Christopher A. Preble

Christopher Preble is the vice president for defense and foreign policy studies at the Cato Institute and blogs for The Skeptics at The National Interest.


Essays

Security

A Plea for Normalcy

| 09.01.06

Given its competing commitments, Washington must reduce its military patronage. Japan, with its economic strength, must fortify capabilities.

Society

Letters

| 12.01.05

Too often, the Beltway conventional wisdom emerges without careful scrutiny, before the hard questions have been asked.

The Great Debate

Politics

The Final Obama-Romney Clash

| 10.23.12

Several TNI regulars assess the campaign's last debate.

Reviews

Politics

The Critique of Pure Kagan

| 06.28.12

Robert Kagan has issued a cri de coeur urging Americans to reject calls for reduced U.S. military spending, curtailments in the country’s global commitments and restraint on its interventionist impulses. But his prescriptions are shortsighted.

Security

Betting on the Wrong Donkey

| 11.01.07

Recent proposals for beefing up Democratic national-security policy offer little in the way of fresh strategic thinking.

Security

Resisting the Charms of War

| 06.01.05

Andrew J. Bacevich laments American militarism.

Commentary

Security

Hagel Should Trim Defense

| 01.14.13

After ten years of unconstrained growth, the Pentagon's budget simply must come down.

Economics

Cut Defense Spending

| 06.16.10

We’re breaking the bank. America can’t afford to defend the world any longer.

Security

Leaving Baghdad

| 03.09.09

We should thank the Iraqi parliament—not President Obama—for setting a timetable to get U.S. troops out of Iraq.

Security

The Pentagon on Defense

| 10.31.08

Our politicians are delirious when it comes to defense spending—we need to rein in expenditures, and the Pentagon’s budget should be on the chopping block.

Security

A Troubling Interventionist Consensus

| 08.08.07

Voters will struggle to find a credible candidate from either of the two major parties willing to make the case for less military intervention. Robert Kagan and Ivo Daalder are satisfied with this. Most Americans should not be.

Blog Posts

Politics

Let Sequestration Happen

| 07.17.12

The most dramatic option for cutting defense spending also may be the only viable one.

Politics

War Is Too Easy, but a Draft Is Not the Solution

| 07.11.12

Conscription won't save money. It will abridge young people's freedom.

Economics

What Sequestration Might Mean for San Diego (and Other Places)

| 07.01.12

Cuts won't devastate the economy. Even defense-heavy localities can adapt to lower levels of defense spending.

Politics

The Defense Lobby's Greatest Fear

| 06.27.12

Americans for Tax Reform insists that the Pentagon budget should not be preserved through tax increases. The defense industry is portraying cuts as a Texas chainsaw massacre.

Security

About that Pivot to Asia

| 06.11.12

Washington seems unsure of its goals for increased engagement in the Asia-Pacific region.

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May 25, 2013