Cybersecurity & Defense - WestExec Advisors

Michèle Flournoy quoted in Bloomberg article, “For the Next Pandemic, Run the Trump Playbook in Reverse”

"There can only be one person in charge. And that person shouldn’t be the president. Yes, have a task force, but it should only consist of leaders with genuine expertise — in infectious diseases, logistics, manufacturing, communication and so on. The person in change needs to be an expert in managing disasters. 'You could take a senior person in industry or a retired military officer and say, "Here’s a chance to serve your country for a limited period of time,"' said [...]

Rebecca Skoryanc2020-04-17T16:05:07-04:00April 10, 2020|Cybersecurity & Defense|

Bob Work quoted in the National Interest article, “Recent Wargames Show That America’s Military Dominance Over Russia and China Has Ended”

"American forces' over-reliance on large, vulnerable installations and big ships renders moot the high-tech qualities of the stealth aircraft that fly from the bases and the ships, said Robert Work, a former deputy defense secretary who also sat on the CNAS panel. "'In every case I know of, the F-35 rules the sky when it’s in the sky, but it gets killed on the ground in large numbers,' Work said, according to Freedberg... "Work said the Pentagon could free up the [...]

Rebecca Skoryanc2020-04-17T16:06:13-04:00April 10, 2020|Cybersecurity & Defense|

Michael Camilleri writes with Michael Shifter in The New York Times: “It’s Not the Time for War Games With Venezuela”

"With last week’s significant deployment of United States naval assets in the Caribbean, the Trump administration upped the ante in its confrontation with the Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro. For the past 15 months, the administration has applied 'maximum pressure' on Mr. Maduro’s regime, with the hope that the upper echelons of the military — the regime’s main pillar of support — would fracture and trigger a return to democracy. On Wednesday, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo reaffirmed the administration’s commitment to [...]

Rebecca Skoryanc2020-04-14T13:15:40-04:00April 10, 2020|Cybersecurity & Defense, Geopolitical Perspectives|

Dennis Ross writes in New York Daily News: “Coronavirus Proves America First Is the Wrong Answer to Today’s Global Challenges”

"COVID-19 does not respect the powerful, the wealthy or borders. It attacks every country and every individual. No one is immune or has immunity until they have been afflicted with it. On the one hand, we are reminded that humanity is the target and 'we are all in this together.' On the other, individuals or nations can choose to hoard, protecting themselves first. Both realities exist today. "It will take time to emerge from this crisis, especially because we will likely [...]

Rebecca Skoryanc2020-04-14T13:14:27-04:00April 9, 2020|Cybersecurity & Defense, Geopolitical Perspectives|

Michèle Flournoy and Lisa Monaco write in POLITICO: “Now’s Not the Time for Isolationism”

"The coronavirus is a public health tragedy. If the United States isn’t careful, it could turn into a geopolitical one, too. "How the U.S. manages—or mismanages—the coronavirus pandemic will determine not only the long-term resilience of our economy but also our ability to compete, lead and protect American interests globally. If the United States continues to turn inward and focus most efforts on only limiting the damage done at home, the perception that U.S. power is in decline will continue to [...]

Rebecca Skoryanc2020-04-13T12:22:49-04:00April 8, 2020|Cybersecurity & Defense|

Michèle Flournoy participates in Bloomberg New Economy Forum, “A New World: Post-Coronavirus Power Shifts”

Michèle Flournoy, Professor Joseph Nye, Professor Jason Furman, and Andy Browne discuss how the COVID-19 pandemic will affect the global balance of power and what it will take to restore international cooperation... Read the full article here: Full Article

Rebecca Skoryanc2020-04-14T13:22:36-04:00April 7, 2020|Cybersecurity & Defense, Geopolitical Perspectives|

Julie Smith quoted in The New York Times article, “The Coronavirus Inflicts Its Own Kind of Terror”

"There is a similar sense of helplessness, however, said Julianne Smith, a former security adviser to Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. and now at the German Marshall Fund. 'You don’t know when terrorism or the pandemic will strike, so it invades your personal life. With terror, you worry about being in crowds and rallies and sporting events. It’s the same with the virus — crowds spell danger...' "Unlike Sept. 11, 'when a single set of events united the country in [...]

Rebecca Skoryanc2020-04-14T13:24:58-04:00April 6, 2020|Cybersecurity & Defense, Geopolitical Perspectives|

Lisa Monaco quoted in The Washington Post article, “America Was Unprepared for a Major Crisis. Again.”

"'I don’t want to give an impression that we bestowed the answer key for dealing with such a challenging and unprecedented crisis,' Monaco said. 'But the idea was to identify issues that would say these are the kinds of things you need to be planning for and thinking about now.' "What does it mean for the federal government to be prepared? 'Oftentimes, the gauge is no mistakes, no criticism, just complete smooth sailing,' Monaco said. “That to me is not the [...]

Rebecca Skoryanc2020-04-14T13:23:47-04:00April 4, 2020|Cybersecurity & Defense|

Mike Singh quoted in the Financial Times article, “U.S. Fears Large-Scale Attacks Against American Troops in Iraq”

"'Iran is carrying out a relatively low-cost but effective strategy to increase the pain for the US and for our Iraqi friends, so deterring Iran is not going to be a one-off event but will require a willingness to strike again and again,' said Mike Singh, a former senior director for Middle East affairs at the National Security Council. 'The question is: is the US willing to pursue an indefinite campaign against Iranian proxies in the region given the clear desire—especially [...]

Rebecca Skoryanc2020-04-14T13:26:15-04:00April 3, 2020|Cybersecurity & Defense|

Michèle Flournoy and Gabrielle Chefitz write in Defense News: “Breaking the Logjam: How the Pentagon Can Build Trust with Congress”

"Recent defense budget hearings saw a series of heated exchanges between lawmakers and Department of Defense leaders over plans to reach a 355-ship Navy by 2030. This political debate over the path to 355 is focused on precisely the wrong metric. It is a distraction from the difficult but urgent and necessary trade-offs the United States must make to prepare for a far more contested and lethal future security environment. "In a world where defense budgets will plateau or shrink, the [...]

Rebecca Skoryanc2020-04-03T09:45:32-04:00April 2, 2020|Cybersecurity & Defense|