Amidst the usual calls for government reform and corporate responsibility, the Cyberspace Solarium Commission makes a surprisingly hard-headed case for old-school deterrence.
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.Reassessing America’s defense strategy for a safer future
In an unpredictable world, a strong and innovative military is essential to protect the United States and its economic interests.
“We haven’t deployed anyone, just to be clear,” Edwin Wilson said. “We’ll have a traditional prepare-to-deploy order, (and) the members and teams are on recall ready to go within hours.”
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.
A year ago, it would have been tempting to write off President Trump’s “bull in a china shop” diplomacy as the product of inexperience and impulsiveness. However, after eighteen months in the White House tenure, Trump is looking like a man with a method, a leader acting according to a consistent ideology — if not…
By James Kitfield
“I don’t think that Vladimir Putin, who I think is a realist, wants to destroy us or our democracy, (though) they did meddle… and they will do it again if they can,” Bearden said. “They will continue to stir the pot, (but) I think they’re as amazed by what we’re doing to ourselves as perhaps we are.”
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.
If war is politics by other means, then politics is war by other means, Chinese and Russian leaders believe. And political warfare must be conducted with the same ruthless ingenuity as open war because the stakes are equally high: the survival or destruction of the regime.
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.
If you want the military to defend this fall’s elections from Russian hackers, military cyber commanders told Congress this afternoon, you need to give it authorities, access and resources soon, military commanders told the Senate today.
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.
WASHINGTON: Under relentless grilling from Democratic senators, the four-star officer who heads both Cyber Command and the NSA said the US government is “not doing enough” to prevent Russia from meddling in the 2018 elections. Could the US keep the Russians from interfering again? asked Sen. Claire McCaskill. “Yes,” Adm. Michael Rogers said at once.…
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.
Preparing the defense industrial base to surge, collaborate, and deliver
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CAPITOL HILL: President Trump’s pick for the No. 2 policy job in the Pentagon, David Trachtenberg, endorsed new nuclear delivery systems, praised NATO and allies in general and took a hard line towards the Kremlin in his confirmation hearing today. Responding to senators’ questions, Trachtenberg said Russia should pay “a cost” for meddling in the 2016…
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.
WASHINGTON: The day before intelligence analysts brief a skeptical Donald Trump on Russian interference with the 2016 elections, the Director of National Intelligence told supportive senators that he had only grown more confident the Kremlin was the culprit. DNI James Clapper not only repeated his assessment that Russia had tried to manipulate the election with…
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.
WASHINGTON: More than any other service, the Army’s future is uncertain under Trump. On the upside, the President-Elect has promised to boost the Army‘s budget and grow its ranks by almost 15 percent. On the downside, Trump seems deeply skeptical of what has become the service’s driving mission: deterring Russian aggression in Europe. [We rolled…
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.
The biggest shocker of the year was how Donald Trump’s candidacy for president evolved from marginal to “deplorable” to victorious. But what kind of president will Trump be? While Trump’s tendency to tweet from the hip has upset the defense industry and foreign allies alike, his statements on the campaign trail and, above all, his…
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.
Donald Trump is going to be president, notwithstanding the handwringing in the national security policy community about whether they should agree to serve in his administration (here, here, here, here, here). Concerns are understandable given Trump’s unorthodox campaign and often extreme statements. But there is an element of hubris in these commentaries and in discussions I…
By Mark Cancian
WASHINGTON: Good news for NATO: Sen. Tom Cotton — Iraq veteran, Tea Party star, and potential Defense Secretary for Donald Trump — said that America’s commitment to defend its NATO allies must be “iron-clad” and that Russia must change its ways before relations can improve. During the campaign, Trump famously praised Vladimir Putin and said…
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.
WASHINGTON: There’s still no sign of Donald Trump’s transition team at the Pentagon yet, but they’ll probably come this week, Defense Secretary Ashton Carter said this morning. In the meantime, the secretary is walking a tightrope trying to defend his policies on the Islamic State, NATO, and Russia without explicitly disagreeing with a President-elect who…
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.
