PAUL’S DEFENSE BRIEF (PDB) – This is the only way to establish deterrence. Outgoing FBI director calls China and its cyber program the ‘defining threat of our generation’. China’s cyber program has already infiltrated critical U.S. infrastructure with attacks like “Salt Typhoon” and is poised to “wreak havoc” at a whim.
Trump and others want to ramp up cyber offense against China. Incoming Trump national security adviser Mike Waltz and some lawmakers have suggested that in response to Chinese cyber breaches, the U.S. needs to take more aggressive offensive actions in cyberspace rather than emphasizing defense.
And in an interview, Waltz said: “I believe personally you can do that by demonstrating if you’re putting cyber time bombs in our ports and grid that we can do it to you too so let’s both not — mutually assured destruction — and take the temperature down on this a bit.”
Charles Moore, the former deputy commander and director of operations at Cyber Command, said a move toward offensive “cyber campaigning” would be “the most important step” that DOD and Cybercom could do to increase the scale and strengthen the impact of their operations.
FOR YOUR EYES ONLY – Here’s a roundup of today’s other top defense stories ending the week from conservative national security expert PAUL CRESPO.
Not the President’s Daily Brief, but almost as good – PAUL’S DEFENSE BRIEFING – the PDB:
NATIONAL SECURITY
A former Green Beret accused of plotting an invasion of Venezuela in 2020 to try to overthrow Nicolás Maduro lashed out Friday at the CIA and FBI, claiming they sabotaged his efforts to oust the leftist leader. His lawyers asserted that he had the Trump administration’s support for the clandestine mission.
HOMELAND SECURITY
POLITICS
EXCELLENT – PURGE NEEDED. Incoming senior Trump administration officials have begun questioning career civil servants who work on the White House National Security Council about who they voted for in the 2024 election, their political contributions and whether they have made social media posts that could be considered incriminating by President-elect Donald Trump’s team.
Hegseth’s views on women in combat expected to face scrutiny at Senate hearing.
TRUMP, PLEASE SINK THE CLINTON – Two Navy aircraft carriers will be named for George W. Bush and Bill Clinton. The White House announced the names of the two future Gerald R. Ford-class ships Monday.
GREAT – Biden administration closing without fulfilling promise to provide gender-bender surgery to transgender vets. AND NOT HAPPENING UNDER TRUMP.
US POWER OVERSEAS
IRAN THREAT/ISRAEL WARS
Some Israeli soldiers refusing to keep fighting in Gaza.
CHINA THREAT
USAF’s ‘aircraft shelter gap’ with China creates a flaw in deterrence. Making hardened shelters for aircraft on the ground may not be as sexy as building next-generation fighters, but it may be just as important for the US in a potential conflict with China.
Taiwan’s spy agency says China is working with criminal gangs, shell companies to gain intelligence on its defenses, resulting in a major rise in those arrested for alleged espionage on the island.
TRUMP WAS TOUGHER – Can the Pentagon’s China stance last under Trump? Under Biden, the Pentagon shifted the way it views — and opposes — China. Will that posture change under Trump?
RUSSIA THREAT – UKRAINE WAR
North Korean air defense system revealed in Ukraine by Russian friendly fire strike. The unknown mobile surface-to-air missile system has appeared for the first time in the war. Its presence was disclosed by a video shared by Russian military bloggers, showing it being mistakenly attacked by a Russian drone.
NORTH KOREA THREAT
FAMILIES HELD HOSTAGE BACK HOME – Seoul’s spy agency says North Korean soldiers captured by Ukraine while fighting alongside Russian forces in Russia’s Kursk border region haven’t shown desire to defect.
INTERNATIONAL SECURITY
OK. US WILL GIVE NATO LESS – German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Monday dismissed Trump’s demands that Germany and other NATO allies spend at least 5% of gross domestic product (GDP) on defense.
US MILITARY
The Air Force under Trump could choose to pursue a more advanced successor to the F-35 instead of the costly NGAD platform to maintain air superiority, outgoing Air Force Secretary Kendall said.
The Pentagon’s ‘Replicator’ drone program faces an uncertain future. The two-year pledge is to buy thousands of drones to help the US fight China.
END of PDB
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of American Liberty News.
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