Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman says that the transition from outgoing Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld to nominee Robert Gates will work smoothly with all Pentagon staffers focusing on the job at hand. Whitman elaborated: “We are engaged in combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. We’re in the midst of a budget cycle, so the personnel of the department are going about their business in the serious type of fashion that the American people would expect them to.” Rumsfeld, he said, will remain in his job until replaced. The Senate is not slated to reconvene until Nov. 13, and one of the first things on the Senate Armed Services Committee’s agenda for the lame duck session currently is a Nov. 15 status session on the situation in Iraq and Afghanistan.
DNI: Cyber Is The Common Weapon Among Top Adversaries
April 17, 2021
The top four U.S. adversaries--China, Russia, Iran and North Korea--are improving their military capabilities but relying increasingly on cyber means to challenge the U.S. and blunt its influence around the world, the intelligence community's annual threat assessment says. The report comes amid military tensions with both China and Russia.