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You are here: Home / Archives for National Security

Fear of Trump Delayed Promotions of Female Generals

February 17, 2021 at 12:14 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Last fall, the Pentagon’s most senior leaders agreed that two top generals should be promoted to elite, four-star commands,” the New York Times reports.

“For then-Defense Secretary Mark Esper and Gen. Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the tricky part was that both of the accomplished officers were women…”

“So the Pentagon officials agreed on an unusual strategy: They held back their recommendations until after the November elections, betting that if Joe Biden won, he and his aides would be more supportive of the Pentagon picks than Mr. Trump, who had feuded with Mr. Esper and has a history of disparaging women.”

Filed Under: National Security

The Danger of Domestic Fanaticisms

February 14, 2021 at 7:24 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

George Will: “The first of this century’s national traumas is denoted by two numbers: 9/11. One purpose of, and a sufficient justification for, the second impeachment of the 45th president was to inscribe this century’s second trauma in the nation’s memory as: 1/6.”

“Although not nearly as tragic as 9/11 in lives lost and radiating policy consequences, 1/6 should become, as its implications percolate into the national consciousness, even more unsettling. Long before 9/11, Americans knew that foreign fanaticisms were perennial dangers. After 1/6, Americans know what their Constitution’s Framers knew: In any democracy, domestic fanaticisms always are, potentially, rank weeds that flourish when fertilized by persons who are as unscrupulous as they are prominent.”

Filed Under: National Security

Pence’s ‘Nuclear Football’ Was In Danger During Riot

February 12, 2021 at 6:31 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

CNN: “Military officials overseeing the authorization process to launch nuclear weapons were unaware on January 6 that then-Vice President Mike Pence’s military aide carrying the ‘nuclear football’ was potentially in danger as rioters got close during the violent Capitol insurrection, according to a defense official.”

“US Strategic Command became aware of the gravity of the incident after seeing a video played at the Senate impeachment trial Wednesday showing Pence, his Secret Service agents and a military officer carrying the briefcase with classified nuclear launch information running down a flight of stairs inside the Capitol to get to safety.”

Filed Under: National Security

Biden to Launch Pentagon Review of China Strategy

February 10, 2021 at 2:02 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Wall Street Journal: “President Biden is expected Wednesday to announce the creation of a Pentagon review of the national security aspects of the administration’s China strategy as part of a broader administration effort to determine its approach to countering Beijing, administration officials said.”

Filed Under: National Security

Lloyd Austin Takes First Steps to Repair the Pentagon

February 9, 2021 at 4:30 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Politico: “In his first weeks in office, the new secretary has installed a slate of well-respected national security professionals in his front office who are working to restore order to the Pentagon’s policymaking process. Those staffers are already making changes to ensure that civilian voices are included in policy meetings.”

Filed Under: National Security

Austin Orders Military ‘Stand Down’ Over Extremism

February 6, 2021 at 4:02 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin has signed a memo ordering commanding officers and supervisors to hold a one-day ‘stand-down’ to discuss extremism within the armed forces in the next 60 days,” Axios reports.

“After multiple current service members and veterans were arrested for their actions during the deadly Jan. 6 Capitol siege, the Pentagon has increased efforts to combat white supremacy and other forms of extremism in its ranks.”

Filed Under: National Security

Biden Says Trump Should Not Get Intel Briefings

February 5, 2021 at 7:59 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

President Biden said former president Donald Trump should not receive intelligence briefings, citing his “erratic behavior unrelated to the insurrection,” the Washington Post reports.

Said Biden: “I just think that there is no need for him to have the intelligence briefings. What value is giving him an intelligence briefing? What impact does he have at all, other than the fact he might slip and say something?”

Filed Under: National Security, White House

Biden Will Keep Space Force

February 3, 2021 at 2:57 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Wednesday that the U.S. Space Force “absolutely” has the “full support of the Biden administration,” Axios reports.

Filed Under: National Security

Mayorkas Confirmed for Homeland Security Chief

February 2, 2021 at 3:34 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

The U.S. Senate confirmed Alejandro Mayorkas as Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, 56-43, Axios reports.

Filed Under: Immigration, National Security

Pentagon Chief Clears Out Last-Minute Trump Picks

February 2, 2021 at 2:53 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin dismissed hundreds of members of the Pentagon’s policy advisory boards Monday, ousting last-minute Trump administration nominees as well as officials appointed by previous administrations,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“By removing members, effective Feb. 16, Mr. Austin avoided selectively firing those appointed by the Trump administration.”

Filed Under: National Security

Inside the Brutal Power Struggle at Homeland Security

February 2, 2021 at 2:30 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

The Intercept: “Tensions ran so high at the Department of Homeland Security’s oversight wing that one senior official fantasized about Arya Stark, the fictional assassin in Game of Thrones, ‘taking care of’ the agency chief.”

“The investigation, conducted in 2020 by an outside law firm, reveals bureaucratic infighting so bitter that it drove out an agency head and led to an array of startling allegations, including that a high-level official made threatening comments about a concealed weapon during a meeting. The investigation paints a picture of DHS’s Office of Inspector General in chaos.”

Filed Under: National Security

Biden Eyes Nuclear Arms Policy Overhaul

January 28, 2021 at 8:00 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“President Joe Biden is assembling a national security team with an unusually ambitious agenda to negotiate new arms control treaties, scale back the nuclear arsenal, and review decades of military doctrine,” Politico reports.

“But veterans of the last administration fear this newly empowered group of progressives may be naive about what can be achieved without undermining U.S. security, and are already warning them to prepare for a shock when they read the latest intelligence.”

Filed Under: Foreign Affairs, National Security

Pentagon Restricted D.C. Guard Commander Before Riot

January 26, 2021 at 11:45 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“The commander of the D.C. National Guard said the Pentagon restricted his authority ahead of the riot at the U.S. Capitol, requiring higher level sign-off to respond that cost time as the events that day spiraled out of control,” the Washington Post reports.

“Local commanders typically have the power to take military action on their own to save lives or prevent significant property damage in an urgent situation when there isn’t enough time to obtain approval from headquarters.”

“But Maj. Gen. William J. Walker, the commanding general of the District of Columbia National Guard, said the Pentagon essentially took that power and other authorities away from him ahead of a pro-Trump protest on Jan. 6. That meant he couldn’t immediately roll out troops when he received a panicked phone call from the Capitol Police chief warning that rioters were about to enter the U.S. Capitol.”

Filed Under: National Security

Biden to Drop Trump’s Military Transgender Ban

January 24, 2021 at 10:33 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“President Joe Biden is set to issue an executive order to reverse a Pentagon policy that largely bars transgender individuals from joining the military, dumping a ban ordered by President Donald Trump in a tweet during his first year in office,” the AP reports..

“Biden has been widely expected to overturn the Trump policy in his early days in office. The White House could announce the move as early as Monday.”

Filed Under: National Security

One In Five Charged In Capitol Attack Served In Military

January 21, 2021 at 5:25 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

An NPR analysis has found that nearly 1 in 5 people charged over their alleged involvement in the attack on the U.S. Capitol appear to have a military history.

Filed Under: National Security

House to Vote on Waiver for Biden’s Defense Pick

January 21, 2021 at 8:29 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

The House is expected to vote Thursday on a waiver to permit retired Gen. Lloyd Austin to serve as secretary of defense in the Biden administration, CNN reports.

“Austin, who would be the first African American to run the department, needs to be granted a waiver from a law requiring a defense secretary to wait seven years after active-duty service before taking the job.”

Filed Under: National Security

Avril Haines Confirmed as Biden’s Spy Chief

January 20, 2021 at 7:31 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

The Senate confirmed Avril Haines, President Biden’s pick to lead the sprawling U.S. intelligence community Wednesday, delivering the newly inaugurated president his first Senate-confirmed cabinet secretary, the Wall Street Journal reports.

Filed Under: National Security

Two National Guard Members Removed

January 19, 2021 at 12:01 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Associated Press: “Two U.S. Army National Guard members are being removed from the security mission to secure Joe Biden’s presidential inauguration. A U.S. Army official and a senior U.S. intelligence official say the two National Guard members have been found to have ties to fringe right group militias.”

“No plot against Biden was found.”

Filed Under: National Security

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About Political Wire

goddard-bw-snapshotTaegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.

Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.

Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.

Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.

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