COVID-19 sparks national security concerns with top brass in quarantine
By Rebecca Kheel - 10/07/20 06:42 PM EDT
The quarantining of most of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, coming on the heels of President Trump’s COVID-19 diagnosis, is raising fears that U.S. adversaries might seek to exploit a perceived weakness.
Few expect any sort of overt military action, but there are other ways to wreak havoc on the United States.
Chief among them is disinformation. Experts have been warning ever since Trump tested positive for the coronavirus last week that disinformation is likely to kick into overdrive.
Now, with six of the seven members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff waylaid at home, warnings are being amplified about the national security implications of the growing COVID-19 outbreak among U.S. leadership.
“All these kinds of things are just a huge distraction for us where our national security apparatus is consumed with matters domestic and internal,†former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper said at a Washington Post event after news broke of the Joint Chiefs quarantining. “So this is an ideal time for adversaries, particularly in adversary intelligence services, to look for ways to further confuse us, to distract us.â€
Adding that “you can bet particularly our good friends the Russians are doing this,†Clapper warned of them “further sowing seeds of disinformation.â€
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https://thehill.com/policy/defense/520097-covid-19-sparks-national-security-concerns-with-top-brass-in-quarantine
