The Absence Of U.S. Leadership Makes the World More Dangerous Than Ever

| Posted in Defense Drumbeat

By Joseph I. Lieberman As appeared in The Washington Post For more than 50 years, national security leaders have gathered annually at the Munich Security Conference, a conclave established during the depths of the Cold War as a meeting place for the Western allies standing against the communist threat. I have been privileged to attend almost half of these meetings — from the era…

Terrorist Detention Plan Due Tomorrow

| Posted in Defense Drumbeat

Tomorrow is the deadline for the White House to deliver a comprehensive detention strategy to Congress, which may include a plan for closing the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay. The FY 16 NDAA requires that he submit such a plan by February 23, 2016. Despite years of campaigning on the issue, President Obama has never proposed a plan outlining where detainees too dangerous to…

WSJ OpEd - The Rogue State ICBM

| Posted in Defense Drumbeat

WSJ Editorial: The Rogue-State ICBM The intercontinental nuclear missile threat arrives in America. Americans have been focused on New Hampshire and Iowa, but spare a thought for Los Angeles, Denver and Chicago. Those are among the cities within range of the intercontinental ballistic missile tested Sunday by North Korea. Toledo and Pittsburgh are still…

Congress' Opinions On Defense Look Pretty Good In Hindsight

| Posted in Defense Drumbeat

Politico Reports on Programs DoD Fought To Cut Last Year, Today They Tout Them as Vital Just three months ago, President Barack Obama blasted lawmakers for pumping billions of dollars into weapons the Pentagon hadn't requested. Now his administration is touting some of those same weapons as crucial for combating the Islamic State and for deterring a rising…

Fight Against Islamic State Not Going So Well, Say Former Administration Officials

| Posted in Defense Drumbeat

By: Kate Brannen - Vice News A trio of former Obama administration officials painted a grim picture of the fight against the Islamic State group, on the day of the president's State of the Union speech. "I would not be surprised if I woke up one morning and ISIS in Libya had grabbed a large portion" of territory there, similar to the Blitzkrieg-style push it made in Iraq…

ISIS - A Significant Strategic & Lethal Threat

| Posted in Defense Drumbeat

As the President prepares for his final State of the Union, he continues to be out-of-touch with the realities of ISIS and the threat it poses to the United States and the world. Michael Morell, Former Acting Director of the Central Intelligence Agency under the Obama Administration, testified before the Committee today giving his thoughts on ISIS. What President Obama told the New…

Thornberry Talks North Korea With Wolf Blitzer

| Posted in Defense Drumbeat

Today, Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-TX), Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, discussed the "man-made-detonation" in North Korea with CNN's Wolf Blitzer. Watch the full interview here.

HASC Taliban 5 Report

| Posted in Defense Drumbeat

"You've got to obey the laws, even if you're the president, even if it's inconvenient..." Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-TX), Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee on Fox News. Watch the full clip here. "The five Taliban leaders, held at the military prison in Cuba, were informed that they were being released two days before the administration told…

Friday Fact Check:

| Posted in Defense Drumbeat

“You've got to obey the laws, even if you're the president, even if it's inconvenient...” - Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-TX) MYTH: The Report doesn’t identify any statements Pentagon officials made to Congress that were incorrect or misleading.- Lt.…

Major Coverage Of HASC Taliban 5 Report

| Posted in Defense Drumbeat

"...A really important report [that] dives into detail about a very controversial episode..." reported MSNBC's Kelly O'Donnell today. Click here for the full segment.House Republicans Denounce Obama’s Handling of Prisoner Exchange New York Times - Charlie Savage - 12.9.15 After months of secret talks in early 2014 on a potential deal to swap five Taliban detainees…

FACT SHEET: When DOD Could Have Notified Congress About The Taliban Five Transfer

| Posted in Defense Drumbeat

The law requires the Secretary of Defense to notify Congress “not later than 30 days before the transfer or release of detainees" from GTMO. According to the HASC report, here are just some of the missed opportunities to comply with the letter or even the spirit of the law before the Taliban Five were transferred on May 31st, 2014: 102 Days before the Transfer, when on…

Forbes Talks ISIS Strategy With Cavut

| Posted in Defense Drumbeat

Yesterday, Rep. Randy Forbes (R-VA), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Seapower and Projection Forces, talked ISIS strategy with Fox News. Watch here.

Thornberry Calls For A Strategy Not Based On Numbers

| Posted in Defense Drumbeat

Today, Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-TX), Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, talked with Fox News about the need for a strategy to defeat ISIS not a increasing number of U.S. troops without a strategy. Watch here.

Lessons U.S. Must Learn From Paris Attack

| Posted in Defense Drumbeat

RealClearPolitics By Mac Thornberry The ISIS attack on Paris has been a wake-up call for the world. A network of terrorists exploited weaknesses in Western intelligence networks, border controls, and law enforcement to savagely attack soft targets and inflict devastating casualties. To protect America, Congress has rightly acted on one of these weaknesses and strengthened the screening…

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