Geopolitical Dynamics and Defense Strategies

On this week’s Defense & Aerospace Report Washington Roundtable, Dr. Patrick Cronin of the Hudson Institute think tank, Michael Herson of American Defense International, former Pentagon Europe chief Jim Townsend now with the Center for a New American Security, and former Pentagon comptroller Dr. Dov Zakheim of the Center for Strategic and International Studies join Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian to discuss Congress averts a government shutdown and passes a full-year continuing resolution while continuing work on a reconciliation measure; lawmakers complain about the Trump administration’s proposed consolidation of combatant commands including handing NATO’s top military jobs to Europeans, but allow President Trump and Elon Musk to systemically gut government agencies; driven by Washington, Ukraine agrees to a ceasefire as Kyiv strikes Russian bomber base; historically, the first foreign trip by a Canadian prime minister is Washington, but this time, Mark Carney visited Paris and London as a French nuclear attack submarine visited Halifax; European leaders agree on a new defense strategy and plans to deploy up to 30,000 troops to Ukraine; Trump’s move to strike Houthis and plan an attack against Iran; Israel ends its ceasefire with Hamas with large scale airstrikes across Gaza as Egypt moves troops and tanks to the southern Gaza border to keep Gazans from fleeing into Egyptian territory; and America’s traditional allies in Asia move swiftly to mirror Europe in preparing for a future absent American leadership in the region.