Center for a New American Security

With a comprehensive "grand bargain" agreement on taxes and spending unlikely to succeed in the lame duck session, there is a strong possibility that sequestration will commence on January 2, argue experts David W. Barno, Nora Bensahel, Joel Smith and Jacob Stokes in Countdown to Sequestration: Why American Leaders Could Jump Off the Fiscal Cliff.

According to the authors, the prospect of sequestration is one of the most critical and immediate defense issues facing the nation, and they urge U.S. defense officials and the broader defense community to prepare for it. They warn that tremendous uncertainty about the final 2013 defense budget will continue as Congress and the president seek a comprehensive deal on the wide range of fiscal cliff policies.