Month: September 2021
Stevenson’s army, September 20
Defense News reports regional reactions.
A friend of mine sees program problems: This deal was in trouble for the last two years. Costs went from the $50 b contract to an estimated $100 b. Local content went the other way, from 90% to 60%. Delivery slipped to 2035. And it was noisy and limited dwell time to boot. So Australia has wanted out for a while. Brits want back in the Anglo game; Australia decided a better deal with 8 nukes from either UK or US. Naval in France screwed the pooch, and Macron is covering for them. Sound and fury signifying very little, except what the excited press liked to report.
And note that Iran is joining the Russia-China SCO.
Interagency fight over whether to blacklist Huawei-linked firm.
My SAIS colleague Charlie Stevenson distributes this almost daily news digest of foreign/defense/national security policy to “Stevenson’s army” via Googlegroups. I plan to republish here. To get Stevenson’s army by email, send a blank email (no subject or text in the body) to stevensons-army+subscribe@googlegroups.com. You’ll get an email confirming your join request. Click “Join This Group” and follow the instructions to join. Once you have joined, you can adjust your email delivery preferences (if you want every email or a digest of the emails).
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Stevenson’s army, September 19
– Alexander Vindman says Milley should resign.
– Rosa Brooks says the problem is with civilians, not the military.
-Kori Schake says Milley was indiscreet.
– Longtime journalist says Congress is a cesspool.
– Vox has a good explainer of the Australian submarine controversy.
Clip & save:CRS explains appropriations bills report language.
My SAIS colleague Charlie Stevenson distributes this almost daily news digest of foreign/defense/national security policy to “Stevenson’s army” via Googlegroups. I plan to republish here. To get Stevenson’s army by email, send a blank email (no subject or text in the body) to stevensons-army+subscribe@googlegroups.com. You’ll get an email confirming your join request. Click “Join This Group” and follow the instructions to join. Once you have joined, you can adjust your email delivery preferences (if you want every email or a digest of the emails).
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Stevenson’s army, September 18
– NYT has story about Israel’s killing of an Iranian nuclear scientist.
– NYT has more on secret diplomacy leading to AUKUS.
– And fascinating NYT story on how Russia manipulates its elections.
– FP says US wants regular bases in Australia.
-WaPo says Milley actions tend to politicize US military.
– Early examples of redistricting games.
– Good advice for writing policy memos and op-eds from Todd Rogers of Harvard:
1. Make it shorter.
2. Simplify the language.
3. Use formatting to direct attention.
4. Make key information obvious to skimmers.
5. Make the response as easy as possible.
My SAIS colleague Charlie Stevenson distributes this almost daily news digest of foreign/defense/national security policy to “Stevenson’s army” via Googlegroups. I plan to republish here. To get Stevenson’s army by email, send a blank email (no subject or text in the body) to stevensons-army+subscribe@googlegroups.com. You’ll get an email confirming your join request. Click “Join This Group” and follow the instructions to join. Once you have joined, you can adjust your email delivery preferences (if you want every email or a digest of the emails).
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Stevenson’s army, September 17
– China reacts by seeking to join TPP.
– Arms controllers get concerned.
-Latin American summit looks to replace OAS.
-LIndsey Graham looks to pull a Charlie Wilson.
And look at all the stuff Members want to put in the NDAA.
My SAIS colleague Charlie Stevenson distributes this almost daily news digest of foreign/defense/national security policy to “Stevenson’s army” via Googlegroups. I plan to republish here. To get Stevenson’s army by email, send a blank email (no subject or text in the body) to stevensons-army+subscribe@googlegroups.com. You’ll get an email confirming your join request. Click “Join This Group” and follow the instructions to join. Once you have joined, you can adjust your email delivery preferences (if you want every email or a digest of the emails).
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Stevenson’s army, September 16
FT scoops the rest with two items: Xi rejected a proposal by Biden for face-to-face summit; Khalilzad says Ghani’s surprise departure derailed planned two week grace period for Kabul.
Fred Kaplan on Milley revelations.
Some House Democrats are already losing their seats to GOP gerrymandering.
More from WSJ on Facebook: algorithm changed boosted angry people.
Brookings has some good ideas for filibuster reform.
My SAIS colleague Charlie Stevenson distributes this almost daily news digest of foreign/defense/national security policy to “Stevenson’s army” via Googlegroups. I plan to republish here. To get Stevenson’s army by email, send a blank email (no subject or text in the body) to stevensons-army+subscribe@googlegroups.com. You’ll get an email confirming your join request. Click “Join This Group” and follow the instructions to join. Once you have joined, you can adjust your email delivery preferences (if you want every email or a digest of the emails).
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Stevenson’s army, September 15
– Jonathan Swan of Axios suggests lawmakers believe he was acting too politically, if the Woodward book is accurate.Sen. Rubio [R-FL] says it was “treasonous” that he called the Chinese military.
– I see a different problem. Milley is not in the chain of command. No JCS Chairman has been since Goldwater-Nichols. Therefore he should not be telling other commanders to let him know about orders from higher authority. Milley can’t “pull a Schlesinger” because only the SecDef can.
– Swan reports that Esper had concerns about China and that he, not Milley, called off the planned exercises. That’s suggests correct consultation.
FYI, Woodward also reveals a Trump effort outside the chain of command.
-SecState Blinken went before SFRC for another contentious hearing. Here’s the hearing link.
– But Chairmen Menendez [D-NJ] was angry that the SecDef declined to testify. Sec. Austin was only following the precedent set by SecDef Rumsfeld who, over 6 years, refused to testify before any committee other than appropriations and armed services, on the grounds that they were his only overseers. [He did appear once before SFRC on a treaty defense wanted, which of course was in SFRC jurisdiction.]
My SAIS colleague Charlie Stevenson distributes this almost daily news digest of foreign/defense/national security policy to “Stevenson’s army” via Googlegroups. I plan to republish here. To get Stevenson’s army by email, send a blank email (no subject or text in the body) to stevensons-army+subscribe@googlegroups.com. You’ll get an email confirming your join request. Click “Join This Group” and follow the instructions to join. Once you have joined, you can adjust your email delivery preferences (if you want every email or a digest of the emails).
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