Is DOD Planning a ‘Limited’ Nuclear War?

US Congress should assert its constitutional responsibility over war declaration to declare that the US has no intention of fighting any “limited” nuclear war. Both House and Senate should move quickly to enact the one-sentence law to establish the policy of no first use of nuclear weapons, now introduced as H 921 by Rep. Adam Smith, and S272 by Senator Elizabeth Warren, which reads: “It is the policy of the United States to not use nuclear weapons first.”

Rep. Adam Smith speaks on Face the Nation about Trump’s Iran policy and the immigration policy “Rep. Adam Smith, D-Washington, joins moderator Margaret Brennan to discuss the Trump administration’s decision to call off a retaliatory strike on Iran.”

Pelosi, Schumer say they weren’t informed of Trump’s plan to strike Iran

House Armed Services Chairman Adam Smith, who attended the classified briefing in the White House Situation Room Thursday, criticized Trump for sharing details of the aborted plans on Twitter.

“That’s not the kind of thing that I think the president should say in public,” Smith, D-Wash., said. “He should not be saying stuff like that publicly because it gives the impression of a level of indecision.”

“I wish he was more discreet about what he shared with everybody,” he added.

Trump Approves Strikes on Iran, but Then Abruptly Pulls Back “Congressional Democrats[including, I read, Rep. Adam Smith] emerged from the president’s classified briefing in the Situation Room and urged Mr. Trump to de-escalate the situation. They called on the president to seek congressional authorization before taking any military action.”

The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2020 Summary

Lawmakers push and pull over $750B defense policy bill NDAA top line at HASC markup

Low-yield nukes lose partisan fight in House committee’s NDAA markup

HASC Chairman Smith Earmarks $500M Giveaway For SpaceX, Potentially Aborting Air Force Space Plans

House panel would bar low-yield nuke deployment, Open Skies Treaty withdrawal “A skeptic of the arsenal’s size and cost, committee Chairman Adam Smith, D-Wash., is expected to offer still more restrictive language in the days ahead. Meanwhile, the top Republican on the committee, Rep. Mac Thornberry, and Strategic Forces Subcommittee ranking member Rep. Mike Turner ripped into the draft language.”

Rep. Adam Smith on nuclear arms control and how to lobby Congress

Senate panel advances Trump’s military budget boost with tough road ahead “That may invite a fight with Smith, who has repeatedly expressed skepticism about the size and scope of America’s nuclear arsenal and Pentagon spending overall. What his panel will do when it marks up its version of the bill next month remains to be seen.”

The Senate wants to build a Space Force. Rep. Adam Smith is skeptical of the idea.

Shanahan’s gag rule memo nets bipartisan backlash

The top Democrat and Republican of the House Armed Services Committee said Wednesday they will act against acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan’s new restrictions on how the Pentagon tells Congress about international military operations.

HASC Chairman Adam Smith, D-Wash., and ranking member Mac Thornberry, R-Texas, said in statement they will use the nascent 2020 defense policy bill to address the restrictions, which would “dramatically limit Congress’ ability to execute our constitutional prerogative.” News of the policy was first reported by The Washington Post on Wednesday.


HASC Democrats Introduce Bill to Limit DOD’s Authority to Reprogram Military Construction Funds


Chairman Adam Smith, D-Wash., has already promised intense questioning not only on the budget plan but also the transfer of military construction funds to help pay for Trump’s controversial border wall project.


HASC Chair Smith To White House: Forget Your Space Force “The day before Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahn appears before the HASC, Chairman Smith hammers White House Space Force.”


House Armed Services chair rejects Pentagon bid to shift $1B toward border wall

House Armed Services Chairman Adam Smith on Tuesday rejected a Pentagon move to shift $1 billion in funding for more Southern border barriers, and warned Pentagon leaders of stiff budget consequences if it unilaterally shifts the money.

“The committee denies this request,” Smith wrote in a letter. “The committee does not approve the proposed use of Department of Defense funds to construct additional physical barriers and road or install lighting in the vicinity of the United States border.”


Lawmakers Denounce Plan to Divert Military Money for Wall

Whatever one feels about the border wall, to look at the Pentagon as sort of a piggybank – slash – slush fund, where you can simply go in and grab money for something when you need it, really undermines the credibility of the entire DoD budget,” said Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., chairman of the panel. “Funding a border wall out of the Department of Defense is also unbelievably irresponsible.”

As the hearing continued, Smith sent a letter from the committee to the Pentagon denying the department’s first formal request to shift about $1 billion in surplus personnel funds to a counter-drug account in order to pay for barriers along the U.S.-Mexico border. The Pentagon said it was exploring the potential impact of that letter and what steps the department would take next.

The committee’s top Republican, Rep. Mac Thornberry of Texas, also said he opposes using defense funding for other purposes. But he noted that Shanahan is facing “a lot of criticism for decisions that you had nothing to do with.”

This week in Congress: A parade of Cabinet secretaries


March 12, 2019: Smith: Trim budget fat in America’s nuclear triad

From Nov 7, 2018: Democrats’ big night brings big questions for defense policy

U.S. Has Spent Six Trillion Dollars on Wars That Killed Half a Million People Since 9/11, Report Says

Did U.S. spend $6 trillion in Middle East wars?