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Raimundas Karoblis, Lithuania’s defense minster, said he is reassured by the deployment of NATO troops to his country and the Baltics, but would prefer an allied brigade “in each member state” to better deter Russia during a wide-ranging interview with Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian. Karoblis also said Russia constitutes a wide-ranging conventional threat to the alliance and discusses Lithuania’s defense priorities, acquisition programs, conscription and cooperation with its neighbors. The discussion was taped in Washington on June 8, 2017, one day before President Donald Trump reasserted the US commitment to NATO’s Article V mutual defense clause.

Lt. Gen. Esa Pulkkinen, Finnish Army, director general of the European Union Military Staff, discusses the potential impact of losing British officers from his staff in the wake of Brexit, EU security priorities, coordination with NATO and the United States, better planning and lessons from ongoing operations in Africa with Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian. The interview was conducted during the European Union’s 6th annual Common Security and Defence Policy symposium — co-hosted with the Center for Strategic and International Studies — at the United States Institute of Peace in Washington on June 6, 2017.

Heather Roff, research scientist at Arizona State University’s Global Security Initiative and senior fellow at Oxford University, discusses results from a recent global public opinion poll on autonomous weapons, as well as military and police uses of artificial intelligence, or AI, with Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian. The interview was conducted during the European Union’s 6th annual Common Security and Defence Policy symposium — co-hosted with the Center for Strategic and International Studies — at the United States Institute of Peace in Washington on June 6, 2017.

Margus Tsahkna, Estonia’s defense minister, discusses the role of NATO and deterring Russia, the alliance’s Article V mutual defense clause, spending priorities, cybersecurity and fighting disinformation with Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian. The interview was conducted during the European Union’s 6th annual Common Security and Defence Policy symposium — co-hosted with the Center for Strategic and International Studies — at the United States Institute of Peace in Washington on June 6, 2017.

J. Matthew McInnis, resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and author of the new monograph, “The Future of Iran’s Security Policy,” discusses the logic behind Iran’s security policy, Iranian politics, the country’s recent presidential election, the nuclear deal and more with Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian. The interview was conducted on June 1, 2017, at AEI’s Washington headquarters.

Adm. Mike Mullen, USN Ret., former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, discusses the importance of international partnerships to US national security, President Donald Trump and NATO’s Article V, deterring and engaging Russia, why human rights matter to American strategy and more during an interview with Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian. The interview was conducted at the Center for Strategic and International Studies after its “Twenty-First Century Partnerships” conference on May 31, 2017 in Washington.

Vice Adm. Thomas Moore, USN, commander of Naval Sea Systems Command, discusses the Navy’s May 31, 2017, acceptance of the new, nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Gerald R. Ford from builder Huntington Ingalls Industries after successful sea trials, what’s next for the ship as it undergoes the process of being commissioned into the fleet, his maintenance budget and priorities for 2018, the program to develop a new frigate, and the Columbia-class ballistic-missile submarine program’s schedule. The interview was conducted at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington after Moore spoke at “The Navy’s Maintenance Challenge: Resetting the Fleet.”

Thomas Karako, PhD, director of the Missile Defense Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, discusses the successful May 29 US missile defense test, North Korea’s missile capabilities and future American missile defense architecture with Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian. The interview was conducted on June 1, 2017, at the think tank’s Washington headquarters.