{"id":100554,"date":"2017-01-10T10:58:57","date_gmt":"2017-01-10T15:58:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/countingpips.com\/?p=100554"},"modified":"2017-01-10T06:59:58","modified_gmt":"2017-01-10T11:59:58","slug":"trumps-defense-picks-are-already-at-war-with-each-other","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.investmacro.com\/forex\/2017\/01\/trumps-defense-picks-are-already-at-war-with-each-other\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump\u2019s Defense Picks Are Already at War\u2026 With Each Other"},"content":{"rendered":"
January 10, 2017<\/div>
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By WallStreetDaily.com<\/u><\/a> \"Trump\u2019s<\/p>\n

President-elect Donald Trump\u2019s Secretary of Defense-designate, Gen. James \u201cMad Dog\u201d Mattis, and his National Security Adviser appointment, Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, don\u2019t like each other. (Takes seat, grabs popcorn, sits back to enjoy the show\u2026)<\/strong><\/i><\/p>\n

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It\u2019s another kind of fight, one that also gets the halls of the Pentagon buzzing.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s playing out in the pages of The Washington Post<\/em>, that old broadsheet where inside-the-Beltway power struggles both ignite and fester.<\/p>\n

And if you listen carefully, it\u2019s going to color the confirmation hearings for President-elect Donald Trump\u2019s nominee for Secretary of Defense, retired Gen. James \u201cMad Dog\u201d Mattis.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, did you know that the Department of Defense (DoD), on behalf of us taxpayers, is about to embark on a $128 billion upgrade of our nuclear submarine fleet?<\/p>

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Sordid things like political turf wars excite the political press, particularly those who ply their trade in Washington, D.C.<\/p>\n

Consequential stuff like multibillion-dollar weapons procurement processes usually plays out in trade publications such as Breaking Defense.<\/em><\/p>\n

It\u2019s easier to cover turf wars than policy disputes \u2014 and it sells more newspapers and\/or premium subscriptions to online content.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s another kind of fight, one that also gets the halls of the Pentagon buzzing.<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

<\/p>\n

For all this talk of \u201cfake news\u201d disseminated via social media sites such as Facebook, it\u2019s the \u201cprofessionals\u201d on serious beats who manage to muck up the rhythms of democracy more so than transparently manufactured propaganda, be it cooked up by Russian spies or creative sh*t-stirrers.<\/p>\n

The former actually take themselves seriously, and we used to as well \u2014 at least to some extent.<\/p>\n

That was until the soap opera became more compelling editorial content than the serious business of responsible governance (yes, I appreciate the oxymoron potential here) and getting and maintaining \u201caccess\u201d trumped investigating and reporting \u201cinformation.\u201d<\/p>\n

At the same time, while the Post\u2019s January 6 story led with the emerging conflict between Gen. Mattis and retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, Trump\u2019s incoming National Security Adviser, the deeper read reveals serious disagreements about who\u2019ll play key supporting roles in the Pentagon.<\/p>\n

And those disagreements could very well affect every American.<\/p>\n

The Mattis-Flynn conflict is about controlling the appointments of DoD undersecretaries, including who will run defense intelligence operations.<\/p>\n

Intelligence (or lack thereof) and who controlled (or manipulated) it was the elixir that conjured the second Persian Gulf War.<\/p>\n

We\u2019re still coping with the consequences of that disaster, some of us who lost loved ones or still have family members deployed in the theater more acutely than others.<\/p>\n

Look, we like to be titillated by drama, especially in high places such as the Pentagon.<\/p>\n

And I have to admit: I shared that story with buddies of mine who are currently on active duty or retired but now working for DoD contractors, seeking comments and\/or insights.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s how I know tongues were wagging late last week inside the five-sided fortress on the Virginia side of the Potomac.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Mattis-Flynn conflict is about controlling the appointments of DoD undersecretaries, including who will run defense intelligence operations.<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

<\/p>\n

But what about that $128 billion sub program?<\/p>\n

As Breaking Defense<\/em> reports:<\/p>\n

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Pentagon procurement chief Frank Kendall just approved the Navy\u2019s top-priority program, the Columbia-class nuclear missile submarine<\/strong><\/a>, to start detailed design work and engineering. Known in Pentagonese as a Milestone B decision, Undersecretary Kendall\u2019s OK lets the Navy spend the $773 million Congress voted for the program in last month\u2019s Continuing Resolution. The projected procurement cost is $96 billion for 12 submarines; the cost\u00a0of the whole program, including R&D, is $128 billion.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Although the raw numbers are high, and there are the ever-present challenges of staying on budget and staying on schedule, Breaking Defense<\/em> describes what\u2019s actually an innovative approach to a major defense procurement that may actually result in cost efficiencies, rather than overruns.<\/p>\n

And it\u2019s in support of a legitimately critical effort to replace the Navy\u2019s 14 Ohio-class submarines.<\/p>\n

While we\u2019re on the topic of Russia and its global dealings, both covert and overt, shouldn\u2019t we be more concerned about its growing nuclear arsenal than its computer hackers?<\/p>\n

This is one of the threats the Columbia-class subs will address.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s Terrell Jermaine Starr of Foxtrot Alpha:<\/p>\n

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Just a few weeks ago, Russia tested<\/strong><\/a> a nuclear-capable drone submarine that could be used against U.S. bases and ports. \u201cKanyon,\u201d the Pentagon\u2019s code name for the drone, will reportedly carry megaton-class warheads, the largest nukes in existence. And while it\u2019s not exactly a new idea<\/strong><\/a>, Russia looks to be plowing ahead with it.<\/p>\n

The drone program, catchily enough, is called \u201cOcean Multipurpose System \u2018Status-6.’\u201d<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Mark Schneider, a senior analyst with the National Institute for Public Policy, told The Washington Free Beacon<\/strong><\/em><\/a> that Status-6 is designed to kill civilians by massive blast and that such a weapon violates laws of armed conflict.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Status-6, a nuclear-powered, nuclear-armed drone submarine, is the most irresponsible nuclear weapons program that Putin\u2019s Russia has come up with,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Also important to keep in mind is that, as the Brookings Institute reported<\/strong><\/a> earlier this year, Russia is \u201cprocuring eight Borei-class ballistic missile submarines (SSBNs), and is halfway through a 10-year program to build 400 intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) and submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs).\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

So it looks like we\u2019re heading for a new, 20th-century style, U.S.-Russia nuclear arms race.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While we\u2019re on the topic of Russia and its global dealings both covert and overt, shouldn\u2019t we be more concerned about its growing nuclear arsenal than its computer hackers?<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

<\/p>\n

Finally, what kind of cool tech will our military be using in the very near future?<\/p>\n

As IEEE Spectrum\u2019s Amy Nordrum reports, DoD is also living in the 21st century:<\/p>\n

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Every year, the U.S. Combating Terrorism Technical Support Office<\/strong><\/a> puts out a \u201cBroad Agency Announcement\u201d that describes technologies that it wishes it could purchase, but which don\u2019t yet exist. It\u2019s a sort of to-do list for technologists and engineers, and it can turbocharge research in these areas.<\/p>\n

The agency issued its latest draft<\/strong><\/a> in November, and it includes some doozies. Among the items described are a wireless recharging station for drones in flight, a low-power mini-spy camera that can be worn on the body, and a portable scanner that can find tunnel entrances under a floor or behind walls.<\/p>\n

None of these technologies are easy to create, and that\u2019s the point. \u201cI think it is very challenging and that\u2019s usually what the BAAs are geared for,\u201d says Albert Titus<\/strong><\/a>, a biomedical engineer at the State University of New York at\u00a0Buffalo. \u201cWhen you read them the first time, it\u2019s kind of, \u2018Oh, my, my.’\u201d<\/p>\n

As a whole, the list speaks to the tech priorities of a U.S. military faced with new demands in both its counterterrorism and counterinsurgency efforts, says Dylan Lee Lehrke<\/strong><\/a>, senior analyst with IHS Jane\u2019s. Today\u2019s military officials want to gather as much intelligence as possible through technology, to reduce their use of force and target it more efficiently.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The goal is to create tech that acts as a \u201cforce multiplier, providing information that enables a limited number of forces to maintain situational awareness in large complex environments and allows them to act with precision,\u201d according to Dylan Lee Lehrke, a senior analyst with IHS Jane\u2019s.<\/p>\n

As for the inside-the-Beltway mishegas<\/em>, Mattis is going to be approved by the Senate.<\/p>\n

He has solid support on Capitol Hill because he actually wants to populate the Pentagon with competent pros, whether or not they flew the \u201cNever Trump\u201d banner during the 2016 presidential campaign.<\/p>\n

The key question is Flynn\u2019s attempt to undermine the U.S. Intelligence Community and whether Trump continues to embolden him.<\/p>\n

It\u2019ll be a fascinating story.<\/p>\n

But it may also have tragic consequences.<\/p>\n

\n

Get Smart<\/h2>\n

Shane Parrish of Farnam Street has a nice piece on leadership and society<\/strong><\/a> by way of a dual review of The Logic of Political Survival<\/em> and its \u201cCliffsNotes\u201d version, The Dictator\u2019s Handbook: Why Bad Behavior Is Almost Always Good Politics.<\/em><\/p>\n

That latter book was written by two of the former\u2019s four authors to simplify concepts and make a more readable volume of them.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not so much the authors\u2019 conclusions that enlighten; it\u2019s the way they describe how leaders cultivate different power centers.<\/p>\n

As Parrish writes, \u201cTheir idea is that governance \u2014 public or corporate \u2014 is driven by the self-interested effort of leaders to acquire and keep their power.<\/p>\n

\u201cUnder this lens, all policy decisions are a play for the loyalty of key backers, whether it\u2019s the inner circle in a dictatorship or a whole populace in a democracy.\u201d<\/p>\n

The relative size of three groups \u2014 the interchangeable \u201cNominal Selectorate,\u201d the influential \u201cReal Selectorate,\u201d and the essential \u201cWinning Coalition\u201d \u2014 determine how a leader holds power.<\/p>\n

According to The Dictator\u2019s Handbook<\/em>, \u201cOur starting point is the realization that any leader worth her salt wants as much power as she can get, and to keep it for as long as possible. Managing the interchangeables, influentials, and essentials to that end is the act, art, and science of governing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Observes Parrish:<\/p>\n

\n

Much of political theory has focused on what justice and civic virtue looks like, without much evidence of the way things really work. But to change the world for the better, it is not enough to take a philosophical position. Wishful thinking has never been a wise starting point.<\/p>\n

De Mesquita and Smith conclude that leaders shouldn\u2019t be taken at face value on their motives.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Smart Investing,<\/p>\n

David Dittman
\nEditorial Director, Wall Street Daily<\/i><\/p>\n

The post Trump\u2019s Defense Picks Are Already at War\u2026 With Each Other<\/a> appeared first on Wall Street Daily<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By WallStreetDaily.com President-elect Donald Trump\u2019s Secretary of Defense-designate, Gen. James \u201cMad Dog\u201d Mattis, and his National Security Adviser appointment, Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, don\u2019t like each other. (Takes seat, grabs popcorn, sits back to enjoy the show\u2026) It\u2019s another kind of fight, one that also gets the halls of the Pentagon buzzing. It\u2019s playing out […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-100554","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","no-post-thumbnail"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.investmacro.com\/forex\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100554","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.investmacro.com\/forex\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.investmacro.com\/forex\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.investmacro.com\/forex\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.investmacro.com\/forex\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=100554"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.investmacro.com\/forex\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100554\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":100565,"href":"https:\/\/www.investmacro.com\/forex\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100554\/revisions\/100565"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.investmacro.com\/forex\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=100554"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.investmacro.com\/forex\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=100554"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.investmacro.com\/forex\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=100554"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}