Tag: National Security Council
Stevenson’s army, August 6
The Senate is all tangled up this morning. No wonder several majority leaders have used the same metaphor for their job — “herding cats.” Leader Schumer is using the allure of an August recess to force action on the infrastructure package and a budget resolution that will allow a filibuster-free package of other measures. But since so much is done by unanimous consent, any Senator can slow things down. And the budget process leads to all-nighters. with meaningless vote-a-ramas. We’ll sort this out in class.
Politico says China is worried about US withdrawal from Afghanistan. But State reminds us that there is a great power venue for Afghan policy.
Australia is launching a reparations program for indigenous people.
Book note: I’ve just finished reading Alexander Vindman’s memoir, a chapter of which was published last week. It’s a typical military memoir — lessons learned at key points in his career, one of which was a willingness to “start over and start over again.” Besides the impeachment-related story, he describes normal NSC staffer work. Most troubling to me is his tale of punishment by his colleagues after his testimony and the ways the Army misled him and then failed to protect him from White House retaliation.
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 3
– Politico has a revealing article on the Biden NSC staff in its afternoon newsletter. I’m not sure that link will work, so here’s the text.
SUPER-SIZING THE NSC: The National Security Council has significantly increased its staff in the first six months of the Biden administration, adding between 50 to 70 more staffers than under the Trump administration, two people familiar with the matter tell Daniel.
The NSC’s staff roster is now between 350 to 370 people, according to the sources, an increase of roughly 20 percent from what the NSC looked like in the summer and fall of the last year of the DONALD TRUMP administration, when it stood at around 300. The increase in staff is due to the addition or reconstitution of six new policy directorates focused on Biden administration priorities and the staffing growth of other directorates like the China and cyber directorates, whose head ANNE NEUBERGER also carries the title of deputy national security adviser. (There are now four deputy national security advisers.)
“We have needed to rebuild the scaffolding of how the national security policy process should work,” a senior administration official said. The numbers haven’t previously been reported.
— The NSC has reconstituted a pandemic response team after it was dissolved under the Trump administration before Covid. That directorate — one of the NSC’s larger teams — is built not just for Covid, but for a whole-of-government approach to prevent and handle future pandemics.
— ERIC GREEN, a career Foreign Service officer, has been made head of a new directorate primarily focused on Russia (affairs regarding Moscow were formerly part of the Europe team).
— National Security Adviser JAKE SULLIVAN created a new directorate focused on emerging technologies, led by TARUN CHHABRA, to coordinate policy around tech competitiveness such as addressing the semiconductor shortage and improving U.S. policy on issues like AI and quantum computing.
— The Biden White House has also reconstituted teams devoted to climate, democracy and development
Around half of the NSC staff under Biden is focused on enabling roles: such as security, IT and facilitating core NSC processes like policy paper coordination and secure video conference capabilities. The vast majority of the 350 to 370 staffers are detailees from other agencies, whose salaries continue to be paid by their home agency.
The current staffing size of the NSC, which includes people supporting the White House Situation Room, whose numbers grew in the Obama and Trump administrations, is roughly comparable to what it was during the Obama administration, although at times the overall NSC staff under Obama was higher than it is now. Trump and former National Security Adviser ROBERT O’BRIEN shrunk down the size of the NSC because of GOP concerns about a bloated bureaucracy but also after some of its current and former employees, like FIONA HILL, testified against Trump in his first impeachment.
“There were great staffers on the prior NSC, but you had a White House leadership who often didn’t want it to carry out its proper function,” the senior administration official said. “There were real gaps when we walked in. When you’re actually using the NSC and not making foreign policy by tweet, it’s gonna require a different footprint.”
In other news, here’s former dean Cohen’s reflection on Afghanistan.
He references a book by Carter Malkasian, which is explained and reviewed in Foreign Affairs.
Task & Purpose blames military eating disorders on the fitness tests.
Lawfare has good suggestions for a US offensive cyber policy.
But Defense One has a typical but misguided column urging a single department of cyber security. The centralize argument is attractive but can’t account for the many different needs and responsibilities. After all, are we really stronger with a single DHS?
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, April 11
– Suspicious blackout at Natanz site.
– More gloomy assessments of power struggles in Afghanistan –from NYT and from WaPO.
– FP has long profile of Jake Sullivan.
– WaPo has long story about Chinese use of US technology in its weapons.
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, March 10
A liberal think tank wants to shift $7 billion in foreign military aid from State to Defense.The full report is here.
US & China are cooperating on climate change, WSJ reports.But US public is more hostile toward China. First Quad summit is on Friday.
Foreign Affairs piece says intelligence community needs to adapt to open source world.
New reports question US nuclear modernization programs.
Author says H.R. McMaster admits countering Trump policies while NSA.
Democrats hope to use reconciliation bill this summer to avoid Senate filibusters on infrastructure, climate, and immigration.
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, February 9
B-1 bombers to Norway.
A year without a US combat death in Afghanistan.
Congress notified of new arms sales.
Analysts note timetable for defense budget reviews.
John Bellinger analyzes Biden NSC 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).
Share this, I'll really appreciate it:
Stevenson’s army, February 5
The WH website now has the presidential order setting up the Biden administration’s NSC system. Notable is the number of people now regularly allowed to attend,including “as appropriate” people from mostly domestic agencies and the Special Envoy for Climate [John Kerry]. The new administration will call its national security documents “National Security Memorandum” and its assistant secretary working groups “Interagency Policy Committees” [IPC]
NSA Jake Sullivan answered questions at a WH briefing before the president’s speech.
The WH promised additional NSMs on other issues, including the national security workforce sent around earlier.
Charlie put this out earlier:
The NSC system is busy although the organizing order has yet tp be released. Axios reports that a Principals Committee [cabinet level but without the president] will hold a meeting today on Iran policy. They’ll consider a paper from Thursday’s meeting of the Deputies Committee. [I wonder who attended, since most departments still lack confirmed deputies.]
President Biden gave his first major foreign policy address at the State Department. It was basically “I’m not Trump,” reversing many positions of the previous administration. He also issued a formal order to review personnel policies for the “national security workforce.” That could hopefully lead to revised rules for recruitment, training, and promotion of careerists.
Biden also gave a morale-boosting talk to State employees, but got pushback in the NYT from people who complain the administration is hiring too many political appointees for jobs often filled by careerists in the past.
FP sees the big speech, not surprisingly, as reflecting Jake Sullivan them of a populist “foreign policy for the middle class.”
The Senate this morning approved the budget resolution that opens the way for a filibuster-avoiding reconciliation bill for Covid relief. There were 15 hours of votes that were symbolic since the measure never goes to the president or becomes law. House has to pass the measure again because of minor amendments.
FYI, there’s an S-400 problem with India.
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
