The president has vetoed the NDAA [message here]; the House will try to override on Monday.
RollCall reports that the first State Dept authorization bill in two decades was dropped from inclusion in the NDAA because of WH demands from Ivanka Trump.
The omnibus appropriations and covid relief bill faces an uncertain future. If sent to WH today, Congress could avoid a pocket veto with override votes by the morning of Jan 3.Meanwhile, Speaker Pelosi promises a unanimous consent motion today to have $2000 stimulus checks, as requested by Trump. GOP leader McCarthy may offer his own UC to strip the foreign aid money from the bill.
In other news, the administration considers closing the Baghdad embassy after the recent attacks from uncertain sources.
Administration wants $500 million arms sale to Saudis.
How to respond to Russian cyber hack. Fred Kaplan has measured response.
Just Security writer calls for legal agreements drawing the line between espionage and attacks.
A war criminal can die, while the ideology that made him a hero survives. That…
We are witnessing a new variation on Milan Kundera’s famous *The Joke*: “Optimism is opium…
It is high time to get on with the serious business of governing, which includes…
Belgrade talks the talk, takes the EU money, and does nearly nothing. It is time…
Allowing the powers that be in the region to reach their own equilibrium, with US…
Trump has promised an agreement with Iran that can't be reached while Iran and Oman…