Today In Issues:
FDD Research & Analysis
The Must-Reads
After UN vote, Netanyahu calls for Hamas' expulsion from the region Car ramming and stabbing attack in West Bank kills Israeli, 71 US-E3 draft resolution at IAEA board demands swift cooperation from Iran Iranian nuclear experts held second covert meeting with Russian weapons institute Iran open to resuming nuclear talks with the US but won’t shift its conditions, supreme leader’s adviser says Trump sends Pentagon officials to Ukraine in effort to restart peace talks WSJ’s Holman W. Jenkins, Jr: Putin’s art of the non-deal Trump says Saudi leader knew nothing of journalist murder, rejecting CIA assessment WSJ Editorial: The art of a deal with Saudi Arabia China's Premier Li Qiang met Russian President Putin US confirms sale of $700 mln air defence missile system to Taiwan Poland says Russia behind blast on its rail networkIn The News
Israel
It wasn’t the way Palestinians usually exit Gaza. Israel’s military says more than 40,000 people have left the enclave since the start of the Gaza war, typically for medical care or because they are dual citizens and in either case subject to a formal request from a third country—a major hurdle in an arduous process. This time, Gazans desperate to leave had found a way out via a little-known organization called Al-Majd Europe, the travelers and Israeli officials said. – Wall Street Journal
An Israeli airstrike Tuesday killed at least 13 people in a Palestinian refugee camp in southern Lebanon, local officials said — an attack that risked inflaming more violence in the region and that could put pressure on the fragile ceasefire in Gaza between Israel and Hamas. – Washington Post
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday called for Hamas to be expelled from the region, a day after the U.N. Security Council endorsed President Donald Trump’s plan to end the war that offers the Palestinian militant group amnesty. – Reuters
Palestinian attackers killed an Israeli man and wounded three other people in a car-ramming and stabbing in the Israeli-occupied West Bank on Tuesday before soldiers shot dead the assailants, Israeli leaders and the military said. – Reuters
A Gaza company that operates water desalination plants serving nearly half of the enclave’s population has stopped operations to protest at the detention by Hamas of one of its staff. – Reuters
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday he will urgently convene cabinet ministers to ensure Israelis behind the latest attacks against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank are brought to justice. – Reuters
US special envoy Steve Witkoff will meet on Wednesday in Istanbul with a delegation of senior Hamas officials led by Khalil al-Hayya to discuss efforts to maintain the ongoing ceasefire in Gaza, an Arab diplomat told The Times of Israel. – The Times of Israel
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that his government is “determined to complete the war in all arenas,” while addressing the Gush Etzion junction terror attack on Tuesday. – Jerusalem Post
This week, Israel is hosting a range of around 130 officials from foreign militaries to present some of its lessons and latest warfare techniques from the 2023-2025 Middle East war. – Jerusalem Post
Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon stressed that Israel views the International Stabilization Force not as a UN force and not as a shift in Israel’s security doctrine but as an opportunity to advance the long-term objective of demilitarizing Gaza and dismantling Hamas’s military capacity. – Jerusalem Post
Israel appealed to the International Criminal Court (ICC) Appeals Chamber on Monday to have the arrest warrants against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defense minister Yoav Gallant annulled, the Foreign Ministry confirmed. – Jerusalem Post
Editorial: And that, in the face of the deadliest failure in modern Israeli history, is not just chutzpah; it is much worse. It is an abdication of responsibility. It is an insult to the victims: the soldiers who fell, those still fighting, the bereaved families, and the returned hostages. Sooner or later, a true commission of inquiry – independent, authoritative, and beyond political manipulation – will be established. It has to be. Both because the truth of October 7 cannot be whitewashed and because the country cannot afford to let anyone try. – Jerusalem Post
Lev Stesin writes: The ceasefire in Gaza is still a work in progress. It is already clear that the Arabs have gained from the agreement a lot more than Israel. Israel got much needed breathing space after two years of war. The Arab States, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Lebanon, and Turkey have achieved an unprecedented status and leverage with Washington. Yet the slow rebranding of Hamas, making it a legitimate partner and presenting it as a representative of the Palestinian Arabs, is the most dangerous strategic development for Israel’s future. – Jerusalem Post
Iran
Europe’s top three powers and the U.S. have submitted a draft resolution to this week’s meeting of the U.N. atomic watchdog’s 35-nation Board of Governors demanding answers and access from Iran over its bombed nuclear sites and enriched uranium stock. – Reuters
Iran released the Marshall Islands-flagged product tanker Talara on Wednesday, the vessel’s manager Columbia Shipmanagement said in a statement, adding that the entire 21-member crew were safe. – Reuters
Iranian scientists and nuclear experts made a second covert visit to Russia last year, in what the US claims has been a push to obtain sensitive technologies with potential nuclear weapons applications. – Financial Times
Iran is willing to resume nuclear talks with the United States if they are conducted respectfully, a senior Iranian official told CNN, while insisting Tehran will not move from the position it held before the US and Israel attacked it in June. – CNN
Russia and Ukraine
President Trump dispatched a high-level Pentagon delegation to Kyiv for talks Wednesday in the administration’s latest attempt to revive negotiations on halting Russia’s war with Ukraine, according to senior U.S. officials. – Wall Street Journal
The corruption allegations have angered Ukrainians enduring wartime hardships, and now pose the clearest threat to Zelensky’s leadership since Russia’s abortive attempt to take Kyiv in early 2022. The investigation has reached higher in the government—and closer to Zelensky himself—than any other since he took office. – Wall Street Journal
President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine said he planned to go Turkey on Wednesday to try to revive peace talks with Russia that have been stalled since the summer. – The New York Times
Explosions rocked the western Ukrainian cities of Lviv and Ternopil on Wednesday, Ukrainian media and a Reuters witness reported, after Ukraine’s military reported Russian missile and drone attacks. – Reuters
Russian drones struck apartment buildings in Ukraine’s second largest city, Kharkiv, injuring 32 people, including two children, sparking fires and forcing dozens of residents to flee their homes, regional officials said. – Reuters
Russia’s defence ministry said on Wednesday that Ukrainian forces had fired four U.S.-made ATACMS missiles at the southern Russian city of Voronezh in an attempted strike on civilian targets. – Reuters
Ukraine is pushing European allies to take a political decision to release a proposed $163-billion loan based on frozen Russian state assets next month, as it frets over a gaping hole in the 2026 budget and fallout from an unfolding corruption scandal. – Reuters
The U.S. State Department has approved the potential sale of Patriot air defense system sustainment and related equipment to Ukraine for an estimated cost of $105 million, the Pentagon said on Tuesday. – Reuters
Holman W. Jenkins, Jr. writes: Then there’s the question: Is China willing to indulge Mr. Putin’s forever war? The average American probably hears peace talks being constantly bruited and thinks everything is under control. It’s not. Mr. Trump finds himself in Joe Biden’s situation. He doesn’t have a better choice than supporting Ukraine (albeit indirectly to appease his base) “as long as it takes” for something to change in Moscow. The consequentialist analysis cuts both ways, of course. Why not just let Ukraine fail? The answer must await another day. – Wall Street Journal
William Courtney writes: In the event of a ceasefire, several leaders spoke of entry into NATO and a Western military presence in Ukraine as the best “security guarantees.” They did not expect U.S. soldiers in Ukraine, but they worried that Europe would send too few, base them far from the front or stifle their rules of engagement […] Overall, Ukrainians seem determined to keep fighting and unwilling to beg for a ceasefire. To paraphrase Winston Churchill, they appear to be of the view that if the West gives them “the tools” — especially financing and high-end military and intelligence support — they will ”finish the job.” But it will not be easy, and like the British, the Ukrainians cannot do it alone. – The Hill
Syria
Since the collapse of the Assad regime on Dec. 8 last year, ordinary Syrians are reporting sites that had long been an open secret. Other cadavers have been discovered by chance, as Syrians sift through the rubble of bombed buildings and reclaim farmland disused during the war. – Wall Street Journal
Syria on Tuesday began the first trial of suspects in a wave of bloodshed in March during which pro-government fighters killed hundreds of members of the Alawite minority – a case seen as a test of President Ahmed al-Sharaa’s promise of accountability. – Reuters
The Syrian Petroleum Company, U.S.-based ConocoPhillips and Novaterra have signed a memorandum of understanding to expand cooperation in the natural gas sector, Syria’s energy ministry said on Tuesday. – Reuters
Saudi Arabia
President Trump said Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman “knew nothing about” the 2018 murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi, though the CIA at the time assessed that the royal orchestrated the killing. – Wall Street Journal
President Donald Trump said Tuesday the U.S. and Saudi Arabia have entered into a security agreement that will ease weapons transfers and elevate the relationship between the two countries. – Politico
US negotiations with Saudi Arabia on a long-sought nuclear technology-sharing deal have been completed, potentially opening the door for American companies to build reactors in the kingdom. – Bloomberg
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said Tuesday during his White House meeting with US President Donald Trump that Riyadh wants to join the Abraham Accords, but calls for the need to secure a path towards a two-state solution. – The Times of Israel
Editorial: What will the U.S. get from MBS’s trip? So far, the answer is cash money. The Crown Prince said his May pledge of $600 billion in investments in the U.S. will be raised to $1 trillion. Wait to see how much of it materializes. But a strengthened U.S.-Saudi relationship is good news. From China and Israel to Yemen and Iran, there’s much the Saudis can do for America. For what Mr. Trump is offering them, though, he ought to make sure he isn’t asking too little. – Wall Street Journal
Grant Rumley writes: Under U.S. pressure in the first Trump administration, countries like the United Kingdom and Japan removed Huawei from their 5G telecommunications networks. Part of the concern was that Huawei’s presence in these networks could jeopardize advanced defense and security cooperation between those countries and the United States. As part of any potential defense pact, the United States should seek the same result in Saudi Arabia. – Washington Institute
Middle East & North Africa
Representatives from Libya’s two legislative chambers signed a deal for a “unified development programme” on Tuesday, the central bank said, in a step towards uniting the finances of the country’s rival administrations. – Reuters
The U.S. has cancelled meetings in Washington with Lebanese armed forces commander General Rudolf Haykal after objecting to a statement the army issued on Sunday about border tensions with Israel, Lebanese officials familiar with the matter said. – Reuters
Egypt annulled parliamentary votes in over a quarter of first-round constituencies on Tuesday in one of the most significant disruptions to a national election in recent years. – Reuters
Alex Vatanka writes: No matter what, in the short term at least, Iran’s influence is likely to persist through political and bureaucratic channels, even as Washington tests whether leverage over access to dollars, commercial deals, and security training for the regular Iraqi Security Forces can narrow the PMF’s field of action. Co-existence, one can argue, remains the rational choice given the relative strength of the key players in Iraq. The danger is that each side, convinced it can lock in an advantage during the post-election scramble, pushes just hard enough to tip Iraq back from politics to the gun. – Middle East Institute
Korean Peninsula
South Korean investigators have scheduled their first public hearing into the Jeju Air passenger jet crash that killed all but two of the 181 people onboard last year. – The New York Times
South Korea plans to unveil incentives for long-term stock investors, while making efforts to ensure foreign exchange stability, its finance minister said on Wednesday. – Reuters
South Korea has agreed to work with the United Arab Emirates on the U.S.-backed Stargate project to build a massive new artificial intelligence data campus in the Gulf country, Seoul said on Tuesday. – Reuters
China
China’s Premier Li Qiang met with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday in Moscow, Chinese state news agency Xinhua reported. – Reuters
China informed Japan on Wednesday that it will ban all imports of Japanese seafood, media outlets reported – a decision which comes amid an escalating diplomatic dispute between Asia’s top two economies. – Reuters
German Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil said in Shanghai on Wednesday that China wants a dialogue with Germany, while also underscoring that any competition must be fair. – Reuters
Russian liquefied natural gas producer Novatek has slashed the prices of its cargoes by 30% to 40% since August to entice Chinese buyers to purchase sanctioned gas from its Arctic LNG 2 project, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. – Reuters
Russian President Vladimir Putin has proposed a visa-free travel regime with China, following Beijing’s earlier move to temporarily suspend the visa requirement for Russians. – Politico
A rare satellite photo has captured two of China’s aircraft carriers operating near each other in waters south of Yulin Naval base. – Newsweek
Rush Doshi writes: Building and wielding national power is deadly serious business. It takes more than bluster. It takes patience, endurance, planning and the discipline to know when to fight and when not to. China understood that when it was weaker — steadily building its strength over the course of decades and avoiding premature tests of power. Mr. Trump, who blithely took American primacy for granted, is only now learning that lesson. – New York Times
South Asia
Air India is lobbying the Indian government to convince China to let it use a sensitive military airspace zone in Xinjiang to shorten routes as the financial toll from a ban on Indian carriers flying over Pakistan mounts, a company document shows. – Reuters
Bangladesh’s capital and major cities were calm Tuesday despite a call for a nationwide shutdown by the former ruling party of ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina after she was sentenced to death over her crackdown on a student uprising last year. – Associated Press
Pakistani security forces, acting on intelligence, raided multiple militant hideouts in the country’s northwest near the Afghan border and killed 38 militants, the military said Tuesday. – Associated Press
Pakistan Petroleum Ltd., a state-owned energy company, is reclaiming land from the sea to create a launchpad to ramp up oil and gas exploration. – Bloomberg
Asia
The United States confirmed the sale to Taiwan of an advanced missile system worth almost $700 million which has been battle-tested in Ukraine, its second weapons package in a week bringing the total of $1 billion, and reaffirmed support for Taipei. – Reuters
Myanmar’s military government seized nearly 10,000 mobile phones and related equipment that it said were used in online fraud during a crackdown on scam centers near the Thai border. – Bloomberg
Taiwan’s 23 million inhabitants will receive a booklet this week on how to survive natural disasters and emergencies, as well as an invasion by China, the island’s Defense Ministry announced Tuesday. – CNN
Photos released on Tuesday show United States F-35B stealth fighter jets operating from a Japanese aircraft carrier during an exercise in the western Pacific last month, as the two allies strengthen their joint capabilities amid China’s growing military threat. – Newsweek
Joseph Bosco writes: If the Trump administration adheres to the new strategy of denial, it will present China with a powerful disincentive to initiate hostilities against Taiwan, knowing that it would certainly mean war with the U.S. and a military defeat for China. That outcome would likely bring the demise of the Chinese communist regime and would be welcomed by the Chinese people, whom Xi Jinping and his cohorts fear more than any potential foreign adversary. A U.S. information campaign should accompany preparations for possible conflict. – The Hill
Gracia Liu-Farrer, Takeshi Miyai, and Yu Korekawa write: In an age in which many nations face the dual, often competing imperatives of population decline and anti-immigrant populism, Japan’s approach is a case to watch. If it succeeds, it could offer a pragmatic blueprint for how to grow and integrate a migrant labor force without fracturing social trust. If it fails, it may reinforce the perception—both in and outside of Japan—that the promotion of even carefully managed immigration is politically unsustainable. – Foreign Affairs
Europe
Europe is moving to relax some of the world’s tightest digital regulations in a bid to boost growth and reduce its reliance on U.S. tech. Germany and France on Tuesday backed an effort by the European Union, long seen as a global rulesetter for technology, artificial intelligence and digital services, to loosen regulatory strictures on the fast-growing, U.S.-dominated sectors.- Wall Street Journal
Polish officials accused Russia of being behind an explosion on its rail network on Saturday, saying two Ukrainian men had collaborated with Russian security services to carry out the attack, almost causing a packed commuter train to careen off the tracks. – Wall Street Journal
Russia’s spy agencies and Western security services are engaged in a secret struggle to gain custody of a Russian operative suspected of coordinating attacks in Europe last year that caused air cargo packages to burst into flames, according to security officials and investigators from five Western countries. – Washington Post
Britain’s domestic intelligence agency warned on Tuesday that China has been using headhunters on LinkedIn and other covert operatives in an effort to recruit and compromise lawmakers and parliamentary staff members. – New York Times
Romania scrambled fighter jets on Wednesday when a drone breached its airspace during a Russian attack on Ukrainian infrastructure near the border, the defense ministry said. – Reuters
Six British pro-Palestinian activists went on trial on Tuesday accused of attacking a factory operated by Israeli defence firm Elbit to cause as much damage as possible, with one also charged with striking a police officer with a sledgehammer. – Reuters
Domènec Ruiz Devesa writes: If the Parliament approves an MFF that doesn’t support the reforms needed to strengthen a potentially larger bloc, then its moment of influence will be wasted. The achievements of the first phase show that coordinated parliamentary action can, indeed, shape outcomes. Now, the next step is to use that influence where it matters most: in negotiations with the Council. The Parliament must be strategic and firm. Only then can it ensure that the next MFF isn’t merely a financial instrument but the foundation for a more capable, united and democratic union. – Politico
Africa
Amid steep cuts to U.S. foreign assistance, the Trump administration is touting a new plan to provide a powerful HIV prevention drug to countries most affected by the disease in an ambitious push to end the spread of the virus that causes AIDS. – Washington Post
Security forces opened fire and killed many protesters demonstrating against the exclusion of opposition parties on the ballot. At least 240 people were arrested and charged with treason. The New York Times
Zambia will host a Chinese premier for the first time in 28 years as the sub-Saharan state emerges from a financial crisis, with Beijing eager to access the country’s commodities and develop a bigger market for its exporters. – Reuters
Mali’s military and allied militias killed at least 31 people in attacks on two villages in the central Segou region where the main insurgent group linked to al Qaeda operates, Human Rights Watch said in a report on Tuesday. – Reuters
A European human rights nonprofit on Tuesday accused TotalEnergies (TTEF.PA), of complicity in war crimes, torture and enforced disappearances allegedly carried out by government soldiers in Mozambique, filing a criminal complaint with the French anti-terrorism prosecutor. – Reuters
Britain’s foreign minister Yvette Cooper plans to introduce sanctions relating to human rights violations and abuses in war-torn Sudan, she said on Tuesday, stressing the need for sustained efforts for a ceasefire. – Reuters
Umaro Sissoco Embalo is aiming this month to become the first incumbent president to win re-election in Guinea-Bissau in three decades, but his time in office so far has hardly brought stability to the putsch-prone country. – Reuters
Saudi Arabia’s defacto ruler Mohammed bin Salman is set to press U.S. President Donald Trump to personally intervene to help end the war in Sudan during talks in Washington on Tuesday, five people familiar with the matter said. – Reuters
World leaders with the Group of 20 rich and developing nations will meet this weekend in Johannesburg for the bloc’s first summit in Africa. Host South Africa wants to prioritize issues affecting poor countries, including responses to disasters made worse by climate change. – Associated Press
Abdel-Monim Omer Ibrahim writes: The Quartet’s intentions are commendable, but its leverage must be matched by coordination and conditionality. The Somoud Alliance has shown that Sudanese civilians are not passive victims—they are political actors with agency and vision. Al-Fashir has fallen. But if the world listens carefully, it may yet rise again as a catalyst for a different path forward—one where power flows not from force, but from legitimacy. – Washington Institute
The Americas
President Trump has approved additional measures to pressure Venezuela and prepare for the possibility of a broader military campaign, according to multiple people briefed on the matter. New York Times
But voters at home delivered Mr. Noboa a sharp rebuke. They soundly rejected a national referendum on Sunday that he had backed, aimed at authorizing a foreign miliary presence in Ecuador. With more than 98 percent of ballots counted, 61 percent opposed the measure. New York Times
A Peruvian congressional committee on Tuesday approved a bill to extend temporary permits for informal miners until the end of 2027, a move that came as more than a thousand miners protested outside the legislature against the permits’ looming expiration. – Reuters
A panel of Brazilian Supreme Court justices sentenced high-ranking military officials and a federal police officer to up to 24 years in prison on Tuesday after finding them guilty of attempting a coup and plotting to kill President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and other authorities. – Associated Press
The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights called on the government of El Salvador to protect three Salvadoran men deported by the United States in a decision published Tuesday that said they had been held without the ability to communicate with their lawyers or relatives since arriving. – Associated Press
Chileans face perhaps the starkest choice in the history of their country’s young democracy when they vote next month in a presidential runoff that pits hard-right José Antonio Kast against communist Jeannette Jara. – Associated Press
Martina Cardenas writes: The next few months will be essential for Milei to deliver on his campaign promises with this newfound advantage in Congress. The United States has committed financial and strategic resources to the South American nation; now, it must determine whether Argentina can deliver on its reform commitments, resist undue Chinese influence, and maintain domestic stability—not only economic but also political. If it succeeds, it could become a model for the region. However, failure will reinforce the all-too-familiar pattern of Latin American volatility. – National Interest
North America
Canada, seeking tighter ties with the European Union, will boost its investment in European Space Agency programs by C$528.5 million ($377.96 million), a tenfold increase compared to previous contributions, a top cabinet member said on Tuesday. – Reuters
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum on Tuesday ruled out possible U.S. military intervention in the Latin American country, saying Mexico did not want it in its territory. – Reuters
Environmental groups sued the Trump administration for its decision to move forward with a planned December 10 offshore oil and gas lease sale covering 80 million acres (32 million hectares) in the Gulf of Mexico, they said on Tuesday. – Reuters
Canada and Sweden announced a strategic partnership to deepen cooperation on defense and trade, as the North American nation looks to reduce its dependence on the US for military equipment and as an export market. – Bloomberg
United States
The Trump Administration will give Constellation Energy a $1 billion federal loan to restart the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania that suffered a partial core meltdown in 1979. – Wall Street Journal
An influential bipartisan congressional commission is urging lawmakers to create a new economic statecraft office to enforce U.S. sanctions, limit Chinese influence in the electrical grid, and release funding to maintain dominance in cyber and quantum technologies — warning that the national security threat from Beijing has escalated over the past year and could threaten the United States in a future conflict. – Washington Post
The Trump administration admitted it “inadvertently” deported a transgender woman to Mexico this month after a judge ordered she not be removed to the country over fears she may be tortured or violently persecuted. – CNN
James Traub writes: These tests captured an essential feature of citizenship in the United States. While the subject of an autocratic state need only submit, the citizens of a democracy can shape their country based on their understanding of its principles and history. If we think that’s true, we cannot demand ever more knowledge of newcomers — and ever less of our current citizens. – The New York Times
Editorial: President Trump, however, has tried to take Congress’s constitutional power and make it his own. He has repeatedly ignored laws passed by the House and the Senate to spend money, or not spend it, based on his whims and agenda. He has violated the law at least six times, according to the Government Accountability Office, a federal watchdog agency. That total does not include the government shutdown, when he continued to disregard the law. – The New York Times
Moritz S. Graefrath and Mark A. Raymond writes: To provide as much reassurance to skeptical states as possible, the three proliferators should consider adopting a “no first use” policy, at least while they remain under the American nuclear umbrella. While NATO was unwilling to commit to such a policy during the Cold War, Canada, Germany, and Japan face less stringent security challenges, at least at present, and can therefore contemplate taking this step in order to signal their commitment to maintaining the status quo […] If the proliferators are allied, stable governments and responsible members of the international community, then more nuclear weapons might indeed be better. – Foreign Affairs
Cybersecurity
Three of the biggest companies in artificial intelligence said Tuesday they formed a partnership featuring tens of billions of dollars in spending, adding to an investment spree that is aimed at supercharging AI model development. – Wall Street Journal
A federal judge on Tuesday dismissed the Federal Trade Commission’s claims that Facebook parent Meta Platforms has an illegal monopoly in social media, rejecting one of the government’s marquee antitrust lawsuits against big technology companies. – Wall Street Journal
The Dutch government suspended an order that allowed it to seize control of chip maker Nexperia from its Chinese owner, the country’s economy minister said. – Wall Street Journal
Cloudflare, a company that helps websites secure and manage their internet traffic, experienced issues with its global network, the company said early Tuesday, disrupting service for many websites and apps. – The New York Times
Google DeepMind said on Wednesday it is opening a new artificial intelligence research lab in Singapore that will focus on collaboration with governments, businesses, and academic institutions across Asia. – Reuters
The cloud businesses of Amazon and Microsoft could face stricter scrutiny from European Union regulators, who are looking into whether they should fall under the bloc’s dragnet on Big Tech companies. – Associated Press
Defense
New Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Kenneth Wilsbach on Tuesday pledged to focus on modernizing the service’s fleet, improving the readiness of both its aircraft and airmen and strengthening how well it works with other services and allies. – Defense News
The pilot of a Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor stealth fighter successfully maneuvered an MQ-20 Avenger unmanned jet during a demonstration of human-machine flight cooperation in an Oct. 21 flight test, according to drone maker General Atomics. Defense News
A new office consolidating the development and purchasing of autonomous systems into a single entity will be the Navy’s first effort under the new era of Pentagon acquisition, USNI News has learned. – USNI News
Eastern Shipbuilding Group halted work on the U.S. Coast Guard’s Heritage-class Offshore Patrol Cutter program, citing “significant financial strain” caused by the program’s conditions, USNI News has learned. USNI News
Erik Schuh writes: Conversely, it may show that cheaper systems or even change in tactics achieve the same outcome at far lower cost. But until analysts do the work, those headlines over million-dollar missiles versus thousand-dollar drones are just noise. Sneering at $4 million missiles misses the broader truth: Those missiles may be the best bad option available. The real problem isn’t that commanders are using expensive interceptors. It’s that they don’t have cheaper alternatives that are equally effective. – War on the Rocks
Long War
The Muslim Brotherhood and the Council on American-Islamic Relations were designated foreign terrorist organizations and transnational criminal organizations by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Tuesday. – Jerusalem Post
An 18-year-old from south London appeared at Westminster Magistrates’ Court last week charged with intending to commit acts of terrorism after officers arrested him at Gatwick Airport as he tried to board a flight to Istanbul; prosecutors said he planned to cross into Syria to join Islamic State fighters. The case was sent to a further hearing at the Old Bailey later this month. – Jerusalem Post
Michael Jacobson and Matthew Levitt writes: On the Hamas financing front, authorities should first zero in on entities falling under the Union of Good, Federation of Islamic Organizations in Europe, and Popular Conference for Palestinians Abroad. The impact of unilateral U.S. sanctions will only go so far on their own, and other key governments—particularly in Europe—will be far more likely to take similar steps if they are persuaded that the U.S. actions are legally sound and based on concrete, reliable information. – Washington Institute