WORLD AS DANGEROUS AS EVER: Led by Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines, the nation’s top spymasters and law enforcement officials will testify before the Senate Intelligence Committee today and the House Intelligence Committee tomorrow about the growing threats from China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea, among others.
Also appearing before the committees to testify about the “Annual Worldwide Threats Assessment” will be CIA Director William Burns, FBI Director Christopher Wray, Assistant Secretary of State for Intelligence and Research Brett Holmgren, National Security Agency Director Gen. Timothy Haugh, and Defense Intelligence Agency Director Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Kruse.
China, which is building up its military at a “breathtaking” pace and making increasingly ominous statements about forcing unification with Taiwan, is once again expected to be identified as posing the greatest long-term challenge to U.S. national security. “Countries around the world see a unipolar order, and they seek to challenge it,” Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said on CBS yesterday. “In China’s case, they want, if not to replace, at least to be an alternative to the American-led system.”
“One of the things that Sen. Rubio and I have done on a bipartisan basis is try to go industry by industry in America and warn them of the potential theft of intellectual property, $500 billion a year,” Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA), Intelligence Committee chairman, said sitting alongside Rubio on CBS’s Face the Nation. “China is investing in quantum computing, in bioengineering. … I think we need to compete against that.”
“The vast majority of innovation is still taking place in this country,” Warner added.
ADAM SCHIFF HOPES INTELLIGENCE COMMUNITY WILL ‘DUMB DOWN’ BRIEFINGS FOR TRUMP
HOUSE TO VOTE ON TIKTOK BAN: Both senators agreed on the threat posed by the video-sharing app TikTok, which is owned by China’s ByteDance, as a bill that would ban the popular app is expected to come to a vote in the House of Representatives this week.
“The danger of TikTok is not that somebody goes on that video and, you know, puts something up that looks stupid or silly,” Rubio said. “The reason why TikTok is so attractive, its value is it has an algorithm, a recommender engine, which is one of the best in the world. That is owned by ByteDance. Under Chinese law, ByteDance must own it. And the only way that that recommender engine works is if they have access to the data.”
“If you don’t think the Chinese Communist Party can twist that algorithm to make it the news that they see reflective of their views, then I don’t think you appreciate the nature of the threat,” Warner said.
On Friday, President Joe Biden endorsed the ban in principle. “If they pass it, I’ll sign it,” Biden told reporters.
TRUMP’S FLIP-FLOP ON TIKTOK BAN SPLITS GOP
NO SHORTAGE OF HOT SPOTS: With Russia’s territorial ambitions threatening to spread beyond Ukraine and North Korea showing no inclination to curb its nuclear program, there is no shortage of flashpoints that could draw the United States into conflict.
But at the moment, Iran and its role in fomenting unrest in Israel and the rest of the region is of the most immediate concern. “I think it’s a mistake to view Oct. 7 simply through the lens of the Palestinian-Israeli question,” Rubio said. “I think the reason why Hamas was armed, equipped, and felt the confidence is this broader narrative, this broader objective that Iran has to drive the U.S. out of the region. It is why they are conducting attacks in Iraq and Syria. They want a U.S. troop presence out of the region completely.”
Rubio said Iran’s malign influence in the Middle East means it’s paramount that the U.S. maintain its troop presence in Iraq and Syria. “The reason why Iran wants us out of there is that we are stationed at key points that tie Damascus and Baghdad and all these supply routes that Iran wants to dominate,” Rubio said. “If we were gone, these proxy groups would now be at the border of Jordan, be able to threaten Jordan, and ultimately threaten Israel as a result.”
BIDEN CHANGES TUNE AND CALLS FOR CEASEFIRE IN GAZA
Good Monday morning and welcome to Jamie McIntyre’s Daily on Defense, written and compiled by Washington Examiner National Security Senior Writer Jamie McIntyre (@jamiejmcintyre) and edited by Stacey Dec. Email here with tips, suggestions, calendar items, and anything else. Sign up or read current and back issues at DailyonDefense.com. If signing up doesn’t work, shoot us an email and we’ll add you to our list. And be sure to follow me on Threads and/or on X @jamiejmcintyre
CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP OR READ BACK ISSUES OF DAILY ON DEFENSE
HAPPENING TODAY: 2025 BUDGET ROLLOUT: It’s more than five months into the fiscal year, and the Pentagon still doesn’t have a 2024 budget. Nevertheless, the Biden administration later today will unveil its budget proposal for the next fiscal year, which will be constrained by the Fiscal Responsibility Act President Joe Biden negotiated with former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy last year.
That agreement, which is the law, caps total discretionary federal spending at $1.66 trillion. Bloomberg reported last week that spending limits will result in the Biden Pentagon proposing a mere 1% increase in defense spending, to $849.8 billion, for fiscal 2025.
Deputy Defense Kathleen Hicks will hold the first of a number of Pentagon budget briefings at 2 p.m. after reporters are given advance copies of the budget documents this morning. Office of Management and Budget Director Shalanda Young is also scheduled to brief reporters on the overall budget request and will testify tomorrow before the Senate Budget Committee.
MINIBUS SIGNED BY BIDEN, AVERTING A GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN
GAZA AIRDROPS CONTINUE: The U.S. Central Command announced another round of airdrops to Palestinians in Gaza, the sixth this month, as the U.S. moves to establish an offshore pier to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid by sea.
The airdrops, which are being conducted by the U.S. and Jordanian air forces, are considered a less-than-ideal way to deliver food and other humanitarian assistance, and on Friday, reports from Gaza said five people, including two young boys, were killed when they were hit by aid pallets parachutes that apparently failed to open fully.
“We are aware of reports of civilians killed as a result of humanitarian airdrops,” CENTCOM posted on X. “We express sympathies to the families of those who were killed. Contrary to some reports, this was not the result of U.S. airdrops.”
THE PIER IS EN ROUTE: Less than two days after Biden ordered the U.S. military to deploy an Army team to construct a floating port facility off the coast of Gaza, CENTCOM announced the first ship that will build the pier is en route for what is expected to be a two-week trip.
“U.S. Army Vessel (USAV) General Frank S. Besson (LSV-1) from the 7th Transportation Brigade (Expeditionary), 3rd Expeditionary Sustainment Command, XVIII Airborne Corps, departed Joint Base Langley-Eustis en route to the Eastern Mediterranean less than 36 hours after President Biden announced the U.S. would provide humanitarian assistance to Gaza by sea,” CENTCOM said on X. “Besson, a logistics support vessel, is carrying the first equipment to establish a temporary pier to deliver vital humanitarian supplies.”
“The ability to do this without putting forces on the ground is due to the fact that the causeway is essentially modular, built at sea, and then essentially driven into the ground from offshore,” Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder told reporters at a Friday Pentagon briefing.
“In essence, what you’ll have here is a floating pier that is offshore that will be able to receive commercial vessels that have aid. That aid will be offloaded onto the floating pier and then transloaded onto what we call logistics support vessels, LSVs,” Ryder said. “Those vessels will then take it to the floating causeway. For example, you can see here, and then offloaded onto the causeway in this case, which essentially is approximately 1,800 feet, or 500 meters, long, and it’s two-lane and then transported onto land and then distributed into Gaza.”
ISRAEL ‘WELCOMES’ MARITIME CORRIDOR FOR HUMANITARIAN AID INTO GAZA
UFO CASE CLOSED? On Friday, the Pentagon released its most extensive report to date essentially debunking theories that Earth has been visited by extraterrestrial intelligence and that the U.S. government is covering up the recovery of alien technology.
UFO believers are unlikely to be swayed by the report, which was described as a “very rigorous, analytical, scientific approach” to investigate all past U.S. government efforts and sightings of UFOs, which are now called “unidentified anomalous phenomena,” or UAPs, by the Pentagon’s All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office.
“AARO has found no verifiable evidence that any UAP sighting has represented extraterrestrial activity. AARO has found no verifiable evidence that the U.S. government or private industry has ever had access to extraterrestrial technology. AARO has found no indications that any information was illegally or inappropriately withheld from Congress. AARO assesses that alleged hidden UAP programs either do not exist or were misidentified authentic national security programs unrelated to extraterrestrial technology exploitation,” Tim Phillips, acting director of the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office, told reporters last week.
“We assess that claims of such hidden programs are largely the result of circular reporting in which a small group of individuals have repeated inaccurate claims they have heard from others over a period of several decades,” Phillips said. “Many have sincerely misinterpreted real events or mistaken sensitive U.S. programs for which they were not cleared as having been related to UAP or extraterrestrial exploitation.”
“In completing this report,” Phillips added. “AARO faced no impediments to receiving UAP-related information at any level of classification.”
OPINION: PENTAGON’S UFO AGENCY REPORT SHOWS ANALYTIC BIAS
THE RUNDOWN:
Washington Examiner: Jeffries hints at protecting Johnson should he buck ‘pro-Putin’ GOP faction stopping aid bill
Washington Examiner: Adam Schiff hopes intelligence community will ‘dumb down’ briefings for Trump
Washington Examiner: US military ship heads to Middle East to begin Gaza port construction
Washington Examiner: Israel ‘welcomes’ maritime corridor for humanitarian aid into Gaza
Washington Examiner: Biden changes tune and calls for ceasefire in Gaza
Washington Examiner: Trump’s flip-flop on TikTok ban splits GOP
Washington Examiner: Minibus signed by Biden, averting a government shutdown
Washington Examiner: Netanyahu is ‘hurting Israel more than helping,’ Biden says
Washington Examiner: New Pentagon report finds ‘no evidence’ of ‘extraterrestrial technology’
Washington Examiner: US Embassy in Russia warns of ‘imminent’ threat to large crowds in Moscow
Washington Examiner: What Biden’s ‘come to Jesus’ Bibi comment reveals about the two leaders and the US-Israel relationship
Washington Examiner: Top German and UK diplomats unite to pressure Scholz over Ukraine aid
Washington Examiner: John Kerry claims Russia ‘already intervening’ in presidential election
Washington Examiner: Netanyahu pledges to ignore Biden’s ‘red line’ and invade Rafah
Washington Examiner: Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban backs Trump over Biden: ‘Better for the world’
Washington Examiner: US military evacuates non-essential staff, adds security at embassy in Haiti
Washington Examiner: Opinion: Can Haiti ever move past its unrest?
Washington Examiner: Opinion: Pentagon’s UFO agency report shows analytic bias
Reuters: U.S., U.K., French Military Shoot Down Houthi Drones After Attack On Bulk Carrier, Destroyers
New York Times: Dispute Over Gaza War Heats Up Between Biden And Netanyahu
Defense One: Biden, Pentagon Urge Congress to Pass National Security Funding Bill
Washington Post: Russia’s air power roars back into the war with devastating guided bombs
New York Times: Ukraine Could Deploy F-16s As Soon As July, But Only A Few
19fortyfive.com: Ukraine’s Fight Against Time
AP: Exhaustion, dwindling reserves and a commander who disappeared: How Ukraine lost Avdiivka to Russia
Air & Space Forces Magazine: Air Force, Space Force Leaders Warn of ‘Unsatisfying’ 2025 Budget
Air & Space Forces Magazine: Kendall: F-35 Delivery Hold Is ‘Hurting’ the Air Force
Breaking Defense: F-35A Officially Certified to Carry Nuclear Bomb
New York Times: Biden’s Armageddon Moment: When Nuclear Detonation Seemed Possible in Ukraine
AP: China’s congress ends with a show of unity behind Xi’s vision for national greatness
AP: Al-Qaida’s Yemen branch says leader Khalid al-Batarfi dead in unclear circumstances
Air & Space Forces Magazine: Pentagon Clears V-22 to Start Flying Again After Three-Month Grounding
Washington Post: National Guard Helicopter Crashes in Texas, Killing Three
DefenseScoop: DOD Developing ‘Gremlin’ Capability to Help Personnel Collect Real-Time UAP Data
Defense News: France Prepares for Space Wars in ‘AsterX’ European Exercise
SpaceNews: BlackSky Secures Back-to-Back US Air Force Contracts
Breaking Defense: ‘Political Decisions’: Saab CEO Says NATO Rushed E-3 Replacement Decision in Favor of E-7 Wedgetail
AP: ‘20 Days in Mariupol’ wins best documentary Oscar, a first for AP and PBS’ ‘Frontline’
The Cipher Brief: Assessing the Threat Matrix, from the Mideast to Ukraine to an Anti-U.S. Axis
The Cipher Brief: As Ukraine Fights for its Survival, Many Young Men Sit Out the War
The Cipher Brief: Who Will Shore Up NATO Amid Global Emergencies?
Air & Space Forces Magazine: As Bass Bids Farewell, New CMSAF Flosi Urges Airmen To ‘Make Every Day Count’
THE CALENDAR:
MONDAY | MARCH 11
8:30 a.m. — Henry Stimson Center virtual discussion: “Fight Against Economic Coercion: Opportunities and Challenges for the U.S.-Japan Alliance,” with Kotaro Shiojiri, fellow at the Wilson Center and former chief of staff to the Japanese ambassador to the U.S., and Yuki Tatsumi, senior fellow and director at the Stimson Center’s Japan Program https://www.stimson.org/event/fight-against-economic-coercion
9 a.m. 800 Presidents St., Reston, Virginia — Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association TechNet Emergence forum, with Heidi Shyu, undersecretary of defense for research and engineering, and Radha Iyengar, deputy undersecretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment https://www.afcea.org/events/technet-emergence-afceatechnet
2:30 p.m. 216 Hart — Senate Intelligence Committee hearing: “Annual Worldwide Threats Assessment,” with testimony from Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines; CIA Director William Burns; FBI Director Christopher Wray; Assistant Secretary of State for Intelligence and Research Brett Holmgren; National Security Agency Director Gen. Timothy Haugh; and Defense Intelligence Agency Director Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Kruse https://www.intelligence.senate.gov/hearings/open-hearing-worldwide-threats
4 p.m. — Center for Strategic and International Studies discussion: “The Australia-UK-U.S. Army Chiefs on Land Power’s Contribution to AUKUS Pillar 2,” with Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George; British Army General Staff Chief Gen. Patrick Sanders; and Australian Army Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Simon Stuart https://www.csis.org/events/conversation-aukus-army-chiefs
TUESDAY | MARCH 12
9:30 a.m. 216 Hart — Senate Armed Services Committee hearing: “Global Security Challenges and U.S. Strategy,” with testimony from Paul Scharre, executive vice president and director of studies at the Center for a New American Security, and Hal Brands, senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and professor of global affairs at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies https://www.armed-services.senate.gov/hearings
9:30 a.m. — Brookings Institution virtual discussion: “Is Europe Capable of Defending Itself?” with Sophia Besch, fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace’s Europe Program; Luigi Scazzieri, senior research fellow at the Centre for European Reform; Leonard Schutte, senior researcher at the Munich Security Conference; Fiona Hill, senior fellow in foreign policy at the Brookings Institution’s Center on the U.S. and Europe; Charles Grant, director, Centre for European Reform; and Constanze Stelzenmuller, director, Brookings Institution’s Center on the U.S. and Europe, senior fellow in foreign policy at the Brookings Institution’s Center on the U.S. and Europe, and chairwoman on Germany and trans-Atlantic relations at the Brookings Institution https://www.brookings.edu/events/is-europe-capable-of-defending-itself/
10 a.m. 390 Cannon — House Intelligence Committee hearing: “2024 Annual Threat Assessment,” with testimony from Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines; CIA Director William Burns; FBI Director Christopher Wray; Assistant Secretary of State for Intelligence and Research Brett Holmgren; National Security Agency Director Gen. Timothy Haugh; and Defense Intelligence Agency Director Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Kruse https://docs.house.gov/Committee
10 a.m. 2118 Rayburn — House Armed Services Committee hearing: “U.S. Military Posture and National Security Challenges in North and South America,” with testimony from Rebecca Zimmerman, performing the duties of assistant secretary of defense for homeland defense and hemispheric affairs; Gen. Gregory Guillot, commander, U.S. Northern Command and North American Aerospace Defense Command; and Gen. Laura Richardson, commander, U.S. Southern Command https://armedservices.house.gov/hearings
10 a.m. 2128 Rayburn — House Financial Services Committee hearing: “Mission Critical: Restoring National Security as the Focus of Defense Production Act Reauthorization” https://financialservices.house.gov
10:15 a.m. 608 Dirksen — Senate Budget Committee hearing: “The President’s FY2025 Budget Proposal,” with testimony from Office of Management and Budget Director Shalanda Young https://www.budget.senate.gov/hearings
11 a.m. — Government Executive Media Group virtual discussion: “The State, Space Force,” with Chief of Space Operations Gen. Chance Saltzman https://events.defenseone.com/state-of-defense
12 p.m. 1201 Pennsylvania Ave. NW — Hudson Institute discussion: “The Baltic View of European Security,” with Latvian Defense Minister Andris Spruds https://www.hudson.org/events/baltic-view-european-security
2 p.m. 2172 Rayburn — House Foreign Affairs Europe Subcommittee hearing: “Going Nuclear on Rosatom: Ending Global Dependence on Putin’s Nuclear Energy Sector,” with testimony from David Albright, president, Institute for Science and International Security; Anthony Ruggiero, senior director and senior fellow in the Foundation for Defense of Democracies’s Nonproliferation and Biodefense Program; and Theresa Sabonis-Helf, concentration chairwoman for science, technology, and international affairs in Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service http://foreignaffairs.house.gov
3 p.m. 2118 Rayburn — House Armed Services Strategic Forces Subcommittee hearing: “U.S. and Adversary Hypersonic Capabilities,” with testimony from James Weber, principal director for hypersonics, Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Critical Technologies; Michael Horowitz, deputy assistant secretary of defense for force development and emerging capabilities; Army Lt. Gen. Robert Rasch, director, Rapid Capabilities and Critical Technologies Office, Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics, and Technology; Vice Adm. Johnny Wolfe, director, Strategic Systems Programs; Air Force Lt. Gen. Dale White, military deputy, Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force; Jeffrey McCormick, senior intelligence analyst, National Air and Space Intelligence Center https://armedservices.house.gov/hearings
3:30 p.m. 2212 Rayburn — House Armed Services Seapower and Projection Forces Subcommittee hearing: “Air Force Projection Forces Aviation Programs and Capabilities Related to the President’s 2025 Budget Request,” with testimony from Andrew Hunter, assistant Air Force secretary for acquisition, technology and logistic, and; Lt. Gen. Richard Moore, deputy Air Force chief of staff for plans and programs https://armedservices.house.gov/hearings/spf-hearing-air-force
WEDNESDAY | MARCH 13
7:15 a.m. 2425 Wilson Blvd., Arlington, Virginia — Association, U.S. Army “Coffee Series,” with Gen. Charles Hamilton, commanding Gen. of U.S. Army Materiel Command https://www.ausa.org/events/coffee-serie/gen-hamilton
9 a.m. 2212 Rayburn — House Armed Services Cyber, Information Technologies, and Innovation Subcommittee hearing: “Too Critical to Fail: Getting Software Right in an Age of Rapid Innovation,” with testimony from Richard Murray, professor of control and dynamical systems and bioengineering, California Institute of Technology; Daniel Patt, senior fellow, Hudson Institute; Ellen Lord, former undersecretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment https://armedservices.house.gov/hearings/citi-hearing
9 a.m. — Carnegie Endowment for International Peace virtual discussion: “Can the U.S. and Europe Coordinate Counter-Coercion With Taiwan?” with Gudrun Wacker, nonresident senior fellow at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs’s Asia Research Division; Enoch Wu, founder and executive director of Forward Alliance; Isaac Kardon, senior fellow for China studies at the CEIP Asia Program; and Evan Feigenbaum, CEIP vice president for studies https://carnegieendowment.org/2024/03/13/can-united-states-and-europe-coordinate
10 a.m. — Center for Strategic and International Studies virtual discussion: “The war in Ukraine and Ukraine’s membership to the EU,” with Jovita Neliupsiene, European Union ambassador to the U.S., and Kathleen McInnis, director, CSIS Smart Women, Smart Power Initiative https://www.csis.org/events/welcome-us-eu-ambassador-neliupsiene
10 a.m. 1775 Massachusetts Ave. NW — Brookings Institution discussion: “Delivering on nuclear deterrence,” with Frank Rose, principal deputy administrator, National Nuclear Security Administration https://www.brookings.edu/events/delivering-on-nuclear-deterrence
12 p.m. — New America virtual book discussion: The Achilles Trap: Saddam Hussein, the CIA, and the Origins of America’s Invasion of Iraq, with author Steve Coll, dean of Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism https://www.newamerica.org/future-security/events/the-achilles-trap
3 p.m. 1030 15th St. NW — Atlantic Council discussion: “Baltic Bulwark: Latvia’s Transatlantic Role,” with Latvian Prime Minister Evika Silina https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/event/baltic-bulwark-prime-minister-evika-silina
3:30 p.m. — McCain Institute discussion to mark the third anniversary of the Levinson Act on the national crisis of hostage-taking and the U.S. government’s response. https://www.eventbrite.com/e/keeping-faith-with-american-hostages
5 p.m. 1521 16th St. NW — Institute of World Politics discussion: “Finland and Northern European Security,” with Finnish Ambassador to the U.S. Mikko Hautala https://www.iwp.edu/finland-and-northern-european-security/
THURSDAY | MARCH 14
8 a.m. 2941 Fairview Park Dr., Falls Church, Virginia — Potomac Officers Club “Achieving Transformative Cooperation for National Defense Forum,” with Rhys Williams, executive director, Defense Threat Reduction Agency, and Steven Morani, principal deputy assistant secretary of defense for sustainment https://potomacofficersclub.com/events
9 a.m. 1744 R St. NW — German Marshall Fund of the U.S. discussion: “Latvian-U.S. security cooperation and 20 years of Latvian membership in the NATO alliance,” with Latvian Defense Minister Andris Spruds and Kristine Berzina, managing director of GMFUS North https://www.gmfus.org/event/conversation-latvian-defense-minister-andris-spruds
10 a.m. 1030 15th St. NW — Atlantic Council and NBC News discussion: “Reporters at Risk: On The Frontlines in Ukraine and Gaza,” with Yaroslav Trofimov, chief foreign affairs correspondent at the Wall Street Journal; Benjamin Hall, correspondent at Fox News; Erin McLaughlin, correspondent at NBC News; Sherif Mansour, Middle East and North Africa program coordinator at the Committee to Protect Journalists; Almar Latour, CEO of Dow Jones and publisher at the Wall Street Journal; Adrienne Arsht, executive vice chairwoman, Atlantic Council, founder, Atlantic Council’s Latin America Center and the Atlantic Council’s Adrienne Arsht-Rockefeller Foundation Center; and Courtney Kube, national security and military correspondent at NBC News https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/event/reporters-at-risk
10 a.m. — Middle East Institute virtual discussion: “Iran’s Record-Low Election Turnout: Why Voters Stayed Away and What It Means for the Islamic Republic’s Future,” with Arash Ghafouri, CEO of Stasis Consulting; Leily Nikounazar, freelance journalist and researcher for the New York Times; Mehrzad Boroujerdi, vice provost and dean of the Missouri University of Science and Technology College of Arts, Sciences, and Education and professor of political science at the Missouri University of Science and Technology Department of History and Political Science; and Alex Vatanka, senior fellow and director, MEI Iran Program https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register
10 a.m. — Center for Strategic and International Studies virtual discussion: “The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Perspective on Artificial Intelligence (AI) Autonomy at the DOD,” with Matt Turek, deputy director, DARPA Information Innovation Office https://www.csis.org/events/darpa-perspective-ai-and-autonomy-dod
10:30 a.m. 419 Dirksen — Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing: “U.S. Strategy in the Pacific Island Region,” with testimony from Daniel Kritenbrink, assistant secretary of state for the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, and Ely Ratner, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Indo-Pacific security affairs http://foreign.senate.gov
11 a.m. — Government Executive Media Group virtual discussion: “State of the Marines,” with Marine Corps Commandant Gen. Eric Smith https://events.defenseone.com/state-of-defense
12 p.m. 1000 Massachusetts Ave. NW — Cato Institute forum: “Taiwan’s Urgent Need for Asymmetric Defense,” with Michael Hunzeker, associate professor at George Mason University; Alex Velez-Green, senior policy adviser at the Heritage Foundation; Eric Gomez, Cato senior fellow; and Justin Logan, director of defense and foreign policy studies at Cato https://www.cato.org/events/taiwans-urgent-need-asymmetric-defense
3 p.m. 1200 South Hayes St., Arlington, Virginia — Rand Corporation discussion: “Climate Change and Conflict: Implications for U.S. Central Command,” with Chris Backemeyer, deputy assistant secretary of state for assistance coordination/regional and multilateral affairs; Greg Pollock, Pentagon principal director for arctic and global resilience; Jeffrey Martini, associate director, Rand Strategy, Doctrine, and Resources Program; Karen Sudkamp, associate director for infrastructure, immigration, and security operations at the Rand Homeland Security Research Division; and Vago Muradian, founder and editor, Defense and Aerospace Report https://www.rand.org/events/2024/03/climate-change-and-conflict.html3 p.m. — Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft virtual book discussion: The Showman: Inside the Invasion That Shook the World and Made a Leader of Volodymyr Zelensky, with author Simon Shuster, reporter for Russia and Ukraine at Time; Mark Episkopos, adjunct professor of history at Marymount University and research fellow at the Quincy Institute’s Eurasia Program; and Kelley Beaucar Vlahos, senior adviser at the Quincy Institute and editorial director, Quincy Institute’s Responsible Statecraft magazine https://quincyinst.org/events/book-talk-the-showman-inside-the-invasion-that-shook-the-world
