The Defense Department plans to issue information on the details of the Fiscal 2010 defense budget before President Obama sends his entire budget proposal to the Congress, according to Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.), chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee. Speaking to the Defense Writers Group today in Washington, D.C., Levin said he had no specific date for when to expect this, but his understanding is that Defense Secretary Robert Gates is doing this for three reasons. First, Gates wants to preempt the inevitable press leaks that always occur in the days prior to the budget’s release. Second, Gates seeks to deflect some of the attention and criticism away from Obama and the overall budget over any of the painful defense cuts that are expected. And, third, this approach still allows for some time to make changes to the final version of the budget. Levin said he has heard the rumors that the budget’s formal release is slipping from April 21, but has not yet gotten anything confirming that through official channels.
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.