Host @schoolofwarpod, national security analyst @CBSNews, columnist @TheFP
Virginia, USA
Joined November 2013
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Aaron MacLean retweeted
I was looking at an old edition of Machiavelli's Discourses on Livy, and the first page had a bunch of notes jotted down.
I took a screenshot, gave it to Claude, and asked it to decipher what it said.
In about a minute, I got the following response. Incredible.
Aaron MacLean retweeted
As always, @AaronBMacLean of @CBSNews + @TheFP and, most importantly, a Marine vet himself, honors our veterans on this day with this beautiful piece. thefp.com/p/the-american-war…
Aaron MacLean retweeted
What a moving reflection on one soldier's courage and integrity. Bravo @AaronBMacLean
thefp.com/p/the-american-war…
Remembering on Veterans Day, as I always do, my dad Angus MacLean. He had a hell of an American century.
For Veterans Day @TheFP, I wrote about the extraordinary story of Army veteran Hans Kasten, whose refusal to betray the Jewish American POWs imprisoned with him to the Nazis gives an opportunity to reflect on the nature of moral courage, and what it can and cannot accomplish...
Aaron MacLean retweeted
Terrific @TheAtlantic piece on archaeologists' and anthropologists' slowly dawning realization that now-submerged areas on the coastal shelf--swathes of land drowned when the glaciers melted--may be where much of our species' early history took place. (Link in reply)
Aaron MacLean retweeted
This is a very informative episode of the @schoolofwarpod with @AaronBMacLean, focussed on the trajectory of AI and its impact on military and civil professionals. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcas…
I feel bashful that I have not secured a gift for Jim. But on the bright side, I was pretty hungry...
A Marine Corps birthday in four acts.
Step 1: walk to CVS.
Step 2: purchase crayons 🖍️
Step 3: walk back to @CBSNews
Step 4: give crayons to my colleague and fellow Marine @AaronBMacLean
Aaron MacLean retweeted
Scroll to 25:25 for @AaronBMacLean + @NikolenDC’s real-time analysis of Sect. Hegseth’s first press briefing in six months.
Pres. Trump gave him “an A+++”
But did he do enough to rally Republicans against Rep. Massie’s impeachment effort?
And a bullish indicator that, if Massie's impeachment articles cleared the House (too soon to say) and made it to the Senate, Senate Republicans may not automatically move to dispose of the charges through procedural means (as Sen. Schumer did in the Mayorkas impeachment...)
Bearish indicator on prospects for Massie's impeachment articles...
Bacon says Massie is “anti-Iran, anti-Ukraine, anti-Israel. I don't really align with the impeachment itself.” But added that if the articles covered the firing of 80 generals he’d feel differently about it… (h/t @JaalaBrown )
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My take on Sec. Hegseth's press conference and the prospect of what would be the first impeachment of a Secretary of War since 1876... (Sec. Belknap, for those keeping score at home!)
As Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth faces a potential impeachment vote in the House on Tuesday, CBS News national security analyst @AaronBMacLean says Hegseth’s argument that impeachment should not be used to settle policy disagreements was “very much targeted at House and Senate Republicans.”
“He’s trying to give them a reason to either vote no on impeachment in the House, or ultimately for either dismissing the charges or no in a trial in the Senate if it ever gets that far,” MacLean says. “He’s got liabilities there and he’s trying to manage that.”
Ambiguous (and to some, alarming) comments on how "European institutions" will need to be changed in order to facilitate peace between Russia and Ukraine. Russia certainly seeks changes to "security agreements" in Europe. Is the US offering those as a concession?
"Ultimately, achieving a comprehensive and lasting settlement will also require direct engagement between Russia and our European partners on the broader security arrangements that affect them."
"The existing European security agreements and institutions provide an important foundation for this work. We want to build upon what has worked, identify where existing mechanisms have fallen short, and what practical improvements are needed to make them more effective in the future."
President Trump is determined to bring an end to this horrible war, which has caused enormous loss of life, destruction, and suffering. We are working hard to find a negotiated solution that can deliver lasting peace and create the conditions for a sovereign, secure, and prosperous Ukraine within a more stable European security environment.
Before beginning the two days of trilateral talks with Ukraine and Russia in Abu Dhabi, @SEPeaceMissions and I will meet with our partners from Ukraine, the EU, NATO, Germany, France, the United Kingdom and Italy to continue the close consultation and coordination we have undertaken on European security and Ukraine’s postwar future over the past several weeks.
These will be the first trilateral talks since February. Building on our separate consultations with both sides, our objective is to bring Ukraine and Russia together to discuss directly their postwar security concerns, proposals, and potential solutions. We hope these discussions will identify areas of common ground, advance practical solutions, and build momentum toward the next phase of negotiations.
Ultimately, achieving a comprehensive and lasting settlement will also require direct engagement between Russia and our European partners on the broader security arrangements that affect them. We hope the discussions in Abu Dhabi will create the conditions for that engagement to begin in the near future, as part of a broader multilateral process.
Our work has focused on four interconnected priorities: ending the fighting, developing credible postwar security guarantees and arrangements that reduce the risk of renewed conflict, preparing a comprehensive economic and prosperity plan for Ukraine, and advancing humanitarian measures to alleviate suffering and address the human consequences of this war.
Together with Ukraine, the EU, and other European partners, we are working to address Ukraine’s substantial postwar fiscal and reconstruction needs, support critical infrastructure, attract private investment, and create the conditions for long-term economic growth and self-sufficiency.
We are also working with the parties on important humanitarian issues, including the return of prisoners and civilians, and practical measures to alleviate suffering and reduce the human cost of this conflict.
An important part of this process is encouraging all parties to begin thinking seriously about what comes after the war. By discussing postwar security, economic recovery, and the mechanisms needed to prevent future conflict, we hope to shift the focus from managing the war toward building the foundations for a durable peace.
The existing European security agreements and institutions provide an important foundation for this work. We want to build upon what has worked, identify where existing mechanisms have fallen short, and what practical improvements are needed to make them more effective in the future. Our discussions will focus on stronger consultation, reliable crisis communications, greater military transparency, and reciprocal measures to reduce escalation risks, while fully respecting the sovereignty and independent decision-making of every nation.
This is an extraordinarily difficult and complicated conflict. We recognize the difficult decisions ahead and are approaching these discussions with determination and realism. Our hope is to make meaningful progress, establish a practical pathway forward, and help create the conditions for a lasting peace.
Aaron MacLean retweeted
On the Jensen Huang-Alice Huang affair, you have to give the MSS credit for running another successful op. They are good and getting better.
I have seen some takes that it is no big deal he had an affair with an alleged PRC spy because he needed no pillow talk convincing to push for looser export controls, but that misses a few things:
He is (was?) text and phone buddies with President Trump, so if he divulged anything about his conversations with Trump to her, or his thoughts about Trump or chatter about China policy or frankly anything from Trump, that would be valuable to any foreign intelligence service, and especially to the MSS;
Was she ever alone with his phone or computer, say when he got up to use the bathroom? Are Nvidia IT/device policies for travel to Taiwan and Singapore looser than those for travel to the mainland? What value would there be to the MSS to have physical access to the devices of the Nvidia CEO?;
He is the chip allocator in chief, so a good relationship with him likely meant more chips for the MegaSpeed front and the entities back in the PRC to which those chips flowed.
With the new Congress, expect subpoenas and public hearings in which he is trashed and he and Nvidia are further damaged. What a win for the MSS, to have such access to the head of the most important company in the world, and to now get to watch as politicians and shorts attack him and Nvidia.
There is rarely just one lie, so don’t be surprised if the blast radius from this mess expands. And there is already the SuperMicro case…
Aaron MacLean retweeted
The lives of the Polish police officers were saved by two of the country’s best surgeons who were having lunch right next to where the shoot-out took place.
The men can be seen in the picture below discussing their next steps while stopping the bleeding on one of the officers.
- Prof. Michał Pędziwiatr is the Head of the II Department of Surgery at the Jagiellonian University and the Deputy Head of General, Oncological, Metabolic and Emergency Surgery at the University Hospital.
- Dr Mateusz Wierdak is a specialist general surgeon the Jagiellonian University Hospital.
