National Security and Defense

2015 Index of U.S. Military Strength

The Index is an annual assessment of the state of America’s “hard power,” the geographic and functional environments relevant to the United States’ vital national interests. Read More.

Protecting America is Lowest Priority

Despite Administration claims to the contrary, President Barack Obama’s budget proposal for FY 2013 would reduce national defense to the lowest of the major budget priorities of the federal government. Read More.

America must be capable of proactively protecting the nation and its citizens. Our armed forces must be ready to act anywhere in the world where vital national interests are threatened. This can be achieved by giving the military the resources it needs to keep us safe and maintain freedom.

Introduction to the Research

Show:

All
Reports
Daily Signal
More

All Dates

.

Experts on National Security and Defense

Peter Brookes
Senior Fellow, National Security Affairs
Steven P. Bucci, Ph.D.
Director, Douglas and Sarah Allison Center for Foreign and National Security Policy
Theodore R. Bromund, Ph.D.
Senior Research Fellow in Anglo-American Relations
Dean Cheng
Senior Research Fellow, Asian Studies Center
James Jay Carafano, Ph.D.
Vice President for the Kathryn and Shelby Cullom Davis Institute for National Security and Foreign Policy, and the E. W. Richardson Fellow
Lisa Curtis
Senior Research Fellow
Nile Gardiner, Ph.D.
Director, Margaret Thatcher Center for Freedom
Kim R. Holmes, Ph.D.
Distinguished Fellow
Bruce Klingner
Senior Research Fellow, Northeast Asia
Walter Lohman
Director, Asian Studies Center
Edwin Meese III
Ronald Reagan Distinguished Fellow Emeritus
Charles "Cully" Stimson
Manager, National Security Law Program and Senior Legal Fellow

Our Work

Lecture posted June 7, 2011 by Mark David Hall, Ph.D. Did America Have a Christian Founding?
Special Report posted May 20, 2011 by David B. Muhlhausen, Ph.D., Jena Baker McNeill Terror Trends: 40 Years' Data on International and Domestic Terrorism
Special Report posted July 22, 2013 by Jessica Zuckerman, Steven P. Bucci, Ph.D., James Jay Carafano, Ph.D. 60 Terrorist Plots Since 9/11: Continued Lessons in Domestic Counterterrorism
Backgrounder posted July 19, 2011 by Robert Rector, Rachel Sheffield Air Conditioning, Cable TV, and an Xbox: What is Poverty in the United States Today?
Commentary posted February 2, 2010 by Lee Edwards, Ph.D. The Legacy of Mao Zedong is Mass Murder
WebMemo posted October 6, 2009 by Brian M. Riedl 50 Examples of Government Waste
WebMemo posted October 20, 2005 by Ronald D. Utt, Ph.D. The Bridge to Nowhere: A National Embarrassment
Backgrounder posted March 24, 2015 by Ryan T. Anderson, Ph.D. Always Care, Never Kill: How Physician-Assisted Suicide Endangers the Weak, Corrupts Medicine, Compromises the Family, and Violates Human Dignity and Equality
Center for Data Analysis Report posted November 7, 2005 by Tim Kane, Ph.D. Who Bears the Burden? Demographic Characteristics of U.S. Military Recruits Before and After 9/11
Backgrounder posted September 21, 2012 by Lindsey Burke, Stuart M. Butler, Ph.D. Accreditation: Removing the Barrier to Higher Education Reform

Backgrounder posted September 28, 2015 by Lindsey Burke From Piecemeal to Portable: Transforming Title I into a Student-Centered Support System
Backgrounder posted September 28, 2015 by Bruce Klingner Allies Should Include Japan in Korean Unification Plans
Backgrounder posted September 28, 2015 by Charles "Cully" Stimson Closing Guantanamo: A Legal and Policy Analysis of the Senate Provision
Commentary posted September 25, 2015 by Peter Brookes Rock star treatment exalts China
Commentary posted September 25, 2015 by Diane Katz Export-Import bank debate: GE brings good things to hype
Backgrounder posted September 25, 2015 by James Jay Carafano, Ph.D., Luke Coffey, Matthew Rolfes, Daniel Kochis, Dean Cheng, Lisa Curtis, Bruce Klingner Meager Ground Forces, Extensive Global Challenges: A Primer for the U.S. President in 2017
Commentary posted September 25, 2015 by Lisa Curtis Modi Goes Coast to Coast
Issue Brief posted September 22, 2015 by Sarah Torre Congress Should End Federal Funding to Planned Parenthood and Redirect It Toward Other Health Care Options
Commentary posted September 22, 2015 by Edwin J. Feulner, Ph.D. Going to pot: Advocates are understating the health risks of smoking marijuana
Commentary posted September 22, 2015 by James Jay Carafano, Ph.D. To Assad with love: Timing of Russia's military aid to Syria no accident

Sep 29

Event on Tuesday, September 29, 2015 Advocacy and the First Amendment: Should Nonprofits Disclose Their Donors?
#OurConstitutionCritics of the current campaign process for state and federal offices are urging states and Congress to require nonprofit advocacy organizations to disclose the identity — Read more

Attend in Person Watch Online
Oct 01

Event on Thursday, October 01, 2015 Jack Kemp: The Bleeding-Heart Conservative Who Changed America
The late 1970s were miserable for America. In the 1980s, it all turned around. Ronald Reagan’s policies sparked an American renaissance, but the — Read more

Attend in Person Watch Online
Oct 02

Event on Friday, October 02, 2015 Taiwan in the South China Sea
The situation in the South China Sea with regard to territorial disputes and other disagreements continues to simmer. Among many other things, including the People’s — Read more

Attend in Person Watch Online
Oct 05

Event on Monday, October 05, 2015 Innovation and the Defense Industrial Base
Defense reform sparks a great deal of debate in Congress, in the Pentagon, and across Washington. When it comes to acquisition and innovation, senior — Read more

Attend in Person Watch Online
Oct 06

Event on Tuesday, October 06, 2015 A Summit on Workers’ Empowerment
Co-hosted by the Center for Worker Freedom, the Center for Union Facts, and the Center for Independent Employees Workers today face many economic challenges. The White — Read more

Attend in Person Watch Online
Oct 06

Event on Tuesday, October 06, 2015 The 2015 Index of Culture and Opportunity: Sound Solutions Begin with Accurate Assessment of the Challenges
"Opportunity for all" is a goal Americans from across the political spectrum can embrace. But it won't be more than an aspiration unless we — Read more

Attend in Person Watch Online
Oct 06

Event on Tuesday, October 06, 2015 The Pivotal Moment: How the Iran Deal Frames America’s Foreign Policy Choices
At the core of the debate over the Iran deal are two distinct visions of what American foreign policy should be. In contrast to — Read more

Attend in Person Watch Online
Oct 06

Event on Tuesday, October 06, 2015 Influence Operations: Chinese Political Warfare in East Asia and Beyond
Co-hosted by: Please click here to register on Eventbrite with Project 2049 Institute: Agenda:2:00 p.m. – Opening Address and CommentaryAaron Friedberg, Professor of Politics and — Read more

Attend in Person Watch Online
Oct 07

Event on Wednesday, October 07, 2015 Nuclear Deterrence in the Context of the European Security Crisis and Beyond
Russia’s actions in Ukraine, large-scale nuclear weapon modernization programs, and arms control violations are destabilizing the security situation in Europe, where Moscow already enjoys a — Read more

Attend in Person Watch Online
Oct 08

Event on Thursday, October 08, 2015 The Cost of U.S. Nuclear Forces: From BCA to Bow Wave and Beyond
The needed modernization and cost of nuclear forces has received considerable attention following enactment of the Budget Control Act (BCA) in 2011. As the — Read more

Attend in Person Watch Online

Posted on 9/28/2015 3:43:27 PM John Boehner’s Wish List Before He Leaves Congress
Posted on 9/28/2015 3:39:11 PM Could the Department of Justice Cut Teams from the Big Ten Conference with the Fraud Laws?
Posted on 9/28/2015 3:38:08 PM Michigan Lawmakers Win on Overcriminalization Reform
Posted on 9/28/2015 1:09:54 PM Inside the US Air War Against ISIS
Posted on 9/28/2015 11:29:11 AM Why Forcing Non-Profits to Disclose Their Donors Would Damage Free Speech
Posted on 9/27/2015 9:24:19 PM Boehner Challenger Mark Meadows Does Not Feel ‘Vindicated’ After Speaker Resigns
Posted on 9/27/2015 9:16:04 PM Republicans Debate John Boehner's Legacy, Party's Future
Posted on 9/26/2015 3:46:16 PM Mark Levin on John Boehner’s Resignation: ‘It’s a Good Day, but Here’s the Problem...'
Posted on 9/26/2015 1:01:13 PM Failure Theater in the Senate
Posted on 9/26/2015 9:56:20 AM Border Arrests of Children, Families Surge 52% in August

ABOUT The HERITAGE FOUNDATION

The Heritage Foundation is the nation’s most broadly supported public policy research institute, with hundreds of thousands of individual, foundation and corporate donors. Heritage, founded in February 1973, has a staff of 275 and an annual expense budget of $82.4 million.

Our mission is to formulate and promote conservative public policies based on the principles of free enterprise, limited government, individual freedom, traditional American values, and a strong national defense. Read More

especially for

follow The heritage foundation

receive updates & newsletters

Receive updates from Heritage about current events and initiatives in your email inbox

Already Signed up?

Manage Your Subscriptions

http://www.heritage.org/issues/national-security-and-defense?fb=true#foot_anchor

© 2015, The Heritage Foundation
Conservative policy research since 1973