

Active engagement from Washington now will allow the European Union to take over primary responsibility for the Balkans and lead without U.S. assistance.

07/21/2023

"Iran and China’s growing relationship is no longer a 'what-if,' but a 'what-do-we-do-now.' U.S. strategy for Iran cannot be kept in an isolated box, focused exclusively on limiting its nuclear threat capabilities. If the main U.S. priority is to keep up with the current 'pacing challenge' of China, then the conversation needs to include Iran."

Read more from Arona Baigal and Kiana Alirezaie in The Hill:

Iran and China’s growing relationship is no longer a “what-if,” but a “what-do-we-do-now.”

07/20/2023

"The current lack of emphasis on civic education among our armed forces is a wasted opportunity to underscore the vital importance of being not only a good solider, but also a good citizen."

Read more from Ayla McBreen in Stars & Stripes:

Expecting our service members to be educated about the role they play should be a minimum requirement.

07/19/2023

Register now! A virtual conversation between Peter Feaver and Katherine Kuzminski on Feaver's new book Thanks For Your Service: The Causes and Consequences of Public Confidence in the U.S. Military. Don't miss it by registering now👇

Developing strong, pragmatic and principled national security and defense policies.

07/18/2023

Read now: "Frontier AI Regulation: Managing Emerging Risks to Public Safety" from CNAS experts Markus Anderljung, Tim Fist, and other authors. More 👇

We think that it is important to begin taking practical steps to regulate frontier AI today, and that these ideas are a step in that direction.

07/17/2023

To discuss ongoing efforts to develop policies and programs to fight financial crimes in the digital assets space, CNAS will host Brian Nelson, Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence at the Treasury, for a virtual conversation on July 19 hosted by Emily Kilcrease, Senior Fellow and Director of the Energy, Economics, and Security Program.

Register here:

Developing strong, pragmatic and principled national security and defense policies.

07/13/2023

"Since the United States isn’t ran by an autocrat, it’s rare that the U.S. government has a truly unified vision for anything. But at this moment, it does. Washington wants to connect its Middle Eastern partners in ways that deliver collective security benefits greater than the sum of any one nation’s military’s parts. And at this moment, Washington is sitting alone at the table while its would-be allies are playing footsie with the United States’ adversaries, stewing in the corner over past grievances, or distracted by domestic endeavors."

Read more from Jonathan Lord and Arona Baigal in Foreign Policy:

Washington wants to connect its Middle Eastern partners in ways that deliver security benefits greater than the sum of any one nation’s military’s parts.

07/12/2023

NEW: CNAS Responds to the 2023 NATO Summit in Vilnius, featuring expert commentary from Richard Fontaine, Andrea Kendall-Taylor, Lisa Curtis, and Carisa Nietsche.

Read more:

Developing strong, pragmatic and principled national security and defense policies.

07/12/2023

"Countries cannot have their cake and eat it, too. The time for choosing has arrived. Countries will have to decide whether to side, or appear to side, with Washington or Beijing."

Read more from Richard Fontaine in Foreign Affairs:

The number of unavoidable dilemmas will only rise as the U.S.-Chinese rivalry intensifies.

07/04/2023

All of us at the Center for a New American Security wish you and yours a happy and healthy Fourth of July.

07/01/2023

"Although the knee-jerk reaction to the discovery of the spy station might be to further punish and isolate Cuba, such a move would be counterproductive to long term U.S. national security by driving Cuba further into China’s arms," Daniel Bonomo writes in The Diplomat. Read now:

Cuban neutrality is a diplomatic loss for China.