On this week’s Defense & Aerospace Report Washington Roundtable, sponsored by L3Harris, Dr. Patrick Cronin of the Hudson Institute think tank, Michael Herson of American Defense International, former DoD Europe chief Jim Townsend of the Center for a New American Security, and former Pentagon Comptroller Dr. Dov Zakheim of the Center for Strategic and International Studies join Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian to discuss efforts by congressional staffers on the National Defense Authorization Act, appropriations and reconciliation that lawmakers will have to address after the November election as the Trump administration doubles down on its demand for a $350 billion reconciliation measure for the Pentagon; global outrage after President Trump’s alignment with Vladimir Putin to hobble Ukraine to advantage Russia in exchange for 2 million barrels of diesel to mitigate his electoral losses; NATO Supreme Allied Commander Gen. Alex Grynkewich warning to Russia that any attack on the alliance would be utterly futile given its forces were ready to block, blunt and destroy a Russian attack; Iran’s attacks on Strait of Hormuz shipping including the sinking of a Singaporean-flagged cargo ship; Tehran-backed Houthi rebels strike Saudi Arabia and the Yemeni presidential complex in Sanaa; Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s call on Trump to attack Iran before November elections as former Israeli security chief Ronan Barr files “blood libel” suit against his former boss for blaming the Oct 7 attack on intelligence services; escalating settler violence on the West Bank; Beijing’s latest verbal assault on Japan, the Philippines, and Taiwan; the US Army’s third Indo-Pacific multi-domain task force; Asia braces for a possible post-midterm political shift in Washington; and growing prospects for a meeting between Trump and North Korea’s Kim Jong Un.
