This defense strategy document, "Sustaining U.S. Global Leadership: Priorities for 21st Century Defense", was released on January 5, 2012. The introduction states, "This strategic guidance document describes the projected security environment and the key military missions for which the Department of Defense (DoD) will prepare. It is intended as a blueprint for the Joint Force in 2020, providing a set of precepts that will help guide decisions regarding the size and shape of the force over subsequent program and budget cycles, and highlighting some of the strategic risks that may be associated with the proposed strategy."

The eurozone and Saudi Arabia are elevated threats in 2012 under CFR's new Preventive Priorities Survey, while Afghanistan and Sudan are reduced. CFR's Micah Zenko discusses.

Brad Stone explains how a save-the-earth maker of solar-powered aircraft became the world's most prolific manufacturer of military drones.

Representative Kay Granger (R-TX) discusses the changing environment in the Middle East, focusing on Israel's future relations with Egypt and its other neighbors.

What is the best way to stabilize Afghanistan at a time when international forces are scaling down commitments? Putting Afghan troops in the lead of their own counterinsurgency efforts, writes CFR's Linda Robinson.

One casualty of the latest U.S.-Pakistani frictions is the cutoff of critical supply routes for U.S. forces in Afghanistan, raising questions about cooperation in the region.

Congressman Barney Frank discusses the Obama administration's strategy and current level of spending on national defense.

Michèle Flournoy, under secretary of defense for policy at the U.S. Department of Defense, discusses America's strategy in Afghanistan.

Michèle Flournoy, under secretary of defense for policy at the U.S. Department of Defense, discusses America's strategy in Afghanistan.

Stanley A. McChrystal, former commander of the United States and International Security Assistance Forces Afghanistan and Joint Special Operations Command's premier military counterterrorism force, discusses his experiences in Afghanistan.

This meeting is part of the HBO History Makers series.

Tom Brokaw interviews General Stanley McChrystal about the U.S. mission in Afghanistan.

Stanley A. McChrystal, former commander of the United States and International Security Assistance Forces Afghanistan and Joint Special Operations Command's premier military counterterrorism force, discusses his experiences in Afghanistan.

This meeting is part of the HBO History Makers series.

CFR fellows Daniel Markey and Ed Husain discuss the implications of a tougher U.S. policy toward Pakistan on counterterrorism cooperation, on the war in Afghanistan and the future of the region.

In his testimony before the House Armed Services Committee, Max Boot argues that the impact of budget cuts has the potential to devastate our armed forces and do more damage to their fighting capacity than any other external foe.

Philip Zelikow discusses security paradigms and their potential futures since 9/11, as part of a CFR symposium, 9/11: Ten Years Later.

Cuts in U.S. military aid to Pakistan only have a chance to translate into greater cooperation if they're part of a larger strategy, including a U.S. crackdown on Pakistan-linked militants in Afghanistan, says CFR's Daniel Markey.

Ann Marlowe of the Hoover Institution spells out and challenges the prevailing concept of U.S. involvement in Afghanistan as a "war of perceptions".

William Wan and Peter Finn write in the Washington Post that the emergence of multipolarity and China's new military ascendancy pose challenges for the U.S. monopoly over drone technology.

In his piece for Aviation Week, David Eshel looks at Israel's new multiyear defense plan, which covers such emerging concerns as potential threats from the Arab Spring, BMD, and cyberwarfare.