U.S. President-elect Donald Trump stands with retired Marine Gen. James Mattis following their meeting at the main clubhouse at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey, U.S., November 19, 2016. REUTERS/Mike Segar
Chicago Tribune/Foreign Policy: Russia missing from Trump's top defense priorities, according to DoD memo
A Pentagon memo outlining the incoming Trump administration's top "defense priorities" identifies defeating the Islamic State, eliminating budget caps, developing a new cyber strategy, and finding greater efficiencies as the president-elect's primary concerns. But the memo, obtained by Foreign Policy, does not include any mention of Russia, which has been identified by senior military officials as the No. 1 threat to the United States.
"People there now would be pretty concerned to see Russia not on the list," said Evelyn Farkas, a former senior Pentagon official who worked on Russia policy before leaving in 2015.
For years, top Cabinet officials at the Defense Department and the intelligence community cited Russia as the foremost threat because of its vast nuclear arsenal, sophisticated cyber capabilities, recently modernized military, and willingness to challenge the United States and its allies in the Middle East, Eastern Europe, and other regions.
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Update: Pentagon memo on Trump's priorities doesn't mention Russia: report (The Hill).
WNU Editor: I suspect that this memo is a "work in progress". But the absence of Russia as a priority defense concern is raising a few eyebrows.
1 comment:
Work n progress, maskirovka or maybe China is #1 and Russia #2.
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