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REFINISHING HIS CABINET: Amid reports that President Trump has decided to fire, or perhaps more accurately reassign, his national security adviser Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders has issued a classic “non-denial denial.” In a late-night tweet, Sanders said McMaster is still on the job, but stopped short of saying he won’t be leaving soon. “Just spoke to @POTUS and Gen. H.R. McMaster – contrary to reports they have a good working relationship and there are no changes at the NSC.” Multiple news organizations have been writing about Trump’s plans to reshape his Cabinet to be more in line with his policy views, and McMaster was known to have advised the president to go against his gut, most notably on Afghanistan. Without naming any specific report, Trump himself called all the speculation, “very exaggerated,” but added, “there will always be change, and I think you want to see change.” Because McMaster is a serving military officer, he would not be out of a job, and in fact, if the president wanted to give him a soft landing, he could even promote McMaster by giving him a fourth star and a command somewhere. Stay tuned. As Trump himself said with a laugh in the Oval Office, “Who’s next?” McMASTER ON SYRIA: McMaster was front and center yesterday, delivering a major policy statement on Syria in a speech at the Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington. He said the U.S. has no immediate plans to depart Syria as the nation’s civil war enters its eighth year, calling instead for “serious political and economic consequences” against Syrian government-allied Iran and Russia. McMaster’s rumored possible replacement, former U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. John Bolton, was also in the spotlight yesterday, calling for a “very strong response” to Russia’s assassination attempt against ex-Russian spy. TURKEY’S INTRANSIGENCE: In his speech, McMaster touted the now well-worn talking point that the U.S.-led coalition has liberated “close to 100 percent of territory” previously held by ISIS. It’s that last 2 percent in Syria that’s proving a problem, in large part because of NATO ally Turkey’s refusal to work with the U.S. to secure its southern border. Instead, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is stubbornly pressing his offensive against Kurds in the Afrin region, insisting all Kurds, even those whose homes have long been in the region, move east of the Euphrates River. That has effectively stalled the U.S.-backed effort to finish off ISIS by drawing the most effective anti-ISIS fighters — and most importantly their leaders — away from the front lines, and back to Afrin to defend their homes and comrades against the Turkish assault. “It has slowed the pace of our advance,” Lt. Gen. Kenneth McKenzie said at yesterday’s Pentagon briefing. “The inevitable conclusion of this has been slowed by the fact that not so much rank and file, but some leadership has moved back up to the north.” QUESTIONABLE PROGRESS IN AFGHANISTAN: Defense Secretary Jim Mattis is just back from Afghanistan, and in his in-flight interview with reporters, he declined to call what he saw “progress” in the 16-year long war. “I’d rather let the facts speak for themselves,” he said, calling the current state of play “very complex.” But he insisted, despite recent high-profile deadly attacks in Kabul, the new strategy of more U.S. advisers and much more airpower had put the Taliban on its back foot. “It’s clear the wind has gone out of the Taliban’s sails some months ago,” and that it has “basically ceased, now, for months, making gains.” As for the attacks that have shaken Afghanistan this year, Mattis said, “Can they set off explosives in places? Absolutely. If you can’t win at the ballot box, you try bombs. So they’re doing that.” Mattis cited as a positive the fact that for the first time in over a decade of war, all six Afghan Army corps are on the offensive. “That’s never happened before.” DEMS DISAGREE, ALLEGE COVER-UP: Two top Democrats on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, Reps. Elijah Cummings and Stephen Lynch, are challenging Mattis’ narrative in a sharply critical letter dispatched to the defense secretary yesterday, which accuses the Pentagon of inappropriately classifying metrics that show the effectiveness of Afghan forces and U.S. airstrikes, and said the “new strategy appears to be foundering badly.” “We believe it is completely inappropriate to abuse our nation’s classification system to conceal the policy failures of the Trump administration,” wrote Cummings, the committee ranking member, and Lynch, who is the ranking member of a national security subcommittee. Mattis was given an end-of-the-month deadline to turn over all Pentagon documents related to the decisions to classify the casualty rates of Afghan forces, Trump’s security goals in the country, and the number of U.S. and coalition airstrikes. The top U.S. commander overseeing the war, Gen. Joseph Votel, has told Congress that many of those statistics were withheld at the request of the Afghan government because they were of use to the Taliban in judging their success on the battlefield. All the classified data is available to Congress, just not to the American public. NO REPORT CARD: Withholding information that could be of use, or give a psychological boost the enemy, was also the justification the Pentagon gave yesterday for not disclosing a fierce firefight between U.S. troops in Niger in December that was revealed this week by the New York Times. “We also don’t want to give a report card to our adversaries. They learn a great deal from information that we put out,” said chief spokesperson Dana White at yesterday’s regular Thursday briefing. “They don’t deserve a report card on how they can be more lethal.” NIGER REPORT DUE: Mattis confirmed that he is reviewing the final report on the investigation of the deaths of four soldiers in Niger in October, while he awaits recommendations from Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Joseph Dunford, which should be on his desk when he gets to the Pentagon this morning. “I will read his work,” Mattis said, also indicating he wants to know more before he signs off. “There’s a couple of things I’ve asked questions about already. … So what I will do is get answers to the question I’ve already asked, study what the chairman has sent me, and, once I’m ready, I’ll have my endorsement ready.” IRAN ‘MUCKING AROUND’ IN IRAQ: Mattis is accusing Iran of Russian-style election interference in Iraq. “Iran is following Russians’ example of mucking around in Iraq’s elections. We have worrisome evidence that Iran is trying to influence, using money, the Iraqi elections. That money is being used to sway candidates, to sway votes,” Mattis told reporters. “It’s not an insignificant amount of money, we believe. And we think it’s highly unhelpful. Iran should leave the Iraqis to determine their own future.” But Mattis noted Iraq appears to have backed off in the Persian Gulf. “They are not coming as close to our ships. The provocative actions in the Gulf seem to have relented somewhat. They’re not doing as many bellicose confrontations and that sort of thing,” he said. BREAKING THIS MORNING: NO SURVIVORS: A U.S. military official confirmed to me this morning that unfortunately there were no survivors when a U.S. special ops helicopter crashed in Iraq yesterday afternoon, after apparently hitting a power line. There is no indication of hostile fire, but there will be no official determination of cause until there is a full investigation. All seven U.S. troops on board were killed. The UH-60 Black Hawk was traveling with another U.S. helicopter, which called the accident in, and within an hour U.S. and Iraqi troops had secured the site. The U.S. military did not immediately acknowledge the deaths yesterday because of the “small community” of American special operators in Iraq, and officials wanted to get word to the families first. Good Friday morning and welcome to Jamie McIntyre’s Daily on Defense, compiled by Washington Examiner National Security Senior Writer Jamie McIntyre (@jamiejmcintyre), National Security Writer Travis J. Tritten (@travis_tritten) and Senior Editor David Brown (@dave_brown24). 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. |
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CORRECTING THE RECORD ON GINA HASPEL: Yesterday we wrote about Sen. Rand Paul’s opposition to the nomination of Gina Haspel to be the new director of central intelligence, in which Paul cited what he called her “joyful glee” when a suspected terrorist was tortured at one of the so-called black sites in the aftermath of Sept. 11. A U.S. official immediately pushed back on Paul’s account, telling the Washington Examiner it is “not only inaccurate, but contradicted by the very source materials he relied on.” “The Senator quotes liberally from page 263 of James Mitchell’s book Enhanced Interrogation in describing the interrogation of Abu Zubaydah in claiming that Ms. Haspel was the CIA Chief of Base who was present and expressing joy at this interrogation,” the official said. “A reading of the same page demonstrates that the Chief of Base present and quoted during this event was a man, not Gina Haspel. This is just one of many false claims about Ms. Haspel being peddled by the uninformed.” PROPUBLICA’S RETRACTION: Now the independent non-profit news organization ProPublica has issued a major retraction admitting it inaccurately claimed Haspel oversaw the waterboarding of Zubaydah. “ProPublica erred when it reported in 2017 that Gina Haspel was in charge of a secret prison in Thailand during the infamous interrogation of an al-Qaida suspect,” the mea culpa said. “The story said that Haspel, a career CIA officer who President Trump has nominated to be the next director of central intelligence, oversaw the clandestine base where Zubaydah was subjected to waterboarding and other coercive interrogation methods that are widely seen as torture. The story also said she mocked the prisoner’s suffering in a private conversation. Neither of these assertions is correct and we retract them. It is now clear that Haspel did not take charge of the base until after the interrogation of Zubaydah ended,” ProPublica wrote. ProPublica did stand by another charge, that when Haspel later rose to a senior position at CIA headquarters, she pushed her bosses to destroy the tapes of Zubaydah’s waterboarding. “Her direct boss, the head of the agency’s Counterterrorism Center, ultimately signed the order to feed the 92 tapes into a shredder,” ProPublica said. McCAIN VS. CHENEY 2018: Meghan McCain slammed Rep. Liz Cheney on Twitter Thursday after the congresswoman touted the success of various torture techniques and enhanced questioning programs as she responded to Sen. John McCain’s criticism of Haspel. “My father doesn’t need torture explained to him,” the younger McCain wrote. CONVENE NATO ON RUSSIA: The U.S. should ask the NATO alliance to convene and discuss a unified response following Russia’s nerve agent attack, Sens. Ben Sasse and McCain said Thursday. The two senators made the proposal in a letter to Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and CIA Director Mike Pompeo, who Trump has tapped to become the next secretary of state. “In this crucial period following attribution of the attack and as Director Pompeo begins his transition to the Department of State, we ask that you prioritize discussions with our NATO allies regarding a collective response to this attack and urge you to consider invoking Article IV of the North Atlantic Treaty to accelerate this dialogue,” the Senate Armed Services chairman and committee member wrote. Article IV allows the 29 alliance members to bring forward an issue such as the Russia nerve agent attack and discuss a specific course of action. The more famous Article V defines an attack on one member as an attack on all. NEEDED PUSHBACK: McCain was not the only Armed Services leader calling for NATO action. Rep. Mac Thornberry, the House chairman, said the alliance must be united and “push back” against Russia. “Whether it’s this incident or cyber attacks or Putin’s boasting about new nuclear weapons, I think it’s really critical for the alliance to stand together and push back against this whole range of activity,” Thornberry said during a hearing on Russia. Thornberry told Travis Tritten later that he could not dictate any particular response beyond the U.K.’s expulsion of 23 Russian diplomats, and stressed NATO unity in condemning Russia. “I think the unity in some ways is more important,” he said. “If you don’t push back on something you are going to get more of it and they have a history of these targeted assassinations. I think it is part of that continuum where they are trying to undermine democracy and intimidate people who go against them.” At the hearing, Gen. Curtis Scaparrotti, the head of U.S. European Command, said Russia has been waging a pattern of aggressive, destabilizing actions including the annexation of Crimea in 2014, cyber attacks on Ukraine and foreign election meddling. “I agree that it represents Russia’s consistent disregard for international rules and norms, each of those instances that you talked about,” Scaparrotti, who is also the NATO supreme allied commander, told Thornberry. U.S. POINTS AT MOSCOW: As the House Armed Services hearing was unfolding Thursday, the Trump administration announced it was joining with France, Germany and the U.K. in concluding Russia was behind the nerve agent attack this month on a former spy and his daughter. “We also believe that it’s highly likely that they are complicit with the chemical weapons use,” Scaparrotti said. “We stand by our ally and we support their efforts to fully determine who the responsible parties were and hold them accountable.” Trump was asked by a reporter whether he believed Russian President Vladimir Putin was behind the attack. “It looks like it. I spoke with the Prime Minister [Theresa May] and we are in deep discussions. A very sad situation. It certainly looks like the Russians were behind it. Something that should never, ever happen. And we’re taking it very seriously, as, I think, are many others,” Trump said. SANCTIONS LEVIED: Trump administration officials unveiled a new round of sanctions on Thursday against 24 Russian entities and individuals in response to offenses that include interference in the 2016 election. Some of the targets of the sanctions include the “malicious cyber actors” named in special counsel Robert Mueller’s indictment of 13 Russians last month, a senior administration official told reporters on Thursday. The sanctions were also designed to respond to NotPetya, a massive cyber attack Russia launched in Ukraine last year, as well as a recent attempt by the Russians to infiltrate the U.S. energy grid, the official said. RUSSIA’S CHOICE WORDS FOR THE U.K.: The Russian Defense Ministry called comments from Britain’s defense secretary “rhetoric worthy of a harridan” after he suggested Russia should “go away and shut up.” PENTAGON WEIGHING SPACE FORCE: The idea of a new military Space Force is “getting close attention” in the Pentagon and is among a variety of options on the table as part of an organizational and management review of space operations, Kenneth Rapuano, an assistant defense secretary, told House lawmakers. The review is being headed up by Deputy Defense Secretary Pat Shanahan at the behest of Congress. “Assessment of the Space Corps is one of those options that is getting close attention among others, and he is going to be recommending that set of options that best ensures lasting U.S. leadership and success in space,” Rapuano told a House Armed Services subcommittee. Trump suddenly and unexpectedly reignited debate this week when he called for a Space Force. Air Force leaders, who have opposed the idea, sidestepped questions during Capitol Hill testimony this week. Rep. Mike Rogers, the subcommittee chairman, has been a main sponsor of the idea and he asked Rapuano about Trump’s comments. “The president is very focused on outcomes. He has prioritized space, he has recognized the threats that have evolved, and the pace with which they’ve evolved, and he recognizes that as a warfighting domain,” Rapuano told Rogers. “He’s also very interested in ensuring the department is best organized and equipped to achieve our vital missions in space, and he’s very interested in exploring any options that could provide that enhanced capability.” Rogers responded by saying: “I agree the president cares about outcomes but I would ask you to go back and look at his exact words and they were, ‘We should have a Space Force, we will have a Space Force.’ ” GULF NUKE RACE? The next leader of Saudi Arabia said if Iran were to develop a nuclear bomb, his country would obtain one as well. NO PARADE HELP FROM THE VA: Embattled Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin told lawmakers Thursday that his department had no plans so far to be involved in a Veterans Day military parade planned by the Pentagon at Trump’s request. THE RUNDOWN AFP: Russians see little hope of change in Putin’s next term Daily Beast: H.R. McMaster Gives The Kremlin a Double Bird Salute Business Insider: Syria’s civil war began 7 years ago — look back at how it spawned ISIS, a refugee crisis, and a massive US strike DoD Buzz: Army Has Spent 18 Months Preparing for War in Korea: Milley Navy Times: ‘Fat Leonard’ admiral keeps high-level security clearance Defense News: Results are in: Here’s how much NATO allies spent on defense in 2017 Army Times: Milley: Army is pushing to get two-thirds of its brigades ready to deploy at any minute Breaking Defense: Rep. Rogers: Hill Must Fund Sea-Launched Nuclear Cruise Missile, Lower Yield Warhead Defense One: Cold War Tactics Return to Britain Foreign Policy: America and Turkey Need to Step Back From the Brink Marine Corps Times: Marines look to beef up psychological ops with a radio station in a box Task and Purpose: A Handful Of Lucky Soldiers Are Already Rocking The Army’s Newest Laser Weapon Downrange New York Times: U.K. Labour Leader’s Stance on Russian Ex-Spy’s Poisoning Splits Party USNI News: PACOM Harris on North Korea: ‘We Have No Bloody Nose Strategy’ |
CalendarFRIDAY | MARCH 16 9:30 a.m. Legal Implications Surrounding the Use of Human Shields. defenddemocracy.org 10 a.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave. NW. Strengthening Alliances and Partnerships through Defense Cooperation with Lt. Gen. Charles Hooper, Director of the Defense Security Cooperation Agency. csis.org 11 a.m. 214 Massachusetts Ave. NE. The Logic of American Nuclear Strategy: Why Strategic Superiority Matters. heritage.org 11:15 a.m. 1700 Army Navy Dr. March Women in DoD Luncheon with Vice Adm. Nancy Norton, Director of Defense Information Systems Agency. dcevents.afceachapters.org 1:30 p.m. 214 Massachusetts Ave. NE. The National Security Implications of Withdrawing from NAFTA with Sen. Ben Sasse. heritage.org 1:30 p.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave. NW. Responding to Russia: Deterring Russian Cyber and Grey Zone Activities. csis.org MONDAY | MARCH 19 1 p.m. 1211 Connecticut Ave. NW. Japan’s Balancing Between Nuclear Disarmament and Deterrence. stimson.org 4 p.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave. NW. 2018 U.S.-Japan Security Seminar: Next Steps on North Korea. csis.org TUESDAY | MARCH 20 7 a.m. 2121 Crystal Dr. Precision Strike Annual Review (PSAR-18). ndia.org 9 a.m. 1030 15th St. NW. Kremlin Aggression in Ukraine: Seeking Restitution for Private Property. atlanticcouncil.org 9:30 a.m. Hart 216. Hearing on U.S. Strategic Command with Gen. John Hyten. armed-services.senate.gov 10 a.m. Rayburn 2118. Hearing to Assess the Fiscal Year 2019 Budget Request and Acquisition Reform Progress with Army Secretary Mark Esper, Navy Secretary Richard V. Spencer, and Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson. armedservices.house.gov 10 a.m. 214 Massachusetts Ave NE. Public Diplomacy Challenges for the Trump Administration. heritage.org 11 a.m. 1000 Massachusetts Ave. NW. Book discussion of “Directorate S: The CIA and America’s Secret Wars in Afghanistan and Pakistan” with author Steve Coll. cato.org 2 p.m. Rayburn 2212. Subcommittee Hearing on Submarine Industrial Base: Options for Construction with James Geurts, Assistant Secretary of the Navy; Rear Adm. Michael Jabaley, Navy Program Executive Officer for Submarines; and Rear Adm. John Tammen, Director of the Navy Undersea Warfare Division. armedservices.house.gov 2:30 p.m. Russell 232-A. Hearing on Marine Corps Ground Modernization with Jimmy Smith, Deputy Assistant Secretary Of The Navy For Expeditionary Programs And Logistics Management, and Lt. Gen. Robert Walsh, Deputy Commandant For Combat Development And Integration. armed-services.senate.gov 3:30 p.m. Rayburn 2118. Subcommittee Hearing on Navy Readiness Posture with Vice Adm. Luke McCollum, Chief of Navy Reserve; Vice Adm. Bill Lescher, Deputy Chief of Naval Operations; and Vice Adm. Woody Lewis, Deputy Chief of Naval Operations. armedservices.house.gov WEDNESDAY | MARCH 21 6:45 a.m. 1250 South Hayes St. Special Topic Breakfast with Vice Adm. Charles Ray, Deputy Commandant for Operations, U.S. Coast Guard. navyleague.org 8 a.m. 2101 Wilson Blvd. Health Affairs Breakfast featuring Kenneth Bertram, Principal Assistant for Acquisition for the US Army Medical Research and Materiel Command. ndia.org 8 a.m. 1300 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. Directed Energy Summit 2018 with Nadia Schadlow, Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategy. csbaonline.org 10 a.m. Rayburn 2118. Hearing on State and Non-State Actor Influence Operations: Recommendations for U.S. National Security. armedservices.house.gov 10:15 a.m. 1030 15th St. NW. Army Vision and Modernization Priorities with Secretary Mark Esper. atlanticcouncil.org 12 noon. Iran’s Ballistic Missiles: Capabilities, Intentions, and the Evolving Threat. defenddemocracy.org 2 p.m. Rayburn 2212. Subcommittee Hearing on Ground Force Modernization Budget Request for Fiscal Year 2019 with Lt. Gen. Paul Ostrowski, Military Deputy to the Assistant Secretary of the Army; Lt. Gen. John Murray, Army Deputy Chief of Staff; Lt. General Robert Walsh, Deputy Commandant; and Brig. Gen. Joe Shrader, Commanding General of Marine Corps Systems Command. armedservices.house.gov 2 p.m. Rayburn 2167. Subcommittee Hearing on U.S. Responses to China’s Foreign Influence Operations. foreignaffairs.house.gov 2 p.m. Rayburn 2172. Subcommittee Hearing on Implications of a U.S.-Saudi Arabia Nuclear Cooperation Agreement for the Middle East. foreignaffairs.house.gov 2:30 p.m. Russell 222. Subcommittee Hearing on Ballistic Missile Defense Policies and Programs with John Rood, Under Secretary Of Defense For Policy; Gen. Lori Robinson, Commander of U.S. Northern Command; Lt. Gen. Samuel Greaves, Director of the Missile Defense Agency; and Lt. Gen. James Dickinson, Commanding General of Army Space And Missile Defense Command. armed-services.senate.gov 2:30 p.m. Russell 232-A. Subcommittee Hearing on Navy Shipbuilding Programs James Geurts, Assistant Secretary of the Navy; Vice Adm. William Merz, Deputy Chief Of Naval Operations; and Brig. Gen. James Adams, Director of Marine Corps Capabilities Development Directorate. armed-services.senate.gov 3:30 p.m. Rayburn 2118. Subcommittee Hearing on Military Personnel Posture: FY 2019 with Lt. Gen. Thomas Seamands, Army Deputy Chief of Staff; Vice Adm. Robert Burke, Chief of Naval Personnel; Lt. Gen. Gina Grosso, Air Force Deputy Chief of Staff; and Lt. Gen. Michael Rocco, Marine Corps Deputy Commandant. armedservices.house.gov THURSDAY | MARCH 22 9 a.m. Rayburn 2118. Hearing on the Fiscal Year 2019 Budget Request for Nuclear Forces and Atomic Energy Defense Activities with John Rood, Under Secretary of Defense; Gen. Robin Rand, Commander of Air Force Global Strike Command; Vice Adm. Terry Benedict, Director of Navy Strategic Systems Programs; 10 a.m. Hart 216. Challenges in the Department of Energy’s Atomic Energy Defense Programs with Rick Perry, Secretary Of Energy. armed-services.senate.gov 10 a.m. 214 Massachusetts Ave. NE. Defending American Citizens: The Strategic Defense Initiative. heritage.org 10:30 a.m. Rayburn 2212. Subcommittee Hearing to Review Department of Defense Strategy, Policy, and Programs for Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction for Fiscal Year 2019 with Ken Rapuano, Assistant Secretary of Defense; Guy Roberts, Assistant Defense Secretary; and Lt. Gen. Joseph Osterman, Deputy Commander of U.S. Special Operations Command. armedservices.house.gov 3:30 p.m. 529 14th St. NW. Turkey’s July 15th coup book launch and discussion. press.org FRIDAY | MARCH 23 9 a.m. 214 Massachusetts Ave. NE. ISIS’ Genocide of Christians – A Step toward Its Caliphate: The Past, Present and Future of Christians in the Middle East. heritage.org 9:30 a.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave. NW. “Star Wars” and Cyber: Can history help us build today’s defenses? WIth a briefing by Army Capt. James Torrence on his award-winning essay “Cyber Defense and the Strategic Defense Initiative.” csis.org
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