On this Washington Roundtable episode of the Defense & Aerospace Report Podcast, sponsored by Bell, our guests are Dov Zakheim, PhD, former DoD comptroller, now with the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Dr. Patrick Cronin of the Hudson Institute, Jim Townsend, a former deputy assistant secretary of defense for Europe and NATO who is now with the Center for a New American Security and Michael Herson of American Defense International.

Topics:

— National security implications of discord on Capitol Hill where on the second anniversary of the Jan. 6 insurrection, chaos reigns as Republicans are unable to select a House Speaker

— How American political discord is being perceived by adversaries like Russia and China as well as allies in Europe and Asia

— Outlook for Ukraine war as Biden administration expected to follow France and Germany in exporting armored vehicles to Kyiv

— What to expect from the Ukraine war in the coming year, especially if news reports are confirmed that Vladimir Putin has fired a second general leading Russian operations

— How Chinese leaders expect to weather up to a million covid fatalities during and in the wake of the Lunar New Year, and emerge economically stronger in 2023

— Update on increasing tensions between Seoul and Pyongyang over drone overflights and Japan’s steps up its security game

— Warning by top US lawmakers against diverting much-needed American submarine industrial capability on providing nuclear subs to Australia at the expense of US Navy’s priority of one Columbia-class ballistic missile sub and two Virginia-class attack boats

— A look at the big issues of 2023

— Whether Turkey and Azerbaijan will try to seize the southern tip of Armenia, a move that could precipitate a conclude involving Russia and Iran