"'It will take patience and deft diplomacy by the Trump administration to resist Iranian and North Korean efforts to put pressure on the U.S.,' says Michael Singh, former senior director for Middle East affairs at the National Security Council." Watch the full interview here: Full Interview
"'I would bet on an American soldier, sailor, airmen, Marine with combat experience any day over a Russian or Chinese counterpart,' said Michèle Flournoy, a former senior Pentagon official under President Barack Obama. 'But this is going to be a different kind of warfare.' “'It’s been a long time since we fought without domain supremacy from the early moments of conflict,' she said at the think tank event. 'We have never fought with constant cyber harassment, losing comms, connectivity, the ability [...]
"The US has said it would it impose sanctions on Iran’s iron, steel, aluminum and copper sectors, which the White House said were Tehran’s 'largest non-petroleum-related source of export revenue'... "Mike Singh, a senior fellow at the Washington Institute in Washington, said the move represented a 'continuation of the "maximum pressure" campaign.' 'It targets a remaining source of export revenue for Iran, and a source of employment for Iranians, so this may add significantly to the economic pressure on Iran,' said [...]
Dan Shapiro is quoted by The Times of Israel's Jacob Magid discussing the role the U.S. administration has played in the past, and currently plays, in negotiating ceasefires between Israel and Hamas. Read the full article here: Full Article
“'China is not going to take a position on North Korea over a fit of pique with Donald Trump, but at the same time, it is not unlike the Chinese to say, "Why the hell should we accommodate you or take risks in service of a U.S. priority when you’re doing this to us on one of our core interests?"' said Daniel Russel, who served as assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs in the Obama administration..." Read [...]
"Mehr news agency, quoting an 'informed source,' said it was unlikely that Rouhani would announce a full withdrawal from the agreement. In the past, Iran has threatened to limit access for the International Atomic Energy Agency’s monitors. "Another possible option, said Dennis A. Ross, who participated in U.S. negotiations in the Middle East through a number of administrations, would be to enrich a small amount of uranium to 20 percent — more than five times the level allowable under the agreement [...]
"Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan says the repositioning of U.S. forces is a response to 'indications of a credible threat by Iranian regime forces;' reaction from Michael Singh, former senior director at the National Security Council." Watch the full interview here: Full Interview
"In a distributed construct, the drones spread out across an area while the manned ship passively receives the data at a distance. But it’s a challenge to accomplish that in environments where an adversary such as China or Russia actively jams communications signals. "However, it’s a challenge the Navy must address, said Bob Work, the former deputy secretary of defense who championed unmanned technologies under the Obama administration. “'This is like carrier aviation in the interwar period,' Work said. 'This is [...]
"The era of untrammeled U.S. military superiority is over. If the United States delays implementing a new approach, it risks losing a war to China or Russia—or backing down in a crisis because it fears it would—with devastating consequences for America’s interests. "The U.S. Defense Department’s 2018 National Defense Strategy initiated a needed course correction to address this challenge. As then-Defense Secretary James Mattis put it in January that year, great-power competition—not terrorism—is now the Pentagon’s priority. But while the strategy’s [...]
"The threat to Taiwan from the People’s Republic of China (PRC) is increasing — sharply. Beijing is putting the nation under tremendous political pressure, but the military threat to Taiwan is especially alarming. China has spent the past 25 years working to undermine US and allied military advantages, above all with respect to Taiwan. "As US think tank RAND Corp and other sources have shown, helping Taiwan defend itself has gone from a relatively easy task in the 1990s for the [...]