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:

— US defense spending outlook as House Armed Services Committee finishes it’s markup of the Biden administration’s 2022 military spending request

— Update on BBB, covid, USICA-Competes and other key legislation

— Impact of recent primaries on national security and how recent Supreme Court decisions on abortion, guns and religion will shape November elections

— EU move to grant candidacy to Ukraine and Moldova

— Russia’s energy threats and Lithuania’s move to block EU sanctions trade via Russia’s rail link with Kaliningrad

— Need for NATO and EU to prepare for Moscow’s military threat should Kaliningrad link remain impaired

— Overcoming Turkey’s continuing opposition to Finland and Sweden’s membership in NATO

— Link between the Korean War and international support for Ukraine against Russia’s aggression

— Whether the Biden administration’s tamping down on China rhetoric in a bid to improve dialogue with Beijing will pay dividends

— What’s next in Israel after Bennett government collapses and Bibi Netanyahu works to return to power

— How Biden could broker a golf pact between PGA and Saudi-backed LIV league to garner Riyadh’s support for higher oil production

— Impact of Supreme Court decisions and Jan. 6 revelations on global perceptions of the United States as a model constitutional democracy