HIT OR MISS? North Korea fired off two missiles over the Sea of Japan yesterday, believed to be tests of the North’s intermediate range Musudan, a missile that has failed on all four previous launch attempts. The fifth attempt also failed yesterday, but the sixth may have reached new heights, and made it halfway to Japan, traveling about 250 miles before falling into the ocean. The U.S. Pacific Command tweeted that the missiles posed no threat to North America, but the tests show North Korea is making some progress developing a missile that could target Japan and the sprawling American military base on the U.S. territory of Guam.
STRATEGY GAP IN LIBYA: It’s one thing when critics of the Obama administration routinely complain there’s no strategy for defeating the Islamic State. It’s quite another when the nominee to head the U.S. Africa Command says as much during his Senate confirmation hearing. “I am not aware of any overall grand strategy,” testified Lt. Gen. Thomas Waldhauser referring to the only occasional airstrikes conducted against ISIS in Libya
The key exchange came between Waldhauser and Sen. Lindsey Graham, over why there’s no air campaign in Libya as there is in Iraq and Syria:
GRAHAM: Is ISIL an imminent threat to the United States?
WALDHAUSER: Yes.
GRAHAM: Is ISIL in Libya?
WALDHAUSER: Yes.
GRAHAM: How many sorties have we flown in Libya?
WALDHAUSER: To my knowledge, none at this time.
GRAHAM: That makes no sense then does it?
WALDHAUSER: It does not.
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FROM ONE HELL TO ANOTHER: The liberation of Fallujah has unleashed a humanitarian crisis in Iraq with upwards of 85,000 Iraqis who fled the city facing starvation and death, and the Iraqi government unprepared to handle the scale of the problem. “Families fleeing the combat in the Iraqi city of Fallujah have been forced to sleep in the open desert for almost a week, with aid agencies warning that people are at risk of dying as supplies of tents and water run dangerously low,” is how the Washington Post described it in its front page story. Meanwhile the AP reports only a third of Fallujah has been “cleared” of Islamic State militants, according to U.S.-led coalition.
KNOCK IT OFF: A bipartisan group of senators, led by Georgia Republican David Perdue, signed a resolution Monday to hold Russia accountable for its recent aggressive military maneuvers, David Wilkes reports. “We’ve recently seen Russian military personnel taunting U.S. military units with provocative military maneuvers,” Perdue said. “Under President Vladimir Putin, Russia has become increasingly assertive and aggressive militarily.”
YOU DON’T TALK ABOUT CONFERENCE: Chris Brose, the staff director of the House Armed Services Committee, said Tuesday that House and Senate negotiations are “adopting fight club rules” for the National Defense Authorization Act conference process.
As a result, he didn’t give too much insight into where lawmakers may compromise on some sticking points between the two bills or a timeline of when we might see a final product.
But he did say that lawmakers on both sides of Capitol Hill agree that the defense budget top line needs to be higher. The work for lawmakers will involve reconciling the funding methods, which the two chambers handle differently.
“We have no disagreement on the need for this,” Brose said during an event at the American Enterprise Institute. “The question is how do you live in a top line that both of us agree is inadequate.”
TRANSGENDER POLICY STILL EXPECTED “SOON”: That’s latest word on the new Pentagon policy that is expected to allow transgender troops to serve openly. That’s the same as last time we checked. Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook insists a consensus is building and that Secretary Ash Carter will make a decision “soon.”
GLOBAL HAWK WORK: Northrop Grumman Systems was awarded a $203 million contract for Global Hawk contractor logistic services and sustainment, the Pentagon announced yesterday.
DISSENTERS ANONYMOUS: Ten of those senior diplomats who took advantage of the State Department’s internal “dissent channel” to challenge the Obama administration policy of not bombing the regime of Bashar Assad in Syria met with Secretary of State John Kerry, who listened politely. But department spokesman John Kirby says the private discussion will remain private. It’s a good bet that Kerry was unmoved and the policy is unchanged.
MORE LIKE, GIT-NO: Attorney General Loretta Lynch opposes an Obama administration plan for Guantanamo detainees to plead guilty to terrorism charges via video teleconference, Gabriella Cuiffetelli reports. “In her dissent, Lynch argued that video pleas are technically considered an involuntary plea, as detainees are not given the option of facing a trial by jury. According to Lynch, this would violate laws of the justice procedure, because the only other option the prisoners have besides pleading guilty is to remain in Guantanamo.”
ELECTION WATCH: The latest Reuters/Ipsos poll shows Democrat Hillary Clinton’s lead over Republican Donald Trump has slipped by about five percentage points since mid-June. The numbers: Clinton 44.5 percent, Trump 35.5 percent. On June 12, Clinton was at 46.6 percent But trump was at 32.3 percent.
VIETNAM VALOR RECOGNIZED: A Vietnam War pilot will receive the Medal of Honor at a White House ceremony next month for saving 40 soldiers and his own flight crew on May 15, 1967. Retired Army Lt. Col. Charles Kettles, now 86, led a platoon of Huey helicopters. “After leading several trips to the hot landing zone and evacuating the wounded, he returned, without additional aerial support, to rescue a squad-sized element of stranded soldiers pinned down by enemy fire,”
COOK TIMER: It’s getting to the point that if the 1:30 Pentagon briefing begins within 10 minutes of its scheduled time, it’s deemed to be on time. Yesterday’s began at 1:38 p.m. The question is if Peter Cook started promptly at 1:30, would any reporters be there ready for him?
THE RUNDOWN:
Defense News: Army Vice Chief: Aviation Plus-Ups Trigger Cuts Elsewhere
Washington Post: Military retirees have a revolving door to civilian Pentagon jobs. The Senate voted to shut it.
Defense One: For Defense Firms, Brexit Could Be Europe’s Sequester
UPI: Honeywell gets U.S. Air Force engine contract mod
Breaking Defense: B-21 Costs Must Stay Secret, Insists Air Force RCO Head
UPI: BAE Systems to assist Army with geospatial intelligence systems
War on the Rocks: The long game: How will Obama’s foreign policies be judged by history?
ABC News: General Says Number of US Troops in Libya Sufficient for Now
Military Times: Lawmaker wants stronger DoD response on Afghan child rape
The News & Observer: Protecting military air space squeezes wind energy prospects
Washington Post: The Army has a ‘critical gap’ stopping drone swarms. Now it’s doing something about it.
Marine Corps Times: New Marine Corps fitness standards for combat weed out men, women alike
Military.com: US Considers Releasing Last Russian at Guantanamo to UK
Associated Press: US-led coalition says only ⅓ of Fallujah cleared of IS
Navy Times: Carrier Truman breaks record for ISIS strikes
USNI News: Atlantic Council Argues For NATO Naval Force in Black Sea, Coordination In Arctic
War on the Rocks: Step on the gas: Montenegro’s road to NATO membership
Military.com: Marine Officer to Face Second Trial Linked to Academy Sex Scandal
Calendar
WEDNESDAY | JUNE 22
10 a.m. Rayburn 2118. House Armed Services Committee. Acting Assistant Secretary of Defense for Homeland Defense and Global Security Thomas Atkin, U.S. Cyber Command Deputy Commander Lt. Gen. Kevin McLaughlin, and Joint Staff, J-39, Brig. Gen. Charles Moore testify. armedservices.house.gov
3 p.m. 1300 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. Wilson Center hosts a panel to discuss the geopolitics of oil in the Gulf region in light of the Iran nuclear deal. wilsoncenter.org
3:30 p.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave. NW. CSIS hosts a panel of experts to discuss the future of U.S. Army missile defense. csis.org
THURSDAY | JUNE 23
7 a.m. 1300 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. The Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments and Booz Allen host a daylong summit on the future of directed energy with a classified afternoon portion. csbaonline.org
9 a.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave. NW. Gen. Mark Milley, the Army chief of staff, speaks about the U.S. military strategy. csis.org
9:30 a.m. Cannon 311. House Homeland Security committee discuss the readiness of Homeland Security for insider threats and counterintelligence. homeland.house.gov
10 a.m. Dirksen 419. Senate Foreign Relations committee will review the NATO Warsaw Summit agenda and possible outcomes. foreign.senate.gov
10 a.m. Rayburn 2172. House Foreign Affairs committee hold a hearing on how to counter the Islamic State’s virtual caliphate. foreignaffairs.house.gov
12:30 p.m. 1777 F St. NW. The Council on Foreign Relations host Sen. Christopher Coons to discuss the Iran nuclear deal. cfr.org
2 p.m. Rayburn 2154. House Oversight subcommittees on National Security and Government Operations hold a hearing on terrorist radicalization in the U.S. oversight.house.gov
FRIDAY | JUNE 24
10 a.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave. NW. CSIS and the U.S. Naval Institute discuss challenges facing the Navy, Marines, and Coast Guard. usni.org
TUESDAY | JUNE 28
10 a.m. Dirksen 419. Brett McGurk, Special Presidential Envoy for the global coalition to counter ISIL, testifies at the Senate Foreign Relations committee. foreign.senate.gov
WEDNESDAY | JUNE 29
10 a.m. 529 14th Street NW. Arab Center D.C. hosts a panel of think tank experts at the National Press Club to discuss the impact of the presidential elections on U.S. Middle East policy. arabcenterdc.org
11:45 a.m. 1201 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. The Hudson Institute hosts a panel to discuss the future of North Africa in light of current unstable conditions. hudson.org
