Tag: Intelligence
Stevenson’s army, May 21
– AP reports on hypersonic missiles, presumably what the president meant when he spoke of a “super duper” missile. CRS has a new backgrounder on them.
– Though we still don’t know what legal authorities the vaccine “Operation Warp Speed” committee has, the COO is a dollar a year contractor with messy ties to the drug industry.
-For those with children, see this NYT article on recognizing symptoms of the inflammatory reaction perhaps linked to the coronarvirus.
– NYT says Trump is hard for the intelligence community to brief.
– Politico says senior officials from several agencies opposed the Saudi arms sale that Pompeo accelerated.
– Politico also says administration will seek short term extension of New START.
– A former IG in 2 departments explains how they do their job.
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, May 8
Today marks the 75th anniversary of the end of the war in Europe against Germany. Let us commemorate!
[I remember being in a meeting with then CJCS ADM Thomas Moorer in the early 1970s when he complained: “We never lost a war before we created the Department of Defense, and we haven’t won one since.” Typical Navy attitude: it opposed the creation of DOD and JCS in 1947.]
What next? Politico lists 8 more big dangers top worry about.
Lawfare chiefs are dismayed by the dropping of charges against twice-confessed and twice-convicted LTG Flynn.
US is still pressing South Korea for more money. House Intelligence Committee finally releases Russia probe transcripts.
WSJ says US to pull Patriot missiles out of Saudi Arabia.
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, May 4
– Last week, the DNI released a formal statement on China and the coronavirus, leaving undetermined whether it might have come from inside the Wuhan lab.
– But the president had his own different view.
– As did SecState Pompeo.
He has been the point man in the administration’s anti-China campaign.
– Now DHS – a member of the intelligence community,but not usually in the forefront — has leaked a deliberately unclassified paper arguing Chinese culpability in the pandemic.
-Today at 3pm the Pulitzer prizes will be announced.
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, May 1
-WaPo says the administration is developing a package of anti-China measures,
many extreme and unprecedented, like demanding reparations for pandemic
costs and refusing to pay interest on Chinese-held US bonds.[As I said
in class, I support vigorous US measures to thwart Chinese military
expansion and to compete economically, especially in advanced
technologies. But I resent Trump’s weaponizing these measures mainly for
his political campaign and as a distraction from his delays and
failures handling the pandemic.]
– Part of this effort, NYT reports, is pressuring the intelligence community to prove Chinese culpability for release of the coronavirus.
– And SecState Pompeo was already in a pissing contest with Beijing.
– WSJ profiles national security adviser O’Brien, who says NSC staff is now down to the 120s.
– Yes, the FISA court consists of Article III [life-tenured] federal judges.
– NYT reports that Zoom sessions can be bad for your health.
And while I’m in a grumpy mood, how about this:
Lawmakers Vote by Mail to Roll Back Vote by Mail
April 30, 2020 at 3:10 pm EDT
“An emergency plan for Louisiana’s delayed spring elections was approved by the state Legislature after Republican lawmakers rolled back an expansion of mail-in ballots for people concerned about the coronavirus,” the Baton Rouge Advocate reports.
“Lawmakers voted by mail on the emergency plan.”
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, April 9
– Former CIA National Intelligence Council head blasts IG purge.
– Trump and the pandemic have thwarted Congressional oversight.
– There’s a missing war powers report.
– Saudis call cease-fire in Yemen.
– Kick ’em when they’re down: Acting SecNav trip to Guam cost $243K
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, April 8
– Chairman Schiff says acting DNI is weakening the intelligence community.
– ABC says intelligence community warned of a “cataclysmic” pandemic in NOVEMBER.
– Historian says Trump weakened the agencies needed to fight the pandemic.
– WaPo lists misleading Trump statements since January.
– Acting SecNav Modly resigned. Not a word of apology in his letter. Check for yourself. Peter Feaver lists issues raised by the Crozier incident.
– OPM study says government hiring hindered by GS system.
– AP notes lobbying boom in pandemic.
– Taliban have withdrawn from talks.
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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