Tag: Defense
Stevenson’s army, February 20
– More details on John Rood’s firing. NYT links it to policy disagreements with the WH; FP says he had a toxic work environment and many staff left.
– Amb. to Germany Richard Grenell has been named acting DNI. His major qualification for the job is fierce public loyalty to the president. He can only serve until mid-September, and would have to step down immediately if formally nominated for the job [as SecDef Esper had to do].
This lets me remind you of two of the most consequential but little known laws — the Vacancy Act and the Administrative Procedures Act. The former limits the use of non-Senate confirmed officials and people in “acting” positions. The latter prevents replacement of older executive orders and regulations without a lengthy and detailed process. The new team can’t just say, we want to change.
-Georgetown had a special event featuring former Amb. to Ukraine Yavonovitch.
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. If you want to get it directly, 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, February 19
– Background on Trump visit to India.
– CNN says USD/P Rood is being forced out.
-IG finds waste in US support for Syrian forces.
– Congress debates Libya policy.
– A smart idea for how to prepare for future war better.
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. If you want to get it directly, 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, February 11
– When even the Republican Chairman of the Senate Budget Committee says Trump’s new budget is “dead on arrival” and he won’t even have a hearing on it, you figure it must be true. In fact, all presidential budgets can be called DOA because what matters is what Congress does. But it’s also true that the presidential budget is the baseline from which puts and takes occur,and about 95% or more gets approved.
I found this helpful on defense plans. Was glad somebody discovered this change regarding Europe. And recommend 3 items from CSIS people: Kath Hicks suggesting how to cut defense wisely as well as analyses of the budget and its future implications.
OMB’s big package is here. Each agency has its own budget page. [I’m still waiting for an analysis of the international affairs budget [function 150].
WaPo says CIA has read encrypted communications of allies and adversaries for years.
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. If you want to get it directly, 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, February 6
– FP says political ambassadors are forcing out career DCMs.
-NY Fed report warns of cyber attack consequences.
-IAEA says no new Iranian violations of JCPOA.
-Navy has greatly increased FONOPS in South China Sea.
-Here’s a report on the House defense panel hearing on defense innovation.
-AP reports on the slow-motion divorce from Iraqi military.
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. If you want to get it directly, 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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Stephenson’s army, February 5
– The tropes of reality television dominated the presidential address aspects of SOTU, as noted in Atlantic and Politico.
– The budget comes out next Monday. Already, those who want more or were given less are leaking. FP notes complaints about F15 funding.
– The SecDef’s office leaked their own talking points.
– The speech and debate clause of the Constitution lets members break laws — like the whistleblower protection act — with impunity, as Sen. Paul [R-KY] did yesterday in revealing a name said to be the Ukraine whistleblower.
– Axios reportrs that Israel and UAE had a secret White House meeting.
– You can’t escape the internet. GOP nominee withdraws.
– Fred Kaplan [whose new book on nuclear weapons is excellent] fact checks Trump on foreign policy.
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. If you want to get it directly, 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, January 29
– President Trump unveiled his vision for Arab-Israeli peace. NYT says the Arab reaction was “muted.”
The only money figure I noted was “$50 billion” in “investment” in Palestinian territories, presumably only from Muslim nations. The Netanyahu government plans to seize the moment by annexing territories the Trump plan would allow.
– CNAS has a new report on how to deal with China, commissioned by Congress. It tracks the proposals by CFR and others. There seems to be a consensus on using foreign and domestic policies to compete vigorously with PRC.
– In class we’ll talk a lot about organizational cultures. There’s a new SOCOM report recognizing a need for some changes in its culture.
– Jim Lewis of CSIS analyzes the impact of the UK decision to use some Huawei products.
-FT warns that India and China are both facing stagflation.
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. If you want to get it directly, 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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