Thread by @jseldin

Happening now: @USArmy Gen Christopher Cavoli - nominated to serve as commander of @US_EUCOM and as Supreme Allied Commander-#Europe - testifies before the Senate Armed Services Committee

"In #Europe, the core security challenge is #Russia" per Gen Cavoli

"Russia's unprovoked invasion of #Ukraine ushers in a new era in European security...It will be up to us all to reestablish an enduring stability"

"But #Russia is not our only challenge. #China's growing influence is also of huge concern" per Gen Cavoli "As are terrorism, migration, #cybersecurity, & #climatechange"

"We cannot be a one-problem alliance"

"Inside @NATO, our special role is to be a model & an exemplar" per Gen Cavoli

Managing future investment in NATO always "a devilish thing to do" he adds, noting if confirmed he will play a role in the coordination w/other allies

#Russia and #cyber - "We're correct to be waiting for the other sho to drop" per Gen Cavoli

"There is capability and capacity that could be used, and we are being very vigilant about that"

More on US-Russia-cyber here:
voanews.com/a/sanctions-fr…

"This has weighed pretty heavily on our minds" Gen Cavoli tells SASC ranking member @JimInhofe regarding #grain shortages due to #Russia war in #Ukraine

Shortages "are being felt on the African continent. They were felt very quickly"

"In many cases, these are countries [in #Africa] that don't need an additional challenge" per Gen Cavoli "Those additional challenges, we wil have to help them with at some point"

"This will largely be a European concern..."

re #Russia-#Ukraine and grain shortages

"We think there are about 22 million tons of grain in #Ukraine backed-up, waiting to be pulled out" per Gen Cavoli

"#Russia|n influence in the #Balkans is real" per Gen Cavoli "It is something we must think about constantly"

Efforts like #EUFOR in #BiH & KFOR in #Kosovo important to"our ability to monitor & to control the situations there" he says, advocating for renewal of EUFOR

"I look forward to the accession of #Finland & #Sweden to the [@NATO] alliance" per Gen Cavoli

"Each of those militaries brings quite a bit of capability & capacity to the alliance fro day one"

Adding #Sweden #Finland coastline to @NATO - "It provides a bunch of different dilemmas, almost geometric dilemmas that #Russia does not have right now as they sail forth from #StPetersburg & #Kaliningrad" per Gen Cavoli

When does a #cyber attack trigger @NATO's Article 5?

"This of course is a very active debate inside the alliance" per Gen Cavoli "It's an active debate I think for most countries...it has not come to a conclusion"

"One complicating things that we've seen in the recent past is the activity of non-state #cyber actors" per Gen Cavoli

"Attribution is going to continue to be one of the most important parts of any cyber policy"

#Russia-#Ukraine-@NATO: "The danger of a mistake or a miscalculation looms very high in our consciousness" per Gen Cavoli "It's a delicate balance"

"One must not shy away from activity that we need to do to stay strong...but it's also necessary not to overdo it"

"We want #Ukraine to emerge from this conflict independent & free" per Gen Cavoli "We want the @NATO alliance to be unified & as strong as ever"

"And we want to do these things without engaging in a war w/#Russia"