In the News

Balance Is Necessary

It is important to keep in mind that today’s economic challenges plus the continued need to play a vigilant leadership role in the world to keep Americans safe will mean that an actual peace dividend will likely be quite minimal in the end, writes Brian Katulis.

As America starts thinking about where it might invest money saved by the winding down of wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, it should keep in mind two points: first, much of the savings today will probably be applied to reducing the mounting debt from nearly 10 years of war and the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression; and second, the so-called peace dividend of the recent past led to some dangerous reductions in programs needed to keep America safe.

The above excerpt was originally published in The New York Times. Click here to view the full article.

The positions of American Progress, and our policy experts, are independent, and the findings and conclusions presented are those of American Progress alone. A full list of supporters is available here. American Progress would like to acknowledge the many generous supporters who make our work possible.

Authors

 (Brian Katulis)

Brian Katulis

Former Senior Fellow