  Observations of Cataclysmic Variables show a number of phenomena that do not
fit easily into the standard magnetic braking scenario. These include the large
spread in mass transfer rates, the low surface temperatures of many of the
companion stars, and evidence for material at low velocities. We propose that
these anomalies have a common cause: the presence of a circumbinary (CB) disk.
This may be a significant component of mass transferring binaries in general.
Direct detection of such CB disks may be possible but difficult, because of
their low luminosity Disks surrounding Cataclysmic Binaries and spectral energy
distribution peaking in the mid-IR.
