Thomas P. Bossert

President @TrinityCyber; national security analyst @ABC; former Homeland Security & Counterterrorism Advisor to @POTUS, Distinguished Fellow @AtlanticCouncil

[Shawn Gumataotao @ShawnGumataotao]

Sad to hear of the passing of former Interior Secretary and Idaho Governor Dirk Kempthorne. He was such a good and gracious public official. His visit to Guam was historic on so many fronts. Many stories to tell. Him and my former boss and Guam Governor Felix Camacho were pretty tight. Sad for Idaho and America at this time.

[Thomas P. Bossert @TomBossert]

Also, to earn your contribution Steve Ryan and I will lead the team jumping into the frigid Chesapeake Bay this Friday, where the forecasted air temp is between 10° and 20° 🥶

[Thomas P. Bossert @TomBossert]

The team @TrinityCyber needs your help. We are close to our goal of raising $10k for the @SpecialOlympics. Every dollar raised goes directly to Special Olympics athletes. Please donate here - https://t.co/eHDwLDAG2B

[Thomas P. Bossert @TomBossert]

You and your family are in our prayers, Senator. Very heavy message, well written and heartfelt.

[Ben Sasse @BenSasse]

Friends-

This is a tough note to write, but since a bunch of you have started to suspect something, I’ll cut to the chase: Last week I was diagnosed with metastasized, stage-four pancreatic cancer, and am gonna die.

Advanced pancreatic is nasty stuff; it’s a death sentence. But I already had a death sentence before last week too — we all do.

I’m blessed with amazing siblings and half-a-dozen buddies that are genuinely brothers. As one of them put it, “Sure, you’re on the clock, but we’re all on the clock.” Death is a wicked thief, and the bastard pursues us all.

Still, I’ve got less time than I’d prefer. This is hard for someone wired to work and build, but harder still as a husband and a dad. I can’t begin to describe how great my people are. During the past year, as we’d temporarily stepped back from public life and built new family rhythms, Melissa and I have grown even closer — and that on top of three decades of the best friend a man could ever have. Seven months ago, Corrie was commissioned into the Air Force and she’s off at instrument and multi-engine rounds of flight school. Last week, Alex kicked butt graduating from college a semester early even while teaching gen chem, organic, and physics (she’s a freak). This summer, 14-year-old Breck started learning to drive. (Okay, we’ve been driving off-book for six years — but now we’ve got paper to make it street-legal.) I couldn’t be more grateful to constantly get to bear-hug this motley crew of sinners and saints.

There’s not a good time to tell your peeps you’re now marching to the beat of a faster drummer — but the season of advent isn’t the worst. As a Christian, the weeks running up to Christmas are a time to orient our hearts toward the hope of what’s to come.

Not an abstract hope in fanciful human goodness; not hope in vague hallmark-sappy spirituality; not a bootstrapped hope in our own strength (what foolishness is the evaporating-muscle I once prided myself in). Nope — often we lazily say “hope” when what we mean is “optimism.” To be clear, optimism is great, and it’s absolutely necessary, but it’s insufficient. It’s not the kinda thing that holds up when you tell your daughters you’re not going to walk them down the aisle. Nor telling your mom and pops they’re gonna bury their son.

A well-lived life demands more reality — stiffer stuff. That’s why, during advent, even while still walking in darkness, we shout our hope — often properly with a gravelly voice soldiering through tears.

Such is the calling of the pilgrim. Those who know ourselves to need a Physician should dang well look forward to enduring beauty and eventual fulfillment. That is, we hope in a real Deliverer — a rescuing God, born at a real time, in a real place. But the eternal city — with foundations and without cancer — is not yet.

Remembering Isaiah’s prophecies of what’s to come doesn’t dull the pain of current sufferings. But it does put it in eternity’s perspective:
“When we've been there 10,000 years…We've no less days to sing God's praise.”

I’ll have more to say. I’m not going down without a fight. One sub-part of God’s grace is found in the jawdropping advances science has made the past few years in immunotherapy and more. Death and dying aren’t the same — the process of dying is still something to be lived. We’re zealously embracing a lot of gallows humor in our house, and I’ve pledged to do my part to run through the irreverent tape.

But for now, as our family faces the reality of treatments, but more importantly as we celebrate Christmas, we wish you peace: “The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned….For to us a son is given” (Isaiah 9).

With great gratitude, and with gravelly-but-hopeful voices,
Ben — and the Sasses

[Thomas P. Bossert @TomBossert]

👀 The Sudanese military has been in a civil war against the paramilitary RSF forces since April 2023. Civilians bearing the heavy burden of displacement, suffering, now face what may be large-scale ethnic cleansing.

[Christiane Amanpour @amanpour]

A @CNN investigation has uncovered horrific details about atrocities in Sudan, exposing ethnically targeted killings at the hands of the Sudanese Armed Forces and its allies. Worth reading in full: https://t.co/fn1npiHNR2

[George W. Bush Presidential Center @TheBushCenter]

Statement by President George W. Bush on Vice President Dick Cheney:

The death of Richard B. Cheney is a loss to the nation and a sorrow to his friends. Laura and I will remember Dick Cheney for the decent, honorable man that he was. History will remember him as among the finest public servants of his generation – a patriot who brought integrity, high intelligence, and seriousness of purpose to every position he held.

As a young White House aide and chief of staff, a Congressman, a Secretary of Defense, and my Vice President, Dick earned the confidence and high opinion of five presidents. I asked him to join my ticket in 2000 after first enlisting him to help me find the best running mate. In our long discussions about the qualities a vice president should have – deep experience, mature judgment, character, loyalty – I realized that Dick Cheney was the one I needed. I’m still grateful that he was at my side for the eight years that followed. 

Dick was a calm and steady presence in the White House amid great national challenges. I counted on him for his honest, forthright counsel, and he never failed to give his best. He held to his convictions and prioritized the freedom and security of the American people. For those two terms in office, and throughout his remarkable career, Dick Cheney’s service always reflected credit on the country he loved.

Dick’s love for America was second only to his family.  Laura and I have shared our deepest sympathies with Vice President Cheney’s wife Lynne and their daughters and grandchildren of whom he was so deeply proud. We are praying for Lynne, Liz, Mary, and the Cheney family as they honor a great man.

[Thomas P. Bossert @TomBossert]

It was great to sit down with guest host @mikesiko for this episode of the @PaloAltoNtwks Vector Podcast (the extra bonus material at the end is the best).

[Trinity Cyber @TrinityCyber]

On the latest @PaloAltoNtwks Threat Vector Podcast, @Mikesiko spotlights @trinitycyber as one of the most innovative companies in cyber. @tombossert shares insights on how Full Content Inspection changes the prevention game. 🎧 Listen: https://t.co/f0tOuTjoXI #Cybersecurity

[Thomas P. Bossert @TomBossert]

“Success comes from ubiquity of platforms, not exclusion or restrictions.” @davidsacks47

[David Sacks @DavidSacks]

WSJ op-ed: “China’s foundry capacity has vastly surpassed Washington’s expectation, and China is shipping chips abroad several years ahead of schedule…. Success comes from ubiquity of platforms, not exclusion or restrictions.”

https://t.co/qNxvDngrE2

[Atlantic Council @AtlanticCouncil]

Check out what our top Middle East experts had to say about the 🇮🇱 attack on 🇮🇷, its wider implications, and what comes next ➡️ https://t.co/80F86kzgpm

[Tony Thomas @TonyT2Thomas]

One of the more profound memorials to our fallen…on the island of Corregidor.

[Christiane Amanpour @amanpour]

"I always thought the Islamic Republic just doesn't go and pick up random people off the street and charge them with espionage... now that I've gone through it, I know what it feels like and how bogus the whole thing is." Siamak Namazi, Morad Tahbaz, and Emad Shargi were released from Iranian captivity in 2023. I spoke to them in their first joint interview

[McCrary Institute @McCraryCyber]

Today we're proud to announce a great new go-to website from the McCrary Institute. Introducing #ThreatBeat, our new one-stop site for news, analysis, alerts and context on the issues shaping cyber policy and infrastructure protection. You'll find the best stories from experienced cyber and national security journalists alongside original commentary, explainers and podcasts created by our McCrary team and informed by the wisdom of our senior fellows. All things cyber. All in one place. Visit https://t.co/c6YvSoXGPJ

[Institute for the Study of War @TheStudyofWar]

NEW: The official Kremlin spokesperson and the Russian Security Council secretary repeated a series of long-standing Russian demands that purposely preclude the establishment of a stable and enduring peace in Ukraine and set conditions for future Russian aggression from an advantaged position.

Other Key Takeaways + Full Report ⬇️(1/2)

▪️ Kremlin officials continue to baselessly threaten NATO states for adhering to US President Donald Trump's objective that Europe take on more of its own defense requirements.

▪️ Russian forces conducted a large series of drone and missile strikes against Ukraine overnight on April 23 to 24, the largest strike series against Kyiv City thus far in 2025.

▪️ Denmark announced a new military aid package to Ukraine for artillery ammunition procurement on April 23.

▪️ A Russian military court sentenced former 58th Combined Arms Army (CAA) Commander Major General Ivan Popov to imprisonment, likely as part of an ongoing Kremlin effort to punish Russian military commanders who weaponized the information space to advance their political goals that undermine Putin’s power vertical.

[Thomas P. Bossert @TomBossert]

Significant, strategic implications here. Saudi Arabia and US on 'pathway' to civil nuclear agreement, US Energy Secretary says. US and Saudi Arabia appear to be headed to a historic agreement when President Trump lands in Saudi Arabia. 👀 https://t.co/Nn40ru2jZ5

[Thomas P. Bossert @TomBossert]

Great choice. President Trump nominates former congressional staffer for top Pentagon cyber policy job | DefenseScoop https://t.co/peGMx4lkDV

[Pat Narduzzi @CoachDuzzPittFB]

HAIL TO PITT!! 🤝Hope you wear it with Pitt pride! You are always welcome in the Steel City! #H2P

[Mohamed A. El-Erian @elerianm]

The week ahead for the global economy and markets is packed with data releases.
The US will publish the February PCI inflation, the Federal Reserve's favorite inflation gauge.
Also, look for:
Durable goods data, trade, the final UMich consumer sentiment, and lots of Fedpeak.
Europe has on the docket:
The UK's Spring (fiscal) statement and inflation data;
Germany's IFO index of business confidence; and
Eurozone PMI.
In Asia/Pacific, there will be interest in:
what Premier Li Qiang meant by China being ready to deal with "shocks that exceed expectations;"
PMI's for Australia, India, and Japan.
Finally, in Latin America, Brazil releases its central bank minutes.
#economy #markets

[Thomas P. Bossert @TomBossert]

E-A-G-L-E-S !

[Thomas P. Bossert @TomBossert]

Time to plunge again. Please give to the Special Olympics, honor Charlie’s memory, and make me jump in the frigid Chesapeake Bay. Go to Team Trinity Cyber's fundraising page - https://t.co/aPqKGjiUbl