‘FIRMLY AND TOTALLY REJECTED BY ME’: The Pentagon spent the day Monday dealing with the fallout from an explosive story by Politico, which quoted “two senior defense officials” as saying that officials, under orders from Defense Secretary Mark Esper to find cost savings, had come up with a plan to cut $2.2 billion from the military health system over the next five years.
On Sunday, the Pentagon labeled the story “inaccurate and incomplete” and insisted nothing has been decided. “The bottom line is that health care for our service members, their families, and retirees is not at risk and efforts by two anonymous sources to create a panic is misleading,” tweeted Jonathan Hoffman, chief Pentagon spokesman.
But late last night, President Trump weighed in via Twitter to kill the idea personally before it could get any traction. “A proposal by Pentagon officials to slash Military Healthcare by $2.2 billion dollars has been firmly and totally rejected by me,” Trump tweeted. “We will do nothing to hurt our great Military professionals & heroes as long as I am your President. Thank you!”
BIDEN SAYS ‘GUTTING’ MILITARY HEALTHCARE ‘UNACCEPTABLE’: Trump’s tweet came a few hours after Democrat Joe Biden shared a link to the Politico story, which said the proposed cuts would “effectively gut the Pentagon’s health care system during a nationwide pandemic.”
“Secretary Esper and President Trump, it’s a president’s job to protect the health and safety of our troops and their families,” Biden tweeted. “Gutting the military health care system — no less during a global pandemic — is unacceptable.”
The twitter traffic prompted Esper to repeat the Pentagon’s denial of the story in a statement he tweeted just before midnight.
“As we stated yesterday in response to an inaccurate story, I have not directed or approved any cuts to our military healthcare system in our future budgets,” Esper said. “Furthermore I will not allow any reductions that would harm access to quality medical care for our service members, their families, and our larger DOD community. Our goal remains to ensure a medically fit fighting force and a highly trained and capable military cadre.”
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HAPPENING TODAY: The United States is closely monitoring events in Belarus, where demonstrators have been protesting Aug. 9 elections that the U.S. and other Western countries say were neither free nor fair.
“That’s a terrible situation — Belarus. We’ll be following it very closely. We’ll be following,” Trump said Monday before going to campaign events in Minnesota and Wisconsin.
Hundreds of thousands of people poured into the streets all across Belarus after official returns showed that longtime leader Alexander Lukashenko won a sixth term with 80% of the vote. His top challenger, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, got only 10% and denounced the vote as rigged.
PUTIN SETS OFF ALARM BELLS: Of particular concern is Russia’s offer to send military assistance to Belarus, which drew a bipartisan rebuke from leaders of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
“As the Kremlin tries to undermine yet another European country’s sovereignty and independence, we strongly condemn Russian President Vladimir Putin’s reckless offer to provide military assistance to the Lukashenko regime in Belarus,” said Michael McCaul, Republican leader; and Democrat Eliot Engel, the committee’s chairman, in a statement.
“We urge the Administration to continue to reject Moscow’s aggression and to work with our European allies to support the Belarusian people, to demand the thousands of detained peaceful demonstrators and political prisoners are released, to condemn the Belarusian authorities’ excessive use of violence, and to defend Belarus’s sovereign right to chart its own future,” they said.
RUSSIA AND BELARUS LAUNCH MILITARY EXERCISES: The Washington-based Institute for the Study of War says Russia and Belarus are conducting military exercises in multiple locations and that the “Kremlin may use the exercises to set conditions to insert Russian forces into Belarus.”
“Unmarked Russian National Guard trucks reportedly were spotted in Smolensk heading toward the Belarusian Border,” the ISW analysis says, citing witnesses who claim to have spotted more than 40 Russian Ural trucks with soldiers inside driving toward Belarus from Smolensk on Aug. 16.
“The trucks had no military license plates and were not marked with Russian flags. The Kremlin has used the Russian National Guard in population and riot control operations. The Kremlin may send unmarked Russian National Guard personnel to Belarus to crack down on protests.”
BOLTON SAYS US ‘TOO CUTE BY HALF’: In a Wall Street Journal op-ed, former national security adviser John Bolton argues that by circumventing the U.N. Security Council to extend an arms embargo against Iran, the U.S. may undermine the power of its veto in the future.
“The agreement’s backers argue that Washington, having withdrawn from the deal, has no standing to invoke its provisions. They’re right. It’s too cute by half to say we’re in the nuclear deal for purposes we want but not for those we don’t,” Bolton writes.
The U.S. proposal to extend the embargo failed Friday, with both Russia and China, which have veto power, voting against it. But the U.S. will attempt to force snapback sanctions. “We can’t allow the world’s biggest state sponsor of terrorism to buy and sell weapons. I mean, that’s just nuts,” said Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in Austria last week.
“But the real injury is done when a second U.S. administration in five years even attempts, successfully or not, to take actions that undercut America’s veto,” writes Bolton. “The damage here is potentially permanent.”
FURTHER EXPLANATION: Richard Goldberg, a senior adviser at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, provides more context in an analysis on the group’s website and published in Foreign Policy under the headline “Don’t Let Iran Blow Up the U.N. Security Council.”
“Since the council failed to extend the arms embargo on Iran, the United States is preparing to trigger a snapback. The United Kingdom and France remain deeply committed to the JCPOA, so they are searching for any procedural loophole that would enable them to strip the United States of its prerogative,” Goldberg writes. “London and Paris believe they have discovered precisely such a lacuna, yet if they invoke it even once, others will use it again and again to rob the P5 of their veto power. To protect a single multilateral agreement, the French and British will have to destroy the foundation of the multilateral system they claim to cherish.”
BOLTON GOT IT RIGHT: Another disenchanted former Trump administration official is blasting the president for his leadership, or lack thereof, on national security. Miles Taylor, who served at the Department of Homeland Security from 2017 to 2019, including as chief of staff, has penned an opinion piece that appears in the Washington Post.
“His own former national security adviser John Bolton made the case so convincingly with his recent book and public accounts that there is little to add, other than to say that Bolton got it right,” Taylor says, citing anecdotes from his time at DHS.
“Top DHS officials were regularly diverted from dealing with genuine security threats by the chore of responding to these inappropriate and often absurd executive requests, at all hours of the day and night. One morning it might be a demand to shut off congressionally appropriated funds to a foreign ally that had angered him, and that evening it might be a request to sharpen the spikes atop the border wall so they’d be more damaging to human flesh,” he writes. “Meanwhile, Trump showed vanishingly little interest in subjects of vital national security interest, including cybersecurity, domestic terrorism and malicious foreign interference in U.S. affairs.”
IS TRUMP SERIOUS? As the Pentagon tries to crack down on authorized leaks, there is growing bipartisan opposition to Trump’s suggestion he might consider a pardon for former NSA contractor Edward Snowden.
“President Trump and Secretary Esper have both decried harmful leaks from the Department of Defense and elsewhere in the federal government. To pardon Snowden now would completely undermine this Administration’s position and mock our national security workforce who take immense caution in their work to keep us safe,” said House Armed Service Committee Chairman Adam Smith, a Democrat, and Republican ranking member Mac Thornberry in a joint statement.
“It would be a serious mistake to pardon anyone who is charged under the Espionage Act, who admits to leaking sensitive information, and who has spent years since then as a guest of the Putin regime,” they said. “Edward Snowden did enormous harm to our national security, and he must stand trial for his actions.”
“To those who suggest a pardon of Edward Snowden for his treasonous acts, you are doing a great disservice to those who suffered from his betrayal of his nation,” tweeted Trump ally Sen. Lindsey Graham, who linked to a Fox News story headlined “Snowden racked up more than $1.2M in speaker’s fees while in exile in Russia.
“I hope Edward Snowden enjoys the money he is making in Russia and if he ever does step foot in the United States again, he should immediately be tried for his crimes against our country,” he said.
CRUISE TO ODNI: Air Force Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Kruse has joined the Office of the Director of National Intelligence as the director’s adviser for military affairs, the spy agency announced Monday. Kruse comes from the Pentagon, where he served as the director for defense intelligence for warfighter support in the Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence and Security.
INDUSTRY WATCH: In a move certain to roil Beijing, the U.S. has finalized a deal to sell 66 of the latest model Lockheed Martin F-16 to Taiwan. The official contract announcement, posted on the Pentagon website Friday, said Lockheed Martin had been awarded a $62 billion “ten-year, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity fixed-price-incentive contract” including an initial order of $4.9 billion for 90 planes.
Bloomberg decoded the cryptic announcement, reporting that the total of all foreign military sales included the 66 F-16s approved for sale last August by the Defense Security Cooperation Agency for $8 billion, with the remaining 24 going to Morocco.
RACE FOR THE CURE: The Pentagon’s Joint Acquisition Task Force, supported by the Department of Health and Human Services, has entered into a $750,000 cooperative agreement with Plasma Technologies “to develop and optimize a process to produce higher yielding anti-COVID-19 immune serum for scale-up and manufacturing, if successful.”
“A higher yield hyperimmune serum would be an improvement over the current standard method. Convalescent plasma, which is collected from a person who has recovered from a disease, may be beneficial in the treatment of patients suffering from COVID-19,” a Pentagon statement said.
The Rundown
Washington Examiner: Trump faces Republican resistance after floating Snowden pardon
Washington Examiner: ‘Arrogance and hypocrisy’: Turkey bashes Biden over resurfaced comments about Erdogan
Washington Examiner: Former CIA officer arrested in FBI sting for Chinese espionage
Washington Examiner: ‘Time is up’: US intensifies effort to break Huawei supply chains
Bloomberg: U.S. Formalizes F-16 Jet Sale to Taiwan With China Tensions High
New York Times: U.S. Tries To Bolster Taiwan’s Status, Short Of Recognizing Sovereignty
Defense News: In Developing Robot Warships, U.S. Navy Wants To Avoid Another Littoral Combat Ship
Forbes: Forget The Convoys: If War With Russia Breaks Out, U.S. Warships Should Go On The Offensive
Washington Post: The U.S. Navy’s RIMPAC 2020 Maneuvers Bring 20 Ships And 10 Pacific Nations Together
The Economist: America musters the world’s biggest naval exercise
CNN: U.S. Intelligence Indicates Iran Paid Bounties To Taliban For Targeting American Troops In Afghanistan
AP: Afghanistan Government Halts Prisoner Release, Delaying Talks With Taliban
Washington Post: U.S. military made $2 million in civilian casualties payments in Afghanistan in recent years
AP: Iraqi Leader Says Country Still Needs U.S. Help To Counter ISIS Threat
Air Force Magazine: F-15EX Headed to Oregon, Florida as USAF Decides on Fighter Bases
Just the News: Embattled Belarus president Lukashenko may not have support he claims from Putin
Stars and Stripes: U.S. Troops Test Positive For Coronavirus After Traveling To South Korea
Air Force Magazine: Combat Controller Receives Silver Star for 2013 Battle
Foreign Policy: Opinion: Don’t Let Iran Blow Up the U.N. Security Council
Forbes: Opinion: U.S. Navy Mounts Campaign To Convince Congress That Unmanned Vessels Are Critical To Winning Future Wars
Washington Post: At Homeland Security, I saw firsthand how dangerous Trump is for America
Calendar
TUESDAY | AUGUST 18
8:30 a.m. — Henry Stimson Center webinar: “Afghanistan’s Future: Regional Perspectives on the Road Ahead,” with Bismellah Alizada, co-founder of Rahila Foundation; Fizza Batool, South Asian Voices visiting fellow 2020; Neha Dwivedi, research analyst for South Asia and Balkans, Janes; Jumakhan Rahyab, Fulbright graduate fellow with the McCormack Graduate School of Policy and Global Studies, University of Massachusetts; Saurav Sarkar, South Asian Voices visiting fellow 2020 and research associate at the Center for Air Power Studies; and Elizabeth Threlkeld, senior fellow and deputy director of the South Asia Program at the Stimson Center. https://www.stimson.org/event/afghanistans-future
11 a.m. — Center for Strategic and International Studies online discussion: “Has Belarus Reached a Point of No Return?” with former Belarus Ambassador to the U.S. Valery Tsepkalo; Vladislav Inozemtsev, nonresident senior associate at CSIS; and Heather Conley, director of the CSIS Europe Program. https://www.csis.org/events
12 p.m. — Atlantic Council webinar: “The Status of the Fight Against ISIS,” with Christopher Maier, director of the Pentagon’s Defeat ISIS Task Force; Robert Rohde, ambassador for the negotiations on Syria and head of the German Federal Foreign Office’s Division for Syria, Iraq, Lebanon and Anti-ISIS Strategy; Jomana Qaddour, nonresident senior fellow in the Atlantic Council’s Center for the Middle East; and Jasmine El-Gamal, nonresident senior fellow in the Atlantic Council’s Middle East Security Initiative. https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/event
1 p.m. — Heritage Foundation virtual discussion: “Homeland Missile Defense: Plotting a Clear Path Forward,” with Vice Adm. Jon Hill, director, Missile Defense Agency; Rebeccah Heinrichs, senior fellow, Hudson Institute; Patty-Jane Geller, policy analyst, Nuclear Deterrence and Missile Defense, Heritage Foundation. https://www.heritage.org/missile-defense
2 p.m. — Defense One webcast: “Next in Flight: The Future of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Operations,” with Col. David Barnes, chief AI Ethics officer, U.S. Army Artificial Intelligence Task Force; Col. Nathan Diller, director, AFWERX, U.S. Air Force; and Scott Wierzbanowski, program manager, Tactical Technology Office, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. https://www.defenseone.com/feature/next-in-flight
2 p.m. — Woodrow Wilson Center book discussion webcast on “U.S. Strategy in the Asian Century,” with author Abraham Denmark, director of the WWC Asia Program. https://www.wilsoncenter.org/event
5 p.m. — The Institute of World Politics virtual discussion: “Countering Islamist Political Extremism by Orchestrating the Instruments of National Power,” with Christopher Harmon, chair at Marine Corps University; and Douglas Streusand, international relations professor at the U.S. Marine Corps Command and Staff College. https://www.iwp.edu/events/webinar
9 p.m. — Democratic National Convention, Day 2, with former Acting U.S. Attorney General Sally Yates, Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, former Secretary of State John Kerry, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester, former President Bill Clinton, and former Second Lady Jill Biden. https://www.youtube.com/watch
WEDNESDAY | AUGUST 19
8 a.m. — Atlantic Council virtual discussion on “Emerging defense technologies in the Indo-Pacific and the future of U.S.-Japan cooperation,” with retired Marine Gen. James Cartwright, board director at the Atlantic Council and former vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; Ryo Hinata-Yamaguchi, visiting professor at Pusan National University and adjunct fellow at the Pacific Forum; Sarah Kirchberger, head of the University of Kiel Center for Asia-Pacific Strategy and Security; and Tate Nurkin, founder of OTH Intelligence Group. https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/event
9:30 a.m. — Air Force Association’s Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies webinar: “Nuclear Deterrence” with Air Force Lt. Gen. Richard Clark, deputy chief of staff for strategic deterrence and nuclear integration. https://www.mitchellaerospacepower.org
10 a.m. — Brookings Institution webinar: “How the United States Can Use Force Short of War,” Barry Blechman, fellow at the Stimson Center and co-author of “Military Coercion and U.S. Foreign Policy”; Melanie Sisson, nonresident fellow at the Stimson Center and co-author of “Military Coercion and U.S. Foreign Policy”; and Michael O’Hanlon, Brookings senior fellow. https://www.brookings.edu/events
10 a.m. — National Council of Resistance of Iran-U.S. virtual discussion: “Extension of the UN Arms Embargo, Internal Situation in Iran and U.S. Policy of Maximum Pressure.” with: former Undersecretary of State for Global Affairs Paula Dobriansky, vice chair of the Atlantic Council Center for Strategy and Security; former Undersecretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Robert Joseph, former special assistant to the president and senior director for proliferation strategy, counterproliferation and homeland defense; Matthew Kroenig, deputy director Atlantic Council Center for Strategy and Security; David Shedd, visiting fellow at the Heritage Foundation, former acting director of the Defense Intelligence Agency and former special assistant to the president and senior director for intelligence programs and reform; and Alireza Jafarzadeh, deputy director of the NCRI-US Washington Office https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register
12 p.m. — R Street Institute webinar: “Everything on the Table: The Case for Rethinking the Pentagon Budget,” with Andrew Lautz, policy and government affairs manager at the National Taxpayers Union; Mandy Smithberger, director of the Project on Government Oversight Center for Defense Information; Wendy Jordan, senior policy analyst at Taxpayers for Common Sense; and Jonathan Bydlak, director of the R Street Institute’s Fiscal and Budget Policy Project. https://www.rstreet.org/event
1 p.m. — American Society of International Law webinar: “International Law and the 2020 Presidential Election: Cyber Threats and Election Interference,” with Susan Benesch, faculty associate at Harvard University’s Center for Internet and Society; Carrie Cordero, senior fellow and general counsel at the Center for a New American Security; Jamil Jaffer, founder and executive director of George Mason University’s National Security Institute; and Chimene Keitner, professor of law at the University of California at San Francisco’s Hastings School of Law. https://www.asil.org/event
9 p.m. — Democratic National Convention, Day 3 with the formal nomination of Sen. Kamala Harris and featuring former President Barack Obama, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Gov. Tony Evers, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, and former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. https://www.youtube.com/watch
THURSDAY | AUGUST 20
9:30 a.m. — National Defense Industrial Association virtual “Space Warfighting Industry” forum, with Air Force Lt. Gen. David Thompson, vice commander of U.S. Space Force; Sen. Cory Gardner, R-Colo.; Rep. Denny Heck, D-Wash.; and Rep. Mike Turner, R-Ohio. https://www.ndia.org/events
9 p.m. — Former Vice President Joe Biden accepts nomination for president at the final day of the Democratic National Convention, with Sen. Cory Booker, Gov. Gavin Newsom, Mayor Pete Buttigieg, Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, Sen. Tammy Baldwin, Sen. Tammy Duckworth, Sen. Chris Coons. https://www.youtube.com/watch
FRIDAY | AUGUST 21
9:30 a.m. — National Defense Industrial Association virtual “Space Warfighting Industry” forum, with Army Lt. Gen. James Dickinson, deputy commander of U.S. Space Command. https://www.ndia.org/events
MONDAY | SEPTEMBER 7
Labor Day — Daily on Defense will not be published as we observe the federal holiday.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“Remember Nov. 3. That is going to be the most important election in the history of our country. That is going to be an election like no other.”
President Trump, speaking in Minneapolis, Minnesota, last night, agreeing in a sense with speakers at the Democratic National Convention.
