Defense Showstoppers
Defense Showstoppers: National Security Challenges for the Obama Administration
Conference summary report by Michael P. Noonan at Foreign Policy Research Institute.
On February 12, 2009, FPRI’s Program on National Security held a conference on potential “defense showstoppers” for the Obama administration—critical issues that, if not fixed, could lead to a serious deterioration of American military capabilities. The event was hosted and co-sponsored by the Reserve Officers Association in Washington, D.C. Program-affiliated scholars Michael Horowitz, Michael P. Noonan, Mackubin T. Owens, and Frank G. Hoffman served as panel moderators. More than 100 individuals from academia, government, NGOs, the media, the military, and the public participated in person, and another 300-plus individuals from around the world participated by webcast. Audio and video files of the proceedings are posted at FPRI’s website; the papers presented at the conference will be published in Orbis and other outlets.
A summary of the major panel presentations and discussions can be found here and include commentary by T.X. Hammes, Stephen Biddle, Roger Carstens, Frank G. Hoffman, Mackenzie Eaglen, Christopher Preble, James N. Mattis, Michael O’Hanlon, Thomas McNaugher, Frederick W. Kagan, Janine Davidson, Thomas Schweich, Ralph Peters and a conference summation by Harvey Sicherman.
