{"id":6359,"date":"2026-02-28T15:58:08","date_gmt":"2026-02-28T15:58:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sawahsolutions.com\/range\/the-d-brief-anthropic-says-no-to-dod-afghanistan-pakistan-war-ukraine-tactics-update-us-laser-downs-dhs-drone-and-a-bit-more\/"},"modified":"2026-02-28T15:58:08","modified_gmt":"2026-02-28T15:58:08","slug":"the-d-brief-anthropic-says-no-to-dod-afghanistan-pakistan-war-ukraine-tactics-update-us-laser-downs-dhs-drone-and-a-bit-more","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sawahsolutions.com\/range\/the-d-brief-anthropic-says-no-to-dod-afghanistan-pakistan-war-ukraine-tactics-update-us-laser-downs-dhs-drone-and-a-bit-more\/","title":{"rendered":"The D Brief: Anthropic says no to DOD; Afghanistan-Pakistan war; Ukraine tactics update; US laser downs DHS drone; And a bit more."},"content":{"rendered":"
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Artificial-intelligence titan Anthropic rejected the U.S. military\u2019s terms for use of its Claude platform on Thursday,<\/strong> warning that \u201cin a narrow set of cases, we believe AI can undermine, rather than defend, democratic values.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

The firm\u2019s CEO Dario Amodei said in a <\/em><\/strong>statement<\/em><\/strong> that he has refused to allow Claude to be used for mass surveillance of U.S. citizens or to guide fully autonomous weapons, rejecting Pentagon requests to make unfettered use of the model.<\/p>\n

Claude is one of just two large generative-AI models that the Pentagon has made available on classified networks,<\/em><\/strong> and it is the only one that belongs to a cutting-edge group of frontier models, Defense One<\/em>\u2019s Patrick Tucker reports. The military isn\u2019t saying just how it uses such models. But Emil Michael, former Uber exec and current defense undersecretary for research and engineering, has suggested that their uses include intelligence and planning.<\/p>\n

Earlier Thursday, Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell gave Anthropic an ultimatum, <\/em><\/strong>declaring on Twitter that the company has \u201cuntil 5:01 PM ET on Friday\u201d to comply with the Defense Department\u2019s unrestricted terms for use or the Pentagon \u201cwill terminate our partnership with Anthropic and deem them a supply chain risk.\u201d He also threatened to invoke the Defense Production Act to use the company\u2019s product without the company\u2019s permission.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In his statement, Amodei called our DOD\u2019s \u201ccontradictory\u201d threats.<\/em><\/strong> He notes that the spokesman \u201cthreatened to designate us a \u2018supply chain risk\u2019\u2014a label reserved for U.S. adversaries, never before applied to an American company\u2014and to invoke the Defense Production Act to force the safeguards\u2019 removal. These latter two threats are inherently contradictory: one labels us a security risk; the other labels Claude as essential to national security.\u201d<\/p>\n

Emil Michael responded angrily on Twitter,<\/em><\/strong> accusing Amodei of being \u201ca liar\u201d and having \u201ca God-complex. He wants nothing more than to try to personally control the US Military and is ok putting our nation\u2019s safety at risk,\u201d Michael alleged. He also claimed Anthropic has no corporate values, but rather \u201ctheir own plan to impose on Americans their corporate laws,\u201d and called it \u201cyour worst nightmare.\u201d He later repeated his allegation that Anthropic is \u201clying,\u201d and said the Pentagon wants \u201cwarfighters to use AI without having to call @DarioAmodei for permission to shoot down an enemy drone swarms that would kill Americans.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

But dropping Claude from Defense Department networks is easier said than done,<\/em><\/strong> Tucker reports. Operators would have to reconfigure data inputs that they are feeding into models, re-examine how to share data in real-time with the intelligence community which also uses Claude widely, and re-validate that replacement models were functioning as the military expected it to, sources said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Why is Claude the only known AI platform deployed on classified networks?<\/em><\/strong> According to a defense official: Anthropic\u2019s tools were the easiest to deploy on cloud networks powered by AWS, which contributes the largest chunk of the Pentagon\u2019s Joint Warfighting Cloud Capability. The two companies are especially close: AWS is the leading cloud-service provider to Anthropic, which trains its models using Amazon\u2019s proprietary Trainium chips.<\/p>\n

Notable: It could take a year or longer to replace the capability lost by Claude\u2019s departure,<\/em><\/strong> Tucker reports. However, a defense official said that he expected additional frontier-AI models to be widely available on the Pentagon\u2019s GenAi.mil interface before summer. Continue reading, here.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Related reading:<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\n\n

Welcome to this Friday edition of The D Brief,<\/strong> a newsletter focused on developments affecting the future of U.S. national security, brought to you by Ben Watson with Bradley Peniston. It\u2019s more important than ever to stay informed, so we\u2019d like to take a moment to thank you for reading. Share your tips and feedback here. And if you\u2019re not already subscribed, you can do that here. On this day in 2019, <\/em><\/strong>a Pakistani air force pilot shot down Indian MiG-21 pilot Abhinandan Varthaman during a dogfight amid renewed tensions in Kashmir.<\/p>\n

Around the Defense Department<\/span><\/h2>\n

The U.S. military shot down a DHS drone over Texas, lawmakers say. <\/strong>On Thursday, an unidentified military service used a laser weapon to down a \u201cseemingly threatening\u201d drone in far western Texas. The FAA consequently closed airspace around Fort Hancock, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) southeast of El Paso. But the drone turned out to be owned by Customs and Border Patrol, Democratic lawmakers said hours later. More from the Associated Press, here.<\/p>\n

The Army is tweaking a battlefield dashboard,<\/strong> Defense One\u2019s <\/em>Meghann Myers reports off a brief on how the 25th Infantry Division is helping to improve the Next Generation Command and Control system.<\/p>\n

Cost estimate for new Sentinel ICBM plan won\u2019t arrive until year\u2019s end.<\/strong> Two years ago, the Pentagon informed Congress that Sentinel\u2019s estimated cost had ballooned 81 percent, largely because the Air Force had discovered that it would not be able to reuse the missile silos used by today\u2019s Minuteman ICBMs. By the end of 2026, officials say, the program will return to the engineering-development phase with new funding, construction, and schedule plans. Defense One\u2019s Thomas Novelly has more, here.<\/p>\n

Senators grill ASD nom over election security.<\/strong> \u201cI’m just asking, do you think it would be appropriate to station troops next to polling stations? Simple yes or no,\u201d Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Massachusetts, asked Mark Ditlevson, the administration\u2019s nominee to be assistant defense secretary for homeland defense and Americas security affairs. Ditlevson called the question \u201cspeculative,\u201d declining to discuss \u201cwhat threat levels may exist during an election cycle.\u201d Warren retorted: \u201cI have to say, if you’re not willing, just to say, \u2018No, it is not appropriate,\u2019 then I have real concerns about you in this job.\u201d Defense One\u2019s <\/em>Lauren C. Williams reports, here.<\/p>\n

The questions reflected concerns about White House interference: <\/em><\/strong>\u201cAhead of the midterm elections, an emboldened President Trump has shown an increased eagerness to leverage the full investigative, prosecutorial and legislative powers of the federal government to bend election mechanics to his will,\u201d the New York Times <\/em>reported on Wednesday.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cEmergency\u201d order floated:<\/em><\/strong> <\/strong>\u201cPro-Trump activists who say they are in coordination with the White House are circulating a 17-page draft executive order that claims China interfered in the 2020 election as a basis to declare a national emergency that would unlock extraordinary presidential power over voting,\u201d the Washington Post<\/em> reported on Thursday.<\/p>\n

Related:<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\n

Af-Pak tensions<\/span><\/h2>\n

Pakistan and Afghanistan are at \u201copen war\u201d with each other, <\/strong>Islamabad\u2019s defense minister announced Thursday evening <\/strong>following a series of crossborder attacks and airstrikes this week inside key Afghan cities including Kabul and Kandahar. Afghanistan\u2019s Paktia province was also hit in overnight airstrikes from Pakistani forces, Reuters reports.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The alleged death toll in the recent attacks is remarkable,<\/em><\/strong> with 274 Taliban killed according to Pakistan. The Taliban sharply disputed that and said only 13 militants had been killed in addition to 55 Pakistani soldiers and 19 border posts seized by the Taliban, according to the group\u2019s spokesman. Neither side\u2019s claims could be verified.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Point of friction: <\/em><\/strong>Pakistan accuses the Afghan Taliban of supporting the Pakistani Taliban, or TTP, and Baloch separatist groups. It\u2019s a common allegation, as AP reports \u201cPakistan has also frequently accused neighboring India of backing the outlawed Baloch Liberation Army and the Pakistani Taliban, allegations New Delhi denies.\u201d Afghanistan and Pakistan also fought briefly in October before mediators from Turkey, Qatar and Saudi Arabia stepped in to resolve tensions.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Turkish, Qatari and Saudi officials have rejoined mediation talks again<\/em><\/strong> after the recent clashes, AP reports. Iran\u2019s top diplomat also encouraged calm on both sides; but Tehran is looking to avoid another conflict with the U.S. amid their next planned talks, slated for next week in Vienna.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Russia\u2019s war on Ukraine<\/span><\/h2>\n

Ukraine says Russia used a long-range, nuclear-capable cruise missile at least four times this month.<\/strong> It\u2019s Moscow\u2019s SSC-8\/9M729 cruise missile, which Reuters reports \u201cprompted Trump to quit the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, then a cornerstone of nuclear arms control, in 2019\u201d because it can \u201cfar beyond the permitted limit of 500 km (310 miles).\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cRussia had fired the 9M729 at Ukraine twice in 2022 and 23 times<\/em><\/strong> between August and October last year, the first known combat uses of the missile anywhere,\u201d Reuters adds, noting that its use in Ukraine is \u201ca striking example of how the nuclear arms control edifice emerging from the Cold War has crumbled in recent years.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Russia launched more than three dozen missiles and over 400 drones at Ukraine overnight Wednesday,<\/em><\/strong> ahead of U.S.-Ukraine talks in Geneva, the Washington-based Institute for the Study of War wrote in their Thursday assessment. Ukrainian air defenses and malfunctions stopped all but five missiles and 46 drones, which struck 32 locations across the country in that attack. Targets included \u201cgas infrastructure in Poltava Oblast, electrical substations in Kyiv and Dnipropetrovsk oblasts,\u201d with related outages stretching across five regions, ISW reports.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Tactical note: <\/em><\/strong>\u201cRussia has launched strike packages with 25 or more missiles five additional times in February,\u201d according to ISW. This is notable because \u201cRussian forces often launch no or few missiles for multiple days in a row before launching strike packages with a significantly higher quantity of missiles, likely stockpiling missiles between strike series to maximize damage by launching several missiles alongside a large quantity of drones to overwhelm Ukraine\u2019s air defenses.\u201d Read more, here.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Developing: Ukraine aims to cover 4,000 km of roads with anti-drone nets<\/em><\/strong> by the end of the year, Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov said on Wednesday. They\u2019re already helping, he said: \u201cIn just one month, we increased the speed from 5 km per day in January to 12 km in February. This significantly improved the safety of military movements and ensured stable functioning of frontline communities,\u201d Fedorov said on the Telegram app. Reuters has more, here.<\/p>\n

Iran buildup<\/span><\/h2>\n

Trump was briefed on his Iran-war options Thursday by CENTCOM\u2019s top commander,<\/strong> ABC News reported after the meeting. Axios had similar reporting, but it\u2019s unclear what information was exchanged during Adm. Brad Cooper\u2019s briefing.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Some Iran hawks close to Trump have begun encouraging Israel to take the lead<\/em><\/strong> in the next attacks inside Iran, at least partly in the hopes that would help \u201cmuster support from American voters for a U.S. strike,\u201d Politico<\/em> reported Wednesday.\u00a0<\/p>\n

New: Just 27% of Americans said they have \u201ca great deal\u201d or \u201cquite a bit\u201d trust <\/em><\/strong>in Trump\u2019s judgement on the use of military force, according to a new survey of voters published Thursday by AP.\u00a0<\/p>\n

And the White House has latched onto \u201ca series of false or unproven claims\u201d<\/em><\/strong> in its \u201carguments this week for another military campaign against Iran,\u201d the New York Times<\/em> reported Thursday. Those include allegations \u201cthat Iran has restarted its nuclear program, has enough available nuclear material to build a bomb within days, and is developing long-range missiles that will soon be capable of hitting the United States.\u201d The Wall Street Journal<\/em> offered a similar angle Friday, writing in its headline, \u201cIran Is Far From Building ICBMs, Experts Say, Despite Trump Warning.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

But U.S. officials have told non-essential personnel to leave the embassy in Jerusalem,<\/em><\/strong> the State Department announced Thursday citing unspecified \u201csafety risks.\u201d A similar order was issued earlier this week in Lebanon.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Pentagon also sent F-22s to Israel this week<\/em><\/strong>, the Wall Street Journal <\/em>reported Thursday after videos of their arrival in southern Israel appeared on social media.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Additional reading:<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\n

Trump 2.0<\/span><\/h2>\n

Trump\u2019s foreign policy is \u201ca resurrection of the mission of empire<\/strong>\u2014acquiring the territories and resources of sovereign peoples\u2014that animated European and other well-armed powers up to the 20th century,\u201d veteran foreign affairs reporter Edward Wong wrote Friday for the New York Times<\/em>. \u201cHe has seized the leader of Venezuela while claiming the country\u2019s oil and attacking nearby civilian boats. He has pushed Cuba into a humanitarian crisis through a blockade, and asserted a right to control Canada, Greenland and the Panama Canal. And he has amassed the largest U.S. military force in the Middle East since the 2003 invasion of Iraq, threatening a new war against Iran after attacks last June,\u201d Wong reminds readers.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Why it matters:<\/em><\/strong> \u201cextremist forces will exploit this development to attract new recruits,\u201d one expert warned. And \u201cRussia and China could benefit, after decades of trying to rally other countries to their side by criticizing what they have called American imperialism,\u201d Wong writes. Read more (gift link) here.\u00a0<\/p>\n

ICE has reportedly recruited so many new hires that it\u2019s having trouble vetting them all,<\/strong> Reuters reported Thursday, citing an internal email from the agency. For a force of around 10,000 officers, ICE data suggests it added another 6,000 or so through January. The email referenced a \u201chigh volume of new hires\u201d and reportedly \u201csaid stalled background checks could create uncertainty for field offices when allegations arise related to actions before joining ICE.\u201d A DHS spokesperson denied a struggle in processing. Read more, here.<\/p>\n

When it comes to immigration, the White House is escalating its drive to welcome white South Africans. <\/strong>\u201cThe U.S. aims to process 4,500 refugee applications from white South Africans per month, far above President Donald Trump’s stated refugee program cap,\u201d Reuters reported Thursday.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Background:<\/em><\/strong> \u201cTrump ordered a halt to refugee admissions into the U.S. after taking office in 2025 as part of his crackdown on legal and illegal immigration. But weeks later, he launched an effort to bring in white South Africans of Afrikaner ethnicity as refugees, saying they had been violently persecuted in the majority-Black country. South Africa’s government has rejected that claim, while some refugee advocates have criticized the Trump policy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Related:<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n