National Journal’s National Security Insiders say the Pentagon should not offer bailouts to keep defense companies or capabilities afloat despite looming defense-budget cuts and shrinking military markets.

Three-quarters of National Journal’s National Security Insiders say the Obama administration’s plan to cut the Pentagon budget was a smart decision driven by the end of the Iraq War and the nation’s current fiscal crisis.

Now that the European Union has agreed to impose a ban on oil purchases from Iran and the U.S. has signed new sanctions against its central bank into law, 60 percent of National Journal’s National Security Insiders said the tough measures are likely to isolate Iran and stave off the necessity of a military response.

A whopping majority of National Journal’s National Security Insiders support the Obama administration’s renewed push for peace talks with the Taliban—but just as many believe that negotiations are unlikely to pay dividends.

National Journal's National Security Insiders sided with the Obama administration and the Pentagon in their opposition to the controversial detainee provisions the Senate adopted as part of its massive defense authorization bill.

As the U.S. begins its strategic 'pivot' to Asia and the Pacific, a plurality of National Journal's National Security Insiders said Washington should seek to improve diplomatic ties with Beijing while avoiding any military-related steps.

A slight majority of National Journal’s National Security Insiders say that a military strike on Iran should not be carried out under any circumstances, despite the recent release of a U.N. nuclear-watchdog report providing evidence Iran is continuing its pursuit of nuclear weapons. Separately, the experts were split over whether the biggest foreign policy challenge for the next president would be China or the Afghanistan/Pakistan region.

Eighty percent of National Journal’s National Security Insiders said the State Department would not be ready to assume control of the mission in Iraq with only a small number of U.S. troops remaining in the country. 

Two-thirds of National Journal’s National Security Insiders agreed with the Obama administration’s decision to upgrade Taiwan’s existing fleet of F-16 jets, rather than sell the island the new package of late model F-16 aircraft that Taipei, and many in Congress, had requested.

Seventy percent of National Journal’s National Security Insiders said a Palestinian bid for statehood at the United Nations would damage U.S. credibility as a broker for Israeli-Palestinian direct talks. Separately, two-thirds of Insiders said that if the Libyan rebels request international help to ensure a stable transition, they would support either providing U.S. counterterrorism training or deploying civilian specialists for crisis management—but not participation in a military peacekeeping force.