Best of 2012: National Security

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The year in national security coverage

By The Center for Public Integrity

The Center for Public Integrity's coverage of national security in 2012 included a detailed look at funding for the Abrams tank and the lobbying practices of its manufacturer, General Dynamics.

A U.S. Army M1 Abrams tank rolls through the center of Tikrit, Iraq, north of Baghdad, in 2003. An Army proposal to stop work on the tank, a $3 billion savings, has been blocked by the members of four key congressional committees. Those lawmakers have received $5.3 million since 2001 from employees of the tank’s manufacturer, General Dynamics, and its political action committee.

Efrem Lukatsky/AP

U.S. primacy will have ended and its power will be shared with others by 2030, according a report by the National Intelligence Council that predicted defense spending would absorb a much smaller share of the federal budget by then. The Up in Arms blog offered frequent postings about events, findings and reports related to national security, defense spending and international affairs that deserved more attention.

AP

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Three peace activists, (from left) Michael R. Walli, Sister Megan Rice and Greg Boertje-Obed, were charged with trespassing for breaching the exterior security at America's premier vault for nuclear weapons-grade uranium in around thirty minutes.

Courtesy of Megan Rice

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta outlines a plan to keep defense spending mostly level during a news conference in January at the Pentagon. A nationwide survey conducted in part by the Center for Public Integrity found strong popular support for deep cuts to the defense budget.

Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP file