An MQ-Reaper drone in Afghanistan (U.S. Air Force photo)
Hosted by Sarwar Kashmeri, the Foreign Policy Association’s Great Decisions podcast series will headline issues together with the leaders whose decisions today will mold the foreign policy of tomorrow. Each podcast will tackle a different Great Decisions topic in the 2014 series, a list of which can be found here. The Great Decisions podcasts can also be found on iTunes.
Every four years, the U.S. Department of Defense produces the Quadrennial Defense Review, or QDR. Mandated by Congress, the QDR lays out the U.S.’ strategy to combat global threats and maintain U.S. leadership — all within the bounds of the Pentagon’s budget. The most recent QDR was released in March and tackled the challenges faced by the Defense Department in an age of fiscal constraints and changing regional priorities.
This week, Sarwar Kashmeri spoke to Dr. Daniel Chiu, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Strategy, and one of the key contributors to the QDR. Dr. Chiu explains the importance and purpose of the QDR, the changes in the security environment, how the U.S. can better handle these changes in the security environment, and the impact of budget cuts on the efficacy of the national security apparatus.
Dr. Daniel Y. Chiu was appointed as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Strategy in March 2012. He is responsible for strategy development and strategic planning in the Office of the Secretary of Defense. Dr. Chiu leads work on identifying and monitoring global trends related to potential future security challenges. This includes assessing political, military, economic, natural-resource, and environmental issues as they relate to U.S. security interests as well as identifying the range of potential strategic risks and opportunities under conditions of complexity and uncertainty. Dr. Chiu was awarded the Secretary of Defense Medal for Outstanding Public Service in January 2012 for his work on the 2012 Defense Strategic Guidance as Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Strategy.
Dr. Chiu previously served as Principal Director of Strategy in the Office of the Secretary of Defense from May 2009 to December 2011 with a focus on leading work on the Support to Strategic Analysis processes, products, and community for the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy. He was awarded the Secretary of Defense Medal for Exceptional Public Service for his work on the 2010 Quadrennial Defense Review.
Prior to joining the Department of Defense, Dr. Chiu was a Research Staff Member at the Institute for Defense Analyses where he served as a Study Director in the Joint Advanced Warfighting Division as well as in the Strategy, Forces, and Requirements Division conducting studies on strategic planning and developing Defense Planning Scenarios for the Office of the Secretary of Defense. Before that, he was the Senior Director for Strategic Planning and Analysis at the Hicks & Associates, Inc. Center for Adaptive Strategies and Threats where he served as a consultant to the Department of Defense on strategic warning, long-term planning, and red teaming. His previous positions include Senior Associate for Strategy and Weapons of Mass Destruction Studies at DFI International as well as Strategy and Policy Analyst working primarily on Asian-Pacific security issues at the Center for Naval Analyses.
Dr. Chiu has served as a Summer Study member for the Defense Science Board, a Senior Mentor for the Center for Strategic and International Studies Project on Nuclear Issues, and as an Adjunct Professor of International Relations and Public Policy at the graduate level.
Dr. Chiu received a B.A. with honors in Political Science from McGill University, M.A. in International Relations and Economics from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, and Ph.D. in International Relations from the Johns Hopkins University.
Sarwar Kashmeri is a Fellow of the Foreign Policy Association, and an Adjunct professor at Norwich University
