Defense Writers Group
24 February 2023
Moderator: Good morning, everybody, and welcome everyone to this Defense Writers Group conversation with a guest that we have not had before in my memory, so we’re really honored to have Jessica Lewis, the Assistant Secretary of State, Bureau of Political-Military Affairs. The ground rules as always, this is on the record, but there is no rebroadcast of either audio or video. I’ll ask the first question, and then we’ll go around the table. Ten of you already emailed in advance to get on the list. When we go through those I’ll certainly call on others. This is an incredibly auspicious and tragic day for the world, the one-year anniversary of Vladimir Putin’s illegal aggressive invasion of Ukraine. You’ve spoken about it often, Madame Secretary, and I’d like to play back to you a very very powerful quote. Not long ago you said, “This war has really created a tectonic shift as the entire world is looking at what defense and security systems is going to need moving forward and as countries reassess their own security needs.” So I’ll ask you, ma’am, what does that mean? What specifically do we need to do? What are the lessons from Ukraine that you and your office will be trying to press on the government and the allies moving ahead?
A/S Lewis: First of all I’d really like to start by saying thank you to you for hosting me, and thank you to everybody for being here today.
