Today In Issues:
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Russia ramps up Ukraine attacks in effort to seize strategically key port city Biden will seek to end normal trade relations between U.S. and Russia WaPo Editorial: Striking hospitals is vile. For Russia, it’s standard operating procedure. Iran nuclear talks halted in Vienna with window closing on deal U.S. has no intention of offering Russia anything new on sanctions to reach Iran nuclear deal WaPo’s David Ignatius: Israel offers to host peace talks between Russia and Ukraine Time to lift 'unjust' sanctions on Turkey's defence industry, Erdogan tells Biden JPost’s Seth J. Frantzman: Can Turkey end its anti-Israel antics after Herzog visit? ISIS names a new leader, but says little about him North Korea tested components of new ICBM in February, March launches, U.S. officials say U.S. battles Russia and China on Ukraine war disinformation WaPo’s Josh Rogin: Xi Jinping is Vladimir Putin’s co-conspirator in UkraineIn The News
Russia
Moscow launched a fresh assault on the besieged southern Ukrainian city of Mariupol on Thursday, a day after one of its planes bombed a maternity hospital, illustrating how Russia is ramping up a violent push to take strategic towns, at a high cost for civilians. – Wall Street Journal
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is raising questions over whether President Vladimir Putin or his commanders will be charged with war crimes. It is a complex legal issue, compounded in part by the fact that Russia, along with the U.S. and China, isn’t a party to the International Criminal Court, which usually hears war-crime cases at its headquarters in the Netherlands. – Wall Street Journal
The U.S.-led effort to expel Russia from international commerce marks another fracture in the free-trade vision that guided American policy for nearly 30 years, signaling a future where nations and companies shift away from trading with adversaries and focus more on like-minded partners. – Wall Street Journal
President Biden on Friday is set to call on Congress to end normal trade relations between the United States and Russia, opening the door for the administration to impose new tariffs in response to the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine. – Washington Post
Two weeks after Russian forces streamed into neighboring Ukraine following months of buildup, evidence is mounting that the invasion has not gone to plan — and that Russia’s much-vaunted military may not be the formidable force once feared. – Washington Post
Fears are mounting that the catastrophe unfolding in the besieged Ukrainian city of Mariupol — where Russian forces have struck a hospital and other civilian infrastructure — could be a sign of things to come in Chernihiv. – Washington Post
Russia’s invasion of one of the world’s leading breadbaskets — Ukraine — is deepening the worst surge in global food prices since the Great Recession, raising the specter that Moscow’s war could spark crisis-level hikes, inflame the scourge of world hunger and spark political turmoil far from the conflict zone. – Washington Post
The United States, together with the Group of Seven nations and the European Union, will move on Friday to revoke Russia’s “most favored nation” status over its invasion of Ukraine, multiple people familiar with the situation told Reuters. – Reuters
Russian strikes hit near airports Friday in the western Ukrainian cities of Ivano-Frankiivsk and Lutsk, far from Russia’s main offensive, possibly indicating a new direction in the war. – Associated Press
The campaign to starve Russia of technology — stripping the nation of everything from iPhones and Airbnb listings to defense electronics — is an unprecedented experiment that risks pushing Vladimir Putin further into China’s orbit. – Bloomberg
Russia’s government moved closer to seizing and even nationalizing foreign-owned companies that are leaving the market over the invasion of Ukraine while planning measures to coax others into staying. – Bloomberg
More than half of Ukraine’s economy has shut down and infrastructure assets worth $100bn have been destroyed since Russia launched its invasion of the country, according to the chief economic adviser to President Volodymyr Zelensky. – Financial Times
Russia rebuffed Ukraine’s proposals for a temporary ceasefire and humanitarian aid for the besieged city of Mariupol at high-level talks that made little progress on Thursday. – Financial Times
For more than two decades, U.S. military leaders have argued that a combination of stealth aircraft and missiles, combined with invisible electronic weapons, would be needed to defeat Russia’s sophisticated air defenses. But two weeks into Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, Russian forces still don’t have control of the skies, allowing decades-old, non-stealthy, Ukrainian Air Force MiG and Sukhoi fighter jets to keep flying. – Defense One
Editorial: In short, the past was prologue. And in all likelihood, there is even more destruction in store for Ukraine’s civilian population. Having failed to conquer the country swiftly, because of Ukrainian resistance and his own forces’ incompetence, Mr. Putin seems to have switched to a militarily primitive Plan B: blasting Ukraine into submission with rockets, shells and bombs. – Washington Post
Editorial: For now, Ukrainians have shown they are very ready to continue fighting for their sovereignty. If Putin is serious at all about being open to a negotiated solution, he should first agree on a ceasefire and halt his current onslaught. – Financial Times
Fareed Zakaria writes: But for the West to become newly united and powerful, there is one essential condition: It must succeed in Ukraine. That is why the urgent necessity of the moment is to do what it takes — bearing costs and risks — to ensure that Putin does not prevail. – Washington Post
David Brooks writes: Putin brought this humiliation on himself and on his country. Speaking as one who deeply admires so much in Russian culture, I think it is a great crime that a nation with so many paths to dignity and greatness chose the path that leads so viciously to degradation. – New York Times
Jan Kallberg writes: The threats of harsh punishments and insinuating death sentences to deter foreign volunteers from joining the Ukrainian armed forces is a way to intercept the flow of volunteers — and yet, in many ways, it is already too late for Russia. If it carries out its threats and treats foreign volunteers as criminals, Western public opinion may simply become more enraged, seeing the victims as martyrs to their cause. – Center for European Policy Analysis
Jane Vaynman and Tristan A. Volpe write: The policy focus thus far has rightly been on making the war costly for Russia in economic and military terms. Going forward, any transition to compellence will require greater attention to the tension between inflicting necessary damage on Moscow while ultimately promising to stop the punishment once Putin complies with Ukrainian and Western demands. There are good reasons to keep these preparations private. But Western leaders should anticipate the friction points likely to emerge from the coercive tactics on vivid display now, especially if war termination does ultimately require the Ukrainians to strike a grim bargain with Moscow. – War on the Rocks
Iran
Iran and the United States were at loggerheads over reviving the 2015 nuclear deal on Thursday after Tehran suggested there were new obstacles and Washington said hard issues remained. – Reuters
The U.S. has quietly seized the cargo of two tankers suspected of transporting Iranian oil as part of an elaborate sanctions-busting scheme involving forged documents and the repainting of a ship’s deck to cloak illegal shipments. – Associated Press
The U.S. State Department on Thursday said Washington has no intention of offering Russia anything new or specific as it relates to sanctions on Moscow in talks to reach a nuclear deal with Iran. – Reuters
World powers and Iran suspended their efforts to revive the 2015 nuclear accord, reigniting a crisis that’s set to roil already surging oil markets and could plunge the energy-exporting Persian Gulf into a new cycle of violence. – Bloomberg
Iran’s Fars News, which is a pro-government media outlet linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, ran a long article bashing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and using antisemitic tropes. – Jerusalem Post
A bipartisan group of House members, including 12 Democrats, sent a letter, obtained by Jewish Insider, to President Joe Biden on Thursday indicating plans to oppose the forthcoming Iran nuclear agreement and expressing their concerns about some of the publicly reported provisions. They’re joined by a few other House Democrats who expressed similar concerns about the deal to JI. – Jewish Insider
Sacha Roytman Dratwa writes: Even today, while the P5+1 meets in Vienna to hammer out the contours of a return to the JCPOA, the violent and genocidal rhetoric is not a matter for debate. Iran’s constant arming of the enemies of Israel, the West and its allies, whether of the Houthis in Yemen, Shi’ite terrorist groups in Iraq or Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Islamic Republic’s lust for chaos, violence and bloodshed is almost a sideshow in the negotiations. Unfortunately, for Israel, this is what matters. – Jerusalem Post
Hamidreza Azizi and Nicole Grajewski write: Russian obstruction of the Vienna talks would thus incite huge public backlash and criticism of Ebrahim Raisi’s emphasis on ties with Russia. Besides, the Iranian leadership seems to be more interested now in reviving the JCPOA, as the increasing oil prices contribute to the recovery of the country’s sanctions-hit economy. But given all the complexities associated with Moscow’s role as a party to the JCPOA, the only viable option for Iran to circumvent Russia and to achieve sanctions removal would be to pursue bilateral talks with the United States—something Tehran has so far refused to do. – The National Interest
Israel
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy will address Israel’s parliament about the Russian invasion of his country and has asked to deliver remarks by video to its main Holocaust memorial in Jerusalem, officials said on Thursday. – Reuters
Israel’s parliament has renewed a temporary law dating back to 2003 that bars Israeli citizens from extending citizenship or even residency to Palestinian spouses from the occupied West Bank and Gaza. – Associated Press
Israel is proceeding cautiously with Turkey, President Isaac Herzog said on Thursday, but is hopeful that his meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is starting a positive process toward improved relations. – Jerusalem Post
The Palestinian Authority does not believe that President Isaac Herzog’s visit to Turkey will affect its strong relations with Ankara, a Palestinian official said on Thursday. – Jerusalem Post
An Israeli military court on Thursday sentenced a French-Palestinian lawyer to four months in jail without charge or trial, saying he poses a threat to security. – Times of Israel
According to the report, the EU’s appeal to Israel comes amid a shortage of natural gas that could be generated in Europe as a result of the embargo and a boycott of Russia’s energy resources. European officials hope that Israeli gas exports will help overcome at least some of the shortages. – Arutz Sheva
David Ignatius writes: The reciprocal concessions Bennett has helped broker might seem small, but they open a window for broader diplomacy. The biggest problem is that such a realpolitik deal might offend global public opinion, which sees Putin as a brutal aggressor whose bombardment of civilians could constitute war crimes, while Zelensky is seen as an uncompromising hero. Some allies also worry that any agreement that rewards Putin’s aggression will only encourage future such behavior. – Washington Post
Vivian Bercovici writes: Israel has no margin for error, understanding well that no one will run to its aid should Iran or Hizballah attack its civilians. And as the Russian bear rages, the Iranians are humiliating the West in the latest round of nuclear negotiations in Vienna. – Commentary
Michael Harari writes: This means that the two governments of Israel and Cyprus must look at these developments as further accelerating and emphasizing the need to settle the dispute over the field, and to promote its commercial exploitation. The failure of negotiations between the companies last year can and should allow lessons to be learned for the Energy Ministry in preparation for its possible renewal, so that the compensation correctly expresses Israel’s rights in the reservoir. – Jerusalem Post
Mark Regev writes: Today’s Jerusalem-Berlin partnership demonstrates how, while preserving historical memory, it is nonetheless possible to transcend the harshest of enmities and build tangible avenues of cooperation. Surely there is an important lesson here for all humanity. – Jerusalem Post
Turkey
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan told U.S. President Joe Biden in a phone call on Thursday that it was past time to lift all “unjust” sanctions on Turkey’s defence industry. – Reuters
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan told U.S. President Joe Biden on Thursday it was important for Ankara to maintain dialogue with both Ukraine and Russia to prevent their conflict from worsening. – Reuters
President Tayyip Erdogan’s wager that Turkey could ride out an inflation and currency shock with low rates and reserves has all but collapsed, after the fallout from the war in Ukraine left the economy uniquely vulnerable to soaring energy prices. – Reuters
Turkey has agreed to return to Israel an ancient inscription from Jerusalem, currently housed in the Istanbul Archaeology Museum, an Israeli official told Zman Yisrael, The Times of Israel’s Hebrew sister site. It is considered one of the most important ancient Hebrew inscriptions in existence. – Times of Israel
Seth J. Frantzman writes: Media headlines in Ankara will also tell. It wasn’t long ago that Ankara’s pro-government media was spreading conspiracies about the number of Jewish members of Biden’s cabinet, or pushing antisemitic conspiracies that date from the early 20th century. Can Ankara end the addiction to anti-Israel and anti-Jewish rhetoric? For now the symbols of reconciliation have been unfurled. But it’s a matter of making them a reality. Ten years of sour relations are still in the air. – Jerusalem Post
Ruthie Blum writes: Given the current climate, the fanfare in Israel surrounding President Isaac Herzog’s historic trip to Turkey on Wednesday is both disconcerting and puzzling. […]But it might not stop him or Israel’s actual political leaders from coming down with amnesia and imagining that the Turkish despot who fiercely opposed the Abraham Accords is now gushing to become a full partner in the genuinely historic normalization treaties. – Jerusalem Post
David M. Weinberg writes: Israel knows why Erdogan is all of a sudden seeking photo-ops with the Israeli president (and, one assumes, with Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Foreign Minister Yair Lapid, sometime soon, too). It is because Turkey is in the dumps internationally, with the Biden administration and global business leaders shunning Turkey. The Turkish economy is in big trouble. Herzog specifically, and Israel more broadly, is Erdogan’s teudat hechsher, his koshering certificate, his badge of renewed respectability. – Jerusalem Post
Arabian Peninsula
A refinery in Saudi Arabia’s capital, Riyadh, was attacked by a drone on Thursday morning but petroleum supplies were not affected, Saudi state news agency SPA reported early on Friday. – Reuters
Saudi Arabia and the United States mounted a joint operation in January to rescue two young American women who were held captive by the Iran-backed Houthi movement in the Yemeni capital of Sanaa, a source with knowledge of the matter said on Thursday. – Reuters
U.S. President Joe Biden on Thursday designated Qatar as a major non-NATO ally of the United States, fulfilling the promise that he had made to Qatar earlier this year, the White House said. – Reuters
IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Aviv Kohavi visited the US Navy’s 5th fleet on Thursday, during his first trip to Bahrain. – Jerusalem Post
Middle East & North Africa
The Islamic State on Thursday announced that it has a new leader, but provided little information on the true identity or background of the man who will now oversee the global terrorist organization. – New York Times
The Senate on Thursday beat back an effort to cancel a $2 billion deal to sell military cargo planes to Egypt over the country’s human rights record. – Politico
Foreign Minister Yair Lapid met with Jordan’s King Abdullah in Amman on Thursday, amid volatility in Jerusalem and the West Bank. – Jerusalem Post
Korean Peninsula
Two recent North Korean missile launches tested components of a new intercontinental missile system that if fully developed could hit the U.S. or its allies, officials said. – Wall Street Journal
South Korea’s nuclear power industry is at an inflection point after Yoon Suk-yeol triumphed in the nation’s presidential vote this week, as a platform pledge to revive the fortunes of a once-dominant sector faces stiff business hurdles. – Reuters
North Korea has been using satellite subterfuge to test parts of a so-called “monster” missile, analysts say, as it gears up for a sanctions-shattering launch ahead of a key domestic anniversary. – Agence France-Presse
The top commander in Korea saw encouraging signs for the with U.S. alliance with the election of conservative candidate Yoon Suk-yeol as the nation’s president in the most hotly contested race in Seoul’s history as a democracy. – USNI News
Henry Olsen writes: Together, these developments will place South Korea even more firmly within the U.S.-led Western alliance than it was previously. If Yoon is successful during his five-year term, he will have created “facts on the ground” that would be difficult for a liberal successor to unravel. […]The U.S. bipartisan policy of containing China will force South Korea to choose to be in or out of that alliance. Yoon’s election makes it harder and more painful for Seoul to choose to stay out. – Washington Post
China
One of Russia’s most incendiary disinformation campaigns ramped up days ago, when its defense and foreign ministries issued statements falsely claiming that the Pentagon was financing biological weapons labs in Ukraine. – New York Times
When the United States and its allies declared a financial war on Russia after its invasion of Ukraine, the world turned to see what China would do. – New York Times
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has drawn parallels with Taiwan, a global flashpoint far to the east with the potential for an even more destructive conflict. – Wall Street Journal
Chinese leader Xi Jinping is considering putting a confidant he has known for decades in charge of the country’s economic and financial systems, an appointment that would ensure his control over an ambitious effort to remold the world’s second-largest economy. – Wall Street Journal
China’s Premier Li Keqiang on Friday called the situation in Ukraine “grave” and offered Beijing’s help in playing a “positive role” for peace while continuing to refuse to criticize Russia. – Associated Press
Chinese President Xi Jinping said South Korea is a close neighbour and important partner in a congratulatory letter to South Korea’s President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol, Yonhap news agency reported on Friday. – Reuters
China’s censors, who quietly determine what can be discussed on the country’s buzzing social media platforms, are silencing views of citizens protesting against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. – Reuters
China’s Premier Li Keqiang on Friday urged more cooperation between China and the United States to tackle global challenges while properly managing their differences. – Reuters
Washington is focused on Chinese President Xi Jinping as President Biden grapples with Russian President Vladimir Putin’s violent military campaign against Ukraine. – The Hill
Josh Rogin writes: Given Putin’s Ukraine invasion, the idea the West could work with Russia against China is now being rightfully discarded as nonsense. The notion of working with China against Russia is equally naive. We can’t split the Russia-China team, so we will just have to work harder to stop them both. – Washington Post
Matthew P. Funaiole, Brian Hart and Joseph S. Bermudez Jr. write: This construction is just one part of China’s broader push to enhance its position and project power in hotly contested areas. Just under 25 kilometers to the west of the bridge, over two dozen Chinese and Indian troop positions zigzag along mountainous “fingers” that jut out into Pangong Lake near the LAC. Further afield, China is undertaking sweeping efforts to shore up its military power at several key points along the LAC, stretching from western Xinjiang to eastern Tibet. – Center for Strategic and International Studies
Asia
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and South Korean president-elect Yoon Suk-yeol said they had agreed on Friday to ramp up three-way ties with the United States in responding to North Korea’s evolving military threat. – Reuters
Russian, Ukrainian and Belarussian weapons makers will not take part in Malaysia’s biennial arms show Defence Services Asia (DSA) this month amid the war in Ukraine, the fair’s organiser said on Friday. – Reuters
Pakistan’s air force officially inducted its first batch of Chinese-built J-10C fighter jets on Friday, holding a ceremony with officials from both sides in Islamabad. – Associated Press
An Islamic State (IS) suicide bomber who killed 64 people at a Shi’ite mosque in northwest Pakistan last week was an Afghan exile who returned home to train for the attack, police said on March 9. – Agence France-Presse
Pakistan’s military has said an unidentified surface-to-surface missile from India violated its airspace this week in the eastern province of Punjab but caused no casualties, the latest flare-up between the two often-hostile neighbors. – Bloomberg
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has spurred some of Washington’s closest allies in Asia to harden their stance against China and bolstered voices in Japan’s ruling party who argue the country should consider hosting US nuclear weapons. – Financial Times
Europe
The highest oil prices since the 2008 financial crisis are dealing a heavy blow to the global economy, slowing Europe’s pandemic recovery to a near stall and complicating the fight against inflation in the United States. – Washington Post
More than 40 Republican U.S. senators on Thursday called for President Biden to aid “the transfer of aircraft and air defense systems” to Ukraine after officials quashed Poland’s offer to send fighter jets with American help. – Washington Post
The White House and Congress are rushing to enact an emergency foreign-aid package to stabilize Ukraine’s besieged economy, a dramatic bipartisan effort that reflects the economic challenges facing the country following its invasion by Russia. – Washington Post
European leaders met Thursday in Versailles, outside Paris, for a summit shadowed by war, promising support for Ukraine as it tries to repel Russia’s invasion but dimming the country’s hope of quickly joining the bloc. – Washington Post
The British government ratcheted up pressure on Kremlin-linked businesspeople, sanctioning a handful of Russian oligarchs, including Roman Abramovich, the billionaire owner of British soccer club Chelsea FC. – Wall Street Journal
The European Union should consider emergency measures in the coming weeks that could include temporary limits on electricity prices, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told leaders at an EU summit in Versailles on Thursday. – Wall Street Journal
The U.N. Security Council scheduled a meeting Friday at Russia’s request to discuss what Moscow claims are “the military biological activities of the U.S. on the territory of Ukraine,” allegations vehemently denied by Ukraine’s leader and the Biden administration. – Associated Press
The European Union will not impose sanctions on Russian gas or oil, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said in a video posted on his Facebook page on Friday, amid a summit of EU leaders in France. – Reuters
British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said Thursday that the U.K. is “very concerned” that Russian President Vladimir Putin may potentially order the use of chemical weapons in Ukraine. – The Hill
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday morning insisted that no chemical weapons or other weapons of mass destruction were developed in his country. – Arutz Sheva
Peggy Nooman writes: We must do what we can without sparks flying, and Lord knows we should be talking to Russia about Ukraine’s 15 nuclear reactors. It’s not only a matter of “don’t hit them,” it is that human beings have to work there to keep them safely operating—showing up each day during a war, sustaining their professionalism, not being unnerved and making mistakes while they’re being shelled. – Wall Street Journal
Joseph C. Sternberg writes: And what a prize if it works. If Mr. Scholz succeeds, Germany will achieve the kind of European and global leadership Ms. Merkel could only pretend at. This will transform Europe. A renewed, realistic Germany ready to take its proper place in its neighborhood could re-anchor NATO, eliminate German shirking as a major irritant in Europe’s relationship with the U.S., and pave the way for the sort of strategic independence European leaders have only dreamt of before now. – Wall Street Journal
Jeffrey S. Merrifield writes: The timing is telling. In November 2021, Ukraine’s leaders signed a deal with Westinghouse to start construction on what they hoped would be at least five nuclear units—the first tranche of a program that could more than double the number of plants in the country, with a potential total value approaching $100 billion. Ukraine clearly intended that Russia receive none of that business. – Wall Street Journal
John F. Harris writes: Even the most interventionist voices are not urging the United States or NATO countries to directly join the war to save Ukraine. But, in what now promises to be a long and costly conflict in a multitude of ways, it’s becoming impossible to avoid the Zelenskyy test: What are you willing to sacrifice in the name of your ideals? – Politico
Naureen C. Fink and Colin P. Clarke write: It is still early days since Russia’s assault on Ukraine, but already the number of interested volunteers to support Ukraine is significant and it only takes a few days for individuals to mobilize to travel. If predictions of a long and brutal battle are correct, the outflow may continue to expand and evolve. States need to start thinking now about the needs and risks to them and their citizens before they’re blindsided. – Politico
Stephen Biddle writes: Such aid alone is unlikely to be decisive in swaying the war in Ukraine’s favor, and it will incur an inherent risk of escalation. But it represents a way to give Ukraine a fighting chance while limiting the risk of a direct confrontation between the United States and Russia. – Foreign Affairs
Africa
An “inadequate focus on potential threats,” “complacent leadership” and “poor oversight” all were contributing factors in the January 2020 attack by fighters linked to al-Qaeda that left three Americans dead at a base in Kenya, according to U.S. military investigators, but it remains unclear what disciplinary action the “negligent” parties may face. – Washington Post
The American military is asking President Biden to station several hundred commandos in Somalia to help blunt the spread of al Qaeda’s aggressive local affiliate, al-Shabaab, according to U.S. officials. – Wall Street Journal
Africa’s economic outlook is particularly vulnerable to higher food and fuel prices prompted by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, as well as to reduced tourism revenues and diminished access to financial services. – Reuters
The Americas
President Joe Biden said Thursday that he intends to designate Colombia as a major non-NATO ally, a step that will provide the Latin American nation with benefits in the areas of defense, trade and security cooperation. – Associated Press
Mexico pilloried EU lawmakers on Thursday after the European Parliament passed a resolution urging President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador to tone down his broadsides against the media in a country that has seen a slew of killings of journalists. – Reuters
Six South American nations are proposing the exclusion of fertilizer from sanctions on Russia, a major world producer whose invasion of Ukraine has disrupted supplies, Brazil’s Agriculture Minister Tereza Cristina Dias said on Thursday. – Reuters
Lawmakers in Argentina on Friday approved a deal with the International Monetary Fund to restructure a ruinous $45 billion debt ahead of a vote in the upper house. – Agence France-Presse
United States
The U.S. Justice Department acknowledged on Thursday it would miss a deadline set by President Joe Biden’s executive order to review and release documents from the FBI investigation of the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, which killed nearly 3,000 people. – Reuters
Matthew Hennessey writes: This, on the other hand, is abject cowardice—at best. The conflict hypothesized by the Quinnipiac pollsters wasn’t a war for oil or empire. Poll respondents were asked to envision a foreign invader on their own front porch. Imagine Vladimir Putin has sent his shock troops to level your hometown, to occupy your high school and drop a missile on the hospital where you were born. If you won’t fight for hearth and home, what would you fight for? – Wall Street Journal
John D. Maurer writes: Putin’s unprovoked attack on Ukraine and his outrageous nuclear threats have done the United States a great favor. Putin has thrown into sharp relief the tremendous threat to international security in the early 21st century posed by the aggressive and volent designs of authoritarian regimes. International security will depend first and foremost on deterring these hostile actors in partnership with our allies. Policies aimed at improving crisis stability that weaken deterrence will therefore be self-defeating, achieving neither stability nor security. – War on the Rocks
Cybersecurity
Meta Platforms (FB.O) will allow Facebook and Instagram users in some countries to call for violence against Russians and Russian soldiers in the context of the Ukraine invasion, according to internal emails seen by Reuters on Thursday, in a temporary change to its hate speech policy. – Reuters
China has experienced continuous cyberattacks since February in which internet addresses in the United States have been used to seize control of Chinese computers to target Belarus, Russia and Ukraine, state news agency Xinhua said on Friday. – Reuters
China’s increasing progress toward producing enough semiconductor chips domestically to avoid relying on foreign trade is a “very timely question” and one of “great concern for us in terms of broader impacts,” U.S. Cyber Command and National Security Agency head Gen. Paul Nakasone told House Intelligence Committee members this week. – CyberScoop
A Canadian man arrested in January 2021 for his role in the NetWalker ransomware attacks was extradited to the U.S. and made his first court appearance Thursday, the Department of Justice announced. – CyberScoop
Defense
A fiscal year 2022 funding package making its way through Congress includes millions of dollars more than requested for the Advanced Battle Management System, the U.S. Air Force’s contribution to the Pentagon’s communications-and-networks overhaul. – Defense News
The U.S. Missile Defense Agency successfully launched the most advanced version of the Patriot missile from a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system in a Feb. 24 test at White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico, Lockheed Martin told Defense News. – Defense News
The senior enlisted sailor at U.S. Indo-Pacific Command has been selected to be the Navy’s 16th Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy (MCPON), the service announced on Thursday. – USNI News