ISP Brief July 2017
July 28, 2017
International Security Program
It's our pleasure to send you the July Edition of the ISP Brief, the monthly newsletter of the CSIS International Security Program. ISP Brief features articles and commentary written by our scholars, their analysis as published in various media sources (including video and audio highlights), and links to recent events. We hope the newsletter provides you, our readers, a snapshot of the excellent work underway in ISP, and the engaging thoughts of our experts. As always, your feedback is welcome.
Featured
Mark Moyar Joins CSIS as Director of the Military and Diplomatic History Project
July 19, 2017
Dr. Mark Moyar - formerly with the Foreign Policy Initiative (FPI) - has joined the International Security Program (ISP) at CSIS as a senior fellow and director of the Military and Diplomatic History Project.
Kathleen Hicks Appointed to Defense Strategy Commission
July 20, 2017
The Commission is charged with “reviewing the current national defense strategy of the United States, including the assumptions, missions, force posture, force structure, and risks associated with the strategy”.
CSIS to Launch Project on South Asian Nuclear Transparency
July 19, 2017
CSIS Proliferation Prevention Program launched a two-year project on South Asian nuclear transparency in partnership with the Stimson Center.
Examining the Geopolitical Impact of the 4th Estate
July 21, 2017
9:30 a.m.
CSIS Headquarters, 1616 Rhode Island Avenue NW
The Russia Challenge in Europe
July 17, 2017
10:00 a.m.
CSIS Headquarters, 1616 Rhode Island Avenue NW
Attempted Coup in Montenegro and Malign Russian Influence in Europe
July 13, 2017
9:30 a.m.
Dirksen Senate Office Building
Check out the Latest on Defense360 :
READ "The Army Modernization Imperative," by Andrew Hunter and Rhys McCormick.
READ "Making the Most of Special Operations Forces," by Mark Moyar.
READ "The Promise and Perils of Protectionism in the Defense Sector," by Andrew Hunter.
Publications
READ "The US Army’s Next Big 5 Must Be Capabilities, Not New Platforms," by Rhys McCormick and Andrew Hunter, Defense One.
READ "A Controversial Ban and the Long Game to Delegitimize Nuclear Weapons," by Sharon Squassoni, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists.
READ "Drop Marine Standards for "Cyber Warriors?" by Mark Cancian, Proceedings Magazine.
READ "Trump Gave the Military More Power, But Here’s What Really Concerns Us," by Alice Hunt Friend and Kathleen Hicks, Defense One.
READ "Improve the Space-Based Sensor System," by Tom Karako, The Cipher Brief.
READ "North Korea's New ICBM," by Tom Karako, CSIS.
READ "The Administration’s Good Week on Asia Policy," by John Schaus, CSIS.
READ "The Circular Firing Squad of Defense Acquisition Rhetoric," by Camron Gorguinpour, CSIS.
READ "U.S.-Canadian Defense Industrial Cooperation," by Andrew Hunter, Kristina Obecny, Gregory Sanders, James Ruedlinger and Jesse Ellman, CSIS.
READ "What is the Significance of Offering India a Maritime Surveillance Drone?" by John Schaus, CSIS.
READ "Enhancing Allied Air and Missile Defenses," by Ian Williams, Defense Dossier.
Multimedia
LISTEN - Alice Hunt Friend and Beverly Kirk discuss "Civilian Control of the Military and Why it Matters" on the CSIS Smart Women, Smart Power Podcast.
WATCH - Tom Karako talks about the US anti-ballistic Missile System on FOX News.
LISTEN - Kathleen Hicks and Beverly Kirk explore "Trump, Putin and the G20" on the CSIS Smart Women, Smart Power Podcast.
WATCH - Todd Harrison talks about the possibility of Congress creating a separate military service known as the "Space Corps" on C-SPAN's Washington Journal.
Upcoming Events
U.S. Coast Guard: Priorities for the Future
August 1, 2017
10:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.
CSIS Headquarters, 1616 Rhode Island Avenue NW
PONI 2017 Fall Conference
October 11, 2017 - October 12, 2017
9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Barksdale Air Force Base
Select Recent Event
Debate: U.S. Nuclear Weapon Modernization
June 29, 2017
4:30 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.
CSIS Headquarters, 1616 Rhode Island Avenue NW
Media Highlights
“It’s a difference, I think, in the magnitude and the utility in the information sharing that’s happening.” - Andrew Hunter in Jane's Defence Weekly article "US Air Force analysing future of multi-domain C2" on July 26, 2017
"I think this would be a tremendous step forward, and I think it's important to keep in mind … space sensors are not just about long-range missile defense, but they would improve the lethality and effectiveness of every interceptor family in the ballistic missile defense system." - Tom Karako in Washington Examiner article "Star Wars redux: Congress eyes space to counter Kim Jong Un in North Korea" on July 24, 2017.
“The Senate floor passage of the NDAA that is an incredibly intense and grueling exercise...The question then is, how much is he present and able to kind of steer that process.” - Andrew Hunter in Washington Examiner article "New panel of Washington experts to review US national defense policy" on July 21, 2017.
"McCain is McCain, and he has needled people and programs that he does not think are performing...LCS has been one thing that has been in his sights, and arguably there has been an effect." - Mark Cancian in Business Insider article "RPT-McCain illness deprives U.S. Senate of crucial vote, Trump critic" on July 21, 2017.
Fencing off funds is “always used as a tool either to get information from the department or you are trying to get their attention that you have concerns that you think [DoD is] not fully satisfying and it’s a way to highlight it to senior leaders’ attention because presumably if there is a fence on money, the leadership of the department becomes aware of that … in the case of DIUx, it’s going to go to the [defense] secretary.” - Andrew Hunter in Federal News Radio 1500 AM article "DIUx going broke, but that might not be bad" on July 18, 2017.
The service was crippled by the "collapse" of FCS, which "had come to really represent almost all the Army’s future-looking modernization investments." Even if funding were to suddenly materialize, the service now has a "very big trough in the pipeline." - Andrew Hunter in Inside Defense article "After FCS collapse, Army contends with nearly empty vehicle pipeline" on July 12, 2017.
According to the report, army modernization fell by 74 percent from 2008 to 2015. Fifty-two percent of that fall is in the research and development sector, worsening the problem, said CSIS senior fellow Andrew Hunter. "A lack of consensus or clarity on what the army should prioritize compounds the difficulty of modernizing the army," Mr. Hunter added. - Andrew Hunter in Washington Times article "Sen. Cotton: Army modernization crucial for challenging Russia" on July 17, 2017.
“The way you protect yourself from a missile attack is through deterrence. You show your adversary that you can hold them off and strike back at them.” - Todd Harrison in USA Today article "U.S. missile defense plans to zap North Korean threats" on July 17, 2017.
"The U.S. has a "real capability" to defend the country and "we're in a relatively advantageous position" to the threats from North Korea." - Tom Karako in Axios article "How ready is the U.S. for a North Korean missile attack?" on July 16, 2017.
“Had the same motor’s thrust been put to a range-maximizing flight path, the Hwasong-14 could have traveled as far as 7,000 kilometers, enough to reach Alaska and well in range of Guam.” - Tom Karako in People's Pundit Daily article "North Korean Missile Capabilities Improve With New ICBM" on July 11, 2017.
“This is an important day for homeland missile defense. Hit-to-kill has once again been validated, and this time against an ICBM. The Missile Defense Agency has been on a long road to improve the reliability and capability of the GBI fleet. Details are still coming in, but today’s test promises good things for the defense of the nation.” - Tom Karako in The New American article "Successful Test of THAAD Anti-missile System Offers Hope for U.S. Defense" on July 12, 2017.
"The military’s place in our democracy must ultimately be maintained by citizens complementing their deep respect for the military with a healthy skepticism of its suitability to domestic and global politics and grand strategy. One way to develop this critical eye is to help Americans see soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines as people, rather than superheroes." - Kathleen Hicks and Alice Hunt Friend in Niskanen Center article "Valuing the Military in a Liberal Society" on July 13, 2017.
“You can actually start to do significant things in small satellites that you could only do before in a large satellite.” - Todd Harrison in Wired article "Tiny Laser-Beaming Satellites Could Communicate with Mars" on July 10, 2017.
"Under the Obama administration we used to see requests for cut lists rather than add lists," Harrison said. "It was common for OMB to ask for budgets showing how DoD and other agencies would adjust to a 5 percent cut in funding. It looks like Mulvaney is taking the opposite approach — start low, and then make them justify going higher." - Todd Harrison in Defense News article "Mulvaney opens door to bigger DoD budgets" on July 10, 2017.
“This is an area where the president’s hand is very strong and he has a lot of authority to make policy.” - Andrew Hunter in Washington Post article "Pentagon moves to shut foreign firms out of its supply chain" on July 9, 2017.
"It doesn't exist in a vacuum," said Thomas Karako, director of the Missile Defense Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. "It should be understood in the larger deterrent and defense posture of the United States." - Tom Karako in Newsmax article "Report: US Missile Shield Not Ready for NKorea Nuke Attack" on July 5, 2017.
“We have focused on readiness and capacity in ground forces. What we sacrificed, and what we punted on are capabilities.” - Todd Harrison in Scout article "New Army Weapons Counter North Korea" on July 6, 2017.
"The United States has also “continued without any complications in our cooperation with Russians on the international space station.” - Todd Harrison in Foreign Policy article "Under Trump, U.S.-Russian Relations Hit New Low" on July 6, 2017.
"I think many people would recognize that at some point as military space capabilities continue to advance, space forces will need to become their own service." - Todd Harrison in CNN Politics article "Congress and the Air Force are in a space war" on July 8, 2017.
“North Korea is bad enough when you’re talking about their nuclear and missiles program, but I think we ignore their chemical and biological programs truly at our own peril.” - Rebecca Hersman in Washington Post article "The message behind the murder: North Korea’s assassination sheds light on chemical weapons arsenal" on July 6, 2017.
“It’s a good thing to currently have a defensive capability against missile threats to the homeland, but make no mistake -- relative to where we are today, the current program of record is not outpacing North Korea’s ambitious missile efforts.” - Tom Karako quoted in Bloomberg Politics article "North Korea's Launch Puts Pressure on U.S. Missile Defense" on July 5, 2017.
"Nobody ever said that national missile defense is supposed to be a perfect shield off by itself. It's part of the larger suite of things we do against threats by North Korea." - Tom Karako quoted in Politico article "U.S. missile shield not yet ready for North Korean nukes" on July 5, 2017.