US Joint Chiefs Nominee: Russian Federation Is ‘Greatest National Security Threat’

Russian Federation and China are greater threats to US national security than ISIS, according to the incoming chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Joseph Dunford. “And if you look at their behavior, it’s nothing short of alarming,”.

Dunford also added his voice to those Pentagon officials who have supported providing lethal arms to Ukraine to help it defend itself from Russia-backed separatists, a step that President Barack Obama has so far resisted. “And frankly, without that kind of support, they’re not going to be able to protect themselves against Russian aggression”.

Relations between Moscow and the West have plunged to a post-Cold War low since Russia’s intervention in Ukraine upended assumptions about the security of NATO’s eastern flank.

A hearing on the nomination of Dunford, the commandant of the Marine Corps, is slated for Thursday before the Senate Armed Services Committee.

Before the hearing, Dunford provided written answers to a broad range of national security questions posed by the committee.

“From a military perspective it’s reasonable that we provide that support to the Ukrainians”, Dunford said.

On another major global issue, Secretary of State John Kerry announced in Vienna – shortly after Dunford testified – that diplomats would miss a midnight Thursday deadline for reaching a nuclear agreement with Iran.

Arkansas Republican Sen. Tom Cotton asked Dunford whether Iran would use income from an end to economic sanctions to fund Shiite militias in Iraq and to destabilize governments elsewhere in the Middle East. The general replied: “I think it’s reasonable to assume that”.

Asked if the number of USA troops in Iraq is adequate, Dunford said is it enough but that, “as conditions change on the ground, it may become necessary to adjust how we implement the military campaign”.

“While robotic and autonomous systems technology has advanced greatly over the past decade, I believe it is premature to rule out manned fighter aircraft without a more thorough analysis of the technologies currently available, as well as those likely to be available in the future”, Dunford said. Dunford, who until past year had been serving as the top USA commander in the country, said that if the USA force in Afghanistan falls to 1,000 in 2017, the counterterrorism mission there would be significantly degraded and the USA would risk losing its eyes and ears along the border with Pakistan.