DRONE DOWN, TENSIONS UP: The commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps says the country shot down a U.S. drone to send “a clear message” to America. In a speech carried live on Iranian state television, Gen. Hossein Salami said Iran does “not have any intention for war with any country, but we are ready for war.”
CONFLICTING REPORTS: Iran says it shot down the drone, reported to be an RQ-4 Global Hawk, for violating Iranian airspace near the Strait of Hormuz. The United States says the drone was in international airspace over the Strait of Hormuz.
The RQ-4 Global Hawk is the largest drone in the U.S. inventory, described in an Air Force fact sheet as “a high-altitude, long-endurance, remotely piloted aircraft” capable of flying more than 30 hours at a stretch.
POMPEO: ‘TOO LONG’ WITHOUT RESPONSE: The attack comes less than 24 hours after Secretary of State Mike Pompeo blamed Iran for the increase in tensions and tweeted, “President @realDonaldTrump does not want war with Iran. We will continue to communicate that message, while doing the things that are necessary to protect American interests in the region.”
In a radio interview with Ben Shapiro, Pompeo rejected the argument America is provoking Iran with its crippling sanctions. “It’s just false. These are actions that Iran took. I’ve seen some of the ‘blame America first’ crowd talking about this in that way,” Pompeo said. “For those who haven’t been around that long, this is 40 years of Iranian activity, this pattern and practice. And for too long, there weren’t responses, America didn’t respond. We have allowed Iran to believe that they could take actions like this and there wouldn’t be a response, not only from America, but from all those who have a vested interest in denying Iran its capacity to threaten these shipping lanes.”
GRAHAM’S RED LINE: The situation is “getting more dangerous by the day,” says Sen. Lindsey Graham, who is no longer on the Armed Services Committee but still has the president’s ear. In an interview with Bret Baier on Fox News Channel yesterday, Graham said it may soon be time to send Iran an unambiguous message. “My red line is if there’s any more disruption of shipping in the Straits of Hormuz linked to Iran, take out their Navy, bomb their refineries. If there’s any more attacks on American interests, go after the Iranians so they’ll pay pain. They’ll feel pain.”
‘DON’T WORRY ABOUT A THING’: At the end of a long phone interview last night with Fox News host Sean Hannity, President Trump seemed to brush off the prospect of war with Iran. Asked by Hannity about his vow not to allow Iran to acquire nuclear weapons, Trump said simply, “We’ll see what happens. I would say if I were you, don’t worry about a thing.”
DEMOCRATS VERY WORRIED: Democrats in Congress are expressing increasing alarm that the Trump administration might use the authority granted after the September 11 attacks to justify the use of force against Iran.
At a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing yesterday, Brian Hook, the U.S. special envoy for Iran, refused to state whether only Congress has the authority to wage war with Iran, saying the question would be better answered by a lawyer.
“This is something which the Office of the Legal Adviser can give you an opinion on,” he said, while adding, “If the use of military force is necessary to defend U.S. national security interests, we will do everything that we are required to do with respect to congressional war powers and we will comply with the law.”
“Military action against Iran without the approval of Congress is absolutely not an option,” Foreign Affairs Chairman Eliot Engel, D-N.Y., said during the subcommittee hearing.
CRUZ: TRUMP HAS CLEAR AUTHORITY: Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, tells the Washington Examiner that there is no doubt in his mind President Trump has the authority to retaliate directly against Iran if regime-controlled forces kill any Americans. “As retaliation for a strike on U.S. troops, absolutely,” he said.
“The president, as commander in chief, has constitutional authority to defend those troops and to respond to such an attack,” Cruz said. “On the other end of the spectrum — for large-scale, extended military conflict — that takes authorization from Congress.”
Good Thursday morning and welcome to Jamie McIntyre’s Daily on Defense, written and compiled by Washington Examiner National Security Senior Writer Jamie McIntyre (@jamiejmcintyre) and edited by Kelly Jane Torrance (@kjtorrance). Email us here for tips, suggestions, calendar items, and anything else. If a friend sent this to you and you’d like to sign up, click here. If signing up doesn’t work, shoot us an email and we’ll add you to our list. And be sure to follow us on Twitter: @dailyondefense.
Subscribe today to the Washington Examiner magazine and get Washington Briefing: politics and policy stories that will keep you up to date with what’s going on in Washington. SUBSCRIBE NOW: Just $1.00 an issue!
HAPPENING TODAY: Chinese President Xi Jinping is in Pyongyang for talks with Kim Jong Un. The two-day state visit to North Korea is the first by a Chinese leader in 14 years.
A commentary by China’s official Xinhua news agency said Beijing could play a “unique and constructive role” in breaking the cycle of mistrust between North Korea and the United States so they can work out a road map to achieve denuclearization.
At an event at the Atlantic Council in Washington yesterday, Stephen Biegun, the State Department’s special representative for North Korea, credited China for playing a productive role in the talks and insisted more progress is being made than may be apparent to the casual observer.
“We have forged a pretty good partnership with China in approaching the issues on the Korean Peninsula. I’m not Pollyannaish about this,” he said. “China agrees with us 100%. … The Chinese government wants to create the conditions for peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula.”
As for the failed summit in Hanoi at the end of February, Biegun said both sides got a better idea of the way forward. “It is no secret that since Hanoi, the U.S.-North Korean diplomacy has been in something of a holding pattern,” he said. “In the past week, there’s been an uptick in activity, with President Trump receiving a letter from Chairman Kim, with a meeting of senior officials from North and South Korea at Panmunjom village.”
ALSO TODAY: The Senate is poised to vote Thursday on 22 resolutions aimed at blocking the Trump administration’s sale of weapons to Saudi Arabia. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., announced on the Senate floor yesterday the plan to debate two of the resolutions and vote on the rest as a package.
AND THIS MORNING: The House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Border Security, Facilitation, and Operations holds a hearing on “Examining the Department of Defense’s Deployment to the U.S.-Mexico Border,” with testimony from U.S. Border Patrol Chief Carla Provost; Robert Salesses, deputy assistant defense secretary for homeland defense integration and defense support of civil authorities; and National Guard Maj. Gen. Michael McGuire, adjutant general of the Arizona National Guard. 10 a.m. 310 Cannon.
HOUSE PASSES $721B IN DEFENSE FUNDING: The House yesterday passed a $982.8 billion appropriations bill that includes $721.2 billion for defense in fiscal year 2020. According to a breakdown by the House Appropriations Committee, the bill includes $645.1 billion in base defense funding, $68.1 billion for defense Overseas Contingency Operations, and $8 billion for nondefense OCO.
You can see all the numbers here.
FAUXCO VS OCO: Rick Berger and Mackenzie Eaglen over at the American Enterprise Institute also have a report out this morning, with recommendations for how Congress can improve Pentagon budget planning, broaden public understanding of Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO), and strengthen congressional oversight of the use of military force.
The report, “How to fix the Pentagon’s misused war spending account,” pulls apart the OCO account, walking readers through, with pictures, how to tell the difference between real OCO and fake OCO and the problems with each.
JUST SPEND LESS ON EVERYTHING: Or you could take the approach outlined yesterday by a group called the Sustainable Defense Task Force, which argued the United States can cut over $1.2 trillion in projected Pentagon spending over the next decade while improving national security.
The report, “Sustainable Defense: More Security, Less Spending,” argues that contrary to conventional Pentagon wisdom, the U.S. military has been adequately funded during the period since 2011 in which the Budget Control Act imposed spending caps.
“The ample funding of the Pentagon during this decade underscores the fact that there should be no ‘readiness crisis,’” said William Hartung, co-editor of the report. “To the extent that there are readiness issues, it is due to poor spending choices, not a lack of resources.”
AN IDEA WHOSE TIME MAY NEVER COME: Meanwhile, Heritage Action, the lobby arm of the Heritage Foundation, is urging Republicans not to cut a deal with Democrats to raise the budget caps for domestic spending in return for fully funding the Pentagon.
“The President and Congress should work to hold to the overall spending cap already agreed upon under the Budget Control Act,” said Tim Chapman, the group’s executive director. “To stay under that cap and fully provide for our national security, conservatives should fight for an increase in defense spending paired with lower non-defense discretionary spending. Any discussions around suspending the debt limit should be a nonstarter and any increase in the debt limit should be paired with spending cuts.”
COUNTERING PUTIN: A new report from the Institute for the Study of War and the Critical Threats Project at the American Enterprise Institute concludes the United States is not in a position to counter the challenges presented by Russia.
“Russia poses a significant threat to the United States and its allies for which the West is not ready. The West must act urgently to meet this threat without exaggerating it,” the report states, noting that Russia does not have the military strength of the Soviet Union and demographic trends indicate it will lose strength over time.
“It is not a conventional military near-peer nor will it become so. Its unconventional warfare and information operations pose daunting but not insuperable challenges. The U.S. and its allies must develop a coherent global approach to meeting and transcending the Russian challenge.”
USS DANIEL INOUYE: The Navy christens its newest Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer, the future USS Daniel Inouye, this weekend in Bath, Maine.
“The future USS Daniel Inouye is named in honor of Daniel Inouye, who served as a United States Senator for Hawaii from 1963 until his death in 2012,” the Navy said in a statement.
“He received the Medal of Honor June 21, 2000 for his extraordinary heroism in action while serving with the 442nd Infantry Regiment Combat Team in Italy during World War II. During an assault on April 21, 1945, an exploding grenade shattered his right arm; despite the intense pain, he refused evacuation. He remained at the head of his platoon until they broke the enemy resistance and his men deployed in defensive positions, continuing to fight until the regiment’s position was secured.”
YOU DIDN’T MISS IT: In case you were wondering, yesterday’s Council on Foreign Relations conversation with Gen. Joseph Dunford was canceled at the last minute, due to “an unforeseen commitment,” according to his spokesman.
The Rundown
Defense News: Esper Heads To NATO During First Week On The Job As Top Pentagon Official
Breaking Defense: Iran: Israeli F-35s Rehearse Strikes As U.S. Sends Troops — But Will Europe Flinch?
New York Times: Iran Has Ties to Al Qaeda, Trump Officials Tell Congress
Wall Street Journal: Rocket Strikes Foreign Oil Compound In Iraq
Bloomberg: Trump Weighs New Sanctions on Turkey Over Russian Missiles
Military.com: F-35 Pilot Killed In April Crash May Have Ignored Aircraft Instruments – Selva
Bloomberg: North Korea Missiles Still Lack Capabilities, U.S. General Says
Defense News: Government Watchdog Finds Three Issues Disrupting U.S. Nuclear Modernization Efforts
Air Force Times: ‘Start finding me, boys’ — inside the rescue of Lt. Col. Dave Goldfein
Air Force Magazine: Goldfein’s Father, a 33-Year Air Force Vet, Dies at 82
Calendar
THURSDAY | JUNE 20
8:30 a.m. 300 First Street S.E. The Air Force Association’s Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies holds a “Space Power to the Warfighter” seminar on “Space Superiority,” with Air Force Col. Stephen Purdy, director of the Space Missile Systems Center’s Space Superiority Systems Directorate. www.afa.org/hbs
9 a.m. 1030 15th Street N.W. Atlantic Council discussion on “Russian Troops in Venezuela: What Should the United States Do?” Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., delivers keynote remarks. Other speakers include: former undersecretary of state for global affairs Paula Dobriansky; former deputy assistant defense secretary for Russia, Ukraine, and Eurasia Evelyn Farkas; Francisco Monaldi, director of the Atlantic Council’s Latin America Initiative; Konstantin Eggert, columnist for Deutsche Welle; Mark Simakovsky, senior fellow in the Atlantic Council’s Eurasia Center; and John Herbst, director of the Atlantic Council’s Eurasia Center. www.atlanticcouncil.org/events
10 a.m. 310 Cannon. House Homeland Security Committee hearing on DoD’s deployment to the U.S.-Mexican border. Witnesses: Carla Provost, chief, U.S. Border Patrol; Robert Salesses, deputy assistant secretary of defense for homeland defense; Maj. Gen. Michael McGuire, adjutant general for Arizona. homeland.house.gov/hearings
1:45 p.m. 1201 Pennsylvania Ave. N.W. Hudson Institute and NATO’s Public Diplomacy Division host an event to discuss the future of the NATO alliance. Speakers include Jamie Fly, German Marshall Fund; Amanda Sloat, Brookings Institution; and Nadia Schadlow, Hudson Institute. Hudson Fellow Peter Rough will moderate. www.hudson.org/events
MONDAY | JUNE 24
12:30 p.m. 529 14th St. N.W. National Press Club Headliners Luncheon with acting Defense Secretary Mark Esper. www.press.org/events
TUESDAY | JUNE 25
8 a.m. 2201 G Street N.W. Defense Writers Group breakfast with Dana Deasy, DoD’s Chief Information Officer. nationalsecuritymedia.gwu.edu
WEDNESDAY | JUNE 26
Acting Defense Secretary Mark Esper attends a two-day meeting of NATO defense ministers in Brussels, Belgium, Wednesday and Thursday. www.nato.int
6:30 a.m. 2425 Wilson Blvd., Arlington. Sgt. Major of the Army Daniel Dailey speaks at the Association of the U.S. Army’s Institute of Land Warfare breakfast at AUSA headquarters. www.ausa.org/events
11:45 a.m. 1201 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. Hudson Institute discussion, “Maritime Irregular Warfare: Preparing to Meet Hybrid Maritime Threats.” www.hudson.org/events
11:30 a.m. 1667 K Street N.W. Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments discussion of new book Revolution and Aftermath: Forging a New Strategy toward Iran, with coauthors Eric Edelman and Ray Takeyh of CSBA. csbaonline.org/about/events
THURSDAY | JUNE 27
7:30 a.m. 555 Pennsylvania Ave. N.W. Defense One Tech Summit. Speakers include Ellen Lord, undersecretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment; William Evanina, director of the national counterintelligence and security center, ODNI; Sue Gordon, principal deputy director of national intelligence, ODNI; Rep. Mike Turner, R-Ohio; and more. www.defenseone.com
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“We’ll see what happens. I would say if I were you, don’t worry about a thing.”
President Trump on rising tensions with Iran, in an interview with Sean Hannity on Fox News Channel Wednesday night.
