Secret’s Out: “The ultimate winner of two decades of war in Afghanistan is likely China.”
“It’s not just a Humvee. It’s not just a vehicle that gets you from point A to point B. It’s a Humvee that’s full of radios, technologies, crypto systems, things we don’t want our adversaries getting a hold of,”
Gear that has been “demilitarized” or “rendered inoperable,” as U.S. officials described the planes and vehicles left behind, can still reveal secrets, Shea said.
“In some cases, this equipment was fielded with the assumption we would have gates and guards to protect it. When it was developed, no one thought the Chinese would have it in their cyber lab, dissecting it, pulling it apart.”

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More from @DefenseBaron

9 Sep
Former President Trump gives his (incorrect, oversimplified, whitewashed, racist) version of military and American history:
General Stan McChrystal had thoughts about Robert E. Lee: I Threw Away My Robert E. Lee Painting
theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/…
For more on the actual history: Ty Seidule, a retired Army brigadier general, talks about the Confederacy, and inclusive changes throughout the recent history of the U.S. military.

defenseone.com/ideas/2021/05/…
Read 5 tweets
8 Sep
Fantasy football geeks of the world are melting down because @CBSFantasy crashed right as everyone's drafts were starting. Not me, I'm cool just waiting...
Update: Everyone trying to reload their draft rooms...
Read 4 tweets
12 May
Biden still has not explained how the US will provide "over-the-horizon" counterterrorsim watch for Afghanistan, HASC's Ranking GOPer Rogers says.
"There's no agreement in place with any of Afghanistan's neighbors to host US forces."

We are one month past Biden's announcement.
CENTCOM's Gen. McKenzie said he was giving recommendations to SecDef Austin by end of last month. Austin also said so, publicly. So far... crickets from across the river.
Rogers to Brig. Gen. Trollinger, J-5 (Joint Staff's
Deputy Director for Politico-Military Affairs): "Over-the-horizon capabilities... I don't know what that means. I want specificity about basing in the region."
Read 4 tweets
16 Apr
JUST IN: Michele Flournoy reacts to Biden's #Afghanistan withdrawal with trepidation: "This is an unsatisfying and sad conclusion to a 20 year effort." /1
"I think this was a very tough decision for President Biden, frankly, with risks every where he turned..." ... I totally understand and support the notion that the US involvement in this war does have to end at some point, but...
Flournoy: "We are in a position where our forces are like the boy with the finger in the dyke and when we remove that finger the flood is going to come..."
Read 7 tweets
15 Apr
One day after Biden't Afghanistan announcement, and as Russia builds-up in Ukraine, NATO Supreme Allied Commander Europe Gen. Tod Wolter, USAF, is testifying in the House here, along w DASD Laura Cooper.
Chairman @RepAdamSmith says he first focused on how DOD is transitioning to "the world of warfare as it exists now... command & control, information, and technology," and EUCOM is key because of Russia. "We are not ideally suited right now to protect those systems."
"There's a lot we can learn from what the Russians are up to... we need to really get in that game." - @RepAdamSmith
Read 7 tweets
14 Apr
JUST IN: "We did that. We accomplished our objective" Biden says of Afghanistan, including finding Osama bin Laden. "Since then, our reasons for remaining in Afghanistan have become increasingly unclear."
Biden: "I'm the fourth president" of this war. "I will not pass this responsibility on to a fifth... I concluded that it's time to end America's longest war. It's time for America's troops to come home.'"
"We will hold the Taliban accountable" to not let any terrorist group threaten the United States from Afghan soil, Biden says.
Read 5 tweets

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