"In a world starved for good news, the normalization agreements that Israel recently signed at the White House with the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain were met with near-universal praise. In a region more often associated with risk, the deals seemed to signal opportunity — for stability, for peace, and for profit..." Read the full article here: Full Article
"'He is doing exactly what the administration brought him in to do as D.N.I.,' said Joseph Maguire, whom Mr. Trump dismissed as acting director of national intelligence in February..." Read the full article here: Full Article
"China is now the official 'pacing threat' for the U.S. armed forces. Simply put, the Pentagon considers the People’s Liberation Army its most serious competition. This is a major and vital shift. But competing with China is a tremendously broad concept that could take any number of forms, and the reality is that China is too powerful to permit the U.S. defense establishment to fritter away money. The Defense Department needs to focus. Most of all, it needs to be capable [...]
"The United States is at an inflection point in an age of mounting transnational threats, unprecedented global interdependence, and resurgent great power competition. This moment is taking place in the context of a technological revolution that exacerbates the challenges we face while simultaneously offering potential solutions, providing breakthroughs in climate, medicine, communications, transportation, intelligence, and many other fields. Many of these breakthroughs will come through the exploitation of artificial intelligence (AI) and its related technologies—chief among them machine learning (ML). [...]
"The prospect of a contested presidential election, including premature claims of victory—or worse, one in which President Trump deliberately foils a clear outcome against him—rightly has people worried. It’s a reminder that some structural aspects of the U.S. presidential election system, like its decentralization and long transition period between election and inauguration, can be major liabilities. It’s also a reminder of how much the system depends on candidates’ commitment to certain principles and to the system itself..." Read the full article [...]
"In 2017, at the unprecedented height of North Korea’s strategic weapons testing, General Brooks was responsible for maintaining the armistice and commanding the defense of South Korea, while Mr. Garlauskas led the US intelligence community’s strategic analysis to characterize the evolving threat from North Korea. Audience members will have the chance to hear them exchange perspectives on the progress North Korea has made in its strategic weapons programs, what more to expect in the weeks and months ahead, and the implications [...]
"The world has entered a period of great power competition. Above all, this is because of the rise of China. For the first time since the Cold War, there will be two superpowers in the world. And for the first time since the 19th century, the United States will not clearly be the globe’s largest economy (at least as measured in purchasing power parity, or PPP, terms)..." Read the full article here: Full Article
"'We don’t declare election winners – validate election winners – until all votes are counted,' Flournoy said. 'We don’t, as Americans, take up arms to contest free and fair elections once they’ve been validated. If a president loses the vote in the Electoral College, he agrees to leave office on Jan. 20...'" Read the full article here: Full Article
"In an event Wednesday, Michele Flournoy, former undersecretary of defense for policy under President Barack Obama, called Trump's suggestion 'disturbing,' noting that people acting as independently at polling stations on election day could be 'very intimidating to voters...'" Read the full article here: Full Article
"As the COVID-19 pandemic drags on and its economic toll grows, politicians and observers on both sides of the U.S. political divide have called for cuts to the national security budget in order to free up funds for more pressing items. According to this logic, the defense budget is bloated, the federal deficit continues to climb, and the Department of Defense could, and should, do more with less..." Read the full article here: Full Article