Tough economic times are often met in Washington with calls for retrenchment. But for decades, write two former top Pentagon officials, long-term forward deployments of U.S. forces and robust alliances have guaranteed stability and uninterrupted trade, the very conditions the United States needs for economic prosperity. The Obama administration gets it.

Pentagon budgets have soared over the last decade, partly because of a failure to prioritize.

Andrew Krepinevich's vision for the U.S. military underestimates Washington's existing commitments and capabilities, Thomas Donnelly and Philip Dur argue. Not so, replies Krepinevich, and now is no time to stay the course.

The defense budget of the United States, the world's leading military power throughout the twentieth century, is not enough for the country to confront the threats of the twenty-first. It should be increased -- and can be without negatively affecting the economy. The money is available; it must be joined by political will.

As partisan wrangling over the U.S. debt ceiling continues in Washington, fears are mounting that a default could trigger another global economic crisis. This guide offers timely analysis on the global implications of the U.S. debt crisis.

Bipartisan plans for reining in the U.S. deficit have been billed as crucial for national security. Yet those plans have triggered debate on whether proposed defense and foreign affairs cuts themselves pose a security threat.

With the number of Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans already at 1.6 million, soldiers’ advocates say a new U.S. health care crisis looms.  

As the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan redefine ground warfare, the U.S. Navy is pushing for a reinvention of its own.    

The ballooning price tag for wars in Iraq and Afghanistan has angered Democrats, but military analysts say it’s the larger debate over long-term priorities that really matters.

Private security firms remain integral to U.S. operations in Iraq, but a recent shootout suggests contractors may be a growing liability for Washington.

Lawmakers in both Washington and Baghdad took a summer recess gridlocked over how to resolve standoffs on policy to secure and rebuild Iraq.

The Bush administration wants to replace aging strategic nuclear warheads with a new, more reliable generation. Others see more pressing priorities for U.S. defense dollars.

U.S. and Iraqi lawmakers prepare to recess with little sign of compromise on critical Iraq policy issues.

With wars in Afghanistan and Iraq consuming lives, equipment, and political capital, talk of financial costs may seem petty. But this is budget season, and the way the Bush administration has been paying for the war is about to become a political issue.

Leaks regarding the Bush administration's confidence in the Iraqi prime minister and a bipartisan commission's recommendations regarding American troop withdrawals create complications during the president's trip to the Middle East.

The annual Pentagon report on China's military power cites increased defense spending as a threat to the stability of Asia, and contends Beijing could potentially threaten the United States. But some critics say the Defense Department is hyping the China threat to justify its own massive spending.

Japan's military spending is not rising nearly as quickly as that of its neighbor, China, or of its closest ally, the United States. Yet political and military moves by the Japanese are raising neighbors' wariness about a remilitarized Japan.

The Pentagon's new Quadrennial Defense Review calls for modernizing air, land, and sea forces and emphasizes a more agile approach to confronting threats posed by non-state actors. But in contrast to the previous review, the defense department is dropping the language of military transformation to concentrate on fighting its war on terrorism.

Micah Zenko argues, "The tolerance for threat inflation in the absence of plausible threats should be questioned and challenged by anyone interested in, or holding a stake in, the future of U.S. foreign policy."