NO TIMELINE OR END DATE: In his Senate confirmation hearing yesterday, the Army general nominated to command the U.S. and NATO missions in Afghanistan barely mentioned the linchpin of the Trump administration’s new strategy, namely the idea the Taliban can be forced to negotiate an end to a war that’s almost 17 years old by steadily increasing military pressure. The Trump strategy announced last August hinges on the concept of convincing the Taliban they can’t win, and thereby compelling them to accept a political settlement.

HAPPENING TODAY: As political tensions rise between the United States and Germany, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis will host the German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen at the Pentagon today. No doubt Mattis, ever the diplomat, will stress that the military alliance between the two countries remains strong.

HASC OPIOID HEARING: House Armed Services has a subcommittee hearing this afternoon at 3:30 on reforming pain management and opioid prescriptions in the military health system. There will be testimony by Vice Adm. Raquel Bono, director of the Defense Health Agency, and Capt. Mike Colston, director of mental health policy and oversight at the Department of Defense.

BIG BAE WIN: The Marine Corps has chosen BAE Systems to build its amphibious combat vehicles, Defense News reported, beating out a bid from SAIC. The $198 million contract covers 30 vehicles, eventually totaling 204 ACVs for an expected $1.2 billion.

B-1s BACK: The Air Force is resuming routine flights of B-1B bombers after a two-week grounding prompted by a malfunction of the aircraft ejection system during an emergency landing last month. “The stand-down allowed the command time to thoroughly evaluate the egress components and determine potential risks before returning to flight,” said a release from Air Force Global Strike Command. The Air Force provided no details about the results of the investigation of the May 1 emergency landing of a B-1B at Midland International Air and Space Port in Texas. It said the investigation continues but that “the safety stand down allowed time for the command to conduct component-level testing and determine potential risks.”

WHO BOMBED ABU KAMAL? When Syria accused the U.S. of bombing its forces in eastern Syria near the town of Abu Kamal, the U.S. was quick to deny it. But it also seems clear the U.S. knows who carried out the airstrikes but is not saying.

“Did the Israelis launch the attack on Abu Kamal?” asked a reporter at yesterday’s Pentagon briefing by Army Col. Sean Ryan, a U.S. military spokesman in Baghdad. “I can’t comment on that,” Ryan said. “I can just tell you that the coalition did not. And I know that Iraqis did not either, and that’s really all we’re concerned about at this point.”

CNN reported Monday that Israel was behind the strike deep into Syrian territory, quoting a U.S. official. And it noted comments that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made Sunday at a cabinet meeting. “We will take action — and are already taking action — against efforts to establish a military presence by Iran and its proxies in Syria both close to the border and deep inside Syria. We will act against these efforts anywhere in Syria.”

OPERATION ROUNDUP: Yesterday marked the 50th day of “Operation Roundup,” the official name of the Syrian Democratic Forces’ effort to finish off the last remnants of ISIS along the Syria-Iraqi border region. “The SDF are focused on clearing the town of Deshisha near the Iraqi border, where they continue to gain ground against ISIS, this week, clearing more than 200 square kilometers of territory since the beginning of phase two of Operation Roundup,” Ryan told reporters yesterday.

As for how many ISIS are left, “We don’t have an exact number, because you have to understand that the area that they’re fighting in is desert area, is very large, so we know that they’re fighting in pockets from three to five fighters basically,” Ryan said. “They’ve dug tunnels, they know the terrain very well and some of them, you know, can blend in if there’s a town around as well.”

ISIS ‘CRIMINALS’ KILLED: At that briefing, Ryan said four ISIS members affiliated with the group’s oil and gas network were killed last month during coalition operations in Syria’s Middle Euphrates River Valley.

“The coalition successfully eliminated yet another ISIS leader, Abu Khattab al-Iraqi who oversaw revenue generation for the terrorist organization through the illicit sale of oil and gas. Al-Iraqi along with three other ISIS fighters was killed during a strike on May 26th,” Ryan said. “The death of al-Iraqi degrades ISIS ability to finance operations in Syria and Iraq and further dismantles their long-term access to reliable funding.”

The other three men killed, Abu Yusuf al-Hashimi, Abu Hajir Milhim and Abu Hiba al-Maghrebi were said to have facilitated the operations.

EXERCISES WITH CHINA: The U.S. made a wise decision in disinviting China from the 2018 Rim of the Pacific exercise, but it should be cautious about cutting off more military exchanges with Beijing, according to a new policy paper by Dean Cheng, a senior research fellow at the Heritage Foundation. The biennial Pacific exercise provided China a “one-stop shop” for spying on U.S. and allied defenses and it even brought along a Chinese intelligence-gathering ship in 2014, Cheng writes. “China clearly considers itself above the rules that govern all other RIMPAC participants,” according to the paper.

“However, the American and Chinese militaries must remain engaged with each other. Such interactions provide both sides with an opportunity to better understand the other,” Cheng explained. That includes more legitimate forms of intel gathering and getting used to each other’s language and procedures. “Both sides will benefit from a better understanding of how each other operates. Balancing information gained with information exposed is the job of intelligence professionals, but utterly refusing to engage the other side is short-sighted at best,” Cheng wrote.

‘COMMIE CADET’ KICKED OUT: West Point graduate Spenser Rapone, a second lieutenant who caused a stir last year by posting photos to Twitter that earned him recognition as the “commie cadet,” left the Army on Monday and received an other-than-honorable discharge.

“I consider myself a revolutionary socialist,” Rapone, 26, told The Associated Press in a series of interviews. “I would encourage all soldiers who have a conscience to lay down their arms and join me and so many others who are willing to stop serving the agents of imperialism and join us in a revolutionary movement.”

PULLING BACK ON NATIONAL GUARD: A growing number of governors, including at least two Republicans, are vowing not to deploy National Guard troops and resources to help secure the southern border, citing the Trump administration’s zero tolerance policy for illegal border crossings that has led to children being separated from their parents.

On Monday, Democratic Govs. Andrew Cuomo of New York and John Hickenlooper of Colorado, as well as Republican Gov. Charlie Baker of Massachusetts, rebuked the administration’s new policy and said they would not commit state resources to assist with border security efforts along the U.S.-Mexico border.

They were joined Tuesday by Maryland’s Republican Gov. Larry Hogan, along with Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo, Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam, and North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, all Democrats.

CHINA GOES AFTER SPACE FORCE: China’s Foreign Ministry is warning that President Trump’s decision to establish a Space Force could create a military competition in outer space. “China always advocates the peaceful use of outer space and opposes the placement of weapons and an arms race in outer space,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told reporters yesterday. “In particular, we oppose turning outer space into a battlefield.”

Nothing in Trump’s proposal to create a “separate but equal” branch of the armed services says anything about putting weapons in space.

CASUALTY: The Pentagon has identified the Navy sailor who died on Sunday as Petty Officer 1st Class Matthew I. Holzemer of Tennessee. Holzemer, who was stationed at Camp Lemonnier in Djibouti to support Special Operations Command Forward-East Africa, died in a “non-combat related incident.”

THE RUNDOWN

Washington Examiner: Pompeo, Haley announce US withdrawal from UN Human Rights Council

AP: US prepares for return of war dead remains from North Korea

AP: South Korea leader urges denuclearization steps from North

Defense One: Cut the Red Tape That Is Slowing the Pentagon’s Race to Space

Reuters: Syrian rebel warns of ‘volcanoes of fire’ if Assad attacks south

Army Times: Air Force reveals risks, bravery behind B-1 emergency landing and blown hatch

Business Insider: Astronaut Mark Kelly says Trump’s order to create a Space Force ‘is a dumb idea’

USNI News: Navy Drops Homicide Charges Against USS Fitzgerald Commander, Junior Officers

Stars and Stripes: Final NDAA this summer could include military pay raises, new weapons, experts say

Defense News: Bell’s V-280 Valor shows off agility, speed in first public flight demo

USNI News: Navy Will Release New 30-Year Ship Repair, Modernization Plan with Annual Shipbuilding Report

Air Force Times: Quieter military drones that fly farther? The Pentagon thinks this engine could be the answer

War on the Rocks: A Conversation With Clint Watts on Influence and Information in the Social Media Era