In today’s chaotic world with numerous conflicts and unprecedented numbers of displaced persons, food security has emerged as an issue of critical global importance. Food is both a strategic weapon of war and a smart investment to foster peace. It is also a powerful...

The United States is a Pacific power. For over 70 years, we have been the guarantor—and a major beneficiary—of peace, stability, and growing prosperity in the Asia-Pacific region.

I joined the staff of the Senate Armed Services Committee in May of 1984. I didn’t appreciate what a remarkable period that was. While there is always a flood of issues that comes to the Armed Services Committees, this was a time when we entertained substantial changes in...

I was on the staff of the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) when the Congress created Program 11 and the Special Operations Command. That legislation was championed by Senator Bill Cohen who subsequently became secretary of defense (and elevated me to become...

I lived through Goldwater-Nichols. Congress should know why it’s still a bad idea to give the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who advises the president, that kind of power.

One of the great debates we had within the Senate Armed Services...

Reflections: Improving the Interagency Process by John Hamre
CSIS played a substantial role in laying the foundation for the landmark Goldwater-Nichols...

As I mentioned in the first essay, CSIS played a substantial role in laying the foundation for the landmark Goldwater-Nichols legislation. Last December, we decided we needed to assemble leading defense intellectuals to help support the rising interest in defense reform. We...

The Congress is again turning to the challenging question of whether changes in the international system require amended organizational structure in the Department of Defense. The Senate Armed Services Committee has launched far-reaching hearings to solicit views from...