CAPITOL HILL: Defense Secretary James Mattis fired off a new letter to House Armed Services leadership on Tuesday, asking lawmakers again to vote in favor of waivers for certain countries Washington is trying to sway into its orbit, but who continue to do business with Russian defense firms. The letter was delivered to HASC chairman Rep.… Keep reading →

Pentagon kicking off new program to work with the defense industry on counter-intelligence to stop Chinese hackers. But lawmakers aren’t convinced.

The Pentagon’s Nuclear Posture Review remains the topic of debate on Capitol Hill, with Democrats and Republicans sparring over nuclear deterrence.

WASHINGTON: This city’s fixation on how much stuff the Pentagon should buy is distracting us from the “core ideological struggle” against corrupt dictatorships, said the top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee. Numerical targets like a 355-ship Navy — now enshrined in law — or a 500,000 active soldier Army are not only unaffordable… Keep reading →

CORRECTED: Changed Stealth To Fifth Generation Fighters In Fifth Paragraph.  WASHINGTON: Can the Christmas holidays come quickly enough? Republicans, hungry for their first major legislative accomplishment since the 2016 elections, are focused above and beyond all else on changes to tax law, leaving a dangerous vacuum into which a shutdown could fall. Last week, the… Keep reading →

WASHINGTON: When the top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee went to talk with the almost mystical Pentagon gang known as the Office of Net Assessment, they told him America can’t afford to execute the strategy we’re pursuing. “I asked them what they were lacking. They didn’t have an answer,” Rep. Adam Smith told… Keep reading →

UPDATED with more from Rep. Smith WASHINGTON: The congressional budget process is headed for “a complete meltdown” in December, and the most likely outcome is a year-long Continuing Resolution, the top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee believes. The government is already on a three-month CR until December, which is bad enough, said a visibly frustrated… Keep reading →

PENTAGON: There are a lot of empty offices around the E-ring, the most prestigious sector of the Pentagon, where top defense officials enjoy the rare privilege of windows. But that’s about to change, a senior aide to Defense Secretary Jim Mattis told me. “There’s a bow wave of names that are very close to being… Keep reading →

WASHINGTON: The United States, guarantor of the current world order, will lose the ability to maintain that role in five years unless something fundamental changes on Capitol Hill, Gen. Joe Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told Congress at an extraordinary Monday evening hearing. Dunford made it personal, saying “…without sustained, sufficient, and… Keep reading →

WASHINGTON: When it comes to Congress, Jim Mattis is making up for lost time — even if it means testifying at strange times. In an unprecedented sprint to make up for a delayed roll-out of the 2018 budget, the defense secretary and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Gen. Joseph Dunford, will appear before all… Keep reading →