Category: Daniel Serwer
Stevenson’s army, January 12
– SAIS Profs Eric Edelman and Tom Mahnken have been named to the new bipartisan panel Congress formed to review the new National Defense Strategy.-
– The Bulwark has an excellent analysis of the shortfalls in defense of the Capitol on Jan 6. Organizational cultures and bureaucratic processes contributed to the mess.
– Daily Beast shows Putin losing his temper.
I’m off for grandparent duty for a while. But the papers will accumulate and I’ll review them when I return.
My SAIS colleague Charlie Stevenson distributes this almost daily news digest of foreign/defense/national security policy to “Stevenson’s army” via Googlegroups. I republish here, with occasional videos of my choice. 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, January 10
– CSIS has a summary of multiple war games about Taiwan. Here’s the full report.
– NYT considers what security guarantees might be provided to Ukraine.
– RollCall has a good list how new House rules will affect the budget process.
– NYT analyses DeSantis’ foreign policy.
My SAIS colleague Charlie Stevenson distributes this almost daily news digest of foreign/defense/national security policy to “Stevenson’s army” via Googlegroups. I republish here, with occasional videos of my choice. 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, January 9
– The House votes today on a package of rules for the 118th Congress. Much of it is public, but Punchbowl News reports there is a secret 3 page addendum.
The rules package was at the center of McCarthy’s fight for the speakership. The 55-page document lays out the GOP priorities for the next two years and the procedures Republicans will use to run the chamber.
However, there’s also a secret three-page addendum that McCarthy and his allies hashed out during several days of grueling negotiations with the House Freedom Caucus. This pact includes the most controversial concessions McCarthy made in order to become speaker – three seats on the Rules Committee for conservatives, freezing spending at FY2022 levels, a debt-ceiling strategy, coveted committee assignments and more.
WSJ confirms the plan includes defense spending cuts.
A sobering piece in Foreign Affairs warns that the US faces “a period of protracted regime instability, marked by repeated constitutional crises, heightened political violence, and possibly, periods of authoritarian rule.”
Sweden says it can’t meet Turkish demands for NATO membership.
Politico says Wagner Group is active in Europe and Africa.
Military Times summarizes the year of US strikes in Somalia.
WaPo says social media helped bring out the violent mobs in Brasilia.
I don’t normally see the Washington Monthly, but it has released its latest edition,which looks to have some interesting reads.
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Stevenson’s army, January 8
– Bob Gates & Condi Rice warn that time is not on Ukraine’s side
– Ross Douthat says the GOP now has a policy vision “that’s mostly performative gestures and fiscal apocalypticism”
– NYT correctly tracks GOP chaos to the tactics of Newt Gingrich.
– WaPo has video timeline of the attack inside the Capitol on Jan 6.
I missed yesterday’s. Here it is:
Another Army scholar calls civilian control of the military a “useful fiction” in the same publication.
US announced another $3 billion in arms aid to Ukraine.
Lawfare is now the site for all released January 6 committee materials.
My SAIS colleague Charlie Stevenson distributes this almost daily news digest of foreign/defense/national security policy to “Stevenson’s army” via Googlegroups. I republish here, with occasional videos of my choice. 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, January 6
– Former CJCS Dunford and Harvard prof Graham Allison stress need for nonpartisan military.
– RAND analyst says we need to revise our war games to get useful results.
-WaPo says new cyber strategy has real teeth.
– TNSR article shows how hard it is to change military doctrine. [because of bureaucratic politics]
– Hawley relents on DOD nominees after TikTok deal.
– Appropriators question USAF budget plans.
– Corporations gave to election deniers, despite promises.
– Newsweek spreads rumors about Putin illness.
My SAIS colleague Charlie Stevenson distributes this almost daily news digest of foreign/defense/national security policy to “Stevenson’s army” via Googlegroups. I republish here, with occasional videos of my choice. 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, January 5
– It can happen! Ohio and Pennsylvania have just elected speakers in their state legislatures with bipartisan candidates.-
– David Ignatius interviews Jake Sullivan.
– Analysts propose a “Better Biden Doctrine.“
– Politico’s NatSecDaily reports on efforts to make State Dept less risk averse:
THE RISKY BUSINESS OF U.S. DIPLOMACY:Many State Department employees are unsure how much risk they can take and whether they can fail without undermining their careers, according to recent survey results.
The findings were laid out in a Dec. 20 email to State Department staffers from BRIAN McKEON, who recently ended his tenure as deputy secretary of State for management and resources. The survey was conducted as part of Secretary of State ANTONY BLINKEN’s effort to modernize the department.
McKeon’s note, obtained by our own NAHAL TOOSI, framed the results this way: “Nearly 75 percent of respondents said they did not receive clear communication from their leadership on risk tolerance; over 50 percent said they rarely or never participated in formal risk assessment activities; and over one-third did not feel empowered or equipped to manage risk. Moreover, a significant number of respondents associated risk with threat and related concepts like risk aversion, fear of failure, career, and security.”
“The bottom line is clear,” McKeon wrote. “If we are to succeed in advancing U.S. priorities, the department’s perception of risk must evolve. We need to be risk aware, not risk averse. We must accept the possibility of failure when taking risks, and risks must be viewed as opportunities for mission success, not just as threats.”
McKeon hinted at upcoming initiatives to “foster a culture of ‘failing well.’” Already, he pointed out, the department is trying to make it easier to open diplomatic facilities, which is never simple given security concerns.
A State Department spokesperson, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss an internal matter, said in a statement that Blinken wants to “shift the culture of the department to lead in the face of, rather than avoid, risk.” The spokesperson added: “The department defines risk as anything that has the potential to negatively (threats) or positively (opportunities) impact the Department’s capability to achieve its objectives.”
My SAIS colleague Charlie Stevenson distributes this almost daily news digest of foreign/defense/national security policy to “Stevenson’s army” via Googlegroups. I republish here, with occasional videos of my choice. 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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