Defense Budget Resources 2011

Critical Perspectives on the Pentagon Budget and
US Military Spending

Compiled by the Project on Defense Alternatives


An Undisciplined Defense:
Understanding the $2 Trillion Surge in US Defense Spending

PDA Briefing Report #20, 18 January 2010 (77 pp)


The President's Dilemma:
Debt, Deficits, and Defense Spending

PDA Briefing Memo #45, 18 January 2010


Report of the Task Force on A Unified Security Budget for the United States, FY 2010. Published by Foreign Policy in Focus and the Institute for Policy Studies, 2009.

Security Spending Primer: Getting Smart About The Pentagon Budget. National Priorities Project, 2009.

Cost of Current Wars. National Priorities Project.

The Pentagon's Runaway Budget. Carl Conetta. Foreign Policy in Focus, 3 March 2010.

The US Defense Budget. Cindy Williams (MIT Security Studies Program), statement before the US Senate Committee on the Budget, 23 February 2010.

The FY 2011 U.S. Defense Budget and the Quadrennial Defense Review. Gordon Adams, Stimson Center. Testimony Before the US Senate Committee on the Budget, 23 February 2010.

Day of Reckoning Ahead for US Defense Spending. Sandra I. Erwin. National Defense, March 2010.

In Lean Times, Military Spending Still Gets a Pass. Mark Thompson. Time Magazine, 24 February 2010.

Get Serious About Reform. Carl Conetta and Charles Knight. Defense News, 21 February 2010.

Quadrennial Defense Review Fails to Match Resources to Priorities. Lawrence Korb, Sean Duggan, and Laura Conley. Center for American Progress, 4 February 2010.

The Wrong Manhood Test. Christopher Preble and Heather Hurlburt. Politico, 4 February 2010.

A Military Budget of Add-ons, Not Choices, Makes the Security Imbalance Worse. Anita Dancs and Miriam Pemberton. Foreign Policy in Focus, 1 February 2010.

Portions of the Pentagon's Department of Operational Test and Evaluation 2009 Annual Report. Posted by Project on Government Oversight, February 2010.

Few Surprises in the FY 2011 Defense Budget Request. Todd Harrison. Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, February 2010.

Table: Total US Security Spending for Fiscal Years 2010 and 2011. Winslow Wheeler. Straus Military Reform, Center for Defense Information, February 2010.

Looking Ahead to the FY 2011 Defense Budget: A Review of the Past Decade and Implications for the Future Year Defense Program. Todd Harrison. Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, January 2010.

Stop spending so much on defense. Kori Schake, US Military Academy and Hoover Institution. Shadow Government blog, Foreign Policy, 20 January 2010.

Obama and the Permanent War Budget. William D. Hartung. New America Foundation, January 2010.

Long-term Implications of the FY2010 Defense Budget. Congressional Budget Office, January 2010.

Maximizing DOD's Untapped Potential to Improve Business Performance. Gene Dodaro, Acting Comptroller General of the United States, 14 October 2009.

The Cost of Iraq, Afghanistan, and Other Global War on Terror Operations Since 9/11. Amy Belasco. Congressional Research Service, September 2009.

Defense Acquisition: Assessments of Selected Weapons Systems. Government Accountability Office, March 2009.

Is the Next Defense Budget a Stimulus Package? Frida Berrigan. New America Foundation, March 2009.

Forceful Engagement: Rethinking the Role of Military Power in US Global Policy. PDA Briefing Report #17, December 2008.

Re-Envisioning Defense: An Agenda for US Policy Debate and Transition. PDA Briefing Memo #44, December 2008.

Toward a Sustainable US Defense Posture: An Option to save $60+ Billion Over the Next Five Years. PDA Briefing Memo #42, August 2007.

Cause for Depression: A pictorial guide to the financial crisis. David Hendrickson. Colorado College.

The Three Trillion Dollar War. Joseph Stiglitz and Linda Bilmes. Vanity Fair, April 2008.

Strengthening Statecraft and Security: Reforming U.S. Planning and Resource Allocation. Cindy Williams and Gordon Adams. MIT Security Studies Program Occasional Paper, June 2008.

A Disciplined Defense: How to Regain Strategic Solvency. Richard K. Betts. Foreign Affairs, November/December 2007.

How Much Defense Can We Afford? David Gold, New School. Challenge, October 2008.

The US Employment Effects of Military and Domestic Spending Priorities. Robert Pollin and Heidi Garrett-Peltier. University of Massachusetts, October 2007.

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Trillions to Burn: A Quick Guide to the Surge in Pentagon Spending. Includes 9 charts.



A Skeptic's Library



Official Sources

The President's Budget

Defense Department Budget Documents

Congressional Budget Office, National Security Budget Analysis

US Government Accountability Office, National Defense Analysis



Budget Skeptics

Arms & Security Initiative, New America Foundation

Budgeting for Foreign Affairs & Defense

Center for Strategic & Budgetary Assessments

Center for Arms Control and Nonproliferation

Defense Strategy Review Page

Economists for Peace & Security

National Priorities Project

Project on Government Oversight

Straus Military Reform Project, Center for Defense Information



Blogging DoD's Budget

Armchair Generalist

Budget Insight

Danger Room

Defense Strategy Review Page

Democracy Arsenal

Spencer Ackerman

Matthew Yglesias

Nukes of Hazzard, security matters

Pen & Sword



Contact PDA


The Project on Defense Alternatives
The Commonwealth Institute
P.O.Box 398105
Inman Square Post Office
Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
Phone 617/547-4474
Fax 617/868-1267
E-mail PDA

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