"Michèle Flournoy, a senior defense official during the Obama administration, said military literature suggests that 'one of the most dangerous moments in any campaign is during a retrograde or a withdrawal under fire…'" Read the full article here: Full Article
"It seems fair to ask, then: Why is it necessary to define a president’s foreign policy 'doctrine' at all? Isn’t dealing with some 200 countries, not to mention transnational threats like climate change and terrorism, complicated enough to defy easy summarization? Why do pundits try so hard to impose order on the messy reality of governing? "'I don’t know, honestly,' said Michael Singh, a Middle East specialist who served in former President George W. Bush’s National Security Council. 'Maybe we’re trying [...]
"During the first decade of the 21st century, the U.S. defense department prioritized counterterrorism and counterinsurgency measures the Middle East and across the globe. A major shift in strategy began slowly but surely in 2012, driven partly by China’s more aggressive behavior and new military capabilities, including cyber and electronic weapons and precision missiles developed specifically to exploit US vulnerabilities. "Despite this shift in strategy, experts suggest that the Pentagon has not made the changes necessary to meet the threats posed [...]
"Sometimes you want to hear from the very top, and sometimes you want to get into the details. In the last couple of weeks, the U.S. Congress has done both, and each one teaches us something important about the way the Department of Defense (DoD) is planning to deal with climate change early in this Administration…" Read the full article here: Full Article
"The Defense Department’s (DOD) secretive artificial intelligence task force called Project Maven is moving to a new home within the Pentagon’s intelligence and security apparatus. Now Defense officials are looking for an industry partner to manage the transition and provide ongoing support for the program… "Project Maven, formally known as the Algorithmic Warfare Cross-Functional Team (AWCFT), was established in 2017 to 'accelerate the DOD’s integration of big data and machine learning,' then-Deputy Defense Secretary Robert Work wrote in a memo. Maven’s [...]
"The Middle East has a way of imposing itself on American presidents and their administrations. Just ask President Joe Biden. With six phone calls to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and calls with Mahmoud Abbas, the President of the Palestinian Authority, and President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi of Egypt, he understood, whatever his hopes, that his personal involvement was necessary to help produce the ceasefire. And, while a trip to the Middle East had not been on his agenda at this time, Secretary [...]
WestExec Senior Advisor and former White House National Security Council Director for Brazil and Southern Cone Affairs Nick Zimmerman interviewed in the May 5th, 2021 Jornal Da CNN program. Watch the full interview here: Full Interview
"Biden’s team felt keeping to the European itinerary was better for the administration’s agenda in the long run and for the conflict in the short run. "'If Blinken had gone [to the region], it actually would’ve slowed things down,' said Dennis Ross, a distinguished fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, because neither Hamas nor Israel would’ve wanted to look like it was caving to the US…" Read the full article here: Full Article
"Procurement is not the only metric that counts, but perhaps this looming milestone explains recent warnings from civilian and military experts. Michèle Flournoy, former undersecretary of Defense, says that the U.S. military is at an 'inflection point' and 'risks losing … [its] edge within a decade…'" Read the full article here: Full Article
"Joe Gagnon, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics in Washington, says that even though tariffs can drive up some prices, they have little to do with widespread inflation. "'The economy basically wants to keep the same trade balance, which is driven by other forces,' he said. 'Tariffs tend to make the dollar go up, and what that does is lower other import prices…'" Read the full article here: Full Article