Tag: Defense
Stevenson’s army, September 1
On this 81st anniversary of the Nazi attack on Poland that started WW2 in Europe, here is some news.
– US government has declassified the “6 assurances” the Reagan administration made to Taiwan. [Only the FT had the story, but here are the documents.]
– President Trump has routinely said, including last night, that he sent National Guard troops to Kenosha and calmed the situation. In fact, no federal action was taken, and the troops were deployed under an interstate agreement. Trump really doesn’t understand the law under which the Guard operates.
– NYT notes how few officers of color have been general officers in the Marine Corps.
– The Hill explains the crazy month Congress faces.
-House Democrats threaten subpoenas to get State/Defense testimony on Afghanistan.
– Opposition party won elections in Montenegro, with complications for NATO.
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).
Share this, I'll really appreciate it:
Stevenson’s army, August 31
– I missed the strength of Trump’s support in 2016 because I didn’t follow social media. I still don’t, but I look fro journalists who do. So I flagged this NYT report about conservative dominance of Facebook. And I know from Pew studies that 43% of Americans get their news from Facebook. And Congress is using social media much more than in the past.
– I’ve regularly sent around the Military Times polls of service people on political questions. Their methodology makes the results suggestive rather than certain, but it is surprising to see the drop in support for Trump compared with 4 years ago.
– NYT today notes Taiwan’s military exercises and fears of a Chinese attack. I also commend USNIP’s speculative story about a possible US-Chinese war over Taiwan.
– Also see Politico’s column on how the Chinese view the US elections.
– I’ve never worked in the Pentagon building. [My two summers with the Navy Dept were in the old Main Navy on Constitution Ave.] So I was surprised to read about how technologically “retrograde” the building is.
– CNAS has good material on US sanctions policies globally.
– Breaking Defense reports on the new Unified Command Plan.
More later. I’m just beginning to catch up on the papers from last week.
Share this, I'll really appreciate it:
Stevenson’s army, August 22
– NYT suggests Trump will follow 1988 playbook.
– FP’s James Taub infers a Biden foreign policy doctrine.
– CIA DIrector Haspel will go.
– SAIS Prof Todd Harrison coauthors CSIS report on defense budget.
-Anti-Trump Duke prof explains why he didn’t sign latest letter.
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).
Share this, I'll really appreciate it:
Stevenson’s army, August 21
– 73 officials who served in Republican administrations, including Dean Cohen and Prof Edelman [who were Never Trumpers in 2016], have signed a letter endorsing Joe Biden for president.
– Bipartisan Scowcroft Center report says DHS should refocus its mission.
– Politico says OMB political appointees have been given more power to apportion funds, a job previously done by careerists. WaPo confirms.
DOD moves to classified telework.
– Iraq developments: militia riots in Basra; US companies get contracts; PM meets with POTUS.
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).
Share this, I'll really appreciate it:
Stevenson’s army, August 20
The centenary of the 19th amendment is a good moment to reflect on the struggle for women’s suffrage. GZero has a great graphic. I liked to brag that my home state of Colorado gave women the right to vote in 1893, long before the 19th amendment and second only to Wyoming. But a few years ago I did some research and learned that the main reason the law was changed was to dilute the voting power of single miners. Right thing for the wrong reason.
The Air Force is even going to redesign its aircraft to allow more female pilots.
NYT doubts that a President Biden would be able to build bipartisan coalitions in Congress. I certainly favor bipartisanship in foreign policy and the “regular order” [like the NDAA] for major legislation. But maybe the hyperpartisanship is too strong. We can talk about this in class.
NYT says an intelligence community assessment in June disagreed with an earlier DHS intelligence report and concluded that low level officials in Wuhan withheld key coronavirus information from Beijing.
Politico says SecState Pompeo illegally sought military housing, though the army eventually provided lodging at Fort Myer.
NYT has more on F35 sale to UAE, including Netanyahu’s non-denial denial of the sales’ connection to the recognition deal.
I agree with Alice Hunt Friend’s article questioning the need for the SecDef to have military experience.
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).
Share this, I'll really appreciate it:
Stevenson’s army, August 18
– Bipartisan report from Senate Intelligence Committee details [966 pages!] Russian interference in 2016 elections. Here’s the document.
– Daily Beast says Trump secretly promised to sell F35s to UAE as part of agreement with Israel. Congress voted to block such sales in May, but Trump vetoed.
-WOTR details lots of foreign fighters in Sub-Saharan Africa.
– DHS official after 2 years under Trump details politicization of DHS.
-Is this an election year? Trump rejects proposed cuts in DOD health care.
– Future of JCPOA: Politico has explainer. FP says Europeans can keep agreement alive unti November.
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).
RSS - Posts
