Center for a New American Security

In an intense week for U.S. Afghanistan policy,  the Center for a New American Security’s (CNAS) experts have provided analysis and commentary on the President’s decision to replace former ISAF Commander General Stanley McChrystal, USA, with General David Petraeus, USA, and what it means for U.S. strategy in Afghanistan moving forward.

The United States faces a myriad of challenges in the 21st century including fighting and paying for two wars, building America’s economic strength, rising powers that contest established orders, international and domestic terrorism, nuclear proliferation, climate change and resource scarcity.

May 6, 2010 - Politics is the blind spot in America’s counterinsurgency strategy in Afghanistan, according to a report released today by the Center for a New American Security (CNAS). Leverage: Designing a Political Campaign for Afghanistan, by CNAS fellow Andrew Exum, notes that America's counterinsurgency strategy in Afghanistan has focused more on waging war at the operational and tactical levels at the expense of the strategic and political levels.  

The Center for a New American Security’s (CNAS) Senior Fellow Richard Fontaine testifies at a congressional hearing before the House Subcommittee on National Security and Foreign Affairs on the role of contractors in warzones. The hearing will focus on the implications of contracting and potential areas for reform. Watch a video of the hearing here.

May 19, 2010 - Engagement is a guiding principle of President Obama’s foreign policy. While the Obama administration has achieved its initial objective of “re-starting” America’s relationship with the world, it has struggled to capitalize on its early promise and so far has failed to make lasting reforms necessary to ensure public engagement strategies further key national security objectives, according to a report released today by the Center for a New American Security (CNAS).

May 18, 2010 - The Center for a New American Security (CNAS) is proud to announce two new initiatives as part of its Future of the U.S. Military series - The Military Wellness Initiative and A Two Year Report Card: Implementing the Recommendations of the Commission on the National Guard and Reserves.

April 22, 2010 - The effects of climate change and the way we use energy are significant U.S. national security challenges.  Addressing them will be increasingly important for our nation's defense. The new CNAS report released today, Broadening Horizons: Climate Change and the U.S. Armed Forces, examines the dual pressures of climate change and energy on each U.S.

Smart execution of the American strategy in Afghanistan depends on tapping into Afghanistan’s economic potential and empowering Afghans to foster economic development in their own country – including bolstering entrepreneurial activity, foreign investment and building infrastructure – and should be pursued simultaneously with the overall counterinsurgency strategy, according to a report released today by the Center for a New American Security (CNAS).

The Center for a New American Security (CNAS) is pleased to announce that Lieutenant General David W. Barno, U.S. Army (retired), is joining CNAS as a Senior Advisor and Senior Fellow on May 1, 2010.  General Barno, currently Director of the Near East South Asia Center for Strategic Studies at the National Defense University (NDU), will contribute to the Center’s work on U.S. defense policy, military strategy, veterans’ affairs and South and Central Asia, among other issues.

The Center for a New American Security (CNAS) released today a report that critically examines the relevance of the U.S. intelligence community to the counterinsurgency strategy in Afghanistan titled Fixing Intel: A Blueprint for Making Intelligence Relevant in Afghanistan. The authors, including Major General Michael T. Flynn, Deputy Chief of Staff for Intelligence in Afghanistan, argue that the United States' intelligence apparatus still finds itself unable to answer fundamental questions about the environment in which U.S. and allied forces operate in and the people they are trying to protect and persuade.