Jim Talent

Jim Talent   (politician)
Born	18 October 1956
Nationality	US
Alma mater	Washington University, University of Chicago Law School
Interests	biological weapons
United States Senator from Missouri In office November 23 2002 - January 3 2007 Succeeded by Claire McCaskill  Member of the US House of Representative from Missouri's 2nd district In office January 3 1993 - January 3 2001

James Matthes Talent is a US politician identifying with the conservative fraction of the Republican Party. He is currently working at the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission, where he advocates increased armaments, "imposing costs" on China and a heavy propaganda effort.

He was a member of the 2008 Commission on the Prevention of WMD proliferation and terrorism, and later set up the Bipartisan WMD Terrorism Research Center. He was a participant in the 2018 Clade X pandemic simulation.

Early Career

Talent, who grew up in a Jewish family, converted to Christianity after a radio sermon by James Dobson.

Talent was a Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Missouri's 2nd district bewteen January 3, 1993 and January 3, 2001. He did not seek re-election to Congress in 2000, instead running for Missouri governor. He was defeated, narrowly, by Democratic state Treasurer Bob Holden, 49% to 48%. For ten months in 2001, Talent worked for Washington lobbying firm, Arent Fox, earning $230,000.

Talent, who received the Republican nomination, narrowly defeated Jean Carnahan (widow of Mel Carnahan) as replacement Senator in the November 2002 extra election, 50% to 49%. As US Senator (2002-2007), Talent served on the Senate Armed Services Committee, Special Committee on Aging, Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee, and Energy and Natural Resources Committee. Talent lost the 2007 election.

After Senate

After leaving the Senate in 2007, Senator Talent joined The Heritage Foundation as a Distinguished Fellow specializing in military affairs and conservative solutions to poverty. In 2008, he was Vice Chairman of the Commission on Prevention of Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferation and Terrorism. In 2010, he served on the independent panel that reviewed the Quadrennial Defense Review of the Department of Defense. He was also on the independent panel that reviewed the Quadrennial Defense Review of 2014. He also has been a member of the executive panel advising the Chief of Naval Operations. Senator Talent was the first national figure outside Massachusetts to endorse Governor Mitt Romney for president in 2007 and was Governor Romney’s senior policy advisor in both the 2008 and 2012 campaigns for president.

Per 2020, Talent is a Senior Fellow at the Bipartisan Policy Center and a Visiting Senior Fellow and Director, National Security 2020 Project, Marilyn Ware Center for Security Studies at the American Enterprise Institute

Bioterrorism

Talent has been outspoken about what he sees as the United States's vulnerability to a growing bioterrorism threat. He is Vice Chair of the Commission on Prevention of Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferation and Terrorism, which concluded in 2009 that, unless action is taken, a biological attack within the United States is increasingly likely and will become a probability by 2013. Together with former Senator Bob Graham, Chairman of the Commission, he has criticized the federal government's readiness to deal with major public health crisis'. On January 4, 2010, the two Senators published an op-ed in the Washington Post, arguing that an unsatisfactory response to the 2009 flu pandemic shows the need for better medical emergency plans.

Along with the executive director at the WMD Commission, colonel Randall Larsen, he created the Bipartisan WMD Terrorism Research Center (WMD Center).

Master-plan against China

As a member of the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission, Talent is part of the bipartisan effort to define China as a threat and "impose costs", in an effort modeled what the US did in the beginning of the Cold War (back then it included blockade sanctions, economic sabotage, covert war, McCarthyism, heavy propaganda, assassinations, use of proxy forces, and direct war in Korea, including biological warfare)

In a 2019 hearing to US Congress, Talent's plans include:

"I think the right way to think of where we are now is in a time of transition that is similar to the 1945–1955 time frame, not in the sense that we are entering a Cold War. I do not think we are, and I do not think we want to think of it that way. But it was during that period of time that, on a bipartisan basis, the Congress and the executive through two administrations built the architecture of tools, doctrine, and institutions that successive administrations used in the Cold War for the 40 years thereafter. And I see what is happening now as the same thing albeit applied to a different kind of challenge."

"The Trump administration has refined and deepened the scope of the Rebalance. The new national security strategy properly identifies great power competition as the main focus of our foreign policy and explicitly and appropriately features China as a threat. In furtherance of the new strategy, the administration is developing and applying a range of economic tools capable of imposing costs and consequences on Beijing. "

"The Committee is right to be concerned about China’s One Belt One Road (OBOR) program and generally about the PRC’s use of investment and other incen-tives to interfere with America’s bilateral relationships. I am particularly concerned about the maritime aspects of OBOR. An estimated 70 percent of the world’s container traffic flows through Chinese owned or invested ports, generating substantial economic leverage China could convert into broader political and military influence. The Committee should consider investigating the details of those investments, or securing an assessment by the intelligence community or the Federal Maritime Administration, with a view towards developing an appropriate response."

"The Committee is aware of the CCP’s use of ‘‘sharp’’ power to protect its narrative by manipulating opinion in other countries. A hearing directed to that subject, with a focus on the CCP’s United Front activities, could be the basis for legislation expanding the capabilities of the State Department and other agencies to respond in a manner consistent with our values. Long term, this tool will be essential in the national competition."

Activities

Attended Clade X.

 

Event Participated in

Event	Start	End	Description
Clade X	15 May 2018	15 May 2018	A pandemic/biowarfare preparation exercise by Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security. Held May 2018.

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