The Brando Solution
“We [the US Air Force] have to stop thinking like the champion and start thinking like the contender. Our competitors are not only imitating us; they are improving upon what we’ve done.”—USAF Lt. Gen. Mark C. Nowland, deputy chief of staff for operations, remarks at a Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies event, Jan. 4.
The Arc of AI
“It’s pretty simple. By 2020, they [China] will have caught up [in artificial intelligence]. By 2025, they will be better than us. By 2030, they will dominate the industries of AI. They have announced their strategy, so you’re crazy to treat them as somehow second-class citizens.”—Eric Schmidt, then-CEO of Alphabet, Inc., and the chairman of DOD’s Defense Innovation Board, quoted in defensenews.com, Jan. 4.
Double Gamesters
“The administration is withholding $255 million in assistance to Pakistan. There are clear reasons for this. Pakistan has played a double game for years. They work with us at times, and they also harbor the terrorists that attack our troops in Afghanistan. That game is not acceptable.”—Amb. Nikki Haley, US envoy to the UN, news conference, Jan. 2.
Waiting for the A Team
“As of 2017, the Russian military is in its seventh year of true joint force command and is gaining operational experience through recent joint operations abroad. Russia is working toward the ultimate goal of a unified ‘information space.’ The trial by combat of these capabilities has taken place in Ukraine and Syria. They reflect substantial improvements in combat capability compared with what they demonstrated in the 2008 war with Georgia, [but] they have not yet been tested against a capable military or in large-scale operations.”—From The Russian Way of Warfare: A Primer, published by Rand Corp., Dec. 7.
“Something Could Happen”
“In my opinion, if this was a court of law, we have reached the point of ‘beyond reasonable doubt.’ I hate to use the term ‘UFO,’ but that’s what we’re looking at. I think it’s pretty clear this is not us, and it’s not anyone else [on Earth], so one has to ask the question, ‘Where are they from?’ …. Extreme maneuverability, hypersonic velocity without a sonic boom, speeds of 7,000 mph to 8,000 mph, no flight surfaces on the objects. A lot of this is backed with radar signal data, gun camera footage from aircraft, multiple witnesses. There was never any display of hostility, but, … you have to be conscious something could happen.”—Luis Elizondo, former head of DOD’s Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program, on possible visits by alien spacecraft, Daily Telegraph, Dec. 25.
Where ISIS Excels
“We sit here today at the end of 2017, the [Islamic State] caliphate is on the run, we’re breaking them. We are in the process of crushing the life out of the caliphate there while trying to keep the innocent people safe, which is very hard with this group. We need to drive this down to the point where it can be handled by local authorities—police—but right now, it is still very much a military intelligence type of operation. … Am I worried about it? Not in the least. These guys have not proven they can stand against [trained military troops]. They are best against unarmed men, women, and children.”—Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis, Pentagon news conference, Dec. 29.
Is It the End?
“Together with our allies, we came here to Afghanistan to liberate its people and prevent the terrorists from ever threatening our homeland again, and we are staying in that fight and we will see it through to the end.”—Vice President Michael Pence, remarks to US troops in Afghanistan, Dec. 21.
Our “Dubious Privilege”
“The United States is by far the single largest contributor to the United Nations. … When we make generous contributions to the UN, we also have a legitimate expectation that our goodwill is recognized and respected. When a nation is singled out for attack in this organization, that nation is disrespected. What’s more, that nation is asked to pay for the ‘privilege’ of being disrespected. In the case of the United States, we are asked to pay more than anyone else for that dubious privilege. … The United States will remember this day in which it was singled out for attack in the General Assembly. … And this vote will be remembered.”—Amb. Nikki Haley, after General Assembly vote to condemn the US for moving its embassy to Jerusalem, Dec. 21.
Future Death Spiral?
“The Navy wants to grow to 355 ships, that puts the Navy roughly at the level it was in Fiscal 1997. The question is: Is that affordable? Even once we acquire all the platforms, can we afford to operate and sustain them? …. The operations and support costs are going to eat the budget alive. … [It] can get you into a death spiral.”—Defense budget expert Todd Harrison, Center for Strategic and International Studies, news roundtable, Dec. 7.
They Just Really Like to Ski
“I wouldn’t read too much into it, because we don’t know if it is a genuine olive branch or not. Obviously, we have to be open to anything that would implement a diplomatic solution. Those talks clearly are the result of the amount of international pressure, and they are a way, I think, for North Korea to start talking while keeping it contained for a benign issue. It is difficult for me to disassociate [the fact that Pyongyang] is now willing to negotiate on any issue [from] the months and months of United Nations Security Council effort.”—Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis, remarks on why North Korea opened talks with South Korea, news conference, Jan. 4.
So Immature
“Pre-emption is becoming more likely as their technology matures. I think we’re really running out of time. The Chinese are trying, but ineffectively. If there’s an underground nuclear test, then you need to get ready for a very serious response by the United States.”—Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Senate Armed Services Committee, CBS’s “Face the Nation,” Dec. 2.