Congressman J. Randy Forbes Praises CMSI’s Open Source Research & Publication
Congressman J. Randy Forbes, “China. There, I said it. (Part II),” CSIS PacNet 47 (25 June 2014).
… If Congress is going to be asked to marshal the resources to sustain its enduring interests in the Asia-Pacific region — including a balance of military power that favors the US and its allies — I contended that the administration and specifically the Pentagon would only be successful if they were comfortable publicly making the case why these investments were required. …
…if the Pentagon aims to justify its budget to Congress as a whole and avoid further rounds of sequestration cuts, for instance, it will need to move beyond discussing missions and programs to identify the actual risks associated with failing to counter China’s emerging military capabilities.
Despite this shortfall, the War Colleges should be given credit for the public work their academics have produced. Specifically, the China Maritime Studies Institute (CMSI) and a number of professors at the Naval War College have generated large volumes of open-source analysis of Chinese military developments. Their work has been so successful that I understand the Air Force is eager to replicate it by setting up a similar institution to study the People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF). I applaud the War Colleges and the services more generally for taking a lead in this area. …
