Scowcroft Center Commentary & Analysis

Iran Working Group Examines Financial and Cyber Deterrence

Despite the interim agreement on the Iranian nuclear program in November 2013, Iran’s nuclear program remains is arguably one of the greatest emerging challenges to US national and regional security interests. US President Barack Obama has reiterated that a nuclear-armed Iran is unacceptable and that the administration is prepared to take all necessary measures to […]

Admiral Locklear Discusses the Future of Asian Security

Not only a vital driver of the global economy, the Asia Pacific is also the most militarized region in the world, containing seven of the ten largest standing militaries in the world together with five declared nuclear nations. The United States maintains a strong presence within this uncertain and dynamic security environment, and its role […]

A Time of Transition in Afghanistan

As the United States and its coalition partners plan for new roles in Afghanistan after 2014, many people in Washington and elsewhere are attempting to gauge the progress made. One of the untold stories of Afghanistan is how the coalition transformed Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) into a fighting unit that could defeat the Taliban […]

Analyzing the New Defense Agenda

On March 4, the US Department of Defense released its Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR), the blueprint for defense spending and defense strategy over the course of the next four years. All eyes in Washington DC and beyond were on the 2014 QDR, as it comes at the end of the war in Afghanistan, the rise […]

The 2014 QDR: An Effective Plan for Future Strategy?

The release of the 2014 quadrennial defense review (QDR) marks a crucial point in which the US Department of Defense reassesses its current capabilities and whether or not the United States is sufficiently prepared for the pressing security challenges posed by the world of the future. On Tuesday, March 04, 2014, Vice President and Director […]

The Entrepreneurial State: Roles of Government, Research Institutions, and Private Sector in R&D Innovation

By Atlantic Council

On Thursday February 27, 2014 the Strategic Foresight Initiative in the Brent Scowcroft Center for International Security held the captivating event “The Entrepreneurial State.” Experts weighed in on the role governments, research institutions, and the private sector in supporting innovation and research and development in the sciences. Discussants advocated for greater collaboration and cooperation as […]

Strengthening the US-Japan Alliance

On February 26, 2014, the Atlantic Council’s Brent Scowcroft Center on International Security held a not-for-attribution roundtable briefing on the US-Japan alliance and what it portends for US extended deterrence in Asia. The briefing featured Mira Rapp-Hooper, Stanton nuclear security fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, and was presided over by project co-chair Richard […]

Pentagon Budget Preview: Implications for US Defense

Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Martin Dempsey previewed the Pentagon’s FY2015 on Monday, February 24. Major highlights included the proposed cutting Army personnel from 480,000 to approximately 440,00; the retirement of both the A-10 Thunderbolt II and the U-2 spy plane; the addition of 4,000 people to […]

Working Group on Deterring a Nuclear-Armed Iran

Despite the interim agreement on the Iranian nuclear program in November 2013, Iran’s nuclear program remains perhaps the greatest emerging challenge to US national and regional security interests. US President Barack Obama has made it abundantly clear that a nuclear-armed Iran is unacceptable and that the administration is prepared to do whatever it takes to […]