National Security and Foreign Affairs
WASHINGTON — A ground invasion of North Korea is the only way to locate and destroy, with complete certainty, all components of leader Kim Jong Un's nuclear weapons program, according to a Pentagon official.
"It is the most bleak assessment," Sen. Dianne Feinstein, a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said Sunday.
Two House Democrats, in a letter to the Pentagon, had asked about casualty assessments in a possible conflict with North Korea, and Rear Adm. Michael J. Dumont of the Joint Staff responded on behalf of the Defense Department.
A ground invasion by the U.S. military is the only way to eliminate North Korea's nuclear arsenal, according to the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
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The only way to locate and secure all of North Korea's nuclear weapons sites "with complete certainty" is through an invasion of ground forces, and in the event of conflict, Pyongyang could use biological and chemical weapons, the Pentagon told lawmakers in a new, blunt assessment of what war on the Korean Peninsula might look like.
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WASHINGTON – Today, Congressman Ted W. Lieu (D | Los Angeles County) issued the following statement after the Wall Street Journal reported that six members of the Russian government were directly involved in stealing sensitive information from Democrats in order to influence the 2016 election.
Ever since Harry Truman ordered the atomic bombing of Hiroshima during World War II, the president of the United States has controlled the most lethal arsenal in history — a major reason the position is considered the most powerful on Earth.
In recent months, remarks by President Trump threatening North Korea with "fire and fury like the world has never seen" have raised new questions about the concentration of power in one person, though Trump has not explicitly said he might use nuclear weapons.
The congressman representing the district that includes UCLA said at an event Monday he is working to prevent the president from being able to unilaterally authorize a nuclear strike.
Congressman Ted Lieu proposed House Resolution 669 – "Restricting First Use of Nuclear Weapons Act of 2017" – in January to prohibit the president from conducting a nuclear attack without determining the enemy has launched an attack. The resolution also requires that the president secure congressional approval before launching a nuclear strike.
In a major development, the first charges were reportedly filed in special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia probe investigation.
Congressman Ted Lieu believes these charges are just the tip of the iceberg.
"I'm not surprised. When Robert Mueller was brought in and he looked at the evidence, the first thing he did was hire a bunch of prosecutors. You would do that if you want to prosecute," he said.
Sen Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) have teamed up to introduce a bill to boost IoT cybersecurity by creating a voluntary self-certification program under the Department of Commerce.
Democrats are introducing legislation directing the Department of Commerce to set up a voluntary program to certify internet-connected devices with strong cybersecurity.
The bill, backed by Sen. Edward Markey (D-Mass.) in the Senate and Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) in the House, would set up a voluntary program in which device manufacturers can choose to have their products evaluated and certified for meeting set benchmarks on cyber and data security.