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 and Steve Grundman of the Atlantic Council and the Grundman Advisory consultancy.

Topics:

— Congressional update as US borrowing limit is raised and Democrats work to forge a compromise spending package

— Implications of budget deliberations and new Biden administration climate strategy on Pentagon spending

— Whether allegations by former USAF software chief Nick Chaillan will drive DoD to address known cyber software and hardware vulnerabilities

— Inflation impact on the Pentagon’s spending power

— How China’s economic stumble could ripple across the global economy

— Beijing’s continuing provocations across the Pacific and America’s allies increase their cooperation in the region and beyond

— Europe’s continuing shift on its view of China as Beijing’s muscular stance alienates potential partners

— UK investment in Africa ports to contest growing Chinese regional role

— Takeaways from the Association of the United States Army’s annual meeting this week and Cold War lessons from the US Army in Europe that are applicable today 

— Israel’s about face on the Iran nuclear deal, Israel’s air strike in Syria and what’s next in Afghanistan