1/ Secretary of Defense nominee Lloyd Austin at Senate Armed Services Committee confirmation hearing:

"Globally I understand that Asia must be the focus of our effort and I see China in particular as a pacing challenge for the Department"

2/ SecDef nominee Lloyd Austin on advance policy Qs

"Globally...most significant challenge I will face will be to ensure DOD's contd efforts to prepare & strengthen the US military for a dynamic, future security landscape driven by accelerating competitions w China & w Russia.."
3/ SecDef nominee Austin in written answers says strategic competition w/ China & Russia primary challenges but "because of its ascent and the scope and scale of its military modernization, China is the top priority"
4/ SecDef nominee Austin in written answers on his assessment of the military threat posed by China...
5/ SecDef nominee Austin on whether the NDS needs to be revised notes: "For example, the pace of China’s military modernization, its increasingly aggressive actions in the INDO-PACIFIC and its ability to threaten the US Homeland are concerning and must be continually reexamined"
6/ SecDef nominee Austin in APQs emphasizes "strength of this network of defense relations" w/ allies & partners as crucial "especially in global competitions with China and Russia"
7/ SecDef nominee Austin in APQs on resources for non-DOD agencies: "imperative" they "receive sufficient funding"

"I do not believe current funding levels for security assistance & development programs are pacing the challenges posed by China and others in these areas"
8/ SecDef nominee Austin in APQs re DoD priorities in Africa: "countering
1) violent extremist organizations (VEOs) that
threaten the homeland and U.S. national security interests and
2) competitors such as China and Russia"
9/ SecDef nominee Austin in APQs re his assessment of Chinese & Russian goals in Africa.

(among other things, notes concern re their overseas basing plans)
10/ SecDef nominee Austin in APQs re US strategy to compete vs China & Russia in Africa.

Says must not just compete, but win. Reqs whole of govt effort & addressing mutual security concerns
11/ Will circle back to APQs, picking up on the actual SASC hearing....
12/ Sen. Reed asks re Pacific Defense Initiative & solidifying ties w/ Australia, Japan, South Korea, & expanding w/ other Pacific nations.

Austin: refurbishing alliances "critical", hopes to "build add'l capacity where possible"

"the region will be one of my first stops."
13/ Sen. Reed talks about "strength in numbers" & security cooperation w/ Pacific partners being the "best deterrent we could think of with respect to the aspirations of China."

Austin says he agrees.
14/ Sen. Wicker asks if he agrees w/ assessment that China's goal is to devp a military by mid-century equal or superior to that of US.

Austin says he agrees & "I wld intend to make sure that never happens."

Talks abt maintaining competitive edge.

More from Government

If you're curious what Trump's defense will look like, all you have to do is turn on Fox News. My latest at @mmfa

The tl;dr is that for years right-wing media have been excusing Trump's violent rhetoric by going, "Yes, but THE DEMOCRATS..." and then bending themselves into knots to pretend that Dems were calling for violence when they very, very clearly weren't.

And in fact, this predates Trump.

In 2008, Obama was talking about not backing down in the face of an ugly campaign. He said "If they bring a knife to the fight, we bring a gun."

https://t.co/i5YaQJsKop


That quote was from the movie The Untouchables. And there's no way anybody reading that quote in good faith could conclude that he was talking about actual guns and knives. But it became a big talking point on the

In 2018, Obama-era Attorney General Eric Holder was speaking to a group of Georgia Democrats about GOP voter suppression. He riffed on Michelle Obama's "When they go low, we go high" line from the 2016 DNC.

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