The Center for Defense Information (CDI), founded in 1972 by retired U.S. Navy Rear Admiral Gene La Rocque, states that it is dedicated to strengthening national and international security through international cooperation, reduced reliance on unilateral military power to resolve conflict, reduced reliance on nuclear weapons, a transformed and reformed U.S. military establishment, and prudent oversight of defense programs. Currently operating under the aegis of the World Security Institute, it is composed of academics and high-ranking retired U.S. military officers who conduct critical analyses of U.S. defense and security policy.
The CDI regularly publishes the "Defense Monitor".
After the 2008 U.S. elections, it released "America’s Defense Meltdown: Pentagon Reform for President Obama and the New Congress", a collection of briefing papers by a dozen defense intellectuals and retired military officers.[1]
Winslow T. Wheeler, director of the Straus Military Reform Project at CDI, expects costs for the F-35 Lightning II to significantly increase, in one example of the positions he has taken on military weapons systems.[2] The reform project is funded by Philip A. Straus Jr., a photographer,[3] and family.[4] Wheeler, a former U.S. Senate and Government Accounting Office staffer,[5] is a periodic contributor to CounterPunch's on-line site,[6] among other publications.