Center for a New American Security

Center for a New American Security
AbbreviationCNAS
Formation2007; 17 years ago (2007)
TypePublic policy think tank
20-8084828
Headquarters1701 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Suite 700
Location
  • Washington, D.C.
Coordinates38°54′18″N 77°02′06″W / 38.90500°N 77.03500°W / 38.90500; -77.03500
CEO
Richard Fontaine
Budget
Revenue: $8,789,410
Expenses: $7,228,402
(FYE September 2015)[1]
Websitewww.cnas.org Edit this at Wikidata
GEN David Petraeus at CNAS's annual conference, June 2009

The Center for a New American Security (CNAS) is a think tank in Washington, D.C. specializing in United States national security issues, including terrorism, irregular warfare, the future of the U.S. military, the emergence of Asia as a global power center, war games pitting the U.S. against the People's Republic of China,[2] and the national security implications of natural resource consumption, among others.[3]

CNAS has strong ties to the Democratic Party. It was founded in 2007 by Michèle Flournoy, who served as deputy assistant secretary of defense for strategy under President Bill Clinton and under secretary of defense for policy under President Barack Obama,[4] and Kurt M. Campbell, who previously served as coordinator for Indo-Pacific Affairs under President Joe Biden, and is now the deputy secretary of state.[5] The Obama administration hired several CNAS employees for key positions.[6] In June 2009, The Washington Post reported, "In the era of Obama . . . the Center for a New American Security may emerge as Washington's go-to think tank on military affairs."[6] CNAS was formerly led by CEO Victoria Nuland, who served as undersecretary of state for political affairs from 2021 to 2024 in the Biden administration's State Department.[7]

CNAS has received funding from large corporations, including defense contractors. Donors have included Northrop Grumman, Chevron, Amazon, and Google,[8] This has prompted criticism of CNAS from left-wing media outlets, with In These Times saying in October 2019 that the organization has "long pushed Democrats to embrace war and militarism."[9]

  1. ^ "Center for a New American Security" (PDF). Amazon Web Services. 30 September 2016. Archived (PDF) from the original on 28 February 2017. Retrieved 27 February 2017.
  2. ^ "In CNAS-Led Taiwan Wargame, No Air Superiority, No Quick Win". Air Force Magazine. 2022-05-17. Archived from the original on 2022-08-13. Retrieved 2022-08-20.
  3. ^ "About CNAS". CNAS. Archived from the original on 2023-05-21. Retrieved 2023-05-21.
  4. ^ Guyer, Jonathan (2020-11-25). "Three Questions Facing the Likely Next Secretary of Defense". The American Prospect. Retrieved 2022-08-20.
  5. ^ "A Conversation With Kurt Campbell, White House Coordinator for the Indo-Pacific". Asia Society. July 6, 2021. Archived from the original on 2022-08-21. Retrieved 2022-08-20.
  6. ^ a b "Carlos Lozada -- Setting Priorities for the Afghan War". The Washington Post. June 7, 2009. Archived from the original on April 30, 2011. Retrieved April 28, 2010.
  7. ^ "On the Retirement of Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland". United States Department of State. 2024-03-05. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
  8. ^ Heinz, Brett (2021-02-22). "American primacy on the menu for big industry donors at CNAS". Responsible Statecraft. Archived from the original on 2022-10-02. Retrieved 2022-08-20.
  9. ^ "Meet the Hawkish Liberal Think Tank Powering the Kamala Harris Campaign". In These Times. 7 October 2019. Archived from the original on 2022-08-13. Retrieved 2022-08-20.