Thread by @jseldin

US needs low yield nuclear weapons, @US_Stratcom Cmdr @usairforce Gen John Hyten tells #SASC hearing - "That capability's a deterrence weapon to respond the threat that #Russia in particular is portraying"

"The #Russia|n doctrine will be to use a low-yield nuclear weapon on the battlefield in case of a conventional over-match with an adversary" per Gen Hyten, citing Vladimir Putin's own words

"Our defense is deterrent capability" per @US_Stratcom's Gen Hyten, when asked about threat from #Russia #China #hypersonic missiles "We don't have any defense that could deny the deployment of such a weapon against us"

"#Russia's going to have, at least in the unclassified world, at least 11 different delivery platforms for low yield nuclear weapons that they can use in different places at different times - right now we have one" per Gen Hyten on why need sub-launched low yield nukes

"When I have my intel..,translate the #Russia|n for me it is not 'escalate to deescalate,' it is 'escalate to win' and we have to deter that kind of response, That cannot be allowed" @US_Stratcom's Gen Hyten says of #Russia|n doctrine & threat

US Space Force - "I think that someday we'll have a space corps, space force in this country. But I don't think the time is right for that right now," per @US_Stratcom's Gen John Hyten "But I love the fact that the president talked about space as a warfighting domain"

"I see good signs" that US moving faster to keep qualitative edge, per STRATCOM's Gen Hyten "We can do it again but we need to get out of our own way"

"As I sit hear today, #Iran is in compliance with #JCPOA" per @US_Stratcom Cmdr Gen John Hyten, asked asked about nuclear deal "But it doesn't say anything about Iran as a global sponsor of terrorism or Iran building huge numbers of ballistic missiles"

Impact of potentially pulling out of #JCPOA on #DPRK - "Any action the #UnitedStates makes sends a message to everybody on the planet" per Gen Hyten "It will sends a message to #NorthKorea. It will send messages to #Russia #China, our allies... everybody is impacted"

"That's one of the differences in deterrence in the 21st century is that it's not longer a single country problem & a single issue proble, - it impacts everybody" per STRATCOM's Gen Hyten

Not just nukes- #cyber a concern, too

"We need to have specific rules of engagement in cyber that match the other domains" per @US_Stratcom's Gen Hyten "Then we need to delegate that authority all the way down so we can deal w/threats that exist that challenge the #UnitedStates"

STRATCOM's Gen Hyten says #cyber should be treated like space has been treated - talked about/viewed/considered as a warfighting domain

"War, conflict, deterrence, is against an adversary, not against a place" @US_Stratcom's Gen Hyten says of #cyber "You have to take the place out of it & focus on the adversary. What is the adversary doing? How do I deter that adversary?"

"Hopefully, that allows room for our diplomats to sit down with our adversary and say, 'Is this the world you really want to live in?'" per @US_Stratcom's Gen Hyten

#Russia & nukes - "They've decided that that's the most important investment they have to make as a nation & they've put the vast majority of the resources they have left into that" per @US_Stratcom's Hyten at #SASC, adds...

"Oh, by the way, #NorthKorea's done the same thing"

"We have to make a decision in the near term," warns @US_Stratcom's Gen Hyten re question about #Russia & the #INF
"If they [Russia] don't come into compliance w/the INF, how long will we continue to, as you said, tie our hands"