PNSR was created over three years ago, in 2006, with little money, staff or exposure. It formally launched its work in the summer of 2007 with a conference that garnered substantial interest in Washington and put the Project on the map. Congress then recognized and affirmed the critical importance of the endeavor when it provided funding for a comprehensive study of the national security interagency system. Prior to that, the Project had recruited a distinguished Guiding Coalition, engaged top research talent, and built a network of several hundred national security academics, senior government officials, and private sector experts. These efforts culminated in December 2008 with the publication of PNSR’s landmark report, Forging a New Shield.

Over the past year, PNSR has undergone major changes, reorienting from the theoretical to the practical. In October 2009, we published our second major report, Turning Ideas Into Action, which gauges progress in national security reform in the Executive Branch and Congress, refines recommendations from Forging a New Shield, and outlines specific next steps that must be taken by the government to implement systemic transformation. Turning Ideas Into Action concluded that, while there have been promising signals of intent from the Obama administration, national security reform is not a top priority. And even though the lexicon of national security reform, such as “smart power,” “whole of government” and “interagency collaboration,” is heard now inside and outside government, it is far more rhetoric than reality.

 

Hundreds of people have worked hard and made tremendous sacrifices over the past three years to advance national security reform. For this, we are grateful. Yet, national security reform is still in its early phases. The current system remains outdated and potentially unable to prevent or meet the next crisis effectively. In short, there is much more work ahead of us.