White House, Pentagon Remain In Dark Over Syria Withdrawal

White House, Pentagon Remain In Dark Over Syria Withdrawal
White House, Pentagon Remain In Dark Over Syria Withdrawal

Republican Senators erupted in outrage, and there are some indications that Turkey pushed Trump to withdraw support from its traditional foes, the Kurds. The British government issued an equivocal statement, while the Kremlin applauded the move.

Adam Smith: Doubts $750B Budget, Praises Army, Downplays Yemen War Powers Bill

Adam Smith: Doubts $750B Budget, Praises Army, Downplays Yemen War Powers Bill
Adam Smith: Doubts $750B Budget, Praises Army, Downplays Yemen War Powers Bill

WASHINGTON: The presumptive House Armed Services chairman, Adam Smith outlined his agenda for reporters this morning in a wide-ranging discussion laced with his trademark tactical snark. While many of his stances were unsurprising — he wants equal treatment for transgender troops, less spending on new nuclear ICBMs, and zero border-wall funding carved out of the…

The US & China: A Colder Peace or Thucydides’ Trap?

The US & China: A Colder Peace or Thucydides’ Trap?
The US & China: A Colder Peace or Thucydides’ Trap?

As President Trump pushes Beijing on trade and cyber espionage, the United States and China are on a collision course. The U.S. urgently needs a new strategy to avoid the traditional fate of rising and status quo powers: catastrophic war.

New Second Fleet To Stay Lean, Unpredictable, Commander Says; & Watching China

New Second Fleet To Stay Lean, Unpredictable, Commander Says; & Watching China
New Second Fleet To Stay Lean, Unpredictable, Commander Says; & Watching China

The Arctic will become increasingly crowded in the coming years, and the US Navy’s Second Fleet is making it a priority to get up there more often.

Beyond INF: Countering Russia, Countering China (Analysis)

Beyond INF: Countering Russia, Countering China (Analysis)
Beyond INF: Countering Russia, Countering China (Analysis)

“Long-range precision fires… would provide us the capability (to) either, for example, support the Air Force by suppressing enemy air defenses at hundreds upon hundreds of miles or support the Navy by engaging enemy surface ships at great distances as well,” said Army Secretary Mark Esper. But those examples are two distinctly different missions, each most relevant to a different theater of war.

Beyond INF: A Democratic House & A New Era Of War (Analysis)

Beyond INF: A Democratic House & A New Era Of War (Analysis)
Beyond INF: A Democratic House & A New Era Of War (Analysis)

INF proponents emphasize the risk of nuclear weapons. But, despite its name, the treaty bans a wide range of conventional weapons as well — and it’s non-nuclear, precision-guided missiles that have changed how war is actually waged.

No, Trump Has Not Started a Nuclear Arms Race With INF Pullout

No, Trump Has Not Started a Nuclear Arms Race With INF Pullout
No, Trump Has Not Started a Nuclear Arms Race With INF Pullout

Russian President Vladimir Putin warned the United States a new arms race would provoke a “quick and effective” Russian response and threatened NATO’s members. Democrat leaders in the U.S. House of Representatives predict an increased risk of “an unconstrained nuclear arms race.” Is it true? Has President Trump fired the first shot in a Cold…

Joint Experiments Will Pick Budget Winners & Losers: Dunford

Joint Experiments Will Pick Budget Winners & Losers: Dunford
Joint Experiments Will Pick Budget Winners & Losers: Dunford

ARLINGTON: To cut $33 billion from the 2020 budget – as President Trump has ordered – and still compete against Russia and China, the Pentagon’s political and joint leadership must take a firmer hand with the four armed services, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs said this afternoon. [Read how a Tea Party congressman turned…

Army Unveils Multi-Domain Concept; Joined At Hip With Air Force

Army Unveils Multi-Domain Concept; Joined At Hip With Air Force
Army Unveils Multi-Domain Concept; Joined At Hip With Air Force

Just as AirLand Battle was aimed straight at the former Soviet Union, with its massed mechanized armies, Multi-Domain Operations is aimed straight at Vladimir Putin’s Russia, with its long-range missiles, electronic/cyber warfare expertise, and Little Green Men.

Trump’s Industrial Base Report Blames China, Sequestration

Trump’s Industrial Base Report Blames China, Sequestration
Trump’s Industrial Base Report Blames China, Sequestration

Congress and China have emerged as the primary culprits for the weakening the US defense industrial base. Those are the most striking findings of a new White House report that takes a deep-dive into the state of defense manufacturing in the United States, sounding alarm bells over the decline in capability and the rise of China’s industrial might.

Show Me The Money: What’s Missing From The National Defense Strategy

Show Me The Money: What’s Missing From The National Defense Strategy
Show Me The Money: What’s Missing From The National Defense Strategy

The Trump Administration’s 2018 National Defense Strategy was remarkable for its candor in identifying China and Russia as America’s chief “strategic competitors.” But unlike earlier, relatively anodyne strategy documents from the Obama Administration, the 2018 strategy didn’t specify the forces required, let alone how much they might cost — at least, not in the unclassified…

Aid To Israel Isn’t Foreign Aid; It’s An Investment

Aid To Israel Isn’t Foreign Aid; It’s An Investment
Aid To Israel Isn’t Foreign Aid; It’s An Investment

Israel faces increasingly tight restrictions on its Foreign Military Financing from the U.S., as Breaking D readers know. In the past, when the US provided Israeli with grants under the Foreign Military Financing (FMF) program, Israel could convert 25 percent of the aid from dollars into shekels to buy Israeli products and support local R&D. The…

Counterterror Costs Since 911: $2.8 TRILLION And Climbing

Counterterror Costs Since 911: $2.8 TRILLION And Climbing
Counterterror Costs Since 911: $2.8 TRILLION And Climbing

WASHINGTON: After a small group of forlorn men huddled in the middle of Afghanistan succeeded in their plan to strike the World Trade Center towers and the Pentagon, America declared a global war against them. That war has sucked almost $3 trillion dollars from the US, according to a study by the respected Stimson Center…

China ‘Likely’ Training Bomber Pilots To Hit US, Allied Targets

China ‘Likely’ Training Bomber Pilots To Hit US, Allied Targets
China ‘Likely’ Training Bomber Pilots To Hit US, Allied Targets

Flying out past the first island chain, China’s air force is undergoing “the most comprehensive restructure in its history to become a force capable of conducting complex joint operations,” according to a new Pentagon report.