NOT LOOKING FOR CONFLICT: President Joe Biden devoted only a small portion of his first speech to a joint session of Congress to discuss his foreign policy agenda, but his remarks underscored the focus the Pentagon has on countering the growing military might of China. There were several references in the speech to the two-hour phone call with Chinese President Xi Jinping that followed Biden’s inauguration in January.
“In my discussions with President Xi, I told him we welcome the competition. We are not looking for conflict. But I made absolutely clear that we will defend America’s interests across the board,” Biden said. “I also told President Xi that we’ll maintain a strong military presence in the Indo-Pacific, just as we do with NATO in Europe, not to start a conflict but to prevent one.”
“He’s deadly earnest on becoming the most significant, consequential nation in the world,” Biden said of Xi. “He and others, autocrats, think that democracy can’t compete in the 21st century with autocracies. It takes too long to get consensus.”
WILL STAND TOUGH ON TRADE: As a candidate, Biden was sharply critical of the tariffs President Donald Trump imposed on China, arguing they hurt U.S. consumers and manufacturers who had to pay higher prices for Chinese goods and U.S. farmers who sold their crops to China.
But Biden has kept the Trump tariffs in place and last night vowed to maintain the pressure on Beijing to play fair. “America will stand up to unfair trade practices that undercut American workers and American industries, like subsidies from state to state-owned operations and enterprises and the theft of American technology and intellectual property,” Biden said.
“There is simply no reason why the blades for wind turbines can’t be built in Pittsburgh instead of Beijing — no reason.”
‘WE HAVE TO PROVE DEMOCRACY STILL WORKS’: Biden argued that China’s Xi Jinping is emboldened by what he sees as the decline and impending fall of American-style democracy. “He and others, autocrats, think that democracy can’t compete in the 21st century with autocracies. It takes too long to get consensus.”
“They believe we’re too full of anger and division and rage,” Biden said near the end of his address. “They look at the images of the mob that assaulted the Capitol as proof that the sun is setting on democracy, but they’re wrong. You know it. I know it. But we have to prove them wrong.”
“Can our democracy overcome the lies, anger, hate, and fears that have pulled us apart? America’s adversaries, the autocrats of the world, are betting we can’t, and I promise you they’re betting we can’t.”
BIDEN URGES COMPETITION, NOT CONFLICT, WITH CHINA IN ADDRESS TO CONGRESS
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HAPPENING TODAY: Acting Navy Secretary Thomas Harker, Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Michael Gilday, and Marine Corps Commandant Gen. David Berger testify at 11 a.m. before the House Appropriations Defense Subcommittee on the budget for the Navy and Marine Corps.
ALSO TODAY: President Joe Biden and the first lady will travel to Plains, Georgia, to meet with former President Jimmy Carter and former first lady Rosalynn Carter.
‘ENDING THE FOREVER WAR’: In last night’s speech, Biden reiterated the same arguments for leaving Afghanistan that advanced when he made the decision two weeks ago to end the U.S. troop presence in the country after two decades of war.
“We want Afghanistan to get terrorists, the terrorists who attacked us on 9/11. And we said we would follow Osama bin Laden to the gates of hell to do it. If you’ve been in the Upper Kunar Valley, you’ve kind of seen the gates of hell,” Biden said. “And we delivered justice to bin Laden. We degraded the terrorist threat of al Qaeda in Afghanistan. And after 20 years of value, valor, and sacrifice, it’s time to bring those troops home.”
“Even as we do, we’ll maintain over-the-horizon capacity to suppress future threats to the homeland. Make no mistake, in 20 years, terrorism has metastasized. The threat has evolved way beyond Afghanistan,” he said. “Al Qaeda and ISIS are in Yemen, Syria, Somalia, other places in Africa, and the Middle East and beyond.”
PRESIDENT INVOKES BEAU BIDEN’S WAR SERVICE TO SELL AFGHANISTAN WITHDRAWAL TO RELUCTANT GOP
MILLEY — ‘A WIDE RANGE OF POSSIBLE OUTCOMES’: At a McCain Institute event yesterday, Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Mark Milley told MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell that there’s no way to predict what will happen when the 20,000 U.S. and NATO troops and private contractors leave Afghanistan over the next few months.
“So, there’s a wide range of possible outcomes, and at this point, I hesitate to guess to which one it will be,” Milley said. “It’s not a foregone conclusion that there’ll be an automatic fall of Kabul.”
Milley stressed that the U.S. would continue to support diplomatic efforts to help broker a lasting peace between the Afghan government and the Taliban and that the U.S. was not abandoning its mission to counter the terrorist threat in the region.
“We have a lot of capabilities in order to track and then target enemies of our country,” he said. “So, if necessary, we’ll use those capabilities, and we’ll continue to monitor al Qaeda in that region.”
A POINT OF CONTENTION: In that interview, Mitchell pressed Milley on his assertion that there was no delay in dispatching National Guard troops to the Capitol on Jan. 6 during and after the assault by insurrectionists. “I thought the decision-making was quick, and I thought the Washington, D.C., Guard responded quickly,” Milley told Mitchell. Here’s the exchange:
Mitchell: “Well, according to the commander of the D.C. Guard, now former commander of the D.C. Guard, he had them mobilized, he had them at the armory, and he had them on buses, and could have had them there in 18 minutes. The Capitol was breached around 2:00, but, actually, it did take several hours. Are you familiar with what happened between the acting secretary of the Army and others, maybe civilians involved, who delayed the requests of the speaker of the House and the majority leader of the Senate?
Milley: “Well, I am familiar, Andrea. I am very familiar with it. And there was, to my knowledge — and I have pretty good personal knowledge on this stuff — there was no specific attempt to delay the deployment of the National Guard. I mean, that’s just false.”
PELOSI DISPUTES MILLEY: Later on her MSNBC show, Mitchell played the clip for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and asked for a response.
“That isn’t false. And I was there, and I can attest to what happened there,” Pelosi said. “I have the highest regard for Gen. Milley, but he doesn’t know the full picture if he is presenting the characterization that you just presented … I can tell you, from firsthand knowledge in the room that day, that the secretary of the Army delayed even making the request to the acting secretary of defense. And that caused much mayhem.”
“Let’s not debate it here,” she said. “That’s why we’re hoping to have a truth commission, a 9/11-type commission. We have yielded on many scores to the Republicans on this. They seem to say, well, yes, let’s have it, but let’s look at what happened last summer, with some demonstrations that happened. No, this is about Jan. 6 and an insurrection against our democracy. And, again, it’s no use having a debate about this. Let’s put it on the record, under oath, so that we can get to the truth.”
INDUSTRY WATCH: Boeing posted another quarterly loss, it’s sixth in a row, as it reported a net loss of $561 million for the first quarter of 2021, on revenue of $15.2 billion.
“We view 2021 as a critical inflection point for our industry and a proof point for those — for those public investments,” said David Calhoun, Boeing’s president and chief executive officer. “While a full recovery is still likely and a few years away, we’re seeing encouraging signs including progress on vaccine distribution in many countries and domestic travel recovery in certain markets.”
Boeing’s shares fell 2.9% on the news to close at $235.46.
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The Rundown
Washington Examiner: Biden flexes US muscles to Putin: ‘He understands we will respond’
Washington Examiner: President invokes Beau Biden’s war service to sell Afghanistan withdrawal to reluctant GOP
Washington Examiner: Biden urges competition, not conflict, with China in address to Congress
Washington Examiner: Biden ditches Trump’s ‘fire and fury’ for ‘stern deterrence’ of Iran and North Korea
Washington Examiner: US renews calls for Taiwan’s return to World Health Assembly as island aids India
Military.com: Navy to Transfer 13 Satellites to Space Force
Air Force Magazine: Afghanistan’s Future After U.S. Withdrawal Difficult to Predict
Politico: Cuban-Born Veteran A Leading Contender To Be Biden’s Navy Secretary
Bloomberg: Navy at ‘Unacceptable Risk’ From Missiles, Pentagon Tester Warns
Bloomberg: U.S. Missile Defense Warhead Program to Cost Almost $18 Billion
Bloomberg: Top Biden Officials Plan Mideast Trip Over Iran, F-35 Concerns
Washington Post: Bulgaria alleges Russian links to arms depot blasts, widening European probes into Moscow agents
Defense Daily: Alaskan Command Intercepted More Than 60 Russian Aircraft Last Year, May Consider Intercept Alternatives to F-22
Reuters: Philippines Tells China To Mind Its Own Business Over Maritime drills
Reuters: Taiwan’s New Coast Guard Flagship To Counter China’s ‘Grey-Zone’ Threat
Air Force Magazine: Brand-New F-15EX to Participate in Northern Edge Exercise, JADC2 Experiments
Business Insider: U.S. Marine Corps F-35s Flew Over 5,000 Miles For A Deployment Aboard UK Aircraft Carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth
19fortyfive.com: China’s J-20 Stealth Fighter Has An Engine Problem (Or Not?)
AP: China launches main part of its 1st permanent space station
Politico: The Unexpected Pentagon Chief
Defense One: Biden Nominee for Pentagon Weapons Buyer Under Investigation
USNI News: First Image of Marines’ New Anti-Ship Missile Unmanned Truck Emerges
Wall Street Journal: Amazon’s Challenge Over Pentagon Pact Kept Alive in Court
Inside Defense: DOD IT Chief Eyes ‘Bulk Of Workforce’ Moving To New Office 365 Environment By June
Stars and Stripes: Commander Of Hawaii-Based Fast-Attack Submarine Fired Over ‘Command Climate’ Problems
Air Force Magazine: Apollo 11 Astronaut Michael Collins Dies at 90
Washington Post: Opinion: Why are the Russians pranking Washington think tanks?
19fortyfive.com: Opinion: The Right Way to Fight a Maritime War Against China
Calendar
THURSDAY | APRIL 29
9 a.m. — Northrop Grumman conference call to release earnings and financial results for the first quarter of 2021 https://edge.media-server.com
9 a.m. — Atlantic Council webinar: “Putin’s Mediterranean Gambit: Endgame Unclear,” Christopher Bort, National Intelligence Council officer for Russia and Eurasia; Deputy Assistant Defense Secretary for Russia, Ukraine, and Eurasia Laura Cooper; and William Wechsler, director of Middle East programs at the Atlantic Council. https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/event/putins-mediterranean-gambit
9 a.m. — Institute for Defense and Government Advancement holds virtual 2021 Hypersonic Weapons conference, with Rear Adm. Tom Druggan, Missile Defense Agency program executive for sea-based weapons systems. https://www.idga.org/events-hypersonicweapons
10 a.m. — Brookings Institution webinar: “Challenges Facing America’s Defense Budget,” with former Defense Department Comptroller Robert Hale, senior executive adviser at Booz Allen Hamilton; Caitlin Talmadge, nonresident senior fellow at Brookings; and Michael O’Hanlon, senior fellow at Brookings. https://www.brookings.edu/events
10 a.m. — House Appropriations Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Subcommittee hearing: “Violent Extremism and Domestic Terrorism in America: The Role and Response of DOJ,” with Jill Sanborn, assistant director for the FBI Counterterrorism Division; and Brad Wiegmann, deputy assistant attorney general for the National Security Division. http://appropriations.house.gov
11 a.m. — House Appropriations Defense Subcommittee hearing: “FY2022 United States Navy and Marine Corps Budget,” with Acting Secretary of the Navy Thomas Harker; Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Michael Gilday; and Commandant of the Marine Corps Gen. David Berger. http://appropriations.house.gov
11 a.m. 2118 Rayburn — House Armed Services Seapower and Projection Forces Subcommittee and House Foreign Affairs Asia, the Pacific, Central Asia and Nonproliferation Subcommittee joint hearing on “Maritime Security in the Indo-Pacific and the UN Convention for the Law of the Sea,” with retired Navy Adm. Scott Swift; Bonnie Glaser, senior adviser for Asia and director of the Center for Strategic and International Studies’ China Power Project; and Daniel Russel, vice president for international security and diplomacy at the Asia Society Policy Institute. http://www.armedservices.house.gov
11 a.m. — Woodrow Wilson Center Middle East Program virtual book discussion on “No-Win War: The Paradox of U.S.-Pakistan Relations in Afghanistan’s Shadow,” with author Zahid Hussain. https://www.wilsoncenter.org/event/book-launch
11 a.m. — Henry L. Stimson Center webinar: ‘A New Agenda for U.S. Drone Policy and the use of Lethal Force,” with Luke Hartig, fellow at New America; Naz Modirzadeh, founding director of the Harvard Law School Program on International Law and Armed Conflict; Hina Shamsi, director of the American Civil Liberties Union’s National Security Project; and Rachel Stohl, vice president of the Stimson Center. https://www.stimson.org/event/a-new-agenda-for-u-s-drone-policy
3 p.m. — Atlantic Council webinar: “Artificial Intelligence: Realizing a U.S. Strategy for the AI Era,” with National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence Vice Chair Robert Work, president and owner of TeamWork LLC; and National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence Commissioner Safra Catz, CEO of the Oracle Corporation. https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/event
4:30 p.m. 562 Dirksen — Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Strategic Forces hearing on “U.S. nuclear deterrence policy and strategy,” with Brad Roberts, director Center For Global Security Research Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory; Paul Bracken, professor of management and professor of political science Yale School of Management; retired Gen. Claude Kehler, former commander, U.S. Strategic Command; and Franklin Miller, principal, The Scowcroft Group. https://www.armed-services.senate.gov/hearings
FRIDAY | APRIL 30
8 a.m. EDT Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii — Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin presides over a change-of-command ceremony for the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, during which Adm. Philip Davidson will relinquish command to Adm. John Aquilino, currently commander U.S. Pacific Fleet. Also attending will be Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
9:30 a.m. G50 Dirksen — Senate Armed Services Committee hearing: “Worldwide threats,” with Lt. Gen. Scott Berrier, director, Defense Intelligence Agency; and Avril Haines, director of national intelligence. https://www.armed-services.senate.gov/hearings/worldwide-threats
10:30 a.m. — Aspen Security Forum virtual event:”The Biden Administration’s first 100 days,” with Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks; former Deputy Secretary of State Steve Biegun; former national security adviser Tom Donilon, chairman of BlackRock Investment Institute; former U.S. Trade Representative Mike Froman, vice chairman and president, strategic growth for Mastercard. https://aspeninst.zoom.us/webinar/register
9 a.m. — Institute for Defense and Government Advancement virtual 2021 Hypersonic Weapons conference, with Gen. Glen VanHerck, commander of North American Aerospace Defense Command and U.S. Northern Command. https://www.idga.org/events-hypersonicweapons
10 a.m. — American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research webinar: “Russian Hybrid Warfare in Europe: Lessons for the U.S,” with Jakub Janda, executive director of European values at the Center for Security Policy; Edward Lucas, senior fellow at the Center for European Policy Analysis; Maria Snegovaya, visiting scholar at George Washington University; Dalibor Rohac, resident scholar at AEI; and Ivana Stradner, fellow at AEI. https://www.aei.org/events/russian-hybrid-warfare
12 p.m. — Hudson Institute virtual discussion: ‘U.S.-Australian relations and key foreign policy challenges,” with Australian Ambassador to the U.S. Arthur Sinodinos; and Walter Russell Mead, fellow in strategy and statesmanship at Hudson. https://www.hudson.org/events
2 p.m. — Business Council for International Understanding off-the-record and closed press virtual discussion with Marine Gen. Frank McKenzie, commander of the U.S. Central Command. http://www.bciu.org/events/upcoming-events
3:30 p.m. — Washington Post Live event: “The Path Forward: Space Force,” with Gen. John W. “Jay” Raymond, chief of space operations, U.S. Space Force; and David Ignatius, Washington Post columnist. https://www.washingtonpost.com/washington-post-live
7 p.m. — National Committee on North Korea webinar: “Nuclear Monitoring and Verification in North Korea, with Mark Schanfein, senior nonproliferation adviser at the Idaho National Laboratory https://www.ncnk.org/event-calendar/webcast
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“Can our democracy overcome the lies, anger, hate, and fears that have pulled us apart? America’s adversaries, the autocrats of the world, are betting we can’t, and I promise you they’re betting we can’t … we have to prove them wrong.”
President Joe Biden, in his first address to a joint session of Congress.
