July 27, 2011
Command Post: Is U.S. National Security Gun-Heavy And Butter-Light?
One of the intriguing things about recently-departed defense secretary Robert Gates -- pretty much a lifetime spy -- was his concern that the U.S. toolkit was out of whack when it comes to weapons v. diplomacy. He'd frequently mention how there were more sailors on an aircraft carrier, or musicians in the Pentagon's bands, as there are foreign service officers working for the State Department. Does he have a point? Debating the issue is your Battlander joined by John Nagl of the Center for a New American Security and Nora Bensahel and Dave Barno, two of John's colleagues at CNAS.