MESSAGE UNCLEAR: Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan is not reading too much into North Korea’s announcement that it tested a “new-type tactical guided weapon” Thursday. Speaking to reporters while meeting with Albania’s defense minister, Shanahan noted the test was of some sort of tactical or battlefield weapon, not a missile that would violate Kim Jong Un’s self-imposed moratorium on testing ICBMs.
“The test or the launch, depending on how you want to characterize it, was not a ballistic missile. So I think that’s a statement in and of itself,” Shanahan said.
If it’s intended as a message, it’s not clear what Kim is saying, he added. “You know, when you integrate these other messages, you could derive many different conclusions,” he said. “Let us look at the intelligence that we’ve gathered and then formulate, really, kind of what the message is. You could interpret a lot of things. I’m not going to rush to judgment.”
Earlier the Pentagon said there has been no change in procedures at U.S. Northern Command or U.S. Strategic Command, the two commands that monitor North Korea missile launches. “No change to our operation or posture,” said Shanahan. “And I’m not being, you know, cagey here. It’s just that what’s important is it wasn’t ballistic.”
STILL HOPEFUL ON TURKEY: Shanahan, who huddled with Turkey’s defense minister, Hulusi Akar, at the Pentagon Wednesday, said he understands his Turkish counterpart is in a tough spot, with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan insisting on taking delivery of a Russian air defense system the United States says is incompatible with Turkey’s participation in the F-35 program.
“He’s got a very difficult job, and he’s managing many, many different issues,” Shanahan said. “In many areas, we’re very much aligned. And in others, you know, we have, you know, real difficult challenges to solve.”
Shanahan did not indicate that any progress has been made in persuading Turkey to give up the Russian S-400 missiles, but he nevertheless expressed optimism that the impasse, which threatens Turkey’s relationship with America and NATO, would be resolved favorably and said the meeting had been productive.
“I told him I’d be happy to come visit him when we deliver the Joint Strike Fighter,” Shanahan said, later explaining that comment was based more on feeling than any specific progress. “It was an expression of optimism to defense minister Akar. The fact that I would go to deliver the F-35 represents that we resolve the S-400. And that’s what I am expecting we’ll be able to solve.”
A WAIVER FROM TRUMP?: Reuters reports that Turkish officials appear to be pinning their hopes on direct intervention from President Trump to grant Turkey some sort of exception.
“We are getting signals that Trump pursues a more positive attitude than Congress,” a senior Turkish official told Reuters. “There might certainly be some steps to be taken but the search for common ground will continue.”
The first batch of S-400s is due for delivery in Turkey in June. This week, a team of senior Turkish ministers was in Washington for talks aimed at easing the crisis, culminating in an unexpected Oval Office meeting with the president, Reuters said.
Good Friday morning and welcome to Jamie McIntyre’s Daily on Defense, written and compiled by Washington Examiner National Security Senior Writer Jamie McIntyre (@jamiejmcintyre) and edited by Kelly Jane Torrance (@kjtorrance). 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: Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Acting Defense Secretary Shanahan co-host the U.S.-Japan 2+2 Ministerial at the State Department, with their Japanese counterparts foreign minister Taro Kono and defense minister Takeshi Iwaya attending.
All four will take part in a joint press availability scheduled for 9:50 a.m. Shanahan will meet with Iwaya one-on-one at the Pentagon at 1 p.m.
NO REQUEST FOR TROOPS: Despite President Trump’s public statements that he plans to send more active-duty troops to the U.S.-Mexico border, the Pentagon said yesterday it has yet to receive any request for additional personnel from the Department of Homeland Security. “I can tell you … there’s no RFA [request for assistance],” acting chief spokesman Charles Summers said at an off-camera briefing yesterday.
He knocked down a Newsweek report from a few days ago that quoted Pentagon planning documents that appeared to show between 9,000 and 10,000 more U.S. service members heading to the southwest border over the next few months. “There are no plans to deploy anywhere near 9,000 to 10,000 troops,” Summers said.
HASC CHAIR UNHAPPY WITH BARR: Setting aside the questions of collusion and obstruction of justice, House Armed Services Committee Chairman Adam Smith, D-Wash., argues that Congress needs an unredacted copy of the Mueller report purely on national security grounds.
“There is no more important task than safeguarding our country’s democratic process. Congress has a duty to make informed legislative, oversight, and authorization and appropriations decisions to safeguard the country. To do that, we need unfettered access to all the information contained in Special Counsel Mueller’s report. Our national security, and the American way of life depend on it,” Smith said in a statement last night.
“I cannot underscore how disappointed I am with Attorney General William Barr’s continued unresponsiveness to congressional oversight committees, with relevant jurisdiction, regarding access to the unredacted version of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s report,” he added.
TRUMP TOUTS ARMY’S BELTS: In his remarks yesterday at the Wounded Warrior Project Soldier Ride, President Trump riffed on one of his favorite subjects: how his administration has been rebuilding the depleted military he inherited. “We’re rebuilding our military like never before. Brand new fighter jets. Brand new ships of all kinds. Every soldier has the best equipment,” Trump said before turning to the new Army uniform, which will be a throwback to the “pinks and greens” of the World War II-era.
“In the Army, we’re even getting new uniforms and those beautiful new uniforms with the belt. It was a big deal, the belt,” Trump said, referring to the return of the classic belted jacket.
“And if you think those uniforms were inexpensive, they were very expensive. They were very. But they wanted it and we got it,” Trump added.
The new “Army Greens” will be phased in this year, beginning with Army recruiters, but the new service uniform won’t be in full production until next year.
The Rundown
Washington Examiner: New Mexico county asks governor to send in National Guard to deal with migrants
New York Times: North Korea’s Latest Weapons Test: Short in Range but Long in Message
Wall Street Journal: Kim Set to Meet With Putin As Ties With Washington Fray
New York Times: North Korea’s State-Run Economy Falters Under Sanctions, Testing Elite Loyalty
AP: Putin Envoy In Caracas Rejects U.S. Revival Of Monroe Doctrine
Al-Monitor: Trump administration accuses Iran of potential new nuclear violations
Stars and Stripes: Officials Dismiss Idea that Rivals Might Try to Salvage Downed Japanese F-35A
USNI News: Lockheed Martin Says New F-35 Supplier Contracts Will Reduce Aircraft Costs
Washington Times: Pentagon Chief Dangles F-35s In Bid To Press Turkey To Cancel Pending Russian Missile Deal
Task & Purpose: Acting SecDef Shanahan on the Mueller report: US has ‘tremendous capability’ to counter Russian hackers
The Diplomat: Will Russia Build Borei B-Class Ballistic Missile Subs?
Talk Media News: Iranian Kurdish rebels urge Washington to keep putting more economic sanctions on Tehran
CBS News: University of Texas freshman says he lost his ROTC scholarship because of Trump’s transgender military ban
Army Times: Thirteen Army heroes of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars are getting award upgrades to the Distinguished Service Cross
Washington Examiner: General mandates strict daily regimen after seeing shaggy, unshaven Marines on base
Calendar
FRIDAY | APRIL 19
10 a.m. 1616 Rhode Island Avenue N.W. The Center for Strategic and International Studies hosts a discussion: “Is U.S.-North Korean Normalization Possible? A Russian Perspective.” Speakers: Anastasia Barannikova, visiting fellow in the CSIS Russia and Eurasia Program, and Jeffrey Mankoff, deputy director of the CSIS Russia and Eurasia Program. www.csis.org
WEDNESDAY | APRIL 24
8 a.m. 2201 G St N.W. Defense Writers Group Breakfast with John Sopko, special inspector general for Afghanistan reconstruction. Crain Center Duques Hall, George Washington School of Business. nationalsecuritymedia.gwu.edu
8:30 a.m. 1819 L St. N.W. Sasakawa USA hosts its 6th Annual Security Forum, “The U.S.-Japan Alliance: New Security Challenges.” Speakers include Japanese Ambassador to the U.S. Shinsuke Sugiyama, U.S. Ambassador to Japan Bill Hagerty, former director of national intelligence retired Adm. Dennis Blair, and chairman of the Asia Pacific Initiative Yoichi Funabashi. Live streamed at spfusa.org/event. Register at events.r20.constantcontact.com.
FRIDAY | APRIL 26
8:15 a.m. 1777 F Street, N.W. FBI director Christopher Wray discusses the bureau’s role in protecting the United States from today’s global threats with Richard Haass, president of the Council on Foreign Relations. Live streamed at www.cfr.org/event.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“In the Army, we’re even getting new uniforms and those beautiful new uniforms with the belt. It was a big deal, the belt. And if you think those uniforms were inexpensive, they were very expensive. They were very. But they wanted it and we got it.”
President Trump, commenting on the Army’s new service uniform, a throwback design featuring a belted jacket.
