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.

Reviews

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

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

Security

Libya Begets Syria?

| 02.07.12

The questions Washington must be able to answer before pondering intervention in Syria.

Security

Unanswered Questions on Afghanistan

| 02.02.12

Though vague, the Afghanistan-withdrawal announcement is good news—and a brilliant political move.

Security

Playing to Our Strengths—and Why COIN Doesn’t

| 01.19.12

America doesn't do nation building well. It's time for a new game plan.

Politics

Why Libertarians Are Skeptics (But not all Skeptics Are Libertarians)

| 01.13.12
Society

In Defense of Realism

| 12.28.11

How liberalism—not realism—leads to preventable wars and answers to other common criticisms of modern realism.

More

Follow The National Interest

February 13, 2012