Richard Blumenthal

Without a cyber strategy, there can be no cyber policy.

A number of your colleagues, heads of services, have said that the greatest threat or perhaps one of the greatest threats, if not the greatest threat, to our Nation is cyber.

Would the American people be well served by more information about this threat so that they do appreciate what the facts are?

Right now, our policy of deterrence is in my view an abject failure.

I feel like we are in a time warp here because when you were last here, we agreed that we need a policy and a strategy, as the chairman has articulated so well, and we still do not have one.

But unless they are made to pay a price as well, the Russians will be enabled and encouraged in the future.

There is no question that the Russians attacked this country through cyber.

I know you have been asked this question before. In fact, you were asked when you last testified here. You said that tools like sanctions can be an effective option.

Nothing that is changing their behavior, and clearly nothing that will change their behavior in the future because, to quote you or paraphrase you, they have more to gain than to lose by continuing this kind of attack.

We have heard repeatedly in this room, as well as yesterday with Director Clapper, that the Russians will continue attacking the United States unless they are forced to pay a price.

Is there any sort of defense that can be provided to the people of Syria by the United States against these types of weapons?

So I hope that we are able to disseminate that information more widely to the American people.

I am absolutely perplexed as to why we should not make more widely known the involvement of Russians in war crimes.

If the Russians are aiding and abetting them, why should the American people be denied that information?

General McDew, please describe the steps required by a commercial company contracted with TRANSCOM if the company experiences a breach to their cyber network.

You do need to directly.

I would think for a variety of reasons you would like to know.

If they are attacked, it is an attack on a network that is performing national security military work

I am somewhat surprised that they are carrying out an essential national security and defense mission; they are under attack, just as they would be as if they were conducting a convoy in Afghanistan; and the Department of Defense is not…

These are the first instances of such flights since 2015.

I believe that the F-35 is critical most in PACOM than any other region of the world because of the threat that we face and what the F-35 brings to the fight.

Potential adversary submarine activity has tripled from 2008 levels--tripled--requiring a corresponding increase of U.S. activity to maintain undersea superiority.

Russia is expanding its capabilities in the arctic, the largest since the end of the Cold War.

Admiral Tidd, what do you know about the links between Venezuela's Government and Hezbollah?

Admiral Tidd, are you working to build the capacity of regional allies to address Hezbollah's malign activities?