CD298: Drafting WWIII

The Senate recently received testimony from the bipartisan co-chairs of the Commission on the National Defense Strategy, who were tasked with creating a report to Congress with recommendations needed to adapt our National Defense Strategy to current threats. In this episode, hear the testimony about that completed report during which they discuss preparations for a possible world war and the need for more American kids to fight and die in it. Please Support Congressional Dish – Quick Links Contribute monthly or a lump sum via PayPal Support Congressional Dish via Patreon (donations per episode) Send Zelle payments to: Donation@congressionaldish.com Send Venmo payments to: @Jennifer-Briney Send Cash App payments to: $CongressionalDish or Donation@congressionaldish.com Use your bank's online bill pay function to mail contributions to: 5753 Hwy 85 North, Number 4576, Crestview, FL 32536. Please make checks payable to Congressional Dish Thank you for supporting truly independent media! View the show notes on our website at congressionaldish.com/cd298-drafting-wwiii Background Sources Recommended Congressional Dish Episodes CD259: CHIPS: A State Subsidization of Industry The Report "Final Report: Commission on the National Defense Strategy." Jane Harman et al. July 2024. Senate Committee on Armed Services. Jane Harman: Warmonger "Jane Harman: Top Industries 1991 - 2010." Open Secrets. "Roll Call 455 | Bill Number: H. J. Res. 114." October 10, 2002. Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives. "Roll Call Vote: H.J.Res. 64 (107th): Authorization for Use of Military Force." September 14, 2001. GovTrack. Iridium Communications "Jane Harman Net Worth." April 2, 2024. wallmine. "Director Jane Harman Sells Shares of Iridium Communications Inc (IRDM)." GuruFocus Research. March 8, 2024. Yahoo Finance. "Jane L. Harman to Retire as Member of the Board of Directors of Iridium Communications Inc." December 29, 2023. Market Screener. "Iridium Communications 2024 first stockholder meeting date." Bing. "Governments." Iridium. "U.S. Government: Defense, Intelligence, & National Security." Iridium. "Board of Directors: Jane L. Harman." Iridium. Retrieved from the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine version archived November 11, 2022. Axis of Aggression or Axis of Resistance? "Iran and Russia to 'accelerate' strategic partnership, officials say." Angela Skujins. June 8, 2024. euronews. "A North–South Corridor on Putin's Dime: Why Russia Is Bankrolling Iran's Infrastructure." Nikita Smagin. June 15, 2023. Carnegie Politika. Defense Innovation Unit "About DIU." Defense Innovation Unit. Military Service "Women in Combat: Issues for Congress," [R42075]. Kristy N. Kamarck. December 13, 2016. Congressional Research Service. "A Death in the Family." Christopher Hitchens. October 3, 2007. Vanity Fair. "Mark Daily's essay: 'Why I Joined.'" Mark Daily. Feb. 14, 2007. Los Angeles Times. Israel-Palestine "We Served on Israel's Sde Teiman Base. Here's What We Did to Gazans Detained There." Shay Fogelman. August 16, 2024. Haaretz. "Israel publishes plan for new West Bank settlement as regional tensions simmer." Steven Scheer and Ali Sawafta. August 14, 2024. Reuters. "Ben-Gvir confirms atrocities faced by Palestinians in Israeli prisons." July 2, 2024. Al Mayadeen English. "This momentous ICJ ruling may be brushed aside by Israel - but the US and UK can't afford to ignore it." Steve Crawshaw. January 26, 2024. The Guardian. Patreon "Apple's requirements are about to hit creators and fans on Patreon. Here's what you need to know." August 12, 2024. Patreon. C-SPAN Fundraiser "Donate: Summer Match Campaign." C-SPAN. Bills: NDAA 2025 H.R.8070 - Servicemember Quality of Life Improvement and National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2025 NDAA 2025: Senate Draft Audio Sources Hearing to receive testimony on the findings and recommendations of the Commission on the National Defense Strategy July 30, 2024 Senate Committee on Armed Services Watch on YouTube Witnesses: Jane M. Harman, Chair, Commission on the National Defense Strategy Eric S. Edelman, Vice Chair, Commission on the National Defense Strategy Clips 26:20 Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS): The document details the way in which the 2022 National Defense Strategy and Assessment, completed just two years ago, did not adequately account for the threat of simultaneous and increasingly coordinated military action by our four primary adversaries. A group which I have come to call the Axis of Aggressors. 27:40 Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS): I appreciate the Commission's recommendation that national security spending must return to late Cold War levels — a goal which matches my plan to spend 5%, eventually, of GDP on defense. That level of investment would be temporary. It would be a down-payment on the rebuilding of our national defense tools for a generation. Tools that have sharpened can reduce the risk that our adversaries will use military force against US interests. 33:10 Jane Harman: The threats to US national security and our interests are greater than any time since World War II, and more complex than any threats during the Cold War. 34:00 Jane Harman: Sadly, we think, and I'm sure you agree, that the public has no idea how great the threats are and is not mobilized to meet them. Public support is critical to implement the changes we need to make. Leaders on both sides of the aisle and across government need to make the case to the public and get their support. 36:20 Eric Edelman: There is potential for near-term war and a potential that we might lose such a conflict. The partnership that's emerged among China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea is a major strategic shift that we have not completely accounted for in our defense planning. It makes each of those countries potentially stronger militarily, economically, and diplomatically, and potentially can weaken the tools we have at our disposal to deal with them. And it makes it more likely that a future conflict, for instance, in the Indo-Pacific, would expand across other theaters and that we would find ourselves in a global war that is on the scale of the Second World War. 37:05 Eric Edelman: The 2022 NDS identified China as the pacing challenge. We found that China is, in many ways, outpacing the US. While we still have the strongest military in the world with the farthest global reach, when we get to a thousand miles of China's shore, we start to lose our military dominance and could find ourselves on the losing end of a conflict. China's cyber capabilities, space assets, growing strategic forces, and fully modernized conventional forces are designed to keep us from engaging in the Taiwan Strait or the South or East China seas. China, as has been testified to before Congress, has infiltrated our critical infrastructure networks to prevent or deter US action by contesting our logistics, disrupting American power and water, and otherwise removing the sanctuary of the homeland that we have long enjoyed. 38:00 Eric Edelman: For its part, Russia has reconstituted its own defense industrial base after its invasion of Ukraine much more rapidly than people anticipated. Vladimir Putin seeks to reassert Russia as a great power and is happy to destabilize the world in order to do so. 38:15 Eric Edelman: Our report describes the threats posed by Iran, North Korea, and terrorism as well. Clearly, Iran and North Korea both feel emboldened by the current environment, and terrorism remains a potent threat fueled by the proliferation of technology. As the DNI has said, the current war in the Middle East is likely to have a generational impact on terrorism. 39:20 Jane Harman: First finding: DoD cannot and should not provide for the national defense by itself. The NDS calls for an integrated deterrence that is not reflected in practice today. A truly all elements of national power approach is required to coordinate and leverage resources across DoD, the rest of the Executive branch, the private …