Mick Mulroy, former U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense, co-founder of the Lobo Institute, and Vandenberg Coalition Advisory Board member joins Flash Focus to discuss Ukraine’s recent surprise offensive into Kursk. Ukraine’s sudden incursion into Russia has injected dynamism into a war previously considered a stalemate, sparking renewed discussions on Ukraine’s potential to achieve a victory as well as America’s role in the conflict. On this episode, Mick provides explains the current state of play Ukraine’s calculus behind launching the surprise offensive into Russia, and what this all means for the future of Putin’s war against Ukraine.

In our latest episode of Vandenberg Flash Focus, we discuss the newly released report from the National Defense Strategy Commission, which was mandated by Congress to assess the Biden administration’s National Defense Strategy. Vandenberg Advisory Board member Roger Zakheim, who currently serves as the Washington Director of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute, has twice served as a member of the National Defense Strategy Commission. In this episode, he lays out the details of its findings, the limitations of American defense, and why American leadership should matter to everyday citizens.

In this episode of Flash Focus Vandenberg Executive Director Carrie Filipetti is joined by the Chairman of the Vandenberg Coalition, Elliott Abrams, who currently serves as a Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and was the U.S.'s former Special Representative for Iran and Venezuela, as well as Miguel Pizarro, Commissioner to the United Nations for the Venezuelan interim government and a member of the Venezuelan National Assembly representing Petare. This past Sunday, millions of Venezuelans came out to vote in presidential elections after years of the Maduro regime's dictatorship. Exit polls indicated opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez won with around 70% of the vote to Maduro's 30%. And yet the Maduro regime quickly declared victory in what has been one of their most flagrant examples of fraud to date. Elliott and Miguel dive into what happened, what the path forward looks like for the Venezuelan opposition, and what the U.S. and likeminded countries should do next.

Zack Cooper, senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, lecturer at Princeton University, and a member of the Vandenberg Coalition Advisory Board joins Flash Focus to discuss recent actions by Chinese Coast Guard forces that forcibly intercepted a resupply mission to a Filipino ship grounded at Second Thomas Shoal, which put the South China Sea region back into focus. The Philippines, a treaty ally of the United States, obligates U.S. defense of the island, which raises questions of further escalating tensions between the United States and China. Zack understands this incident amid China’s broader strategy in the South China Sea and its general campaign to supplant American power and joins Flash Focus to break it all down.

Jump to:

00:02:06 Context of the conflict at Second Thomas Shoal

00:05:45 Discrepancy between China's approach to Vietnam & the Philippines

00:10:06 American response to China's breach of international law

00:15:06 China's "dress rehearsal" for Taiwan

00:19:32 American response to China's action at Second Thomas Shoal

00:22:51 Strategic merit in multilateralizing the response to China

Ambassador Paula J. Dobriansky, Vice Chair of the Atlantic Council’s Scowcroft Center for Strategy & Security, former Under Secretary of State for Global Affairs, and Vandenberg Coalition Governance Board member joins Flash Focus to discuss this week’s NATO summit in Washington, D.C. marking the 75th anniversary of the transatlantic Alliance. Against the backdrop of a protracted war waged by Russia against Ukraine, a looming conflict along the Alliance’s eastern flank, and questions around Ukraine’s future membership, the NATO summit arrived at a critical time in global geopolitics. Ambassador Dobrianksy situates this year’s summit outcomes in the context of the future of the alliance and American leadership within it.

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00:02:16 Developments & shortcomings from the NATO summit

00:08:23 Ukraine’s future in NATO

00:10:57 The case for NATO to skeptical Americans

00:13:08 Addressing the China threat

00:16:34 Legacy of NATO Secretary-General Stoltenberg

00:20:58 The future of NATO & American leadership of the Alliance

Dr. Victor Cha, senior vice president for Asia and Korea at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) and a distinguished university professor of government at Georgetown University, and a member of the Vandenberg Coalition advisory board, joins Flash Focus to discuss the recent meeting between Russia’s Vladimir Putin and North Korea’s Kim Jong Un, a summit that designated a ‘comprehensive strategic partnership’ between Russia and North Korea, marking the most significant and far-reaching agreement between the two nations in the post-Cold War era. Victor joins Flash Focus to situate this recent meeting in the context of Kim Jong Un’s nuclear arsenal and future plans for military buildup, Russian-North Korean coordination in evading the international sanctions regime, North Korea’s support of Russia in the war against Ukraine, and the nations’ joint campaign to undermine American leadership and Western stability.

Jump to:

00:02:15 The history of the Russian-North Korean and its modern objectives

00:04:00 Key elements of the new Putin-Kim strategic alliance

00:7:29 Implications for North Korean involvement in the war in Ukraine

00:10:12 Dynamics among the Russia-China-North Korea-Iran axis

00:15:13 Recommendations for a Western diplomatic & military response

00:22:41 Differing approach between a Biden 2.0 & Trump 2.0

Emilio Gonzalez, former Director of United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) under President George W. Bush and a member of the Vandenberg Coalition advisory board, joins Flash Focus to discuss the record-breaking surge of illegal immigration under President Biden, an overwhelmed American immigration system, broken border security, and the straining of resources across government agencies and cities nationwide. Furthermore, the influx of special illegal aliens (SIAs) poses an increasing danger to U.S. homeland security.

Jump to:

00:02:24 Deteriorating border security under the Biden Administration

00:06:02 Impact of illegal crossings on Americans' lives

00:10:43 Motivation for Biden's recent executive order

00:14:46 Areas of reform for border security

00:20:23 Demographic shift of those arriving illegally at U.S. southern border

00:29:47 Increasing threat to national security

Vandenberg is joined by authors Richard Fontaine and Robert Blackwill to discuss their new book, Lost Decade: The US Pivot to Asia and the Rise of Chinese Power moderated by Vandenberg Director of Strategic Partnerships Sydney Novak.

U.S. policymakers often discuss a need to “pivot to Asia,” but what does that mean exactly? Lost Decade authors Richard Fontaine and Amb. Robert Blackwill tell the story of Washington’s strategic reorientation towards the Indo-Pacific and simultaneous rise of China’s power and assertiveness. What were the impulses behind the pivot? What challenges has this posed for America’s role in the world? How has this strategy faltered over the last three presidential administrations? The authors will discuss these questions and more while they stress that the United States has little margin for error when it comes to preserving American security and prosperity.