In a speech on Monday, Joe Biden stressed the need for “modernizing” US defense capabilities in the face of threats from China and Russia. Biden also addressed the recently discovered hack of the software company SolarWinds that affected several government agencies.
Biden said he spoke with a member of his transition team about the “different strategic challenges we’re gonna face from both Russia and China and the reforms we must make to put ourselves in the strongest possible position to meet those challenges.” He said those reforms include “modernizing our defense priorities to better deter aggression in the future.”
“We have to be able to innovate, to reimagine our defenses against growing threats in new realms like cyberspace,” Biden said. “We’re still learning about the extent of the SolarWinds hack and the vulnerabilities that have been exposed. As I said last week, this attack constitutes a grave risk to our national security.”
In comments last week, Biden slammed President Trump for not prioritizing cybersecurity and, like many have, blamed Russia for the SolarWinds hack, despite a lack of evidence that Moscow was involved. The former vice president has also vowed retaliation for the SolarWinds hack, and Biden’s chief of staff said the incoming administration’s response would be more than “just sanctions.”
Sources close to the transition team told Reuters that responses being mulled by the administration are financial penalties and hacks on Russia’s infrastructure. In recent years, the US has stepped up offensive operations in the cyber realm.
After the November presidential election, Cyber Command Chief Gen. Paul Nakasone said the US took action against “adversaries” to prevent election interference. In September, FBI Director Christopher Wray told a Senate hearing that the FBI has been feeding intelligence to the Pentagon and other intelligence agencies to carry out offensive cyber operations.
In July, sources told Yahoo News that President Trump gave the CIA new authorities in 2018 that allowed the agency to increase cyber attacks. The report said the CIA used the new powers to carry out operations against Iran and other so-called “adversary” nations.
Well we won’t have to hope things get better on the Russian and China front. Amerika neo-conns still rule in dc.
Quack Quack https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/e696f81fcb751c4b60e0d7f9387e5db6092841e2136d631c25219287b90abe80.jpg
Time for an update.
As Tom Woods stated: “no matter who you vote for, you end up getting John McCain.”.
And the Military Industrial Complex get richer and richer…….and richer.
Be nice to have a president with enough life left to care about the future. Maybe in 2024 we can have Feinstein/Pelosi vs. Grassley/McConnell. I guess if being in your 80’s is alright, why not your 90’s?
How about not encouraging these db’s? Don’t empower them. Cancel DC.
People in their 80’s and 90’s are a whole lot better than what we have coming up with our high school and college graduates today. The indoctrination of our young people by the educators is the most frightening thing facing this nation.
People in their 80’s and 90’s should be retired. I can run if I’m 87 like Diane Feinstein, who is in obvious decline, but I can’t run if I’m a 34 year old with a PhD in Political Science.
American politicians are a very pragmatic sort ($$$$).
Political ideology seems a lesser concern.
The longer serving, elderly politicos aren’t doing the nation many favors.
Sanders…………………….
I don’t know if Uncle Joe reads his Bible but mine says “to the pure all things are pure” and that we should feed, even love our enemies etc. Now few of us if any, have the ability to live up to the teachings of Christ but that is why we need a savior. It sounds like our soon to be next President has enemies in his mind and seems to believe that he who has the biggest club rules the world, I would ask him to at least think it over befor he starts down the war path, give those of us that seek peace a little break, maybe even join us, you are welcome Joe.
Can you doubt it, humble lunch bucket Joe from Scranton, devout Catholic and personal friend of the Pope.
Amen…………………./s
Wow! Modernization! Who’d have thought? And all those other guys were recommending antequation.
They were. We’re at a point in weapons tech analogous to WWI. Why buy hardware to knock out an HQ or Control when a malware hack will do it speed of light for almost nothing? Answer: military hardware procurement is institutionally vested and with an irresistible momentum.
. . .from the NSA “what we do” page:
Signals Intelligence
The National Security Agency is responsible for providing foreign Signals Intelligence (SIGINT) to our nation’s policy-makers and military forces. SIGINT plays a vital role in our national security by providing America’s leaders with critical information they need to defend our country, save lives, and advance U.S. goals and alliances globally.
What is SIGINT?
SIGINT is intelligence derived from electronic signals and systems used by foreign targets, such as communications systems, radars, and weapons systems. SIGINT provides a vital window for our nation into foreign adversaries’ capabilities, actions, and intentions. . . While modern telecommunications technology poses significant challenges to SIGINT, the many languages used in the nations and regions of the world that are of interest to our military and national leaders require NSA to maintain a wide variety of language capabilities as well. Indeed, successful SIGINT depends on the skills of language professionals, mathematicians, analysts, and engineers, to name just a few.. .here
I thought only Russia does such things!
Soon, however, screens will increasingly go dark. The expected rollout of quantum encryption will make signals impossible to capture.
Rather glib attitude towards such prospect is — it cannot be broken in THEORY. What it fails to say, while signals CAN be disrupted physically — they cannot be read. Thus, a real danger. Chinese networks are being installed in Russia as well.
Russia and and China added together spend less than half what the US does on the military. Biden is clearly messaging that the sky’s the limit on further spending… Meet the new boss. Same as the old boss…. or worse.
The real enemy isn’t Russia or China. It’s the corrupt establishment.
The Who: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SHhrZgojY1Q
modernizing in amerikan English—sending billions of $ to cayman is for the oligarchy and sending hunter to a cocaine mansion in Cali, Colombia…a the oligarchy installed Harris as queen; their flu d’etat continues to impoverish the peasants, now so terrified they have succumbed to any ruling class voodoo promoted by miss goebbels-maddow or the comedy news network (CNN)
All the talk about hard dilemmas for Biden, weighing heavily upon his shoulders the history of all previous presidencies combined, makes one wonder.
Anybody interested in what say Russia or China think about it? Is everybody just waiting around to hear what neocons have to say through Biden’s mouth? Does the rest of the world just exist to provide neocons with the playground? Something does not sound right. There is too much silence surrounding the clap-trap of same old, same old. Too much talk on the one side and too little from the other.
All I can think of — surprises are in store. Center is not holding anywhere any more.
Since the Rehnquist-Burgers overthrew the US Judiciary, the US Government has no purpose domestically other than distributing social security checks and whatever States allow them to do – in exchange for cash. All that’s left for the Thomas Jeffersons is world war and war spending.
Biden loves to make speeches, even if they’re inconsistent.
>Biden chose a general to head the Pentagon because he’ a good administrator–
>Biden wants the Pentagon to innovate and reimagine
Bunch of hot air.
The Dems will chatter about terrible Russia and China threats, but Russia has really been their enemy of choice and will continue to be. The Dem historical ties have been with the Atlantic Council, NATO and the need to keep a military strangleold on the western alliance. Putin makes a reliable personal target to prolong the historic hatred of Russia, as in the Russians are coming. China is just too difficult, too far away, with a paucity of reliable allies in the area so there will be some sanctions and that’s about it.
Years behind…! Lots of catching up to do….!
Over three billion dollars a day, every day goes into the Pentagon… Why would we need to modernize anything ? We are being raped by the military/industrial/political/financial complex… Time to tell these ghouls to fuck off.
Biden will believe anything he is told.
Perhaps Covid was Beijing’s policy to start depopulating? I might be very wrong.
China has built a hundred or so coal-fired power plants, the majority of which allegedly not being utilized. It’s stated to be the world largest importer of fossil fuels despite having abundant coal reserves. That somehow doesn’t square with importing Australian coal.
A burgeoning green industry is underway; Cars, windmills, solar panels. My opinion is their investing heavily toward lower carbon emissions.
I’ve read where deforestation is a problem and national food production difficulties seems to go without stating.
Without delving into military and foreign policy issues, Russia has a superior lead in food production during a crisis.
https://journal-neo.org/2020/12/30/russian-wheat-and-global-food-security-during-the-pandemic/