The overarching question imparting urgency to this exploration is: Can U.S.-Russian contention in cyberspace cause the two nuclear superpowers to stumble into war? In considering this question we were constantly reminded of recent comments by a prominent U.S. arms control expert: At least as dangerous as the risk of an actual cyberattack, he observed, is cyber operations’ “blurring of the line between peace and war.” Or, as Nye wrote, “in the cyber realm, the difference between a weapon and a non-weapon may come down to a single line of code, or simply the intent of a computer program’s user.”
Honorable Debra Wada is CEO and founder of Senshi Ame Advisors and served as Vice Chair of the National Commission on Military, National, and Public Service. She was previously the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Manpower & Reserve Affairs. Appointed by President Obama, Ms. Wada was responsible for all personnel issues affecting military, civilians and contractors, as well as training and readiness policies. She had oversight of over 1.5 million people and a budget of over $80 billion. Her responsibilities also included programs that supported Army families and dependents, including health care. Ms. Wada spent more than 25 years working in the U.S. Congress, including over a decade of experience on the House Armed Services Committee, culminating in her role as the Deputy Staff Director.
Major General (Ret) Dennis Laich had a distinguished 35 year career in the US Army Reserve culminating as the commander of the 94th Regional Readiness Command. He currently serves as the PATRIOTS Program director and Ohio Dominican University helping veterans meet their educational goals. General Laich wrote Skin in the Game: Poor Kids and Patriots in 2013 advocating for a draft to make military service more equitable across the various communities in America.