| SIGAR: LOTS OF BLAME TO SPREAD AROUND: A new report from the Pentagon's internal watchdog pins the blame for the collapse of the Afghan military in August 2021 on the decisions of former President Donald Trump, President Joe Biden, former Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, and a succession of prior U.S. administrations that failed to grasp how long it would take to build a self-sufficient security force. The report, "Why the Afghan Security Forces Collapsed," from the Pentagon's independent office of the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR), cited six major factors in leading to the ignominious dissolution of the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF) — slowly over a matter of months, and then quickly in a matter of days. "The decision by two U.S. presidents to withdraw U.S. military forces from Afghanistan fundamentally altered every subsequent decision by U.S. government agencies, the Ghani administration, and the Taliban. Actions taken by each ultimately accelerated the collapse of the ANDSF in August 2021. But the stage had been set for that collapse long before — by the failure of the U.S. and Afghan governments to create an independent and self-sustainable ANDSF, despite 20 years and $90 billion of international support." AFGHANISTAN'S GOVERNMENT FELL BECAUSE OF THESE SIX BLUNDERS, WATCHDOG SAYS TRUMP'S GUT PUNCH: The beginning of the end was the Trump administration's February 2020 deal reached with the Taliban — without any input from the Afghan government — which was widely viewed by Afghans as tantamount to articles of surrender. "Many Afghans thought the U.S.-Taliban agreement was an act of bad faith and a signal that the United States was handing over Afghanistan to the enemy as it rushed to exit the country; its immediate effect was a dramatic loss in ANDSF morale," the report said. TRUMP'S END OF AIR SUPPORT: Upon signing the withdrawal agreement, the Trump administration drastically curtailed the thousands of U.S. airstrikes that had been making it possible for Afghan forces to make progress in recapturing territory from the Taliban. "Limiting airstrikes after the signing of the U.S.-Taliban agreement the following year left the ANDSF without a key advantage in keeping the Taliban at bay." "Overnight, once the agreement was signed, the next day, 98 percent of U.S. air strikes had ceased," Gen. Sami Sadat, former Afghan Army Corps commander, told SIGAR investigators. BIDEN'S END OF AIRCRAFT MAINTENANCE: Despite the fact the U.S.-supplied Afghan Air Force was not projected to be self-sufficient until 2030, the Biden administration withdrew the thousands of contractors who were maintaining Afghan planes in May 2021, leaving the nascent air force without the "logistical capability of moving stockpiles of U.S.-provided weapons and supplies by ground quickly enough to meet operational demands." In other words, Afghan troops defending far-flung outposts were left to face the Taliban without food, water, ammunition, or effective air support. As a result, many surrendered. GHANI'S POLITICIZATION OF THE MILITARY: Former Afghan President Ashraf Ghani failed to take Biden administration warnings seriously that U.S. and NATO forces would, in fact, be leaving in 2021, and consequently never developed a post-withdrawal strategy. "Ghani frequently changed ANDSF leaders and appointed loyalists, often on the basis of ethnicity, which politicized the ANSDF," the report concludes. "This constant turnover weakened chains of command, morale, and trust in the ANDSF. Young, well-trained, educated, and professional ANDSF officers who grew up under U.S. tutelage were marginalized and their ties to the U.S. became a liability." US ADVISERS POORLY TRAINED: The constant rotation of U.S. military advisors in and out of Afghanistan over the years meant that many were "poorly trained and inexperienced," the report found. "The U.S. advising mission in Afghanistan encountered several challenges, including limited or no pre-deployment and in-theater training, and frequent rotational deployments that lacked proper handovers. These shortcomings undermined the U.S. government's ability to build relationships with and capacity among Afghan forces." RAMPANT CORRUPTION: A major factor in the epic failure of the Afghan police and military was widespread corruption that was endemic to almost every aspect of Afghan society. "Corruption eroded ANDSF capabilities, undermining its legitimacy and efficiency," the report concluded. "U.S. efforts to mitigate corruption were stymied by a culture of impunity and lack of political will. The U.S. responded by taking ownership of the processes in order to control for corruption, which in turn led to a lack of Afghan mission and logistics ownership, as well as a reliance on the U.S. military to conduct combat and patrol missions." 'LIKELY UNAVOIDABLE' SOME US MILITARY AID TO UKRAINE ENDS UP IN WRONG HANDS, WATCHDOG SAYS Good Tuesday morning and welcome to Jamie McIntyre's Daily on Defense, written and compiled by Washington Examiner National Security Senior Writer Jamie McIntyre (@jamiejmcintyre) and edited by Conrad Hoyt. Email here with tips, suggestions, calendar items, and anything else. Sign up or read current and back issues at DailyonDefense.com. If signing up doesn't work, shoot us an email and we'll add you to our list. And be sure to follow us on Twitter: @dailyondefense. Subscribe today to the Washington Examiner magazine and get Washington Briefing: politics and policy stories that will keep you up to date with what's going on in Washington. SUBSCRIBE NOW: Just $1.00 an issue! CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP OR READ BACK ISSUES OF DAILY ON DEFENSE HAPPENING TODAY: John Sopko, special inspector general for Afghanistan reconstruction, will discuss the findings of the latest Afghanistan postmortem at a Defense Writers Group session with reporters this morning hosted by the George Washington University Project for Media and National Security. IN THEIR OWN WORDS: The report has an appendix titled, "In Their Own Words," in which the key figures explain why everything fell apart at the end. A sampling: - "It changed dramatically on the morning of the 29th of February. There had been support on missions, then there was none." Hibatullah Alizai, former Afghan Army general.
- "The Doha agreement's psychological implication was so great that the average Afghan soldier felt this idea of abandonment. This meant their mind was now in survival mode and [susceptible] to accepting other offers and deals." Gen. Sami Sadat, former Afghan Army Corps commander.
- "[Zalmay] Khalilzad was talking to [the Taliban] without telling us what's going on, he was empowering them, he was promising them presidency. He lobbied for release of their prisoners, for cutting off all sanctions against Taliban, bombing of Taliban…" Former senior Afghan official.
- "[Trump] thought Afghanistan was not worth the level of investment or resources that it took. The President did not make that decision based on whether the Taliban complied or did not comply with their commitments. He just wanted to withdraw." Senior State Department official.
- "The Bagram departure was "unbelievable - it was a clear signal to all [Afghan] forces that they are alone, and no logistics support, salaries, or medicine will come from the international community. After they left our soldiers understood they were totally abandoned." Former senior Afghan official.
- "When the contractors left, "every aircraft that had battle damage or needed maintenance was grounded. In a matter of months, 60 percent of Blackhawks were grounded, with no alternative plan by the Afghan government or U.S. government to bring them back to life." Gen. Sami Sadat, former Afghan Army Corps commander.
- "Most of the fighting in last days leading to collapse was done by uprising groups. We asked both Ghani and U.S. to equip these forces because that was the only alternative to stand against Taliban. Both Ghani and our allies told us they could not provide assistance or weapons to the uprising forces. What really led to the collapse was security and uprising forces had no logistics to support them." Atta Noor, former governor of Balkh Province.
- "It was more of a political failure than a military failure. It was more of a political collapse that led to the army collapse. Nobody wanted to die for Ghani…die for people who were here to rob the country." Gen. Masoud Andarabi, former minister of interior.
- "It was really a crapshoot. Sometimes consular officers would be in general areas of the gate, but they were never up to where the actual processing was going on. My XO spent a lot of time wading into the crowd and looking at people's docs and if they passed his muster, this was a very young captain in the Marine Corps." Infantry officer, U.S. Marine Corps, on the evacuation from Kabul Airport.
- "The Taliban are going after former ANDSF on a daily basis. They search their homes and if they cannot find the individual they will go after their family members. They punish their family until the person they are looking for surrenders. They will arrest someone at their home and beat them all the way to the police station." Former Afghan military intelligence officer.
ALSO TODAY: NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg is in Finland, where he met this morning with President Sauli Niinisto, Prime Minister Sanna Marin, and Foreign Affairs Minister Pekka Haavisto. Stoltenberg is giving a speech at the SAMAK Nordic Summit in Helsinki and took some questions from reporters this morning as Finland awaits final approval from Turkey and Hungary for its bid to join NATO. Hungary says its parliament will begin considering the ratification for both Finland and Sweden in a few days, but Turkey has said it is not ready to approve Sweden's application over concerns it has not met conditions Turkey laid down last June. Stoltenberg met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan a few weeks ago and has set another meeting with Turkey and the two Nordic applicants for next week at NATO Headquarters to try to resolve the impasse, calling it a "top priority for NATO." "My message is that both Finland and Sweden have delivered on what they promised in the trilateral agreement they made with Turkey last June in Madrid, so the time is now to ratify and to fully welcome both Finland and Sweden as members," Stoltenberg said. TURKEY TO RESUME NATO NEGOTIATIONS WITH SWEDEN AND FINLAND NEXT MONTH CHINA COMMITTEE HOLD FIRST HEARING: The bipartisan Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party holds its first hearing tonight on "The Chinese Communist Party's Threat to America." The list of witnesses for the 7 p.m. prime time includes two former Trump administration China hawks, a Chinese human rights advocate, and an advocate of bringing manufacturing back to the United States from China, reported Washington Examiner Justice Department reporter Jerry Dunleavy. "We want to lead with a human rights focused, values-focused agenda," committee Chairman Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-WI) told reporters on a conference call. Gallagher has repeatedly emphasized his desire that the China select committee be bipartisan, including during an appearance on the CBS Sunday program Face the Nation with ranking member Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL). "Let me say how excited I am to work with ranking member Krishnamoorthi ... He is smart and clear-eyed when it comes to the threat posed by the Chinese Communist Party," Gallagher said. CHINA IN THE SPOTLIGHT: HOUSE TO HEAR IN PRIME TIME ABOUT 'COMMUNIST PARTY'S THREAT TO AMERICA' CHINA WAR WOULD HIT US HERE: A war with China would be the first since World War II in which U.S. territory would likely come under direct enemy attack, according to the Army's civilian leader. The prediction from Army Secretary Christine Wormuth came at an American Enterprise Institute event yesterday, reported Washington Examiner foreign affairs reporter Joel Gehrke. "If we got into a major war with China, the United States homeland would be at risk as well with both kinetic attacks and non-kinetic attacks — whether it's cyberattacks on the power grid or on pipelines," Wormuth said. "They are going to go after the will of the United States public. They're going to try to erode support for a conflict." READ MORE: CHINA WILL TARGET THE US HOMELAND IN WAR OVER TAIWAN, ARMY LEADER PREDICTS GRAHAM'S FRUSTRATION OVER F-16s BOILS OVER: Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), back from a recent trip to Ukraine, said he is tired of hearing excuses from the Biden administration about why Ukraine should not receive advanced weapons such as F-16 fighter jets. "It has been like pulling teeth with this Administration to get every weapons system requested by Ukraine to the battlefield. There is massive bipartisan support to provide Ukraine the fighter jets and start training them right now," Graham said in a statement released last night. "At every turn, DOD makes excuses as to why Ukraine should not receive advanced weapons systems and why every decision could lead to World War III. I'm tired of hearing the American military leaders say what the Ukrainians can't do. Instead, their advice should be what tools and training can we provide to help them be successful in winning the war, expelling Russia from their territory, and ending the bloodshed." "Ultimately, the responsibility of this decision falls on President Biden. He has the power to provide the jets and he chose not to do the right thing. Denying one of the top requests of the Ukrainian military, F-16s and other NATO fighter aircraft, will only prolong the war and lead to even more death and destruction," Graham lamented. UKRAINIAN COMMANDER RE-UPS ASK FOR F-16 AIRCRAFT IN TALK WITH TOP US GENERAL The Rundown Washington Examiner: China will target the US homeland in war over Taiwan, Army leader predicts Washington Examiner: Biden gives agencies 30 days to ban Chinese-owned app TikTok Washington Examiner: Biden and Xi relationship could be further strained by lab leak report Washington Examiner: Kremlin brushes off China's peace proposal for Ukraine Washington Examiner: Putin still confident Russia can 'wear down Ukraine' and its Western allies Washington Examiner: Ukrainian commander re-ups ask for F-16 aircraft in talk with top US general Washington Examiner: Afghanistan's government fell because of these six blunders, watchdog says Washington Examiner: 'Likely unavoidable' some US military aid to Ukraine ends up in wrong hands, watchdog says Washington Examiner: CIA's judgment is Xi has 'doubts' about success of possible Taiwan invasion Washington Examiner: UN chief describes 'most massive' human rights violations in Ukraine Washington Examiner: Turkey to resume NATO negotiations with Sweden and Finland next month Washington Examiner: Electromagnetic pulse expert warns EMP is biggest danger to America Washington Examiner: Opinion: New York business gala rolls out red carpet for Communist China AP: Ukraine's northeastern front could decide new battle lines New York Times: Russia's New Offensive Sends Conscripts Into the Teeth of Ukraine's Lines Reuters: Kremlin Says It Is Concerned By Situation In Breakaway Moldovan Region Politico: Germany Disputes Biden Adviser's Account on Abrams Tanks Stars and Stripes: U.S. And Allies Hold Naval Drills As Russian Activity Increases In Mediterranean 19fortyfive.com: New Footage Shows Ukraine Using Suicide Drones to Kill Russian Armor Washington Post: Taiwan Needs More Top Guns As Chance Of Conflict With China Grows NBC News: China Accuses U.S. Of 'Disinformation' Over Warnings It's Considering Sending Artillery And Ammo To Russia CNN: U.S. Navy Reconnaissance Flight Over Taiwan Strait Draws Angry Response From China Aviation Work: Taliban Trying to Grow Nascent Air Force, Repair Aircraft Left Behind New York Times: U.S. Commandos Advise Elite Somali Fighters USNI News: SECNAV Del Toro Says Changes To Immigration Law, Policy Could Help With Shipyard Workforce Shortage Air & Space Forces Magazine: 'Adverse Actions' to Be Erased for Some Troops Who Sought Exemptions to COVID Vaccines Military.com: Marine Corps Axes Elite Scout Sniper Platoons Air & Space Forces Magazine: US Hopes to Salvage New START, Says Arms Control Official Air & Space Forces Magazine: Air Force's Task Force 99 Conducts First Successful Drone Tests USNI News: Marines To Test Prototype Landing Ship To Support New Force Design 19fortyfive.com: Stealth Bomber Redux: Not Just an Airplane, the New B-21 Raider Is a System of Systems Space News: Air Force Navigation Satellite to Launch on Vulcan's First National Security Mission Washington Post: Grieving Families Trusted an Army Financial Adviser. They Lost Fortunes. CNN: Navy Renames Warship After Black Sailor, Statesman Calendar TUESDAY | FEBRUARY 28 8 a.m. 2401 M St., NW — George Washington University Project for Media and National Security Defense Writers Group conversation with John Sopko, special inspector general for Afghanistan reconstruction. Contact: Thom Shanker at tshanker@email.gwu.edu 8 a.m. 2941 Fairview Park Dr., Falls Church, Va. — Billington CyberSecurity discussion: "Executing DOD's Cybersecurity Mission," with Air Force CIO Lauren Knausenberger; Army Col. Candice Frost, commander of the U.S. Cyber Command's Joint Intelligence Operations Center; Principal Deputy Navy CIO Jane Rathbun; Kelly Dupont, director of Defense Department - U.S. Navy at Amazon Web Services; John Sahlin, GDIT director of cyber solutions; and Matt Hayden, GDIT vice president for cyber threat engagement https://www.eventbrite.com/e/billington-breakfast-dialogue 9 a.m. 37th and O Sts. NW — Georgetown University's Center for Security Studies conference: "The All-Volunteer Force at 50: Civil-Military Challenges and Opportunities," with Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks https://georgetown.zoom.us/webinar/register 9 a.m. — Counter Extremism Project and Konrad Adenauer Foundation webinar: "The Taliban's Takeover In Afghanistan – Effects On Global Terrorism," with Hessam Habibi Doroh, researcher and lecturer at the University of Applied Sciences, FH Campus Wien in Vienna; Gerhard Conrad, CEP Advisory Board member and intelligence adviser to the Munich Security Conference; Ellinor Zeino, country director of Konrad Adenauer Foundation in Kabul; and Hans-Jakob Schindler, senior director, Counter Extremism Project https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register 10 a.m. 2118 Rayburn — House Armed Services Committee hearing: "Oversight of U.S. Military Support to Ukraine," with testimony from Colin Kahl, undersecretary of defense for policy; Robert Storch, Department of Defense inspector general; and Lt. Gen. Douglas Sims, Joint Staff operations director https://armedservices.house.gov/hearings 10 a.m. G-50 Dirksen — Senate Veterans' Affairs and House Veterans' Affairs Committees joint hearing on "Legislative Presentation of Disabled American Veterans," with testimony from Joseph Parsetich, national commander of Disabled American Veterans; J. Marc Burgess, national adjutant; Barry Jesinoski, executive director, DAV national headquarters; Edward Reese, executive director, DAV Washington headquarters; Jim Marszalek, DAV national service director; Joy Ilem, DAV national legislative director; John Kleindienst, national director of voluntary service; Ryan Burgos, DAV, national employment director; and Darlene Spence, DAV auxiliary national commander https://www.veterans.senate.gov/2023/2/legislative-presentation-of-disabled-american-veterans 10 a.m. HVC-210 U.S. Capitol — House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing: "Combatting the Generational Challenge of Chinese Communist Party Aggression," with Daniel Kritenbrink, assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs; Michael Schiffer, assistant administrator of the Bureau for Asia, U.S. Agency for International Development; Scott Nathan, CEO, U.S. International Development Finance Corporation; and Alan Estevez, undersecretary of commerce for industry and security, Department of Commerce https://foreignaffairs.house.gov/press-release/chairman 10 a.m. 210 Cannon — House Select Intelligence Committee hearing: "Think Tank Leaders," with testimony from Richard Haass, president of the Council on Foreign Relations; Frederick Kempe, president and CEO of the Atlantic Council; Jason Matheny, president and CEO of the RAND Corporation; John Walters, president and CEO of the Hudson Institute; and Amy Zegart, senior fellow at the Hoover Institution and professor of political science at Stanford University http://intelligence.house.gov 10:30 a.m. 2358-A Rayburn — House Appropriations Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Subcommittee hearing: "Quality of Life in the Military," with testimony from Army Sgt. Maj. Michael Grinston; Navy Master Chief Petty Officer James Honea; Marine Corps Sgt. Maj. Troy Black; Air Force Chief Master Sgt. Joanne S. Bass; and Space Force Chief Master Sgt. Roger Towberman http://appropriations.house.gov 2 p.m. H-140 U.S. Capitol — House Appropriations Defense Subcommittee hearing: "Ukraine Oversight," with testimony from Lt. Gen. Douglas Sims, Joint Staff director of operations; and Celeste Wallander, assistant defense secretary for international security affairs http://appropriations.house.gov 2 p.m. 2118 Rayburn — House Armed Services Military Personnel Subcommittee hearing: "COVID-19's Impact on DoD and its Servicemembers," with testimony from Gilbert Cisneros, undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness; Gabe Camarillo, undersecretary of the Army; Erik Raven, undersecretary of the Navy; and Gina Ortiz Jones, undersecretary of the Air Force https://armedservices.house.gov/hearings/covid 2:30 p.m. 2212 Rayburn — House Armed Services Readiness Subcommittee hearing: "Energy, Installations, and Environment Program Update," with testimony from Brenden Owens, assistant secretary of defense for energy, installations, and environment; Meredith Berger, assistant secretary of the Navy, energy, installations, and environment, Rachel Jacobson, assistant secretary of the Army, installations, energy and environment; and Edwin Oshiba, acting assistant secretary of the Air Force, energy, installations and environment https://armedservices.house.gov/hearings/rdy-hearing-energy 4:30 p.m. — Center for a New American Security virtual book discussion: Four Battlegrounds: Power in the Age of Artificial Intelligence, with author Paul Scharre, vice president and director of studies at CNAS; former Deputy Defense Secretary Bob Work, senior counselor for defense at CNAS; and Jeanne Whalen, global business reporter at the Washington Post https://www.cnas.org/events/virtual-book-launch-four-battlegrounds WEDNESDAY | MARCH 1 8 a.m. 37th and O Sts. NW — Georgetown University's Center for Security Studies conference: "The All-Volunteer Force at 50: Civil-Military Challenges and Opportunities." with Senate Armed Services Chairman Jack Reed, D-R.I., https://georgetown.zoom.us/webinar/register 8:30 a.m. — Henry Stimson Center virtual discussion: "Rethinking Accountability in the US Security Sector," with Rep. Jason Crow (D-CO); Hina Shamsi, director of the American Civil Liberties Union's National Security Project; and Annie Shiel, U.S. advocacy director at the Center for Civilians in Conflict https://www.stimson.org/event/rethinking-accountability 9:30 a.m. — Center for Strategic and International Studies virtual Smart Women, Smart Power virtual conversation: "Military Deterrence in an Era of Strategic Competition," with Army Secretary Christine Wormuth; and Kathleen McInnis, director, Smart Women, Smart Power Initiative https://www.csis.org/events/military-deterrence-era-strategic-competition 10 a.m. 2359 Rayburn — House Appropriations State, Foreign Operations and Related Programs Subcommittee: "Oversight Hearing - United Nations," with testimony from U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield http://appropriations.house.gov 10 a.m. 2301 Constitution Ave. NW — U.S. Institute of Peace discussion: "One Year Later: Russia's War Against Ukraine," with former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie "Masha" Yovanovitch, senior adviser at the USIP Russia and Europe Center; Mary Glantz, senior adviser at the USIP Russia and Europe Center and former State Department fellow focused on Russia and the former Soviet Union; and Maria Snegovaya, senior fellow for Russia and Eurasia at the Center for Strategic and International Studies https://www.usip.org/events/one-year-later-russias-war-against-ukraine 10:30 a.m. — Center for Strategic and International Studies press briefing: "Previewing China's 14th National People's Congress," with CSIS experts Jude Blanchette, Freeman chair in China studies; Scott Kennedy, senior adviser and trustee chair in Chinese business and economics; and Ilaria Mazzocco, senior fellow, trustee chair in Chinese business and economics https://www.csis.org/events/press-briefing 11 a.m. — Atlantic Council virtual discussion: "Aggressor on the UN Security Council: What does it mean for the world?" with Maksym Baryshnikov, co-founder of the Civic Hub Initiative; Thomas Grant, senior fellow at the University of Cambridge Center for International Law; Iouri Loutsenko, director of international affairs at Civic Hub; Geoffrey Nice, former prosecutor at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia; Lesia Vasylenko, member of the Ukrainian Parliament; and Oleksii Zhmerenetskyi, member of the Ukrainian Parliament https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/event/aggressor-on-the-un-security-council 2 p.m. — Government Executive Media Group virtual discussion: "What's Next for Combat Aircraft in 2023?" with Douglas Royce, senior aerospace analyst at Forecast International; Shaun McDougall, senior North America analyst at Forecast International; and Daniela Fayer, publisher at Government Executive's Defense Group https://events.govexec.com/whats-next-for-combat-aircraft-in-2023/registration/ 4:30 p.m. 2121 K St. NW — International Institute for Strategic Studies discussion: "US-China tensions: New implications for the Indo-Pacific," with James Crabtree, executive director of IISS-Asia; and Paul Fraioli, editor of IISS' "Strategic Comments" https://www.iiss.org/events/2023/03/us-china-tensions THURSDAY | MARCH 2 5:30 a.m. — Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies virtual discussion: "Democracy in 2023: The Battle for Ukraine and Other Challenges," with Joan Hoey, editor of the Economist Intelligence Unit's Democracy Index https://sais.jhu.edu/campus-events 9 a.m. 1201 Pennsylvania Ave. NW — Hudson Institute discussion: "A Test of Will: Why Taiwan Matters," with Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-AK) https://www.hudson.org/events/test-will-why-taiwan-matters 10 a.m. — Hudson Institute event: "Building a More Resilient Indo-Pacific Security Architecture," with Ely Ratner, assistant secretary of defense for Indo-Pacific security affairs; Lindsey Ford, deputy assistant secretary of defense for South and Southeast Asia; Patrick Cronin, Asia-Pacific security chair, Hudson Institute; and Rebeccah Heinrichs, senior fellow and director, Keystone Defense Initiative https://www.eventbrite.com/e/building-a-more-resilient-indo-pacific 11 a.m. — Government Executive Media Group discussion: "State of the Army," as part of the State of Defense series https://d1stateofdefense.com/ 11 a.m. — Center for a New American Security virtual discussion: "Russian Political Stability: Assessing How the Kremlin's War in Ukraine is Affecting Putin's Hold on Power," with Timothy Frye, professor of post-Soviet politics at Columbia University; Marlene Laruelle, director of George Washington University's Institute for European, Russian and Eurasian Studies; Brian Taylor, director of Syracuse University's Institute of Global Affairs; Daniel Treisman, professor at the University of California at Los Angeles; and Andrea Kendall-Taylor, director of the CNAS Transatlantic Security Program https://www.cnas.org/events/virtual-event-russian-political-stability 11 a.m. — National Press Club's Press Freedom Committee and Journalism Institute virtual discussion: "Living Under Threat: Ukraine, Russian journalists share struggles of wartime reporting," with Elizaveta Kirpanova, former reporter at Novaya Gazeta; Olga Rudenko, editor in chief of the Kyiv Independent; Anastasia Tishchenko, human rights reporter at Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty's Radio Svoboda; and Jessica Jerreat, editor of Voice of America's Press Freedom https://www.press.org/events/living-under-threat 12 p.m. —New America virtual discussion: "The Invasion of Iraq - Twenty Years On," with former U.S. Special Envoy for Syria Joel Rayburn, author of the U.S. Army in the Iraq War; Simona Foltyn, special correspondent at PBS NewsHour; and Abdulrazzaq Al Saiedi, technical expert on Iraq at Physicians for Human Rights https://www.newamerica.org/international-security/events 1 p.m. — Defense One and Babel Street virtual discussion: "Information and Insider Intelligence: Understanding and Responding to Global Chinese Influence," with retired Army Lt. Gen. Robert Ashley, former director of the Defense Intelligence Agency; Mark Quantock, executive vice president of strategic accounts at Babel Street; and McDaniel Wicker, vice president of strategy at Babel Street https://events.govexec.com/babel-street-information-and-insider-intelligence/ 2 p.m. 2720 34th St. NW — Atlantic Council conference: "Looking north: Security in the Arctic," with Norwegian Ambassador to the U.S. Anniken Ramberg Krutnes; and former Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Defense Ine Eriksen Soreide https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/event/2023-looking-north 4 p.m. 1521 16th St. NW — Institute of World Politics lecture: "No Limits Partnership: The China-Russia Information Nexus," with Bret Schafer, senior fellow at the Alliance for Securing Democracy https://www.iwp.edu/events/no-limits-partnership FRIDAY | MARCH 3 11 a.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave. NW — Center for Strategic and International Studies discussion: "Pressing Challenges to U.S. Army Acquisition," with Douglas Bush, assistant Army secretary for acquisition, logistics, and technology https://www.csis.org/events/pressing-challenges-us-army-acquisition 12 p.m. — Cato Institute virtual book discussion: "Unreliable Watchdog: The News Media and U.S. Foreign Policy," with author Ted Galen Carpenter, senior fellow at Cato; George Beebe, director of grand strategy at the Quincy Institute; and Justin Logan, director of defense and foreign policy studies at Cato https://www.cato.org/events/unreliable-watchdog 1 p.m. — Center for a New American Security virtual discussion: "Army modernization," with Gen. James Rainey, commander of Army Futures Command; and Douglas Bush, assistant Army secretary for acquisition, logistics, and technology https://www.cnas.org/events/virtual-fireside-chat WEDNESDAY | MARCH 8 10 a.m. 216 Hart — Senate Select Committee on Intelligence annual hearing: "Worldwide Threats," with testimony from heads of U.S. intelligence agencies, including Avril Haines, director of national intelligence; William Burns, director, Central Intelligence Agency; Christopher Wray, director, Federal Bureau of Investigation; Gen. Paul Nakasone, director, National Security Agency; and Lt. Gen. Scott Berrier, director, Defense Intelligence Agency https://www.intelligence.senate.gov/hearings | | | "The lack of political clarity on ends, ways, and means meant we were always wondering if we were still going to be here next year. Were we going to be funded next year? We weren't sure whether to attack, retreat or go sideways."
| Retired Gen. James Mattis, former CENTCOM commander and secretary of defense, in an interview about the collapse of the Afghan forces with the office of the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction.
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