China’s Nukes Use U.S. Technology
By Bill Gertz, The Washington Times: “Pentagon says growing stockpile built through legal, illegal means.”
Kori Schake | War on the Rocks
Americans’ respect for their military is plummeting. Kori Schake argues that if America wants to retain a military that brings all parts of the citizenry together into an effective fighting force, it should better insulate the military from being a pawn in political disputes. This will require more discipline from military leaders and greater recognition by politicians of the damage they are doing to US national security by castigating the professionalism and nonpartisan commitment of America’s armed forces. Military leaders should stick to the core functions of the profession and master saying, “That’s a more appropriate question for the secretary of defense.” Politicians should stop hiding behind uniforms when enacting unpopular policies. Politicizing the military will make it weaker—not stronger. Learn more here. >>
The fast-growing business of the synthetic drug fentanyl, largely controlled by Mexican drug-trafficking organisations, is drawing international attention to the Americas.
Addressing geopolitical drivers and security spillovers, The Armed Conflict Survey 2022 provides an assessment of the fentanyl emergency and what it is likely to mean for US counter-narcotics as the opioid crisis in North America worsens.
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Katherine Zimmerman | Hill
The House Committee on Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Middle East, North Africa, and Global Counterterrorism recently held a hearing on the situation in Yemen. Katherine Zimmerman argues that while the hearing was valuable, Congress missed the opportunity to ask the right questions. Yemen’s location means the US has a permanent interest in ensuring that the situation does not threaten maritime security in the gulf, and the Biden administration has leaned heavily into diplomacy to help end Yemen’s war. Congress should have taken this opportunity to ask what leverage the US holds over the Houthis in negotiations, who is responsible for negotiating the release of US citizens, what actions the US can take to prevent human rights violations, and how USAID is balancing emergency aid to Yemen. Continue here. >>
Set amidst the context of an increasingly challenging global economic outlook and a more fraught security environment following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022, this paper discusses recent developments in military expenditure and the factors that must be considered in order to make accurate assessments and comparisons.
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In releasing three historic strategy documents in December, Japan announced that it will follow a new approach to national security in the coming years defined by higher defence spending, the acquisition of counterstrike missile capabilities and a push to overcome the civil-military divide that has long undermined its defence sector.
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AMAZON
@ElbridgeColby
By Marc Losito, RealClearDefense: “Milton Friedman, the late-Nobel laureate, used the analogy of "a fool in the shower" to describe the scalding consequence of policy overcorrection.”
By Micaela Burrow, Daily Caller: “The Department of Defense (DOD) doubled down on “woke” initiatives in 2022 amid rising criticism from experts and politicians that the focus on progressive issues could undercut military readiness.”
Insights for Multi-Domain Operations
By Nathan Jennings, AUSA: “The United States Army is embarking on a new era as it adopts Multi-Domain Operations (MDO) as its central warfighting concept.”
The world is always changing, but some changes are more important than others. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine will likely be remembered as the start of a new era in geoeconomics. The uncertainty and tit-for-tat measures kicked off an energy crisis. And the war renewed focus on the growing divide between the West and a nascent revisionist bloc led by China and Russia. It is difficult to see a path back to the status quo ante bellum, but several major trends that will define the next decade have become clear. They include deglobalization, stagflation and the bursting of the tech bubble.
What Does That Tell Us About Its Nuclear Posture?
By Loren Thompson, Forbes: "Russia’s military performance in Ukraine has proven to be, in the words of the Economist’s year-end edition, “spectacularly incompetent.”"
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