Truman National Security Project

The job of President of the United States is said to be three-quarters foreign policy. Despite this, presidential elections are often decided on domestic issues. In 2008 many questioned President Obama’s foreign and national security policy chops, having never served in uniform and serving only one term in the Senate. However, after four years in [...]

Vice Presidential nominee Paul Ryan has been both lauded and condemned for his views on the nation’s debt, but he is almost universally referred to as a “numbers guy.”  His work on the House Republican budget put him in the spotlight as a fierce fiscal conservative long before his current rise.  Few, however, have noticed [...]

Russia – Iran – Energy Independence – China…Syria…Venezuela…as former Sect of State Condoleeza Rice so eloquently told a nationwide audience last night “the world is a chaotic and dangerous place.” Today’s world is indeed far more complicated than the Cold War; a successful American foreign and defense policy needs sophistication in order to deal with [...]

This week in Tampa, just over the bay from me, Willard Mitt Romney will be nominated as the Republican Party’s presidential candidate. Romney and Congressman Paul Ryan will become the first GOP ticket since 1940 to lack any formal military or foreign policy experience. Coincidentally, the ticket that year was led by a businessman, Wendell [...]

Today, Governor Romney had the opportunity to clarify his ever-shifting position on Afghanistan, a country he couldn’t even find the time to visit during his international trip. Not only has Romney not laid out a plan of his own, but his running mate’s budget proposals would dramatically undercut American efforts to transition responsibly to Afghan [...]