Net Assessment

With Zack out collecting frequent flyer miles, Tom Karako joins Chris and Melanie to discuss the Lead Inspector General Report on Operation Epic Fury. When the war began in February, were the administration's stated objectives aligned with the resources needed to fight it? Are they now? What does America's use of so many high-end weapons tell us about our strategy? And what can we learn about the activities of the State and Treasury Departments during the war? Chris has a grievance for corruption in defense contracting, Tom remembers the late Sen. Jon Kyl, and Melanie wishes Capitals hockey player Alexander Ovechkin would stop campaigning for Vladimir Putin. Show Links: Lead Inspector General Report on Operation Epic Fury, DOD Office of Inspector General, September 14, 2026. Estimating the Cost of Combat Operations in Iran, Congressional Budget Office, September 15, 2026. Noah Robertson, Tara Copp, Warren P. Strobel, and Alex Horton, More US Troops Have Died Amid Iran War Than Pentagon Has Disclosed Publicly, Washington Post, September 18, 2026. Ellen Milligan, Michael Neinaber, and Andrea Palasciano, US Warns Allies of Missile Delivery Delays Due to Shortage, Bloomberg, September 18, 2026. Eric Schmitt, Cost of Iran War Estimated at $43.6 Billion, New York Times, September 18, 2026. Robert Klemko, X post, September 17, 2026. James Paterson, Speech to the Submarine Institute of Australia, September 22, 2026. Tom Corben, Jennifer Parker, Satoru Mori, and Jeffrey Hornung, Australia, Japan, and the United States: Implementing a Trilateral Denial Strategy along the First Island Chain, United States Studies Centre, September 15, 2026. Jack Goldsmith, Glenn Fine, Jen Patja, What Does the Inspector General Do?, Lawfare podcast, December 10, 2024. William Turton, Avi Asher-Schapiro, Molly Redden and Kirsten Berg, "The FBI Anti-Corruption Squad Was Circling Susan Collins — Until Trump Got in the Way," ProPublica, September 22, 2026. Richard Gowan, "Shrink the UN: The Next Secretary-General Must Get Back to Basics," Foreign Affairs, September 21, 2026. U.S. Foreign Policy and the Separation of Powers: A Conference on Law, Power, and Democratic Accountability in a Changing International Order, Tufts University, September 24–25, 2026. "The Second Trump-Xi Summit: Takeaways from the US, China, and Russia," Online Event, Stimson Center, September 28, 2026. The Sandra Day O'Connor–Washington Union Debate Series at George Washington University, October 3, 2026. Tom Karako, "Sing Missile Muse: America's Most Fearsome Weapons Need Better Names," War on the Rocks, June 7, 2021. Josh Hawley, "Why I wont Vote to Add Finland and Sweden to NATO," The National Interest, August 1, 2022. Tom Cotton, "Speech on the Senate Floor", August 3, 2022. Tom Karako and Mark Cancian, "Munitions Shortages after Epic Fury," CSIS, August 5, 2026. Amy B. Wang and Alexei Koseff, "Jon Kyl, a former top Republican in the Senate, dies at 84," Washington Post. Chris Lunday, Germany Plans a €12 Billion Missile Program to Deter Putin, Politico Europe, August 21, 2026. Laura Pitel and Christopher Miller, Germany Urges US to Allow Patriot Missile Production in Europe, Financial Times, September 23, 2026.

The team sits down to talk about the new OSTP report, Science: A New Golden Age. What role should the government have in the scientific enterprise? What should national scientific goals be? It is time to integrate new funding models into research and development, or does that unacceptably increase the risk for politicization of science? Does the report's emphasis on breakthroughs that benefit the public more quickly ignore the importance of foundational research? Coming up on the 25th anniversary of 9/11, Chris gives an atta to Joe Biden for making the hard decision to withdraw American troops from Afghanistan 5 years ago. Zack has a shoutout for Moderna and Merck for continued work on mRNA cancer vaccines, and Melanie congratulates British Prime Minister Andy Burnham for going to Kyiv and giving Ukraine classified data so it can produce Scalp long-range missiles. Show Links: Gil Barndollar, "Five Years Later, Biden Was Proven Right in Withdrawing From Afghanistan," American Prospect, August 17, 2026. Matthew Harper, Jason Mast, and Angus Chen, "Inside Moderna and Merck's cancer vaccine triumph," STAT News, August 24, 2026. Eric S. Edelman, "The Unintended Consequences of Trump's Turn Against South Korea," The Dispatch, August 21, 2026. Michael Kratsios, Science: A New Golden Age, White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, July 2026. Includes Russell T. Vought/Michael Kratsios Memorandum for the Heads of Executive Departments and Agencies, July 21, 2026. Vannevar Bush, Science: The Endless Frontier, GPO, 1945. Bill Ackman, X post, August 19, 2026. Andrea Palasciano, US Presses Allies on Ideological Loyalty Ahead of Troop Cuts, Bloomberg, August 14, 2026. George Parker and Polina Ivanova, Andy Burnham Condemns Russia's 'Outrageous Threats' to UK During Kyiv Visit, Financial Times, August 24, 2026.

Chris, Melanie, and Zack discuss public attitudes toward the United States and China, and the Trump administration's response -- which mostly seems to deny that they matter. Why does much of the world view the United States less favorably, and China more favorably, than it did just a few years ago? Is this just a temporary decline that can be overcome with a new administration or nicer advisors? Does it even matter to American interests if we aren't loved? Grievances to the Pentagon for its secrecy and dissembling around casualties in the Iran War, and for thinking that its problems can be solved with more testosterone, and to the Coast Guard for its Polar Security Cutter program which is grossly overbudget and badly delayed. Attas to members of Congress for calling out the Pentagon's secrecy and dissembling around the Iran War, to those who pushed back on the Trump administration's plan to investigate the New York Times and Google for a series of leaks surrounding the new Air Force One, and for those uncovering and publishing the COVID files. Show Links: Jonathan Schulman, Laura Silver, Laura Clancy, and William Miner, "People in Many Countries Now View China More Positively Than the U.S.," Pew Research Center, July 15, 2026. "America's Report Card in Southeast Asia," Net Assessment, War on the Rocks, April 11, 2024. Under Secretary of War Elbridge Colby, @USWPColby, X, July 14, 2026. Opinion, "Iran, China, Canada? A Defense of Trump's Grand Strategy," Interesting Times, New York Times, July 23, 2026. Biyon Sony Joseph, "Washington misreads middle power cooperation," Lowy Institute, July 23, 2026. Helene Cooper, Lara Jakes, and John Ismay, "Number of U.S. Troop Deaths Suddenly Appears Lower on Pentagon Website," New York Times, July 23, 2026. Helene Cooper, "Pentagon Changes How It Reports Casualties in Iran War," July 26, 2026. Tom Nichols, "The American People Need the Truth About the Iran War," The Atlantic, July 22, 2026. Nancy A. Youssef and Jonathan Lemire, "War by Any Other Name," The Atlantic, July 21, 2026 Jenny Leonard, Trump's Aides See China Cheating on Trade, But Shun Reprisal, Bloomberg, July 15, 2026. Alexander Burns, A New Report Offers a Stark Warning to Centrists, July 24, 2026. Sam Westfall and Dan Diamond, Fauci's Diary Reveals His Thoughts on a 'Rambling' Trump and His Own Fame, Washington Post, July 27, 2026. Malte Humpert, U.S. Polar Security Cutter Delayed to 2033 as Costs Top $6 Billion, GAO Warns, gCaptain, July 22, 2026. Ron Wyden, Statement on Congressional Trade Powers Reform Act of 2026, July 22, 2026. Sebastian Junger, "There's More to Peak Military Performance Than Testosterone. I've Seen It." Wall Street Journal, July 24, 2026. Michael M. Grynbaum and Jonah E. Bromwich, "U.S. Withdraws Subpoenas Issued to New York Times Journalists," New York Times, July 23, 2026

Chris, Melanie, and Zack discuss Oren Cass's recent article articulating a "Grand Strategy of Reciprocity." Cass argues that the United States should build a bloc of countries that agree to engage with each other on comparable terms while jointly excluding others that will not fulfill the same obligations. Is this possible or realistic? And how does it align with the Trump administration's approach? Meanwhile, Chris commends the Eurasia Group's Institute for Global Affairs, Melanie criticizes Chinese entities purchasing properties near critical US installations, and Zack laments a fundamental misreading of game theory by Scott Bessent. Show Links: Oren Cass, "A Grant Strategy of Reciprocity," Foreign Affairs, November/December 2025. Scott Bessent, "It's time to end the filibuster," Washington Post, November 23, 2025. Nate Jones, "State Department erases 15 pages of nuclear history — with no warning," Washington Post, November 13, 2025. Jonathan Guyer, Lucas Robinson, Eloise Cassier, Ransom Miller, "Reckless Peacemaker?" Institute for Global Affairs, November 6, 2025 Chris Mason and Becky Morton, "UK Expected to Approve Plans for Chinese Mega Embassy," BBC, November 21, 2025. Philip Lenczycki, "US Nuclear Bomber Fleet Shares Fence With Trailer Park Linked To Chinese Intel-Tied Fraudster," Daily Caller, November 10, 2025. Supporting Stimson, https://www.stimson.org/support/