SYRIA SLIDES FURTHER AWAY: Secretary of State John Kerry continued to talk over the weekend with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov, but Moscow shows no signs of backing off its support of Syria’s assault on Aleppo. Syrian government forces along with Iranian-backed militias and backed by Russian air power, are mounting a final push to take rebel held areas of the city.
Kerry insists he’s not giving up on diplomacy to end the five-year-old civil war, but privately Kerry has been fuming, and his frustration boiled over in a private meeting with Syrian citizens. According to a leaked audio recording, Kerry lamented that he “lost the argument” on using American force in Syria. Kyle Feldscher writes that Kerry told the Syrians that he had argued for using force in the country when Syrian President Bashar Assad crossed the Obama administration’s “red line” on using chemical weapons against rebel groups. The audio was leaked to CNN and published Saturday.
The latest atrocity in Syria is the severe damage to a hospital built inside a cave, in rural Hama. Hospital officials say this wasn’t a random case of collateral damage, but rather a direct attack with bunker-busting munitions. According to a statement from the Union of Medical Care and Relief Organizations, the hospital was thought to be “impervious” from air attack, and while no one was killed, operations were shut down by the damage. British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said the targeting of medical facilities, a possible war crime, is making a peace deal impossible: “It is the continuing savagery of the Assad regime against the people of Aleppo and the complicity of the Russians in committing what are patently war crimes — bombing hospitals, when they know they are hospitals and nothing but hospitals — that is making it impossible for peace negotiations to resume,” Johnson said.
Good Monday 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. If signing up doesn’t work, shoot us an email and we’ll be sure to add you to our list.
Want to learn more about Daily on Defense? See our introductory video here.
AUSA STARTS TODAY: The Association of the U.S. Army’s annual convention begins this morning with remarks by Sergeant Major of the Army Daniel Dailey and Army Secretary Eric Fanning. The three-day conference runs through Wednesday at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in downtown D.C. You can see the full schedule here and stay with Daily on Defense for more coverage.
QUESTIONS ON SANCTIONS: House Speaker Paul Ryan said Friday that President Obama “owes the American people an immediate explanation” for its secret decision to lift ballistic missile-related sanctions against two Iranian banks on the same day four U.S. hostages were freed by the Iranian government, Susan Ferrechio writes. Ryan accused Obama of violating “a key term of the nuclear deal,” recently signed by Iran and the United States, which kept the sanctions in place. A congressional aide confirmed to the Washington Examiner that the Obama administration agreed to lift U.N. sanctions against two banks that had been blocked from international business because they provide financing for Iran’s ballistic missile program. They are Bank Sepah and Bank Sepah International.
WAIT JASTA MINUTE: There’s a wave of post-veto override indecision washing over Congress in the wake of last week’s historic vote to override Obama’s veto of JASTA, the “Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act.” Turkey is the latest U.S. ally to complain that the law, which allows families of the victims of 9/11 to sue Saudi Arabia, would undermine the principle of sovereign immunity. Last week both Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell indicated the law may need a “fix,” perhaps limiting its scope to just the 9/11 attacks. “This was an example of an issue that we should have talked about much earlier. It appears as if there may be some unintended ramifications of that …and I do think that it is worth further discussing,” McConnell said.
House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mac Thornberry said, as written, the law puts the U.S. at risk. “Just turn the tables for just a second,” Thornberry told Fox news. “There is hardly a terrorist incident anywhere around the world where someone could not allege that the United States could have, should have done more to prevent it. We’ve got more military around the world. We collect more intelligence from around the world. So, this is going to come back against us.”
WITH FRIENDS LIKE THESE: Obama is increasingly being forced to defend his foreign policy from Democratic attacks, including from key Democrats in Congress and even from inside his administration, which one observer says is the latest sign Obama is rapidly heading toward lame-duck status, Susan Crabtree writes. Obama’s struggle against his own party continued last week, when he lost a major battle in Congress thanks in large part to Democrats over JASTA.
OCO OH NO: Todd Harrison of the Center for Strategic and International Studies reportedly said that the Pentagon “misled” Congress by downplaying how much of its war fund would go to requirements that will be here long after the mission against the Islamic State. Nearly half of the Pentagon’s fiscal 2017 budget request for its overseas contingency account will cover “enduring requirements,” not war-specific short term costs for which the account was originally created, Inside Defense reported.
HURRICANE ON ITS WAY: The Navy evacuated 700 staff and family members from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, on Sunday, as Hurricane Matthew nears the Caribbean, Daniel Chaitin writes. The nonessential personnel are being airlifted off the island to a “safe haven” Florida, said Navy Capt. David Culpepper in a Radio Gitmo broadcast on Saturday. About 5,500 residents live at Guantanamo Bay, as well as 61 terror suspects being held at the prison. There were no plans announced to move the prisoners.
CARTER BACK FROM ASEAN: Defense Secretary Ash Carter is back in town after meeting with fellow defense ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and declaring the the U.S.-ASEAN partnership “stronger than ever.” Carter glossed over statements from the Philippines new President Rodrigo Duterte who announced an end to future U.S.-Philippine military exercises and compared himself to Adolf Hitler and said he would be happy to slaughter 3 million drug users in his country. Carter said Duterte’s campaign of extrajudicial killings of drug suspects was not discussed at the meeting in Hawaii, which focused on strengthening the Asia-Pacific alliance, but at a news conference Carter said, “Just speaking personally for myself, I find those comments deeply troubling.”
Duterte has been making overtures to Moscow, indicating he’s ready to increase ties with Russia. Reuters reports that Duterte met with Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev last month on the sidelines of a summit in Laos. “I met with Medvedev, I am revealing it to you now,” Reuters quoted Duterte as saying in a speech. “I told him this is the situation: They are giving me a hard time, they are disrespecting me; they are shameless. He said: ‘That is really how the Americans are.’ He said: ‘We will help you.’ ”
VETS’ BODIES LEFT IN LIMBO: Officials at a Department of Veterans Affairs hospital in Hines, Ill., may have left the bodies of deceased veterans neglected for months in the facility’s morgue, Sarah Westwood reports. A whistleblower told Fox News that staff members at the embattled VA hospital had the resources available to secure speedy and proper burials for veterans who died at the clinic, but VA employees neglected the bodies anyway. “Some veteran’s remains have been left in our hospital morgue for 45 days or more until they are stacked to capacity at times,” the whistleblower said.
COLOMBIAN PEACE DEAL REJECTED: Colombian voters shot down a peace deal aimed at ending the country’s half-century civil war with Marxist rebels in a referendum Sunday, Kyle Feldscher writes. Based on the vote, 50.22 percent of Colombians voted against ratifying the peace deal and 49.77 percent of voters voted in favor. About 98 percent of votes had been counted as of 6:15 p.m. Sunday. Media reports indicated the referendum was widely expected to be approved, but there was underlying resentment among Colombians who felt the FARC rebels would not be punished enough by the peace deal.
LOST OPPORTUNITIES: A Hillary Clinton presidency could mean lost opportunities for defense industry if she follows through on statements she’s made suggesting she would not follow Obama’s modernization of the ground-based leg of the nuclear triad. Boeing, Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman could have the most to lose, as they were expected to bid for the contract to replace the ICBM and ALCM. Yet there could be winners as well.
THE RUNDOWN
Military Times: From troops to nukes: This is how Trump and Clinton would manage the military
Defense One: Unpredictability Is the Biggest Threat Facing America’s Army
Defense News: US Lawmaker Wants Pre-Owned Ice Ship Over Coast Guard Objections
Military.com: 9/11 Widow Sues Saudi Arabia days after Congressional Override
Daily Beast: Pentagon Paid for Fake ‘Al Qaeda’ Videos
Military Times: Hope, relief for transgender military families in new policy
Air Force Times: Air Force to cut battlefield airmen training locations in half to save money, time
Marine Corps Times: Marines face new threats while resetting optempo: 3-star
Military.com: How America’s Highest-Ranking Woman in Uniform Defied the Odds
USNI News: Analysis: Russia, the MH-17 shootdown, the Dutch and Kremlin’s Requirement to Respond
Military Times: Russia warns against U.S. attack on Syrian forces
Military.com: China Warns that South Korea Will ‘Pay the Price’ if THAAD is Deployed
Calendar
MONDAY | OCTOBER 3
7:30 a.m. Walter E. Washington Convention Center. The first day of the Association of the United States Army includes remarks from the sergeant major of the Army and Army Secretary Eric Fanning. ausameetings.org
10 a.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave. NW. Chief of Naval Operations Adm. John Richardson speaks about maintaining maritime superiority. csis.org
10:30 a.m. 1775 Massachusetts Ave. NW. Retired Gen. David Petraeus and former ambassadors talk about the future of Afghanistan. brookings.edu
Noon. 1000 Massachusetts Ave. NW. The Cato Institute hosts an event regarding whether immigrants and refugees impact America’s national security. cato.org
TUESDAY | OCTOBER 4
2 p.m. 1775 Massachusetts Ave. NW. Think tank experts talk about arms control and the U.S. relationship with Russia. Brookings.edu
9 p.m. Longwood University, Farmville, Va. The Vice Presidential debate with Gov. Mike Pence and Sen. Tim Kaine.
WEDNESDAY | OCTOBER 5
8:15 a.m. 1775 Massachusetts Ave. NW. Brookings Institution experts will record a podcast live on what the next president has to do to achieve success in the Middle East. brookings.edu
THURSDAY | OCTOBER 6
8:30 a.m. 1030 15th St. NW. European officials and think tank experts talk about alliances in Europe post-Brexit. atlanticcouncil.org
12 p.m. 1300 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. Wall Street Journal reporter Jay Solomon discusses his new book The Iran Wars: Spy Games, Bank Battles, and the Secret Deals That Reshaped the Middle East. wilsoncenter.org
