Over
two years ago, the Project on National Secu
rit
y Reform was born. At the time,
we had little money, little staff, and little exposure. But we had a vision.
This vision was to transform our national security system from a slow, lumbering
apparatus to an agile, adaptive, and integrated system d
esigned for the modern
age. Today, our vision is closer to becoming reality.
We have much to be proud of. We
kicked off our efforts in the summer of 2007 with a conference that garnered
substantial interest in Washington and put the Project on the map.
Months
later, Congress recognized and affirmed the critical importance of our endeavor
when it funded a comprehensive study of the national security interagency
system. We recruited a distinguished Guiding Coalition, recruited top talent,
and created a vast network of national security professionals. And, in December
2008, our efforts culminated in the issuance of our historic report,
Forging a New Shield.
In recent months, the Project has
undergone major changes. We became an independent organization singularly
dedicated to national security reform. We moved physical locations. We
collocated and realigned staff.
And, we
reoriented ourselves from the theoretical to the practical.
We have all worked incredibly
hard and made tremendous sacrifices over the past few months and years. For
this, I am grateful.
But while much has
been accomplished, our work remains incomplete. No statute has been enacted, no
congressional rules have been passed, and no executive orders have been issued.
PNSR is now focusing its efforts on seeing its recommendations acted upon and
implemented by government. It is our view that without the whole-of-government
reform we suggest, the national security system will continue to fail the
American people, and change should be enacted immediately rather than later.
Reform will not be easy; it never
is. Like reformers of the past, we will succeed – we
must succeed. We will not stop and we will not quit – not for the
sake of the Project, but for the sake of the Nation.
O
