SPECIAL ROUNDUP: The Future of Defense

More than a decade of war is winding down and the United States is ready to focus on issues at home. Yet threats continue to complicate Pentagon decision-making and test U.S. foreign policy in this post-war era. Defense One has compiled our best stories about what the future holds for national security and global affairs.

• Obama’s Vision: No More War But Plenty More Fighting  President Obama’s speech illustrates America’s global security dilemma: stay out of wars, but don’t let up the fight. By Kevin Baron

• Dempsey Wants to ‘Rebalance the Use of Military Power’  The U.S. military needs to do less foreign fighting and more foreign training, says Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey in an exclusive interview. By James Kitfield

• Every Country Will Have Armed Drones Within 10 Years  The proliferation of weaponized drone technology is inevitable, and there’s nothing the U.S. can do to stop it. By Patrick Tucker

• Searching for the Obama Doctrine  In scolding his critics who want more military action, President Obama is overlooking his own supporters who want him to do more. By Gayle Tzemach Lemmon

• Afghanistan Needs More Than U.S. Troops To Survive  While the U.S. waits for Afghanistan to sign a post-2014 troop deal, a new report shows the war-torn nation is going to need a lot more than that. By Stephanie Gaskell

• How Big Data Could Help Us Predict the Next Snowden  DNI James Clapper wants intelligence workers put into a big data cloud the U.S. can surveil, and it just might work. by Patrick Tucker

• Here’s a Map of the World’s Fastest Growing Militaries  Twenty-three nations have doubled their defense spending in the past decade. By Ben Watson and Kedar Pavgi

• It’s Time To Get Ready for the Robotic Age  The U.S. must prepare now for a world of widely proliferated military robotics. By Shawn Brimley and Paul Scharre