National Security
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NDAA
14 Dec 2023 |
House passes defense bill, leaving out controversial social issues
There are two annual fiscal actions which shape what the state of America's defense will look like for the coming year: the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA, first passed in 1961), and defense appropriations bills. While the NDAA establishes funding levels and general guidelines for the various agencies responsible for defense, the appropriations bill provides the funding. One down, one to go. The US House of Representatives fended off attempts to include language on social issues into the NDAA, passing it by a margin of 310-118. That may not seem close, but a two-thirds margin was required under the fast-track procedure; it passed with 72% of the votes. The US Senate had already voted 87-13 in favor of the legislation. The Act increases the US military budget by 3% from last year, to $886 billion, and includes a 5.2% pay raise for service members. It also provides for training assistance to Taiwan to help the US ally defend itself against attack from Communist China. One "controversial" aspect survived in the NDAA: Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. First passed in 2008, this provision allows the government to conduct targeted surveillance of "foreign persons located outside of the United States." Privacy advocates have long criticized the law, but it has been responsible for over half of the information contained in the Presidential Daily Briefing (PDB). The legislation also allows for the sale of US nuclear submarines to staunch American ally Australia; this is part of the AUKUS security agreement between Australia, the United Kingdom, and the US. Initiatives to strengthen relations with allies in the Pacific region, such as joint military exercises, will also be funded. Around $150 billion will be allocated to research and development in such fields as high-energy lasers and mobile micronuclear reactors for use in the theater of operations. Hundreds of other issues are addressed in the Act, to include $300 million in additional funding for Ukraine's war effort against Putin. While passage was a major step in the right direction, the items outlined in the NDAA must now be funded. Considering the vitriol in a closely divided Congress, the upcoming election year, and the fact that our elected officials spent $1.7 trillion more than was brought in last year, that should be an interesting show. |
Peter Thiel accuses Google of working with the Chinese military. (15 Jul 2019) One of our favorite billionaire entrepreneurs, Peter Thiel, has leveled some lofty charges against internet giant Google (GOOGL $978-$1,143-$1,297). The PayPal co-founder is openly calling on the FBI and the CIA to investigate the $800 billion firm for possible infiltration by the Chinese military. He calls out the company for its "seemingly treasonous" decision to cheerfully perform work for the Chinese military while vocally shunning jobs for the US Department of Defense. What can we say, this is absolute fact. Thiel just raises the question of whether or not this is due to anti-American bias in management, or infiltration by the Chinese Communist Party. One year ago, Google ended its contract with the Department of Defense after thousands of employees signed a petition threatening to resign. More cowardice in the C-suite. We have no doubt that many in upper management at Alphabet, and a ton of millennial workers at Alphabet, have more sympathy for communist China than they have respect for America, based on a lazy, arrogant lack of historical understanding. That is simply the zeitgeist in this country right now. The inevitable course of events bound to unfold, however, will change that attitude within upcoming generations.
US to expel 60 Russian diplomats in response to nerve agent attack in the UK
(26 Mar 2018) The Trump Administration has labelled 60 Russian diplomats as spies and has ordered their immediate expulsion from the United States. This action is a direct result of Russia's poisoning of Sergei Skripal and his daughter, Yulia, last month in a small town outside London. The Russian consulate in Seattle is also being shuttered as the worldwide condemnation for Putin's despicable act ramps up. Administration officials have said that the expulsion will greatly diminish Russia's data collection and espionage capabilities in the country.
(26 Mar 2018) The Trump Administration has labelled 60 Russian diplomats as spies and has ordered their immediate expulsion from the United States. This action is a direct result of Russia's poisoning of Sergei Skripal and his daughter, Yulia, last month in a small town outside London. The Russian consulate in Seattle is also being shuttered as the worldwide condemnation for Putin's despicable act ramps up. Administration officials have said that the expulsion will greatly diminish Russia's data collection and espionage capabilities in the country.
Kansan Mike Pompeo will replace Rex Tillerson at State
(13 Mar 2018) Former Kansas Representative Mike Pompeo, currently President Donald Trump's CIA director, will be the next US Secretary of State, replacing Rex Tillerson. This is a fascinating turn of events, considering Pompeo's tough talk on China, his West Point education, and strong opposition to the (terrible) Iranian nuclear deal. Tillerson and the president have been at odds for some time, so this was not an unexpected move. While Tillerson was a highly-respected figure, turnover under a mercurial leader is always going to be high. For good or bad, controlled chaos is the Trump style. We love Pompeo as the pick, but we can virtually guarantee that China and Russia do not.
(13 Mar 2018) Former Kansas Representative Mike Pompeo, currently President Donald Trump's CIA director, will be the next US Secretary of State, replacing Rex Tillerson. This is a fascinating turn of events, considering Pompeo's tough talk on China, his West Point education, and strong opposition to the (terrible) Iranian nuclear deal. Tillerson and the president have been at odds for some time, so this was not an unexpected move. While Tillerson was a highly-respected figure, turnover under a mercurial leader is always going to be high. For good or bad, controlled chaos is the Trump style. We love Pompeo as the pick, but we can virtually guarantee that China and Russia do not.
President Trump blocks China-backed deal to buy US semiconductor company
(14 Sep 2017) We have moved a long way on the spectrum from the days when President Clinton allowed Loral Aerospace (and its huge Clinton donor CEO) to sell missile guidance systems to the Chinese which gave that country, for the first time, the ability to hit US cities with ICBMs. This was done, by the way, by circumventing the US Congress. This week, President Trump sent a very different message to the Communist regime in China. The president personally rejected a deal by Chinese-government backed Canyon Bridge Capital Partners to buy US semiconductor maker Lattice Semiconductor Corp. (LSCC $6-$6-$8) for $1.3 billion, citing national security concerns. Lattice provides the US government with a number of different products. His decision affirmed the recommendation of the US Committee on Foreign Investment to halt the deal. Outstanding.
(14 Sep 2017) We have moved a long way on the spectrum from the days when President Clinton allowed Loral Aerospace (and its huge Clinton donor CEO) to sell missile guidance systems to the Chinese which gave that country, for the first time, the ability to hit US cities with ICBMs. This was done, by the way, by circumventing the US Congress. This week, President Trump sent a very different message to the Communist regime in China. The president personally rejected a deal by Chinese-government backed Canyon Bridge Capital Partners to buy US semiconductor maker Lattice Semiconductor Corp. (LSCC $6-$6-$8) for $1.3 billion, citing national security concerns. Lattice provides the US government with a number of different products. His decision affirmed the recommendation of the US Committee on Foreign Investment to halt the deal. Outstanding.
(21 Feb 2017) DHS plan calls for 15,000 new hires to control southern border. Department of Homeland Security chief General John Kelly signed off on memos that would crack down on illegal immigration and add 10,000 new ICE officers and 5,000 new hires at the US Customs and Border Protection agency. These memos, when approved by President Trump, will focus on enforcing existing immigration laws on the books and, therefore, would not be subject to judicial review. That does not mean that the activist 9th Circuit Court of Appeals won't try to intervene, but that would lead to a slam-dunk overturn for the most overturned court in the United States.
(21 Feb 2017) Trump's brilliant choice for National Security Advisor. President Donald Trump has tapped active-duty Lt Gen H.R. McMaster to be his national security advisor, following the requested resignation of Lt Gen Michael Flynn for withholding information from the vice president. McMaster is considered one of the US military's most brilliant strategic thinkers, a moniker which has also been given to Secretary of Defense James Mattis. McMaster's PhD dissertation, which was turned into the 1997 book, "Dereliction of Duty," decries the weak military leaders of the early Vietnam War era who refused to push back against a White House bent on making bad decisions in the conflict. President Trump has not shied away from selecting strong cabinet members who will push back on policy issues—a refreshing change from past "yes men" and crony cabinets.