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☆ US moving ahead with $500 million in arms aid for Taiwan, source says
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Mike Stone | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, May 5 (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden's administration plans to send $500 million worth of weapons aid to Taiwan using the same emergency authority that has been used more than 35 times for Ukraine, a source familiar with the plan said on Friday. As a part of the 2023 budget, Congress authorized up to $1 billion worth of weapons aid for Taiwan using Presidential Drawdown Authority (PDA), a type of authority that expedites security assistance and has helped to send arms to Ukraine. Last month, China staged war games around Taiwan after Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen met U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy in Los Angeles. The spokesperson declined to comment on whether the U.S. was moving ahead with the $500 million aid package. It was unclear what would be included in the aid package for Taiwan, which was first reported by Bloomberg news.

Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Avril Haines testifies during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on "Worldwide Threats" at the U.S. Capitol in Washington May 10, 2022. In January, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen notified Congress that the U.S. government started to use extraordinary measures to fend off default. Since 1960, Congress has raised the debt ceiling 78 separate times under both Republican and Democratic presidents. Read more: What is the debt ceiling? Such brinksmanship weakens our national security," the former Pentagon chiefs wrote in a letter.

☆ Top US spy says Chinese invasion halting Taiwan chip production would be 'enormous' global economic blow
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

She noted that the advanced semiconductor chips produced by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Ltd (TSMC) are used in 90 percent of "almost every category of electronic device around the world." If a Chinese invasion stopped TSMC from producing those chips, "it will have an enormous global financial impact that I think runs somewhere between $600 billion to $1 trillion on an annual basis for the first few years," she said. "It will also have an impact on our (U.S.) GDP if there was such an invasion of Taiwan and that (TSMC's production) was blocked," Haines continued. "It would also have an impact, if they stopped making chips, on China's economy." Reporting by Jonathan Landay; editing by Jonathan OatisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

WASHINGTON, May 4 (Reuters) - Russia is very unlikely to use its nuclear weapons, the top U.S. intelligence official said on Thursday, despite past saber-rattling from the Kremlin and the heavy casualties that eMoscow is enduring in its invasion of Ukraine. Nuclear tensions between Russia and the United States have increased since the start of the conflict with Ukraine with Putin repeatedly warning that Russia is ready to use its nuclear arsenal if necessary to defend its "territorial integrity." U.S. officials for months have said they have not seen signs Russia was preparing to employ nuclear weapons but also cautioned that they were staying vigilant. Deputy U.S. Secretary of State Wendy Sherman pointed to Putin's March 25 announcement that Russia was preparing to station tactical nuclear weapons in neighboring Belarus "is his effort to use this threat in a managed way." Last week the Kremlin played down the idea that Russia might be preparing to carry out a nuclear weapons test, saying all nuclear states were abiding by a moratorium on the testing of nuclear weapons.

☆ Russia likely won't be launching any 'significant' offensive operations this year if it can't find more troops and weapons, US intel chief says
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Russia and Ukraine appear to be gearing up for a Ukrainian offensive, the US intelligence chief said. She suggested Thursday that Moscow won't be able to carry out future operations without more troops and weapons. Russian forces launched an offensive earlier this year, but it faltered. Even a limited offensive could be difficult given the current situation for the Russian military. Though the figures are for all of Ukraine, the fighting in Bakhmut specifically is believed to have claimed thousands of lives.

REUTERS/Leah MillisWASHINGTON, April 27 (Reuters) - As Iran's oil exports rise despite U.S. sanctions over its nuclear program, senators from both parties urged President Joe Biden to enable a federal government agency to seize Iranian oil and gas shipments. Senators Joni Ernst, a Republican, and Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat, said in a letter to Biden that the Department of Homeland Security's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) office has not been able to seize an Iranian oil shipment for more than a year. Iran says its nuclear program is for civilian purposes while the United States suspects Tehran wants to develop a nuclear bomb by enriching uranium. Iran's oil exports have reached their highest level since the reimposition of U.S. sanctions in 2018, Iranian oil minister Javad Owji said last month. Last year the U.S. tried to confiscate a cargo of Iranian oil around Greece, which prompted Tehran to seize two Greek tankers in the Gulf.

☆ North Korea's next nuke test a matter of 'when,' not 'if,' US Army general says, warning its on the way to a key nuclear capability
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

A top US Army general warned that North Korea is on its way to developing a key nuclear capability. Gen. Paul LaCamera also said this week that Pyongyang's next nuclear test is only a matter of time. LaCamera also said North Korea is slated to carry out a seventh nuclear test at some point in the future. North Korea conducted six nuclear tests between 2006 and 2017, and each underground test produced explosive yields progressively larger than the one before it. Ju Ae has become a regular figure at North Korea's military-oriented events in recent months after spending years cloaked in mystery.

☆ Space Force chief says U.S. is facing a 'new era' of threats beyond Earth
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( Morgan Brennan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Chance Saltzman took the stage for his keynote at the Space Symposium in Colorado Springs, Colorado, this week, his message was simple: The U.S. is in a new era of space activity. "The threats that we face to our on-orbit capabilities from our strategic competitors has grown substantially," Saltzman, the U.S. Space Force's second-ever chief of space operations, said in a CNBC interview after the speech. Case in point: the Space Force's recently announced procurement strategy for more launch services. With business to be awarded next year, the National Security Space Launch Phase 3 is estimated to run into the billions of dollars and is expected to draw bids from the likes of Rocket Lab , Relativity Space and Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin, among others. While still just a fraction of the country's overall defense budget, the Space Force's $30 billion request for fiscal 2024 represents a 15% increase from this year's enacted levels.

☆ US government tracking more than 650 potential UFO cases, Pentagon says
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Jeremy Herb | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —The US government is tracking more than 650 potential cases of so-called “unidentified aerial phenomenon,” commonly known as UFOs, according to the director of the office created last year to focus on the sightings. He played video from two of cases that had been declassified, one that had been resolved and the other unresolved. Kirkpatrick explained that this case was unresolved because there was no other evidence beyond the video. He said that in a small number of cases, he has concerns the episodes could be evidence of potential technological advancements. Those cases, he said, are handed off to the intelligence community to investigate further.

☆ McCarthy meets with Taiwan leader as China threatens 'actions' in response
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( Christina Wilkie | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

US Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) (R) speaks with Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen while arriving for a bipartisan meeting at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California, on April 5, 2023. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and a bipartisan congressional delegation are meeting Wednesday with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen in Simi Valley, California, in a move that has increased simmering U.S. tensions with China. The Republican House speaker is the highest ranking U.S. official to meet with a leader of Taiwan on U.S. soil since 1979. Tsai's meeting with McCarthy follows private meetings she held last week with small groups of U.S. lawmakers. But in reality, Tsai's packed schedule of high-level meetings with U.S. lawmakers would rival that of any official visit by a world leader.

☆ Russian fighter jets are reportedly ambushing Ukrainian pilots in sneak attacks. Fending them off would require F-16s, pilot says, which the US previously said 'won't help them.'
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-03 | by ( Katherine Tangalakis-Lippert | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Russian fighter jets are ambushing Ukrainians in sneak attacks, an official told The Telegraph. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has urged the White House to send F-16 jets to fight back. The Biden administration has so far refused to send F-16 fighters and MQ-9 drones to Ukraine. They will send up a Russian jet alone, tricking the Ukrainian pilot into thinking there is only one jet. Kahl added that the subject was discussed by President Joe Biden and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during Biden's visit to Kyiv on February 20.

☆ US senator's hold on military nominations hurts readiness -Pentagon chief
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, March 28 (Reuters) - A U.S. senator's decision to hold up the nomination of senior military officials over the Pentagon's abortion policy will have a ripple effect and hurt readiness, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said on Tuesday. Republican Senator Tommy Tuberville, a former college football coach, has been blocking military nominations from moving forward since last month because he believes the Pentagon is improperly using funding to cover travel costs for abortions of service members. Senior military nominations are approved by the committee and eventually the Senate. "It shouldn't have to be said, but the senator from Alabama's hold of hundreds of routine military promotions is reckless, it damages the readiness of our military, and puts American security in jeopardy," Schumer said on Monday. Reporting by Idrees Ali and Phil Stewart; Additional reporting by Patricia Zengerle; Editing by Bill BerkrotOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Josh Hawley splits Senate GOP over 'duplicative' idea to create a new office tracking US aid to Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( Bryan Metzger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

The Senate rejected a bill from Josh Hawley to establish a new office to oversee Ukraine aid. Many Republicans said they were confident in the Biden administration's aid tracking efforts. "We already have a very extensive operation to oversee spending in Ukraine," said Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah. Hawley's bill did win over at least one Republican who's a vocal supporter of aiding Ukraine: Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina. The underlying AUMF repeal bill, which is backed by a large bipartisan majority of senators and has been endorsed by the White House, is expected to pass the Senate on Wednesday.

☆ Republican lawmakers press Biden to send cluster bombs to Ukraine -letter
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-21 | by ( Mike Stone | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

WASHINGTON, March 21 (Reuters) - Four Republican members of Congress urged U.S. President Joe Biden to send cluster munitions to Ukraine, alleging in a Tuesday letter to the White House that the administration fears doing so would be seen as an escalation by Russia. Kyiv had urged members of Congress to press the White House to approve sending the weapons. The letter criticized Biden for "reluctance to provide Ukraine the right type and amount of long-range fires and maneuver capability to create" a breakthrough against Russian forces. It urged Biden to send the Dual-Purpose Conventional Improved Munitions (DPICM) found in several types of U.S. munitions, including 155 millimeter artillery, GMLRS and ATACMS. Cluster munitions, banned by more than 120 countries, normally release large numbers of smaller bomblets that can kill indiscriminately over a wide area, threatening civilians.

☆ Biden wants $886 billion defense budget with eyes on Ukraine and future wars
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( Mike Stone | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The total amount of the 2024 budget proposal is $28 billion more than last year's $858 billion. Congress has passed an annual defense budget for more than 60 years. Biden's budget request also speeds the Department of Defense's pace for buying the stealthy F-35 fighter jet to 83. The 2023 budget request asked for 61 F-35 jets made by Lockheed Martin and Congress increased that number to 77. The budget would benefit the biggest U.S. defense contractors including Lockheed, Raytheon, Northrop Grumman Corp (NOC.N) and General Dynamics Corp (GD.N).

☆ TikTok could be a valuable tool for China if it invades Taiwan, FBI director says
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( Sean Lyngaas | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

New York CNN —The Chinese government could use TikTok to control data on millions of people and harness the short-form video app to shape public opinion should China invade Taiwan, FBI Director Christopher Wray told the Senate Intelligence Committee Wednesday. Wray responded affirmatively to questions from Republican Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, the panel’s ranking member, on whether TikTok would allow Beijing widespread control over data and a valuable influence tool in the event of war in the Taiwan Strait. Rubio, the top Republican on the Senate panel, argued that TikTok presents “a substantial national security threat for the country of a kind that we didn’t face in the past.”Wray’s comments come a day after Gen. Paul Nakasone, head of the US National Security Agency, told the Senate Armed Services Committee that he worried TikTok could censor videos to shape public opinion in a way that threatens US national security interests. The company is also negotiating a possible agreement with the Biden administration that could allow TikTok to continue operating in the United States under certain conditions. In a statement this week, a TikTok spokesperson said a US government ban would stifle American speech and would be “a ban on the export of American culture and values to the billion-plus people who use our service worldwide.”– CNN’s Brian Fung and Catherine Thorbecke contributed to this report.

☆ TikTok data collection, influence operations potential draw U.S. NSA concern
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Elizabeth FrantzWASHINGTON, March 7 (Reuters) - U.S. National Security Agency Director Paul Nakasone on Tuesday expressed concern during congressional testimony about Chinese-owned video app TikTok's data collection and potential to facilitate broad influence operations. Asked by Republican Senator Tommy Tuberville about any concerns he has about TikTok's influence on American children, Nakasone told a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing, "TikTok concerns me for a number of different reasons." Nakasone ended his comments by asserting that the TikTok platform could enable sweeping influence operations. The NSA, part of the Defense Department, is the agency responsible for U.S. cryptographic and communications intelligence and security. CFIUS and TikTok have been in talks for more than two years aiming to reach a national security agreement.

☆ NSA chief worries TikTok could censor videos for 'large population of listeners' as part of Chinese influence operations
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( Sean Lyngaas | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

TikTok’s collection of data and its control over the algorithm that serves user content are also concerning, Nakasone said. US officials have for years accused TikTok – and its Chinese parent firm ByteDance – of collecting data that could enable surveillance by the Chinese government. A TikTok spokesperson said that the company has been working with the US government to address national security concerns. We will continue to do our part to deliver a comprehensive national security plan for the American people,” Brooke Oberwetter from TikTok said in statement. “I characterize it much more as a loaded gun.”“I would not expect individualized targeting through [TikTok] to do malicious things,” Joyce said.

☆ Pressure mounts on Biden to publicly address aerial object shoot downs
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( Christina Wilkie | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Al Drago | ReutersWASHINGTON — President Joe Biden is coming under mounting pressure from both Democratic and Republicans senators to publicly explain why he ordered three floating objects to be shot down last weekend by American fighter jets. The orders to shoot down the three "unidentified aerial phenomena" over three days came just one week after a massive Chinese surveillance balloon was shot down Feb. 4, after floating across the United States for eight days. The first of the objects shot down this weekend was the size of a small car and floating at 40,000 feet when it was shot down over the Arctic Ocean on Friday. The second one was similar in size and altitude, but it was shot down over the Canadian Yukon on Saturday. The third floating object was slightly smaller and floating at just 20,000 feet when it was taken out over Lake Huron on Sunday.

☆ There's nothing but 'zombie arguments' for not giving Ukraine fighter jets, one of its closest partners says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( Jake Epstein | Sinéad Baker | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Ukraine has placed advanced Western fighter jets at the top of its military hardware wishlist. He said the way some Western countries approach giving Ukraine weapons needs to be altered, saying there's "certain psychological taboos and I think we need to revise this negative approach." RADOSLAW JOZWIAK/AFP via Getty ImagesAmong the countries that initially rejected the idea of sending fighter jets to Ukraine are the US and UK. On Wednesday, the British government said it would offer to train Ukrainian pilots to fly "sophisticated" NATO-standard fighter jets in the future. The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday that the UK was considering the provision of fighter jets.

☆ Ukraine has its sights on US-made fighter jets, but those aren't Kyiv's 'most pressing need,' top Democrat says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( Christopher Woody | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Having received Western-made tanks, Ukrainians say their next goal is getting Western fighter jets. Ukraine operated roughly 82 MiG-29 and Su-27 fighter jets at the start of the war, as well as Su-24 and Su-25 ground-attack aircraft. Russia's newer Su-30s and Su-35s still have technical advantages, however, and downed several Ukrainian jets in the first days of the war. Calls to supply Ukraine with fighter jets picked up after the US, Germany, and other countries said they would send tanks. That pattern, seen with long-range rocket artillery and advanced air-defense systems, leads some to believe the US and other countries will ultimately relent on fighter jets.

☆ The US military says China now has more ICBM launchers than it does, but the US still has the nuclear edge
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The US military says that China now has more ICBM launchers than Washington does. However, the US still has an edge in the number of ICBMs and nuclear warheads it has. "The number of land-based fixed and mobile ICBM launchers in China exceeds the number of ICBM launchers in the United States," Cotton wrote in letters sent to the respective committees on January 26, letters obtained by Insider. He also said that the "number of nuclear warheads equipped on such missiles of China has not exceeded the number of nuclear warheads equipped on such missiles of the United States." That said, China's edge in land-based fixed and mobile launchers does bring Beijing closer to fielding a more robust ICBM capacity.

[1/2] The suspected Chinese spy balloon drifts to the ocean after being shot down off the coast in Surfside Beach, South Carolina, U.S. February 4, 2023. REUTERS/Randall HillWASHINGTON, Feb 5 (Reuters) - The U.S. military said on Sunday it is searching for remnants of the suspected Chinese surveillance balloon it shot down the previous day, in a dramatic spy saga that has further strained American-Chinese relations. A successful recovery could potentially give the United States insight into China's spying capabilities, though U.S. officials have downplayed the balloon's impact on national security. Democrats said Biden's decision to wait to shoot down the balloon until it had passed over the United States protected civilians from debris crashing to Earth. The Pentagon will brief senators on the balloon and Chinese surveillance on Feb. 15, Schumer said.

☆ Republicans criticize Biden for waiting to shoot down Chinese balloon
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-05 | by ( David Lawder | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

[1/3] The suspected Chinese spy balloon drifts to the ocean after being shot down off the coast in Surfside Beach, South Carolina, U.S. February 4, 2023. Schumer said downing the balloon into the ocean likely enables U.S. intelligence officials to examine its remnants. The Pentagon will brief senators on the balloon and Chinese surveillance on Feb. 15, Schumer said. Trump on Sunday disputed Austin's statement that Chinese government surveillance balloons had transited the continental United States briefly three times during his presidency. Speaking on Fox News Channel's "Sunday Morning Futures" show, Trump's former director of national intelligence John Ratcliffe also denied such balloon incidents.

☆ U.S. says Russia violating New START nuclear arms control treaty
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( Humeyra Pamuk | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] Delegates from Russia attend the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty review conference in New York City, New York, U.S., August 1, 2022. REUTERS/David 'Dee' Delgado/File PhotoWASHINGTON, Jan 31 (Reuters) - The United States on Tuesday accused Russia of violating the New START Treaty, the last major pillar of post-Cold War nuclear arms control between the two countries, saying Moscow was refusing to allow inspection activities on its territory. The two countries, which during the Cold War were constrained by a tangle of arms control agreements, still account together for about 90% of the world's nuclear warheads. "The New START Treaty remains in the national security interests of the United States," the spokesperson said. Asked if Moscow could envisage there being no nuclear arms control treaty after 2026, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told the RIA state new agency: "This is quite a possible scenario."

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