Today In Issues:
FDD Research & Analysis
The Must-Reads
Israel steps up Lebanon offensive as U.S. pushes for Iran peace deal Israel attacks Hamas' new armed wing chief, Netanyahu says Iran threatens to renew strikes against U.S. amid push for diplomatic deal Iranian hackers responsible for Los Angeles transit system breach, Israeli researchers say WSJ Editorial: Iran’s ‘skirmish’ strategy in the strait Europe is starting to think Putin will expand the war beyond Ukraine Remnants of Assad's chemical weapons program recovered, Syrian official says North Korea tests AI-guided missiles and artillery rockets designed for modern warfare, KCNA says U.S. races to set up quarantine facility in Kenya for Americans exposed to Ebola US to keep tariffs on USMCA countries, issues with Canada 'significant', Greer says Russia 'relentlessly targeting' critical infrastructure and democracy, GCHQ says Pentagon cuts forces earmarked for Europe in event of crisisIn The News
Israel
Israel intensified its military campaign against Hezbollah on Tuesday, striking targets across Lebanon and advancing deeper into Lebanese territory after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had ordered the military to “increase the blows” against the Iran-backed group. – New York Times
Israel said on Tuesday it had attacked Hamas’ new armed wing chief, who it said was appointed just days earlier after Israel killed his predecessor, as it steps up military pressure in Gaza and expands ground operations in Lebanon. – Reuters
Israeli strikes killed at least seven Palestinians in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday including five in a refugee camp and two in a car, health officials said. – Reuters
The Israeli military said on Wednesday a projectile launched from Lebanon fell in an open area in Israel after sirens sounded in several northern areas, but no injuries were reported. – Reuters
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is considering appointing conservative commentator and adviser Caroline Glick as Israel’s next consul general in New York, replacing Ofir Akunis, N12 reported on Tuesday evening. – Jerusalem Post
Israel Police and the Shin Bet have foiled a terrorist cell consisting of east Jerusalem residents operating under instructions from a Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) terrorist living in France, the police announced on Tuesday. – Jerusalem Post
The High Court of Justice gave all parties until this evening to respond to a supplementary opinion by the Senior Appointments Advisory Committee, after a majority of the panel again cleared IDF Maj.-Gen. Roman Gofman’s appointment as the next Mossad chief, saying new material had only strengthened its position. – Jerusalem Post
Exiled Gaza security chief and former Fatah official Mohammed Dahlan met with multiple senior officials in the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) and the defense sector in recent years to discuss solutions to the situation in Gaza, KAN News reported on Tuesday. – Jerusalem Post
Tension has mounted in Gaza in recent days after Hamas claimed that members of the Israeli-backed militias in the strip requested to break away and rejoin Hamas. Hussam al-Astal, head of the anti-Hamas militia in Khan Yunis, southern Gaza, rejected Hamas’s claims, arguing they were part of the organization’s psychological war to undermine the armed groups’ power and pressure Gazans not to reach out to them. – Jerusalem Post
A major smuggling operation that brought banned goods into the Gaza Strip during the war with Hamas was, in part, allegedly cooperating with Israeli security bodies, according to an indictment filed last month. – Times of Israel
Iran
Iran is pursuing two intertwining goals in its negotiating strategy with the U.S., say Iranian officials and Arab mediators: securing financial relief for an economy that is under severe strain without giving enough ground on its nuclear program to allow President Trump to claim victory. – Wall Street Journal
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps said on Tuesday that it would launch a “decisive reciprocal response” to any attack that violated the cease-fire, injecting more uncertainty into fragile diplomatic efforts a day after the U.S. military struck targets in southern Iran. – New York Times
The U.S. military strikes against targets in southern Iran on Monday came after intelligence analysts detected a series of potentially threatening Iranian military actions in the 24 hours leading up to the strikes, two American officials said on Tuesday. – New York Times
Iranian hackers were responsible for a disruptive computer breach in March that forced Los Angeles’ transit system to shut down parts of its network, Israeli researchers say. – Reuters
President Donald Trump will meet with his Cabinet on Wednesday at a precarious moment for talks aimed at ending the war with Iran, just days after insisting that his administration and Tehran had “largely negotiated” a settlement but with the negotiations still in a state of flux. – Associated Press
Iran’s judiciary on Tuesday suspended a presidential body that had ordered the restoration of internet access after months of near-total blackout since the war with the United States and Israel. – Agence France-Presse
Talks between the United States and Iran on extending the ceasefire and reopening the Strait of Hormuz will take several more days, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Tuesday, as Tehran threatened retaliation for overnight US strikes, which it called a violation of the truce and a sign of “bad faith.” – Times of Israel
Editorial: On Tuesday Israel struck and reportedly killed Hamas’s military chief in Gaza, a mere 11 days after killing his predecessor, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced “intensifying operations” in Lebanon. The media compulsion is to treat this as harming talks with Iran, but placing one of the regime’s best assets in real danger is the kind of pressure necessary to get a better deal. Also on Tuesday the Journal reported that the U.S. Navy guided a Greek supertanker through the Strait of Hormuz and plans to help more in the coming days. U.S. Central Command denied this meant its Project Freedom had resumed, but perhaps the groundwork is being laid. Breaking the Iranian blockade has been one of the roads not taken to U.S. victory. – Wall Street Journal
Michael Singh writes: The need to shift burdens is real, and the only viable option for doing so is to coordinate more closely not with rivals and adversaries, but with longstanding partners in Europe, the Middle East and Asia. Doing so is time-consuming and often frustrating but is rarely regretted by U.S. policymakers. Allies amplify American power, and consulting with them often forces a focus and discipline on Washington’s own aims and strategies. Iran isn’t America’s Suez moment. Neither China nor any other rising hegemon is waiting in the wings to relieve Washington of its burdens, and the U.S. is no declining power. But even a superpower must husband its strength and employ it wisely, and if the war with Iran reminds U.S. officials of that, Washington’s rivals may yet come to rue it. – Wall Street Journal
Bret Stephens writes: Trump can still deny them that claim. The United States struck some targets in Iran on Monday. Now Trump can announce that we will destroy a facility of military significance to the regime pending a material Iranian concession, and make good on the threat. The next day, two targets, and so on. If Iran opts to retaliate against our Gulf allies, then it’s past time they start behaving like cooperative allies, by either joining the fight or at least not obstructing it. Trump need not be defeated in this war, but he’s close. Should he lose it, what remains of his presidency will go down with it. – New York Times
Lawrence D. Freedman writes: The reluctance to use ground forces, especially against a significant opponent, means that even a battered enemy can resist and will be able to find ways to retaliate. And if the initial attacks fail to deliver, the fallback options will be unsatisfactory. They may not lead to a forever war, but they will require negotiating a way out with the adversary, demanding awkward compromises and not letting the more powerful state dictate terms. The lesson of Ukraine and Iran is that any leader who is offered a plan for a quick and easy victory should first ask, “How can you be so sure?” and then, “What happens if you are wrong?” – Foreign Affairs
Russia and Ukraine
Russia is stuck on the Ukrainian battlefield and lashing out with massive strikes on Kyiv. The growing fear in European capitals is that President Vladimir Putin will try next to reshuffle the cards by expanding the conflict to Europe. – Wall Street Journal
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Tuesday he was “deeply concerned” by Russia’s announcement that it plans to launch strikes against Ukrainian defense enterprises and decision-making centers in Kyiv. – Reuters
Russia’s U.N. ambassador said on Tuesday that the United States did not grant a visa for Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Alimov to attend a U.N. Security Council meeting and called it a breach of U.S. obligations as host of the U.N. – Reuters
Air defence units in the port of Sevastopol in Russian-occupied Crimea downed over 20 Ukrainian drones early on Wednesday, with Ukraine also using Storm Shadow missiles, the city’s governor said on Telegram. – Reuters
Germany, Norway, the Netherlands, Poland and the European Union summoned Russian representatives on Tuesday after Russia threatened strikes on targets in Ukraine’s capital Kyiv and urged foreigners, including diplomats, to leave. – Reuters
Russian companies are ready to finance the purchase of heavier weapons and electronic systems to defend their plants from drone attacks, Alexander Shokhin, head of Russia’s most powerful business lobby, has told President Vladimir Putin in a meeting. – Reuters
Ukraine has a six-month window in which to seize the battlefield initiative from Russia and strengthen its hand for peace talks, a senior commander told Reuters, predicting a “turning point” was imminent after more than four years of war. – Reuters
Vladimir Kara-Murza writes: Given its total — for now — control of Russia’s political space, it will not be difficult for the Kremlin to eliminate the sole anti-war voice from the September ballot and to secure whatever official election result it wants. What is becoming increasingly difficult is to maintain the pretense, both for domestic and international audiences, that Putin’s war in Ukraine is overwhelmingly supported by Russian society. – Washington Post
Irwin Redlener writes: If the U.S. retreats while Ukraine still fights for survival, the lesson to aggressive authoritarians everywhere will be unmistakable that forcibly violating other countries’ sovereignty works. That cannot be Congress’s message to Putin, an avowed enemy of the U.S. Congress must insist, first of all, that the administration releases and spends all appropriations that have been previously passed into law. And second, now that the bipartisan discharge position was passed, the House must approve the $1.3 billion Ukraine security and sanctions bill. Those will be the messages that allies and adversaries alike will understand and respect. – The Hill
Lebanon
Israel’s military clashed with the Iran-backed militant Hezbollah group Tuesday along a strategic river in southern Lebanon as Israeli troops pushed farther north, days ahead of talks in Washington between Lebanese and Israeli delegations. – Associated Press
In response to ongoing Hezbollah drone attacks that have harmed an increasing number of IDF soldiers, Israel confirmed on Tuesday that the military has infiltrated deeper into Lebanon beyond the April 17 ceasefire Yellow Line. – Jerusalem Post
Rana Hanna writes: We are too traumatized and too divided to imagine a common future together. I want things to be different. Having lived all my life with war as the backdrop, I am hesitant to believe that things could change. But I need to. A cease-fire in Lebanon that ends the need for future cease-fires would have to happen on two planes. We would have to sign a peace treaty with our neighbors, and we would have to sign another with ourselves. We would have to agree that the country is bigger than any of us: that we are its custodians, not its owners. – New York Times
Gulf States
United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations said on Tuesday that a tanker had reported an external explosion on the vessel’s port side, close to the waterline, 60 nautical miles off Oman’s capital Muscat. – Reuters
The United Arab Emirates trained Colombian mercenaries before sending them to fight alongside a notorious paramilitary group in Sudan’s devastating war, Human Rights Watch said Tuesday. – Associated Press
Karen Elliott House writes: And the crown prince, despite all these economic and geopolitical challenges, projects confidence to those he meets. Patience hasn’t been a hallmark of this prince, who has long seemed a young man in a hurry. He now admits that moving too fast with some of his big plans produced inefficient spending, and he pledges to do better in the future. Whatever he does, the kingdom remains in a very dangerous neighborhood with Iran and its proxies, the Houthis, Hezbollah and Hamas. In happier times, Mohammed boasted to me that his changes were “snowballing.” He added: “To make all this happen, we need a stable region.” That is something money can’t buy. – Washington Post
Middle East & North Africa
Syria’s transitional leadership has located remnants of former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s clandestine chemical weapons program, including raw materials and munitions similar to those used to carry out deadly gas attacks during the country’s long-running civil war, a Syrian official told Reuters on Tuesday. – Reuters
Water levels of the Euphrates River in northern and eastern Syria rose over the past two days, causing flooding, officials said Tuesday, spurring authorities to urge residents living on the banks to move inland. – Associated Press
Soner Cagaptay writes: Given Turkey’s desire to prevent Iran from going nuclear or being overtaken by chaos, Ankara would seem well positioned to serve as a go-between to end the war. Such a formulation also takes account of Erdogan’s strong chemistry with President Trump. But a competitive bilateral history will make Tehran unwilling to let Ankara earn credit for ending the war. This is why Turkey has followed Pakistan’s thus far unsuccessful lead toward a political settlement. It is also why the current scenario does not mirror the Syrian war, when Turkey occupied center stage on matters relevant to U.S. policy. – Washington Institute
Korean Peninsula
North Korea has tested a mix of tactical ballistic missiles, artillery rockets and AI-guided precision cruise missiles designed for modern warfare under leader Kim Jong Un’s supervision, KCNA state news agency said on Wednesday. – Reuters
South Korean authorities are questioning a Chinese national found in a rubber boat off the west coast, the coast guard said on Wednesday, with a media report identifying him as likely to be a dissident who had repeatedly tried to flee China. – Reuters
South Korea will seek to launch its first nuclear-powered submarine by the mid-2030s, under a new programme aimed at countering North Korea’s submarine-launched nuclear and missile threats, officials said on Tuesday. – Reuters
China
U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said on Tuesday the government will seek public comment on which Chinese goods should be eligible for lower tariffs. – Reuters
Taiwan prosecutors suspect that three individuals successfully smuggled at least one shipment of Nvidia Corp. AI chips to China after first exporting them to Japan, people familiar with the matter said. – Bloomberg
US Trade Ambassador Jamieson Greer said his agency would issue a notice in the Federal Register “shortly” to seek public comments on a Board of Trade with China, a formal step to establish a new mechanism to manage economic relations between the two nations. – Bloomberg
The People’s Liberation Army Navy’s Liaoning Carrier Strike Group is operating in the Philippine Sea east of Luzon, Japan’s Joint Staff Office said Tuesday. – USNI News
Juliana Liu writes: Some people may opt to return to their hometowns instead of settling down in urban areas. Also, given this is such a large group of people, the entire undertaking could take years. But it’s important to begin as soon as possible because the gap will only widen with time. Last week’s announcement puts the onus on provincial governments to step up, but this is a tough ask. A prolonged economic slowdown has strained the coffers of regional authorities traditionally reliant on land sales, which have slumped following the collapse of the real estate sector five years ago. – Bloomberg
South Asia
In the span of four days, Secretary of State Marco Rubio lit prayer candles with the nuns of Kolkata, gripped hands with India’s prime minister in New Delhi, toured the Taj Mahal in 100-plus degree heat and cheered on folk musicians performing atop elephants in Jaipur. – Washington Post
Bangladesh’s border guards have intensified patrols and launched public awareness campaigns along parts of the frontier with India because of concerns India has illegally forced people into Bangladesh, officials said. – Reuters
Foreign ministers from Australia, India, Japan and the United States announced new initiatives on Tuesday on maritime security, port infrastructure and energy to boost cooperation in the Indo-Pacific to counter concerns about China’s growing influence. – Associated Press
When landlocked Afghanistan and neighboring Pakistan started fighting late last year and their border crossings closed, Afghans turned to their western neighbor, Iran, for an alternate to Pakistan’s major shipping hub of Karachi. – Associated Press
Penpa Tsering was sworn in Wednesday for a second consecutive term as the president of Tibet’s government-in-exile following his reelection earlier this year. – Associated Press
India has completed final developmental trials of a new precision guided missile that can be launched from drones to engage both ground and aerial targets. – Defense News
Asia
Vietnam’s top leader To Lam will visit the Philippines next week, Manila said on Wednesday, as President Ferdinand Marcos Jr seeks to further strengthen his country’s regional alliances and security partnerships. – Reuters
Russian President Vladimir Putin will oversee the signing of a deal outlining parameters for the construction of a nuclear power plant in Kazakhstan when he visits the country this week, the Kremlin said on Tuesday. – Reuters
Karishma Vaswani writes: These exercises and the increasing coordination between nations sends a powerful message to Beijing. It’s welcome news that deeper intelligence sharing between Tokyo and Manila appears imminent, and where possible that should be extended to Taipei. Meanwhile, practical preparations for a potential conflict over Taiwan, including how to manage refugees, disrupted trade routes and military operations, are also essential, although governments are understandably wary of discussing such scenarios publicly for fear of provoking China. – Bloomberg
Europe
Tony Blair, who led Labour to victory in three UK elections, called on the party on Tuesday to shun the temptation to move left or reverse Brexit to shore up its fortunes, and to concentrate on policy rather than personality. – Reuters
Britain on Tuesday targeted Russia-linked cryptocurrency platforms, banks and financial networks that it said were used to bypass sanctions, freezing their assets and barring UK firms from processing payments and holding correspondent banking ties. – Reuters
Britain and its allies risk losing a conflict in cyberspace against adversaries such as Russia unless citizens, corporations and governments treat cybersecurity with much greater urgency, a U.K. spy chief is warning. – Associated Press
The UK is poised to sign a new defense and security pact with Poland, as the NATO allies seek to curb the threat posed by Russia. Prime Minister Keir Starmer will finalize the agreement with his Polish counterpart, Donald Tusk, when they meet in London on Wednesday, according to a statement from 10 Downing Street. – Bloomberg
Editorial: That means releasing political prisoners, restoring civil liberties and ending its crackdown on pro-Western civil society. Dismantling dangerous pro-Iranian networks in the country is just as important. Without that, there’s no reason for Washington to treat Georgia as an ally in waiting. Right now it looks more like a country aligned with America’s adversaries, sitting astride some of Washington’s most important interests. – Washington Post
Luis Simón and Stephen G. Brooks write: The question is no longer whether Europe should move to assume primary responsibility for its defense. It should. The challenge is how to manage that transition without undermining deterrence and NATO’s effectiveness. Although Europeans can and should strengthen their own enabling capacities over time, there is no way to adequately reproduce what Washington provides any time soon. Right now, Washington fully foots the bill for these enablers. Cofinancing is the best—and most realistic—way to overcome the biggest impediment to Europe’s ultimate goal while preserving the operational coherence of the alliance. – Foreign Affairs
Africa
The Trump administration is expected to deploy U.S. public-health officers to Kenya to staff a potential quarantine facility there amid the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo, according to people familiar with the matter. – Wall Street Journal
U.S. President Donald Trump increased the refugee admissions ceiling by 10,000 for this year to allow more white South Africans to come into the country, a signed presidential determination reviewed by Reuters showed. – Reuters
Senegal’s parliament elected Ousmane Sonko as its speaker on Tuesday, days after President Bassirou Diomaye Faye fired him as prime minister amid a deepening rift over the government’s reform agenda and how to resolve a worsening debt crisis. – Reuters
Canada and the Bahamas said on Tuesday they will temporarily ban residents from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda and South Sudan amid an Ebola outbreak. – Reuters
Mozambique is disputing $2 billion in costs that TotalEnergies SE and its partners say they incurred during a years-long stoppage of their liquefied natural gas project that’s under construction in the southeast Africa nation, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. – Bloomberg
Brett D. Schaefer writes: France has over the centuries been a great military, naval, political, and cultural power, but those great days are long gone. France last used its veto in 1989; in the decades since, it has been quite content to let America reap criticism for deploying its Security Council veto—often to the broader benefit of France and Western countries—while tsk-tsking when it sees diplomatic advantage for itself. But France, and indeed all of Europe, needs America more than ever to carry out necessary, if unpopular, acts in our common interest. To the extent that Macron’s Security Council gambit is successful, France may end up regretting it. – The National Interest
The Americas
Brazilian Senator and presidential contender Flavio Bolsonaro met with U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House on Tuesday as he looks to move past a scandal that has dented his popularity with voters ahead of Brazil’s election later this year. – Reuters
China is ready to deepen practical cooperation with Panama and urged the Central American country to safeguard Chinese firms’ legitimate rights, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said at a meeting with Panamanian Foreign Minister Martínez Acha, according to China’s official news agency Xinhua. – Reuters
The U.S. military launched another strike Tuesday on a vessel suspected of transporting drugs in the eastern Pacific Ocean, killing one man and leaving two survivors. – Associated Press
North America
With the Trump administration intensifying its squeeze on Cuba’s communist regime, the Swiss-owned company’s visitor numbers have plunged to about a dozen travelers a month. Caribbean Tours still employs 22 people on a reduced payroll to keep them afloat until the business can snap back—if it ever does. – Wall Street Journal
Canada is expected to unveil a deal on Wednesday that secures the sale of liquefied natural gas from the country’s west coast to Germany, with shipments expected to begin in the early 2030s, according to two people familiar with the matter. – Wall Street Journal
Record numbers of Cuban nationals have been deported from the United States since President Trump returned to office last year, but most have not been repatriated to Cuba. Instead, they have been sent to Mexico, where many arrive with little documentation or money — and in some cases wind up living on the street, Human Rights Watch reported on Wednesday. – New York Times
The Trump administration intends to maintain tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said on Tuesday as the U.S. launches negotiations to revamp the North American free trade pact. – Reuters
The head of Puerto Rico’s economic development department and about a dozen others quit their posts Tuesday, complicating some of the government’s key initiatives that aim to attract manufacturing and wealthy mainlanders to the US territory. – Bloomberg
Bill Press writes: If Trump is really serious about “regime change” in Cuba, the answer’s not military action. The answer is ending the embargo, unleashing American enterprise, and letting capitalism grow in Cuba. Once residents of Cuba see what benefits capitalism and democracy can provide, they’ll get rid of the old regime themselves. Any U.S. military intervention in Cuba would be just one more chapter in the “March of Folly.” – The Hill
Carlos Trujillo and Alberto Martinez write: No transition the United States has supported in modern history has had what this one does: a Cuban American secretary of state, a Cuban American congressional delegation, a diaspora ready to lead reinvestment and a statutory framework designed for this exact moment. Donald Trump is the first president to treat the Castro regime as the threat to America it has always been, and he chose the right man as secretary of state to help him end it. The Trump Doctrine that ended Maduro’s reign is now turning 90 miles south. One hundred and twenty-four years after the Cuban flag first flew over an independent country, this president will make sure it flies over a free one. – Fox News
United States
State Attorney General Ken Paxton clinched the Texas Republican nomination for U.S. Senate, defeating longtime Sen. John Cornyn in a primary runoff as President Trump’s last-minute endorsement of Paxton helped lift another MAGA firebrand. – Wall Street Journal
Former president Joe Biden sued the Justice Department on Tuesday, seeking to block the Trump administration from releasing the recordings and transcripts of his private interviews with a ghost writer who was helping to write his memoir. – Washington Post
The Trump administration plans to send to Kenya U.S. citizens exposed to the Ebola virus rather than bring them home for observation and treatment, according to three people with knowledge of the plans. – New York Times
The Trump administration on Tuesday filed its second antisemitism lawsuit against the University of California, Los Angeles in four months. The lawsuit accused the school of taking “no serious action whatsoever” to prevent the harassment of Jewish and Israeli students during pro-Palestinian protests in 2024. – New York Times
The latest Iranian-linked alleged assassination plot targeting Ivanka Trump, combined with yet another purported attempt to harm the president, displays how rising levels of political violence have become more routine. – Military.Com
Neil Chilson writes: Excessive regulatory burdens hurt U.S. AI exports, deter investment, and will push global developers toward China’s AI ecosystem. Any advantage from the AI Overwatch Act could be marginal compared to the risk of ceding the global AI market to China. To secure U.S. dominance in military AI, Congress should focus on cutting red tape, from power plant rules to the Pentagon’s outdated acquisition system—areas where China’s advantages are becoming insurmountable. – Wall Street Journal
Cybersecurity
Apple and Google warned Canadian lawmakers that they risk putting their citizens’ privacy and security at risk under a government proposal to give police access to information on their digital devices. – Wall Street Journal
Nvidia’s chief executive said on Wednesday the chip company plans to invest around $150 billion a year in Taiwan, terming it the “epicentre” of the AI revolution and predicting it will be the world’s tech manufacturing hub for a long time. – Reuters
The White House has updated rules for federal agencies to keep logs of significant cyber activities in their networks, touting it as a measure to cut back on red tape and focus on how cybersecurity risks have evolved. – Cyberscoop
Lithuanian prosecutors are investigating a major data breach affecting the country’s state registry systems that potentially exposed sensitive personal and property records. – The Record
Defense
The Pentagon is substantially scaling back the forces it plans to send to Europe in a crisis, a fresh step by the Trump administration to shrink its military support for North Atlantic Treaty Organization allies. Alexander Velez-Green, a Defense Department official, notified NATO allies of the planned cutbacks in a closed-door meeting last week at the alliance’s headquarters in Brussels, current and former officials familiar with the matter said. – Wall Street Journal
The Republican-led House Armed Services Committee introduced the first draft of its marquee defense policy bill Tuesday, authorizing a record $1.14 trillion in military spending for the coming fiscal year. – Washington Post
According to information obtained by SPIEGEL, the US government intends to significantly reduce the number of weapons systems and soldiers available for NATO deployment. Washington is thus increasing the pressure: Europeans must quickly close the resulting gaps. – Spiegel
After the nationwide average of fuel prices increased significantly due to the war in Iran, U.S. lawmakers are grappling with its effects on aviation fuel ahead of approval for fiscal year 2027’s National Defense Authorization Act request. – Defense News
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered a sweeping review of the military justice and legal system, describing the effort as a push to eliminate bureaucracy and refocus military lawyers on combat effectiveness and operational readiness. – Military.Com
Dennis W. Katolin writes: I learned the hard way that without an ethics doctrine to clearly explain “why” and “how” values preserve marines in combat, the Marine Corps is leaving its people to navigate their darkest moments by instinct alone. I was unprepared for that reality. Right now, the young men and women preparing for America’s next conflict are just as unprepared. There is a blueprint to fix this. The Department of Defense can either institutionalize an ethics doctrine that hardwires moral resilience into the military’s warfighting culture, or it can wait for the next generation to discover their breaking points in the dirt of the next al-Qa’im. The choice is ours. The consequences will be theirs. – War on the Rocks