Tag: Intelligence
Stevenson’s army, August 16
– WaPo has a major story with the tick-tock of US efforts pre-invasion to convince Zelensky and others of the coming Russian invasion. It reminds me of Henry Kissinger’s complaint to the intelligence community after a surprise –“You warned me, but you didn’t convince me.”
– Cong. McCaul still hasn’t released the GOP staff report on problems during the US withdrawal from Afghanistan. I’d like to see and send a copy, but it isn’t available to the public. Nevertheless, a WH rebuttal is available; here it is.
– Here’s another critique of the bungled withdrawal.
– NYT reports the French are pulling out of Mali after 9 years.
– CNN notes that over a million people have Top Secret clearances.
– At the Atlantic, Tom Nichols sees a new kind of political violence.
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. 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, August 13
– It’s clear that Donald Trump had an arrogant disregard of the Presidential Records Act and an overweening indifference toward safeguarding classified documents. What isn’t clear is whether he will be prosecuted for violations of law. Charlie Savage describes the laws mentioned in the FBI search warrant.
– Dan Froomkin, a media critic, wants us to learn about “stochastic terrorism,” the statistical likelihood that people will act violently if provoked by commentators. It looks like that’s what happened in Ohio.
– I’ve been reading Dana Milbank’s new book on how the GOP embraced nastiness as a way to win elections [which, sadly, worked]. I’d seen that work in congressional campaigns, but I was shocked to be reminded that right-wing commentators urged violence long before the Trump years — in the 1990s against Clinton policies and in the early Obama years. The language was as bad as any nowadays — but today there’s Fox News and social media to amplify the calls for violence.
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. 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, August 9
– Gen. Petraeus says US failed in Afghanistan because of a lack of strategic patience, inadequate resources to the Afghans, and misunderstanding of local conditions. He blames Congress for forcing US to supply American helicopters etc rather than Soviet equipment. He thinks we should have forced Pakistan to crack down on Taliban sanctuaries.
– SecState Blinken announced a US Africa strategy. There’s even a formal document.
– Very interesting study of intelligence oversight notes increased convergence/overlap of US military and CIA military activities, blindsiding a siloed Congress.
– Defense News notes holds blocking confirmation of a dozen DOD nominees.
– Sen. Kaine wants a war powers fight on NDAA.
– US says Russia has suffered over 70,000 casualties in Ukraine.
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. 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, June 15, afternoon edition
– Half of the people in each party now predict US will “cease to be a democracy”
– European opinion dividing over Ukraine.
– Having overestimated Russian military capabilities, US intelligence now wonders whether it understands Chinese military.
– Xi reaffirms support for Putin.Defense
– Marine Major urges rethinking US military manpower system.
– And an Air Force colonel suggests seeking air denial rather than air supremacy.
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. 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, June 6
On this 78th anniversary of the allied invasion of France, YouTube has a short cut from a newsreel report later shown in US theaters and the audio of CBS radio’s reporting that day, supplemented with newsreel footage.
The Biden foreign policy team is mostly people he has known a long time. [BTW, the most collegial and leak-free team was Bush 41’s] They show consensus and cooperation but little policy innovation. If you don’t like what they agree on, you call it group think, as Peter Beinart does.
WaPo reports China is building a naval base in Cambodia.
Economist reports CCP now bans grumbling about the party.
WSJ reports the diplomatic missions the CIA director has been sent on.
Politico has background on this week’s Latin American summit
Morning Consult compares what China has been doing in the region..
AP questions how long Ukraine can fight.
And a tweet shows the battlefield.
New WSJ poll shows Americans are pretty sour about things.
BusinessInsider notes Hill staff can double dip, working for Congress and campaigns.
NYT’s Charles Blow has good career advice, applicable far beyond his journalism. I’d say the same to people working on the Hill.
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. 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, May 14
– Erdogan signals opposition to NATO membership for FInland and Sweden, which requires unanimity.
– CNN says IC is reviewing failure — except by State’s INR — to foresee strength of Ukrainian resistance.
– WaPo says US may have violated promise against 3d country transfer of Russian aircraft.
– WSJ says US has cut some Syria sanctions.
– Macron wants Zelensky to make concessions.
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. 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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