Russia’s reverses in Ukraine give China cause for caution, US defense luminaries say

Russia’s reverses in Ukraine give China cause for caution, US defense luminaries say
Russia’s reverses in Ukraine give China cause for caution, US defense luminaries say

Leon Panetta, Michèle Flournoy, and H.R. McMaster agreed Ukraine is showing China how tough a target Taiwan could be, while Bob Gates predicted Xi would not arm Putin and Condi Rice said Beijing is already backing off its worst ‘Wolf Warrior diplomacy.’

Wittman: We Need An Atlantic Rebalance

Wittman: We Need An Atlantic Rebalance
Wittman: We Need An Atlantic Rebalance

The Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) John Richardson made a major organizational announcement with major strategic implications when he announced the Navy would re-establish the Second Fleet, which covers the Atlantic. But that would, so far, only mean adding 250 people to the command. Without making larger strategic changes, that is not enough. To respond appropriately to Russian naval…

Military Personnel Bureaucracy Drives Out Talent: BPC

Military Personnel Bureaucracy Drives Out Talent: BPC
Military Personnel Bureaucracy Drives Out Talent: BPC

WASHINGTON: Pouring hundreds of billions into pay and benefits has not and cannot solve the military’s personnel problems. Despite spending 50 percent more per servicemember since 9/11, the services are short everything from cyber specialists to pilots, medics, nuclear engineers, and Arabic speakers. Spending more and more isn’t just unsustainable: It’s ineffective. Instead, argues a…

Trouble For Trump: Fixing Sequester, DoD Budget May Be A ‘Bloodbath’

Trouble For Trump: Fixing Sequester, DoD Budget May Be A ‘Bloodbath’
Trouble For Trump: Fixing Sequester, DoD Budget May Be A ‘Bloodbath’

SIMI VALLEY, CALIF.: “I don’t how we buy it back without a real bloodbath,” said Sen. Lindsey Graham. “It” is the $500 billion, 10-year cut to defense spending imposed by the Budget Control Act of 2011, popularly (mis)called sequestration. Graham, one of Donald Trump’s harshest critics in the GOP, is not alone in thinking the…

Everybody Loves ‘Mad Dog’: Mattis Pick Reassures Allies

Everybody Loves ‘Mad Dog’: Mattis Pick Reassures Allies
Everybody Loves ‘Mad Dog’: Mattis Pick Reassures Allies

SIMI VALLEY, CALIF.: You might not think a man nicknamed “Mad Dog” would put America’s allies at ease. But that’s the buzz here at the Reagan Library’s annual defense conference, where Donald Trump‘s choice of Gen. James Mattis to run the Pentagon met with enthusiastic praise from the right, from the left, and from overseas.…

Gates on Gates: Can We Overcome His Legacy?

Former Defense Secretary Robert Gates has done the nation a service by writing his memoirs, “Duty: Memoirs of a Secretary at War,” providing useful insights into his thinking and approach, as well as giving us a unique look at the working styles of two very different presidents. The book demonstrates why and how Gates has navigated…

Leon Panetta Officially Bids Farewell

SecDef Leon Panetta’s official farewell to Defense Department on eve of newly confirmed Chuck Hagel’s swearing-in: http://1.usa.gov/Yyw0GX @SydneyFreedberg

SecDef Panetta Reassures Federal Workers On Fiscal CLiff

No federal civilian furloughs — for a while — even if sequester hits, SecDef Panetta says: http://1.usa.gov/U0Wtfw SydneyFreedberg

Why We Need A Cyber Doctrine Now

We’ve heard national security leaders at the highest levels say it repeatedly: we are not prepared for cyber war. Gen. Keith Alexander, director of the National Security Agency and commander of U.S. Cyber Command, made it clear when he rated America’s readiness for addressing a catastrophic cyber attack “three on a scale of ten.” Homeland…

Sen. Levin Schedules SASC Confirmation Hearing For Lame Duck

Levin calls SASC hearing 11/15 to confirm Dunford, Allen — assuming he’s still chairman…. This was Panetta’s agenda: http://aol.it/RAUAoq SydneyFreedberg

Panetta Sets Tough Agenda for Lamest Duck Congress

Acting like the headmaster for an exclusive school for pampered and difficult children, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta on Thursday set out a tough array of assignments for the post-election “lame duck” session of Congress. “When Congress returns to town after the elections, there is a great deal of critical work that needs to be done,”…

Nuclear Navy Frets Over Panetta’s Concessions To New Zealand

WASHINGTON: As the administration courts New Zealand’s support for its new Pacific strategy, at least some submariners are uneasy that the US might make too many concessions at the expense of the nuclear navy. “The SecDef for some reason became fascinated with New Zealand,” said Rear Adm. Robert Thomas, noting the country’s contributions in Afghanistan…

Panetta Will Take ‘Whatever The Hell Deal’ Congress Can Make On Sequestration

PENTAGON: After a year of pleading, cajoling, wheedling, warning and whining, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has clearly reached the end of his rope when it comes to sequestration and Congress. Panetta and other senior defense officials have repeatedly argued the country must avoid sequestration because any deals would mean instability over time and thus pose…

Hungary Is Hungry for Hueys; Defense Minister Hopes For ‘A Donation’ EXCLUSIVE

UPDATED: Friday Sept. 14, 6:52 p.m.. WASHINGTON: Hungary’s defense minister, Csaba Hende, went to see Defense Secretary Leon Panetta at the Pentagon today and won praise for his tiny Central European nation’s contributions in Afghanistan and elsewhere in the world. A spokesman, though, said Hende didn’t raise another issue he discussed in an exclusive interview…