‘DO NOT TRY US’: President Trump, in a formal address to South Korea’s National Assembly, said he came to the peninsula to deliver a message directly to Kim Jong Un. “The weapons you are acquiring are not making you safer. They are putting your regime in grave danger. Every step you take down this dark path increases the peril you face. North Korea is not the paradise your grandfather envisioned. It is a hell that no person deserves,” Trump said.
In his speech, the president avoided taunting Kim as “Little Rocket Man,” and didn’t use any bellicose rhetoric like “fire and fury” or “locked and loaded,” but his warning to the North was pointed and clear. “Do not underestimate us. And do not try us,” Trump said. “The regime has interpreted America’s past restraint as weakness. This would be a fatal miscalculation. This is a very different administration than the United States has had in the past.”
And Trump repeated his vow to never accept a nuclear-armed North Korea that could threaten the U.S. and the rest of the world. “The regime has pursued nuclear weapons with the deluded hope that it could blackmail its way to the ultimate objective,” Trump said, calling it an “objective we are not going to let it have.”
U.S. MILITARY MIGHT: The president again touted America’s unparalleled military might as ready to counter any North Korean threat. “The United States under my administration is completely rebuilding its military and is spending hundreds of billions of dollars to the newest and finest military equipment anywhere in the world being built right now,” Trump said. “I want peace through strength.”
Trump referenced the three U.S. aircraft carrier strike groups, which are preparing to stage a rare joint exercise in the vicinity of the Korean Peninsula as a show of force, but curiously said the U.S carriers were “loaded to the maximum with magnificent F-35 and F-18 fighter jets.” U.S. carriers will have F-35s in the future, but for now the F-35s in the region are on the ground at bases in Japan. Marine F-35Bs were joined last week by Air Force F-35As.
NORTH KOREA REACTS: According to CNN, which has a correspondent in the North Korean capital of Pyongyang, officials there were closely watching Trump, but said they weren’t listening. “We don’t care about what that mad dog may utter because we’ve already heard enough,” officials in Pyongyang authorized to speak for the government told CNN.
“The United States is threatening us with nuclear aircraft carriers and strategic bombers. They are challenging us with the most vicious and demeaning provocations but we will counter those threats by bolstering the power of justice in order to take out the root cause of aggression and war,” the officials said.
A commentary in the state-controlled North Korean newspaper Rodong Sinmun published before Trump’s speech said U.S. threats show why North Korea must continue to develop its nuclear capability. “The present grave situation once again clearly shows that Trump’s mad remarks of ‘total destruction’ and ‘annihilation’ of the DPRK have resulted in military gambling and that it is just the U.S. which poses threat to the DPRK’s existence and development and brings disastrous nuclear war to the Korean peninsula.”
ONE THING TRUMP DIDN’T DO: Korea watchers were waiting to see if Trump would put North Korea on the U.S. list of nations that support terrorism. Speaking to reporters on the plane, White House spokesperson Sarah Sanders said it could still happen. “He just said that he would make a decision or have a decision at the end of the trip,” Sanders said.
RED CARPET WELCOME: Trump is now in China, where President Xi Jinping has literally staged a red carpet welcome. Trump has said China has been “very, very helpful,” and has praised Xi, who has recently consolidated his power as a “strong leader.” Television images show the president and first lady Melania Trump getting a private tour of the Forbidden City, Beijing’s ancient imperial palace, and sitting down for a performance by young opera students before dinner. Trump said afterward that he’s “having a great time” in China.
SANCTIONING BANKS: The Senate Banking Committee approved legislation on Tuesday that would sanction banks in China and other countries if they continue to do business with North Korea. “This bill sends a clear message to the world that the entire U.S. government is committed to the strongest possible sanctions against North Korea,” Sen. Pat Toomey said during a Senate Banking Committee markup of the legislation.
The BRINK Act passed unanimously out of the committee Tuesday morning, in a vote timed to take place hours before Trump arrived in China. If passed into law, the bill would apply to financial institutions around the world, but China is the top target after decades of throwing economic lifelines to the pariah state.
NO SURPRISE DMZ VISIT: Trump attempted to make a surprise visit to the Demilitarized Zone before leaving South Korea, but his helicopter turned back due to bad weather. The White House had initially said Trump would not visit the 2.5-mile-wide strip of land that separates North and South Korea, with one senior administration official dismissing the traditional visit as a “cliché.”
Reporters traveling with the president said press secretary Sanders summoned them early this morning in Seoul to get ready to accompany Trump on the surprise visit to the DMZ. But Marine One was forced to turn back after 18 minutes due to heavy fog, and did not take off again after an hour of waiting to see if the conditions cleared.
Good Wednesday morning and welcome to Jamie McIntyre’s Daily on Defense, compiled by Washington Examiner National Security Senior Writer Jamie McIntyre (@jamiejmcintyre), National Security Writer Travis J. Tritten (@travis_tritten) 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 add you to our list. And be sure to follow us on Twitter @dailyondefense.
HAPPENING TODAY: Defense Secretary Jim Mattis is in Brussels today for a two-day NATO defense ministers meeting. Speaking to reporters en route from Finland, Mattis said he’s already received informal commitments to send more troops to Afghanistan from many of the U.S. allies he met with this week in Helsinki, members of what’s known as the Northern Group. “There was feedback from a number of nations, both formally and informally, about what they’re looking to uplift their numbers based on the American uplift,” Mattis said. “Full support for the South Asia strategy, and that was demonstrated by a number of them saying they’re going to add troops.”
In a news conference yesterday ahead of the opening session, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said NATO was prepared to send 3,000 additional troops to Afghanistan. “There will be more troops; the current level is around 13,000; the new level will be around 16,000,” Stoltenberg said. “We will not go back in combat operations but we need to strengthen the train and assist and advise mission, the Resolute Support Mission, to help the Afghans break the stalemate, to send a clear message to Taliban, to the insurgents, that they will not win on the battleground, the only way they can achieve anything is by sitting down at the negotiating table and be part of a peaceful negotiated political solution.”
HOW MANY TROOPS? On his plane, Mattis was asked to clarify whether the 3,000 troops mentioned by Stoltenberg was in addition to the 3,000 the U.S. is sending, which would bring the total force to roughly 20,000. Mattis said he hadn’t seen the context of Stoltenberg’s remarks but made clear he was expecting additional forces from other NATO countries on top of the reinforcements America is sending. “We’re sending, as you know, a little over 3,000 — over 3,000 U.S. troops, and then there’s more coming from the NATO nations, but also the partner nations, the non-NATO nations that are there, as well,” Mattis said.
AIR WAR SHIFT: Now that ISIS holds less than five percent of the territory it once held, the U.S.-led air campaign in Iraq and Syria has fewer targets. That is giving U.S. commanders more flexibility to send U.S. warplanes based in the region to attack the Taliban in Afghanistan, according to the senior U.S. Air Force officer in Iraq. “We can take an air asset and push it to Afghanistan one day, and the next day it can fly over Iraq and Syria,” Brig. Gen. Andrew Croft told reporters a conference call from Iraq yesterday. Croft says the number of bombs dropped in Iraq and Syria is down by 60 to 70 percent for October, compared to the first nine months of the year, when the battle against ISIS was raging.
LOOMING INSURGENCY: The Institute for the Study of war is warning of “looming insurgency” that would reverse U.S. gains against ISIS and facilitate the return of Salafi-jihadi groups to the area. “Turkey and ISIS are exacerbating tensions between local Sunni Arabs and the Syrian Kurdish YPG, which dominates the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). Turkish support to anti-Kurdish insurgent groups in SDF-held areas may support the reemergence of Al Qaeda, which also seeks to exploit ethnic strife and hostility toward the SDF, in northern Syria.” The full assessment is here.
BIN LADEN’S BACK: The Middle East Media Research Institute reports an audio recording by Hamza bin Laden, the son of Osama bin Laden, has been released by an al Qaeda affiliate. In the recording, which appears to be from sometime in the past 12 months, Hamza calls on Muslims to target Americans in revenge for his father. “I invite Muslims generally to take revenge [on] the Americans, the murderers of the Shaykh … specifically from those who participated in this heinous crime…” Hamza goes on to acknowledge the failure of the Arab Spring, and invites Muslims, especially young people, to prepare for a new wave of armed uprisings, according to MEMRI.
McCAIN’S REFRAIN, ‘NO STRATEGY’: Sen. John McCain took to the Senate floor yesterday to return to one of his favorite subjects, his repeated criticism that the Trump administration has no clear policy in the Middle East. “Our power and influence is diminishing in the Middle East as a result of our lack of direction, and the vacuum has been filled by forces working contrary to American interests,” McCain said.
“In Iraq, Iranian forces are working to sew discord as we recently saw in Kirkuk, where the presence of Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani exacerbated tensions among the Kurds and the government in Baghdad. Iranian-backed militias continue to gain power and aim to turn next year’s election into a setback that drives American influence out of Iraq. Meanwhile, the scourge of ISIS remains despite recent military successes. The terrorist attack last week in Manhattan shows its persistent appeal; its rise in the wake of U.S. withdrawal years ago demonstrates the danger of leaving before winning the peace.”
McCAIN MOVING NOMINEES: After months of delay, there was brisk movement on Trump’s Pentagon nominees in the Senate on Tuesday, with an overwhelming 91-7 confirmation floor vote of John Gibson to be deputy chief management officer. The Senate Armed Services Committee held a voice vote to move the president’s pick for Army secretary, Mark Esper, and three other nominations to the floor where they too await final votes. The committee also held a hearing on four other nominees Tuesday and has scheduled testimony from four more on Thursday morning. McCain had been holding up nominees over a dispute with the Pentagon, but told the Washington Examiner he plans to keep up the quickened pace of hearings next week as well. Pentagon confirmations are still lagging nine months into the Trump administration with just 17 of the 57 Senate-confirmable seats filled.
NOMINEE SAYS GUN LAWS ARE ‘INSANE’: For most Pentagon nominees, the approach to Senate Armed Services confirmation hearings involves keeping their heads down, avoiding hot-button political issues and not giving any responses that could annoy McCain. Dean Winslow, a Stanford University professor and Trump’s pick to head up the military health system, did not follow that approach. During his committee testimony Tuesday, Winslow jumped headlong into the heated U.S. gun debate, saying laws allowing civilians to purchase long guns like the Texas church shooter used are “insane.”
Sen. Jeanne Shaheen specifically asked him whether the shooter, Devin Patrick Kelley, should have been dishonorably discharged from the Air Force for his domestic violence conviction. Winslow added this at the end of his answer: “I’d also like to, and I may get in trouble with other members of the committee, just say how insane it is that in the United States of America a civilian can go out and buy a semi-automatic assault rifle like an AR-15, which apparently was the weapon that was used.” McCain, seemingly annoyed by the remark, jumped in. “I don’t think that’s your area of responsibility or expertise,” McCain said. Shaheen also clarified that she was asking a different question.
ABORTION TOO: The gun law comment was not Winslow’s only brush with a controversial, non-defense issue during the confirmation hearing. He also ran afoul of McCain for a comment in his written testimony to the Armed Services Committee about providing abortions to women in the military. “I also believe that therapeutic abortion services should be provided by the military in appropriately staffed facilities,” Winslow wrote in the submitted questionnaire. McCain read the quote aloud and asked pointedly, “What do you mean by that?” Winslow said he was glad for the opportunity to clarify his response and that he understands the military has long been barred by law from providing abortions in most cases. Therapeutic abortions refer to situations in which the mother’s life is in danger, he said. “You better clean it up, doctor, or you are going to have trouble getting it through the Senate,” McCain warned about the abortion comment.
DEFENSE BUILD-UP BRIEFS: The Heritage Foundation has put out a new policy brief, just as the House and Senate are poised to finish up the National Defense Authorization Act, that calls for any military build-up to start right away, not next fiscal year as the Pentagon says it plans to do. “The 2018 budget is the right place to begin rebuilding the Armed Forces. Congress should follow the Heritage-recommended amount of $632 billion for 2018,” according to the brief. To get there, it says lawmakers should lift Budget Control Act caps that are set to hold spending at $549 billion.
However, another brief released by the Bipartisan Policy Center throws cold water on any optimism of raising the BCA caps to the $632 billion figure for 2018. “Such increases of around $83 billion in one year seem very unlikely,” according to the brief. In fact, it is appearing less and less likely the Pentagon will see a substantial hike at all. “While some analysts continue to predict a substantial increase in defense outlays in the next fiscal year, this expectation no longer conforms with the facts on the ground,” the brief says. Looming deficits, the BCA cap and dismay among lawmakers that the U.S. has spent $1.3 trillion in Iraq and Afghanistan are all part of the reason.
TEXAS SHOOTER HEARINGS? The Republican leaders of both the House and Senate armed services committees are vowing to hold the Air Force accountable for an error that allowed Kelley to purchase guns and kill 26 people during a Sutherland Springs, Texas, church service. McCain indicated that could include public hearings. “What do you think we just did with the USS McCain? Yes, we will be holding them accountable,” he told the Washington Examiner when asked if he would be calling in witnesses to testify.
Rep. Mac Thornberry said House Armed Services is beginning its “own comprehensive oversight” of the Air Force role in the Texas mass shooting, which staff said could include hearings, following news that the Defense Department Inspector General will investigate. “News that the Air Force failed to notify the FBI of Devin Kelley’s military criminal record is appalling,” Thornberry said in a released statement.
MAJOR MISS: The Pentagon has known for at least two decades about failures to give military criminal history information to the FBI, including the type of information the Air Force didn’t report about the Texas church gunman who had assaulted his wife and stepson while an airman, the Associated Press reported.
John Cornyn of Texas, the No. 2 Republican in the Senate, said he is working on legislation that would require swift reporting of military criminal history data. The requirement currently is based on an internal Pentagon rule that does not have the force of law.
An FBI database known as the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, which contains information for use in background checks on prospective gun buyers, had only one Pentagon entry for domestic violence convictions as of Dec. 31, 2016. Most federal agencies had zero entries in that category.
In 2012, in addition to his conviction in the domestic violence case, Kelley had escaped from a mental health center, a Houston TV station reported Tuesday, citing a police report. The Air Force said federal privacy laws prohibited it from commenting on the report.
TURF WAR OVER DRUGS: The Food and Drug Administration is pushing back on an attempt by Congress to give the Department of Defense the power to approve new drugs and medical devices used on the battlefield, Robert King writes. FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb said Tuesday that he is seeking an alternative to proposed language in the National Defense Authorization Act, which is being negotiated by House and Senate conference members this week.
The alternative seeks to head off an agency brawl over the authority for approving new drugs used by service members. “We think keeping it within the FDA’s context is the right thing,” Gottlieb said. He said his compromise would speed approval of drugs and devices designed for troops.
THE RUNDOWN
Defense News: Report: Full Cost Of U.S. Wars Overseas Approaching $6 Trillion
Stars and Stripes: General’s nomination stalls after Army finds he mistreated congressional staffer
Wall Street Journal: NATO To Discuss Bolstering Cyberwarfare Capabilities
Agence France-Presse: South Korea ‘In Talks To Buy Nuclear Submarine’ From US – Reports
Bloomberg: Japan In Talks With U.S. On Buying Aegis Missile Defense
Reuters: Sweden Seeks To Buy $1 Billion U.S. Patriot Air Defense Missile System
Navy Times: Shoddy Seamanship To Blame In Lake Champlain Collision
USNI News: McCain to Navy civilian leadership nominees: ‘We want an audit’
The Diplomat: Trump, Moon Reach Final Agreement To Scrap Warhead Limits For Ballistic Missiles
New York Times: A leading Afghan TV station is attacked in Kabul
Defense Tech: ‘A terrifying experience’: Senator discusses Navy hypoxia demo
Navy Times: Lawmaker Demands Regular Updates On Combating Pilot Oxygen Deprivation
Roll Call: Play on Congress’ power to declare war gets a showing in the Capitol
Defense News: U.S. installs final ground-based missile interceptor to counter ICBM threat
KOAA-TV: Cadet candidate found responsible for racist messages at USAFA Prep school
Calendar
WEDNESDAY | NOV. 8
7 a.m. 2425 Wilson Blvd. Breakfast forum with acting Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy. ausa.org
7:45 a.m. 5151 Pooks Hill Rd. The 4th annual ISR & C2 Battle Management U.S. conference with Lt. Gen. Arnold Bunch, military deputy for the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition. isrusa.iqpc.com
8:45 a.m. 1300 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. 2017 International Conference on Cyber Conflict with Sen. Martin Heinrich. aci.cvent.com
9:30 a.m. 214 Massachusetts Ave. NE. The Trump administration and the future of the ROK-U.S. alliance with Sen. Cory Gardner. heritage.org
10 a.m. Dirksen 342. Nomination of Kirstjen Nielsen to be secretary of the Department of Homeland Security. hsgac.senate.gov
10 a.m. Rayburn 2167. Moving the American embassy in Israel to Jerusalem: Challenges and opportunities. oversight.house.gov
10 a.m. Rayburn 2172. Joint subcommittee hearing on objectives and resources for the President’s plan for Afghanistan and Pakistan with Alice Wells, acting assistant secretary of state. foreignaffairs.house.gov
2:30 p.m. 1789 Massachusetts Ave. NW. A strategy for a brighter future in Libya: Redefining America’s role. aei.org
3 p.m. 1030 15th St. NW. The civilian elements of the new U.S. strategy in Afghanistan with Ahmad Nader Nadery, chairman of Afghanistan’s civil service commission. atlanticcouncil.org
3 p.m. Senate 116. A closed hearing with Nikki Haley, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, about her recent trip to Africa. foreign.senate.gov
4 p.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave. NW. A book talk with Nathalie Nguyen about America’s forgotten allies, the soldiers of the Republic of Vietnam. csis.org
THURSDAY | NOV. 9
7 a.m. 901 Massachusetts Ave. NW. The 5th Annual Defense One Summit with Gen. Stephen Wilson, Air Force vice chief of staff; Rep. Elise Stefanik; and former Ambassador Wendy Sherman. defenseone.com
8 a.m. 5151 Pooks Hill Rd. The 4th annual ISR & C2 Battle Management U.S. conference. isrusa.iqpc.com
8 a.m. 2401 M St. N.W. Defense Writers Group breakfast with Sen. James Inhofe. centermediasecurity.org
10 a.m. Dirksen G-50. Nominations hearing for Robert McMahon to be assistant secretary of defense for logistics and materiel readiness; R.D. James to be assistant secretary of the Army for civil works; Bruce Jette to be assistant secretary of the Army for acquisition, logistics and technology; and Shon Manasco to be assistant secretary of the Air Force for manpower and reserve affairs. armed-services.senate.gov
10 a.m. 1775 Massachusetts Ave. N.W. Turkey, Europe and the U.S.: New challenges and changing dynamics. brookings.edu
10:30 a.m. Rayburn 2212. Lt. Gen. Chris Nowland, deputy Air Force chief of staff for operations; Vice Adm. Mike Shoemaker, Naval Air Forces commander; Lt. Gen. Steven Rudder, deputy Marine Corps commandant for aviation; and Maj. Gen. William Gayler, commander of the Army Aviation Center of Excellence testify on aviation readiness. armedservices.house.gov
12 p.m. 1201 Pennsylvania Ave. Mounting challenges to U.S. naval power: A book discussion with “Seablindness” author Seth Cropsey and Rep. Mike Gallagher. hudson.org
2 p.m. 1789 Massachusetts Ave. NW. Japanese internationalism in an era of upheaval. aei.org
MONDAY | NOV. 13
10 a.m. 1775 Massachusetts Ave. NW. Is there really a military readiness crisis in the United States? brookings.edu
1 p.m. Preparing military leadership for the future with Rear Adm. Jeffrey Harley, president of the U.S. Naval War College; Brig. Gen. William Bowers, president of the Marine Corps University; Maj. Gen. John Kem, commandant of the U.S. Army War College; and Vice Adm. Frederick Roegge, president of the National Defense University. csis.org
4 p.m. 1300 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. A historical discussion about “When the World Seemed New: George H.W. Bush and the End of the Cold War” with author Jeffrey Engel. wilsoncenter.org
TUESDAY | NOV. 14
8 a.m. 2101 Wilson Blvd. Robotics division quarterly meeting. ndia.org
8 a.m. 45425 Holiday Dr. Navy League board of directors meeting. navyleague.org
11 a.m. 214 Massachusetts Ave. NE. Winter is coming: Russia, the Baltic states and U.S. policy in Europe. heritage.org
2 p.m Sustaining U.S. leadership against nuclear terrorism and proliferation: A conversation with Christopher Ford, special assistant to the president and senior director for weapons of mass destruction and counterproliferation. hudson.org
WEDNESDAY | NOV. 15
8 a.m. 45425 Holiday Dr. Navy League board of directors meeting. navyleague.org
9 a.m. 1201 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. Kleptocratic regimes and national security: A pervasive threat and how it can be neutralized. hudson.org
10 a.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave. NW. Prospects and challenges of building the 350-ship Navy with three former service secretaries. csis.org
4 p.m. 1030 15th St. NW. Book discussion of “Russia’s Border Wars and Frozen Conflicts.” atlanticcouncil.org
