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, Michael Herson, President and CEO, American Defense International and Jim Townsend, a former deputy assistant secretary of defense for Europe and NATO who is now with the Center for a New American Security.

Topics:

— Update on President Biden’s centerpiece infrastructure package after he ended talks with Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-WV

— Outlook for slimmed down $1 trillion infrastructure plan negotiated by bipartisan group of 10 senators

— House view of the Senate’s $250 billion package to improve US competitiveness in science and technology

— The National Defense Authorization Act for 2022 as hearings begin

— Biden’s first foreign trip to Europe including the new version of the Atlantic Charter, G7 talks and upcoming NATO ministerial meeting and a post Afghanistan withdrawal role for the alliance as well as president’s meeting with Vladimir Putin in Geneva

— How to deter Putin who despite warnings from Washington and elsewhere has cracked down on Russian opposition, agreed to sell spy satellites to Iran and blocked contact with jailed American 

— Big week on China policy as administration works as administration works to differentiate Chinese tech firms like Huawei from TikTok parent company ByteDance and the Pentagon’s China Task Force findings to help DoD sharpen its game

— Efforts in Israel to form a new government as Netanyahu plans to remain a disruptive force as opposition leader

— How statements on Israel from progressives like Rep. Ilhan, Omar, D-Minn., are causing fractures among Democratic lawmakers and prove problematic in future elections

— Key takeaways from the Center for a New American Security’s annual strategy conference

— Growing global calls for an independent investigation into the origins of the coronavirus pandemic and implications for Beijing