OPINION — “Our [the Joint Chiefs of Staff] job is to current and my job with the Joint Chiefs and others is to current the vary of [military] choices that this President or any President ought to contemplate with all the secondary and tertiary issues that go into these choices, so {that a} President could make no matter choice he needs to make — after which we ship.”
That was Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine early in a 30-minute “fireplace chat” with CNBC’s Morgan Brennan earlier than an viewers on the Reagan National Defense Forum on December 6, on the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, Simi Valley, California.
I wish to analyze Caine’s remarks, as a result of they obtained virtually no public protection, and as Joint Chiefs Chairman, his said views are price recording – as had been his predecessors’ through the first Trump administration.
Caine, who’s extraordinarily cautious in his public remarks, was initially requested by CNBC’s Brennan early within the chat, “How are you advising the President on Venezuela?” His first reply was, “Carefully,” which drew amusing, however then he went on with the intense reply above.
I picked that opening quote as a result of most senior army officers would have answered simply that they gave choices, however in my expertise few would have added the half about “all the secondary and tertiary issues that go into these choices.” In brief, I consider what Caine stated in giving army choices to President Trump, was that he gave each the upsides and disadvantages of what may occur with every possibility.
In giving the above reply, Caine went on to say, “I would not wish to share any explicit recommendation or choices that we’re giving, however we current loads of them.”
Again I’d level out that Caine fastidiously famous he wouldn’t spell out any “recommendation or possibility” he has given Trump, however the truth that to this point the President has not but adopted by means of on his risk to assault floor targets in Venezuela could also be due to the “secondary or tertiary issues” Caine stated can be the end result related to enterprise such overt actions.
The public reactions to the 25 narco-boat assaults with their 95 related deaths has been unhealthy sufficient. But additionally they elevate questions on the place Caine stood on that challenge.
In reality, CNBC’s Brennan began the dialog with Caine asking his views about “these Caribbean strikes and the reporting round them.”
Caine diverted from the query saying he was struck by the “type of lack of confidence within the American army by the American individuals and that is deeply regarding to me.” He then stated he wished so as to add one element to what Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had earlier advised the Reagan Forum in regards to the boat strikes.
That element, Caine stated, was that it was his concept together with Adm. Frank (Mitch) Bradley, the operational commander who ordered the so-called second strike on September 2, “to go up and
share the knowledge that we may share with the Congress.” The two gave categorised briefings to leaders of the House and Senate Armed Services and Intelligence Committees, in addition to army appropriators, on December 4, in line with The New York Times.
Caine advised the Reagan Forum they’d achieved it “in order that we may proceed to maintain and scale that belief that we should earn every single day from the American individuals by means of the Congress.”
Throughout the 30-minute dialog, Caine averted speaking about Trump administration coverage, simply two days after Trump’s 2025 National Security Strategy (NSS) had been launched.
For instance, when CNBC’s Brennan requested, “How do you see the alliance with Europe evolving?” – a controversial topic within the Trump NSS, Caine responded, “We do not do coverage within the Joint Force. We execute these insurance policies.”
Caine did acknowledge the NSS’s new coverage emphasis on the Western Hemisphere.
“Protecting the homeland is not only a time period that we are saying anymore. It’s an actual factor and homeland safety is nationwide safety,” Caine stated. “I will not get into the operational issues, however there’s loads of seen examples…on the place we’re going to defend our neighborhood and do this pursuant to the issues that we’re capable of do to verify America is a protected and safe nation.”
Caine then added, “We haven’t, should you look again over the arc of our deployment historical past over the previous couple of years, we’ve not had loads of American fight energy in our personal neighborhood. I think that is most likely going to vary. We’ll see what we’re ordered to do and naturally we observe that steerage.”
But Caine did concentrate on conventional threats saying, “From a army perspective, army alone, {our relationships} are good in Europe, and I’ll let my bosses discuss in regards to the coverage there.”
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Caine was extra open when it got here to NATO. “Allies and companions are key and important to us as we combat collectively,” Caine advised the Reagan Forum. “NATO stays a key essential ally for us. They are, I believe, going to personal European safety each by means of NATO and bilaterally and individually. The army leaders that I talked to are inspired by the protection spending that is occurring inside their nations. I’d say, and have stated to them, the identical narrative round their protection and nationwide industrial bases as we attempt to scale European protection so Europe can personal Europe.”
Caine added, “The SACEUR [Supreme Allied Commander Europe] over there, [U.S.] General [Alexus G.] Grynkewich, is carrying the identical message by means of his EUCOM [U.S. European Command] hat. But that stated, allies and companions stay a key half as specified by the nationwide safety technique.”
When it got here to the combating in Europe, Caine advised the Reagan Forum, “I wish to be fairly cautious about commenting on Ukraine due to the continuing negotiations. And I’m conscious that something that I say may get spun by hook or by crook. I believe, for me, I consider that we all the time wish to be striving for peace and what’s occurred in Europe there’s a tragedy out on the Ukrainian entrance strains. So I’m going to be fairly cautious given the conferences which are happening.”
He did say, “What the Ukraine industrial base has achieved to create tens of hundreds and a whole lot of hundreds of drones is extraordinary. Those are the sorts of entrepreneurial classes that we wish to take from that combat.”
Caine additionally talked of a army lesson from Ukraine.
“It’s one other case examine within the significance of the flexibility to place air energy over a battlefield,” he stated. “And once you take a look at the fastened and frozen strains that we have seen out in Ukraine, it is a possibility for us to be taught in regards to the significance of defending the drive on the bottom. And having been a kind of guys on the bottom earlier in my life, I worth tremendously the flexibility to have an air drive or some sort of functionality that may are available there and put an adversary in a selected place of ache. We have not seen that on the market in Ukraine.”
Caine stated, “One of the teachings out of Ukraine goes to be mass. And there’s loads of exchanges happening. And after I take into consideration battle combating sooner or later, I see loads of exchanges, each within the kinetic and non-kinetic house, that’s most likely unprecedented. So we’ll want a high-low combine that we have not seen earlier than…however we’re additionally going to want considerably extra attritable [loseable] issues that may create a number of simultaneous dilemmas for the commanders on one other facet of a combat than for us.”
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While the Trump NSS hardly talked about China, Caine did.
“When we take a look at the rise of the Chinese army,” Caine stated, “what our objective within the Joint Force is to create a number of simultaneous dilemmas for all the adversaries around the globe, in order that they’re very cautious and anxious about doing one thing that might carry any sense of risk to the American individuals.”
Caine went on, “I believe China’s competing on the worldwide scale. I do know that from the U.S. perspective we have an financial relationship now that’s wanting optimistic and trending effective. We see China nonetheless creating loads of fight functionality and capability at scale, and because the National Security Strategy says, we owe it to the nation to ship a free Indo-Pacific and a free and protected and affluent Indo-Pacific. So after I take into consideration actions within the Pacific, conscious of the President’s steerage, that is how we give it some thought.”
As for the Middle East, Caine referred to as it nonetheless “crucial,” and stated, “It’s nonetheless I believe undecided. I fastidiously watch by means of the CENTCOM (U.S. Central Command) commander what’s occurring in Gaza. I stay as all the time involved about what Iran’s intentions are down there. These are conflicts which were happening for a protracted, lengthy, time. I’m looking forward to peace however have to be ready for any variety of eventualities there.”
As for right here at residence, Caine advised the Reagan Forum, “What the American system, as it has been operating for a very long time now, is actually good at is shopping for behind the know-how growth curve [emphasis added]. And what we have to do is get in entrance of the know-how growth curve. And that is going to require the most effective of the army, the most effective of the Congress, the most effective of the personal sector, and the most effective of not simply the protection industrial base, however the nationwide industrial base.
Caine defined, “Back in my life, I ran a small mother and pop machine store in Denton, Texas, that made components for America’s aerospace and protection trade. And I’ll inform you that everyone must up their recreation right here.”
He went on, “We should change the tradition contained in the [Defense] Department. We have to vary the tradition inside firms. And I’ve been in each. So I can see each of this stuff. We should create and maintain and keep aggressive forces on the market available in the market the place we’re driving innovation in our company buildings and techniques which are going to offer higher fight functionality to the Joint Force.”
In addition, Caine stated, “The army and the federal government have to be higher consumers and we’ve got to write down higher contracts. I’m nonetheless on step one in all my 12-step restoration course of from promoting to the federal government after I was a part-timer within the army. I believe we’ve got to discover a technique to share danger between us and the personal sector.”
Caine was an uncommon alternative by President Trump, who had first met Caine again in December 2018 in Iraq. The President claimed throughout a 2019 political speech he had met an Army officer, “Razin Caine,” who had worn a MAGA hat, stated he’d “kill for Trump,” and claimed in Iraq he may defeat the ISIS terrorist group in Syria “in lower than 4 weeks,” three Trump statements Caine later denied in interviews and through his 2025 Senate affirmation listening to.
When I first wrote about Caine final March, I used to be drawn to the info that starting August 2005 he served a yr as a White House Fellow on the Agriculture Department and later, from October 2006 to January 2008, was Policy Director for Counterterrorism and Strategy for President George W. Bush’s White House Homeland Security Council. Caine’s final army put up earlier than resigning from the Air Force in 2024 was three years as Associate Director for Military Affairs on the CIA.
However, on the Reagan Forum, Caine confessed, “I really served on the Agency [CIA] twice. One is in my bio, one is just not in my bio.” What’s that each one about?
Caine clearly is an individual the general public must observe extra carefully.
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