McCain Institute

The Call with the US Chamber's Global Intelligence Desk

Wed, 18 Feb 2026 17:43:34 GMT

Watch my interview with The Call as we examine the implications, risks and opportunities amid the expanding defense spending commitments across the world.

Center for GeoPolitics by JPMorganChase

Wed, 18 Feb 2026 17:16:08 GMT

Watch my for the Center for GeoPolitics Here .

DealBook Summit - The Global Re-Order

Wed, 03 Dec 2025 19:48:19 GMT

Watch my New York Times DealBook Summit discussion on the rewiring of global power.

Watch the discussion Here .

Tectonic Q&A - Identifying Winning Startups in the Defense Innovation Space

Mon, 24 Nov 2025 18:32:03 GMT

A Q+A with Former Secretary of Defense Dr. Mark Esper

By Barratt Dewey November 24, 2025

Dr. Mark Esper has spent a whole heck of a lot of time in the defense ecosystem.

After a decade in uniform in the US Army, he worked as a congressional staffer, a senior policy aide to Sens. Chuck Hagel and Bill Frist, and a Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense in the early 2000s. Then, he transitioned into the private sector, serving as Raytheon’s VP for Government Relations from 2010 to 2017.

But that wasn’t the end of his military career. Esper was appointed Secretary of the Army in 2017, where he launched the service’s six-priority modernization drive, stood up Army Futures Command, and kick-started many of the defense innovation initiatives we all know and love.

He wasn’t done there. Esper was named Secretary of Defense by President Trump in 2019, where he oversaw record RDT&E investments, charted new acquisition pathways, and focused on the ethical implementation of AI within the DoD. He served in that role until 2020, when he once again moved into the private sector. He is now the chairman of Red Cell Partners’ National Security Practice and a Managing Partner at the firm.

Tectonic sat down with Dr. Esper to chat about how the defense innovation ecosystem has changed since his time in office, where the biggest risks and threats are, and where he hopes the industry goes from here.

Note: This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Tectonic: What are some of the things Pentagon leadership is doing right right now, and what are some things they’re doing wrong? What do you think still needs to change in the Pentagon to encourage defense innovation and bring non-traditional companies through the door?

I really like the energy that’s coming out of Washington, out of the Pentagon, and out of Silicon Valley. I use Silicon Valley as a proxy for all the various innovation hubs around the country. I like the energy I’m seeing from VCs and other non-traditional players as well. Private companies that are not VCs and that are more mature, I like the sense of mission, and they want to help DoD innovate.

The collective view is a key to our success. Not the only key, but a key to success is going to be technology that gives our warfighters an unfair advantage on the modern battlefield in all domains—air, land, sea, space, and cyberspace. I really like the energy that’s out there. I think it’s critical to sustain it. I hope that DoD and Congress can make the necessary changes and reforms to capture that wind, so that members of the venture community don’t get frustrated and walk away from us. What they can bring to us in terms of technology is just too critical.

As Secretary of the Army, you pioneered some of the major innovation initiatives that we see today, especially the Army Futures Command. How do you think that’s evolved since you established it in 2018?

During my tenure, the team and I brought forward a number of reforms across the sector, including basic training, collective training, and acquisition. If we want to talk about Night Court and the innovative side, there were a number of things, and Futures Command was part of that.

Another part of that was the establishment of cross-functional teams associated with them. I set up the AI Center at Carnegie Mellon University and Futures Command. Now it’s in a new iteration, having been around for five or six years. I think it started off really strong. We had 32 top priorities. And I think by 2024, 23 of them were either implemented or in some operational testing stage, test operational testing, or Low-Rate Initial Production (LRIP) stage.

It’s come a long way. Some of the authorities were taken away from the last administration, but with this new formulation—and I’ve talked to leaders in the Army—I think Futures Command is going to be even better positioned and organized to capitalize on what they’ve mastered down there in Austin, so I feel positive about the future of Futures Command in this new iteration.

After your time in leadership, especially at Red Cell, is there anything you’ve been disappointed by in the innovation space?

Reforms never happened as quickly as you would want them to, whether before I was in office, during my time in office, or after I left office. You want to see things move more quickly than they are. And so I would say, again, the very positive development has been the 180-degree turn in Silicon Valley that the venture community has taken toward defense writ large. But again, the disappointment is always in moving faster in terms of capitalizing on the new attitude from the venture side, and making sure that we work closely with them to bring them into the DoD acquisition system, capitalize on what they bring to testing and prototyping, and then, of course, deploy these technologies so we can have this decisive advantage against the Chinese and other adversaries going forward.

Before returning to public service in the first Trump administration, you worked at Raytheon for several years. How did your experience at a major defense prime inform your modernization priorities as Secretary of the Army, Secretary of Defense, and then in the private sector with Red Cell?

I like to say that my experience was built far beyond just Raytheon. Raytheon was part of that, but I served 10 years on active duty, using a variety of Army weapons systems and working with other services during that tenure. And then I went to DC and worked on these issues on Capitol Hill and at the Aerospace Industries Association. On the technology front, I have a general engineering degree, and Raytheon helped round that out more by focusing on what signals the DoD sends and what motivates, incentivizes, or disincentivizes industry. What is the realm of the possible when it comes to technology? All those shaped my views.

When I came into office, my recollection was, here we were, 30-some years after I graduated from West Point in 1986, and we were still using the top weapon systems of the Reagan era when I was at West Point—the M1 tank, the Apache helicopter, the Black Hawk, the Bradley, and the Patriot air defense missile system. While these systems have obviously been upgraded over the years, we needed to move beyond so-called legacy and think about the next generation of vehicles, because we had the technology to make things lighter, more lethal, more survivable, more mobile, both strategically and tactically on the battlefield.

The poster child at the time, and still is, was the Bradley fighting vehicle, which is a great system. I think Ukrainians would vouch for it on the battlefield against Russian mechanized platforms. But still, we can do better. We can do better with a future fighting vehicle that addresses all those things, and we showed it when we rolled out our six priorities.

One of the things I learned from industry was to pick a set of priorities and stick with them. Don’t change the signal, or it will confuse the industry. They can’t react to recapitalize, retool, hire workers, or make their own investments. We picked those six priorities, and I believe they’re still in effect today. It was long-range fire, soldier lethality, air defense, etc. Some of those, like long-range fires and air defense, proved absolutely spot-on during the war in Ukraine. Those are the two biggest things that we talk about. So I think those things have led to systems such as 360-degree radar, battlefield air defense radar, and upgraded air defense systems to enhance soldier lethality. And you can kind of go down the list of things that are out there. All those things are playing out, and I think that’s the leap forward we’re talking about. It’s not just about the team. I was pleased to see that the last administration continued those priorities, and I think this administration is continuing them as well, which bodes well for the United States Army and its soldiers.

I was gonna ask about those priorities. A lot has changed since then, but a lot, as you said, has been proven right. Is there anything you’d add to that list of six priorities or drop?

I think two things. Contested logistics; we debated adding logistics at the time. But again, I didn’t want to throw too many priorities at industry at once, so we worked on that as the seventh unofficial priority. What happened later was, of course, the war in Ukraine, and the Ukrainians have now written the book when it comes to drone operations, drone doctrine, drone tactics, and not just how to employ them, but how to manufacture and update on the battlefield quickly.

I think if I were sitting in the seat as Secretary of the Army today, I would prioritize drones, and it’s clear to me that the Army Secretary and Army Chief of Staff have done just that. That makes complete sense to me, because drone warfare will be an important component of future warfare, and it’s going to be something integrated throughout our formations and throughout our ground tactical operations. I completely agree with that.

As Secretary of Defense, you made great power competition with China—followed by Russia—the core of the National Defense Strategy, and designated them the primary threat actors. Looking at the world now, where do you think the biggest threats are coming from?

I think a major achievement of Trump’s first term was identifying this new era of great power competition, and China and Russia were identified as the top-tier threats, with North Korea and Iran as secondary. Of course, terrorism still loomed out there. I put additional spin on that by designating China as my clear number one over Russia.

Over the past five to six years, great power competition has only grown more competitive, dangerous, and ever-present. Why is that? Because again, we saw the first land war since the end of World War Two in Europe, in the middle of Europe, and it’s been marked by not just drones, as we mentioned earlier, but by heavy formations, at least in the initial months of the war, tank on tank, mechanized vehicles, you name it, and still every day it’s ballistic missiles, drones, cruise missiles, impacting the people of Ukraine.

So great power competition is here, as a result of various conflicts around the world. With Russia and Ukraine, you see the Chinese supplying the Russians, you see the North Koreans supplying the Russians, and you see the Iranians supplying the Russians.

If you look at the Middle East, where Iran is the locus of our focus, as the big player in the region, you see Russia supporting them with arms. Iranians have been trying to purchase advanced fighter jets and air defense systems. That should concern us. When you look at China, you see cooperation between Russia, North Korea, and others. The so-called Bad Boys on that list are working together ever more closely, sharing technology, providing troops to Russia, in the case of North Korea. Who would have thought of that?

When I look across the world, to me, there are only two countries that are existential threats to us, and those are China and Russia, because they possess nuclear weapons. Of course, they also have large conventional militaries, so my focus is still on those two in that order. China is certainly the greatest threat we face in this century, no doubt.

Your time at Red Cell is quite different from your time in Pentagon leadership and at major defense contractors. What advice do you have for founders at Red Cell based on your experience? How has your combined experience throughout your career informed how you try to help incubate and launch startups?

First of all, it’s been a real treat to be with Red Cell, my partners on the board, and the firm. The founder, Grant Verstandig, has been tremendous. He likes to point out that I may be the most senior defense official ever to enter the venture world, and there’s probably some truth to that, but I did have an experience somewhat unique among my predecessors, since I came from the defense industry with Raytheon. I knew what it was like working in a prime, and during my years at the Pentagon as Secretary of the Army and Secretary of Defense, I got exposed to this broader ecosystem that includes both the venture community and private equity. I was intrigued by that, and I knew I wanted to go into those spaces after I left office.

As we look at companies at Red Cell—where we incubate, bring forth our own ideas, mature them, and grow them—what I look at with founders is, what does the market look like? What’s the total addressable market? What’s their technology, and what is their team? I look at those three things, and the most important among them is the founder—do you have one with the passion, energy, vision, and leadership to bring a team together that can take an idea from nothing to something? To me, it’s about delivering that vision and convincing investors that you can deliver on those items and possess those attributes. To me, that leadership function is the most important.

In many ways, that’s no different if you’re talking about a prime. The difference with a prime is that you have large leadership teams, so other members can step in. If a leader is short on some of those qualities, they can be made up for by others on the team. It’s much more of a team sport. When you’re that founder-entrepreneur, it’s you and maybe one, two, or three other people, so you have to be able to juggle a lot of balls. And those are rare individuals.

When you’re bringing an idea from nothing to something, what are some capability gaps in the current force and technology space that you’re thinking about most?

We focus not just on national security but also on cyber and healthcare. Across the board, we are basically an AI company, with a lot of AI talent, depth, and experience going back years, and we try to leverage that. Whereas some companies play in the software space, some in the hardware space, some in both, most of our efforts, most of our companies are focused on the AI side.

We see any number of functions—whether it’s personnel, logistics, Air Mobility—you name it —where we could take back-office systems and really supercharge them with our AI capabilities to make decision-making faster, better, and less costly, and to proliferate them throughout the organization.

We’re finding that in any number of areas inside, and I don’t want to give too much away, because we have various ideas percolating, but DEFCON AI is probably the best case right now, where we took air mobility planning, digitized it, and layered AI in there to do scenario-based planning with real-time feeds with regard to weather, enemy actions, adjusted for risk, efficiency, or cost. That’s one technology that’s exportable to the commercial sector, so I think dual-use considerations are a big factor for us as well.

You mentioned that cyber is another priority. There’s been this focus on kinetic lethality, and it seems like cyber has taken a bit of a back seat with the downsizing of CISA and other cyber offices in the DoW. Do you think there’s a sufficient focus on cyber given the current threat?

I think the cyber threat is ever-present and will always be, because it is an asymmetrical, non-attributable, low-cost way for adversaries—whether it’s big countries like Russia and China, rogue states like Iran and North Korea, or transnational organizations—to attack either our government systems or our private sector systems. I think that threat is always there, always will be, in some ways, in many ways, offense has the advantage. And so, to the degree that Red Cell, our cyber practice, and other companies out there are trying to be on the cutting edge, trying to improve cyber defenses, make them more effective, and help our customers all the better. I don’t see that diminishing any time soon.

Where do you see defense innovation going in the next five years? Do you think the hype will last and lead to breakthroughs in more non-traditional companies brought into the fold, or do you think it will fizzle out, with legacy primes remaining dominant?

I don’t think it will fizzle out. In fact, I think a nice partnership between some startups and some primes is going to emerge, whereby startups who innovate at light speed and receive a contract that need to scale quickly turn to a prime which has established factory lines, certified workers, and knows how to procure long-lead items and do all those things where they can provide that scaling opportunity for for a startup. I see that emerging as an outcome, and even as I tour the ecosystem right now, some of that’s already emerging.

There are a lot of competitors in any technology—drone defenses, drone offenses, solid rocket engines, and so forth—and that’s a great thing for the DoD, because it means you’ll get higher quality and lower cost. But in any situation, there are winners and losers. So the winners will do well. The question is, will the losers kind of just quit DoD and go somewhere else, or will they throw their hat back in on other things? I don’t know, but that’s part of the competition, so I accept that.

What would really disappoint me, and we talked about this up front, is if the government can’t reform itself adequately enough to incentivize startups, ventures, entrepreneurs, and founders to stay with DoD and stay engaged in the defense sector. It’s not just the DoD that needs to make these changes. It really begins with Congress changing the appropriations process, avoiding government shutdowns, authorizing National Defense Authorization Acts on time, and a number of other things.

That’s my biggest concern: maybe some venture firms will get frustrated, walk away, and go straight to the commercial sector, which would be unfortunate, because there are so many good ideas out there. There’s so much energy. A lot of Silicon Valley and other entrepreneurs are really mission-focused and want to help out the nation’s security and the American warfighter, and that’s a very positive thing.

US Needs Mexico's Help with Border Control

Fri, 14 Nov 2025 17:54:35 GMT

US can't secure the border alone. Mexico must take a real stand against cartels. | Opinion

Mexico and President Claudia Sheinbaum are in a tough position, but the path to success begins when the country decides it will no longer tolerate criminal enterprises.

Dr. Mark T. Esper

Opinion contributor

Nov. 14, 2025 USA Today

President Donald Trump has made it clear that the safety and security of the American people are not up for debate. His tough measures to secure the southern border and ongoing military actions against alleged drug traffickers are proof positive of this.

The United States is sending a clear signal that it will not tolerate bad behavior in its hemisphere. While some measures are controversial, if not legally dubious, they are part of a broader truth: Regional security demands not only American strength and focus, but also shared action and responsibility by our partners.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum seems to understand that message. Despite sharp rhetoric between our two countries at times, she has cooperated with President Trump. Under her leadership , the Mexican government has extradited key cartel leaders, deployed troops to help secure the border and resisted the temptation to overreact when the White House imposed tariffs on Mexican goods .

I agree with President Trump on some issues and disagree with him on others. Border security is one, however, where he is right to apply appropriate pressure. Our southern neighbors must uphold their end of the bargain when it comes to addressing regional threats.

Mexico needs to be a stronger partner to ensure border security

Partnership is not a one-way street. With U.S. assistance comes Mexican responsibility.

Yet goodwill and positive action on some issues will not fix deeper problems. The greater threat lies in Mexico’s inconsistent laws and policies , coupled with widespread corruption and weak enforcement, that fuel cartel power and undermine cross-border cooperation.

Mexico cannot fight these criminal organizations with one hand and enable their financing with the other. It makes no sense. Cartels – which traffic everything from drugs and people to weapons and gold – survive in part because they exploit legal and policy gaps, as well as economic distortions, often created by governments. When our southern neighbors’ laws and policies create black markets , cartels fill the void.

Mexico’s ban on vaping could be one example. While the United States regulates these legal products, Mexico’s outright prohibition has handed cartels a lucrative smuggling opportunity. This ban has pushed the market underground, forcing consumers who want the products to buy from the cartels, giving them yet another source of income.

The same dynamic plays out in the energy sector. Cartels now allegedly move U.S. oil and gas across the border , inserting themselves into Mexico’s legal and illegal fuel markets. Yet the government in Mexico City often looks the other way as criminal groups profit from this illicit trade. One expert who helped Mexico’s treasury calculate the amount of illegal fuel entering the country estimated its value at more than $20 billion .

These are not victimless crimes. The revenue from oil theft, not to mention profits earned from human smuggling and the bootlegging of other pharmaceuticals, finances the same cartels that flood our streets with fentanyl and other illicit drugs that kill Americans and hurt communities.

US shouldn't expect less from our closest neighbors

Regional security around the world has always depended on strong partners who faithfully do their share.

In the Middle East , America relies on Israel and friendly Arab governments to help deter Iran and confront terrorists. In Europe , we work with our NATO allies to contain Russia and support Ukraine.

In both cases, President Trump has pushed our friends to “do more,” whether that means forcing compromise to rid Gaza of Hamas or pressing the Europeans to spend more on defense. Latin America should be no different. When it comes to trafficking in the Western Hemisphere, Mexico must function as a full partner in the fight against organized crime.

Cooperation cannot stop at intelligence sharing or selective arrests and extraditions. It must include coherent economic and regulatory policies that deny cartels the ability to finance their deadly activities. These policies must be vigorously enforced to extinguish corruption.

Regional security and prosperity can only flourish when leaders make the hard choices to see them through. President Sheinbaum is in a tough position, no doubt, but the path to success for her country and ours really begins when Mexico decides it will no longer tolerate criminal enterprises that endanger innocent people on both sides of the border.

As such, the United States should encourage and assist Mexico while also demanding its full cooperation and tough action.

Dr. Mark T. Esper was the United States' 27th secretary of Defense .

Navigating a New Geopolitical Order

Tue, 11 Nov 2025 18:17:02 GMT

Watch my Interview with the Wall Street Journal where I discuss the new geopolitical order.

Click Here to watch .

Allies Paying for Defense - Now They Need to Pay Their Bills

Fri, 24 Oct 2025 17:31:52 GMT

America’s allies are finally paying their fair share for defense. Now they must pay their bills

House committee calls out Mexico, Kuwait and other nations for allegedly failing to pay American contractors

By Dr. Mark T. Esper Fox News

Days ago, President Donald Trump threatened Spain with new tariffs unless Madrid increases its defense spending to 5% of its GDP. Whether this tactic proves effective remains to be seen, but one thing is certain: the president has been even more effective than he was in his first term when it comes to getting other nations to honor their commitments. This fact has been most prominent when it comes to defense spending.

In 2006, America’s NATO allies agreed to spend 2% of their GDP on defense. After several years of little progress, the Obama administration secured an updated agreement in 2014 that all would achieve this goal by 2024. Yet when Trump first entered office in 2017, only five of 28 nations had met that mark.

The president and his national security team, including me, pressed our allies hard back then to live up to their commitments. By 2021, the number of NATO members doing so had doubled and allied military spending increased considerably.

President Donald Trump, alongside Secretary of State Marco Rubio, speaks during a news conference following the NATO Summit on June 25, 2025, in The Hague, Netherlands. On the summit agenda was a new defense investment plan that raised the target for defense spending to 5% of GDP.

Fast-forward to 2025. Aided by the ongoing war in Ukraine and a European fear of Vladimir Putin, Trump managed to achieve what many thought impossible: convince our NATO allies to spend a whopping 5% of their GDPs on defense!

In the economic space, the White House has similarly persuaded other nations to live up to past obligations when it comes to trade, using tariffs and other means where necessary to do so. This should be more apparent when it comes to future trade talks with China .

The communist state has violated its obligations and reneged on numerous agreements for decades, from the theft of intellectual property to currency manipulation and the unfair subsidization of Chinese companies. During Trump’s first term, for example, the PRC notably never purchased the $200 billion in additional U.S. exports it had promised.

China may be the most notorious country when it comes to reneging on commitments, but it’s not the only one. Many of America’s friends are also culpable, especially when it comes to deals made with U.S. companies. I have seen this during my own time in the private sector.

This is enough of a problem that the House Appropriations Committee recently wrote in the August report of their FY2026 spending bill for national security , Department of State and related programs that it "continues to be concerned by reports of commercial disputes between United States entities and host governments…."

The committee noted "particular concern" about "disputes over real property seized, held or expropriated by foreign governments." The report went as far as to call out the governments of the "Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Honduras, Kuwait, and Mexico."

Allegedly, Mexico’s state-owned oil company Permex owes American contractors $1.2 billion. Kuwait is purportedly accused of not paying the U.S. for its financial obligations – including for its Al Zour refinery, one of the largest oil refinery projects in the Middle East – where it reportedly has left U.S. and other contractors unpaid.

And, per the State Department , many U.S. companies operating in Honduras have "voiced concerns regarding politically motivated threats of criminal prosecution and expropriation of private assets."

Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks to media at Ben Gurion International Airport, as he departs Tel Aviv for Qatar following an official visit, near Lod, Israel, Sept. 16, 2025. (Nathan Howard/Pool Photo via AP)

The committee concluded its report by directing Secretary of State Marco Rubio "to utilize the various tools of diplomatic engagement to…. facilitate the timely resolution of such disputes." Such action, of course, begins with America’s diplomats abroad.

Collapse of the Assad Regime

Sun, 08 Dec 2024 20:47:00 GMT

The collapse of the brutal Assad regime may not be the last domino to fall in this region. Iran is now the weakest it’s been in decades with the apparent loss of its Syrian client state; the collapse of its Axis of Resistance, especially Hezbollah; and the continued economic, social, and political duress the regime imposes on ordinary Iranians. Might this corrupt theocracy be the next regime to fall? Let’s hope.

Watch the Interview Here .

The Fall of Damascus

Sun, 08 Dec 2024 20:43:57 GMT

As I noted yesterday, Damascus will fall if Assad flees. This morning it is believed that Assad has left the country and the rebels control the capital. The question now is “who” and “how” will Syria be governed? Right now we should celebrate Assad’s fall and this strategic defeat for Russia and Iran.

Watch the Interview Here.

Never Forget

Sat, 07 Dec 2024 20:40:17 GMT

Never Forget. And let’s also not forget the key to preventing a future global conflict like WWII — a strong, modern, and capable U.S. military aligned with equally capable Allies/Partners, all of whom are committed to President Reagan’s mantra of “Peace Through Strength.”

Syria and a new order in the Middle East

Mon, 02 Dec 2024 20:37:59 GMT

As I told Kasie Hunt, "I was a little surprised ... I think it is significant ... you can see the chessboard in the Middle East is changing around right now in front of our eyes."

Watch the Interview Here .

Potential Hezbollah Ceasefire

Tue, 26 Nov 2024 20:34:33 GMT

Implementation — specifically, ensuring Hezbollah doesn’t return forces to the south of Lebanon as they did in violation of the 2006 UN resolution that ended that conflict — is critical to the success of this agreement. Glad that

Israel asserted the right to enforce this agreement via the IDF if violations do occur.

Watch the Interview Here.

Thoughts on President Elect Trump's Cabinet Picks

Mon, 25 Nov 2024 20:31:09 GMT

See my thoughts on two of President-elect Trump’s national security nominees, their path ahead to Senate consideration, and some of the tough questions each will face as this important constitutional process plays out between two coequal branches of American go.

Watch the interview Here .

Meeting the Japanese Defense Minister Nakatani

Tue, 19 Nov 2024 15:55:47 GMT

Great meeting with Japanese Defense Minister Nakatani, a superb leader of Japan’s defense forces. We discussed the criticality of the U.S.-Japan alliance as the key to security in the IndoPacific, as well as the importance of not just enhancing our capabilities as China becomes more aggressive, but also building interoperability and cooperation with our other allies and partners in the region and around the world.

Mt. Fuji Dialogue

Fri, 15 Nov 2024 15:52:40 GMT

Proud to keynote the 2024 Mt Fuji Dialogue in Tokyo. This important annual forum aims to strengthen US-Japan relations—the linchpin of security in Asia. As China becomes more aggressive, we must both build our respective militaries, economies, and diplomatic muscle, while also improving these ties between us, and with other regional allies & partners. Enhanced capability and cooperation, built on principle and with resolve, will be key to maintaining a free and open IndoPacific.

Veterans Day "Down Under"

Mon, 11 Nov 2024 15:42:53 GMT

Happy Veterans Day! Celebrating “down under” in Australia with my friend and former Defense Minister Sen Linda Reynolds. Placing a wreath at the War Memorial for the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier on this Remembrance Day, when U.S. and Australian soldiers fought and died to end the Great War. We will need great allies like these to prevent future wars, and to win them if duty calls again. Lest we forget!

Successful Military Strike by Israel

Tue, 29 Oct 2024 15:38:46 GMT

The Israeli strike on Iranian military sites was measured but impressive. Iran’s top tier air defenses were proven ineffective and have been destroyed. Don’t expect an Iranian response. They are too vulnerable to further Israeli attacks — next time against leadership, economic, or nuclear sites if need be — that could cripple the regime. The U.S. should now lead a Western initiative to compel better behavior out of Iran, such as Tehran ending its support to its regional proxies.

Watch the Interview Here .

Heed the Generals' Warnings

Sun, 27 Oct 2024 15:34:49 GMT

As I told Jake Tapper, "Our civic discourse is too harsh and angry. We should debate policies and positions, but end the personal attacks. We are all Americans. But the extreme political partisanship coming from the far left and far right is tearing us apart."

Watch the interview Here .

The "Enemy From Within"

Mon, 14 Oct 2024 15:25:16 GMT

“Yes, I think we should take those words seriously,” I told Kaitlan Collins after Trump suggested using the U.S. military against the “enemy from within.”

Watch the Interview Here .

America’s future advantage depends on quick adoption of advanced tech

Mon, 07 Oct 2024 20:10:52 GMT

Read my article in Military Times discussing the future of warfare.

Read the article here .

Somber anniversary for Israel

Mon, 07 Oct 2024 13:47:41 GMT

Today is a sad and somber day for Israel and the Jewish people. We pray for those murdered and taken hostage a year ago, and hope for the release of those still being held. Israel’s response has fundamentally changed the geopolitics of the region and clearly established them as the preeminent military force in the region, with its enemies weakened and on their heels. What will Israel do next to capitalize on this moment? And what is the future of the region post conflict?

Watch the Interview Here .

Israel's response to Iran

Sat, 05 Oct 2024 00:35:34 GMT

Israel’s response to Iran will be significant, but the targets they attack will depend on what they want to achieve: Regime change? Reducing military capability? Economic damage? Each has pros & cons. And going after Iran’s nuclear infrastructure should definitely be considered. After all, now that Iran’s missile attacks have twice proven to be feckless and their proxies are being dismantled, it’s reasonable to assume they may decide to sprint toward a nuclear capability. This cannot be allowed by the West.

Watch the Interview Here.

Israel needs to deal with Tehran

Fri, 04 Oct 2024 00:32:25 GMT

As I told Anderson Cooper, "They have to deal with Iran, which is why I think it's going to be a very significant hit against Tehran, against the regime."

Watch the Interview Here.

Iran's attack on Israel

Wed, 02 Oct 2024 00:26:46 GMT

My take on Iran’s ballistic missile attack against Israel, and how Israel might respond, particularly in light of how the strategic environment has changed with Hamas and Hezbollah now a shell of what they were before starting this conflict nearly a year ago.

Watch the interview Here.

GCF Conference and the social dynamics of Cyberspace

Wed, 02 Oct 2024 00:18:18 GMT

While I’m confident that federal, state, and local authorities will ensure our upcoming elections are free from foreign interference, the influence and turmoil being created by governments and actors in Russia, Iran, China and elsewhere remain a problem.

Watch a clip Here .

Israel and Hezbollah fighting continues

Wed, 25 Sep 2024 00:13:57 GMT

The fighting between Israel and Hezbollah is escalating. The IDF has the upper hand, but an incursion into Lebanon is no easy task. A deal to end the conflict is possible, but Hezbollah needs to stop firing into Israel and withdraw north to the Litani River, allowing thousands of civilians on both sides to return to their homes in peace and security.

See my detailed views Here .

Better security needed for President Trump

Tue, 17 Sep 2024 00:07:52 GMT

President Trump needs more and better security. As I wrote last month (below), the protection must match the threat; all appointed and elected officials (current or former) who are threatened should be safeguarded; and we must play offense as much as possible where we can (and not just defense). The stakes in all are too high.

Read the Article Here .

The White House needs to lift restrictions on Ukraine's use of missiles

Sun, 15 Sep 2024 23:59:04 GMT

The White House needs to lift its self-deterred restrictions on Ukraine’s use of US and allied long-range weapons against Russia. Doing so will help Kyiv militarily and politically. Also important to building troop morale, support from the Ukrainian people, and sustaining western assistance. This can help them gain leverage if they end up at the negotiating table. We need to enable a win, not a stalemate!

Watch the Interview Here.

Lifting Restrictions on Ukraine's Use of Weapons

Tue, 03 Sep 2024 21:28:26 GMT

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IDF Discovers bodies in Gaza

Sat, 31 Aug 2024 21:25:26 GMT

My comments on the breaking news that the IDF discovered bodies in Gaza. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the people of Israel and the friends & families of those still being held by Hamas.

Watch the interview Here.

Vice President Harris says she wants a Republican to serve in her Cabinet

Fri, 30 Aug 2024 21:22:52 GMT

I applaud Vice President Harris for committing to ask a Republican to serve in her cabinet. I hope former President Trump will do the same with a Democrat. Will show that both sides can work together, that bipartisanship is not dead, and will help heal the wounds after what promises to be a very close and contentious 2024 election. This should be a new norm for future administrations too. The American people want to see both parties working together to solve the problems and face the challenges facing them and our great country.

Watch the interview Here .

Sat, 10 Aug 2024 21:59:01 GMT

My quick take from yesterday on the 2024 Presidential election and questions being levied at Gov Walz regarding his service in the National Guard.

Watch the interview here .

The Hill Op-Ed: Surge in threats against US leaders demands urgent action

Wed, 07 Aug 2024 20:03:27 GMT

Surge in threats against US leaders demands urgent action

Threats against our nation’s leaders have escalated significantly the last several years. The most notorious include the 2017 shooting of Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.) and other Republican House members at a baseball field in Virginia; a plot three years later to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer ; the arrest of an armed man in Maryland who threatened to kill Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh in 2022 ; the home invasion and attack in California against Paul Pelosi , Nancy Pelosi’s husband; and most recently, the assassination attempt against former president Donald Trump in Pennsylvania.

These are simply the tip of an iceberg that is unbound by means, motive or location. Politically motivated threats and concerning statements against members of Congress have increased dramatically since 2017 and are now nearly twice what they were then . Lawmakers aren’t the only population targeted; threats are also levied toward members of the executive and judicial branches, and against state and local officials.

At the same time, foreign threats against American leaders have taken a dangerous turn, as highlighted by FBI Director Chris Wray in repeated congressional testimony . Many senior civilian and military officials from the Trump administration remain targeted by Iran in retribution for the U.S. killing of Qasem Soleimani in 2020 . The regime claims the general’s death was an illegal act, ignoring that he was an active-duty Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps officer in a military theater planning fresh attacks against Americans and had the blood of hundreds of U.S. service members on his hands from the Iraq War.

The ayatollah has gone so far as to approve a scheme to kill former National Security Advisor John Bolton in our nation’s capital . Planning has also been conducted against former leaders such as Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. These officials and others, including myself, retain robust security details to keep us safe around the clock. Others deserve such protection but have not been provided it. This must be fixed. Most alarming was the recent news that Tehran was plotting to assassinate Trump .

We are clearly now in a “new normal” when it comes to threats and violence against our nation’s political actors. As such, we must respond accordingly and urgently.

First, our political leaders must lower the national temperature through the style, substance and tone of their rhetoric. Personal attacks on opponents, the use of charged words like “bullseye” and “target,” and spooking followers that calamities will befall the country if the other side isn’t “stopped” throw jet fuel on a burning fire.

Second, the American people need to get off social media and into their communities. They need to do a better job getting to know those in their schools, workplaces and neighborhoods who have different views, experiences and beliefs.

Third, people who make threats should be vigorously prosecuted. And if “the vast majority of hostile messages to public servants aren’t actionable” because of current legal standards as one media outlet reported , then laws should be tweaked to expand the threshold for action.

Fourth, any current or former official, from any branch of government, against whom there are serious and credible domestic or foreign threats, should receive protection from the government commensurate to the threat.

Finally, playing defense against terrorists is necessary but not sufficient. For threats that are home grown, we should investigate and prosecute far more cases. And for those emanating abroad, we should play more offense. In the case of Iran, sanctions and legal charges should be levied against all personnel involved in these assassination plots. Cyberattacks can cripple their databases and workstations. And covert kinetic action should be considered to destroy the facilities where they work. These are just some of the punitive, preventive and deterrent actions that should be pursued by the U.S. with its allies.

Failure to adopt new initiatives in this era of heightened turmoil, tension and political violence only has negative consequences.

Waiting for Iranian Retaliation

Mon, 05 Aug 2024 21:42:57 GMT

High probability that Iran will strike in a synchronized way with its proxies, aiming to overwhelm Israeli and partner defenses. If more effective than April’s attack, expect a more robust Israeli retaliation that could lead to a regional escalation that few want.

Watch the interview here .

Washington Examiner Article by Mike Brest

Thu, 01 Aug 2024 22:51:42 GMT

Esper: Iranian response to Haniyeh assassination could resemble April aerial assault

Mike Brest

July 31, 2024 4:24 pm

The world is watching and waiting to see how Iran will respond to the overnight assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, a senior Hamas leader, in Tehran, which Israel is widely believed to be responsible.

Wed, 12 Jun 2024 21:39:57 GMT

Discussion about the state of recruitment in the US military.

Watch the clip Here .

Read my OP-ED Here .

CNN Interview Discussing the Israel Hamas Potential Ceasefire

Mon, 10 Jun 2024 21:32:46 GMT

CNN interview with Wolf Blitzer discussing the potential Israel Hamas ceasefire.

Watch the interview Here.

CNN Interview Discussing the 4 Released Israeli Hostages

Sat, 08 Jun 2024 21:29:20 GMT

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CNN interview discussing the ICJ ceasefire for Israel

Wed, 05 Jun 2024 21:23:29 GMT

CNN interview discussing the ICJ order to Israel.

Watch the interview Here .

SALT iConnections NY

Mon, 20 May 2024 21:11:53 GMT

Discussion with Jake Sherman at SALT iConnections NY.

Watch the discussion Here.

CNN interview discussing the fate of the Iranian President

Sun, 19 May 2024 21:18:40 GMT

CNN interview discussing the fate of the Iranian President.

Watch the interview Here .

CNN Interview Discussing the Israel Hostages

Thu, 16 May 2024 21:09:12 GMT

CNN interview discussing the Israeli hostages.

Watch the interview Here .

CNN Interview

Mon, 13 May 2024 21:04:31 GMT

CNN interview discussing the demands of Hamas.

Watch the interview Here.

CNN Wolf Blitzer interview discussing Israel Hamas

Mon, 06 May 2024 21:01:21 GMT

CNN Wolf Blitzer interview discussing the possible Israel Hamas ceasefire.

Watch the interview Here .

CNN Interview Discussing possible Israel Hamas Ceasefire

Sun, 05 May 2024 20:55:33 GMT

See my CNN interview discussing the possible Israel Hamas ceasefire.

Watch the interview Here .

Jake Tapper Interview Discussing the Supreme Court Decision on Presidential Immunity

Thu, 25 Apr 2024 17:06:45 GMT

I discuss the ruling of Presidential immunity by the Supreme Court with Jake Tapper.

Watch the interview Here.

CNN Wolf Blitzer Interview

Fri, 19 Apr 2024 13:53:19 GMT

As I told Wolf Blitzer - Israel sent a clear message today: we can strike the interior of Iran if we want and have the will to do so. Last week’s defeat of Iran’s missile strikes was defense; today was deterrence. It’s overdue for the West to unite and compel better behavior from Iran or the cycle continues.

Watch the Interview Here.

Conversations with Bill Kristol

Wed, 17 Apr 2024 13:14:20 GMT

Bill Kristol and I discuss the state of the world.

Watch the Interview Here.

Christiane Amanpour Interview

Tue, 16 Apr 2024 13:40:32 GMT

“Nobody wants a wider regional war. But we arguably are on the precipice of that right now. This could get very big, very quickly,” I said to Christiane Amanpour while I criticized the Biden administration's response, arguing that Israel has to respond.

Watch the Interview Here .

CNN Interview with Wolf Biltzer

Mon, 15 Apr 2024 13:35:44 GMT

Wolf Blitzer and I discuss the ongoing Israel and Iran situation.

Watch the Interview Here .

DC Examiner Article by Mike Brest

Mon, 15 Apr 2024 13:32:16 GMT

"My view is Israel probably has to strike back hard and try to reestablish deterrence and make sure the Iranians know that they can’t strike Israel with 300-plus missiles and drones with impunity," I said to the DC Examiner.

Read the Article Here .

Wall Street Journal Article

Mon, 15 Apr 2024 13:27:05 GMT

Solid piece but for one error: we moved Israel into CENTCOM at end of Trump term for the reasons this conflict is exposing. I had great support from Mike Pompeo to push this. See page 185 of "A Sacred Oath" for the how and why we did this.

Read the Article Here .

CNN Interview with Jessica Dean

Sat, 13 Apr 2024 13:22:01 GMT

The attack on Israel by Iran has apparently begun.

Watch the Interview Here .

CNN Interview

Tue, 09 Apr 2024 21:55:39 GMT

During the CNN interview I said I found it very troubling that Hamas cannot identify and locate the 40 Israeli hostages. Israel has been asking for weeks. This is a major obstacle to any temporary humanitarian ceasefire. Terrible for the families too. Where is the international condemnation of Hamas?

Watch the Interview Here.

CNN This Morning with Kasie Hun

Mon, 08 Apr 2024 21:49:41 GMT

I discuss with Kasie Hun that it is "well-known" that Trump doesn't have presidential immunity, after a group of former military leaders filed an amicus brief with the Supreme Court urging it to shoot down his Trump's claim.

Watch the Interview Here.

CNN Jake Tapper Interview

Mon, 08 Apr 2024 21:45:16 GMT

Jake Tapper and I discuss that U.S. leaders should condemn "Death to America" chants.

Watch the Interview Here .

Nikkei Asia Interview

Mon, 08 Apr 2024 21:41:24 GMT

In the Nikkei Asia interview, I said that Trump could ask Japan to spend over 2% of GDP on defense.

Read the Article Here .

CNN Fredricka Whitfield Interview

Sun, 07 Apr 2024 21:29:12 GMT

CNN Interview with Fredricka Whitfield discussing thoughts on Israel and domestic politics.

Watch the Interview Here .

CNN Kaitlan Collins Interview

Fri, 05 Apr 2024 21:21:52 GMT

CNN Kaitlan Collins interview discussing Iran's next steps - possibly to strike Israel back. It will likely be just enough to assert their courage and build credibility with their proxies, but not enough to risk a wider war, which would be bad for Iran and the region. The US and our regional partners must still prepare.

Watch the Interview Here.

CNN Anderson Cooper Interview

Thu, 04 Apr 2024 21:15:35 GMT

CNN interview discussing President Biden's stark message for Israel's Prime Minister Netanyahu: addressing the growing humanitarian crisis in Gaza or expecting a change in U.S. policy.

Watch the Interview Here .

CNN Morning Show Interview

Wed, 03 Apr 2024 21:11:18 GMT

CNN interview discussing the killing of World Central Kitchen workers was tragic and avoidable. Israel has every right to destroy Hamas, but must do far better when it comes to delivering aid and safeguarding civilians. If the IDF can’t get this right after 6 months, let’s get US advisors in to assist.

Watch the Interview Here .

CNN Jake Tapper

Tue, 02 Apr 2024 21:06:19 GMT

Watch my interview with Jake Tapper discussing the seven World Central Kitchen workers killed in Israeli strike.

Watch the Interview Here.

Overtime with Bill Maher

Sat, 30 Mar 2024 19:58:08 GMT

O vertime segment with Bill Maher.

Watch the segment Here .

CNN Interview discussing my views on Trump

Sat, 30 Mar 2024 16:32:25 GMT

Hear my views on the 2024 election & America’s bad choices. I won’t vote for Trump, but as a Reagan Republican I’m not ready to vote for Biden. Nov 5 is still months away. What we need is a new generation of leaders who appeal to the majority in the middle.

Watch the Interview Here .

CNN Interview

Thu, 21 Mar 2024 16:27:44 GMT

As I said to CNN's John Sciutto, Israel must go into Rafah to remove remaining militant battalions and Hamas’ leaders, but must also take greater care for civilian casualties while enabling more aid to get in. US must continue to stand by our ally!

Watch the Interview Here .

CNN Jake Tapper The Lead Interview

Wed, 20 Mar 2024 19:19:36 GMT

As I discuss with Jake Tapper, Israel needs to go into Rafah to finish Hamas.

Watch the Interview Here.

Japan News Article

Sat, 16 Mar 2024 19:14:24 GMT

Trump Likely to Take ‘Harder Line’ Against Japan, Other Allies in Second Term, His Former Defense Secretary Mark Esper Warns

By Hiroshi Tajima, Riley Martinez / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writers

6:00 JST, March 16, 2024

WASHINGTON — Former U.S. President Donald Trump likely will take “a harder line” toward U.S. allies and partners, including Japan, if he is reelected this November, according to Mark Esper, who served as defense secretary during the first Trump administration.

In an exclusive interview with The Yomiuri Shimbun, Esper suggested Trump might press Japan to increase its “host nation support,” the financial support Tokyo provides to Washington to offset the cost of stationing U.S. forces in Japan, and also quickly end U.S. assistance for Ukraine.

“[Trump] is clearly advancing a more isolationist foreign policy,” said Esper. Trump, who recently clinched the Republican Party nomination for this year’s presidential election, has said his second term will be about “retribution,” Esper said, adding, “I’m concerned that he’ll continue to chip away at our democracy, at our institutions.”

Esper suggested that because a second term would be Trump’s last, the prospect of reelection “won’t restrain him the way it did during his first four years.”

The views expressed in this commentary are my own.

As Russia resurges in Ukraine and proxy fights expand across the Middle East , one critical question weighs heavily in everyone’s minds: Is the United States still a credible ally willing to lead the free world? Whether Congress chooses to provide the continued financial support Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan desperately need will go a long way toward answering this question. And make no mistake, it is not just our allies who are wondering. Our adversaries are paying close attention as well.

For the past few months, Congress has been locked in a stalemate over approving this funding. Meanwhile, our partners’ need for this assistance continues to grow, particularly in Ukraine where soldiers are rationing ammunition due to dangerously low stockpiles and civilian neighborhoods are requiring more air defense systems to protect against indiscriminate Russian barrages. Without renewed US support, the arms pipeline to Ukraine will continue to dwindle over the coming months, directly impacting what happens on the battlefield. The recent loss of the eastern Ukrainian city of Avdiivka in the face of a nonstop Russian onslaught has been blamed in part on an inadequate supply of Western artillery rounds. With the scale and scope of this scarcity increasing with each passing month, we could see city after city fall into Russian President Vladimir Putin’s hands as Washington’s dysfunction continues.

This additional aid is not a matter of charity. In the case of Ukraine, over 60% of the military assistance Congress allotted since the beginning of the war is benefiting the US economy . Funds approved to arm Ukraine are helping replenish American weapons stockpiles and build new systems, which in turn has delivered a major cash infusion to plants and workers in more than 30 states. It also has had a salutary impact on the revitalization of the US defense industrial base, which is especially important as we prepare for the greater threat that Communist China presents.

Republicans are right to raise concerns about the nation’s debt and deficits. Both are exorbitant and unsustainable. But these important fiscal matters should not trump national security, nor should they force officials to choose one regional problem over another or even over border security . At the end of the day, it furthers America’s own security interests and values to help our democratic partners defend themselves against the world’s autocracies. We are far better off in a world where Ukraine successfully repels the Russian invasion, Israel dismantles the Iranian-backed Hamas terrorists and Taiwan deters a Chinese attack than we would be living with the alternatives.

If we fail to provide continued support, the negative ramifications will be significant. For one, it would cause our allies around the world to doubt America’s leadership and resolve. We are already seeing considerable concern from international partners as we waver on Ukraine. It is true that our NATO partners need to do much more, beginning with meeting their decade-old commitment to spend 2% of their GDP on defense , and our southern border needs to be secured too, but neither of these are sufficient reasons to starve Kyiv of much-needed US weapons and other materiel.

It is also true that this war could last for many more years, requiring US and other Western support for just as long. While President Joe Biden did a respectable job rallying NATO to Ukraine’s defense two years ago, history will judge his skittish reluctance to provide Kyiv the weapons it needed when it needed them, time and time again, as a major reason why Ukraine’s counteroffensive failed and why this war will drag on. These are still not worthy reasons, though, to deny the brave people of Ukraine the arms they need to push the Russians back, exhausting Moscow in the process and possibly leading to a resolution that favors Kyiv.

It is not just our European allies who are watching with apprehension. As China continues to threaten the Indo-Pacific, key partners such as Taiwan, Japan, South Korea and the Philippines are closely monitoring whether Washington will fail Kyiv. If the United States is unwilling to help Ukraine beat back a Russian invasion that does not require the commitment of US forces, how can Taiwan trust we will come to their aid if China moves against them — an act of aggression that could require a much greater investment of American treasure and potentially involve our troops as well?

Failing to approve additional funding only emboldens our adversaries. It is no longer credible to suggest we can treat China, Russia and Iran as disconnected threats. This authoritarian axis has been working in a coordinated manner with the goal of undermining American leadership and dismantling international rules and norms. Each is watching closely to see how the US responds to their attacks and provocations. How effectively (or not) we counter one will absolutely inform the calculus of the others.

Mon, 05 Feb 2024 15:39:10 GMT

Interview with CNN's Boris Sanchez discussing the military's response in the Middle East.

Watch the Interview Here .

Interview with The Hill

Sat, 03 Feb 2024 15:32:56 GMT

Former Defense secretary: ‘What matters now’ are results of US airstrikes in Iraq, Syria

by Tara Suter - 02/03/24 9:42 AM ET

Sept. 22, 2020, file photo – Secretary of Defense Mark Esper. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

Former Defense Secretary Mark Esper spoke about the recent strikes by the U.S. in Iraq and Syria with CNN’s Abby Phillip in a recent interview.

“I was pleased to see that in the statement by U.S. Central Command that they said they did attack Quds Force’s sites,” Esper said on “The Lead.”

The U.S. began airstrikes on groups supported by Iran in Syria and Iraq Friday, in retaliation for a recent attack on a base in Jordan that killed three U.S. service members.

U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said it started airstrikes Friday evening in Iraq and Syria against Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) Quds Force “and affiliated militia groups.”

“U.S. military forces struck more than 85 targets, with numerous aircraft to include long-range bombers flown from the United States,” CENTCOM said in a statement. “The airstrikes employed more than 125 precision munitions.”

Esper said “what matters now” is what the outcome of the strikes will be.

“We’ll have a better battle damage assessment tomorrow morning, their time,” Esper continued. “Once the night lifts, we can see what happened, and then what will be the responses by Iran and, or its militia groups.”

White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said the strikes were meant to reduce capabilities, as well as send a message to Iran and groups it supports to halt attacking Americans.

“We believe that these targets fell into exactly that criteria,” he said. “And the goal here is to get these attacks to stop. We’re not looking for a war with Iran.”

An Iraqi government spokesperson accused the U.S. of violating international law and not being truthful about circumstances in relation to its retaliatory strikes.

“The American side then deliberately deceived and falsified the facts, by announcing prior coordination to commit this aggression, which is a false claim aimed at misleading international public opinion and disavowing legal responsibility for this rejected crime in accordance with all international laws,” Bassem Al-Awadi, Iraqi government spokesperson, said in a post on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, Saturday.

Anderson Cooper Interview

Fri, 02 Feb 2024 15:26:15 GMT

I react to the U.S. retaliatory strikes on Iranian-linked militia targets and describe inside the Pentagon decision-making.

Watch the Interview Here .

CNN Interview with Abby Phillip

Fri, 02 Feb 2024 15:22:29 GMT

As I stated in the CNN interview, it was important the US struck Iranian forces in Syria and Iraq. Keeping pressure on Iran can restore deterrence if done right. White House actions and messages in the coming days can reshape Tehran’s behavior and further define POTUS’ credibility going forward.

Watch the Interview Here .

CNN with Kaitlan Collins

Wed, 31 Jan 2024 01:47:28 GMT

I discuss with Kaitlan Collins that the drone mix-up that happened in Jordan is "not common." "I think that needs to be really investigated quite thoroughly. I'm sure the command is doing that, particularly since American lives were lost and 40 soldiers injured."

Watch the Interview Here .

Tue, 05 Dec 2023 23:07:18 GMT

Thu, 16 Nov 2023 22:34:14 GMT

Good discussion with CBS Mornings on topics ranging from the Biden-Xi summit, to the situation in Gaza, to the 2024 election here in the US.

Watch the Interview Here .

Fri, 06 Oct 2023 00:13:35 GMT

Good talk on CNN This Morning about the turmoil in the House and what it means for continued US support of

Ukraine. Political dysfunction in DC and other global events tell Putin the West may be fracturing, exactly what Moscow and Beijing want. This is not good for US security.

Watch the Interview Here.

Face the Nation Interview

Mon, 02 Oct 2023 00:07:08 GMT

I discuss how the government funding showdown looks to the rest of the world: Russian President Putin's vantage point is that "the West is fracturing."

Watch my interview on Face the Nation Here

Vanderbilt University Talk

Fri, 29 Sep 2023 15:24:38 GMT

I attended a great event at Vanderbilt University this week. We had a good discussion on geopolitics and how higher education can play a critical role in this era of great power competition. Vandy is doing just that with a successful interdisciplinary approach.

Watch Here .

CNN Interview with Kaitlan Collins

Mon, 25 Sep 2023 00:25:54 GMT

I told Kaitlan Collins that “it’s a legitimate fear” that if Trump becomes commander-in-chief again that he would seek to punish people like Gen. Mark Milley after baselessly suggesting he committed treason. “I think these are all legitimate concerns.”

Watch the Interview Here.

MSNBC Interview Discussing GEN Milley

Mon, 25 Sep 2023 00:17:49 GMT

See my talk on MSNBC regarding Trump’s despicable comments about Mark Milley and my views on the General’s stellar service to country.

Watch the Interview Here .

Washington Post Op-Ed on the All-Volunteer Force and How to Fix It

Thu, 21 Sep 2023 00:06:03 GMT

The all-volunteer force is dying. Here’s how to save it.

By Mark T. Esper

September 21, 2023 at 10:57 a.m. EDT

America’s all-volunteer force is slowly dying. And unless we take action soon to reverse the trend, we are putting our nation’s future security at risk.

This year, the all-volunteer force’s 50th, has been another tough one for military recruiting. The largest services will all miss their recruiting targets. The Army, which fell short last year by 15,000 recruits — 25 percent of its annual goal — expects to fall short by over 15 percent this year. The Navy and Air Force will also miss their marks by thousands.

Experts point to a variety of reasons, such as insufficient pay and benefits, a difficult work-life balance, fear of personal harm, and a relatively good job market. Some on the right say military “wokeness” is the problem; some on the left blame sexual assault and discrimination in the ranks.

Military professionals tell me all these factors are at play. But even if these issues were “fixed,” the all-volunteer force’s long-term decline would continue.

The fact is, the pool of Americans ages 17 to 24 who are qualified and interested in serving continues to shrink . When I was Army secretary in 2017, 71 percent of these 34 million young people could not meet the military’s entry requirements , mostly because of obesity, drug abuse, and physical and mental health problems. That number is even higher now . About half of the 23 percent remaining who are eligible to serve today decide to attend college. At the same time, the share of the entire cohort with a propensity to serve has dropped from 1 3 percent to 9 percent . That leaves fewer than 500,000 potential recruits. It’s hard to believe that a nation of 333 million people can’t produce a larger pool.

The numbers are all heading in the wrong direction, driven by broader cultural and lifestyle trends and a society unfamiliar with the 0.5 percent of their fellow citizens who defend them. When the draft ended in 1973 , many young people had a family connection to the armed forces, someone who could explain military life. Today, that number is far lower, creating a “knowledge gap” that inhibits most from even considering serving. It also explains why nearly 80 percent of today’s recruits have a relative who has served. A military caste seems to have emerged over time, further isolating the military from society and undermining civilian-military relations.

The White House and Congress need to work together to reverse the slide. They should begin by setting up a bipartisan commission of esteemed leaders, much as was done in 1969 to create the all-volunteer force — but this time, the mission would be to save it. To do that, commissioners would have to focus on two key issues: increasing the pool of young people qualified to serve and raising their interest in doing so.

For reasons that also extend beyond the military’s needs, such a commission should look at ways to improve the health and fitness of the nation’s youths, from resurrecting the long-abandoned Presidential Fitness Test to ensuring that physical education classes are part of every student’s daily schedule. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention , fewer than 30 percent of today’s high school students exercise on a daily basis

The Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery, the military’s enlistment test for academic eligibility, should be overhauled to ensure that it’s appropriate to the occupational specialties the military needs and that young people are allowed more time, tools and attempts to pass it. Medical requirements for service, such as allowing more waivers for kids with allergies, long-past conditions and old sports injuries, should be simplified.

JROTC, a proven program that not only helps teenagers develop important life skills but also familiarizes them with the military, should be expanded nationally with its own funding to ensure better geographic representation and opportunity for all. Fewer than 20 percent of high schools offer JROTC. At the same time, Congress must once and for all give military recruiters the same access to U.S. high schools that colleges and prospective employers enjoy. This is not happening, and many young adults are being denied a credible career path as a result.

While these initiatives and others are being explored, the Pentagon must steer away from lowering standards, reducing the military’s size, and creating hollow — i.e., undermanned — combat formations. We must field the force we need to win our nation’s wars, not take shortcuts.

Our elected leaders must also educate and inspire our youths by addressing their concerns and misconceptions, extolling the virtues of military duty and discussing the benefits and opportunities that come with service. They should also seek the assistance of sports figures, entertainers and others who exert influence over young Americans to help promote these messages.

With threats from China and elsewhere growing, we cannot ignore this issue. Most solutions will take years to bear fruit. But if we are to deter war, be victorious if it comes and safeguard our democracy, we will need to maintain a sizable high-quality force of volunteers. That means today’s leaders must act now to entice the next great generation of Americans to serve.

NewsNation Interview Discussing the Iran Prisoner Swap

Sun, 17 Sep 2023 18:10:39 GMT

Good talk with NewsNation about the Iran prisoner swap. Glad Americans are coming home, but the US $6B ransom will encourage Tehran and others to repeat. This comes as Iran denies access to UN inspectors after 60+ countries press about uranium found at 3 sites.

Watch the Interview Here .

Interview with Neil Cavuto

Fri, 15 Sep 2023 18:03:00 GMT

As I said to Neil concerning the recent Iran prisoner swap deal, "It is not just a swap. It is a ransom payment"

Watch the Interview Here .

CNN This Morning Interview

Mon, 04 Sep 2023 17:50:22 GMT

We need to be concerned about two things: what the DPRK may provide Russia to enable its illegal war against Ukraine at a critical time, and in exchange, what technology Putin may provide Kim to improve his strategic forces against the US and our allies.

Watch the Interview Here.

Fox News Op-Ed Concerning Taiwan

Thu, 31 Aug 2023 16:59:41 GMT

Read my recent Op-Ed about my trip to Taiwan. It is posted below.

What I just saw in Taiwan is the key to stopping a Chinese invasion

Let's take lessons from Ukraine and ensure Taiwan doesn't become the next front in this global struggle

By Dr. Mark T. Esper Fox News

Published September 1, 2023 10:00am EDT

R ussia, China sending officials to North Korea is 'interesting' and 'significant on a few fronts': Dr. Mark Esper

Dr. Mark Esper, former Defense Secretary under Trump, discusses China and Russia sending officials to North Korea amid rising tensions and reports of Wagner Group troops moving near NATO territory.

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

I just returned from Taiwan, having met with President Tsai Ing-wen, her cabinet, and various ministries over a week-long trip to this island nation of 23 million. I was curious to see what changed since my visit the summer prior, just days before the stop by Speaker Nancy Pelosi that jump started this very turbulent period between Taipei and Washington, and Beijing.

My view last year was that Taiwan needed to do much more, and quickly, to improve its defenses, and thus its ability to deter Chinese President Xi Jinping from attacking this thriving democracy, an action he instructed his military to prepare for by 2027. Increasing the defense budget, adopting an asymmetric warfare strategy, acquiring the right arms to effect it, extending conscription, enhancing training, improving reserve mobilization, stockpiling key items, and building resilient communications comprised my list of recommendations.

But in the months since that visit – and a year marked by constant PRC threats across the 100-mile Taiwan Strait, the discovery of Chinese spy balloons above America’s skies and police stations in our cities, more revelations of espionage, and intimidating military moves against our allies in the region, to name a few – solid progress has been made.

Tsai made the bold and right decision to extend conscription from four months to twelve; defense spending is ticking up to 2.5 percent of GDP; stockpiling of critical items is underway; and the military is figuring out how to train for and implement a "porcupine & poison frog" defense strategy, all while challenging near daily PRC incursions across the strait. Importantly, polling indicates that large majorities support these moves.

This last part is the most encouraging. I’ve come to view the growing willingness of all Taiwanese to fight for their country – a whole of society approach – as the key to deterring a Chinese invasion . This evolution was shocked into being by Russia’s unprovoked invasion of its neighbor and sustained by the courage and success of the Ukrainian people. Let’s also hope that Xi is learning the painful lesson the Ukrainians are teaching Vladimir Putin – that a smaller nation with the will to win can beat back a larger foe, inspiring global support in the process.

That said, there is more to do, beginning with a greater sense of urgency in both Taipei and Washington. While I believe Taiwan’s defense spending needs to be much higher, stockpiling should be expanded, and training reforms accelerated, the U.S. must re-prioritize and hasten arms deliveries to Taiwan. The recent move to leverage Presidential Drawdown Authority was a good one, but Washington should use the Defense Production Act to reallocate weapons production, and the Excess Defense Articles program to convey platforms (like soon-to-be-mothballed Littoral Combat Ships?) to Taipei, for example.

Congress should also give the Pentagon the multiyear production authorities and appropriations requested to build up our defense industrial base and start pumping out the thousands of anti-ship and anti-air missiles, sea mines and mine layers, loitering munitions, and other weapons needed by U.S. forces in the IndoPacific, Taiwan, and others. Xi’s deadline to his military is only a few years away, but he could act sooner if the results of Taiwan’s upcoming election upset him, or if the Chinese economy collapses and he needs an external issue to distract his masses.

Lastly, more should be done to rally the world in defense of another vulnerable democracy. President Biden’s recent summit with the leaders of Japan and South Korea was a solid move to bring allies together against the backdrop of a malevolent Chinese Communist Party determined to overturn international rules and dominate the global order. But more multilateral efforts (especially with our NATO allies) specific to Taiwan – joint transits of the strait, enhanced air and sea patrols in the area, multilateral exercises and training of Taiwan’s military – would push back against the new norms Beijing is trying to establish, while also improving deterrence.

And non-military actions like concluding a free trade agreement with Taiwan and eliminating double taxation measures against businesses would not only strengthen economic ties between our countries but would also green light others to do likewise. Further, this would give Taipei the opportunity to de-risk its trade and investments out of the PRC -- something all nations would be wise to pursue.

It's regrettable that this era of great power competition has devolved into a hot war in Europe and the beginnings of a cold one in Asia. This is not what the democracies of the world wanted, but this is what the autocracies are presenting.

Ukraine is now the front line, and we must help them win, but let’s take the lessons of that conflict and the short amount of time we have to ensure Taiwan doesn’t become the next front in this global struggle. After all, America’s national security and economic prosperity are ultimately on the line as well.

Dr. Mark T. Esper was the 27th secretary of Defense and 23rd secretary of the Army, and author of the NYT bestselling memoir "A Sacred Oath: Memoirs Of A Secretary Of Defense During Extraordinary Times."

Watch the Interview Here.

Interview with Greta Van Susteren

Wed, 30 Aug 2023 16:45:59 GMT

Good talk with Greta VanSustern regarding a new Russia-North Korea arms agreement for the DPRK to supply Moscow with 155mm ammo, etc, for its war against Ukraine, and what this means for both countries, especially the industrial strain the war is putting on Russia and its army.

Watch the Interview Here .

CNN Interview with Jake Tapper

Sun, 27 Aug 2023 16:40:32 GMT

My interview with Jake Tapper discusses the Prigozhin plane crash and Biden being worried about crossing "red lines" with Putin.

Watch the Interview Here.

Wed, 12 Jul 2023 01:35:15 GMT

Good talk on Fox News about US foot-dragging on a quick, clear, unfettered timeline for Ukraine

to join NATO. Also, the US et al need to ramp up arms production for this conflict and a possible future one with China. The White House & Congress must fund and enable this effort.

Watch the Interview Here.

NATO and Sweden

Tue, 11 Jul 2023 01:27:02 GMT

Jens Stoltenberg was glad to announce that after the meeting he hosted with

Presi dent Erdogan and Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, President Erdogan agreed to forward Sweden ' s accession protocol to the Grand National Assembly as soon as possible and ensure ratification. This is an historic step which makes all NATO Allies stronger and safer. This is terrific news. I travelled with Ellen Farkas to Stockholm late this past spring and were stuck by the eagerness of Swedish officials to join the alliance and strengthen its security.

Read Our Wall Street Journal Op-Ed Here .

CNN with Jake Tapper

Mon, 10 Jul 2023 01:09:14 GMT

Discussion about President Joe Biden's meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the NATO summit. I talk with CNN's J ake Tapper about the significance of the meeting.

Watch the Interview Here .

Conversation with Alexandr Wang from ScaleAI

Sun, 02 Jul 2023 01:02:46 GMT

Good discussion from a couple months back with ScaleAI’s A lexandr Wang regarding a number of AI issues—from the ethics and military uses of AI, to how it will change our economy, way of life, and competition with China. One thing is clear, the US must lead when it comes to AI.

Watch the Conversation Here .

Transparency and the Chinese Spy Balloon

Thu, 29 Jun 2023 00:56:51 GMT

The Administration needs to brief the American people about what it learned & not be deterred by Chinese threats. A “show & tell” of the balloon spy gear and its purposes will help define the threat the CCP presents. Transparency is what democracies do.

Read the Wall Street Journal Artic le Here .

CNN Interview with Wolf Blitzer

Wed, 28 Jun 2023 00:45:53 GMT

Good talk with W olf Blitzer on CNN Situation Room about the recent uprising in Russia, it’s impact on Ukraine, and US arms deliveries to Kyiv. We also discuss the latest in the Trump classified documents case and the ramifications of that matter.

Watch the Interview Here .

Bloomberg Interview Discussing Russia

Tue, 27 Jun 2023 16:17:37 GMT

See my talk on Bloomberg Business regarding the uprising in Russia, the events leading up to it, and what it means for Putin, Prigozhin, Russia, Ukraine, and the Wagner Group (and their ops in Africa) going forward.

Watch the Interview Here .

CNN Interview with Kaitlan Collins

Mon, 26 Jun 2023 16:22:09 GMT

See my full talk with Kaitlan Collins regarding the Trump tapes, the handling of classified documents, its consequences, and my views on the 2024 race. I also discuss the weekend uprising in Russia, Putin, and the war in Ukraine.

Watch the Interview Here.

Fox Business Neil Cavuto Interview

Sat, 24 Jun 2023 16:27:44 GMT

I join Neil Cavuto to discuss the Wagner mercenary forces rebelling against Russian military leaders.

Watch the Interview Here .

CNN Kaitlan Collins Interview Discussing the Wagner Group

Fri, 23 Jun 2023 16:33:17 GMT

“Prigozhin had undermined all of that by saying that it's not real, Putin was lied to by his generals and this is about senior officials who want to plunder the rest of Ukraine. I think it does incredible damage well beyond the next 24-48 hours.”

Watch the Interview Here.

Washington Post Article Discussing the Importance of a Strong Relationship with India

Thu, 22 Jun 2023 16:36:25 GMT

As I wrote in my memoir - “A Sacred Oath” - China is the greatest strategic threat we face this century, and India is the most important strategic partnership we must keep developing to counter the CCP. The world’s democracies must stand firm and together.

Read the Washington Post Article Here.

Newsmax Interview with Greta Van Susteren Discussing China

Tue, 20 Jun 2023 16:54:07 GMT

See my full interview with Greta Van Susteren regarding Secretary of State Blinken’s visit to Beijing, my concerns about the trip, and what all this means for US-China relations going forward. Important we remain clear-eyed and resolute about the CCP threat, and keep our Allies with us.

Watch the Interview Here.

Washington Examiner Senior Writer, Jamie McIntyre's Article about Ukraine's Lack of Air Power

Tue, 20 Jun 2023 16:43:02 GMT

Read Jamie McIntyre's article in the Washington Examiner where he quotes me as saying, “Russian air superiority has really taken a toll on the Ukrainians so far,"“This is going to be something we look back and say, ‘Boy, if only we had provided the Ukrainians…the F-16s…sooner, it could have made a difference...’”

Read the Article Here.

CNN Article Discussing President Trump's Handling of Classified Documents

Sun, 18 Jun 2023 16:59:19 GMT

I said Trump should not be trusted with the nation’s secrets again should the allegations made in his federal indictment over his handling of classified documents prove true.

Read the Article Here .

CNN This Morning Interview

Thu, 08 Jun 2023 17:03:10 GMT

Good talk on CNN This Morning's about Ukraine's pending offensive and it’s importance not just to pushing Russia back, but also it’s likely bearing on continued US and Western support. We must win this fight against aggression and autocracy. China et al are watching.

Watch the Interview Here .

CNN Interview with Jake Tapper

Tue, 06 Jun 2023 17:07:21 GMT

Covered many topics with Jake Tapper today: the Ukraine dam break; the creeping counteroffensive against Russia; sabotage of the NordStream pipeline; growing GOP resistance to continue supporting Kyiv; and the debt deal’s harmful impact on defense spending at a dangerous time.

Watch the Interview Here .

NewsNation Interview

Mon, 05 Jun 2023 17:10:49 GMT

Good talk on NewsNation about the increasingly aggressive Chinese tactics against US forces in the IndoPacific, as well as bullying against other countries. Important that we stand up together against the CCP.

Watch the Interview Here.

Global Sec Conference

Sat, 03 Jun 2023 17:25:15 GMT

Good talk last week at the annual GlobSec conference in Slovakia where I fielded questions about US leadership and politics, Europe & NATO, Russia & Ukraine, China, and much more. One thing is clear—the US must continue to lead, and we need our allies to help us!

Watch the Conference Here .

CNN This Morning Discussing Drone Attacks on Moscow

Wed, 31 May 2023 17:35:48 GMT

Good talk on CNN This Morning about the drone attacks on Moscow, how this is probably part of the “shaping operations” that precede Ukraine’s offensive, and why Russia should not expect sanctuary. Also, my take on China’s bad behavior in the South China Sea and what US should do.

Watch the Interview Here.

Wall Street Journal Op-Ed Co-Authored with Evelyn Farkas

Wed, 31 May 2023 17:31:01 GMT

When I met with my counterparts from Finland and Sweden as Secretary of Defense, it was clear that both countries would enhance NATO if they ever became members. It is time to make that real by pressing Turkey and Hungary to grant Sweden accession.

Read the Wall Street Journal Op-Ed Here.

Fox Business Interview with Neil Cavuto

Tue, 30 May 2023 17:39:36 GMT

As I tell Neil Cavuto on Fox Business , while the debt ceiling deal is good for the economy by helping us avoid a default, it is bad for national security due to the caps on defense spending (that don’t even match inflation) during a sharp rise in global turmoil and threats.

Watch the Interview Here .

McCain Institute Trip to Finland

Mon, 29 May 2023 13:25:07 GMT

During the visit to Stockholm, Evelyn Farkas and I talked about the importance of Sweden’s NATO

accession moving as swiftly as possible. Sweden’s defense capabilities and strategic geography will be crucial additions to the alliance.

Watch the Video Here .

McCain Institute Meeting In Finland

Sun, 28 May 2023 21:36:53 GMT

Good meeting in Helsinki with Finnish President Sauli Väinämö Niinistö and Evelyn Farkas where we discussed the war in Ukraine, NATO accession, Russia, and many other issues with this sage leader. It is clear this conflict isn't ending soon, and our issues with Moscow will likely persist for a long time.

PenFed Military Hero Award

Sat, 27 May 2023 21:32:01 GMT

Many thanks to the PenFed Foundation for presenting me with its annual Military Hero award last week. And special thanks to the foundation and its supporters for all they’ve done and do for our service members, veterans, and families.

Read About the Gala Here .

NewsNation Interview Discussing China's Strategy to Supplant the US as a Global Leader

Fri, 19 May 2023 21:28:14 GMT

Good talk on NewsNation about China’s attempts to make the yuan a global competitor to the dollar. Very unlikely to happen, but it’s another strategy by Beijing to one day supplant the US as the global leader.

Watch the Interview Here.

Washington Post Op-Ed Highlighting Sending the Right Message to the IndoPacific

Wed, 17 May 2023 21:20:51 GMT

Big mistake. Canceling the Quad meeting and visit to Papua New Guinea sends the wrong message to China and our Allies and Partners about US leadership in and commitment to the IndoPacific. The White House chief of staff could have run the debt talks until Biden returned.

Read the Washington Post Op-Ed Here .

Nexus 23 Atlantic Council Scowcroft Center Interview

Wed, 17 May 2023 20:44:14 GMT

I discuss the need for a “renaissance” in acquisition when I stood up Army Futures Command. What's top of the agenda today for improving defense innovation adoption? Tune in below to hear more:

Listen to the Interview Here .

NewsNation Interview Discussing the End of Title 42 and the Immigration Crisis

Fri, 12 May 2023 20:29:55 GMT

Good talk on NewsNation about the end of Title 42 and the 10,000+ now crossing the border each day (from countries all around the world). The White House needs to fully fund CBP, secure the border, and lead Congress to enact comprehensive immigration reform.

Watch the Interview Here.

Purdue ROTC Commissioning

Thu, 11 May 2023 20:21:51 GMT

Proud to host the Joint Service commissioning ceremony with Purdue President Chiang today

Purdue University—a great school with a solid ROTC program representing all the services. Expect great things from our military’s newest officers as they serve and defend our country.

Read My Opinion Piece on Türkiye and Nato

Wed, 10 May 2023 20:11:55 GMT

The bottom line: Türkiye should approve Sweden’s admission to NATO immediately after its presidential elections on May 14. This is long overdue, serving only to hurt NATO unity and readiness, and sending a wrong message to Putin that could embolden him.

Read the Fox News Article Below,

Turkey's Erdogan Stockholm syndrome pleases Putin, threatens NATO

I sometimes felt Turkey's Erdogan was a bigger challenge to NATO than Putin

By Dr. Mark T. Esper | Fox News

The Republic of Turkey will hold a presidential election on May 14. Its significance to the people of that ancient land and extraordinary country cannot be overstated. Nor can its importance to the future of NATO and security in Europe.

The incumbent, President Tayyip Erdogan, has ruled for two decades with an increasingly authoritarian bent. He now faces a unified opposition that probably presents his greatest electoral challenge ever. Many critics note that Erdogan has overseen an economy wracked by high inflation and turmoil, undermined democratic principles, pulled the country to the hard right, and responded slowly to the devastating earthquake that killed tens of thousands a few months ago. His response is to score points beyond Turkey's borders .

On the international stage, Erdogan has played various roles, usually taking on issues and pursuing strategies that promote his profile abroad and his political support back home. During my time at the Pentagon, I sometimes felt he was a bigger challenge to NATO than Vladimir Putin. This is not easy to say. After all, Turkey is one of the oldest, more capable, and strategic members of the alliance since joining in 1952. Yet just a few years ago, Erdogan kept Washington busy with one issue after another: from threatening our fellow ally Greece and aggressively challenging French warships in the Mediterranean, to blocking the approval of NATO war plans in Brussels and buying advanced air defense systems – designed to defeat U.S. aircraft -- from Moscow, just to name a few.

Fast forward a few years, and the friction has only grown as the stakes have increased. Ankara is now the primary obstacle to Sweden joining NATO, and is doing so amid the most destructive conflict in Europe since WWII. It’s a patently political move that surely pleases Moscow.

Many believe that by taking such a tough stance against Sweden (and Finland until recently), Erdogan is aiming to consolidate his support in nationalist circles prior to the upcoming election. His argument – Stockholm has not done enough to support Turkey decades-long fight against the PKK.

Ankara has legitimate concerns about the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which the U.S., EU, and Sweden have rightly identified as a foreign terrorist organization. Since the 1980s, the PKK has been waging an insurgency against Turkey in which more than 40,000 people have been killed. This is often the lens through which Erdogan sees (or interprets) many things.

As such, Sweden has taken several steps over the past year to address his concerns, from amending its constitution and passing legislation that tightens the country’s anti-terrorism laws, to taking a harder line toward the PKK (and their affiliates) and ending its arms embargo against Ankara. These steps and others were included in a trilateral memorandum agreed to last year by Finland, Sweden, and Turkey. Yet as time passed and the election neared, Erdogan continued to up the ante for Stockholm by adding new demands.

There is no doubt that Sweden’s membership in NATO would improve this historic alliance. Over the years, this proud Scandinavian country has conducted military exercises with NATO, shared intelligence, developed effective weapons and equipment, and ensured its armed forces (especially its maritime capabilities) are modern and compatible with its future allies. It needs to spend much more on defense as a share of GDP, but it has contributed generously to Ukraine and its geography enhances the security of both the Baltic Sea and the Arctic.

Turkey's election is just days away. Meanwhile, war rages in Ukraine as frontline allies and non-NATO European states like Sweden worry if they are next on Putin’s menu. At this point, there is not much else to be done until the polls close on May 14. But after that, the U.S. and its allies should demand Ankara immediately approve Sweden’s admission to the alliance.

President Erdogan has been given more than enough time to do the right thing. If he doesn’t budge, then it’s time to dramatically increase the pressure and take the actions necessary that would result in a greenlight for Stockholm. Otherwise, we risk sending a message of disunity to Moscow that could embolden their operations in Ukraine, and Putin’s broader aspirations in the region. Admitting Sweden to NATO , on the other hand, would not just improve that country’s security, but would enhance the security of all other NATO allies as well, including (ironically) Turkey.

Fox Business Interview Discussing China

Tue, 09 May 2023 20:04:18 GMT

An economic showdown between the US & China would hurt many, but the West should still press Beijing to follow international rules and norms and live up to their global commitments, while also pursuing both strategic decoupling and de-risking with the PRC in key areas.

Watch the Interview Here.

Defense One Article: Want More Pentagon Innovation? Try This Experiment | Commentary by former Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James and former Defense Secretary Dr. Mark Esper

Mon, 08 May 2023 20:25:10 GMT

Speed, agility, and a tolerance for failure are required to enable greater defense innovation adoption for the United States to be successful in this era of great power competition. With Russia’s brazen invasion of Ukraine and China’s increasingly hostile actions in the Indo-Pacific, both bending the international rules-based order to fit their malign interests, confronting innovation challenges in defense will require a fresh approach.

A key element of America’s strategy must be to counter our adversaries’ rapid acquisition and exploitation of leading technologies such as artificial intelligence, robotics, autonomy, and directed energy. To make a major step change when it comes to defense modernization, the Defense Department needs greater flexibility, tools, and a sustained political push from Capitol Hill to use them.

We propose an experiment in budget flexibility and a rethinking of Pentagon program management deep enough to transform the decades-old defense acquisition process. One approach would be to pick a handful of outstanding program executive officers, assign each a capability, and allow them to pursue it with a portfolio of efforts that, unlike today’s programs, can be modified with agility. Enable them to foster an industrial base that can furnish competition and secure supply chains and, if the new portfolio model proves successful, scale the approach across the services.

These are among the recommendations of the Commission for Defense Innovation Adoption , an Atlantic Council project that we are co-chairing. As former Pentagon leaders with experience working in Congress and industry, we assembled an array of former senior government leaders, high-tech industry executives, and national-security-focused investors who are passionate about tackling this critical challenge. We debated the issues and solutions and engaged more than 70 stakeholders from the White House, Congress, the Pentagon and the private sector. The immediate result is an interim report , unanimously supported by the Commissioners, that lays out ten recommendations to foster the rapid adoption of innovative technology by the Pentagon.

Two of our leading recommendations focus on shifting acquisition management from individual program management to a capability-portfolio model while also giving defense leaders more budget flexibility.

Today, the Pentagon acquires capabilities through more than 1,000 acquisition programs, each with their own requirements, budgets, and contracts. This drives long timelines, stove-piped solutions, and gross inefficiencies. Yet the operational environment today requires the U.S. military to adopt new technologies far more rapidly while dumping ones whose utility has been surpassed. This “need for speed” will only grow as our weapons and equipment become more software-centric.

We recommend that the Pentagon select five program executive officers, or PEOs, to operate a capability-portfolio model. This would more quickly move emerging technologies across the infamous Valley of Death . These PEOs could work with Congress to consolidate the smallest 20 percent of their budget accounts to enable greater funding flexibility within the portfolio to optimize investments. These PEOs could develop acquisition, contracting, and technical strategies for robust industry competition to produce capabilities that use common platforms and enterprise services to integrate solutions from many companies into a modular open-systems approach.

Another key set of recommendations from the Commission focuses on providing the Pentagon with additional budget flexibility in the year of execution. The sixty-year-old planning, programming, budgeting, and execution, or PPBE, system brings longer timelines and tighter constraints. This cumbersome process requires developing budgets with two- to-three-year lead times across 1,700 budget accounts. But in an environment with rapidly changing operations, evolving threats, new technologies, and fresh risks and opportunities, it is impossible to effectively budget or quickly pivot to meet tomorrow’s challenges at two-year intervals.

Former Secretary of Defense Mark Esper rebuked the Biden administration ' s after-action report on the U.S. military's withdrawal from Afghanistan . President Joe Biden's team released a 12-page unclassified summary last week of the after-action report about the withdrawal, and it pinned much of the blame for how the withdrawal occurred on the Trump administration . Specifically, the summary cited then-President Donald Trump's decision to reduce the U.S. presence in Afghanistan and to agree to a withdrawal in a February 2020 deal with the Taliban as significant factors that forced Biden's hand.

"I think it was really bad that they're trying to rewrite the history the way they did, to blame it on the Trump administration, when they had enough time ... to make any number of decisions," he told the Washington Examiner on Tuesday. "To review the agreement, to cast aside the agreement, to renegotiate the agreement, or to hope to move forward on it, which is what they did in the day. I think to kind of blame it on the Trump administration is just terrible."

While the Trump administration agreed to leave in the deal with the Taliban , which came during Esper's time as secretary of defense, the Biden administration opted to move forward with that plan, as the president campaigned on and advocated ending the forever wars.

"Then to point fingers at the military leadership and point fingers at the intelligence community. It seems like everybody got blame out of this except for the White House," Esper added. "So I thought it was a poor showing, and we all recognize it was an abysmal evacuation from Afghanistan that hurt us, internationally, reputationally, really, and we need a better after-action review, a better list of recommendations about what we saw, and I hope Congress will get into the matter and peel back that onion."

Esper's call for Congress to investigate the war echoes that of former U.S. Central Command Commander Gen. Frank McKenzie, who told the Washington Examiner last month that he supports such oversight .

With the U.S. military set to depart at the end of August 2021 and the Taliban rapidly gaining territory throughout the country at the beginning of the month, the U.S. military began what became the largest airborne evacuation of noncombatants in history. They evacuated roughly 120,000 Afghans in those final two weeks of August, with flights taking off hourly, though thousands of other U.S. allies in Afghanistan were left behind. The environment at and all around the Kabul airport, where the evacuations were taking place, was swarmed daily by thousands of Afghans frantically hoping to leave the country.

The White House denied the withdrawal was chaotic during the press conference following the summary's release.

"For all this talk of chaos , I didn't see it from my perch," National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters last Thursday. "I just don't buy the whole argument of chaos."

Washington Examiner Report on Classified Documents Leak

Tue, 11 Apr 2023 21:54:53 GMT

I share my thoughts on the trove of leaked DOD documents and the implications of it. "There are multiple impacts here that could ripple for some time depending on, again, the scale and scope of this leak..."

Read the Article Here.

The damage inflicted by the trove of classified documents released in recent days and weeks could be lasting, according to former Defense Secretary Mark Esper .

Dozens of photos of classified U.S. documents have appeared on social media platforms recently, though it's unclear the sheer volume of the leak, the authenticity of the documents, and whether the perpetrator has additional documents they plan to release moving forward. At this stage in the investigations, led by the Department of Defense and Department of Justice , there are more questions than answers.

Esper, who served during the Trump administration , told the Washington Examiner on Tuesday that "there are multiple impacts here that could ripple for some time depending on, again, the scale and scope of this leak, and of course, we have to find out whether it is authentic."

The classified documents released include insights on the war in Ukraine and purportedly showed the United States was spying on allies like Israel and South Korea as well.

One document, labeled "top secret," provided a bleak assessment of Ukraine’s highly anticipated spring offensive. This document, from early February, warned that large “force generation and sustainment shortfalls” make it more likely that the offensive will result in only “modest territorial gains,” according to the Washington Post .

The documents also indicate Ukraine has had alarmingly low levels of Western-supplied weaponry, specifically air defense and ammunition, which have long been concerns of Ukraine.

"At the tactical level in Ukraine, this could obviously have an impact on the conflict there at the strategic level with Russia. I mean, it appears that the means by which we acquire information, those sources and methods could get affected," the former secretary added. "There are pieces of this information that are that can be remedied, right, reports on Ukrainian air defense ammunition being low, we can fix that; we can provide them additional systems, ammunition, you name it, so I'm less concerned about that."

A different document also revealed that the U.S. had information from the Russian Ministry of Defense and knew of their plans to strike Ukrainian troop positions in two locations and when, which is where Esper's concern resides. He's worried about what the Kremlin may do "about plugging up, walling up sources and methods, and did somebody jeopardize the lives of people who were on the ground helping us acquire information."

Esper also emphasized the ongoing investigations, which he predicted "will take some time," arguing that the department has to get a better understanding of the leak, how to stop it, and can then determine how to respond accordingly. Until then, he said he would "tighten the circle of people who have access to this information."

Last week, in this proud city, I keynoted the annual Baltic Military Conference, a gathering of national security experts and officials of all stripes where the major issues facing NATO are debated. The war in Ukraine was naturally the main topic of discussion, but the question on everyone’s mind was whether Washington would continue to support Kyiv.

My answer often elicited a combination of relief and concern. Yes, I said, I believe the U.S. will continue its support, even though polling indicates slippage among the American people. To arrest this, I added, it is important that our nation’s political leaders, beginning with President Biden, clearly and often state our goals, our strategy, and our reasons for acting. Moreover, they must do so in terms that are simple, straightforward, and compelling. We have not heard this yet, unfortunately.

And while there are soft spots in both political parties for aiding Ukraine, we Republicans have the additional burden of explaining to our larger "America First" crowd that U.S. security is strengthened when we have good allies and partners, when we help them defend themselves from autocrats who threaten our shared values and interests, and that standing up to a dictator in Moscow sends the right message to (and helps deter) the other, more challenging one in Beijing.

But I also told my European friends that they must do more. We need our NATO allies to start meeting a commitment they made in 2014 to spend two percent of GDP on defense. Only nine out of 30 members are currently doing so. Fact is, this should be a floor that all our Western allies achieve.

Additionally, most countries need to ramp up their military support to Ukraine. The U.S. and a few others cannot bear most of this burden. It only erodes public support here at home when Americans believe we’re carrying the bulk of the load. I suspect this sentiment, coupled with a skyrocketing national debt, helped birth the "no blank check" statement by the speaker of the House. Regardless, demanding scrutiny and accountability for U.S. assistance, as I interpreted this remark, is not unreasonable.

If these things happen, then I’m confident that U.S. support to Ukraine will indeed continue, and that American leadership and credibility — so vital in the complex and dangerous world we face today — will be sustained. Both are critical to success in this first major fight of the 21st century between autocracy and democracy.

In July, Vilnius will host the annual NATO summit. It will be a historic gathering that, among other things, should see: two more countries — Sweden and Finland — join the alliance; an agreement by member states to commit more of their GDP to defense; an affirmation that NATO’s door remains open, especially for Ukraine and Georgia; and finally, a celebration of a successful Ukrainian offensive that made great progress in pushing Russian forces back to their own borders.

Such accomplishments would not only invigorate NATO and diminish Moscow, but would also give all allies greater cause to continue assisting Kyiv while delivering a major blow to Putin’s strategy of outlasting Western resolve. It would also be a fitting tribute to do this all in Lithuania, a sturdy ally that has punched above its weight and pushed back against Russian aggression for hundreds of years.

NewsMax Interview Regarding Putin

Mon, 27 Mar 2023 20:54:37 GMT

Putin's threat to put tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus is more sabre rattling aimed to undermine Western support for Ukraine. We should take this seriously and be on-guard, but not overreact. After all, he has nukes further west in Kaliningrad already.

Watch the Interview Here.

Visiting the Lithuanian Troops

Sat, 25 Mar 2023 20:49:30 GMT

Great visit with the Battle Group. Enjoyed talking with the and soldiers to understand their training & defensive plans, and role of US forces. Also good to crawl around their vehicles, especially Leopards and IFVs, to understand how Ukraine may use them against Russia.

Bloomberg Radio Discussion

Sat, 25 Mar 2023 20:45:27 GMT

Listen to my talk with Joe Mathieu Reports on Bloomberg Radio assessing the latest news regarding the war in Ukraine, the China-Russia relationship (especially after this week’s summit), and the U.S. military's air strikes in Syria against Iranian-backed groups.

Listen to the Interview Here.

CNN with Jake Tapper

Sat, 25 Mar 2023 20:40:02 GMT

Good talk with Jake Tapper regarding the attacks on US forces in Syria, the need to respond forcefully (as the U.S. did!), why we are deployed there, and the larger concerns about Iran’s nuclear ambitions and progress.

Watch the Interview Here.

Ambassador Gilchrist Visit

Fri, 24 Mar 2023 20:36:19 GMT

Special thanks to Ambassador Gilchrist and his Department of Defense team for the great support they provide our allies & US forces rotating through Lithuania to help defend/deter. I was fortunate to visit with allied forces to discuss force posture and readiness. Glad to hear much progress has been made!

Meeting with Taiwan Minister of Foreign Affairs for Lithuania

Thu, 23 Mar 2023 21:00:09 GMT

Good meeting last week with Minister of Foreign Affairs Taiwan representative to Lithuania, Eric Huang, where we discussed several US/Taiwan/China/Europe issues. Lithuania made a bold decision in 2021 to upgrade the Taiwan office in Vilnius. Need other capitals to do the right thing and do the same.

Inside the Ice House

Thu, 23 Mar 2023 20:30:34 GMT

I share my assessment of the country’s current adversaries and preview the pages of “A Sacred Oath” that chronicles my life of service in and out of uniform, the old threats, the new Cold War, and the challenges of staying true to your oath.

Listen to the Interview Here .

Lithuanian Award

Wed, 22 Mar 2023 20:25:52 GMT

Special thanks to President Gitanas Nauseda for presenting me with the state award for contributions to the security of the Lithuanian region during my term of office. Pleased to learn from him, US, and Lithuanian officials that the presence of US forces here that were first begun in 2019 is building interoperability & capability, reassuring allies, and deterring aggression, as intended.

Baltic Conference

Wed, 22 Mar 2023 20:16:34 GMT

Looking forward to keynoting this year’s Baltic Military Conference, meeting with our great allies in Vilnius, and visiting with Lithuanian troops. Frontline states like who were under Soviet control just 30+ years ago have an important perspective on Moscow’s intentions.

Watch the Interview Here.

Tue, 14 Mar 2023 16:47:12 GMT

As the fight for Bakhmut grinds on, the Russian military's losses are staggering, aggravated by tensions between the Wagner Group and the Ministry of Defense, in this illegal & immoral war.

Watch the Interview Here .

CNN This Morning Discussing Ukraine's Need for Air Defense

Fri, 10 Mar 2023 17:41:50 GMT

Good talk on CNN This Morning about the challenge of defeating Russian hypersonics, Ukraine 's need for air defenses and F-16s, and the likelihood that US arms have found their way to Iran…and China…and how we protect our tech.

Watch the Interview Here .

Op-ed Co-written with Deborah Lee James: To deter conflict, the Pentagon must accelerate innovation adoption

Thu, 09 Mar 2023 17:35:35 GMT

The era of great-power competition is fully underway and has arguably transitioned to a more dangerous level. Russia’s unwarranted invasion of Ukraine and China’s increasing tensions with Washington — coupled with Moscow’s and Beijing’s growing closeness — are proof positive that the world’s leading autocracies aim to change the global rules to suit their malevolent aims. The freedoms many of the world’s democracies have enjoyed for decades are under increasing threat.

The Biden administration has called the next ten years the “ decisive decade , ” and a bipartisan Congress has appropriated the largest defense budget ever to meet this challenge.

The Defense Department (DOD), through two different administrations now, also recognizes these tough times. It has undertaken several initiatives over the last several years to retain its overmatch over Russia, and especially China, in areas ranging from personnel and logistics to training and doctrine.

One of the most critical tasks on this agenda is modernizing the force with new weapons systems and equipment to ensure an advantage against our potential adversaries. Quickly adopting cutting-edge technology, which is mostly found in the commercial sector, is the key to guaranteeing U.S. military dominance critical to deterring war and winning one if all else fails.

The United States is the global leader when it comes to innovation; we are the envy of the world. However, the Pentagon’s ability to quickly adopt advanced technology is woefully inadequate.

Organizational initiatives over the years such as the Defense Innovation Unit, Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office, and Army Futures Command have helped address this problem. But more must be done given the storm clouds ahead. That is why we, as former senior Pentagon leaders and Capitol Hill veterans, agreed to chair the Atlantic Council’s Commission on Defense Innovation Adoption , which is focused on providing DOD and Congress with actionable solutions to accelerate the department’s adoption of commercial technology.

Many startups and small high-tech firms are developing novel solutions to the warfighting problems the Pentagon has identified. However, they face steep regulatory barriers, inadequate communication, and uncertainty about the demand for their product that questions their ultimate viability. If fortunate enough to survive that gauntlet, they then face the infamous “valley of death” — the 18-to-24-month period of no funding that it often takes DOD to award a contract. It is hard to keep employees and investor support for that long, especially if the Pentagon is only committing to buy a few prototypes.

A major obstacle to better outcomes is DOD’s complicated, heavily regulated, risk-averse acquisition processes. The current system requires multiple signoffs and layers of review that make it easy for participants to slow a program down, or even avoid using new authorities given them by Congress to speed things up — because incentives do not exist to be bold and to move fast.

Another challenge, imposed on the Pentagon by Congress, are the budget rules and restrictions that severely limit DOD’s ability to quickly adapt to changes in the threat, supply chain, technology, or tactics. The inflexibility of the department’s budget at meaningful dollar amounts leaves the United States unable to deliver key capabilities to match the increasing speed of ingenuity by America’s adversaries.

Fortunately, there are sensible solutions our commission has identified to begin addressing these impediments and more. Some will require collaboration between the Pentagon and Congress; others demand DOD take better advantage of existing authorities, and a few call on department leadership to alter the status quo.

For example, the Pentagon should work with Congress to simplify its acquisition process by empowering Program Executive Officers (PEOs) to move away from individual program management to broader capability portfolio management. This would provide PEOs flexibility to make timely decisions to fund the best tech available for our warfighters.

Another recommendation is to increase spending flexibility for acquisition officials by consolidating program elements and budget line items — with appropriate Congressional oversight — so that DOD can more easily insert novel technologies into the force without having to start a new program, the essence of the “valley of death.”

A third major idea is to improve innovation adoption by reducing DOD barriers to doing business with the private sector, and then signal the department’s intent to purchase an item once its utility shows promise. Restoring the Defense Innovation Unit as a direct report to the Deputy Secretary of Defense, and properly resourcing it, could enable fulfillment of those objectives.

These are just a few of our recommendations to accelerate the adoption of innovation in the Pentagon. In the coming weeks, the commission will release its interim report with a full list of recommendations for Congress and DOD. We are confident that, if implemented, the United States will be better prepared for the challenges ahead, and more capable of winning the future.

Dr. Mark Esper was the 27th Secretary of Defense and is a board director of the Atlantic Council and co-chair of its Commission on Defense Innovation Adoption

Deborah Lee James was the 23rd Secretary of the Air Force and is a board director of the Atlantic Council and a co-chair of its Commission on Defense Innovation Adoption

Bloomberg Business

Mon, 06 Mar 2023 17:19:46 GMT

Good talk on Bloomberg B usiness about Ukraine’s fight to hold Bakhmut, the recent Biden-Scholz meeting, Chinese aid to Russia, and the inevitability of some strategic decoupling between the US and PRC economies.

Watch the Interview Here .

Op-ed In Newsweek:The Key to Victory Against Russian and Chinese Autocracy Is Aluminum

Fri, 03 Mar 2023 17:28:42 GMT

Russia's unjust war against Ukraine recently marked its one-year anniversary. The brutality of the onslaught, and the atrocities committed by Moscow over the last 12 months, are a grim reminder of the world in which we now live. Halfway around the globe, Russia's strategic partner, China, routinely bullies its neighbors and threatens democratic Taiwan. Meanwhile, Beijing continues to steal intellectual property, break international rules to dominate key economic sectors, and conduct unfettered espionage—marked recently by the brazen flyover of the U.S. by a spy balloon.

We may not be in a cold war with Moscow and Beijing, but relations are cooling. Washington and its allies are girding themselves for the tough times ahead, recognizing that Russia and China aim to upset the global order to benefit their own dark aims. There is much we must do to protect U.S. economic and national security, and that begins with safeguarding our access to key resources.

COVID showed us the importance of having reliable providers of medical supplies. Global supply chain disruptions revealed the critical nature of semiconductors. And last year's sanctions on Russia reminded us to remain energy independent. Yet in all these cases, the U.S. response wasn't timely enough to avoid harm to our people, economy, or security.

So how can we do better?

To begin, we cannot rely on adversaries for critical resources, let alone give them this leverage to use against us. One area that stands out is our dependence on Russia and China for strategic minerals. Lithium, cobalt, and a variety of rare earth elements are in this category. So are metals such as titanium and aluminum. Beijing and Moscow are two of the world's top three producers of both metals, with China distancing everyone else and producing ten times more aluminum than Russia and 40 times more than the U.S.

While most Americans are familiar with aluminum utensils and other consumer goods, primary aluminum is essential to several critical industries. Because it is lightweight, corrosion resistant, and extremely versatile, it is used extensively in shipbuilding, energy transmission, spacecraft, and airplanes. Its importance to our economic and national security, prosperity, and independence is obvious.

The United States used to be the largest producer of primary aluminum; today, it ranks ninth. Russia is tied for third. China now owns over half the global market. Additionally, the U.S. went from having 23 operational aluminum smelters in 1993 to just five now. Worse, only one of the remaining facilities makes the high-purity aluminum needed for fighter jets, lightweight armor plating, and military electronics. And certain missile and munition systems depend on the high-performance alloys derived from this special aluminum.

Not surprisingly, the Department of Homeland Security has designated "critical manufacturing"—which includes domestic production of primary metals such as aluminum—as one of America's 16 critical sectors.

This is an area China is working to dominate, with Russia close behind, and make no mistake about it: Beijing and Russia will cut us off when the need arises. While multiple sectors in Russia have been targeted with sanctions as a result of Moscow's illegal and brutal invasion, aluminum and other key metals were not included.

Former President Trump imposed stiff tariffs on these items, a move that was long overdue yet is still not sufficient. Profits from aluminum production continue to fuel Moscow's war machine.

Similar business operations in China are funding the CCP's genocide against the Uyghurs, supporting Russia's war, and underwriting Beijing's strategic plan to supplant Western leadership. Noted economists, meanwhile, have reported that China's subsidies and other market-distorting practices have hurt global competition when it comes to aluminum and other goods. It has been a price paid heavily by American workers and companies for years.

To stay ahead of our adversaries, the U.S. and its allies must disentangle themselves from Russia and China when it comes to strategic resources like rare earth elements and primary aluminum, and find a way to succeed independent of the whims of two autocratic nations.

Doing so will put a brake on both countries' malevolent plans and allow us to safeguard our national and economic security. It will give us the opportunity to strengthen domestic production and supply chains so that we are not reliant on regimes that don't share our values or interests. And it will send the right messages to Beijing and Moscow that we are prepared to make the tough choices necessary to ensure a Western victory in this long contest now underway between the world's autocracies and democracies.

This is not something we necessarily want, but it is definitely something we must do.

Dr. Mark T. Esper was the 27th Secretary of Defense and is the author of the New York Times bestselling memoir "A Sacred Oath."

CNN with Wolf Blitzer

Mon, 27 Feb 2023 16:45:59 GMT

CNN's Wolf Blitzer asks me about my view of the origin of the Covid-19 virus.

Watch the Interview Here .

Fox News with Neil Cavuto

Sat, 25 Feb 2023 16:39:41 GMT

Interesting interview with Neil Cavuto on Fox News.

Watch the Interview Here.

McCain Institute Marks One Year Anniversary of Russia Ukraine War

Fri, 24 Feb 2023 16:33:59 GMT

McCain Institute Stands With Ukraine One Year After Russia Invasion

Statements from McCain Institute Executive Director Farkas and Board Members Ayotte, Esper, Lieberman, Massimino, McCain, Petraeus, and Townsend

WASHINGTON, D.C. – McCain Institute Executive Director Dr. Evelyn Farkas and members of the McCain Institute’s Board of Trustees today issued the following statements marking the one-year anniversary of Russia’s unlawful invasion of Ukraine on February 24:

“As we mark the one-year anniversary of the latest stage in Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, it is important to note that Ukrainians have felt the brunt of Vladimir Putin’s revanchist foreign policy long before February 24, 2022. The brave Ukrainian defenders who have been outgunned and outmanned from the start have shown the world that it is possible to defend democracy from authoritarian aggression. Despite the heavy losses incurred, and the constant fear of indiscriminate Russian bombing, Ukraine’s armed forces are poised to make Europe and the world much safer if they are given the machinery and support that can allow them to succeed. We mark this anniversary with heavy hearts and hopeful eyes to the future. We continue to stand united behind Ukraine.” – McCain Institute Executive Director Dr. Evelyn Farkas

“Ukraine has unwaveringly stood up to the face of Russia’s brazen aggression this past year, epitomizing the definition of fighting for causes greater than themselves – they have fought for their freedom and democracy with the severe sacrifice of human cost. The United States and our NATO allies must continue to push back on Vladimir Putin’s inexcusable assault on a sovereign nation. We must continue to support the people of Ukraine for our shared values of democracy to triumph over his authoritarian brutality before it extends any further.” – Former U.S. Senator Kelly Ayotte

“This past year showed what the United States and our allies are capable of when we stand up to autocrats. Whether in Europe or Asia, our adversaries should know that military action that threatens the security and sovereignty of other democracies will be met by a serious, unified, and comprehensive response from the West. The measures taken by NATO and its global partners in the months leading up to this gruesome anniversary demonstrate how committed we are in this regard to the courageous people of Ukraine. There is much more we all can and should do to strengthen NATO and enable Ukraine’s ultimate victory, and that begins with continued American leadership undergirded by bipartisan support here at home. After all, Ukraine is fighting the growing scourge of autocracy that ultimately affects our ideals, our prosperity, and our security if we allow Russia’s illegal transgression to stand.”— Former U.S. Defense Secretary Dr. Mark T. Esper

“A year ago, many news reports in the West predicted a quick Russian victory over Ukraine. Those reports were wrong, Vladimir Putin was wrong, and skeptics in the West were wrong. Ukrainians have demonstrated resolve, a great grasp of strategy, and a willingness to sacrifice. As we enter the second year of this conflict, Ukraine has regained parts of its territory from the Russian Army, and they have satisfied every condition the West has submitted to gain its support. This war must end in a victory for the people of Ukraine and it will if we stick with them. That victory will also be a victory for freedom and the rule of law, in other words for us and the rest of the world.” – Former U.S. Senator Joe Lieberman

“Vladimir Putin’s decision to attack the sovereign people of Ukraine has had disastrous consequences, unleashing unspeakable tragedy and human suffering in Ukraine and around the world. From the brutality of Russian war crimes and attacks on civilians to the food crisis triggered by his naval blockade, Putin’s attempt to prevent an independent Ukraine from flourishing—or even existing—has had a wide and cascading impact. The United States and Europe should continue to support the Ukrainian defenders and provide relief for all those affected, including the millions of refugees displaced by Putin’s aggression.” – Elisa Massimino, Director of the Human Rights Institute at Georgetown University Law Center

Western unity has proven the most important factor in hampering Russia’s war effort and enabling Ukraine’s. The U.S. has done a good job keeping the allies together and moving forward. This must be sustained. But what is lacking is a clear sense of how Washington wants this conflict to end and then resourcing that outcome.

Regarding the former, we should follow the lead of Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy , who said Russia must completely leave his country, including Crimea. That may be difficult for Moscow to accept, but we should not allow Putin’s saber rattling to deter us. A year of his bluster has proven fears of escalation to be overblown.

On the latter, while U.S. support has been stron g , the Biden administration has been frustratingly late in providing Kyiv what it needs. Weapons systems like HIMARS, Patriots and now Abrams tanks, arrive long after Ukraine suffers needlessly. We seem to be doing just enough to prevent a Ukrainian loss, but not nearly enough to enable a Ukrainian win.

Zelenskyy has long asked for ATACMS. Now he is seeking modern fighter jets – critical to supporting a counteroffensive – but once again Washington begins with "No."

Why not start training Ukrainians on F-16s now, or assembling a volunteer cadre of former pilots and maintainers, pending a final decision that is likely to be approved anyway? Ukraine can’t afford to get pummeled for months awaiting aircraft, much like they are now desperate for tanks as a Russian offensive slowly begins.

Thu, 26 Jan 2023 20:34:14 GMT

W atch the talk here .

CNN This Morning

Wed, 25 Jan 2023 20:24:31 GMT

See my interview on CNN This Morning reg arding more mishandling of classified docs, the decision to send tanks to Ukraine, and ongoing concerns about China’s support to Russia.

Watch the interview here .

Fri, 09 Dec 2022 15:20:19 GMT

See my interview this morning on @CNNThisMorning where we discussed the Griner-Bout prisoner swap, Putin’s possible motives behind the deal, and what it may mean for the ongoing war in Ukraine.

Watch the interview here .

Putin Got a Good Trade for Griner

Thu, 08 Dec 2022 14:34:22 GMT

See my interview today with @DavidWestin on Bloomberg’s @business regarding the Griner-Bout prisoner swap, the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, and the way ahead as both sides face the winter fight.

See the interview here .

Esper receives the Ronald Reagan Peace Through Strength Award

Sun, 04 Dec 2022 01:15:59 GMT

The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute today presented former Secretary of Defense Mark T. Esper and former Deputy Secretary of Defense John J. Hamre Ronald Reagan Peace Through Strength Awards at the 2022 Reagan National Defense Forum (RNDF).

Watch the video of the award presentation here .

Esper Says Trump is Unfit for Office

Mon, 21 Nov 2022 00:42:55 GMT

The Hill: These prominent Republicans are speaking out against Trump’s 2024 run

Julia Mueller

November 20, 2022·8 min read

Former President Trump’s announcement last week that he’ll run for the White House a third time has divided the Republican party.

While some of his staunchest supporters in Congress celebrated the announcement, other key GOP figures are distancing themselves from the campaign and others are saying outright that they won’t vote for Trump again.

Here are the Republicans publicly pulling away from — and even speaking out against — Trump’s 2024 reelection run:

Former Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.)

Ryan on Sunday said the GOP will “probably lose the White House with Trump,” citing the party’s loss of the House in 2018 and both the Senate and presidency in 2020.

“And if there’s someone not named Trump, my guess is we win the White House,” Ryan told co-anchor Jonathan Karl on ABC’s “This Week.”

The former Speaker called himself a “Never-Again-Trumper.”

Virginia Lt. Gov. Winsome Sears

Sears said earlier this month, days before Trump’s 2024 announcement, that she wouldn’t support the former president if he ran for reelection a third time.

“I could not support him. I just couldn’t,” the Virginia lieutenant governor told Fox News’s Neil Cavuto , adding that voters have sent a “very clear message” for Trump to pull back.

“A true leader understands when they have become a liability. A true leader understands that it’s time to step off the stage,” Sears said.

Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.)

Cassidy was one of just seven Republicans in the upper chamber who voted to convict Trump during his second impeachment trial. He said last year that he wouldn’t back Trump in a 2024 bid.

“President Trump is the first president, in the Republican side at least, to lose the House, the Senate and the presidency in four years,” Cassidy told Axios last fall.

“But it’s clear you ain’t voting for him,” Axios’s Mike Allen said to Cassidy.

“I’m not,” the senator responded.

Earlier this month, Cassidy told NBC’s “Meet the Press” moderator Chuck Todd the next GOP presidential candidate “will be looking to the future, not to the past.”

Former Secretary of Defense Mark Esper

Asked earlier this year whether he would vote for Trump in a 2024 run, Esper gave a categorical no .

“No, and I’ll tell you why. Because in my view, any elected leader needs to meet some basic criteria: they need to be able to put country over self, they need to have a certain amount of integrity and principle, they need to be able to reach across the aisle and bring people together and unite the country. Look, Donald Trump doesn’t meet those marks for me,” Esper said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” back in May.

Esper said on “CNN This Morning” last week that Trump is “unfit for office” and that the GOP should move on to another generation of candidates.

Former White House communications director Alyssa Farah Griffin

“Donald Trump is wholly unfit for office and a clear and present danger to democracy. Republicans, please take him on,” Griffin said on Twitter on the day of Trump’s announcement.

The former Trump White House communications director became critical of Trump after leaving the administration. Farah Griffin told CNN last year that Trump’s former Vice President Mike Pence (R) was “uniquely positioned” to challenge Trump in 2024 and could “put up a formidable fight” if the two ran against each other.

South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem (R)

Noem, endorsed by Trump in her reelection cycle in this year’s midterms, said last week that Trump doesn’t offer “the best chance” for the GOP in the next presidential election cycle.

The South Dakota governor just won her second gubernatorial term but has been mentioned among a handful of GOP governors who could get in the ring with Trump in 2024.

“If we narrow our focus there, then we’re not talking to every single American. Our job is not just to talk to people who love Trump or hate Trump. Our job is to talk to every single American,” Noem told The New York Times .

Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R-Ark.)

Hutchinson said after Trump’s 2024 announcement last week that there are “better choices” for the GOP to pursue in the next presidential election.

“Trump is correct on Biden’s failures, but his self-indulging message promoting anger has not changed. It didn’t work in 2022 and won’t work in 2024. There are better choices,” Hutchinson said on Twitter.

The Arkansas governor told “CNN This Morning” host Kaitlan Collins last week that he is “seriously considering” his own 2024 bid and said the party should progress past Trump.

Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Ala.)

“It would be a bad mistake for the Republicans to have Donald Trump as their nominee in 2024,” Brooks told the Alabama outlet AL.com in an interview published last week.

The Alabama congressman, who lost to Trump-backed Katie Britt in the state’s Senate GOP primary runoff earlier this year, called Trump “dishonest, disloyal, incompetent, crude” and said the former president alienates independents and Republicans.

Trump withdrew his backing of Brooks after the lawmaker moved away from Trump’s claims that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from him, calling Brooks “woke” and disloyal.

Gov. Larry Hogan (R-Md.)

Hogan indirectly hit at Trump on the day of the former president’s 2024 announcement, calling on the GOP to “turn the page.”

“Since 2016, Republicans have done nothing but lose, and Republican voters are paying the price for it. Doubling down on losing isn’t just foolish. It’s a gift to the Democrats. It is time to turn the page,” Hogan said on Twitter.

Hogan last week blamed Trump for the GOP’s disappointing midterm results. The two-term Maryland governor is yet another GOP figure rumored as a possible 2024 challenger for the former president.

Indirect critics

Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo

“We need more seriousness, less noise, and leaders who are looking forward, not staring in the rearview mirror claiming victimhood,” Pompeo wrote on Twitter after Trump made his 2024 announcement.

The comment didn’t name the former president but came after Trump repeatedly referred to himself as a “victim” during the much-anticipated speech.

Pompeo also appeared to hit Trump last week over the 2016 and 2020 campaign line that the GOP would get “tired of winning” amid his promised successes.

“We were told we’d get tired of winning. But I’m tired of losing. And so are most Republicans,” he tweeted .

Pompeo has also been mentioned as a possible 2024 contender.

Former Vice President Mike Pence

During his ongoing media tour to promote his new book, the former vice president has made repeated digs at his former boss.

ABC’s David Muir asked Pence earlier this week if Trump should ever be president again.

“David, I think that’s up to the American people,” Pence responded. “But I think we’ll have better choices in the future.”

“People in this country actually get along pretty well once you get out of politics,” Pence told Muir. “And I think they want to see their national leader start to reflect that same, that same compassion and generosity of spirit. And I think, so in the days ahead, I think there will be better choices.”

Trump said last month it would be “very disloyal” if Pence or other former Trump administration Cabinet members sought the GOP nomination.

CNN This Morning

Wed, 16 Nov 2022 23:36:32 GMT

See my conversation this morning @CNNThisMorning regarding the latest developments on the missiles that struck Poland yesterday and my views on Donald Trump’s 2024 announcement last night.

Click Here to Watch

Jake Tapper Interview

Wed, 16 Nov 2022 23:20:44 GMT

See my conversation with @jaketapper on @TheLeadCNN regarding the shooting of (likely) Russian missiles into Poland, what it means for the Poles, the US, and NATO, and how the Alliance should approach the matter with Moscow.

Click Here to Watch

Bloomberg Interview

Wed, 16 Nov 2022 23:11:20 GMT

Give a listen to my interview with @Bloomberg ’s @JMathieuReports on the reports of Russian missiles that landed in Poland killing two, and what the next steps should be for Warsaw, Washington, and NATO as they confront Moscow on the incident.

Click Here to Listen

Ex-Trump defense chief: ‘Trump's unfit for office,’ shouldn’t run

Wed, 16 Nov 2022 22:59:33 GMT

The Hill

Former Defense Secretary Mark Esper said Wednesday that former President Trump is unfit for office, and he does not want him to run for president in 2024.

Esper said on “CNN This Morning” that both parties should move on to a “next generation of leaders” who can unify the country and work on policy issues instead of personal attacks.

“I wish he wouldn’t,” Esper said, referring to Trump’s announcement Tuesday night that he is making another bid for the White House. “I think he’s unfit for office.”

He said the Trump administration did have accomplishments on issues such as border security, the appointment of conservative judges and lower taxes, but other Republicans can have those same achievements without the “baggage,” personal attacks and “self-centeredness” of Trump.

Esper said last week’s midterms demonstrate that Trump is unable to win elections.

Trump is 'incapable of winning elections' and gave an 'uninspiring' 2024 announcement, his former Defense Secretary Mark Esper says

Wed, 16 Nov 2022 22:38:12 GMT

Business Insider

Former defense secretary Mark Esper on Wednesday sharply criticized his old boss Donald Trump after the ex-president announced his 2024 presidential bid.

"I think he's unfit for office," Esper, who served under the Trump administration from 2019 to 2020, said of Trump on CNN.

At his Mar-a-Lago club on Tuesday evening, Trump announced to a crowd of supporters that he's launching a third campaign for the White House. His remarks, which lasted more than an hour, "were very subdued and uninspiring," according to Esper.

"I think it's time for the Republican party, and frankly both parties, to move on to a next generation of leaders," he added.

Republicans have been publicly rebuking Trump after the party underperformed in the midterm elections, blaming the disappointing results on the former president because many of his endorsed candidates lost in key races, including Pennsylvania, Arizona and Nevada.

Esper echoed that sentiment on Wednesday, telling CNN, "The election last week was an example of Donald Trump is incapable of winning elections."

The party lost the Senate and only narrowly won the House Votes are still being counted in less than a dozen races.

"He's done more to help the Democrats than he has Republicans," Esper said of Trump. "And there's no reason why we shouldn't have a bigger margin in the House and we should've taken the Senate, and yet we haven't."

Sun, 09 Oct 2022 14:50:39 GMT

Good discussion on @NewsNation this evening regarding the ongoing conflict between Russia and @ukraine ,

Obesity, drug use, health problems, crime and academic issues jeopardize US military recruitment

The U.S. military’s all-volunteer force (AVF) is slowly dying. In the five decades since conscription ended, the AVF produced the high-quality force it promised. In conflict after conflict, the more-experienced, better-motivated, and professional U.S. troops dominated the battlefield.

Today, however, the armed services are struggling to meet their recruiting goals like rarely before. The Army is the most affected, projected to fall short by up to 15,000 soldiers, with a larger deficit expected next year. Experts point to a variety of reasons, such as insufficient pay and benefits, a difficult work-life environment, "culture war" issues, COVID-19, and a strong job market. Even if each were "fixed," the core issues driving the AVF’s decline still won’t be reversed.

The fact is the pool of Americans aged 17-24 who are qualified and interested in serving continues to shrink. When I was secretary of the Army in 2018, 71% of these 34 million young people could not meet the military’s entry requirements due mostly to obesity, drug use, physical and mental health problems, and criminal misconduct. Four years later, that number is even higher. Further, of the 23% eligible to serve today, another 10% don’t meet the military’s academic standards. Worse, of the 3.5 million young Americans remaining, only 9% (~320,000) have a proclivity to serve. A nation of 332 million people should do better than that.

The numbers are all heading in the wrong direction, driven by broader cultural and lifestyle trends and a population unfamiliar with the less than 1% of the U.S. population in uniform that protects them. When the draft ended in 1973, most young people had a family connection to the armed forces who could explain military life and encourage service to country; today that number is far lower. Major reductions in the size of the U.S. military and in the number of bases across the country after the Cold War’s end contributed to this problem. A "knowledge gap" has grown over time due to civilians’ lack of interaction with those in uniform. This has led to an "identity gap" that inhibits many from considering a stint in the armed forces. It’s no mystery why a military caste has developed in America, with nearly 80% of today’s service members having a family member that served. All of this affects a broader set of civil-military relations with which the nation is wrestling.

The scope and scale of these trends are beyond the ability of the Pentagon to remedy. There are actions the services can and are taking, but these only address the problem at the margins. Because the ability of the military to defend the country depends directly on a sizable force of top-notch volunteers, this is a national challenge that must be addressed at the highest levels.

This means the White House and Congress must work together to reverse the underlying trends. They could begin by standing up a bipartisan commission of esteemed leaders, much like President Richard Nixon did in 1969 when he decided to end conscription. This time, rather than creating the AVF, the new panel’s mission would be to save it. As such, commissioners must focus on the key issues: increasing the pool of young people qualified to serve and raising their interest in doing so.

For reasons that also extend beyond the military’s needs, the commission should look at ways to improve the health and fitness of America’s youth, review and update eligibility requirements, expand JROTC nationally, create new ways for civilians to interact with their military brethren, eliminate misconceptions about military life, and ensure recruiters unfettered access to high schools across America. Meanwhile, the Pentagon must steer away from lowering standards, reducing the size of the military, or creating hollow combat formations. We must field the force we need to win our nation’s wars, not take shortcuts.

The president and lawmakers, working with governors as appropriate, must also educate and inspire our youth by addressing their concerns, extolling the virtues of military service, and discussing the benefits and opportunities that come with answering the call to duty. They should also seek the assistance of sports figures, entertainers, and others who are influential with America’s youth. A message along the lines of "be healthy, keep fit, avoid trouble, and consider serving your country in uniform" would be a solid start.

With the threats from China and elsewhere growing, we cannot risk our future by ignoring these issues. Most solutions will take years to bear fruit, and a return to conscription is not the answer. But if we are to deter war, be victorious if it comes, and win the 21st century, we will need to maintain a sizable, high-quality force of volunteers. That means today’s leaders must act now to educate and inspire the next great American generation to serve.

Reagan Library Interview with Roger Zakheim

Mon, 19 Sep 2022 12:25:51 GMT

Reagan Library Interview

Interview at the Reagan Library focusing on my bestselling memoir, “A Sacred Oath,” and current issues such as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, China’s bullying of Taiwan, and how extreme partisanship is hurting our country.

Watch the Interview Here

Bloomberg Interview with David Weston

Mon, 12 Sep 2022 16:15:24 GMT

Bloomberg Interview with David Weston

Interview on Bloomberg with David Westin discussing Ukraine's bold offensive against Russian forces and the continued Western support Kyiv needs to win, and what this all means in the event China attacks Taiwan one day.

Watch the Interview Here

New Day with Brianna Keilar

Wed, 07 Sep 2022 16:24:33 GMT

Interview with Brianna Keilar discussing the importance of an apolitical military that is under civilian control -- a bedrock principle that I write extensively about in my memoir -- and the news that the FBI found nuclear-related documents at Mar-a-Lago.

Watch the Interview Here

Bloomberg Interview discussing China, Iran and Taiwan

Sat, 03 Sep 2022 16:29:56 GMT

Interview with Bloomberg discussing China, Iran and Taiwan

Bloomberg interview discussing Iran, China, Taiwan, and political divisions in the U.S. — topics I speak to in my memoir — with Joe Mathieu

Watch the Interview Here

Interview with Axios' Hans Nichols hosted by Florida's Forum Club of the Palm Beaches Mark Esper says, "Extreme Partisanship is the biggest threat to US."

Wed, 31 Aug 2022 16:38:53 GMT

Interview with Axios' Hans Nichols hosted by Florida's Forum Club of the Palm Beaches.

Extreme partisanship from members of both political parties is the greatest threat currently facing the U.S., former Defense Secretary Mark Esper said on Wednesday during an interview with Axios' Hans Nichols hosted by Florida's Forum Club of the Palm Beaches.

Why it matters: The past few years have seen a deepening political divide in the U.S. that, with the events of the Capitol riot , showed the propensity to spillover into violence.

Earlier this year, the Justice Department created new unit to investigate acts of domestic terrorism following repeated warnings from government agencies that the threat of and investigations into such acts have increased since 2020.

What they're saying: "The greatest threat facing our country today is here at home. It's extreme partisanship from both sides of the aisle that is hurting our political discourse, the social fabric of our country and our democracy," Esper said.

Referring to a presidential run by former President Donald Trump in 2024, Esper said it would "bring all that coarse language and all that, you know, attacking people from — not just Democrats, but Republicans — and that's not what our country reason that needs right now," he added.
America needs leaders from both sides of the aisle "who will lift us up," he said, adding that "we can still have serious debates about the size of the defense budget or student loans."
"We need civil discourse that's polite."
Esper added that Republicans must "stop this fratricide" stemming from Trump and the "MAGA crowd."
"We should be talking about Democrats and we should be putting forward a positive policy agenda and not sniping at one another," Esper said.

CBS Interview discussing Iranian Murder Plots

Thu, 11 Aug 2022 16:46:52 GMT

CBS News Interview discussing Iranian Murder Plots

"I give the FBI and the Department of Justice, a lot of credit for what they've done," fmr. Defense Secretary Mark Esper tells Catherine Herridge following the DOJ bringing charges against an Iranian national that targeted National Security Adviser John Bolton.

Watch the Interview Here

Fox News: Former Defense Secretary Esper advises American policy toward Taiwan needs update: 'Outlived its usefulness'

Sat, 06 Aug 2022 00:17:08 GMT

Former Defense Secretary Mark Esper called China the 'greatest strategic challenge' facing America

By Kelsey Koberg | Fox News

Former Secretary of Defense Mark Esper said the United States needs to "update" its policy related to Taiwan, claiming after 50 years, the "One China" policy has "outlived its usefulness."

Esper spoke to Fox News Digital at the Aspen Security Forum in July, warning China wants to displace the U.S. as the world’s top power by the year 2049, and one step in meeting that challenge is updating policies toward Taiwan.

"We have what’s called a ‘One China’ policy towards China and Taiwan, really that I think, after 50 years has outlived its usefulness," Esper said.

"The fundamental tenets, I think, have been overcome by history. But more importantly, maybe, the Chinese are trying to change the status quo with regard to Taiwan through coercion. And I think that demands a firmer, more resolute response by the United States. But to do so, it begins with an updated policy," he added.

The U.S. does not have official relations with Taiwan, and maintains a "One China" policy that recognizes the People’s Republic of China as the legitimate sovereign nation.

Updating the policy related to Taiwan, Esper said, is the first step in deterring China from attacking Taiwan.

"We need to look at our policy and update it and make sure that it is principled and credible and durable enough to sustain some big decisions that will come up in the years ahead," he said.

Esper also called on the U.S. to strengthen its military and diplomacy, and for Taiwan to increase its defense budget in order to deter China.

"We need to keep modernizing our military and improving our diplomacy and other tools of statecraft," he said, adding the U.S. also needs to "start rallying the Western democracies, particularly in Europe, to stand more firmly behind Taiwan."

Taiwan, Esper said, needs to "increase their defense budget, adopt an asymmetric defense approach to warfare, buy needed capabilities, lengthen their conscription by at least a year, revitalize the mobilization and build stockpiles of materials."

"I do believe that the greatest strategic challenge America faces is China, a China rising and a China that aims to displace us as the world’s power by the year 2049 in all ways," Esper said.

Esper noted the importance of both preventing war with China and ensuring "we don’t allow a communist country to dictate the rules of the road in terms of the international space."

Earlier this week, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi visited the island of Taiwan, a trip that was heavily condemned by China, which claims Taiwan as part of its own territory. On the final day of Pelosi’s visit, China’s forces began conducting military exercises around Taiwan.

China has also announced sanctions against Pelosi and her family following her visit. China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson announced the sanctions Friday, calling Pelosi's visit to Taiwan an "egregious provocation" and a "gross interference" into the country’s internal affairs.

Listen to the Fox News Interview Here

Atlantic Council: A conversation about Taiwan with the 27th US Secretary of Defense Mark T. Esper

Tue, 26 Jul 2022 19:18:11 GMT

A conversation about Taiwan with the 27th US Secretary of Defense Mark T. Esper

Watch the Atlantic Council Conversation Here

Please join the Atlantic Council’s Asia Security Initiative, housed within the Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security, and the Global China Hub on Tuesday, July 26 at 12:00 pm (EST) for a conversation with the 27th US Secretary of Defense Mark T. Esper regarding the Atlantic Council’s transatlantic delegation trip to Taiwan last week.

Bellicose rhetoric from Beijing and provocative Chinese military activity in the Taiwan Strait. A reinvigoration of the democratic world in the face of aggressive autocracy. A global semiconductor industry hanging in the balance.

All these issues and more have thrown renewed attention on Taiwan, an increasingly strategic US partner that now finds itself at the front lines of the global contest between democracies and autocracies. That’s why a visit by a senior Atlantic Council delegation to the island last week—in partnership with the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office (TECRO)—could not have come at a more crucial time. Led by former US Secretary of Defense Mark T. Esper, the group also included former Italian Ambassador to NATO Stefano Stefanini and Senior Vice President and Senior Director of the Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security at the Atlantic Council Barry Pavel.

This timely delegation visit lasted four days and included meetings with senior Taiwan government leaders, corporate executives, and think-tank representatives in Taipei. At a historic time when like-minded allies and partners from Europe, North America, and Asia are unifying their policies to counter Russian and Chinese coercion, this transatlantic delegation discussed the most pressing security and economic issues that will shape the future of Taiwan; its relationship with the United States, Europe, and like-minded partners around the world; the strategic outlook for the Indo-Pacific region moving forward; and much more. During this event, Secretary Esper will share insights gathered during the trip, as well as his thoughts on the way forward.

Esper Covers Wide Range of US-China Issues on CNN New Day

Mon, 25 Jul 2022 16:24:52 GMT

Esper Covers Wide Range of US-China Issues on CNN New Day

Watch the CNN Interview Here

Secretary Esper Visits Taiwan with the Atlantic Council

Wed, 20 Jul 2022 20:42:23 GMT

US strategic clarity required, Esper says

RE-EXAMINATION: The former US secretary of defense said that the ‘one China’ policy would not be sufficient and sturdy enough to avoid conflicts in the Taiwan Strait

By Shelley Shan / Staff reporter

The US should move from strategic ambiguity to strategic clarity on cross-strait affairs and re-examine its “one China” policy, former US secretary of defense Mark Esper told President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday, adding that Taiwan must demonstrate its seriousness in defending itself by increasing its defense spending.

“It is my personal view that the ‘one China’ policy has outlived its usefulness and that it is time to move away from strategic ambiguity. I think it is important that we begin that national discussion back in the US, but it will help that discussion and help us educate the American people if we can also point to bold decisions being made in Taipei, such as increase in defense spending, adoption of asymmetric warfare and corresponding capabilities, lengthening conscription and making it more rigorous, and improving reserve mobilization,” Esper told Tsai.

“It is important that the American people and our leaders in Washington see that the Taiwan people are fully committed to standing up to communist China and defending themselves as democracies of the world stand behind Taiwan,” he said.

Esper led a delegation of the Atlantic Council — a US think tank on international affairs — to Taipei on Monday for a four-day visit. In addition to Tsai, the former defense secretary met with national security officials and political party leaders to address urgent cross-strait security issues.

Esper also told a news conference hosted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday afternoon that the “one China” policy, which Washington adopted more than 40 years ago, would not be “sufficient and sturdy enough to bear the weight of the future policies and strategies we need to pursue to avoid conflicts in the Taiwan Strait.”

China’s rise should occur within an international system with rules and norms that allow peace and prosperity for people around the world, he said.

“We cannot allow the Chinese to rise within the international system and try to dismantle it to suit their own ends, means and values,” Esper said.

Much has changed since the “one China” policy was articulated in the 1970s, he said.

“A majority of the people in Taiwan identify themselves as Taiwanese and they do not believe Taiwan is part of China,” he said. “Taiwan is now a thriving democracy with multiple transitions of power in over 20 years. It has a robust economy with two competing political parties. For all those reasons, we need to have a discussion within the US about what our policy is going forward, not one that was built on the architecture of the past.”

Taiwan would send a powerful message about the seriousness of its commitment to its own defense if its defense spending accounted for 3.2 percent of GDP, the same as the US, Esper said.

Israel, which faces a similar situation as Taiwan, has a defense budget that is close to 5 percent of GDP, he said, adding that national survival is at stake and losing a war is much more expensive than preparing for it.

Taiwan strengthening its military capabilities would not lead to conflict with China, Esper said.

“As a [former US president] Ronald Reagan Republican, I believe in peace through strength and that weakness invites aggression. If Taiwan does not strengthen its military capability, it will signal to Beijing Taiwan’s lack of capabilities and resolve to defend itself. It is critical that the country continues to strengthen its capabilities to deal with a wide range of scenarios,” he said.

The US needs to broaden its partnerships with allies to make sure Taiwan is not left to itself to deter China, he said.

Beijing could attack Taiwan if Taipei unnecessarily provokes Beijing or if the nation fails to invest in its defense capabilities, he added.

The first scenario is unlikely to happen because successive administrations in Taiwan are wise and responsible, Esper said.

“After the Chinese Communist Party Congress, China continues to suffer from a number of domestic issues. There is always the tendency by authoritarian leaders to find an external foe and create an external conflict whenever they are unable to deal with problems at home,” he said.

Esper said that “it was a mistake” that Taiwan was left out of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, an economic initiative launched by US President Joe Biden in March to counter the influence of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), a trade agreement dominated by China.

“Taiwan has been an effective and responsible stakeholder in the World Trade Organization. I do not see RCEP as being a credible competitor because I do not think you can rely on the Chinese to live up to the obligations they made, which they have not done within the WTO framework,” he said. “Joining an economic framework that includes the Chinese has to leave other participants some doubt as to whether they would truly live up to their obligations and meet the terms of such an agreement.”

President Tsai Ing-wen, second left, listens to former US secretary of defense Mark Esper, left, at a meeting at the Presidential Office in Taipei yesterday.

Photo: Wang Yu-ching / EPA-EFE

Taiwan welcomes ‘loyal friend’ ex-US defence chief Mark Esper on four-day visit

Mon, 18 Jul 2022 17:16:40 GMT

Taiwan welcomes ‘loyal friend’ ex-US defence chief Mark Esper on four-day visit

As reported by Lawrence Chung for the South China Morning Post

Former US defence chief Mark Esper is on a four-day trip to Taiwan to learn about the latest security threats and other issues faced by the island, the foreign ministry in Taipei said.

Esper, whom the ministry described as a “loyal friend” of Taiwan, arrived in Taipei on Monday as the leader of a three-member delegation of the Atlantic Council, a Washington-based think tank.

The Trump-era secretary of defence has long been vocal on Taiwan issues, including calling on the US to review its one-China policy. A foreign ministry statement announcing the visit hailed his long-time support for the island.

Beijing sees self-ruled Taiwan as part of its territory under its one-China principle. The US’ one-China policy , while recognising Beijing to be the legitimate government of China, only acknowledges but does not endorse its position that Taiwan is a part of China.

Taiwan holds missile exercise amid rising tensions with mainland China

“The [US] delegation will visit senior government officials and relevant departments, and will have exchanges with think tanks and business leaders here to learn about the latest developments [in Taiwan],” the ministry statement said.

It said topics on the agenda included the latest security situation in the region and Taiwan’s overall relations with the US and Europe.

“When Esper was the US secretary of defence, he had many times expressed his support and commitment for democratic Taiwan,” the ministry said.

“He is a loyal friend of Taiwan,” it added, saying Esper has continued to express concerns on peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.

The war in Ukraine sparked by Russia’s February 24 invasion has brought growing global attention to the authoritarian threat faced also by Taiwan. “We hope [the US delegates’] visit would help increase American and European policymakers’ understanding of and support for Taiwan,” its foreign ministry said.

Esper, who served in the Donald Trump administration from 2019 to 2020, is travelling with Barry Pavel, senior vice-president and director of the Atlantic Council, and Stefano Stefanini, former Italian permanent representative to Nato and currently a non-resident senior fellow of the council.

They will meet Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen on Tuesday, according to her office spokesman Xavier Chang.

Every Saturday

“The president hopes, through these exchanges, the US and Europe will deepen their support for Taiwan and cooperation among democratic partners in the world,” Chang said.

‘The Chinese people defend their sovereignty,’ Beijing slams US for sending delegation to Taiwan

Esper has long been vocal about what he perceives as the serious threats posed by Beijing to Washington and Taipei as well as the world.

In a recent talk at the Brookings Institution, another Washington-based think tank, Esper identified Beijing as the biggest foreign threat facing the US.

“Today I will describe [China] as our opponent,” he said at the event on Thursday. “To me, it’s clear that this is what they are.”

Esper said there were countless potential conflicts that could erupt in the Indo-Pacific, many of which could involve Beijing and take on global significance if allowed to boil over.

Washington needed to maintain vigilance in its mission to deter aggression from the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA), he said, to avoid potential scenarios of conflict in the region.

“The number one scenario, of course, is Taiwan,” Esper said, referring to the growing military threats posed by the PLA, including almost daily warplane sorties into the island’s air defence identification zone and the staging of war games nearby.

Beijing claims sovereignty over Taiwan, which it considers a breakaway territory and vows to reclaim by force if necessary. It also warns countries that recognise Beijing and observe the one -China policy against establishing official contact with the island.

While Washington does not have diplomatic relations with Taipei, it maintains what the US State Department calls “robust unofficial” ties with it, and is its main international weapons supplier.

Esper has several times called on Washington to review its one-China policy, which he says is no longer useful, given the growing military expansion of Beijing which has changed the status quo in the Taiwan Strait and the region as a whole.

The US should also abandon its policy of “strategic ambiguity” in dealing with Beijing, according to Esper, as that could prevent Beijing from taking the risk of attacking Taiwan.

The US has long adopted this policy of neither confirming nor denying whether it would defend Taiwan against an invasion. President Joe Biden has in recent months sparked controversy by asserting the US “commitment” to defend Taiwan if it is attacked by the PLA. But the White House hastened to walk back his remarks each time, clarifying there was no change in the policy of strategic ambiguity.

Brookings Institution Discusses The National Defense Strategy and great power competition: A conversation with Mark T. Esper

Thu, 14 Jul 2022 22:41:55 GMT

Brookings Institution Discusses The National Defense Strategy and great power competition: A conversation with Mark T. Esper

See Brookings Post Here

The Honorable Mark T. Esper served as the 27th U.S. secretary of defense from 2019 to 2020 and as the 23rd secretary of the Army from 2017 to 2019. During his tenure as defense secretary he made the implementation of the 2018 National Defense Strategy (NDS) his top priority, rebuilding military readiness, highlighting the need for meaningful cooperation with allies and partners, and identifying China as a “pacing threat.” Like the 2018 NDS, the 2022 NDS — the first issued by the Biden administration — provides a roadmap for the United States to meet the challenges of this new era of great power competition.

On July 14, Brookings hosted a one-on-one conversation between Mark T. Esper and Brookings Senior Fellow Michael O’Hanlon on how the priorities of the 2018 unclassified NDS and the 2022 NDS fact sheet compare and how each strategy prepares the force to strengthen deterrence against the U.S.’s most consequential strategic competitors. The conversation was followed by questions from the in-person and virtual audience.

Newsweek Opinion Piece: One Case Where Keeping Your Enemy Close Is a Bad Idea

Thu, 07 Jul 2022 15:46:15 GMT

One Case Where Keeping Your Enemy Close Is a Bad Idea: Rare Earth - Opinion

MARK ESPER , FORMER SECRETARY OF DEFENSE
ON 7/7/22 AT 7:42 AM EDT

Western reliance on Russian energy has hamstrung Europe's response to Vladimir Putin 's unwarranted invasion of Ukraine. Worse yet, profits from oil and gas sales continue to sustain Moscow's horrific assault. The Ukrainian people are paying a steep price for this foreseeable mistake.

The world's democracies are now relearning a hard lesson of geo-politics — we cannot depend on adversaries for critical resources, let alone give them leverage to use against us.

A similar situation has been evolving for years between the West and China in a more consequential way. Our reliance on lithium, cobalt, and a handful of other strategic minerals, including rare earth elements, grows as we develop new ways to transport people and goods, power America, and create cutting-edge weapons systems that keep us safe.

And while other energy producers can make up for the Russian oil and gas that many countries are finally walking away from, we have fewer trusted suppliers of these most-critical minerals to lean on in tough times. Adding urgency to this growing problem is the fact that Communist China has been cornering the market on these metals for years by heavily investing in mines, both at home and abroad, and adjusting its quota and regulatory policies to dominate the global supply chain. But for a few strategic thinkers, American political and business leaders watched this happen, taking relatively few real moves to counter Chinese actions.

Given the importance of these strategic resources to our economy and security, and growing tensions between China and the West, we and our allies must redouble our efforts to ensure a sufficient, accessible, and reliable supply of these minerals.

The defense industrial base is heavily reliant on these strategic minerals, especially for our most advanced weapons systems. Take the F-35, a fifth-generation stealth fighter central to U.S. military dominance. Each airplane requires over nine hundred pounds of rare-earth minerals. These elements are also in our nuclear submarines and the Javelin missiles that Ukraine is using with great effect against Russian vehicles.

Off the battlefield, these metals are essential not only to computers, cell phones, and medical devices, but also to the development of innovative technologies, such as electric vehicles. EVs will transform our transportation systems, and when coupled with autonomy, will change our way of life.

But if the renewable industry and automobile manufacturers don't have access to a ready, reliable, and affordable supply of these critical minerals, then their progress will be stunted, and these important markets could end up dominated by the Chinese.

Unfortunately, Beijing is already in the driver's seat on this issue. China currently produces up to 95 percent of all battery-ready cobalt in the world, and over 80 percent of anodes and cathodes, making it the preeminent actor in EV battery production. How is this possible? It's simple — the People's Republic worked for decades to gain control of these strategic minerals around the world. As such, they now supply over 85 percent of the global demand for rare earths.

For the United States to remain competitive, we cannot allow China to maintain control over the future of advanced technology, especially when it comes to our defense, transportation, and IT sectors. This is an unacceptable risk, particularly considering Beijing's expressed goal of dominating several key industries while also building a modern military capable of going toe-to-toe with the United States.

Moreover, given authoritarian China's ongoing efforts to undermine long-standing international laws, rules, and norms, increasing friction with the West is inevitable. So, when push comes to shove, the PRC will not hesitate to restrict these strategic minerals to get its way. Much like Moscow cut off gas in past winters to Ukraine, Beijing did the same to Japan with rare earths in 2010 and threatened as much to the United States in 2019.

Breaking China's near monopoly and ensuring that America can reliably field the weapons, develop the vehicles, produce the power, and deploy the technologies of tomorrow will require a sustained, all-of-government response. It will undoubtedly take years — but America was once a major producer of rare earth minerals, and we can be again. Fortunately, this is one area where bipartisanship still exists in Washington.

The Pentagon is continuing its efforts to ensure the availability of these materials and strengthen defense supply chains, something that I focused on during my tenure, to include through Department of Defense funding. Meanwhile, building on his predecessor's initiatives, President Biden has put forward a plan to expand U.S. domestic supplies of strategic minerals through targeted investments and incentives here at home. And on Capitol Hill, lawmakers from both parties have introduced legislation to end U.S. reliance on China for rare earth elements.

Jumpstarting our own domestic extraction, processing, and refining industry is a solid step forward. Recycling these materials -- which are safe when handled correctly -- rebuilding the national stockpile, and updating laws and regulations that hinder this vital industry are also important.

We must also work with our trusted allies around the globe to expand the availability of these critical resources, and to mitigate both cost and risk, while also holding China accountable for its unfair trade practices in forums like the WTO.

The COVID-19 pandemic and war in Ukraine have taught us many lessons, but the most pertinent is the importance of having dependable providers for our most critical strategic resources. Relying on adversaries, especially predatory states like Russia and China, is not only dangerous, but also gives them leverage over us while fueling their bad behavior. Our government continues to move in the right direction to address these treacherous dependencies, but more needs to be done, and quickly, to safeguard our future.

Dr. Mark T. Esper was the 27th Secretary of Defense and bestselling author of "A Sacred Oath."

Washington Post Magazine

Tue, 21 Jun 2022 13:47:02 GMT

Mark Esper on Trump: ‘There were a lot of bad ideas being proposed’

KK Ottesen Reporting for Washington Post Magazine

Read the Article Here

Mark T. Esper, 58, served in the Trump administration as secretary of defense from 2019 to 2020 and was secretary of the Army from 2017 to 2019. His book, “ A Sacred Oath: Memoirs of a Secretary of Defense During Extraordinary Times ,” was released in May.

You write in your memoir about several dramatic instances when you had misgivings based on differences with President Donald Trump. Was there a moment those came into stark relief for you?

My separation with Trump begins almost immediately, and I begin pushing back, and it grows and grows over time. But I think it all comes together on June 1st, [2020] in the Oval Office when he calls us all in to discuss the [ George Floyd ] protests in Washington, D.C., and wants 10,000 troops in the capital. The president is up and down out of his chair, red-faced, moving his arms around expressing things. He’s swearing at us. He’s calling us losers. He says, “We look weak. The country looks weak.” “We” means him. And we get to this point where he settles in his chair and the room gets a little quiet, and he leans in and looks at [chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff] General [Mark] Milley and says, “Can’t you just shoot them? Just shoot them in the legs or something?” And the question just hangs there. I think we were all taken aback. It’s just so far out of bounds. Nobody talks about shooting Americans.

Milley, [Attorney General Bill] Barr and I immediately go back to pushing back on this whole idea of bringing troops into the city in the first place. I’m pushing for law enforcement to be the lead. And Bill Barr’s supporting that. And we just kind of passed through that moment. And at the end of the day, because I think the president’s finally about ready to give a direct order to send troops into the city, Bill Barr commits to put 5,000 law enforcement in the streets. I commit to get up to 5,000 National Guardsmen into the city to do the job. And to really prevent the president from giving an order, I say, “Look, I’ll bring troops into Fort Belvoir,” somewhere close to the city. It wasn’t getting what he wanted, but it was enough to get him to yield. That was kind of my sleight of hand to get us out of the room, off the topic, and moving forward before we got this disastrous order.

So that was a turning point for you, that day?

Yeah. And then of course, the walk across Lafayette Park. I was heading down to the FBI command post for the evening. And I get the call around 6:20 that the president wants an update on the plans for the evening with regard to troops and law enforcement. But as I enter the outer Oval, there’s a couple dozen people there, and I say, “Hey, where’s the meeting?” They say, “The meeting’s off.” I say, “Well, I’m going back out.” And they said, “No, no, no, the president wants to walk across the park, and go check out the damage to the church.”

Did your radar go off then?

No, shame on us. I talked to Milley — “What’s going on?” And he doesn’t know. And as I approached the president up on the portico, I think I say, “Mr. President, where are we going? What are we doing?” He just kind of turns says, “Come on.” And he starts walking. We walk down this kind of gravel path, and as you leave the White House grounds you make a right turn, and right there as we make the right turn, White House press staff, or somebody, says, “Give the president distance between you and him.” And we rounded the corner, and you can see the reporters, just throngs of reporters. And right then and there, Milley and I realized that we’ve been duped, and we’re caught in this moment and can’t escape now. And the rest is history.

Later that night, Milley and I take this long, private walk along down the reflecting pool toward the Lincoln Memorial and finally have a chance to talk and share what’s going through our heads. We come to this point where we realize that our political antenna aren’t nearly calibrated the way we need to be; we made mistakes, and the game had changed, or at least our realization of it. And we need to come up with — at least I did — a different game plan going forward.

One thing I was struck by is just how much time and energy you spent forestalling a direct order from President Trump to use military force, whether to shoot missiles at Mexico or Iran or to shoot protesters. And while some called you the derogatory nickname, “Yesper,” you explain working behind the scenes to avoid those direct orders and to talk him down.

Look, in some ways I didn’t treat President Trump any differently than I’ve treated any other boss. My view was I owe them my honest advice. And I owe them more options than what they’re presented. And so in some cases I pushed back: “Mr. President, you can’t shoot missiles into Mexico — it would be an act of war, be illegal and ruin our relationship.” So in that scenario, I’m pushing back, but then saying, “But I understand what you want to do.” Because he was serious about taking care of drugs in America; we all know it tears up communities and families. And so I felt that I owed him another idea or sets of ideas. And I said, “Look, if you want, I’ll go back, and we’ll see if we can come up with something.” So that’s what I would do. But his inclination was to use the military too often. And it was enabled by others around him in the White House, around the [National Security Council], who kind of kept pushing this use-of-force type of approach to solving problems.

Did your experience shape the way you think about whether the checks on executive power are adequate? And what happens in the case of a president who [may be] unfit?

Yeah, we saw what happened there in the end, right? I’m fired on November 9th. And not just me, but they come in and decapitate the Pentagon in terms of knocking out undersecretaries. And according to reporters I spoke to, within 48 hours the president calls a meeting to discuss a possible attack on Iran. And then there’s ordered the immediate redeployment of troops out of Somalia. I mean, all these things start happening, right? And part of this was not just who would come in behind me, but how much time would they have? And so my goal became to get to the election because I think the American people should decide these things. And what I didn’t want is somebody having eight months to do Trump’s bidding and, maybe, create an October surprise. Or Lord knows do what else.

Anyway, on the checks and balances thing, the American people decide who they want. But the question would be: Is there another role for the Senate in terms of approving nominees? People have asked me, “Well, if Trump is reelected, what does that mean?” I think that one of the lessons that he and those around him will not make again is that they will make sure that they really get their loyalists into position. They’re not going to pick another [Jim] Mattis or another Esper. They’re going to get somebody in that’s going to do what he wants. And that’s where the Senate has to be really scrutinizing who comes into the administration. And, by the way, this could be a future Democrat one as well. You need good people to serve. You need good people who understand that their oath is to the Constitution, not to the president, not to the party, and not to a philosophy, and not to some notion of the election being stolen. Their oath is to the Constitution.

A lot people who read a book like this by people who come out of an administration and then criticize it ask, “Why did you wait?”

A big part of this book is the ethical dilemma I wrestled with: Should I stay or should I go? What’s your oath and who’s your loyalty to and what’s the better course of action? My view was that given the singular important position I sat in — there are only two jobs in the United States that can deploy U.S. military, and that’s the president and secretary of defense — that my higher calling, my duty, my oath was to stay in that position and prevent bad things from happening. Because there were a lot of bad ideas being proposed. And by the way, while I was there, I could do good things in terms of building cyber capabilities, modernizing the military, taking care of [military] family members, et cetera, et cetera.

Look, I could’ve resigned. I would’ve been the hero for 48 hours. But I think I couldn’t have lived with myself. If we’d attacked Venezuela or gotten in a war with Iran, I probably would have thought, “Could I have been there to make a difference? Why did I leave? I could have stopped that.”

I got to tell you, KK, even though folks on the left are criticizing me right now — “Why didn’t you resign on the spot? Why didn’t you walk away?” — I feel more confident today about [staying] than I did at the time, because I just look at all the good things I was able to advance in the Pentagon. And all the bad things I was able to push off. And what happened after I was removed and my chain of command replaced demonstrates that. I just can’t imagine what would’ve happened if I’d walked away on June 1st or June 2nd or was fired on June 3rd — the team he would’ve put in, what would they have done for six, seven, eight months. That was the thinking I was going through in my mind. And I called up my predecessors, I called up Colin Powell, all these folks, and sought their advice because I was unsure. And to a person, they said, “No, you got to stay. Make him fire you.”

And in some ways, I have those misgivings about being fired. If I’d been there on January 3rd, or 4th, or 5th might I have foreseen what was going to happen? Could I have mobilized the Guard, so they could have been in a better position to deploy more quickly to help the Capitol ? I mean, you have those thoughts.

What would you like your legacy to be as a secretary of defense in this tumultuous period?

I’d like to think with regard to the military that I made a lot of good advances in terms of implementing the national defense strategy, and retooling and reorganizing our military to deal with the Chinese in the 21st century. I hope that’ll be the major achievement of my tenure on the positive side of things, the traditional side of things, if you will. Number 2, I think the work we did alongside [the Department of Health and Human Services] with Operation Warp Speed changed the arc of the nation and how it dealt with the pandemic. I think we saved a lot of lives. I think we rescued the economy. That’s a “we”; it’s a team effort. I think people might hopefully remember that piece of it.

In terms of managing the White House and stuff like that, look, people are going to say, and I say in the book, I made mistakes. I own up to them. But I think I did some things right. And at the end of the day, when the rubber really hits the road, when the moment counted, I hope people will say that he stood up and did the right thing. He went before the public on June 3rd and mourned the tragic murder of George Floyd, spoke about the apolitical role the military holds in our society, and announced that he would not support invocation of the Insurrection Act. And I hope they would say, as I believe, that this is what kind of calmed things down; this is what made the republic less wobbly and avoided what could have been a really bad situation. I hope that’s what they say.

This interview has been edited and condensed. KK Ottesen is a regular contributor to the Magazine.

Erin Burnett Out Front

Mon, 23 May 2022 13:00:29 GMT

Former Secretary of Defense Mark Esper joins @ErinBurnett after President Biden’s comment that the US would defend Taiwan if China were to invade.

Watch the Interview Here

Bill Maher Overtime

Sat, 21 May 2022 00:20:03 GMT

Bill Maher Overtime

Watch Real Time with Bill Maher from HBO

Stephen Colbert Interview Part 2

Mon, 16 May 2022 17:01:42 GMT

Mark Esper weighs in on how the GOP can divorce itself from Donald Trump

Stephen Colbert Interview Part 1

Former Defense Secy. Esper describes Trump outrages and defends not speaking out while still in office

Former Defense Secretary Mark Esper joins Andrea Mitchell to discuss his new book “A Sacred Oath,” describing former President Trump’s reaction to protesters following the murder of George Floyd. “The President raises this prospect, suggests, asks to General Mark Milley you know, can't you just shoot them, just shoot them in the legs or something? And I think we were all taken aback by that,” says Esper. “Nobody said anything in that I can recall in direct response to it. It just hung in there.”

Watch the Video Here

The Lead with Jake Tapper

Fri, 13 May 2022 01:45:51 GMT

One-on-One with Defense Secretary Mark Esper

Watch the Interview Here

New York Times Feature

Thu, 12 May 2022 13:20:39 GMT

Trump's Former Aides and Advisors on the Peril He Poses

Read Jenny Scheussler's Feature Here

The Story with Martha MacCallum

Thu, 12 May 2022 01:36:20 GMT

Mark Esper: Russia's invasion has been a strategic failure to date

Watch the Interview Here

Fox and Friends

Thu, 12 May 2022 00:39:27 GMT

Mark Esper: Trump went 'too far in too many things'

Former Defense Secretary Mark Esper discusses Russia's onslaught against Ukraine and talks about his new book, "A Sacred Oath."

Watch the Interview Here

Kirkus Review

Wed, 11 May 2022 13:15:59 GMT

'A damning portrait of a chaotic, inept administration that posed countless dangers to the nation and the world.'

Read the Kirkus Review Here

Washington Post Review

Wed, 11 May 2022 13:11:14 GMT

Trump wanted to court-martial prominent retired officers, book says

Read Don Lamothe's Review Here

Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer

Wed, 11 May 2022 00:22:07 GMT

Wolf One-on-One with Former Defense Secretary Mark Esper

Watch the Interview Here

Deadline White House with Nicole Wallace

Wed, 11 May 2022 00:07:37 GMT

Fmr. Defense Secretary Mark Esper: Trump is a person driven by his self interest

Former Defense Secretary Mark Esper discusses Donald Trump as a threat to democracy and pulls the curtain back on his time in the Trump administration

ABC News Live Prime

Tue, 10 May 2022 23:57:19 GMT

‘His ego can't take somebody saying no to him’: Mark Esper on Trump

ABC News’ Linsey Davis speaks with former Defense Secretary Mark Esper about his new book “A Sacred Oath: Memoirs of a Secretary of Defense In Extraordinary Times.”

Watch the Interview Here

Former Defense Secretary Mark Esper details his fraught relationship with Trump

Tue, 10 May 2022 23:19:52 GMT

Former Defense Secretary Mark Esper details his fraught relationship with Trump

During the 18 months Mark Esper served as secretary of defense, he often clashed with President Trump, who wanted to use the military in ways Esper thought were inappropriate. Trump fired Esper in November 2020, a few days after Trump lost the election. Esper sat down with Judy Woodruff to discuss his experiences, which he details in a new book, "A Sacred Oath."

Watch the Interview Here

Fox News Interview with Bret Baier Part 2

Tue, 10 May 2022 23:08:44 GMT

China is studying Russia's successes and failures in Ukraine: Mark Esper

Former Defense Secretary says China is analyzing Russia's invasion of Ukraine to see how they could do better in Taiwan on 'Special Report.'

Watch the Interview Here

Morning Joe

Tue, 10 May 2022 23:00:46 GMT

I thought I was better off in the job than walking away

Former Secretary of Defense Mark Esper joins Morning Joe to discuss revelations from his new memoir 'A Sacred Oath: Memoirs of a Secretary of Defense During Extraordinary Times.'

Watch the Interview Here

Mark Esper was asked if Trump was a threat to democracy. Here's what he said.

Tue, 10 May 2022 13:05:35 GMT

Mark Esper was asked if Trump was a threat to democracy. Here's what he said.

Analysis by Chris Cillizza , CNN Editor-at-large

Updated 10:33 AM ET, Tue May 10, 2022

(CNN) Former Secretary of Defense Mark Esper was asked a very simple question by Fox's Bret Baier on Monday : "Do you think Donald Trump was a threat to democracy?"

Here's what Esper said in response :

"I think that given the events of January 6, given how he has undermined the election results, he incited people to come to DC, stirred them up that morning and failed to call them off, to me, that threatens our democracy. ... I think the answer would -- what else can you conclude, Bret?"

Sit with that for a minute.

Esper isn't some "Never Trumper." Or someone who routinely sought out attention in the past. He is a military man who spent time as chief of staff at the conservative Heritage Foundation. He is a former secretary of the Army. When Trump picked Esper as secretary of defense, he called him "a highly respected gentleman with a great career — West Point, Harvard, a tremendous talent."

In short: Esper's credentials are unimpeachable. He is someone with a lifetime of service -- both in and out of government.

He is also someone who saw Trump operate up close. He is intimately familiar with how the former President works -- and doesn't.

Given all of that, it's a pretty stunning thing for Esper to say that he believes Trump was an active danger to democracy while in office.

The cynics and Trump allies will dismiss Esper's claim as nothing more than a naked attempt to sell his new book , which is a memoir of his time in office. This isn't about democracy, this is about lining Esper's pockets, they'll say.

Which, OK, sure. There's no question that Esper is being interviewed and making these comments now, well over a year since Trump left office, as part of his book tour. And that, yes, he stands to make some material gain off the book sales.

But ask yourself this: What incentive would Esper have to disingenuously answer a question about whether or not he thought Trump represented a real threat to democracy during his time in office? Why risk all the credibility he's built up over the years solely to sell a few books?

It's illogical. What you are left to conclude is that Esper truly believes that Trump's actions in office -- and, in particular, in the run-up to January 6, 2021 -- posed a direct threat to American democracy.

What's remarkable about that statement is how little it will change the political landscape. Trump isn't just a potential 2024 candidate, he is essentially the de facto nominee for the Republicans. And there's almost no one who thinks that Esper's assertion will change that. In fact, for some of Trump's most loyal allies, Esper's allegations will just firm up their belief that the "Deep State" is out to get Trump. (Forget that Trump not only picked Esper as secretary of defense, but also touted his credentials for the job.)

Esper's comments then, which would be an absolute bombshell in any other administration with any other president, will likely cause nothing more than a brief ripple in this version of the Republican Party.

Which, well, fine. But let's not get it twisted: The former secretary of defense just said that the former President was a threat to American democracy. That matters.

Wall Street Journal Review

Tue, 10 May 2022 13:03:41 GMT

'A Sacred Oath' Review: Keeping the Peace

Read John Bolton's Full Review Here

Excerpt from the Review:

“Mr. Esper details the all-consuming task of managing America’s largest and most vital cabinet department—instructive reading for those unfamiliar with what operationalizing national security policy decisions involves. Time and again, he shows how presidential inattention, ignorance, incuriosity, duplicity and unwillingness to take responsibility for hard decisions all put the United States at risk….A Sacred Oath” is not a gratuitous tell-all. It is a work of history. Mr. Esper has his perspectives, to which he is entitled, but his willingness to go on the record at length is invaluable. Look forward to the reaction from Mar-a-Lago.”

CBS Mornings

Tue, 10 May 2022 00:28:35 GMT

Former Secretary of Defense discusses revelations about former President Trump

Watch the Interview Here

CBS News Interview with Major Garrett

Mon, 09 May 2022 22:52:18 GMT

Esper on the challenges of working in the Trump administration

Former Defense Secretary Mark Esper sat down with CBS News chief Washington correspondent Major Garrett to discuss working in the Trump administration and his new memoir "A Sacred Oath."

Anderson Cooper 360

Mon, 09 May 2022 22:42:13 GMT

Secretary Esper discusses his book "A Sacred Oath" with Anderson Cooper

Watch the Interview Here

Fox Special Report with Bret Baier Part 1

Mon, 09 May 2022 22:27:02 GMT

Watch the Fox News Interview Here

Former Defense Secretary discusses his book 'A Sacred Oath' and his accusations against former President Trump on 'Special Report.'

Former Pentagon chief Esper says Trump asked about shooting protesters on NPR

Mon, 09 May 2022 21:22:55 GMT

Former Pentagon chief Esper says Trump asked about shooting protesters

Former Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper said President Donald Trump inquired about shooting protesters amid the unrest that took place after George Floyd's murder in 2020. He recounts that incident, and many others, in a wide-ranging interview with NPR's Michel Martin on All Things Considered.

Esper said he stayed in the administration because he worried that if he left, the president would more easily implement some of his "dangerous ideas."

The former Defense chief also said he hopes Trump does not seek the presidency in 2024.

"We need leaders of integrity and character, and we need leaders who will bring people together and reach across the aisle and do what's best for the country. And Donald Trump doesn't meet the mark for me on any of those issues."

Esper said he and other top officials were caught off guard by Trump's reaction to the unrest in the summer of 2020.

"The president was enraged," Esper recalled. "He thought that the protests made the country look weak, made us look weak and 'us' meant him. And he wanted to do something about it.

"We reached that point in the conversation where he looked frankly at [Joint Chiefs of Staff] Gen. [Mark] Milley and said, 'Can't you just shoot them, just shoot them in the legs or something?' ... It was a suggestion and a formal question. And we were just all taken aback at that moment as this issue just hung very heavily in the air."

As a young Army captain in the mid-1990s, Esper said he saw the office occupied by the Defense secretary as hallowed ground, a place he hardly dared imagine himself. Yet, there he was 21 years later, serving as President Trump's secretary of Defense; facing challenges he also never imagined.

He wrote about those challenges in a new book, A Sacred Oath: Memoirs of a Secretary of Defense During Extraordinary Times. In it, Esper describes Trump as a volatile, ill-informed leader obsessed with power and self image.

Esper also detailed in his book a campaign by the former president and his then-chief of staff, Mark Meadows, to deny a promotion to Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, whose congressional testimony led to Trump's first impeachment.

Vindman, a Ukraine expert and former official with the National Security Council, testified that he was present during a now-infamous phone call between the former president and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in which Trump tried to blackmail Zelenskyy for political dirt on Joe Biden and his family. That allegation helped ignite the impeachment effort against Trump.

Esper said he worries about the fallout from Trump's political tactics.

"It became much more than Alexander Vindman at that point when you have this behavior going on. It became a test of, were we going to allow political influence in our promotion systems and in how we assign people? And that's a hard red line for me and others in the Pentagon that we weren't going to allow that to happen, let let alone a vendetta against a single individual who was doing the right thing."

When asked whether he thinks a prolonged conflict in Ukraine could weaken the NATO alliance:

I think [Russian President Vladimir] Putin is more committed to what he's doing in Ukraine than I'm afraid we [NATO nations] may be in the long run to standing up to Putin, and maybe he's calculating on that. But I also believe that the Ukrainians are far more committed to defending their country than Putin estimated. It's a major miscalculation, and one we should understand in the context of the fact that he invaded Georgia in 2008 and he invaded Ukraine in 2014. And in both cases, he really didn't get a stiff response from the West. It's not just Russia we have to worry about. Keep in mind that China is watching, too, and they are gauging Western resolve.

On whether the U.S. should be doing more to support Ukraine:

I said this [on] Day One of the invasion: We should be putting every possible sanction we can on the Russians. We should be providing the Ukrainians with all the equipment they're asking for. But we have to also continue unifying our Western allies. We now have two countries — Sweden and Finland — who are seeking NATO's membership or who we expect will seek NATO membership. That will strengthen NATO. And I think we should bring them in quickly and bring the umbrella of Article five protection under them equally as quickly.

On why he decided to stay in the Trump administration, despite wanting to leave:

I wrestled with this a lot. And at the end of the day, [it] came down to two things: If I left, I was very concerned about what would happen and would some of these dangerous ideas be implemented? And secondly, if I left, who would be who would replace me? And I was fairly confident that the president would replace me with an uber loyalist, who would do exactly what he wanted. And so I thought the right thing to do, the greater good my duty was to stay and serve the country.

On how he responds to critics who say he saved troubling, behind-the-scenes details of the Trump administration for a book deal:

I would say that I saw these things happen and did something. I stayed in the fight, in the game, and managed to avoid bad things happening. If you read the book, you'll see any number of cases where I was able to steer off or push back bad things from happening that I am convinced that if I had left, if I had resigned on the spot in protest – which by the way, would have been a whole lot better for me personally – I truly believe that these bad things would have happened. And my bottom line was I could do more good for the country, for the American people, if I stayed rather than if I walked away, particularly since I was so confident that President Trump would put in an uber loyalist who would do exactly what he wanted to do."

Kira Wakeam and Gabriel Sanchez produced this story for broadcast.

Listen to the Full Interview Here

The Hill

Mon, 09 May 2022 01:04:39 GMT

Trump complained US Navy ships ‘look ugly’: Esper

by Olafimihan Oshin - 05/08/22 4:22 PM ET

Former President Trump complained about America’s “ugly” Navy ships while in office and said Russia’s looked better, former Secretary of Defense Mark Esper reportedly wrote in his new book.

In Esper’s new book, “A Sacred Oath,” which is set to be released on Tuesday, he said that Trump had a certain type of aesthetic when it came to warships, often complaining that Russian and Italian naval ships were more attractive than America’s.

“On multiple occasions, the president complained that the U.S. Navy ships ‘look ugly,’ while the Russian and Italian ships, for example, ‘look nicer, sleeker, like a real ship.’ Maybe so, but as I told the president in defense of the Navy, ‘Our ships are built to fight and win, not win beauty contests; we prize function over form,” Esper wrote in his book, adding, “That didn’t satisfy him.”

Esper, who was fired in November 2020 after having disputes with Trump over police brutality and the response to protests over racial inequality in the U.S., also wrote in his book that the former president became obsessed with retired Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, a witness in Trump’s first impeachment trial.

“The president asked me a couple of times about Vindman: ‘When will the Army kick him out?’ he would say,” Esper wrote. “It was surprising how animated one Army lieutenant colonel was able to make the leader of the free world. I never understood it.”

In other excerpts from his book, Esper wrote that Trump initially proposed launching missiles into Mexico to destroy drug labs ran by local cartels in the region.

Esper is the latest of many Trump-era officials who have published books recounting their time with the former president. Former Attorney General William Barr said in his own memoir that Trump “lost his grip” after the 2020 presidential election.

Washington Examiner

Mon, 09 May 2022 00:57:51 GMT

Trump blamed Esper for blocking use of Insurrection Act to stop George Floyd protests: Book

by Mike Brest, Defense Reporter |

| May 08, 2022 09:03 AM

Former Defense Secretary Mark Esper came out against then-President Trump's consideration of invoking the Insurrection Act in June 2020, and in Esper's new book, he writes that Trump blamed him for taking that option off the table.

Then-Defense Secretary Mark Esper spoke out against White House considerations for the invocation of the Insurrection Act to quell protests in June 2020, and then-President Donald Trump blamed him for taking that option off the table, according to Esper's new memoir.

At the time, Trump was concerned about looking "weak" as millions of protesters took to the streets to protest after the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police , Esper writes in A Sacred Oath, which the Washington Examiner obtained ahead of its planned release later this week.

The former secretary's book provides new insights about the former president's state of mind and his unrelenting attempts to stop the protesters during the summer of unrest.

“I say this not only as secretary of defense, but also as a former soldier and a former member of the National Guard, the option to use active-duty forces in a law enforcement role should only be used as a matter of last resort, and only in the most urgent and dire situations. We are not in one of those situations now,” Esper said at the Pentagon podium on June 3, 2020. “I do not support invoking the Insurrection Act."

After the press conference, Esper and Gen. Mark Milley , the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, went to the White House and met with Trump and other administration officials, including White House chief of staff Mark Meadows in the Situation Room, according to the book.

"You betrayed me," Trump yelled during the meeting, "I'm the president not you!" He added, "I'm the president. It's my prerogative," and said, it's "my call, not yours." "You took away my authority," the former president added. When Esper pushed back on the notion, Trump responded, "That's not your position to do."

During the heated back and forth, Esper maintained, "I do not believe anything that has happened requires invocation of the Insurrection Act. It would make matters worse and would be terrible for the country." Trump disagreed, arguing that "the protests are making us look weak."

Eventually, Trump conceded, "Because of what you did I can't use the Insurrection Act." Esper wrote that the statement "wasn't completely correct, of course, but I was glad he felt that way, and wasn't about to disabuse him of his conclusion."

Days earlier, Esper wrote he and Milley were in the White House as Trump contemplated how to react to the nationwide protests, some of which grew destructive, though were largely non-violent. Trump had already begun contemplating invoking the Insurrection Act, which would allow him to deploy active-duty U.S. troops to cities across the country.

The two Defense Department leaders, as well as Attorney General William Barr , spoke out against the idea. Esper said local law enforcement was best suited to handle the situation. Trump then questioned whether soldiers could shoot to wound, but not kill, protesters, per the book.

"Can't you just shoot them. Just shoot them in the legs or something," Trump asked of Milley. Esper described the question posed as "almost technical, curious as to how that would actually be done, not whether members of the military shooting American civilians in a mostly peaceful demonstration was the right thing to do."

The former defense secretary said he had "utter disgust at the suggestion."

Later that night, Meadows reached out to Esper at his home and suggested he send a letter essentially saying he didn't mean what he said during the press conference and then-president's chief of staff implied that Trump was "angry and itching to fire me." Meadows then called him back two more times, one time with "a much more aggressive tone," Esper wrote, quoting the former North Carolina lawmaker as threatening to "trash you in the press," while the third call was calmer.

Esper ultimately decided to fly 1,600 active-duty Army soldiers from Fort Bragg in North Carolina and Fort Drum in New York to the Washington, D.C., area and the then-president never invoked the Insurrection Act.

Trump fired Esper in November 2020 after the presidential election.

Washington Examiner

Mon, 09 May 2022 00:51:15 GMT

NORTHCOM and DHS planned to deploy 'a couple hundred thousand plus' troops to border: Esper

by Mike Brest, Defense Reporter |

| May 08, 2022 01:00 PM

| Updated May 08, 2022, 04:06 PM

Former Defense Secretary Mark Esper wrote in his new memoir that DHS and U.S. Northern Command began planning to deploy hundreds of thousands of troops to the southern border, and Esper first heard of the plan from Trump adviser Stephen Miller.

There were conversations between the Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Northern Command about deploying "hundreds of thousands" of troops to the southern border amid a migrant surge, according to former Defense Secretary Mark Esper .

Without the Pentagon's knowledge, NORTHCOM, which is the combatant command that covers North America, worked on "a concept to deploy a couple hundred thousand plus troops to the border," Gen. Mark Milley , chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told Esper, the Trump-era secretary wrote in his upcoming memoir, A Sacred Oath, which the Washington Examiner obtained ahead of its planned release later this week.

DHS and NORTHCOM met about it and were "moving forward with their plans," he wrote.

Esper wrote that he told Milley to "shut down the planning, and let them know there was to be no further engagement with DHS on this matter," adding, "If anyone at Homeland Security has an issue with my order, then they are welcome to call me direct."

Esper said he was first informed of this plan by Stephen Miller, an adviser to former President Donald Trump known for his hard-line immigration stance. Miller told Esper in the Oval Office while they were waiting for Trump's arrival, "We need to get a quarter million troops to the border soon," adding, "There is another caravan coming from the south, and we need to stop it."

Esper responded, "I haven't seen any reports about another caravan, and I'm confident DHS can handle it as they've done in the past," to which Miller retorted, "This is a big one. [Customs and Border Protection] can't do it. We need to deploy the military. I'm already talking to folks at DHS."

Miller's admission set the then-defense secretary off. Esper wrote that he said the Pentagon does not "have two hundred and fifty thousand troops to send to the border for such nonsense" and then directed Milley to inquire of NORTHCOM about plans, about which he later briefed Esper.

The former secretary called the idea "simply outrageous, unless you're Stephen Miller." He described the Trump adviser as "a slight, unremarkable person with a deadpan gaze that suggested a real lack of humor or warmth," though Esper noted Miller had "both Trump's ear and his voice," providing him with "far more deference than his actual position and qualifications warranted."

Later in the Trump administration, Miller suggested finding the decapitated head of Abu Bakr al Baghdadi , who blew himself up as U.S. forces closed in on him in Syria , so that the United States could "dip it in pig's blood and parade it around to deter other terrorist," Esper wrote. The former defense secretary said he called the suggestion a "war crime" and said the "U.S. military will never do that."

Esper's book did not specify exactly when these conversations took place but noted they happened around the summer of 2020, which is also when he claims the former president suggested using missiles to attack Mexican drug labs . According to the book, Trump, on "at least two occasions," asked if the military could "shoot missiles into Mexico to destroy the drug labs" because, in the then-president's opinion, the Mexican government "isn't doing enough," adding, "They don't have control of their own country."

"Mr. President, we could do that, and as much as I want to stop these drugs too, shooting missiles into Mexico would be illegal," Esper responded. "It would be an act of war" that "would not only violate international law, it would also destroy our relationship with Mexico and damage our global standing."

"We could just shoot some Patriot missiles and take out the labs, quietly," Trump suggested, "No one would know it was us," according to the book. His defense secretary said in response, "This would be an act of war Mr. President, and there would be no way to keep it quiet."

Representatives for the Pentagon, DHS, and NORTHCOM did not respond to requests for comment. Milley's spokesperson declined to comment.

Former Secretary of Defense Mark Esper: The 60 Minutes Interview

Sun, 08 May 2022 14:51:35 GMT

Former Secretary of Defense Mark Esper: The 60 Minutes Interview

In his new memoir, “A Sacred Oath,” Esper writes that he had to press President Trump to send aid to Ukraine, and also walked the president back from ideas such as shooting protesters and missile strikes in Mexico. Read more at 60 Minutes.

The Guardian

Sat, 07 May 2022 02:30:43 GMT

A Sacred Oath review: Mark Esper on Trump, missiles for Mexico and more

The ex-defense secretary’s memoir is scary and sobering – but don’t expect Republican leaders or voters to heed his warning

Lloyd Green

Tue 10 May 2022 02.00 EDT

Last modified on Tue 10 May 2022 02.02 EDT

Mark Esper was Donald Trump’s second defense secretary. Like James Mattis, his predecessor, he fell from Trump’s grace. Six days after the 2020 election, the 45th president fired him, via Twitter. Unlike Mattis , Esper now delivers a damning tell-all.

A Sacred Oath pulls no punches. It depicts Trump as unfit for office and a threat to democracy, a prisoner of wrath, impulse and appetite.

Over 752 pages, Esper’s Memoirs of a Secretary of Defense During Extraordinary Times are surgically precise in their score-settling. This is not just another book to be tossed on the pyre of Trump-alumni revenge porn. It is scary and sobering.

Esper is a West Point graduate and Gulf war veteran. No one confuses him with Omarosa Manigault Newman , Cliff Simms or Chris Christie . Esper ignores Trump counselor Kellyanne Conway and barely mentions Melania Trump. He is complimentary toward Jared Kushner.

In general, Esper disliked what he saw. Trump’s fidelity to process was close to nonexistent, his strategy “narrow and incomplete”, his “manner” coarse and divisive. The ends Trump “often sought rarely survived the ways and means he typically pursued to accomplish them”.

The book captures Trump’s rage when advised that Gen Mark Milley, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, lacked command authority over the active-duty and national guard troops Trump wanted to deploy against protesters in the aftermath of the murder of George Floyd.

“‘You are losers!’ the president unloaded. ‘You are all fucking losers!’”

In addition to Esper, Milley and William Barr, the attorney general, Trump also targeted Mike Pence.

Esper writes: “He repeated the foul insults again, this time directing his venom at the vice-president as well, who sat quietly, stone-faced, in the chair at the far end of the semi-circle closest to the Rose Garden.

“I never saw him yell at the vice-president before, so this really caught my attention.”

Esper explains why he didn’t resign: “I didn’t think it was the right thing to do for our country.”

His wife, Leah, framed it this way: “As your wife, please quit. As an American citizen, please stay.”

The government attempted to censor A Sacred Oath, as it did The Room Where It Happened, a memoir by John Bolton, Trump’s third national security adviser. Fortunately, the powers that be buckled after Esper filed suit in federal court. Here and there, words are blacked out. The core of the story remains.

At one point, Trump proposed launching “missiles into Mexico to destroy the drug labs”. The then-president said: “No one would know it was us.” He would simply deny responsibility. Esper looked at Trump. He was not joking.

According to reports , the censors found this inflammatory. They did not, however, deny its veracity. Confronted with the story, Trump issued a “no comment”. Donald Trump Jr asked if his father’s scheme was “ a bad thing ”.

Hunter Biden isn’t the only troublesome first son.

Trump’s reliance on underlings who put their boss ahead of country distressed Esper too. Mark Meadows, Stephen Miller, Robert O’Brien and Ric Grenell all receive attention. Little is good.

Esper found their bellicosity grating. After a meeting with Trump’s national security council, Esper commented to Milley about its lack of military experience and eagerness for war with Iran.

“We couldn’t help but note … the irony that only two persons in the room that had ever gone to war were the ones least willing to risk doing so now.”

Esper offers a full-throated defense of Trump’s decision to kill Qassem Suleimani . The Iranian general had American blood on his hands and was planning an attack on US diplomats and military personnel.

Esper also writes about the state of the union.

“I was worried for our democracy,” he says. “I had seen many red flags, many warnings, and many inconsistencies. But now we seemed on the verge of crossing a dark red line.”

In the summer of 2020, the unrest that followed the murder of Floyd transported Trump to a Stygian realm. In the run-up to the election, Esper feared Trump would seek to use the military to stay in office.

Esper met Milley and Gen Daniel Hokanson, the general in charge of the national guard, in an attempt to avert that outcome.

“The essence of democracy was free and fair elections, followed by the peaceful transition of power,” Esper writes.

Ultimately, Trump did not rely on the military to negate election results – a path advocated by Mike Flynn, his first national security adviser. Instead, the drama played out slowly. By early January 2021, Milley was telling aides the US was facing a “Reichstag moment” as Trump preached “the gospel of the führer”.

On 6 January, Trump and his minions unleashed the insurrection.

“It was the worst attack on the Capitol since the war of 1812,” Esper writes. “And maybe the worst assault on our democracy since the civil war.”

Yet Trump and Trumpism remain firmly in the ascendant. In Ohio, in a crucial Senate primary, Trump’s endorsement of JD Vance proved decisive. In Pennsylvania, his support for Mehmet Oz may prove vital too.

Down in Georgia, Herschel Walker, Trump’s choice, is on a glide path to nomination. Walker’s run-ins with domestic violence and death threats pose no problem for the faithful. Even Mitch McConnell, the Senate minority leader, has bought in.

Days ago, Esper told the New York Times Trump was “an unprincipled person who, given his self-interest, should not be in the position of public service”.

Most Republicans remain unmoved. Esper is only an author. Trump spearheads a movement.

A Sacred Oath is published in the US by William Morrow

CNN Business Reports Defense Dept. tried to block Esper from revealing Trump floated launching missiles into Mexico to 'destroy' drug labs

Sat, 07 May 2022 00:36:09 GMT

Defense Dept. tried to block Esper from revealing Trump floated launching missiles into Mexico to 'destroy' drug labs

By Oliver Darcy , CNN Business

Updated 9:13 PM ET, Fri May 6, 2022

New York (CNN)

The Department of Defense fought to prevent Mark Esper, the former secretary of defense, from revealing in his forthcoming book that former President Donald Trump had proposed launching missiles into Mexico to destroy drug labs.

The passage in the book, "A Sacred Oath," which is out Tuesday, was a "major" sticking point when Esper submitted his manuscript for agency review, people familiar with the matter told CNN on Friday.

The resistance over the matter was, in part, what led to Esper suing the agency he once led and accusing it of improper censorship, the people said.

"They were particularly worried about this because of the potential to upset relations between the US and Mexico," one of the people explained to CNN.

"They objected to it vehemently," the person added.

Spokespeople for the Defense Department did not dispute CNN's reporting when asked for comment on Friday.

Instead, a Defense Department spokesperson said, "We followed each of our long established protocols and policies, as we do for every book that is submitted for pre-publication review. Beyond that, we've nothing to offer."

Members of the executive branch are required to submit book manuscripts for agency review in order to ensure that they do not contain sensitive material, such as classified information. The process, however, is not meant to be used to withhold information from the public only because it might be embarrassing to the government or officials who serve or have served within it.

Esper has claimed that, in his case, the process went awry.

In a lawsuit filed after he submitted his manuscript , Esper alleged that the Defense Department, which by that point was part of the Biden administration, "improperly withheld" what he described as "significant text" under "the guise of classification."

Esper eventually dropped the lawsuit because the Pentagon reversed course on the "overwhelming majority" of material at issue, his lawyer, Mark Zaid, said at the time.

The New York Times' Maggie Haberman first reported on Thursday Esper's claim in the book about Trump floating the idea of firing missiles into Mexico to "destroy the drug labs" and "take out the cartels."

In the passage, a copy of which CNN obtained, Esper described the conversations as "quite troubling" and said that if he "hadn't seen the look on the president's face," he would have "thought it was all a joke."

Shawna Chen Axios Article

Sat, 07 May 2022 00:27:07 GMT

Esper says Trump asked to shoot missiles into Mexico to "destroy" drug labs

Reported by Shawna Chen

Former Defense Secretary Mark Esper reveals in his forthcoming memoir that Trump asked him about the possibility of secretly launching missiles into Mexico, the New York Times reports .

Driving the news: Trump, concerned about drug cartels, asked at least twice in the summer of 2020 if the U.S. military could "shoot missiles into Mexico to destroy the drug labs," according to excerpts of the memoir quoted by the Times.

"We could just shoot some Patriot missiles and take out the labs, quietly. ... No one would know it was us," Esper recounts him saying.
Despite Esper's objections, Trump pressed the issue, arguing that he would deny responsibility for the strike. "They don’t have control of their own country," the former defense secretary recalls him adding.
Esper writes that he would have thought Trump was joking if he had not been staring him right in the face, per the Times.

The big picture: Esper's book, "A Sacred Oath," which comes out on Tuesday, contains vivid, first-person revelations by a top Cabinet member and bolsters outsiders' accounts of extreme dysfunction in Trump's White House, Axios' Mike Allen writes .

He also writes in the book about a conversation in which Trump asks about shooting protesters who had rallied outside the White House after George Floyd's death.
Trump fired Esper after the 2020 election .

Worth noting: "A Sacred Oath" was vetted at the highest levels of the Pentagon, reviewed in whole or in part by nearly three dozen 4-star generals, senior civilians and some Cabinet members.

New York Times: Esper in new book says Trump floated launching missiles at Mexico to 'destroy the drug labs'

Fri, 06 May 2022 13:30:41 GMT

Trump Proposed Launching Missiles into Mexico

New Paragraph

As Published CNN

Watch the CNN Story Here

Axios Article

Mon, 02 May 2022 13:24:08 GMT

Scoop: Esper says Trump wanted to shoot protesters

As Published Axios

Read Mike Allen's Article in Axios

Esper Joins Venture Capital Firm Red Cell

Wed, 13 Apr 2022 19:57:08 GMT

As reported by Defense News

Joe Gould

Former defense sec. under Trump reacts to Russian invasion and impact on Ukraine

Wed, 02 Mar 2022 21:12:41 GMT

As published (CNN) - Former Defense Secretary under Donald Trump, Mark Esper, discusses what's at stake for the world as fighting escalates in Ukraine.

Esper Memoir of Trump Tenure to Move Ahead After Legal Battle Ends

Sat, 05 Feb 2022 19:24:13 GMT

As published (The New York Times - February 5, 2022) - The former defense secretary dropped a lawsuit against the Defense Department after it reversed decisions on what parts of his memoir were to be redacted, his lawyer said.

A memoir by the former defense secretary, Mark T. Esper, about his tenure in the Trump administration will be published with “minimal redactions” after he sued the agency he once led because it wanted to block information in the manuscript, his lawyer said on Friday.

The announcement brought an end to a battle between Mr. Esper and the Defense Department over what material was considered classified and therefore could not be included in his book, titled “A Sacred Oath,” which is set to be published in May.

Former Trump Defense Secretary Mark Esper gets Pentagon's approval to publish memoir

Fri, 04 Feb 2022 19:20:10 GMT

As published (CNN - February 4, 2022) - Former Defense Secretary Mark Esper has gotten the Pentagon's sign-off on his memoir of his time working under President Donald Trump and will drop a lawsuit against the department for not clearing his book manuscript for publication, his attorney said Friday.

The former Pentagon chief will now have his book published in May with "minimal redactions," his attorney Mark Zaid said.

Esper had sued the department he had led last year after its prepublication book reviewers wanted redactions made to national security topics in the manuscript.

Esper had said those sections included his recollections of Trump and thoughts on foreign countries, and he argued in his lawsuit that he didn't believe the Pentagon's proposed redactions were classified information.

Conversations With Secretary Esper: President of Colombia Iván Duque Márquez

Fri, 03 Dec 2021 20:15:16 GMT

As published (The McCain Institute - December 3, 2021) Washington, DC - In recent months, the Biden Administration has sustained and deepened the U.S. relationship with its most important ally in the Hemisphere, the Republic of Colombia. Just last month, Secretary Blinken chose Colombia as his first trip to South America as Secretary of State. To further the conversation on this issue, the McCain Institute seeks to convene experts to discuss related to the United States’ hemispheric security partnerships and how they address some of the most pressing challenges of our time – a rising China, increasing international authoritarianism, the global plague of disinformation, etc.

Trump's defense secretary files lawsuit against DoD over memoir censoring

Mon, 29 Nov 2021 20:15:17 GMT

As published (CNN - November 29, 2021) Washington, DC - The Lead , Former Secretary of Defense Mark Esper says Americans deserve an ''unvarnished'' look at the ''tumultuous'' Trump administration as he sues Pentagon over book redactions. CNN's Jake Tapper has the exclusive interview.

Esper Claims Defense Dept. Is Improperly Blocking Parts of His Memoir

Sun, 28 Nov 2021 20:15:33 GMT

As published (The New York Times - November 28, 2021) - Former Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper on Sunday sued the agency he once led, accusing officials at the Pentagon of improperly blocking significant portions of an upcoming memoir about his tumultuous tenure under President Donald J. Trump.

The allegations by Mr. Esper, whom Mr. Trump fired shortly after losing his re-election bid last November, are laid out in a lawsuit filed in Federal District Court in Washington, D.C.

“Significant text is being improperly withheld from publication in Secretary Esper’s manuscript under the guise of classification,” the suit said. “The withheld text is crucial to telling important stories discussed in the manuscript.”

Read the memo from Trump aide's office making the case to fire Defense Secretary Mark Esper

Wed, 10 Nov 2021 20:15:18 GMT

As published (ABC News - November 10, 2021) Washington, DC - In a memo never before made public, the Presidential Personnel Office under the direction of John McEntee, a favorite aide of former President Donald Trump, made a case for firing then-Secretary of Defense Mark Esper three weeks before Esper was terminated, according to reporting in a new book by ABC News Chief Washington Correspondent Jonathan Karl.

Trump's Pentagon Chief Ruled Out Ramping Up Troops at US-Mexico Border

Tue, 19 Oct 2021 19:15:34 GMT

As published (The New York Times - October 19, 2021) - WASHINGTON — President Trump ’s defense secretary thought the idea was outrageous.

In the spring of 2020, Mark T. Esper, the defense secretary, was alarmed to learn of an idea under discussion at a top military command and at the Department of Homeland Security to send as many as 250,000 troops — more than half the active U.S. Army, and a sixth of all American forces — to the southern border in what would have been the largest use of the military inside the United States since the Civil War.

With the coronavirus pandemic raging, Stephen Miller , the architect of Mr. Trump’s immigration agenda, had urged the Homeland Security Department to develop a plan for the number of troops that would be needed to seal the entire 2,000-mile border with Mexico . It is not clear whether it was officials in homeland security or the Pentagon who concluded that a quarter of a million troops would be required.

Conversations with Secretary Esper: Linda Reynolds

Mon, 18 Oct 2021 19:15:35 GMT

As published (The McCain Institute - October 18, 2021) - Former Australian Minister of Defense and current Minister of Government Services and the National Disability Insurance Scheme Linda Reynolds joined former U.S. Secretary of Defense and current John S. McCain Distinguished Fellow Mark Esper for the third installment of Conversations with Secretary Esper. Their discussion centered around the America and Australia’s efforts in the Indo-Pacific and the future of the region. The topics included the recent AUKUS Agreement, President Biden and Prime Minister Morrison’s first meeting, and the legacy of Senator McCain and his family both in Australia and the wider region.

New Details Emerge on How Close U.S. and China Came to War in Late 2020

Wed, 15 Sep 2021 19:15:19 GMT

As published (News and Guts - September 15, 2021) - On Tuesday, multiple outlets previewed “Peril” – a forthcoming book by Washington Post reporters Bob Woodward and Robert Costa – that makes a series of jaw-dropping revelations about the final months of the Trump presidency. Among the most startling is how close the United States and China came to war in late 2020. On Wednesday, new reporting from Axios added details from the perspective of top Pentagon officials.

Esper: Biden 'owns' Afghanistan crisis

Tue, 17 Aug 2021 19:15:20 GMT

As published (CNN - August 17, 2021) - Former US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper reacts to the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan and discusses decisions made by his former boss President Trump.

Source: CNN

JUST IN: Navy Leader Defends Fleet Assessment, Shipbuilding Numbers

Thu, 05 Aug 2021 19:15:30 GMT

As published (National Defense - April 5, 2021) - The chief of naval operations pushed back against criticism of the Navy’s shifting plans for its future fleet, saying leadership is focusing on the data on hand to inform future investments.

While members of Congress have questioned the fluctuating fleet size, analyses of the service’s needs come from a broad coalition of experts, not just from the Navy, Adm. Michael Gilday said April 4 at a Defense Writers Group event.

“This wasn't just Navy self speak, where the Navy did the analysis on its own, to come up with a composition of the future fleet, and included a range of numbers for different types of platforms,” he said.

Conversations with Secretary Esper: Former UK Prime Minister Theresa May

Tue, 27 Jul 2021 19:15:21 GMT

As published (The McCain Institute - July 27, 2021) Washington, DC - Following President Biden’s first overseas trip to Europe in early June, many are hoping that it represents the United States’ returning to a more traditional approach to its transatlantic alliances where Britain plays a key role. To continue the critical work of Senator McCain on this issue, the McCain Institute seeks to convene experts for a series of conversations related to the future of NATO and how it positions itself to tackle some of the most pressing challenges of our time – a rising China, increasing international authoritarianism, the global plague of disinformation, etc.

Mark Esper, fmr. U.S. defense secretary, on space tourism competition

Thu, 22 Jul 2021 19:15:23 GMT

As published (CNBC - July 22, 2021) - Mark Esper, former defense secretary and board member at startup Epirus, joins ‘Squawk on the Street’ to discuss the private sector’s leadership in space, the challenges ahead and his outlook for the future of the industry.

Trump Aides Prepared Insurrection Act Order During Debate Over Protests

Fri, 25 Jun 2021 19:15:36 GMT

As published (The New York Times - July 25, 2021) - Responding to interest from President Donald J. Trump, White House aides drafted a proclamation last year to invoke the Insurrection Act in case Mr. Trump moved to take the extraordinary step of deploying active-duty troops in Washington to quell the protests that followed the killing of George Floyd, two senior Trump administration officials said.

The aides drafted the proclamation on June 1, 2020, during a heated debate inside the administration over how to respond to the protests. Mr. Trump, enraged by the demonstrations, had told the attorney general, William P. Barr, the defense secretary, Mark T. Esper, and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of staff, Gen. Mark A. Milley, that he wanted thousands of active-duty troops on the streets of the nation’s capital, one of the officials said.

Mr. Trump was talked out of the plan by the three officials. But a separate group of White House staff members wanted to leave open the option for Mr. Trump to invoke the Insurrection Act to call in the military.

Conversations with Secretary Mark Esper: Carl Bildt on Biden’s Trip to Europe

Fri, 18 Jun 2021 19:15:24 GMT

As published (The McCain Institute - June 18, 2021) Washington, DC - Join the McCain Institute for International Leadeship as it premieres a new series of one-on-one conversations with Former Secretary of Defense and the Army and John McCain Distinguished Fellow Mark T. Esper. In this first intstallment, Sec. Esper sits down with Former Prime Minister & Foreign Minster of Sweden and Co-Chair of the European Council on Foreign Relations Carl Bildt as they discuss President Joe Biden’s trip to Europe.

Winning the Future with Artificial Intelligence

Thu, 17 Jun 2021 19:15:24 GMT

As published (Modern War Institute - June 17, 2021) - Advances in artificial intelligence will change the character of warfare for generations to come, affording decisive and enduring advantages to whoever harnesses it first. Recently, the National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence’s Final Report released on March 1, 2021 emphasized the importance of AI to our nation’s security when it set an aggressive target for America’s armed forces: become “AI-ready by 2025” or risk ceding our overmatch—a target I believe is crucial to meet. As Congress considers the president’s budget request, it should keep this goal in mind.

Pentagon weighs keeping Trump-era change to ‘psychological operations’

Mon, 17 May 2021 19:15:26 GMT

As published (Politico - May 17, 2021) - In the final months of the Trump administration, then-Defense Secretary Mark Esper quietly moved to let the military run influence campaigns — often called “psyops” — more quickly and with less time for input from the State Department.

The policy change, which eight people described to POLITICO, highlights tension between military leaders and diplomats about how the U.S. handles gray-area operations that fall short of all-out war.

Episode 9: Trump's war with his generals

Sun, 16 May 2021 19:15:27 GMT

As published (Axios - May 16, 2021) - Axios' "Off the Rails" series documents the end of the Trump administration, from election night 2020 through the Jan. 6 siege of the U.S. Capitol.

One important piece is only now beginning to emerge: Former President Donald Trump's last-minute bid to pull U.S. forces from Afghanistan and swaths of the Middle East, Africa and even Europe ahead of Joe Biden's inauguration — and why he blinked.

John McEntee, one of Donald Trump's most-favored aides, handed retired Army Col. Douglas Macgregor a piece of paper with a few notes scribbled on it. He explained: "This is what the president wants you to do."

1. Get us out of Afghanistan.

2. Get us out of Iraq and Syria.

3. Complete the withdrawal from Germany.

4. Get us out of Africa.

McCain Institute Discussion on U.S.-China Relations

Wed, 28 Apr 2021 19:15:28 GMT

As published (CSPAN - April 28, 2021) - Representative Stephanie Murphy (D-FL), Senator Dan Sullivan (R-AK), and former Defense Secretary Mark Esper talked about U.S.-China relations. Topics included China’s human rights abuses, economic power, and the Biden administration’s policies. The panelists spoke at a virtual discussion as part of the McCain Institute’s annual Sedona Forum. Topics included China’s human rights abuses, economic power, and the Biden administration’s policies.

Biden Keeps Trump’s Policy Retaining Land Mines in U.S. Arsenal, for Now

Tue, 06 Apr 2021 19:15:29 GMT

As published (The New York Times/Seattle Times - April 6, 2021) - WASHINGTON — The Defense Department announced Tuesday that it would retain the Trump administration’s policy and keep antipersonnel land mines in its arsenal, reserving the right to use them in war.

In a statement, Mike Howard, a Pentagon spokesman, called such weapons “a vital tool in conventional warfare” that the military “cannot responsibly forgo, particularly when faced with substantial and potentially overwhelming enemy forces in the early stages of combat.”

The announcement drew swift condemnation from human-rights groups. The Pentagon press secretary, John Kirby, subsequently addressed the issue with reporters, saying Howard’s words were “accurate and factual,” but he added that the land-mine policy was under review.

Promotions for Female Generals Were Delayed Over Fears of Trump’s Reaction

Wed, 17 Feb 2021 20:15:32 GMT

As published (The New York Times - February 17, 2021) - WASHINGTON — Last fall, the Pentagon’s most senior leaders agreed that two top generals should be promoted to elite, four-star commands.

For the defense secretary at the time, Mark T. Esper, and Gen. Mark A. Milley, then the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the tricky part was that both of the accomplished officers were women. In 2020 America under President Donald J. Trump, the two Pentagon leaders feared that any candidates other than white men for jobs mostly held by white men might run into turmoil once their nominations reached the White House.

Mr. Esper and General Milley worried that if they even raised their names — Gen. Jacqueline D. Van Ovost of the Air Force and Lt. Gen. Laura J. Richardson of the Army — the Trump White House would replace them with its own candidates before leaving office.

Opinion: All 10 living former defense secretaries: Involving the military in election disputes would cross into dangerous territory

Sun, 03 Jan 2021 20:15:36 GMT

As published (The Washington Post - January 3, 2021) - Ashton Carter, Dick Cheney, William Cohen, Mark Esper, Robert Gates, Chuck Hagel, James Mattis, Leon Panetta, William Perry and Donald Rumsfeld are the 10 living former U.S. secretaries of defense.

As former secretaries of defense, we hold a common view of the solemn obligations of the U.S. armed forces and the Defense Department. Each of us swore an oath to support and defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic. We did not swear it to an individual or a party.

American elections and the peaceful transfers of power that result are hallmarks of our democracy. With one singular and tragic exception that cost the lives of more Americans than all of our other wars combined, the United States has had an unbroken record of such transitions since 1789, including in times of partisan strife, war, epidemics and economic depression. This year should be no exception.

Fauci Says Operation Warp Speed ‘Will Go Down Historically’ As ‘Highly Successful’

Tue, 22 Dec 2020 20:15:38 GMT

As published (Fox News - December 22, 2020) - White House coronavirus task force member Dr. Anthony Fauci told " Bill Hemmer Reports " Tuesday that he was "doing great" after receiving the first of two doses of Moderna's coronavirus vaccine .

"I don't have any discomfort in any part of my body, not even in my arms ..." Fauci, 79, told substitute host John Roberts. "I mean, I'm right now feeling great, but might change a little bit later. I wouldn't be surprised if I got a little ache and felt a little down. But right now, I actually feel perfect."

Even as more Americans receive the vaccine in the coming days and weeks, the head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases told Roberts that "nothing should really change right now with regard to the public health measures that hopefully we have all already been doing."

Navy Warship’s Secret Mission Off Cape Verde Aims to Help Punish Venezuela

Tue, 22 Dec 2020 20:15:37 GMT

As published (The New York Times - December 22, 2020) - WASHINGTON — For the past month, the Navy cruiser San Jacinto had sailed off the West African island nation of Cape Verde on a secret mission aimed at helping deal a major blow to President Nicolás Maduro of Venezuela , an avowed adversary of the Trump administration.

The mission was set in motion in early June, when Alex Saab, a Colombian businessman who is widely believed to be the architect of the economic deals that are keeping the Maduro government afloat, was arrested in Cape Verde when his private plane stopped to refuel en route to Iran from Venezuela. The United States sought his extradition under American money laundering charges , and judicial proceedings began.

“Saab is critically important to Maduro because he has been the Maduro family’s frontman for years,” said Moises Rendon, a Venezuela specialist at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. “Saab has access to privileged information to Maduro’s corruption schemes in and outside Venezuela.”

AP report: Pentagon memo maps out plan to expand diversity in the force

Fri, 18 Dec 2020 20:15:39 GMT

As published (Fox News - December 22, 2020) - WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon has endorsed a new slate of initiatives to expand diversity within the ranks and reduce prejudice, calling for more aggressive efforts to recruit, retain and promote a more racially and ethnically diverse force, The Associated Press learned on Friday.

Acting Defense Secretary Christopher Miller on Thursday signed a memo ordering the implementation of 15 broad recommendations that include a plan to crack down on participation in hate groups by service members and draft proposed changes to the Uniform Code of Military Justice. The AP obtained a copy of the memo on Friday.

The plan, however, skirts the more politically sensitive issues that have roiled the nation and the Trump administration this year, such as the renaming of bases that honor Confederate leaders or removing Confederate statues. Such steps are expected to get quick attention from Congress or President-elect Joe Biden’s incoming administration next month.

AI Ethical Principles Offer Strength, Opportunity

Tue, 08 Dec 2020 20:15:40 GMT

As published (National Defense - December 8, 2020) - “Artificial intelligence will be the future, and the department ... must readily and effectively adopt its best practices if the [U.S.] wants to maintain its superpower status,” says Brian Schimpf, CEO and cofounder of Anduril Industries — a defense technology company.

But how the Defense Department merges ethics and artificial intelligence with American values will have a profound impact on future military operations, industry and the acquisitions process.

In response to the Defense Innovation Board’s October 2019 report “AI Principles: Recommendations on the Ethical Use of Artificial Intelligence by the Department of Defense” former Defense Secretary Mark Esper formally adopted five AI principles — responsibility, equitability, traceability, reliability and governability — “to develop, acquire, or deploy technology with AI capabilities.”

Pentagon Purges Leading Advisors From Defense Policy Board

Wed, 25 Nov 2020 20:15:41 GMT

As published (Foreign Policy - November 25, 2020) - Several members of the top federal advisory committee to the U.S. Department of Defense have been suddenly pushed out, multiple U.S. officials told Foreign Policy, in what appears to be the outgoing Trump administration’s parting shot at scions of the foreign-policy establishment.

The directive, which the Pentagon’s White House liaison Joshua Whitehouse sent on Wednesday afternoon, removes 11 high-profile advisors from the Defense Policy Board, including former Secretaries of State Henry Kissinger and Madeleine Albright; retired Adm. Gary Roughead, who served as chief of naval operations; and a onetime ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, Jane Harman. Rudy De Leon, a former chief operating officer at the Pentagon once considered by then-Defense Secretary James Mattis for a high-level policy role, will also be ousted.

Also booted in today’s sweep of the board, which is effective immediately, were former House Majority Leader Eric Cantor and David McCormick, a former Treasury Department undersecretary during the George W. Bush administration. Both had been added to the board by Mattis in 2017. Jamie Gorelick, a Clinton administration deputy attorney general; Robert Joseph, a chief U.S. nuclear negotiator who convinced Libya to give up weapons of mass destruction; former Bush Deputy National Security Advisor J.D. Crouch II; and Franklin Miller, a former top defense official, have also been removed.

Esper memo warned conditions weren't met for withdrawal from Afghanistan

Mon, 16 Nov 2020 20:15:43 GMT

As published (CNN - November 16, 2020) - Then-Secretary of Defense Mark Esper sent a classified memo earlier this month to the White House asserting that it was the unanimous recommendation of the chain of command that the US not draw down its troop presence in Afghanistan any further until conditions were met, sources familiar with the memo tell CNN.

The assessment from the chain of command -- Esper, US Central Command leader Marine Gen. Kenneth "Frank" McKenzie and commander of NATO's mission in Afghanistan Gen. Austin Miller -- stated that the necessary conditions had not been met. Others agreed, sources tell CNN, including Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley.

The memo is believed to have been one of the main reasons why outgoing President Donald Trump fired Esper last week. CNN reported on Monday that US military commanders are anticipating that Trump will give a formal order as soon as this week to begin a further withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan and Iraq before he leaves office on January 20. The memo was first reported by The Washington Post.

McConnell on Sec. Mark Esper and World Affairs

Tue, 10 Nov 2020 20:15:45 GMT

As published (Office of Senator Mitch McConnell (K-KY) - November 10, 2020) - U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) delivered the following remarks today on the Senate floor regarding Secretary Mark Esper and world affairs:“Yesterday, the President informed us that Secretary Mark Esper’s tenure leading the Department of Defense has concluded.

“When the Senate considered Secretary Esper’s nomination, I said you could hardly invent better qualifications to run the Pentagon than his resume. From West Point and the 101 ^st Airborne to his time as Secretary of the Army, this leader had stepped up when his country needed him.

“The Secretary brought integrity, expertise, and steady leadership to the Pentagon’s top job.

“I am grateful for his work to keep our country safe, modernize our military, and implement the Trump Administration’s new National Defense Strategy to address the challenges of our time. A decorated combat veteran himself, he won the respect of the men and women of our Armed Forces.

“The country is grateful for his career of service.

“During this time of transition, I’m confident in the professionalism of the men and women of the Department of Defense, not to mention our uniformed services. We are lucky to have such capable and duty-focused men and women on the watch, defending the Constitution, deterring our adversaries, and protecting the peace.

A furious behind-the-scenes battle to counter Trump’s threat to national security

Tue, 10 Nov 2020 20:15:44 GMT

As published (The Washington Post - November 10, 2020) - President Trump’s senior military and intelligence officials have been warning him strongly against declassifying information about Russia that his advisers say would compromise sensitive collection methods and anger key allies.

An intense battle over this issue has raged within the administration in the days before and after the Nov. 3 presidential election. Trump and his allies want the information public because they believe it would rebut claims that Russian President Vladimir Putin supported Trump in 2016. That may sound like ancient history, but for Trump it remains ground zero — the moment when his political problems began.

Opinion: Esper’s firing is a danger to national security

Tue, 10 Nov 2020 20:15:43 GMT

As published (The Washington Post - November 10, 2020) - THE BEST-CASE scenario is that President Trump’s firing-by-Twitter of Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper on Monday was a reckless act of vindictiveness by a lame-duck president who wanted to settle a score. The worst is that it is the beginning of a decapitation of national security agencies that could leave the country rudderless at a sensitive moment, and perhaps open the way for Mr. Trump to engage in dangerous adventurism at home or abroad. Either way, Mr. Esper’s “termination,” as the president styled it, underlines that Mr. Trump will remain a serious threat to the national interest for the next 10 weeks.

Mr. Esper had been on Mr. Trump’s hit list since June, when he publicly as well as privately resisted suggestions by Mr. Trump that active-duty troops be deployed in U.S. cities to suppress Black Lives Matter demonstrations. This came after Mr. Trump dragooned the defense secretary and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Mark A. Milley into accompanying him in his march across a Lafayette Square cleared of demonstrators by tear gas and baton charges.

Mr. Esper, who had been ridiculed as “Yesper” earlier in his tenure, also angered the White House by suggesting that military bases named after Confederate generals could be retitled. He and senior military commanders have resisted Mr. Trump’s sporadic attempts to abruptly order home the remaining U.S. troops in Afghanistan and Syria. One question is whether the president will now push for those pullouts with the acting secretary he installed, Christopher C. Miller . Mr. Miller, a former Special Forces officer and mid-level official at the National Security Council and Pentagon, has a fine record, but he is not well positioned either to manage the Pentagon or to resist Mr. Trump’s impulses.

Trump Fires Mark Esper, Defense Secretary Who Opposed Use of Troops on U.S. Streets

Mon, 09 Nov 2020 20:15:46 GMT

As published (The New York Times - November 9, 2020) - President Trump fired Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper on Monday, upending the military’s leadership at a time when Mr. Trump’s refusal to concede the election has created a rocky and potentially precarious transition.

Mr. Trump announced the decision on Twitter , writing in an abrupt post that Mr. Esper had been “terminated.”

The president wrote that he was appointing Christopher C. Miller , whom he described as the “highly respected” director of the National Counterterrorism Center, to be the acting defense secretary. Mr. Miller will be the fourth official to lead the Pentagon under Mr. Trump.

Two White House officials said later on Monday that Mr. Trump was not finished, and that Christopher A. Wray, the F.B.I. director, and Gina Haspel, the C.I.A. director, could be next in line to be fired. Removing these senior officials — in effect decapitating the nation’s national security bureaucracy — would be without parallel by an outgoing president who has just lost re-election.

'Safer than your local grocery store': How the Pentagon kept the virus at bay as the White House struggled

Wed, 28 Oct 2020 19:15:47 GMT

As published (Yahoo News - October 28, 2020) - The COVID-19 outbreak sweeping through the White House, most recently among the staff of Vice President Mike Pence, has underlined the fact that in Washington’s halls of power there has been a tale of two pandemics.

The contrast between the chaos the pandemic has wreaked on the White House and the limited impact it has had on the health of the 25,000-strong Pentagon workforce, which has rigorously followed CDC guidelines, could not be more pronounced. President Trump has continually downplayed the severity of the virus and mocked those who took steps to protect themselves from it.

Mark Esper: U.S. troops leaving Germany likely to stay in Eastern Europe

Wed, 21 Oct 2020 19:15:49 GMT

As published (Defense News - October 21, 2020) - Oct. 21 (UPI) -- Defense officials are looking at deploying U.S. soldiers closer to the Russian border after their departure from Germany are under consideration, Defense Secretary Mark Esper said.

In July, Esper announced the transfer of 12,000 troops, notably of the 2nd Cavalry Regiment, the only brigade-size U.S. ground combat force in Europe, from U.S. Army Garrison Bavaria.

On Tuesday, he told a conference of the Atlantic Council that the regiment could maintain a presence in countries on NATO's eastern flank, adjacent to Russia, on a rotational basis.

"[Following] my recent meetings with the defense ministers from Romania and Bulgaria, and correspondence received from Baltic States, there is now the real opportunity of keeping the 2nd Cavalry Regiment forward in some of these countries on an enduring basis," Esper said.

Strengthening US alliances and partnerships in an era of great-power competition: A conversation with US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper

Tue, 20 Oct 2020 19:15:50 GMT

As published (Atlantic Council - October 20, 2020) - At the Atlantic Council on Tuesday, October 20, 2020, US Secretary of Defense Mark T. Esper outlined the Department of Defense’s strategic framework for prioritizing and strengthening allies and partners, including those in the Indo-Pacific, Middle East, and Europe.

Esper’s Reforms: An Interim Report Card

Mon, 12 Oct 2020 19:15:51 GMT

As published (Defense One - October 12, 2020) - It’s tough to be secretary of defense. It’s even tougher to be one for this president, who with a single tweet can upend months and years of careful Pentagon planning, overrule his own executives without their input, and change controversial policies on any issue, no matter how small, in an instant . He can even embarrass or undermine you while you’re trying to run the world’s strongest military.

To his credit, Defense Secretary Mark Esper has accomplished much of what he set out to do behind the scenes and without much fanfare—on top of a global pandemic. The secretary, who took office 15 months ago, has spent the past year attempting to shift 1) dollars, 2) people, and 3) tasks toward his department’s top challenge: long-term competition with China. Esper gets high marks for the first objective, notable progress in the second, and his successor will have to duke it out with the bureaucracy regarding the third.

As Pentagon chief shows some independence, Trump launches attacks but leaves him in office

Wed, 16 Sep 2020 19:15:53 GMT

As published (The Washington Post - September 16, 2020) - President Trump’s continued denigration of Pentagon officials highlights the fraught nature of his relationship with Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper weeks ahead of the election, as the president’s remarks undermine his Pentagon chief and threaten to erode confidence in one of the nation’s most trusted institutions.

Trump has considered firing Esper since at least June, according to three officials, when the defense chief disagreed with the president’s plan to use active-duty troops to quell protests in the wake of the police killings of George Floyd and other Black civilians. Since then, Esper has made several decisions seemingly at odds with Trump.

“I think the president vacillates on whether he thinks Mark should go or not,” said a senior Republican Party official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive matter candidly. “Sometimes, you know, Esper gets under his skin.”

U.S. Secretary of Defense Mark Esper Visits RAND

Wed, 16 Sep 2020 19:15:52 GMT

As published (RAND - September 16, 2020) - U.S. Secretary of Defense Mark T. Esper visited RAND's Santa Monica headquarters on September 16, 2020. After an introduction by RAND president and CEO Michael D. Rich , Secretary Esper emphasized the importance of deterring China and the role of the U.S. defense industrial base. In a subsequent discussion with Ted Harshberger, vice president and director of RAND Project AIR FORCE, Esper covered these and other national security topics.

The Pentagon Is Prepared for China

Mon, 24 Aug 2020 19:15:53 GMT

As published (The Wall Street Journal - August 24, 2020) - China’s People’s Liberation Army celebrated its 93rd anniversary Aug. 1 with a speech by Chinese Communist Party General Secretary Xi Jinping. Once again, Mr. Xi called for transforming the PLA into a world-class military, one that can further the party’s agenda far beyond China’s shores. His remarks serve as a stark reminder that we have entered a new era of global competition between the free and open international order and an authoritarian system fostered by Beijing.

Trump and Mark Esper's clash over Lebanon comes amid signals the Defense secretary's tenure may be cut short

Wed, 12 Aug 2020 19:15:56 GMT

As published (USA Today - August 12, 2020) - Signals that Defense Secretary Mark Esper's tenure at the Pentagon could be cut short have intensified after a long, hot summer of clashes with President Donald Trump, according to Capitol Hill and administration officials.

The latest conflict involved the assessment over the cause of the devastating blast in Lebanon that left Trump seething. Shortly after the explosion, Trump blamed it on an attack , citing briefings from “generals” whom neither the administration nor the Pentagon would identify. The following day Esper contradicted Trump at a security forum, saying all indications pointed to an accident triggering the explosion.

That contradiction increased friction between the White House and Pentagon, according to a Capitol Hill aide speaking on condition of anonymity.

Bloomberg reported Wednesday that Trump intended to replace Esper after the election, and that Esper planned to resign at that point, too.

Secretary of Defense Speaks at Aspen Security Forum

Wed, 05 Aug 2020 19:15:57 GMT

As published (Aspen Institute - August 5, 2020) - Defense Secretary Dr. Mark T. Esper addresses virtual attendees of the Aspen Security Forum from Washington, Aug. 5, 2020. His topic is “The View from the Pentagon: A Conversation with Secretary of Defense Mark Esper.”

The Hijacking of Homeland Security

Sat, 25 Jul 2020 19:15:58 GMT

As published (The New York Times - July 25, 2020) - The Trump administration’s deliberate decision to intervene in the Portland protests with a heavy hand, unconventional means and inflammatory political rhetoric has contributed to growing public distrust — particularly of the Department of Homeland Security.

Critics of the department are now rightly worried that its law enforcement agents might be increasingly deployed by President Trump to score political points, or even interfere with the November election.

These actions, now or into the future, endanger our democracy, and undermine the nation’s safety — by hurting the department’s ability to carry out its core mission of protecting Americans from genuine threats to our security.

Esper In Crisis Management Mode Amid Turmoil Of Trump's Reelection Campaign

Thu, 23 Jul 2020 19:15:59 GMT

As published (CNN - July 23, 2020) - On Thursday, Mark Esper will have served exactly one year as secretary of defense but the last few months have been the toughest of his tenure as tensions with the White House have spilled out in public.

With just under six months to go until inauguration day, Esper is walking a political tightrope. Defense officials tell CNN he has had to make time to focus on day-to-day crisis management alongside chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley to try and prevent President Donald Trump from making any disastrous decisions that could damage national security or demoralize the military.

A senior defense official says Esper still has achieved several goals aimed at reshaping the department to make troops more readily able to deploy in a crisis but some within the Pentagon believe it's possible Esper may be put in a similar position to Trump's first defense secretary, James Mattis, if the President makes a decision he feels he is unable to accept. Mattis resigned when he felt the President made an unacceptable decision by deciding to withdraw troops from Syria.

Pentagon Sidesteps Trump to Ban the Confederate Flag

Fri, 17 Jul 2020 19:16:01 GMT

As published (The New York Times - July 17, 2020) - The Pentagon, without once mentioning the word “Confederate,” announced a policy on Friday that essentially banned displays of the Confederate flag on military installations around the world.

In a carefully worded memo that Defense Department officials said they hoped would avoid igniting another defense of the flag from President Trump , Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper issued guidance that listed the types of flags that could be displayed on military installations — in barracks, on cars and on signs.

According to the guidance, appropriate flags include those of American states and territories, military services and other countries that are allies of the United States. The guidance never specifically says that Confederate flags are banned, but they do not fit in any of the approved categories — and any such flags are prohibited.

“Problem solved — we hope,” one Defense Department official said on Friday, speaking on the condition of anonymity so as not to anger Mr. Trump.

Pentagon: US will respond if Russia bounty reports are true

Thu, 09 Jul 2020 19:16:01 GMT

As published (Associated Press - July 9, 2020) - Top Pentagon leaders told Congress on Thursday that reports of Russia offering Taliban militants bounties for killing Americans were not corroborated by defense intelligence agencies, but said they are looking into it and the U.S. will respond if necessary.Defense Secretary Mark Esper said his military commanders heard initial reports on the bounties in January and he first saw an intelligence paper about it in February. While the threats were taken seriously, he said they have not yet been found credible.

In defense of Mark Esper

Tue, 07 Jul 2020 19:16:02 GMT

As published (The Hill - July 7, 2020) - Defense Secretary Mark Esper has come under fire from the left. He was accused of favoring an overly military response to the riots that followed the tragic death of George Floyd and was condemned for walking with President Trump across Lafayette Park. Esper was finally able to tell his side of the story this month at the hearing of the House Armed Services Committee. He set the record straight. No active duty units took part in law enforcement. The National Guard did not advance on the crowd in Lafayette Park, nor did it use rubber bullets or chemical agents.

Moreover, he affirmed that the military has an appropriate constitutional role to play in supporting civil authorities, and that law and order must be returned to the streets of America. In other words, Esper stands with the president. That is perhaps why the left has it in for Esper. They despise the president and dislike the defense agenda of the administration, as Trump consistently invests in strengthening our armed forces and has reoriented military strategy to address this new era of great power competition. No one has done more to advance that defense agenda than Esper.

His leadership has made real gains on multiple fronts by building a more lethal force, strengthening alliances, and implementing reforms. Military readiness levels have steadily improved. New and better ships, planes, and platforms are coming on line. Research and engineering in critical areas such as directed energy, unmanned systems, hypersonic missiles, and artificial intelligence have been jump started to give our troops the fundamental tools they will need to prevail in future combat.

Defense Secretary Esper Briefing on Protests Across the U.S.

Wed, 03 Jun 2020 19:16:03 GMT

As published (CPSAN - June 3, 2020) - Defense Secretary Mark Esper held a briefing at the Pentagon. He responded to news reports about President Trump’s visit to St. John’s Episcopal Church in Washington, D.C., during the protests over George Floyd’s death while in custody of Minneapolis police officers. Secretary Esper said he was not aware of the president’s intentions to pose for photographs in front of the church, saying he knew only of plans to view damage at Lafayette Park and St. John’s. He clarified he was “not aware exactly where we were going when we arrived at the church and what the plans were once we got there.” Secretary Esper also stated he did not support invoking the Insurrection Act to use the U.S. military to manage protests across the United States .

Dr. Mark Esper: America and NATO Allies Must Support Ukraine and Stand Up For Democracy

Sat, 25 Jan 2020 20:15:16 GMT

As published (The McCain Institute - January 25, 2022) WASHINGTON, D.C. – The McCain Institute at Arizona State University today released the following statement from John S. McCain Distinguished Fellow and former U.S. Secretary of Defense Dr. Mark Esper regarding Vladimir Putin’s aggressive actions against Ukraine: “The United States must do more to deter a Russian invasion, reassure our NATO Allies, and stand firm with Ukraine. This means deploying American forces now to help defend our frontline allies from the Baltics to the Black Sea and send a powerful message of resolve to Vladimir Putin. Next, Washington and other NATO capitals need to reinforce Ukraine with increased arms, ammunition, intelligence, logistical support, training, and planning. Finally, the Biden Administration needs to lead a clear, detailed, and unified statement of support from all NATO capitals, especially Berlin, that a Russian incursion of any size, or an action of any type, against Ukraine will be met with a broad and severe range of sanctions and economic penalties. The democracies of the world must act with principle and never give an inch when dealing with autocrats like Vladimir Putin. Much is on the line now, and the world is watching.”

Conversations With Secretary Esper: Latvian Defense Minister Artis Pabriks On Russian Aggression In Ukraine

Tue, 21 Jan 2020 19:39:40 GMT

As published (The McCain Institute – January 21, 2020) WASHINGTON, DC – In response to the looming threat of a Russian invasion in Ukraine, the McCain Institute at Arizona State University (ASU) hosted Latvian Defence Minister Artis Pabriks for a discussion with John S. McCain Distinguished Fellow and former U.S. Defense Secretary Dr. Mark T. Esper as part of its Conversations with Secretary Esper event series.

Talks At Goldman Sachs, With Dr. Mark Esper, U.S. Secretary Of Defense

Tue, 12 Nov 2019 20:16:04 GMT

As published (November 12, 2019) - In this episode of Talks at GS, US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper reflects on his service in the US Army, his views on events shaping America’s national security interests globally and his thoughts on running the largest employer in the country.

McCain Institute

The Call with the US Chamber's Global Intelligence Desk

Center for GeoPolitics by JPMorganChase

DealBook Summit - The Global Re-Order

Tectonic Q&A - Identifying Winning Startups in the Defense Innovation Space

A Q+A with Former Secretary of Defense Dr. Mark Esper

US Needs Mexico's Help with Border Control

US can't secure the border alone. Mexico must take a real stand against cartels. | Opinion

Mexico and President Claudia Sheinbaum are in a tough position, but the path to success begins when the country decides it will no longer tolerate criminal enterprises.

Mexico needs to be a stronger partner to ensure border security

US shouldn't expect less from our closest neighbors

Navigating a New Geopolitical Order

Allies Paying for Defense - Now They Need to Pay Their Bills

America’s allies are finally paying their fair share for defense. Now they must pay their bills

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House committee calls out Mexico, Kuwait and other nations for allegedly failing to pay American contractors

Collapse of the Assad Regime

The Fall of Damascus

Never Forget

Syria and a new order in the Middle East

Potential Hezbollah Ceasefire

Thoughts on President Elect Trump's Cabinet Picks

Meeting the Japanese Defense Minister Nakatani

Mt. Fuji Dialogue

Veterans Day "Down Under"

Successful Military Strike by Israel

Heed the Generals' Warnings

The "Enemy From Within"

America’s future advantage depends on quick adoption of advanced tech

Somber anniversary for Israel

Israel's response to Iran

Israel needs to deal with Tehran

Iran's attack on Israel

GCF Conference and the social dynamics of Cyberspace

Israel and Hezbollah fighting continues

Better security needed for President Trump

The White House needs to lift restrictions on Ukraine's use of missiles

Lifting Restrictions on Ukraine's Use of Weapons

IDF Discovers bodies in Gaza

Vice President Harris says she wants a Republican to serve in her Cabinet

Ukraine and the way forward

Israel, Ukraine and Arlington National Cemetary

Discussing the Harris Campaign

Discussion about Afghanistan Withdrawl

Iranian Retaliation

Hacking by Iran

Questions regarding Governor Walz and his military service

The Hill Op-Ed: Surge in threats against US leaders demands urgent action

Surge in threats against US leaders demands urgent action

Waiting for Iranian Retaliation

Washington Examiner Article by Mike Brest

Esper: Iranian response to Haniyeh assassination could resemble April aerial assault

Interview Asking President Biden to do more against Iranian Threats

Aspen Security Forum 2024

CNN Interview Discussing the NATO Summit and the need for Joe Biden to Leave the Race

CNN Interview Discussing my Assesment of President Biden's Ablilty to Lead

CNN Interview Discussing the Isreal Hezbollah conflict

Discussion about the Hezbollah Attacks

CNN Interview about North Korea and Russia

Discussion About the State of Military Recruitment

CNN Interview Discussing the Israel Hamas Potential Ceasefire

CNN Interview Discussing the 4 Released Israeli Hostages

CNN interview discussing the ICJ ceasefire for Israel

SALT iConnections NY

CNN interview discussing the fate of the Iranian President

CNN Interview Discussing the Israel Hostages

CNN Interview

CNN Wolf Blitzer interview discussing Israel Hamas

CNN Interview Discussing possible Israel Hamas Ceasefire

Jake Tapper Interview Discussing the Supreme Court Decision on Presidential Immunity

CNN Wolf Blitzer Interview

Conversations with Bill Kristol

Christiane Amanpour Interview

CNN Interview with Wolf Biltzer

DC Examiner Article by Mike Brest

Wall Street Journal Article

CNN Interview with Jessica Dean

CNN Interview

CNN This Morning with Kasie Hun

CNN Jake Tapper Interview