Defense Industry Must Collaborate More in Middle East, Says Dunford

The U.S. must collaborate with friendly Middle Eastern governments to strengthen a global industrial base and prepare for large-scale wars that will chew through raw materials and high-end munitions alike, according to a new study from Joseph Dunford, a former Joint Chiefs chairman, and Eric Edelman, a former undersecretary of defense for policy.

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Why it matters:  Conflicts are no longer regional. They are worldwide.

Supply chains crisscross borders. Fights transcend singular domains. And countries long considered national security threats in Washington are growing intimate.

Driving the news: “Partners in Production: U.S.-Middle East Cooperation to Enhance Our Collective Defense Industrial Base” was published Wednesday by the Jewish Institute for National Security of America.

Axios got an early look.

What they’re saying: “I’m one who buys into the fact that our center of gravity was — and continues to be — the network of allies and partners that we have around the world,” Dunford said in an interview.

“The natural thing to do would be to look for ways to make our partners more capable and increase … the aggregate defense industrial base of like-minded nations.”
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Read the full piece in Axios.