Introducing “The Agenda”

I am proud to welcome you to “The Agenda,” a new blog from the Center for a New American Security.  With so many places to go for information, some might claim that a new national security blog will get lost in the "clutter." I remember a similar reaction in 2007 when Kurt Campbell and Michele Flournoy started CNAS. Many asked why Washington needed yet another think tank, and we had a lot to prove. But over the last 6 years CNAS has demonstrated the ability to shape and influence the national security debate in significant ways. And our track record of preparing the next generation of national security leaders is clear, with a large percentage of our alumni actively serving in government.

Washington DC has rarely been so fractured. Any semblance of a bipartisan national security consensus has largely broken down. We at CNAS want to do our part to help rebuild it.

With today’s first post by CEO Robert Work and President Richard Fontaine, The Agenda will feature regular analysis and commentary by CNAS scholars and guests on the most pressing national security issues of the day. A forum for innovative ideas and realistic solutions to the nation’s defense and foreign policy challenges, The Agenda will present a wide range of views from one end of the political spectrum to the other.  It will showcase CNAS’s path breaking research agenda, incorporating the Center’s Natural Security blog, and strive to shape the national security debate while contributing to it.  I am particularly excited by the prospect of featuring regular contributions from CNAS’ cadre of emerging young leaders. We invite you to be an active participant in shaping The Agenda by offering your comments to our posts.