TRUMP’S TOUGH TALK: Donald Trump’s plan to secure America’s southern border is still anchored by his signature promise. In his major immigration address last night in Phoenix, Trump didn’t seem to soften his position much at all. “Number one, are you ready? Are you ready?” Trump pumped the crowd last night. “We will build a great wall along the southern border,” Trump said pausing for applause, “And Mexico will pay for the wall!” More applause.
Trump spoke for more than an hour, outlining the key aspects of his get-tough plan that includes:
— No tolerance for criminals: “Within ICE I am going to create a new special deportation task force focused on identifying and quickly removing the most dangerous criminal illegal immigrants”
— No amnesty: “We will immediately terminate President Obama’s two illegal executive amnesties in which he defied federal law and the Constitution to give amnesty to approximately five million illegal immigrants, five million.”
— No visas: “We are going to suspend the issuance of visas to any place where adequate screening cannot occur.”
— No money for sanctuary cities: “Cities that refuse to cooperate with federal authorities will not receive taxpayer dollars.”
— No exceptions: “Anyone who has entered the United States illegally is subject to deportation. That is what it means to have laws and to have a country. Otherwise we don’t have a country.”
Anna Giaritelli has 10 of the biggest takeaways from Trump’s huge speech:
WHO’S GONNA PAY? Earlier in the day during his joint appearance with Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto, Trump said “We did discuss the wall. We didn’t discuss payment of the wall.” Peña Nieto didn’t challenge Trump, but later said he made clear Mexico would not pay for the wall. There’s not as much daylight between those two statements as it might seem. Trump said there was no discussion, saying “That’ll be for a later date. This was a very preliminary meeting.” Then last night Trump added: “They don’t know it yet, but they’re going to pay for it. And they’re great people and great leaders but they’re going to pay for the wall.”
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WHODUNNIT? The Pentagon dismissed Russia’s claim to have killed the ISIS leader Abu Mohammed al-Adnani Tuesday, without flat-out calling Moscow a liar. Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook said there was simply no information to back up Russia’s claim. The U.S. targeted Adnani within a drone strike northwest of Aleppo as he was traveling in a vehicle. Cook pointed out this kind of precision strike, based on intelligence meticulously gathered over months, is just not the kind of thing Russia does in Syria. While the U.S. is being cautious in not yet declaring Adnani dead, the Russian Defense Ministry went on Facebook to claim credit for killing the ISIS leader, along with some 40 militants. The Pentagon says it saw nothing that would support that claim. So why is Moscow trying to take credit for a U.S. drone strike? When pressed Cook said, “Maybe it’s just a misunderstanding on their part. Susan Crabtree has a story on the White House reaction, which was along the same lines.
Meanwhile over at State, spokesman John Kirby was wrestling with the question of whether the dispute would scuttle efforts to negotiate an agreement with Russia to coordinate efforts in Syria. “I find the whole thing, the whole kerfuffle rather quizzical,” said Kirby, who said Russia’s claims would have no impact on the discussions. “I can’t see any, I can’t see any way that it would.”
THIRD TIME’S THE CHARM?: Senate Republicans are hoping so when they try for the third time next week to get cloture on the fiscal 2017 defense spending bill. Democrats have blocked the bill twice over concerns that domestic spending will fall by the wayside once Republicans pass the defense bill.
On the other side of the Capitol, House Republicans are planning a vote in September fighting the administration’s $400 million “ransom” payment to Iran, Susan Ferrechio reports. “The administration’s actions put American lives in jeopardy,” House Foreign Affairs Chairman Ed Royce said in a statement to the Washington Examiner. “That’s why the committee is working on legislation that would prevent another ransom payment from happening. No more hidden cash payments to this state sponsor of terrorism.”
KERRY SUMMONED TO THE HILL: Secretary of State John Kerry has been called to appear on the Hill in September to testify about the Iran nuclear deal before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee after ignoring a request from earlier this summer, Anna Giaritelli reports. Rep. Jason Chaffetz, chairman of the committee, said he intends to meet with Kerry no later than Sept. 15.
SPEEDING UP THE PROCESS: The Army is getting a new office — the Rapid Capabilities Office — designed to get new capabilities into the hands of soldiers within one to five years, much faster than the current acquisition process. Army Secretary Eric Fanning said the process will focus on capabilities, not platforms, and will have a short chain of command, with all decisions being made by a small board of military leaders. “It will be a direct pipeline that commanders can access quickly to meet a real demand,” Fanning said.
The time is ripe for an actual fix to this decades-old problem, Fanning said, because reform is also a priority for Defense Secretary Ash Carter, as well as armed services committee leaders on Capitol Hill, whose initial response to the new office was positive. House Armed Services Committee Chairman Rep. Mac Thornberry said the push to speed up fielding new technology is “commendable” and Sen. John McCain, his counterpart on the Senate Armed Services Committee, released a statement saying establishment of the office is an “important step forward.”
KAINE: TRUMP’S “MEDICAL MIRACLE”: Vice presidential candidate Sen. Tim Kaine is suggesting that maybe Donald Trump faked a health condition in the 1960s to avoid being drafted and sent off to Vietnam. “Look, the one good thing we can say about Trump’s health is apparently the medical issue that kept him out of the services magically cleared up, because now he’s the healthiest individual who has ever going to be elected,” Kaine said at a campaign stop in Bethlehem, Pa. “So I guess we got a medical miracle working here,” Kaine said to laughs.
TRUMP’S “TREMENDOUS” TALLY: In his brief joint appearance with Mexico’s President yesterday, Trump went to his go-to adjective “tremendous” eight times. That was an average of one “tremendous” every minute. In contrast, in his lengthy immigration policy speech last night in Arizona, Trump peppered his prepared remark with “tremendous” only four times.
LASERS! Yesterday, we wrote about one Marine general’s desire to see laser installed on the F-35B. The Examiner’s crack multimedia team put together a video that even Dr. Evil would approve of.
COOK TIMER: Pentagon spokesman Cook is consistent if nothing else, rarely starting his Pentagon briefing within five minutes of their scheduled times. Cook’s usual explanation is that he’s been gathering the latest information on a breaking story, but yesterday he began his 12:30 briefing at 12:41 with the words “I don’t have anything off the top, so happy to go to your questions.”
THE RUNDOWN
Military.com: Members of New Mexico Delegation Seek F-16s for Air Base
UPI: Ingalls Shipbuilding procuring long-lead materials for Coast Guard cutter
Military Times: Clinton promises reform, warns of disaster during American Legion speech
New York Times: How Russia Often Benefits When Julian Assange Reveals the West’s Secrets
Navy Times: New aircraft carrier’s technology to undergo review
USNI News: Pacific Hurricanes Could Delay USS Coronado Return to Pearl Harbor
Army Times: U.S. set to destroy big chemical weapon stockpile
CNN: Analyst: al-Adnani death ‘huge blow’ to ISIS
Reuters: Libyan forces prepare for last push against Islamic State in Sirte
Fox News: Obama extends Libya bombing mission against ISIS
Defense One: When Allies Become Enemies (Before the War is Over), Obama’s ISIS Plan Has Another Problem
Reuters: Kurds Carve Out a Home in Syria, Testing U.S. Ties With Turkey
Military.com: US Claims ‘Calm’ in Northeast Syria But Turkey Presses Attacks
CNN: Inside Jarablus: What happens when ISIS loses control of a city
Military Times: Obama orders 1.6 percent military pay raise for 2017
Calendar
TUESDAY | SEPTEMBER 6
10 a.m. 1775 Massachusetts Ave. NW. Retired Marine Corps Gen. John Allen gives an assessment of progress and challenges that remain in Afghanistan. brookings.edu
4 p.m. 1050 15th St. NW. The Atlantic Council hosts an event on the art of cyberwar. atlanticcouncil.org
WEDNESDAY | SEPTEMBER 7
8 a.m. Capital Hilton. Aerospace Industries Association hosts the National Aerospace and Defense Workforce Summit. aia.aerospace.org
2 p.m. 1775 Massachusetts Ave. NW. The Brookings Institution hosts a panel discussion on how to stop Islamic State recruitment. brookings.edu
3:30 p.m. Rayburn 2118. The House Armed Services Committee holds a hearing on the safety and mission risks of deferring maintenance on the nuclear enterprise. armedservices.house.gov
6:30 p.m. Livestream. Sen. Bob Casey speaks about financing terrorism at the Council on Foreign Relations. cfr.org
THURSDAY | SEPTEMBER 8
10 a.m. 1152 15th St. NW. Michele Flournoy, the CEO of the Center for New American Security and widely speculated to be at the top of the list for a post in a Hillary Clinton administration, participates in a panel discussion on sanctions and the next administration. cnas.org
10 a.m. 214 Massachusetts Ave. NE. The Heritage Foundation hosts a panel looking at how threats how evolved in the 15 years since 9/11. heritage.org
