Today In Issues:
FDD Research & Analysis
The Must-Reads
With Iran and U.S. at loggerheads over deal, U.N. nuclear agency chief warns inspections should not be used as a ‘bargaining chip’ WSJ’s Walter Russell Mead: Biden’s Iran problem Heritage’s Peter Brookes: Don’t forget about Iran’s missile program Pentagon: U.S. strike on Syrian compound killed one fighter, wounded two more Hudson's Robert Greenway: President Biden should expand on the Abraham Accords, not abandon them Inside the Biden team’s deliberations over punishing the Saudi crown prince 170 U.S. lawmakers urge Biden administration to push Turkey on rights U.S. to take hard line on Chinese trade practices, administration says Hong Kong bail hearings in national security case sound alarm for city’s courts New US envoy urges ramped up pressure on Myanmar military WINEP’s Anna Borshchevskaya: How Russia is responding to Joe Biden’s Syria airstrike US announces $125 million defense aid package for UkraineIn The News
Iran
The head of the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog agency on Monday urged that inspections not be used as a “bargaining chip” as Iran, the United States and other nations lock horns over how to revive their beleaguered nuclear deal. – Washington Post
A temporary agreement with Iran to allow United Nations inspectors continued access to the country’s atomic facilities is less comprehensive than before, but lays the groundwork for the return to full verification measures if and when Tehran allows it, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency said Monday. – Associated Press
Britain, France and Germany are pressing ahead with a U.S.-backed plan for a resolution by the U.N. nuclear watchdog’s board criticising Iran for curbing cooperation with the agency, despite Russian and Iranian warnings of serious consequences. – Reuters
Iranian lawmakers on Monday visited an impoverished southeastern province that has been roiled by recent unrest, state-run media reported, the government’s most visible step yet to address rising popular resentment in the region. – Associated Press
US President Joe Biden took office with promises of a return to diplomacy with Iran, but both sides’ determination not to look weak has jeopardized prospects of a quick breakthrough. – Agence France-Presse
Ali-Akbar Salehi, Head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (IAEO) said that “if the need arises,” as Supreme Leader Khamenei put it, Iran is capable of increasing uranium enrichment to 60% within 24 hours. – Middle East Media Research Institute
Iran’s government spokesperson Ali Rabiee gave a long and rambling response to a series of questions on Tuesday address everything from the nuclear deal to an Israeli ship that was reportedly targeted by Iran, to Iran seeking a 25-year agreement with China. – Jerusalem Post
The Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) plans to install new generations of IR2M and IR6 centrifuges at the Fordow and Natanz nuclear facilities, the Xinhua news agency reported on Sunday. – Arutz Sheva
Iran strongly rejects Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s claim that Tehran was behind a blast aboard an Israeli-owned ship in the Gulf of Oman last week, an Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman said in a televised news conference on Monday. – Associated Press
Reps. Anthony Brown (D-MD) and Michael Waltz (R-FL) are collecting signatures from House members in both parties on a letter that suggests a framework for the Biden administration to approach potential negotiations with Iran. – Jewish Insider
Walter Russell Mead writes: Knowing that the Biden administration has no appetite for another American war in the Middle East, Tehran seems convinced that Washington’s only two real choices are the nuclear deal on Iranian terms, or an Iranian bomb. If the resulting tensions damage Washington’s relations with either Europe or Middle East allies, so much the better. This is the principal danger to the Biden administration’s so-far successful attempts to travel its own course between the Trump and Obama policies. The question going forward is whether the administration can impose its vision on Iran while keeping European and Middle East allies onside. – Wall Street Journal
Peter Brookes writes: Stopping Iran from developing nuclear weapons is a clear national security imperative for the United States—and others. In order to prevent Tehran from developing weapon systems to deliver these same nuclear weapons—in the region or beyond—we must avoid making the dangerous mistake of returning to the Iran nuclear deal as currently constructed. – The Daily Signal
Syria
The Department of Defense has assessed that the U.S. military strike last week on a facility in Syria used by Iranian-backed militias led to the death of one fighter and wounded two others, in addition to destroying nine buildings. – Washington Post
Chemical munitions experts have for years compiled information that Syria’s government has used these banned weapons against its own people, a war crime that so far has gone unpunished and been dismissed with a sneer by President Bashar al-Assad. – New York Times
Tens of thousands of civilians in Syria were “arbitrarily detained” in enforced disappearances during the country’s 10-year conflict, a U.N. commission said in a report released Monday. The fate of many remains unknown to this day. – Associated Press
A U.S. strike in Syria last week killed one Iranian backed militia member and injured two others, the Pentagon said on Monday. – Reuters
Olivier Knox writes: Biden’s strikes on Iran-backed forces in Syria showed that the administration’s eagerness to get back into and expand the 2015 Iran nuclear deal doesn’t mean it’ll shy away from military action. […]A day after Biden took office, a group of Democrats sent him a letter asking for cooperation in reining in presidential war-making powers. They may have just received their answer. – Washington Post
Israel
Kosovo’s prime minister-designate has found himself in a difficult diplomatic position ahead of taking the post following his country’s diplomatic ties with Israel. – Associated Press
A group of nearly 2,000 Israeli generals, military officials, and Mossad operatives warned the Biden administration on Monday against rejoining the Iran nuclear deal, saying the effort “represents an existential threat to the Jewish State” and will “ignite a massive nuclear arms race” across Middle East. – Washington Free Beacon
In the months after the U.S. Treasury Department imposed sanctions on Israeli billionaire Dan Gertler, associates of his made cash deposits and withdrawals totaling over $40 million. – Haaretz
Khalida Jarrar, a senior member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), was sentenced on Monday to two years in prison after being held in an Israeli jail for more than a year without charges, the Israeli military said on Sunday. – Times of Israel
Israel, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain have discussed expanding cooperation in facing common enemies, an Israeli official familiar with the matter said Monday. – Jerusalem Post
Mossad chief Yossi Cohen and IDF Chief of Staff Aviv Kochavi clashed over what the response to the Iranian attack on a ship owned by an Israeli firm in the Gulf of Oman should look like. – Arutz Sheva
Four firebombs and a pipe bomb were thrown by terrorists at the western neighborhood of Beit El on Sunday evening. – Arutz Sheva
Mohamed Al Khaja and Eitan Na’eh write: Six months ago, an Emirati and Israeli diplomat were unlikely to be seen together, much less co-author a newspaper article. Opening up direct relations and embassies seemed even more farfetched. But here we are now, an Emirati ambassador in Israel and an Israeli head of mission in the UAE in public, together, writing in one voice. Conflict can last for generations, but peace can happen in an instant. With that diplomatic flash last summer, our nations and our people are now in a rush to make up for lost time. – National News
Mkhaimar Abusada writes: The Palestinian leadership can seize the opportunity of a friendly U.S. administration and the political developments from Hamas to move toward peace negotiations with Israel. A prisoner swap between Israel and Hamas will most likely be impossible until after Israel’s March elections, but such a move would pave the road for a stabilized ceasefire in what is currently a volatile political environment[…]. But such developments depend on the results of elections in both Israel and Palestine as well as the ability of the United States and the international community to bring both sides to the negotiating table. – Washington Institute
Kenneth Bandler writes: Direct negotiation between Israel and the PA remains the sound path to a sustainable, comprehensive peace. Whether Palestinian elections can help or hinder the resumption of talks will depend on the outcome – if the voting actually takes place – and ultimately on Abbas’s posture, or that of his successor. – Jerusalem Post
Robert Greenway writes: As President Biden begins his engagement with our closest allies and partners in the Middle East, there is an opportunity to build on the momentum of the Abraham Accords to advance U.S. interests and leverage the emerging bonds among our closest regional partners. American leadership was a necessary (though by itself insufficient) condition to the normalization of relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and will remain essential to building cooperative relationships between Israel and other formerly hostile powers. Biden should expand on this inheritance from the Trump administration, not try to move beyond it. – National Review
Saudi Arabia
Even before President Biden took office, his top advisers began examining how to make good on his campaign promise to treat Saudi Arabia as a “pariah” for the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi without destroying America’s long-standing relationship with the oil-rich monarchy. – Washington Post
A media advocacy group has filed a criminal complaint with a German prosecutor alleging that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and top aides committed crimes against humanity in the killing of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi. – Washington Post
Saudi Arabia’s U.N. ambassador on Monday disputed the U.S. intelligence report which concluded that the Saudi crown prince approved an operation to kill or capture dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi, saying in a tweet: “Let us all move forward to tackle the serious business of world issues!!” – Associated Press
The US wants to advance a wide-ranging agenda in its relationship with Saudi Arabia that includes brokering a peace deal between the Gulf power and Israel, but will only be able to do so if Riyadh improves its human rights record, officials said Monday. – Times of Israel
The United States is focused on Saudi Arabia’s “future conduct” after rejecting sanctions against Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for the 2018 killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, according to a State Department spokesman. “We are very focused on future conduct, and that is part of why we have cast this not as a rupture but a recalibration,” State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters on Monday. – Washington Examiner
Ben Samuels writes: The Biden administration’s actions are a moderate approach, according to Ulrichsen, consistent with its desire to take action in a way that doesn’t rupture the relationship. […]He says that even though the Saudi crown prince was not directly sanctioned, there will be a stain attached to him as long as Biden remains in office, and perhaps longer. – Haaretz
Middle East & North Africa
A United Nations appeal for aid to Yemen to alleviate the world’s worst humanitarian disaster raised some $1.7 billion Monday— a result the U.N. chief called “disappointing.” – Associated Press
One hundred seventy members of the U.S. House of Representatives signed a bipartisan letter sent to Secretary of State Antony Blinken urging President Joe Biden’s administration to address “troubling” human rights issues as it formulates policy for dealings with Turkey. – Reuters
The Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen, who released footage of their ballistic missiles targeted Saudi Arabia’s capital over the weekend, have warned Saudi Arabia against escalation in the western and northern frontlines of Yemen. They say they will strike at Saudi Arabia’s Aramco if Saudi Arabia or UAE “fighters or supporters” commit “aggression” in certain areas. – Jerusalem Post
Seth J. Frantzman writes: When it comes to economic influence though, Turkey’s first-world economy has transformed the Kurdish region, especially Dohuk and Erbil, and all Iran has to offer is what it offers in Iraq: sponging up resources and transferring them to Iran rather than local investment. The overall picture in Iraq between Iran and Turkey, whether one wants to see it as about the PKK or “Ottomans vs. Safavids” is far more multi-layered and complex than is widely acknowledged. – Jerusalem Post
China
China has charged ahead with a bold effort to remake the way that government-backed money works, rolling out its own digital currency with different qualities than cash or digital deposits. – New York Times
China’s lawmakers and government advisers are streaming into Beijing’s Great Hall of the People this week for some of the most important meetings on China’s political calendar. Traffic near Tiananmen Square gets rerouted, security agents blanket streets and subway stations in central Beijing, and wall-to-wall coverage floods the news. – Washington Post
The Biden administration said Monday it will use “all available tools” to respond to alleged unfair trading practices by Beijing as it conducts a comprehensive review of its trade policy with China. – Wall Street Journal
China’s vaccine diplomacy campaign has been a surprising success: It has pledged roughly half a billion doses of its vaccines to more than 45 countries, according to a country-by-country tally by The Associated Press. – Associated Press
World Health Organization investigators have downplayed a Chinese theory that coronavirus was brought to Wuhan through frozen food, underlining the charged geopolitics surrounding the roots of Covid-19. – Financial Times
Jamil Anderlini writes: Interference in the private sector, along with the humbling of high-profile capitalists like Ma, is likely to increase in frequency and intensity. The big question is what this means for foreign investors, in particular the Wall Street banks and money managers currently piling into China. Will icons of American capitalism such as Goldman Sachs and BlackRock really be able to align themselves “politically, intellectually and emotionally” with Xi? And how will the US government regard Communist party cells in their management structures? – Financial Times
Asia
The generals, who staged a coup a month ago, are now back in charge with a far more sophisticated arsenal at their disposal: Israeli-made surveillance drones, European iPhone cracking devices and American software that can hack into computers and vacuum up their contents. – New York Times
Holding banners and shouting slogans, hundreds of people assembled outside a court in Hong Kong on Monday in a rare act of defiance after 47 of the city’s most prominent pro-democracy politicians and activists were arrested. […]Such demonstrations have become an unusual sight in Hong Kong in the past year or so, after the city enacted restrictions to fight the pandemic and Beijing imposed a harsh national security law in June. – New York Times
Police in Myanmar have filed two new charges against Aung San Suu Kyi, the ousted civilian leader who has been detained in her home since the country’s military seized power from her government a month ago. […]At least 18 people were killed, according to the United Nations, marking a sharp escalation in the use of force by police since protests began more than three weeks ago. – Wall Street Journal
Even by the standards of China’s crackdown on democracy in Hong Kong, the scenes were stark: defendants, charged with political crimes, wheeled into hospitals on stretchers early Tuesday after a marathon bail hearing. – Washington Post
The American father-son duo accused of helping former Nissan Motor Co. Chairman Carlos Ghosn escape from Japan arrived at an airport near Tokyo on Tuesday in Japanese custody after they were extradited from the U.S. – Wall Street Journal
Political tensions in Armenia heightened Monday, with supporters of the embattled prime minister and the opposition each holding massive rallies at separate sites in the capital. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has faced opposition demands to resign since he signed a peace deal in November that ended six weeks of intense fighting with Azerbaijan over the Nagorno-Karabakh region.- Associated Press
The new U.S ambassador to the United Nations urged the international community on Monday to “ramp up pressure” on Myanmar’s military to restore democracy at a wide-ranging press conference where she also said she hopes to work with Russia and China on some key issues. – Associated Press
A Pakistani court on Monday granted bail to a Christian man convicted in 2018 while still a teenager of insulting Islam by posting a picture of Islam’s holiest site on social media, a defense lawyer said. – Associated Press
Recent killings of protesters in Myanmar represent an escalation of the situation there, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said on Monday, noting that the Biden administration was preparing further costs on those responsible for the military coup. – Reuters
The U.S. State Department said on Monday that recent detentions of pro-democracy activists in Hong Kong show how the national security law imposed by Beijing is being used to stifle dissent. – Reuters
The leader of Taiwan’s main opposition party the Kuomintang (KMT) said on Tuesday he is in no rush to travel to China to meet President Xi Jinping, and that Beijing’s proposals to get Taiwan to accept Communist rule had “no market” on the island. – Reuters
China’s plan to dramatically reform Hong Kong’s electoral system, expected to be unveiled in a parliamentary session in Beijing starting this week, will upend the territory’s political scene, according to more than a dozen politicians from across the spectrum. – Reuters
Editorial: Myanmar’s military suppressed opposition to its rule in 1988 and 2007 by gunning down protesters in the streets. But the country has changed considerably in the past decade as it has opened to the world. The United States and other nations have the means to bring crushing economic pressure to bear on the generals. They should not hesitate to use it. – Washington Post
Yi-zheng Lian writes: Still more activists abroad are working quietly — and many in Hong Kong have gone silent, even underground. The Hong Kong authorities know this, of course, and they aren’t leaving anything to chance. They are considering, for example, criminalizing the possession of firearm components after some people in Hong Kong reportedly received gun parts in the mail from overseas. In other words, the authorities are worried about armed rebellion. But if an armed rebellion ever erupts, only Beijing, and mostly Mr. Xi, will be to blame. – New York Times
Tom Rogan writes: Where on the mainland, Xi can disappear difficult voices such as Ren Zhiqiang, that’s not possible in Hong Kong. At least not yet. The appearance of numerous Western diplomats at Monday’s court hearings testifies to the issue. The eyes of the world are on Hong Kong. Xi knows that Western multinationals, especially banks, wish to retain their Hong Kong investments[…]. The United States should increase the pressure on Xi. China’s actions in Hong Kong represent not just a breach of treaty law but a desperate gamble to subjugate innocent people. The best way to mitigate Hong Kong’s hardships is to make those hardships ripple back against Xi’s broader international interests. – Washington Examiner
Robert D. Blackwill and Philip Zelikow write: Taiwan is becoming the most dangerous flashpoint in the world. Events in and involving the small democracy could spark a war that draws in the United States, China, Japan, and possibly others. The administration of President Joe Biden should develop a more credible U.S. strategy to deter such a war. […]In principle, we see four main approaches for how the United States might respond to such a variety of Chinese actions, only the last of which we endorse. All of them assume continued willingness to sell arms to Taiwan to improve its defenses, and strong support for the Taiwan Relations Act. – War on the Rocks
Russia
Aleksei A. Navalny, the Russian opposition politician, is going to serve his prison sentence in a penal colony notorious for disciplinary measures considered harsh even by Russian standards, Russian news outlets reported on Monday. – New York Times
Top U.N. human rights experts said on Monday that Russia was to blame for attempting to kill Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, and called for an international investigation into his poisoning with a “signature compound” last year. – Reuters
The United States is expected to impose sanctions to punish Russia for the poisoning of Kremlin critic Alexi Navalny as early as Tuesday, two sources familiar with the matter said on Monday. – Reuters
Terrell Jermaine Starr writes: Calls for Navalny to settle once and for all his position on race aren’t designed to distract from his anti-corruption efforts. Instead, they are designed to push him into being a better leader. Amnesty International has since said they’re reviewing their decision. If I were them, I’d reinstate his status. I take racism very seriously. But this was not the right time or place for Amnesty to take its action. Instead of standing on principle, they have made the job of addressing Navalny’s past statements much harder. – Washington Post
Anna Borshchevskaya writes: Moscow’s responses only confirm that while the Biden team appears rightly concerned about Russia in Europe, it should not count on the Kremlin to play a helpful role in renewed diplomatic efforts on the Iranian nuclear program. Rather than piecemeal responses to Moscow’s actions, be it cyberattacks or poisoning of critics, the U.S. should focus on building a unified strategy towards Russia. – 19FortyFive
Europe
Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy was found guilty Monday of trying to bribe a magistrate, becoming the first president in the history of France’s post-World War II republic to face house arrest. – Wall Street Journal
The Pentagon on Monday announced a $125 million military aid package for Ukraine, including two armed patrol boats to help the country defend its territorial waters. – Associated Press
European Council President Charles Michel on Monday called on the Georgian government and opposition to defuse tension in a political crisis that has led to street protests and the resignation of the prime minister last month. – Reuters
Morocco said it was suspending contact with Germany’s government, citing “deep misunderstandings” over issues of fundamental importance to the kingdom. The suspension covers the German embassy in Rabat, cooperation agencies and political foundations, according to a Moroccan Foreign Ministry spokesperson. – Bloomberg
Volodymyr Zelensky’s move last month to shut down three television channels that are linked to a multi-millionaire politician close to the Kremlin has raised hopes that the Ukrainian president is preparing for a wider crackdown on the country’s powerful oligarchs. – Financial Times
A German soldier and a relative have been arrested on suspicion of illegally hoarding weapons and expressing far-right sympathies, investigators said Monday. – Associated Press
Ben Hall writes: Spending EU money well and fiscal reforms are the “pillars of a good entente” between Paris and Rome, says Letta. But the two are not perfectly aligned. Both Dassù and Letta regard Draghi as an Atlanticist on security issues and sceptical, like Berlin, of Macron’s idea of “strategic autonomy” for Europe. – Financial Times
Africa
But since last December, mass kidnappings of girls and boys at boarding schools in northwest Nigeria have been happening more and more frequently — at least one every three weeks. Just last Friday, more than 300 girls were taken from their school in Zamfara state. They were released this week, the governor of the state announced early Tuesday. – New York Times
Ethiopia’s government is rebuffing calls by the United States to withdraw troops from the embattled Tigray region. – Associated Press
Four media workers in Ethiopia’s conflict-wracked Tigray region, including a translator working for Agence France-Presse, have been arrested and detained, their families and employers said. – Agence France-Presse
A US warship docked in Sudan Monday a day after a Russian frigate arrived in the same key Red Sea port where Moscow is planning to establish a naval logistics base, an AFP correspondent said. – Agence France-Presse
The Americas
President Biden met with Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador on Monday amid growing pressure to find a workable immigration policy, as he faces criticism from liberal Democrats for detaining migrant children and accusations from Republicans that he is recklessly throwing open the nation’s borders amid a pandemic. – Washington Post
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas blamed the Trump administration Monday for the growing number of unaccompanied minors held in U.S. custody after crossing the Mexico border, saying the former president’s policies left President Biden with a “gutted” immigration system. – Washington Post
President Nayib Bukele emerged as the big winner in El Salvador’s legislative elections Sunday as his party and its allies took control of the national legislature at a moment when critics fear the country is sliding toward authoritarian rule. […]His growing control could pose a challenge to President Biden’s policy of strengthening democracy in Central America – Washington Post
United States
CPAC’s organizers vehemently denied any link between the stage design and the Nazi symbology, calling the criticism “outrageous and slanderous.” – Washington Post
The commanding general of the D.C. National Guard will testify on Wednesday during a Senate hearing about the attack on the U.S. Capitol, joining a group that initially included only civilian witnesses, defense and congressional officials said. – Washington Post
Gregory B. Poling writes: A successful pandemic-centered foreign policy needs to combine short-term signaling—that the United States is committed to helping partners access vaccine doses as soon as its critical domestic needs are met in the coming months—with the establishment of new programs for mitigation, vaccination, and economic recovery for years to come. Committing resources to such a policy framework would go a long way to recapturing U.S. leadership, globally and in Southeast Asia. Without it, the Biden administration will find a region much less amenable to its other priorities. – Center for Strategic and International Studies
Cybersecurity
SolarWinds, the Texas-based company whose software was breached in a major Russian cyberattack, said in a filing Monday it is cooperating with an inquiry from the Securities and Exchange Commission. – Washington Post
Twitter says it has begun labeling tweets that include misleading information about COVID-19 vaccines and using a “strike system” to eventually remove accounts that repeatedly violate its rules. – Associated Press
An artificial intelligence commission led by former Google CEO Eric Schmidt is urging the U.S. to boost its AI skills to counter China, including by pursuing “AI-enabled” weapons – something that Google itself has shied away from on ethical grounds. – Associated Press
A new study authored by Dr. Gabriel Weimann, a professor of communication at University of Haifa and web intelligence analyst Ari Ben-Am has revealed the existence of a new coded language on social media being used by anti-Semitic groups to fly under the radar of artificial intelligence-designed algorithms. – Arutz Sheva
The U.S. military command charged with watching and protecting North American airspace is now using artificial intelligence to detect the threats that previously slipped its notice. – C4ISRNET
A Chinese state-backed hacking group has in recent weeks targeted the IT systems of two Indian vaccine makers whose coronavirus shots are being used in the country’s immunisation campaign, cyber intelligence firm Cyfirma told Reuters. – Reuters
Billy Perrigo writes: So is Facebook’s ban of the Tatmadaw in Myanmar a new precedent for how social media platforms will stand up to authoritarian leaders around the world in the future? Or is it the exception that proves the rule? Even Yi, the activist who welcomed Facebook’s ban of the Tatmadaw as a sign of the company’s solidarity with the pro-democracy movement, says that Facebook may have treated it as simply another business decision, perhaps mindful of the public relations disaster that the targeting of the Rohingya was for the company. – TIME
Defense
Boeing Co will use a pilotless, fighter-like jet developed in Australia as the basis for its U.S. Air Force Skyborg prototype, an executive at the plane maker said on Tuesday. – Reuters
Marine Corps Commandant Gen. David Berger is emphasizing his commitment to the service’s force design initiative in a recent memo to the new defense secretary, USNI News has learned. – USNI News
The Army has scheduled the initial operational test for its newest tracked vehicle to begin the second quarter of fiscal 2022, a spokesperson for the program office leading the effort told Defense News. – Defense News
In its quest to slim down and self-finance its modernization efforts to meet the China threat, the Marine Corps is getting ready to reorganize its headquarters, which will reduce civilian staff, according to a new memo obtained by Defense News from Marine Corps Commandant Gen. David Berger to Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin. – Defense News
Michael Robinson and Kori Schake write: Finding civically responsible ways to stitch our veterans back into their communities would diminish the pipeline of veterans into extremist groups, just as it gives jihadists and gang members offramps. […]Addressing his victorious soldiers, then-colonel and future President James Garfield declared, “Let it not be said that good men dread the approach of an American army.” The responsibility to make it so falls on us all. To the extent that military service — active or prior — poses an extremist threat, we shouldn’t expect only the military to solve this problem for us. – New York Times
Elaine McCusker and Emily Coletta write: A new report emphasizes why it is urgent that the Department of Defense and Congress work together to modernize the way defense programs and budgets develop, integrate and deploy the latest technologies in support of American national security. […]In a good, small step in the right direction, Congress supported the software pilot requested by Defense in its 2021 budget to begin addressing this problem. – C4ISRNET
Megan Lamberth and Martijn Rasser write: If the United States is to keep ahead of a rapidly gaining China in the field of artificial intelligence, it needs a concrete and comprehensive plan for action. Such a plan is presented in the final report, released today, of the National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence, or NSCAI. Critically, this report is about more than AI. It is the opening salvo of a much-needed effort to create an overarching national strategy for technology, a whole-of-government effort to safeguard American technological leadership. – Defense One