August 31, 2017
Getting to Ground Truth on the Elevation of U.S. Cyber Command
One of my biggest frustrations during my time in the Office of the Secretary of Defense’s cyber policy office was the way elevating U.S. Cyber Command became overhyped. Cyber Command was created as a subordinate command within the military’s premier nuclear deterrence command, U.S. Strategic Command. There were good historical reasons for this, but my analysis convinced me there was nothing Cyber Command could undertake if it became a unified command that it could not already do as a subordinate command. Yet as cyber operations became more prominent, the chorus grew to elevate it to its own, independent command. While I never found reason to oppose such a move, I did not think the benefits were all that remarkable. The more consequential question would be when and how to separate the leadership of Cyber Command from the National Security Agency.
Read the full op-ed in War on the Rocks.
More from CNAS
-
The Siren Song: Technology, JADC2, and the Future of War
Winning future wars will not be about maintaining information advantage but rather prevailing when neither side has the advantage. And that is not a war that can be won by new...
By Andrew Metrick
-
Sharper: Integrated Deterrence
The belated 2022 National Defense Strategy—released in October of last year—identified integrated deterrence as the cornerstone of the strategy. Integrated deterrence calls fo...
By Anna Pederson & Michael Akopian
-
What Is the Purpose of the American “Brigade 101” Conducting Military Exercises in Romania?
Michael Akopian, Research Assistant at the Center for a New American Security joined Now Asharq to discuss the purpose of U.S. Military exercises in Romania. Listen to the f...
By Michael Akopian
-
Taiwan: Why the US & China are on collision course for war
In this special analysis, DW's Richard Walker uncovers the roots of the dispute over Taiwan, in part 1 tracing how the diplomatic breakthroughs of the 1970s between the US and...
By Michèle Flournoy