A nation where leaders and a large chunk of the population either can’t tell fact from fiction — or deliberately won’t — can be exploited, whether internally by opportunists or externally by adversaries. This was the weakness Russia manipulated to tip the 2016 election in Trump’s favor with a disinformation campaign that cost about $100 million, the price of a single F-35 stealth fighter.
The recent deadly skirmish between China and India in a disputed border area has fueled a necessary debate over how best to respond to an increasingly belligerent Beijing. As the only pressure that moves Beijing is when the world unites against it, it’s imperative the international community quickly organize to compel Chinese leaders to change course before they do something we all will regret.
Emily Lau, the former chairperson and current chair of the foreign affairs committee of Hong Kong’s Democratic Party, discusses Hong Kong’s drive for democracy, how the world can support protesters and standing up to China with Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian at the 2019 Halifax International Security Forum in Nova Scotia, Canada. Our coverage was sponsored by Boeing and Leonardo DRS.
Michael Chertoff, the former secretary of homeland security who is now the executive chairman of the Chertoff Group consultancy and co-chair of the Transatlantic Commission on Election Integrity discusses how to counter Russian disinformation and election meddling against the United States and its allies with Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian. The interview was conducted at the Center for Strategic and International Studies after Chertof adressed a conference marking the launch of a new report, “Russia’s Attacks on Democratic Justice Systems,” by Suzanne Spaulding, Devi Nair and Arthur Nelson. Chertoff and former NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen — the co-founders of the transatlantic election integrity commission — drafted a commentary that was posted on CNN’s website on April 30, 2019, asking candidates to pledge that they won’t accept help from malign foreign powers.
Andrei Sannikov, chairman of the European Belarus Foundation, discusses Russia’s interference in the country’s affairs, countering Moscow and the role of the West in promoting freedom in former Soviet republics with Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian. The interview was conducted after a luncheon discussion on Capitol Hill sponsored by the Free Russia Foundation.
Jim Townsend, the deputy assistant secretary of defense for European and NATO policy during the Obama administration who is now an adjunct senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security, discusses the European Union, NATO and transatlantic relations with Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian.
Gen. David Goldfein, USAF, chief of staff of the US Air Force, discusses President Trump’s proposed $54 billion defense spending increase, need for a bigger force and retaining pilots, ISIS options, top modernization priority and a case for repealing the budget control act with Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian. The interview was conducted at the Air Force Association’s annual air warfare symposium in Orlando, Florida. The Defense & Aerospace Report’s coverage of the symposium was sponsored by DRS Technologies.
James Appathurai, NATO Deputy Assistant Secretary General for Political Affairs and Security Policy, and NATO Special Representative to the Caucasus and Central Asia, discusses US President-elect Donald Trump, Russia, defense spending, the EU and more to Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian during the 2016 Halifax International Security Forum.
Slawomir Debski discusses the election of Donald Trump as US president and how Poland is reacting during a Nov. 19 interview with Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian at the 2016 Halifax International Security Forum in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
Arnold Punaro, retired US Marine Corps major general and veteran Senate Armed Services Committee staffer who is the president and CEO of The Punaro Group, discusses bipartisanship after the election of Donald Trump with Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian.