CLINTON ON OFFENSE: In California today Hillary Clinton will attempt to label Donald Trump a danger to the nation, in a foreign policy speech defense consultant Bryan McGrath says could be the start of a conversation aimed at wooing national security experts who have vowed not to support Trump.
What would it take to flip them? McGrath says there are no magic words, but for starters, Clinton should present a solid plan to rebuild the military, explain how she’ll pay for it, and put some daylight between her plans and President’s Obama’s foreign policy.
Careful, though. The Heritage Foundation’s James Carafano warns that distancing herself too much from Obama too much could risk alienating his supporters. Clinton has already peeled off a few GOP national security experts who say they can’t stomach Trump. Andrew Sagor, an associate at Paul Weiss law firm and former State Department official, is one who says Clinton must convince others that a vote for Trump puts the country’s national security in jeopardy.
Good Thursday morning and welcome to Jamie McIntyre’s Daily on Defense, compiled by Washington Examiner National Security Senior Writer Jamie McIntyre (@jamiejmcintyre), National Security Writer Jacqueline Klimas (@jacqklimas) 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.
Want to learn more about Daily on Defense? See our introductory video here.
ON THE JOB, BUT FOR HOW LONG? Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs Bryan Whitman was at work in his E-ring office at the Pentagon yesterday afternoon, when the embarrassing news broke about his admitted involvement in a case of stolen license plates in his Capitol Hill neighborhood in April. First reported by the Washington Post, the incident was apparently a case of “parking rage” over what he considered a violation of neighborhood rules. Whitman, a former Army major, and fixture in the OSDPA office since the 1990s, is now a civilian Senior Executive Service employee entitled to certain protections. A plea deal prevented a criminal conviction, but that may not be enough to save his job.
AL SHABAAB IN CROSSHAIRS: The Pentagon says it killed another senior al Shabaab commander in the a drone strike in Somalia. Officials say the results of the airstrike are still being assessed, but a senior official tells us they are pretty sure they got him. Meanwhile al Shabaab, affiliated with al Qaida, claimed responsibility for yesterday’s attack on the Hotel Ambassador in the capital Mogadishu. Somali security forces say the bomb and gun attack killed at least 16 people and wounded 55, according to Reuters.
TIME’S UP: U.S. Afghanistan commander Gen. Mick Nicholson took over March 2, and promised recommendations to turbo-charge the mission in 90 days. Checking the calendar … that’s today. As the war drags into its 15th year, there are some positive signs, but the two big issues are whether to scrap the plan to draw down U.S. forces from 9,800 to 5,500 this year, and whether to put more targets on the backs of the Taliban. We examine what’s at stake here.
The artificial cap on U.S. forces in Afghanistan is already creating a “constrained troop level environment” reports the Washington Post, which cites an Army document provided to the House Armed Services Committee. The result: maintenance soldiers, who should be deploying with their units are replaced by contractors, who don’t count against the force management levels, or FML, a particularly ironic three-letter acronym.
WINDOW ON WAR: We don’t have a lot of visibility of the extent of U.S. involvement in the front line battles against the Taliban. NPR’s Tom Bowman is with U.S. and Afghan troops, and in his report this morning Tom mentions the role U.S. airpower is playing, including drone and Apache helicopter gunships. He concludes that while the Afghans are conducting operations on their own, “they still need American air power,” and that they’re “years away” from being able to conduct complex operations on their own, “if they ever can.”
UH, THANKS? Trump received an endorsement yesterday from a state-run North Korean newspaper, Gabby Morrongiello reports. The paper called him a “prescient presidential candidate” and claimed his policy proposals contain a number of “positive aspects.”
“The president that U.S. citizens must vote for is not that dull Hillary [Clinton] but Trump, who spoke of holding direct conversation with North Korea. … It turns out that Trump is not the rough-talking, screwy, ignorant candidate they say he is, but is actually a wise politician and a prescient presidential candidate.”
COMING UP THIS MONTH: We’re expecting the Defense Department Inspector General to release reports on spare parts of the Boeing Insitu ScanEagle UAV, the department’s healthcare management system and the Pentagon’s Freedom of Information Act processes, according to a release from the watchdog’s office.
YEAH, SO, ABOUT THAT “GLITCH”: Remember that 2013 State Department press conference video that was mysteriously missing an exchange between a spokesman and a reporter that suggested the U.S. wasn’t being truthful about its negotiations with Iran? After saying it was due to a “glitch” a few weeks ago, spokesman John Kirby made the stunning admission that someone actually asked for the exchange to be cut, Pete Kasperowicz reports. But after saying the request wasn’t in keeping with the department’s goal of transparency, the officials don’t plan on finding out who did it or why.
Quickly following the briefing, the spokeswoman on the tape said she’s not the one who asked for it to be cut. And House Speaker Paul Ryan also weighed in.
DUTCH TANKERS: L-3 Communications received a $1.9 billion contract for KC/KDC-10 airframe contractor logistics support for the Netherlands, the Pentagon announced yesterday.
And Huntington Ingalls received a $17 million modification to a previously awarded contract on Wednesday to refuel the aircraft carrier George Washington, which is expected to be completed by 2020.
FED REPEATEDLY HACKED: The Federal Reserve was breached more than 50 times over a four-year period, Rudy Takala reports. “It was also hit with malicious code on 81 occasions and experienced 32 cases of ‘information disclosure,’ or improper sharing of information through avenues like email.”
SENTENCE HANDED DOWN: “A U.S. citizen was sentenced to one year and one day in prison for mailing threatening letters and a white powdery substance to 37 prominent U.S. politicians and business leaders last year,” Anna Giaritelli reports.
THE RUNDOWN
IHS Jane’s 360: ILA 2016: Raytheon pushes Patriot to Germany in anticipation of MEADS failing TLVS milestones
Investor’s Business Daily: Lockheed, Boeing Bombs In Demand As U.S. Reloads Against ISIS
Defense News: Fiat-Chrysler, Romanian Defense Group Discuss Vehicle Partnership
UPI: Sikorsky commercial helo takes autonomous flight
Defense News: F-35 Not Much Noisier Than F-16, Say Dutch
UPI: United Launch Alliance gets $138 million Atlas V contract
Military.com: Navy Growler Damaged during Carrier Landing in South China Sea
USNI News: Rear Adm. Brian Antonio, Former PEO LCS, Takes Over As PEO Aircraft Carriers
Breaking Defense: NGA Presses To Speed, Improve Acquisition, Requirements
Military Times: ‘Never Trump’ movement turns to Iraq War veteran
War on the Rocks: The big breach: Donald Trump and the return of ideological espionage
Navy Times: The Coast Guard just got its second four-star admiral
Daily Beast: Big Win Over ISIS Could Mean a New War
Military.com: UN Warns 20,000 Children Are Trapped in Iraq’s Fallujah
Defense One: A Judge Shouldn’t Force Congress to Debate War
Reuters: U.S. military sees Afghan talks with new Taliban leader unlikely
Fox News: Refugee translator denied visa despite helping US forces fears being sent to die at hands of Taliban
Air Force Times: Robots could eliminate explosives, rebuild airfield after attack
Foxtrot Alpha: Military Exercise Mistaken By Locals For Actual Invasion Of Finland
Calendar
THURSDAY | JUNE 2
7 a.m. Hilton Alexandria Mark Center. Marine Corps Brig. Gen. Dennis Crall speaks at an NDIA breakfast on command, control, communications and computers. ndia.org
7:45 a.m. Army Navy Club NW. Stephen Welby, assistant secretary of defense for research and development, speaks at a science and engineering breakfast. ndia.org
8:30 a.m. Murrow Room. The National Press Club hosts a meeting to establish common ground to destroy ISIS/Al Qaeda. press.org
FRIDAY | JUNE 3
10 a.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave. N.W. CSIS will host a panel to discuss the efficiency of public and private defense industry partnerships. csis.org
MONDAY | JUNE 6
8:30 a.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave. NW. CSIS and Department of Justice computer crimes division will host a symposium on safety, security and privacy related to cybercrimes. csis.org
9 a.m. Kempinski Hotel, Lithuania. The Atlantic Council hosts a conference on sustaining NATO’s strength and deterrence. atlanticcouncil.org
TUESDAY | JUNE 7
10 a.m. Dirksen 342. The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee will discuss TSA operations in light of the current threat to aviation. hsgac.senate.gov
THURSDAY | JUNE 9
3 p.m. 214 Massachusetts Ave. NE. The Heritage Foundation hosts a panel to discuss the major foreign policy and defense issues related to Asia. heritage.org
