Arsenal’s End? American Power and the Global Defense Industry

Ethan B. Kapstein | Center for a New American Security | 2010-02-19

"Today, debates over American defense acquisition are rarely cast in terms of "national security." Instead, they tend to focus more narrowly on the causes of the cost overruns and delays that are associated with the procurement of nearly every major weapons platform. But that discussion about procurement efficiency, whatever its merits, overlooks some of the deeper changes that are shaping the structure of America's defense-industrial base - changes that could have a significant impact on the nation's ability to prosecute major conflicts in the future."