Strategic Toolbox: Publications, Events and More

The Custodians of Empire | CBS News

adminn — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 04:32:00 -0500

New America in the News:

The essence of the matter is simple enough, as Frida Berrigan, arms expert for the New America Foundation and TomDispatch regular, indicates in her latest ...

Privatization of Foreign Policy Initiative Report on Reuters | 'Report Urges Military from Private Security Personnel'

Articles — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 15:53:00 -0500

New America in the News:

The U.S. military has long used private contractors in fighting its wars, but Washington's reliance on non-uniformed civilians has sharply increased over the past five years, the New America Foundation said in a new report. LINK

Michael A. Cohen in Government Executive | 'Report Urges Military to Move Away from Private Security Personnel'

Articles — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 15:48:00 -0500

New America in the News:

"The Pentagon today is completely reliant on contractors to complete their core mission," said Michael Cohen, a senior research fellow at New America Foundation and co-author of the report. "There has been no long-term planning and thinking." LINK

Has the Privatization of National Security Gone Too Far?

Communications — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 11:00:00 -0500

A New America Event
11/14/2008 - 9:30am

While the U.S. military has long relied on private contractors, the outsourcing of key national security functions has increased dramatically in recent years. From intelligence gathering and logistical support to personal security services, training, and operational support tasks, the efforts of contractors are now integral to the success of America's security and stabilization missions around the world. Since the beginning of the Iraq War, one dollar out of every five has been spent on private contractors and by most estimates,… more

Changing the Culture of Pentagon Contracting

Articles — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 09:42:00 -0500

While the U.S. military has long relied on private contractors, the outsourcing of key national security functions has increased dramatically over the past five and a half years. From intelligence gathering and logistical support to personal security services, training, and operational support tasks, the efforts of contractors are now integral to the success of America's security and stabilization missions around the world. Since the beginning of the Iraq War, one dollar out of every five has been spent on private contractors. By most estimates, there are more private contractors in Iraq than uniformed military.

Numerous observers have raised questions about the legal accountability of contractors and the efficacy of utilizing private actors in an active battle space, but few studies have examined the culture of contracting and the larger failure of the military to effectively account for and integrate contractors into U.S. military planning, training, and operations. This report in intended to help policymakers, both in the executive and legislative branches as well as the uniformed military, develop solutions to the growing challenge of integrating contractors more effectively into U.S. national security operations.

A failure to accept the inevitability of contractors as a key element of the military force structure has contributed to inertia and an abdication of responsibility for managing the interaction between government departments and private contractors. While it is important to acknowledge that in recent years there have been significant improvements in oversight of private contractors, particularly by the Department of Defense, serious systemic and institutional problems persist.

A cultural shift is required in which civilian and military leaders take steps to fully integrate private contractors not only into the force structure but also into mission requirements. Without this sort of institutional change, the problems we have experienced in connection with contractors in Iraq and Afghanistan will continue, significantly retarding the military's ability to adjust to the evolving security challenges of the 21st century.

The U.S. government should:

Transition away from the use of private security contractors in the battle space and build up the capabilities of the State Department's Bureau of Diplomatic Security and the military police to take on security responsibilities. As this transition takes place, the Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act should be expanded to govern the actions of private security contractors in Iraq and Afghanistan not currently covered by the Uniform Code of Military Justice; improved training of security contractors, vetting of third-country nationals, and third-party accreditation of contractors should be instituted; and interagency coordination between the military and other government agencies should be strengthened.

Move away from reliance on the flawed and widely misunderstood term "inherently governmental" in deciding how and when to use private contractors, and instead focus on the question of core competencies and mission success. Congress should permit government agencies to use broad discretionary leeway in determining where and how contractors should be used. Congress should establish red-lined activities that must not be outsourced and require the military to maintain a "resident capacity" for any function it outsources, particularly as it relates to the ability to conduct proper contractual oversight.

Designate a high-ranking official in each branch of the military to conduct a top-to-bottom review of how that branch interacts with contractors and where there are areas for greater or lesser reliance on contractors.

Strengthen the contractor and acquisition workforce so that it is better equipped to make contracting decisions and to conduct robust oversight and management of contractors. In addition, the Army should develop and support its newly created contracting career field for enlisted personnel and officers.

Create a clear chain of command from Secretary of Defense through the Joint Chiefs of Staff and service departments that lays out the responsibilities for contracting and holds commanders accountable for the integration of contractors into the Total Force.

Integrate contractor oversight into officer training in all branches of the military.

Include contingency contracting as an "area of emphasis" in the 2010 QDR.

Create and sustain an enforcement arm of the FBI to conduct overseas investigations of private contractors as well as an extraterritorial U.S. attorney to prosecute criminal behavior.

Frida Berrigan in the Arizona Daily Star | ' Tucson Airmen Part of US Push to Create Good Will in Latin America'

Articles — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 09:20:00 -0400

New America in the News:

"There's certainly nothing wrong with increasing good will and promoting partnerships," said Frida Berrigan of the Washington, D.C.-based think tank New America Foundation, who has spent 10 years studying Latin America. But leaving that job almost totally up to the military "highlights the profound imbalance in our foreign engagement, in the way we interact with other countries," she said. LINK

Too Many Guns

Articles — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 12:23:00 -0400

We've heard a lot about gun control and the second amendment in this election season. A McCain-Palin poster, featuring Alaska's 44-year-old governor with a big gun and the viewer in her rifle sights, is just one of the more graphic indications that gun control is a lightning-rod issue that distracts, distorts, and dismays.

More than 200 years after our founding fathers enshrined the right to "bear arms" in our Constitution, we have more arms than we can bear. Wars are fought, fortunes are made, and nations… more

In Wake of Wall Street Bailout, Stop Bailing Out the Arms Industry

Articles — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 08:28:00 -0400

Of the many concerns that went unaddressed in the first two presidential debates between John McCain and Barack Obama, one of the most important was the question of how each candidate would adjust his policy plans to accommodate the impending $700 billion bailout of Wall Street.

Neither candidate has given a terribly persuasive answer. Obama talked about the possibility of slowing down an initiative here or a program there; and in the October 2nd vice presidential debate, Democratic vice-presidential nominee Joseph Biden followed up with one specific… more

NYC EVENT: Home Fronts

Communications — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 17:30:00 -0400

A New America Event
10/14/2008 - 6:30pm

Please join us for a reception and discussion on the recently published Home Fronts: A Wartime America Reader, with editors Michael S. Foley and Brendan P. O'Malley.

"Home Fronts is a wide-ranging and long overdue collection. From the war with Spain to the war on terror, Foley and O'Malley reveal the intricate connections between overseas conflicts and American social, economic, political, and cultural history." -- Andrew J. Huebner, Professor of History, University of Alabama, and author of The… more

An Unstoppable Arms Trade?

Articles — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 13:35:00 -0400

At first glance, the international arms trade seems to be one of those problems that will always be with us, like death and taxes. But just as life can be prolonged and tax rates can be reduced, the traffic in weapons can be reined in, given the political will to do so, as I first suggested in two contributions to World Policy Journal-- the first, "Curbing the Arms Trade: From Rhetoric to Restraint" in the spring of 1992, and "Why Sell Arms?" a year later.

Not much… more

William D. Hartung in Bloomberg News | 'U.S. Exported $33.7 Billion in Arms, Most in 15 Years'

Articles — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 15:01:00 -0400

New America in the News:

``The last big surge was after the first Gulf War'' against Iraq in 1991, when the U.S. helped countries in the region upgrade their military, William Hartung, an arms analyst for the Washington-based New America Foundation, said in an interview.

``It's possible that a quarter to one-third of this year's sales could be arming up Iraq, and with the oil price rise, Gulf states can afford to make purchases,'' said Hartung, who is based in New York. LINK … more

William D. Hartung in CorpWatch | 'One Million Weapons to Iraq; Many Go Missing'

Communications — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 15:01:00 -0400

New America in the News:

“It is likely that a large proportion of the hundreds of thousands of small arms and light weapons that have ‘gone missing’ in Iraq are either in the hands of anti-U.S. insurgents or in other countries, fueling conflicts there,” says William Hartung, the director of the Arms and Security Initiative of the New America Foundation. “In order to prevent similar security risks in the future, the corporate and government officials responsible for putting U.S. troops at risk by failing to… more

William D. Hartung in The Boston Globe | 'Gunmaker to the World'

Communications — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 15:03:00 -0400

New America in the News:

Arms trade expert William Hartung of the New America Foundation says US arms were used in 18 of the 25 major wars in 2006 and 2007, with weapons sold to at least a dozen regimes in developing countries that are either undemocratic or commit serious human rights abuses. These include Thailand, Ethiopia, Morocco, and Oman.

Hartung says some countries join the arms race for no apparent reason. "Unless you think Romania is going to start bombing terrorist training camps, F-16s don't… more

No Recession for Arms Sales

Articles — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 08:18:00 -0400

The CEO of a weapons manufacturer has plenty of chances to rub elbows with deputy secretaries of defense, officials from Homeland Security, retired military personnel, and the best and brightest of the defense establishment almost any week of the year.

One such opportunity occurred at the ComDef 2008 conference, which wrapped up at the National Press Club in Washington on September 3. Sponsored by weapons giants like Boeing, Raytheon, and BAE Systems, the day-long conference was organized around the theme of "Defense Priorities in an… more

The Pentagon's Cubicle Mercenaries

Articles — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 04:40:00 -0400

Seven years into George W Bush's global "war on terror", the Pentagon is embroiled in two big wars, a potentially explosive war of words with Tehran, and numerous smaller conflicts -- and it is leaning ever more heavily on private military contractors to get by. Once upon a time, soldiers did more than pick up a gun. They picked up trash. They cut hair and delivered mail. They fixed airplanes and inflated truck tires. Not anymore.… more

William D. Hartung in The New York Times | 'With White House Push, U.S. Arms Sales Jump'

Communications — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 08:29:00 -0400

New America in the News:

The growing tally of international weapon deals, which started to surge in 2006, is now provoking questions among some advocates of arms control and some members of Congress.

“Sure, this is a quick and easy way to cement alliances,” said William D. Hartung, an arms control specialist at the New America Foundation, a public policy institute. “But this is getting out of hand.” LINK

U.S. Contractors Shouldn't Face Iraqi Courts

Articles — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 09:54:00 -0400

Nearly a year after the tragic shooting of 17 Iraqis by Blackwater security contractors, the Department of Justice is close to indicting six of the guards involved in the horrific events. This is a long overdue step toward holding contractors legally responsible for their actions in Iraq and Afghanistan.

But this positive move risks being overshadowed by a more destabilizing development: the apparent agreement, as part of U.S.-Iraqi Status of Forces Agreement negotiations, to revoke the immunity from Iraqi law that private security contractors have enjoyed… more

How to Stay in Iraq for 1,000 Years

Articles — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 08:46:00 -0400

Few Americans had ever heard of a SOFA until earlier this year, when the Internet lit up with a revelation many observers of US foreign policy had long predicted. Despite repeated claims to the contrary, US officials were pressing the Iraqi government to accept an indefinite US military presence, including--and here was the shocker--up to 58 American bases on Iraqi turf.

The term SOFA, shorthand for Status of Forces Agreement, was suddenly all over the news. The countries have… more

William Hartung on Democracy Now | 'Tensions High as NATO Suspends Formal Contacts with Russia Over Georgia Conflict'

Communications — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 12:51:00 -0400

New America in the News:

Tensions are high between the United States and Russia over the ongoing conflict in Georgia. On Wednesday, soon after NATO foreign ministers decided to cut formal ties with Russia until it withdrew all its troops from Georgia, President Bush vowed to continue to support Georgia. We speak with William Hartung, director of the Arms and Security Initiative at the New America Foundation. LINK to video and audio

The Pentagon's New Strategy: Show Us the Money

Articles — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 07:48:00 -0400

At first glance, the new national defense strategy released by Secretary of Defense Robert Gates recently looks like a new start, with much talk of working with allies and -- heaven forbid -- even other US government agencies.

Gates comes across as the "anti-Rumsfeld," replacing his predecessor's bluster with quiet diplomacy, and an overreliance on military force with a more pragmatic, balanced approach to security. The new strategy document reflects these differences.

This is not the first time that Gates has embraced the themes set out in… more