Defense
Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) highlighted legislation requiring President Obama to issue a detailed report on automatic budget cuts as part of the Budget Control Act of 2011. – The Hill’s Floor Action Blog
Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Republicans on the Armed Services Committee have decided their amendment that tells the Defense Department to provide details on the impact of $500 billion in automatic cuts to defense cannot wait for the Defense authorization bill to pass. – The Hill’s Floor Action Blog
U.S. Sen. Carl Levin, Democratic chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, outlined some of the disagreements he expects to see when the House and Senate meet to settle differences in the defense authorization bill later this year. – Defense News
A key GOP senator’s party-bucking support of tax increases to stave off further national defense budget cuts is being met with a lukewarm response on both sides of Pennsylvania Avenue. – DOTMIL
As U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has traveled around the Asia-Pacific over the last week, defense leaders in the region have made it clear they want more access to U.S. technology and equipment. – Defense News
Lockheed Martin received a $19.2 million contract from the Air Force on Tuesday to retrofit 40 F-22 fighters with an automatic backup oxygen system, addressing a problem that has vexed the Air Force and had temporarily grounded the F-22 fleet. – DEFCON Hill
The Navy accepted delivery of the littoral combat ship USS Fort Worth on Wednesday, and praised contractor Lockheed Martin for the high quality of its second LCS. – DoD Buzz
A superstealthy warship that could underpin the U.S. Navy’s China strategy will be able to sneak up on coastlines virtually undetected and pound targets with electromagnetic “rail guns” right out of a sci-fi movie. – Associated Press
Rep. Buck McKeon (R-CA) writes: It’s time President Obama and his chief ally in the Senate Harry Reid step forward and offer a solution to sequestration instead of issuing veto threats or simply shrugging it off as a “tough pill to swallow.” Our plans to fix this problem will differ, but it is time we put those plans on the table and get to work on solution. – Investor’s Business Daily
The War
John Nagl writes: Like any successful counterinsurgency, Afghanistan is likely to end somewhat unsatisfyingly for Americans, with a corrupt but gradually improving government in Kabul, advisers helping Afghan security forces fight a weakening but still dangerous Taliban, and a schizophrenic Pakistan alternately helping Afghan and Taliban fighters. It may also, in the odd logic of counterinsurgency, be more likely to succeed if we leave the project somewhat unfinished – New York Times
The killing of Abu Yahya al Libi, the latest blow to Al Qaeda’s leadership, is likely to result in a continuation of the decentralization that U.S. officials and experts have already witnessed. – LA Times’ World Now
In the wake of a U.S. drone strike that killed al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri’s right-hand man, terrorism experts say only another brazen commando raid on Pakistani soil would be needed to nab the group’s elusive commander. – DOTMIL
The Obama administration in summer 2009 became concerned the Pakistani Taliban might have taken possession of a nuclear weapon and so deployed an expert unit to South Asia to search for and if necessary disarm the bomb, according to a new book by a New York Times reporter – Global Security Newswire
Cybersecurity
Americans are divided about what role, if any, Washington should play in setting and enforcing cybersecurity standards for companies that provide critical services such as electricity and banking, according to a new Washington Post poll. – Washington Post
Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta has approved a new organizational framework, a plan designed as a “first step” towards standardized cyber operations, according to documents obtained by Defense News. – Defense News
Missile Defense
Ivo Daalder writes: A few years ago, not many would have thought that NATO would embrace territorial missile defense as a core task. In Lisbon, the alliance took this decision; in Chicago, the decision became real. By the end of this decade, NATO will have an operational system that offers protection of all of NATO Europe against the threat of ballistic missile attack from outside of Europe. – International Herald Tribune
