Last Thursday, the Center for a New American Security (CNAS) hosted its first blogger briefing, which featured both liberal and conservative online media outlets. CNAS is a relatively new kid in Washington’s crowded and competitive think tank market. The two key CNAS people, CEO Dr. Kurt Campbell and President Michèle Flournoy, both worked at CSIS before setting up their own think tank in February 2007. Prior to this week’s blogger briefing I had thought of CNAS as a (moderate) Democratic-leaning think tank where top-notch national security experts are essentially “parked” before they move to the Pentagon in January 2009, 2013, or however long it may take before the administration switches from one party to the other. During our discussion, however, the CNAS leadership was more than eager to stress its bipartisan credentials and analytical outlook. In particular, Dr. Campbell vigorously disputed the notion that CNAS would only be relevant in a potential Obama administration. “We have deep, deep ties to the McCain team, especially when it comes to issues such as climate change, Asia, and the health of our military.” Also, he was proud to point out that Admiral Mike Mullen had selected CNAS (over many other think tank competitors) for his first public address as the new chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in October 2007. This is quite impressive given that fact that CNAS did not even exist eight months earlier. Michèle Flournoy, in turn, provided a quick overview of CNAS’s upcoming second annual conference–titled “Pivot Point: New Directions for American Security“–which will be held at the Willard hotel on Wednesday, June 11 (registration closed at 5:00 pm this Friday, but people can still register on-site). Here again, the speakers’ line-up–ranging from Bill Kristol and Senator Lindsay Graham to Madeleine Albright and John Podesta–underscores CNAS’s ambition to be a top-notch think tank that wants to go beyond the traditional Democrat-Republican divide. At the conference, CNAS will also formally release six new reports on issues like American grand strategy, Iran, Iraq, and Asia. as well as the national security implications of climate change.
