The Last Line of Defense

Host Seth Jones sits down with Lieutenant General (Ret.) Curtis Buzzard, former commander of Security Assistance Group–Ukraine and NATO Security Assistance and Training for Ukraine, to discuss what over four years of war in Ukraine reveal about the changing character of combat. Drawing on more than 30 trips into the country, LTG Buzzard examines Ukraine’s rapid cycle of battlefield innovation in drones and deep strike and the role of the Delta battle management system. He also weighs whether the U.S. military should create a dedicated branch for unmanned systems and assesses whether the United States is learning lessons from the conflict as fast and as closely as its adversaries.

Host Seth Jones sits down with the Honorable Kathleen Hicks, the 35th U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense and former director of the International Security Program at CSIS, to discuss how industrial production shapes U.S. military readiness across multiple theaters. Hicks examines the challenge China's unprecedented military modernization poses to U.S. deterrence in the Indo-Pacific, the case for a high-low mix of munitions and platforms, and the Pentagon's ongoing integration of autonomy and artificial intelligence.

Host Seth Jones sits down with United States Representative Rick Crawford (R-AR), chair of the U.S. House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI), to discuss next-generation threats to the American homeland. Drawing on HPSCI’s recently published Review of the 9/11 Commission Report, Chairman Crawford highlights the growing security challenges posed by China, drones, and misinformation. He also discusses the need to better integrate local and state governments within the country’s national security architecture, and what’s at stake for the American people’s freedom and security.

Host Dr. Seth Jones sits down with Dr. Dan Byman, director of the Warfare, Irregular Threats, and Terrorism Program at CSIS and professor at Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service, to mark the twenty-fifth anniversary of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Drawing on his experience in the U.S. intelligence community, the 9/11 Commission, and the Joint 9/11 Inquiry Staff of the House and Senate Intelligence Committees, Dr. Byman offers his reflections on the attacks, the United States' response in Afghanistan and the global war on terror, evolving threats to the homeland today, and the lessons that Americans should draw to improve national resilience and prepare for future crises.

Host Seth Jones sits down with Frank Kendall, former Secretary of the U.S. Air Force and former Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics, to discuss his new book, Lethal Autonomy: The Future of Warfare Whether We Like It or Not. They explore China’s military modernization and the challenge it poses to U.S. and allied forces in the Asia-Pacific, along with lessons from past military-technology “offsets.” Kendall examines how autonomous systems will reshape the way the United States designs, equips, and employs its forces, discusses the future of land and surface warfare, and explains the imperative for technological innovation to strengthen deterrence and help prevent great-power conflict.