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:

— Update on legislation that could impact national security that Congress will have to address during lame duck session after November elections, including debt ceiling increase

— Congressional reaction to decision by OPEC Plus nations to cut oil production to accelerate energy price increases, including punishing Saudi Arabia in particular

— How Washington should respond given Riyadh’s brazen attempt to undermine President Biden and Democratic electoral prospects in upcoming elections

— Europe and Asia’s response to the OPEC Plus move and whether it ultimately undermines the long-term interests of the cartel

— Update on Ukraine’s advances are Washington declines to export ATACMS long-range missiles to Kyiv as Russian forces suffer setbacks despite mobilization drive

— Washington and allies continuing robust support for Ukraine despite Russian threats and nuclear saber rattling

— The nuanced interpretation of Biden’s “armageddon” remarks

— North Korea’s long-range ballistic missile tests and the combined US-South Korean response

— What’s next from Pyongyang including nuclear test expected as soon as this weekend

— Russia and China’s shielding of North Korea in the United Nations

— Beijing’s rhetoric as Chinese Communist Party prepares to clear life term for Xi Jinping

— Biden administration’s new clamp down on China’s access to chip-making technology

— Growing demonstrations in Iran and their implications for the longevity of the Islamic regime and outlook for a revived nuclear deal

— Shifting from stopping Tehran’s nuclear program to deterring a nuclear Iran