Christopher Preble
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Christopher A. Preble is the vice president for defense and foreign policy studies at the Cato Institute. He is the author of three books including The Power Problem: How American Military Dominance Makes Us Less Safe, Less Prosperous and Less Free (Cornell University Press, 2009), which documents the enormous costs of America's military power, and proposes a new grand strategy to advance U.S. security; and John F. Kennedy and the Missile Gap (Northern Illinois University Press, 2004), which explores the political economy of military spending during the 1950s and early 1960s. Preble is also the lead author of Exiting Iraq: How the U.S. Must End the Occupation and Renew the War against Al Qaeda (Cato Institute, 2004); and he co-edited, with Jim Harper and Benjamin Friedman, Terrorizing Ourselves: Why U.S. Counterterrorism Policy Is Failing and How to Fix It (Cato Institute, 2010). In addition to his books, Preble has published over 150 articles in major publications including USA Today, the Los Angeles Times, the Financial Times, National Review, The National Interest, the Harvard International Review, and Foreign Policy. He is a frequent guest on television and radio. Before joining Cato in February 2003, he taught history at St. Cloud State University and Temple University. Preble was a commissioned officer in the U.S. Navy, and served onboard USS Ticonderoga (CG-47) from 1990 to 1993. Preble holds a Ph.D. in history from Temple University.

Blog Entries by Christopher Preble

Regaining Our Balance: the Pentagon's New Military Strategy Takes a Small Step

Posted January 20, 2012 | 16:19:04 (EST)

President Obama wisely invoked the words of President Eisenhower from nearly 51 years ago when he presented the Pentagon's new strategic guidance last week. In his famous farewell address, Eisenhower advised his countrymen to "maintain balance in and among national programs."

"After a decade of war," President Obama

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Romney's $2 Trillion Gimmick

Posted October 14, 2011 | 16:49:02 (EST)

GOP frontrunner Mitt Romney is pushing a shortsighted and costly plan to boost his national security credentials. In a series of speeches and policy pronouncements last week, Romney promised to dedicate at least four percent of the nation's economic output to the military's base budget, increase naval shipbuilding...

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Considering the Costs and Benefits of Counterterrorism

Posted September 9, 2011 | 13:04:53 (EST)

It is a cliché that military planners are doomed to prepare for the previous war rather than the next one. The same is usually true of government policies implemented after a crisis. As the 10th anniversary of 9/11 approaches, now is the time to ask whether certain counterterrorism measures should...

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