Net Assessment Assesses the 2026 Annual Threat Assessment

Chris, Zack, and Melanie have a look at the 2026 Annual Threat Assessment. Does the document get the threats, and their prioritiztion, right? How does Trump administration policy align with what the intelligence community determines to be the most critical threats facing the US in the next year? Has the two-decades-old ODNI experiment has run its course? Chris commends Global Affairs Canada and the Stimson Center for jointly honoring the late Stimson Center president, Brian Finlay, with an award in his name, the Brian Finlay Innovation in Threat Reduction Award. Zack has some kind words for Senator Lindsey Graham, who just passed away, and Melanie criticizes NATO leaders for wimping out at the end of a summit where the primary goal was to demonstrate the ability to fight.

 

Show Links:

 

• 2026 Annual Threat Assessment, ODNI, March 14, 2026.
• Andreas Kluth, If the US Keeps Messing with this Spy Agency, It'll Pay a High Price, Bloomberg, July 9, 2026.
• Dan Lomas and Matthew Savill, Missing Intelligence: The Trump Administration, Iran, and the US Intelligence Community, Royal United Services Institute, May 21, 2026.
• Ott Tammik, Erodgan's NATO Gift of Revolvers Runs into Europe's Gun Laws, Bloomberg, July 10, 2026.
• Aaron Blake, Tulsi Gabbard Went Down to Georgia, and No One in the Trump Administration Wants to Take Credit, CNN, February 5, 2026.
• "Global Affairs Canada and the Stimson Center Launch the Brian Finlay Innovation in Threat Reduction Award," Stimson Center, July 1, 2026.
• Melanie Marlowe, X, 10:28 PM – 7/6/26.