WASHINGTON, DC - Today, U.S. Senator Jack Reed (D-RI), the Ranking Member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, delivered a key speech on Russian information warfare and provided policy recommendations to help counter the threat.  This is Senator Reed’s second major speech on protecting the United States from Russian information warfare attacks.  The first one was delivered on the U.S. Senate floor of January 24, 2019.  The two floor statements are part of Senator Reed’s ongoing series of speeches on Russian hybrid warfare.

Over the years, Russia has intensified a broad information warfare campaign, conducted along specific lines of effort, against the United States and its allies and partners.   Russia has been particularly effective in adapting its information warfare playbook to the digital age, weaponizing social media to magnify fear and mistrust, create chaos, and undermine our ability to respond effectively.

Senator Reed urges the U.S. to take action to confront this national security threat. Those actions include leadership from the President in confronting the Kremlin  and developing a coordinated strategy across government and society.  Flowing from the coordinated strategy, the U.S. must ensure we have the right capabilities and organizations to manage this ongoing confrontation in the information space.

Importantly, Senator Reed also noted that the United States, in conjunction with our allies and partners must develop an American playbook, leveraging our strategic advantages to fight back. 

A transcript of Senator Reed's speech today is available here.

Today's speech in its entirety can be viewed here.

A transcript of Senator Reed's speech on this topic from January 24, 2019 is available here.

The speech from January 24 can be viewed here.