Paul Crespo

President Trump's new Qatari-gifted interim, or bridge, Air Force One has been in the news recently due to questions about its security and defensive capabilities. However, on a more positive but related note, Trump is now building a new, first-ever, helipad for the new Marine One helicopter at the White House, and building it fast. And yes, the president needs it.

PAUL'S DEFENSE BRIEF (PDB): House Homeland Security Committee lawmakers and staff get taste of AI-enabled cyberattacks in China-Taiwan tabletop war game that tested how U.S. officials might respond to AI-backed cyberattacks targeting transportation and logistics networks needed to deploy U.S. forces

PAUL'S DEFENSE BRIEF (PDB): Is U.S. critical infrastructure ready for asymmetric warfare ? A few thousand dollars of commercial hardware can now destroy tens of millions of dollars in strategic assets. Think Ukraine's ‘Operation Spiderweb,' where swarm of drones cost $7 billion in Russian damages.

In my most recent PDB (Paul's Defense Brief), the topline story described the growing tension between Israel and Turkey, with a potential fault line arising in Syria. Of note, that story reminds us that in 2025 Israel attacked targets in Syria that were being prepared for possible Turkish military bases, thus greatly lowering the threshold for a direct clash between the two regional powers.

PAUL'S DEFENSE BRIEF (PDB): Donald Trump lashed out at reports U.S. is running short of key munitions in war with Iran, threatening long prison sentences for officials who leak information about military's weapons stocks

In my most recent PDB (Paul’s Defense Brief), the topline story described the growing tension between Israel and Turkey, with a potential fault line arising in Syria. Of note, that story reminds us that in 2025 Israel attacked targets in Syria that were being prepared for possible Turkish military bases, thus greatly lowering the threshold […]

PAUL'S DEFENSE BRIEF (PDB): Some argue that the U.S. has bluntly signaled deprioritization of the Indian Ocean at a very peculiar time . Reverting U.S. Indo-Pacific Command to its former name, Pacific Command, signifies no material change in force posture or organizational responsibilities, but unavoidably signals less focus on Indian Ocean, presumably in favor of China in western Pacific.

PAUL'S DEFENSE BRIEF (PDB): Managed instability: Why wars against Iran and Ukraine can go on and on and on… Iran war is beginning to resemble Ukraine war in one important way . Operationally, the wars are still very different. But their political logic after failure to achieve a quick result is starting to look very similar.

Even as the war between the U.S. and Iran drags on, and Israel faces off with Hezbollah in Lebanon, while cleaning up Hamas in Gaza, a new bigger war may be looming. One that as I have previously noted may have biblical repercussions.

Will this finally break Iran's regime? Or will Trump back off again? With no sign of a diplomatic settlement after a 60-day ceasefire expired, the U.S. says it aims to force Iran into submission through what President Trump is calling “economic D-Day” or the complete economic isolation of Iran.