May 17, 2024
What’s Happening in National Security, Technology, Defense & Maritime
Vol. 3, Issue 29
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AGS UPDATES
- Former Australian Director of National Intelligence Nick Warner and internationally-recognized author and scholar Dr. Arthur Herman have joined AGS as Senior Advisors.
- AGS Chairman Robert O’Brien led a delegation with former Ambassadors John Rakolta (UAE) and Ed McMullen (Switzerland) to Israel hosted by AIPAC. They met with senior Israeli defense and national security officials, including Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Hertzog. The delegation also visited several sites from the October 7th massacre in order to bear witness to the events that took place and show their support for the people of Israel.
- During the visit, O’Brien announced that AGS has endowed the Robert & Lo-Mari O’Brien annual scholarship for a student to attend the BYU Jerusalem Center scholarship.
- O’Brien and AGS Senior Advisor Elbridge Colby were named among Washington DC’s 500 Most Influential People of 2024 by Washingtonian Magazine.
- AGS Chief Executive Officer Alexander Gray moderated a panel at the Defense Industrial Base Conference (DIBCON) in Oklahoma City about implementing the National Defense Industrial Strategy.
- O’Brien delivered the keynote remarks at DIBCON, addressing the conference on the importance of a strong industrial base to America’s national security and geopolitical power.
- O’Brien attended an event at the Pepperdine University Switzerland campus where he discussed key issues facing the west with Swiss Ambassador to the United States Jacques Pitteloud.
- AGS Senior Vice President Allison Hooker participated in a discussion at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) on the Future of North Korea Policy.
- O’Brien has joined the International Advisory Council of the Misgav Institute, an independent and non-partisan think tank that advances pragmatic and realistic approaches in Israeli foreign and defense policy, grounded in the values of Zionism. It seeks to strengthen Israel as a Jewish, democratic, strong, secure, and thriving state.
- AGS Non-Executive Vice Chairman Scott Morrison attended an AUSTALKS event at the Embassy of Australia in Washington DC to discuss his new book Plans For Your Good: A Prime Minister’s Testimony of God’s Faithfulness with Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Former Counselor to President Trump Kellyanne Conway.
- Morrison met with Former President Trump in New York to discuss the U.S.-Australia alliance and AUKUS cooperation.
- Congratulations to Kathleen Porter, a former AGS employee, on her graduation from Vanderbilt Law School.
WHAT WE ARE SAYING
- O’Brien joined The Hugh Hewitt Show to discuss the Israel-Hamas War and President Trump’s Middle East Policy.
- AGS Senior Vice President Brian Cavanaugh for Fox News: Biden’s radical trade commission wages war on American AI.
- Prime Minister Morrison spoke with the Defense Connect Podcast about life after Parliament and the changing geopolitics of the Indo-Pacific.
- AGS Senior Vice President Anthony Ruggiero spoke with VOA Korea’s Washington Talk on U.S. policy regarding North Korea and the U.S.-ROK Relationship.
- Gray for The National Interest: The 4 Great Myths of Donald Trump’s Foreign Policy
- O’Brien joined America Reports to discuss the ICC and anti-Israel sentiments.
- Gray spoke with Voice of America about U.S.-South Korean relations in a potential second Trump administration.
- Ruggiero attended a panel discussion at AEI on AI and biosecurity.
- Prime Minister Morrison discussed his faith and politics with 7 News Spotlight.
- Cavanaugh for The Hill: Biden needs to put Hamas’s American hostages before politics.
- Ruggiero for FDD visuals: What to Know About Iran’s Nuclear Program
- Ruggiero spoke with VOA Korea about U.S. sanctions on North Korea.
- O’Brien joined The Source with Kaitlan Collins to discuss Israel’s efforts to free hostages from Hamas.
WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT AGS
- The New York Times: Former Trump Officials Meet in Israel With Netanyahu.
- Reuters: Trump foreign policy adviser urges sanctions on ICC officials.
- President Trump was interviewed on The Hugh Hewitt Show where he discussed the potential makeup of a second Trump Administration.
- American Greatness: The American Peace Initiative: Lessons Learned from the Abraham Accords.
WHAT WE ARE READING
Maritime
- Bloomberg: China Has 350 Warships. The US Has 290. That’s a problem.
- The National Interest: China is Building a Missile Carrying Unmanned Surface Vessel
- Defense News: UK Navy to buy six vessels, enter new ‘golden age’ of shipbuilding
- Dryad Global: The Maritime Industry has Unique Cybersecurity Challenges
- Naval News: China Builds World’s First Dedicated Drone Carrier
- Breaking Defense: High price of Red Sea shootdowns speeds Navy’s pursuit of ‘cost-effective’ solutions
- Rep. Mike Waltz: Congressional Guidance for a National Maritime Strategy
Defense Industrial Base
- Breaking Defense: Reauthorize the Defense Production Act, but make changes for the 21st century
- War on the Rocks: Crowning Achievement? Kaan and the Turkish Defense Industry
- The Washington Post: Pentagon worried its primary satellite launcher can’t keep pace
- Breaking Defense: FARA fallout: A ‘resurrection’ of Boeing’s A/MH-6 Little Bird for special forces
- The Telegraph: The US Army is getting new ‘Iron Fist’ technology – thanks to Ukraine war aid
- Voice of America: US, allies ‘doing everything humanly possible’ to rush weapons to Ukraine
- Bloomberg: Robocar Supplier Sues US, Disputes Alleged Chinese Military Ties
- Breaking Defense: China’s new H-20 stealth bomber ‘not really’ a concern for Pentagon, says intel official
National Security & International Affairs
- The Diplomat: China’s NATO Anxiety
- The New York Times: The Long, Tortured Road to Biden’s Clash With Netanyahu Over Gaza War
- The Economic Times: India can’t, in the name of open economy, open up its national security to work with China
- Foreign Affairs: America’s China Strategy Has a Credibility Problem
- Defense Opinion: China’s Long March Toward Aircraft Carrier Capability
- War on the Rocks: Should Taiwan Attempt to Replicate The Zelensky Playbook?
- Defense News: Pentagon seeks to expand special ops authorities for friendly nations
- National Review: Within the Ukraine War
- The Hill: How Iran’s covert influence is threatening American democracy
- Geopolitical Futures: A Government Shakeup in Moscow
Technology & Cyber
- Foreign Affairs: The Secret to Japanese and South Korean Innovation
- Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, LLP: Summary of Government Antitrust Cases Against Big Tech Platforms
- NBC News: China-linked group uses malware to try to spy on commercial shipping, new report says
- Time: Why Biden Is Taking a Hard Line on Chinese EVs
- NBC News: India is gearing up to be a semiconductor chip powerhouse
- The Washington Post: U.S.-China talks on AI risks set to begin in Geneva
- Axios: Behind the Curtain: AI’s ominous scarcity crisis
U.S. Politics
- CNN: Biden faces bipartisan backlash on Capitol Hill over Israel ultimatum
- The Wall Street Journal: How China Sees U.S. Campus Protests
- Associated Press: Trump-affiliated group releases new national security book outlining possible second-term approach
- The New York Times: How Mike Johnson Got to ‘Yes’ on Aid to Ukraine
UPCOMING EVENTS
- June 27, 2024: CNN Presidential Debate
- July 15, 2024 – July 18, 2024: Republican National Convention
- July 16, 2024 – July 19, 2024: Aspen Security Forum
“The Aspen Security Forum (ASF) is the premier national security and foreign policy conference in the United States. ASF has provided a nonpartisan public venue for domestic and global leaders to discuss the key national security and foreign policy issues of the day for the past 14 years.” - August 19, 2024 – August, 22, 2024: Democratic National Convention
- September 10, 2024: ABC News Presidential Debate
- November 22, 2024 – November 24, 2024: Halifax International Security Forum
“Halifax International Security Forum is recognized globally for its cozy and confident convening. Only at Halifax International Security Forum do the entrepreneurs who drive our economies, the writers who challenge and influence the world’s thinking and the decision-makers tasked with tough choices share the stage with the very individuals who are on the ground facing consequential local threats.”