NSI Experts in the News — All Things National Security

In a world that is always changing, NSI experts offer insight on critical stories in the news. Please continue reading for their take on the most important breaking stories.

NSI Senior Fellow Andrew Borene frames negotiations with Iran as a 60-day ceasefire extension, stating the importance of gas prices to set the tone for a conclusion to the conflict and the upcoming election cycles, as well as a need for European and Middle Eastern allies defensive enforcement for freedom of navigation.

“The prospect of some stable ceasefire could open other allied free-world partners to participate in defensive operations to demine the strait, to defend non-Iranian aligned, non-sanctioned shipping.”

Watch his interview with CNBC here.

NSI Visiting Fellow Glenn Corn argues that a ceasefire could wreak havoc on Ukraine by allowing Moscow to pursue gray zone tactics of espionage and propaganda to increase its influence, indicating only a shift in tactics, not an end to the conflict all together.

“Unfortunately, psychological warfare, propaganda, espionage, and political influence against Ukraine will continue…I very much hope that a ceasefire will be achieved by the end of the year. Then perhaps the active phase of the war will end.”

Read his comments for 112.au here.

CTC Cyber and Tech Security Council member Kirsten Davies comments on the U.S. government’s order for Anthropic to block usage by foreign nationals, causing the enterprise to disable two prominent AI models, stating that national security comes before financial gains.

“[The Defense Department is] prioritizing national security and the security of our warfighters. Some things are simply more important than revenue cycles, clickbait, and pre-IPO valuation. America First. Always.”

Read her comments for TIME here.

NSI Advisory Board member Lt. Gen (Ret.) Karen Gibson highlights the nuances behind the progress of a MOU with Iran, stating that nuclear negotiations could become drawn out while financial incentives and kinetic punishments remain options for leverage with the potential to reinstate tensions.

“I would offer [the analogy of] a marathon. If you’ve ever run one, especially your first, you know those final miles are very slow, long, and painful. And so, I think even if it may seem like we are really close, there are so many details to be outlined.”

Watch her interview with *CNN* here.

NSI Founder and Executive Director Jamil Jaffer and NSI Advisory Board member Michael Mukasey outline the dangers of congress allowing Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act to expire, allowing threats from Iran, China, Russia, and terrorist groups to increase in time of escalating tensions and therefor increasing U.S. need for leverage.

“Against these threats, Section 702 is literally invaluable. By the government’s own math, this single authority contributes to roughly 60 percent of the articles in the President’s Daily Brief. It has exposed plots against Americans at home, protected our forces and citizens abroad, and warned allies of dangers they could not see themselves.”

Read their opinion piece for Roll Call here.

NSI Visiting Fellow Igor Khrestin comments on the malign alignment between Russia, North Korea, Iran, and China that aims to undermine democracy and U.S. credibility on the global stage, highlighting the need for America to reinvest in global alliances and soft power assertion.

“This is not an alliance in the traditional sense; alliances that the United States built based on values. But this is an alignment of interest to undermine US global leadership, to hurt us and hurt out allies, and to build a new global order based on authoritarian value.”

Watch his interview with CBS here.

CTC Distinguished Fellow Mark Montgomery addresses the ongoing need for discipline in negotiations for Iran, stating that President Trump must hold the line and maintain a level of deterrent force despite damage incurred by Iran’s defense industrial base.

“[The Iranians are] expert negotiators, as anybody from the Bush, Obama, Biden, or Trump administrations will tell you. President Trump’s right. He needs to have the discipline and the patience that he’s shown over the last weeks to not make a deal that’s in the worse interest of the United States of International maritime law, or the future of existential security of Israel and United States from nuclear weapons.”

Watch his interview with Fox News here.

NSI Advisory Board member Leon Panetta stresses the importance for the United States to understand the turbulent nature of the international stage, with specific concern towards Russia and Putin.

“From my intelligence background as CIA director, it was made very clear that Putin has one objective and that’s to undermine the democracy of the United States of America. He cannot be trusted.”

Watch a clip from his interview with Peace and Power here.

NSI Visiting Fellow Mike Nelson comments on the state of the U.S. agreement with Iran after Iran denied claims of a signing ceremony in Geneva. He speculates on what a deal may consist of, concerning discrepancies surrounding the future administration of the Strait of Hormuz and Iran’s nuclear program.

“[Iran has] the ability to create the perception of threat. The strait, whether ships could make the transit or not, there is still the question as to whether individual shipowners and captains want to make that transit, and whether their insurers want to take the risk. As of yet we have not seen a return to the level of volume of traffic as before the war.”

Watch his interview with Fox News here.

NSI Advisory Board member Nadia Schadlow cautions against the appeals of strategic autonomy in Europe, warning that although Washington can be a frustrating partner, the continuation of close alliances between Europe and the U.S. remains crucial to counter the growing alignment between revisionist powers.

“If Europe rebuilds defence capabilities outside Nato structures, it will deepen the fractures in the transatlantic alliance. Interoperability — the ability to fight as a single force — is one of Nato’s greatest advantages. It took decades to build, and still remains incomplete, which is a testament to its difficulty.”

Read her opinion piece for The Financial Times here.

NSI Advisory Board member Benjamin Wittes highlights the necessity of viewing national security and civil liberties as inseparable, asserting that scholars should consider them together as competitive preconditions for one another.

“The relationship between surveillance and liberty is symbiotic… Liberty and security are better understood as necessary preconditions for one another than in some sort of standoff.”

Read his comments for The Christian Science Monitor here.

NSI Advisory Board member Roger Zakheim conveys skepticism around the signing of Trump’s new deal with Iran due to similarities with the JCPOA and refusal by Iranian officials to allow UN verification of the state of Iran’s nuclear program.

“Money is fungible. This is going to prop up the regime… if we’re going to have a Marshall Plan with Iran, it has to be with a different regime, not the one in place. Pallets of cash should not be transiting across the Strait of Hormuz.”

Watch his interview with Fox News here.