CNAS President John Nagl Named to QDR Independent Panel
Author(s): Senate Armed Services Committee
Original Post: Levin Names Two Members to Quadrennial Defense Review Independent Panel
Type: News Article
Date: 01/25/2010
January 25, 2010 - Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin, D-Mich., today named the Honorable Charles Curtis and Dr. John Nagl to the Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR) Independent Panel.
“Charles Curtis and John Nagl offer a wide range and depth of defense policy and practical experience both in and out of government,” Levin said. “Their demonstrated ability for independent thinking will contribute significantly to the panel’s assessments and recommendations relating to the 2009 QDR.”
The FY2007 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) requires the Secretary of Defense to establish an independent panel to conduct an assessment of the QDR’s recommendations, stated and implied assumptions, and the vulnerabilities of the underlying strategy and force structure. Secretary Gates announced he would appoint a 12-member, bipartisan panel to meet this requirement, and the FY2010 NDAA included a provision that adds eight congressionally appointed members to the QDR independent panel for 2009, two each to be appointed by the HASC and SASC chairs and ranking members.
Honorable Charles Curtis
Mr. Curtis is currently a non-resident Senior Advisor at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) and the president emeritus of the Nuclear Threat Initiative, a group founded by former Sen. Sam Nunn and philanthropist Ted Turner that works to address threats from nuclear, biological and chemical weapons. Before joining NTI, he was executive vice president and chief operating officer of the United Nations Foundation. From 1994 to 1997, he served as undersecretary and deputy secretary of the Department of Energy.
Dr. John Nagl
Mr. Nagl is the president of the Center for a New American Security. He is a retired Army lieutenant colonel whose service includes combat service in the Iraq war and Operation Desert Storm and a former West Point professor. He contributed to Army’s field manual on counterinsurgency, and is the author of “Learning to Eat Soup with a Knife: Counterinsurgency Lessons from Malaya and Vietnam.”
Topic(s): Iraq, U.S. Foreign Policy, U.S. Military Forces & Operations, U.S. National Security Strategy, WMD & Nuclear Proliferation
Project(s): Afghanistan, Future of the U.S. Military, Civilian Capacity, Contracting in Conflicts
People: Dr. John A. Nagl
