Defense 360

The strategy of archipelagic defense puts a premium on fortifying relevant islands in the Indo-Pacific region with anti-ship missiles, and air and missile defense systems. But political, economic, environmental, and military reasons make it a bad idea for the U.S. military.

Leaders in Washington and allied capitals must not allow their military and diplomatic plans for the Indo-Pacific region to be colored by misinformation about China’s goals. There are a bevy of factors that could lead China to make a move against Taiwan at any time. Assuming that PLA capabilities are the sole variable in Beijing’s calculus would be a costly and dangerous mistake.

If strategic competition is much about analyzing information for decisions faster than an adversary, software will be at the heart of that competition. The national security enterprise should engage the flywheel of innovation and free-market competition in the commercial software sector for national defense.

The Biden administration recently announced that no official U.S. delegation will attend the Olympic games in Beijing this winter. But a boycott of any form from the United States and partners will have little to no impact on shaping China’s behavior and may in fact distract from real levers capable of curbing how the games serve Chinese leadership.

In the latest paper of the FY 2022 Military Forces series, Mark Cancian discusses the newly-formed U.S. Space Force as it struggles to find an identity, special operations forces as they adjust from irregular warfare to great power conflict, and debates on the role of DOD civilians and contractors.

Every few years, an event will happen that various pundits and commentators declare to be a “Sputnik Moment.” But calling something a “Sputnik Moment” without understanding what really happened during the original Sputnik crisis is a bad idea.

The Department of Defense, alongside the U.S. Coast Guard, seizes enormous quantities of cocaine in transit to the United States each year. But DoD needs better metrics to capture exactly how much over-market value it “pays” for the cocaine it seizes.

The release of the next National Defense Strategy, expected in early 2022, will address the continued importance of China as a “pacing threat” even as it recognizes the “increasingly complicated and complex security landscape.” As the renewed potential for great power conflict drives strategy and plans, some have dubbed this a “new Cold War.” Letting this planning construct drive DoD’s investment program without paying attention to other kinds of potential contingencies is a bad idea.

Today, seven geographic COCOMs are responsible for integrating forces across all domains for military operations within their respective Areas of Responsibility. But in today’s increasingly complex, connected, and multipolar strategic environment, the geographic COCOM structure is an outdated and counterproductive bad idea.