Defense One

A new acting DNI; DoD policy chief, out; Russian cyberattacks, revealed; Syrian roads, contested; And a bit more.

America’s new acting intelligence chief will now perform three jobs at once. On Wednesday evening President Trump tweeted that Richard Grenell, the U.S. ambassador to Germany and special envoy for …

Defense Policy Chief Ousted By White House

A Pentagon spokesman said he had “no information” that John Rood was fired for his role in Trump’s Ukraine scandal.

DHS to Waive Contracting Rules to Build Border Wall Faster

Acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf is using a 2005 law to override certain requirements.

Trump Is Ill-Suited to Respond to the Coronavirus Outbreak

A crisis that is heading into its third month could draw out every personal and managerial failing that the president has shown to this point.

Rood to resign; DOD’s new AI rules; US lost arms worth $715M in Syria; US-China infowars; And a bit more.

John Rood, the Pentagon’s undersecretary of defense for policy, has been asked to resign because he “lost support among senior national security leadership,” CNN reports today. His portfolio is …

Pentagon to Adopt Detailed Principles for Using AI

Sources say the list will closely follow an October report from a defense advisory board.

Will Trump’s Afghanistan Peace Deal Win Him Votes?

“I would not say that Afghanistan looms over American politics now the way that Iraq did,” said one analyst.

Graham Denies Threatening To Make Esper’s Life ‘Hell’ If He Cuts AFRICOM Troops

“No, I never said that,” Graham said in a brief phone call with Defense One. “It was a good conversation.”

America Is Alone in Its Cold War With China

If the Trump administration is truly going all-in on competition with Beijing, it’s not clear that Trump himself is fully on board. Nor, it’s now clear, are several of America’s closest friends.