Quality. Independence. Impact.

Home | Contact Us | Media Resources

Tuesday February 9, 2010

Welcome   |   Register   |   Log in

SPOTLIGHT: Afghanistan


Reuters/Ahmad Masood - Afghans walk past a shopping centre, burnt after a Taliban attack, in Kabul.

Save to My Portfolio Negotiations and Reconciliation with the Taliban: Key Policy Issues and Dilemmas

Vanda Felbab-Brown, January 28, 2010

At the International Conference on Afghanistan on January 28, leaders from Afghanistan, the United Kingdom and Japan presented their options for reconciliation with the Taliban.  Vanda Felbab-Brown evaluates these developments, arguing that, when it comes to negotiating with the Taliban, the content, costs and benefits of each approach must be measured carefully to reach a successful outcome. Read More

Afghanistan, Terrorism, International Relations

SPOTLIGHT: Haiti


Reuters - A Sea Hawk helicopter assigned to Helicopter Anti-Submarine Squadron (HS) 11 lands aboard the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70) to load water jugs to deliver to earthquake victims in Haiti.

Save to My Portfolio Sea Basing in Haiti: A Transformation Phoenix Rising from the Ashes?

Commander Greg Parker, January 21, 2010

The United States has deployed military resources to Haiti to provide aid to victims of the earthquake. With airports shutdown throughout the country, the United States Navy and Marine Corp have staged themselves through a series of ships off the coast. Commander Parker writes that this effort has given a new impetus for considering sea basing in military strategy. Read More

Haiti, Defense Strategy, Defense, U.S. Department of Defense

SPOTLIGHT: Counternarcotics Policy


Reuters/Abdul Qodus - Afghan farmers work on a poppy field in the Grishk district of Helmand province.

Save to My Portfolio Narco-Jihad: Drug Trafficking and Security in Afghanistan and Pakistan

Vanda Felbab-Brown, January 07, 2010

In an essay on the nexus between the narcotics economy and violent conflict in Afghanistan and Pakistan, Vanda Felbab-Brown explores the factors supporting opium production in those countries. Felbab-Brown also offers options for successful counter-narcotics policies and for building an alternative legal economy throughout the struggling region. Read More

Counternarcotics Policy, Terrorism, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Middle East

SPOTLIGHT: Technology


Reuters/Luke MacGregor - A Royal Marine poses with the Unmanned Vehicle Robot, Testudo, at the launch of the Defence Technology Plan in London.

Save to My Portfolio War of the Robots — All Too Real Questions We Have to Ask

Peter W. Singer, January 08, 2010

Unmanned systems, including Predator drones and Pakbots, are changing the game for U.S. military in the air and on the battlefield.  Yet as the use of these unmanned systems becomes increasingly prevalent, Peter W. Singer writes there has been very little discussion about generating new rules for the use of robotic technology and about the greater implications for the future of warfare. Read More

Technology, Military Technology, weapons

About Us

The 21st Century Defense Initiative produces cutting-edge research, analysis, and outreach that address some of the most critical issues facing leaders shaping defense policy in the coming century. The initiative focuses on three core issues: the future of war, the future of U.S. defense needs and priorities, and the future of the U.S. defense system

Recent Research and Commentary

Japan Refocusing the U.S.-Japan Alliance: It's Not Just About an Air Base

Mike Mochizuki, Michael E. O'Hanlon, December 18, 2009

Afghanistan In Afghanistan, The Odds Are With Us

Michael E. O'Hanlon, December 14, 2009

Pakistan U.S.-Pakistan Relations: Looking Ahead in South Asia

Stephen P. Cohen, December 11, 2009

Afghanistan President Obama’s New Strategy in Afghanistan: Questions and Answers

Vanda Felbab-Brown, December 02, 2009

More Recent Research and Commentary »

Advanced Search | Tips

My Portfolio

My New Content

View suggested content based on items you have saved to your Portfolio.
Log in or register now

Related Initiatives

View All Initiatives »

Top Topics

View All Topics »

Featured RSS Feed

21st Century Defense Initiative

Immediate updates on new content from the 21st Century Defense Initiative – including research, events, testimony and more.

Subscribe

Spotlight

TopicEducation

The economic and political well-being of any society requires a well-educated citizenry. Brookings’s work extends beyond the K-12 bookends to include pre-school interventions, higher education and the challenges of education in developing countries.

ExpertTed Gayer

Ted Gayer is the co-director of the Economic Studies program and the Joseph A. Pechman Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution. He conducts research on a variety of economic issues, focusing particularly on public finance, environmental and energy economics, housing, and regulatory policy.

TopicHealth Care

Brookings is committed to producing innovative policy solutions to our nation’s most difficult challenges. The country may face no more important domestic policy challenge than the much-needed reform of our health care system. Through an institution-wide effort, Brookings delivers new ideas and offers policy solutions to improve health care both at home and globally.

Policy CenterCenter on Children and Families

The Center on Children and Families studies policies on the well-being of America's children and their parents and seeks a more effective means of addressing poverty, inequality and lack of opportunity in the United States.

ExpertVanda Felbab-Brown

Vanda Felbab-Brown focuses on the national security implications of illicit economies and strategies for managing them. She is an adjunct professor in the Security Studies Program at Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service.

ExpertSuzanne Maloney

Suzanne Maloney studies Iran, the political economy of the Persian Gulf and Middle East energy policy. A former U.S. State Department policy advisor, she has also counseled private companies on Middle East issues.

Research ProjectAfrica Growth Initiative

The Africa Growth Initiative conducts high-quality policy research and analysis focused on attaining sustainable economic development and prosperity in Africa, while amplifying the voice of African researchers in policy-making and planning.

Research ProjectLatin America Initiative

The Latin America Initiative provides high-quality, in-depth, and independent research across a range of economic and political issues, and offers policy recommendations aimed at U.S. and Latin American policymakers.

ExpertIsabel V. Sawhill

A nationally known budget expert, Isabel Sawhill focuses on domestic poverty and federal fiscal policy. She is also co-director of the Center on Children and Families at Brookings.

ExpertAmy Liu

Amy Liu is deputy director of the Brookings Metropolitan Policy Program. Her policy studies include economic competitiveness, metropolitan growth and development, governance reforms, urban reinvestment, and social equity.

ExpertRichard C. Bush III

Richard Bush is the director of the Center for Northeast Asian Policy Studies. His public service career spans Congress, the intelligence community and the U.S. State Department. He currently focuses on China-Taiwan and U.S.-China relations, the Korean peninsula and Japan’s security.

Policy CenterCenter for Northeast Asian Policy Studies

CNAPS conducts research, analysis, and outreach designed to enhance policy development and understanding on the pressing political, economic, and security issues facing Northeast Asia.

Policy CenterUrban-Brookings Tax Policy Center

The Tax Policy Center, a joint venture of the Urban Institute and Brookings Institution, is comprised of nationally recognized experts in tax, budget and social policy who have served at the highest levels of government.

ExpertDomenico Lombardi

As president of the Oxford Institute for Economic Policy, Domenico Lombardi’s work at Brookings focuses on the international financial crisis and the reform of the IMF and the World Bank. He is an expert on G-20 and G8 Summits.

ExpertMark McClellan

Mark McClellan works on promoting high-quality, innovative and affordable health care. Once commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration and administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Dr. McClellan now directs the Engelberg Center for Health Care Reform.

ExpertMwangi S. Kimenyi

Mwangi S. Kimenyi is a senior fellow with the Africa Growth Initiative. He focuses on Africa's development, including institutions for economic growth, the political economy, and private sector development.

Research ProjectArms Control Initiative

Few problems pose greater challenges to U.S. national security than controlling, reducing and countering the proliferation of nuclear arms. The Brookings Arms Control Initiative brings the Institution’s multidisciplinary strengths to bear on the critical challenges of arms control and non-proliferation.

Research ProjectBrookings-Bern Project on Internal Displacement

The Brookings-Bern Project on Internal Displacement monitors displacement problems worldwide, works with governments, regional bodies, international organizations and civil society to create more effective policies and institutional arrangements for Internally Displaed Persons.