TRUMP IN SOUTH KOREA: In South Korea, where Tuesday is almost over, President Trump today sounded almost restrained as he touted U.S. military power while imploring North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to make a deal to resolve the showdown over its nuclear program short of war. “I really believe that it makes sense for North Korea to come to the table and to make a deal that’s good for the people of North Korea and the people of the world,” Trump said at a joint news conference with South Korean President Moon Jae-in.
Without citing anything specific, Trump said “I think we’re making a lot of progress,” and said that he sees what he called “certain movement” in the crisis. “But let’s see what happens,” he added. “I don’t like talking about whether I see success or not in a case such as this. We like to play our cards a little bit close to the vest.”
Trump said North Korea is “a worldwide threat that requires worldwide action,” and again called on all countries including China and Russia to demand North Korea “end its nuclear weapons and its missile programs, and live in peace.” Tomorrow, Trump goes to China to consult with President Xi Jinping, who Trump said has been very helpful. “We’ll find out how helpful soon,” Trump said. “But he really has been very, very helpful. So China is out trying very hard to solve the problem with North Korea. We hope that Russia, likewise, will be helpful.”
Trump said what North Korea understands is military might, and said the U.S. is displaying “unparalleled” strength. “There has never been strength like it,” he said. “You know we sent three of the largest aircraft carriers in the world, and they’re right now positioned. We have a nuclear submarine also positioned. We have many things happening that we hope, we hope — in fact, I’ll go a step further, we hope to God we never have to use.”
Over the weekend, the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz entered the South China Sea, joining the carriers USS Theodore Roosevelt and Ronald Reagan, which are already in the Western Pacific. The Navy announced yesterday that the Virginia-class attack submarine USS Mississippi had arrived at Yokosuka, Japan, for a port visit. Reuters reports the decision has been made to proceed with a planned a rare joint exercise involving all three carrier strike groups as a show of force.
Trump also lamented that the intractable North Korean problem has fallen on him to solve. “This is a problem, by the way, that should have been done over the last 25 years, not now. This is not the right time to be doing it, but that’s what I got. That’s what I got.”
THE AIR FORCE’S DEADLY MISTAKE: The man who shot and killed 26 people in a Texas church should not have been able to buy the guns he used in the Sunday attack, because of a federal law barring access to firearms to anyone convicted of domestic violence. Devin Patrick Kelley was given a bad conduct discharge from the Air Force in 2014 and served a year in prison after a 2012 court-martial conviction for assaulting his wife and fracturing his infant stepson’s skull.
But embarrassed Air Force officials discovered that, in what appears to be a tragic bureaucratic failure, Kelley’s conviction was not entered into the FBI’s national criminal database, allowing the increasingly disgruntled Kelley to assemble a small arsenal of weapons and high capacity magazines, all because a check of his background kept coming up clear.
“Federal law prohibited him from buying or possessing firearms after this conviction,” Air Force spokeswoman Ann Stefanek confirmed in an emailed statement last night. “Initial information indicates that Kelley’s domestic violence offense was not entered into the National Criminal Information Center database by the Holloman Air Force Base Office of Special Investigations.”
HOW COULD IT HAPPEN? The big question now is, was this an isolated aberration, or an indication of a systemic problem in the Air Force, and perhaps other services? The Air Force announced “a complete review” would begin immediately, to include not just what went wrong in the Kelley case, but also “a comprehensive review of Air Force databases to ensure records in other cases have been reported correctly.”
In addition to Air Force Inspector General’s probe, the Pentagon’s Inspector General will also examine the Kelley case, as well as “review relevant policies and procedures to ensure records from other cases across DoD have been reported correctly,” according to a Pentagon statement. The Air Force said later the two IGs will act in collaboration.
LAWMAKERS OUTRAGED: Sen. John McCain promised that his Armed Services Committee would “conduct rigorous oversight” of the Pentagon’s investigation into the failure. “It’s critical that each of the military services take the steps necessary to ensure that similar mistakes have not occurred and will not occur in the future,” McCain said in a statement last night.
“Air Force failure to report gunman’s domestic violence convictions seems to violate statutory duty. How many others unreported?” tweeted Sen. Richard Blumenthal. “As a member of Judiciary & Armed Services Committees, I’ll call on DoD/DoJ to provide clear picture of where, why & how this process failed.”
“No excuse for this. I’m calling on the Department of Defense to audit old case files to prevent this deadly error from happening again,” tweeted Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand.
And Rep. Ruben Gallego, a former Marine, wrote: “To be clear as a member of the Armed Services Committee, I want answers. This is not acceptable.”
TRUMP: TOUGHER GUN LAWS NOT THE ANSWER: Asked in Seoul whether he would support “extreme vetting” for gun purchasers, Trump insisted it would have made no difference, and may even have hurt in this case. “There would have been no difference three days ago, and you might not have had that very brave person who happened to have a gun or a rifle in his truck go out and shoot him, and hit him and neutralize him,” Trump said. “And I can only say this: If he didn’t have a gun, instead of having 26 dead, you would have had hundreds more dead.”
Trump pointed to Chicago, which he called the American city with the strongest gun laws. “And Chicago is a disaster,” he said “It’s a total disaster.”
Good Tuesday 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 travels from Finland to Belgium today ahead of NATO’s North Atlantic Council Defense Ministers meeting tomorrow and Thursday at NATO Headquarters in Brussels. Mattis is scheduled to chair a meeting of the global coalition to defeat the Islamic State, but Afghanistan and North Korea are also high on the agenda, said NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, who just returned from a visit to South Korea last week. He called North Korea a worldwide threat to both NATO and it allies.
Closer to town, the International Conference on Cyber Conflict (CyCon U.S.) gets underway at the Ronald Reagan Building downtown. Featured speakers include Army Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Milley at 11:30 a.m. and Army Lt. Gen. Paul Nakasone, commander, U.S. Army Cyber Command at 9 a.m.
Also this morning, Air Force Brig. Gen. Andrew Croft, deputy commander, Air, Combined Joint Forces Land Component Commander, briefs Pentagon reporters live from Baghdad at 11 a.m. in the Pentagon Briefing Room to provide an update on the progress defeating ISIS in Iraq and Syria.
SASC TAKES ON MORE NOMINEES: At 10 a.m., the Senate Armed Services Committee and its chairman McCain will hold the first of two hearings on eight Pentagon nominees scheduled for this week. The stepped-up hearing schedule began last week with testimony by Army Secretary nominee Mark Esper and others, and continues today with Robert Behler to be director of operational test and evaluation; Dean Winslow to be assistant secretary of defense for health affairs; Thomas Modly to be undersecretary of the Navy; and James Geurts to be assistant secretary of the Navy for research, development and acquisition. McCain had held up nominations since July to force the Pentagon to be more forthcoming with the committee on its military operations around the world.
The Senate Armed Services Committee also has a Thursday hearing scheduled 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. The nominees could be referred to the full Senate for a final confirmation vote on the chamber floor.
TRUMP REQUESTS MULTI-BILLION SUPPLEMENTAL: Trump yesterday asked Congress to approve an “urgent” wave of new funding for a missile defense system, repairs to damaged U.S. Navy ships, and Trump’s new Asia strategy.
“The request includes an additional $4.0 billion to support urgent missile defeat and defense enhancements to counter the threat from North Korea, $0.7 billion to repair damage to U.S. Navy ships, and $1.2 billion in support of my administration’s South Asia strategy,” Trump wrote in a letter to House Speaker Paul Ryan.
The $4 billion in missile defense funding addresses a gap in the budget that the president formally submitted in May. That includes:
- Construction of a Ground-Based Interceptor field at Fort Greely, Alaska
- Money toward the purchase of 20 GBIs
- 16 Raytheon SM-3 Block IIA missiles
- 50 Lockheed Martin Terminal High Altitude Area Defense interceptors
The $700 million would cover damages to the destroyers USS Fitzgerald and USS John S. McCain, while the $1.2 billion would pay for the deployment of 3,500 more troops to Afghanistan. For more details, check out the White House letter here.
Also included was a request for $1.6 billion for the border wall with Mexico. “Providing for the safety and security of the American people is my top priority,” Trump said.
McCAIN, THORNBERRY RECEPTIVE: “We welcome the President’s amendment to his initial defense budget request and look forward to giving it the serious consideration it deserves. The additional request would provide resources to support our renewed efforts in Afghanistan and much-needed funding to repair the Navy ships damaged in recent collisions at sea.
“This request also underscores the threat posed by the rogue North Korean regime and the urgent need to boost our missile defense capabilities to meet it. In fact, the House and Senate Armed Services Committees have already authorized many of these missile defense programs in our respective defense bills. The timely submission of this budget amendment means that the NDAA conferees will be able to consider this request in time to incorporate the additional funding into the final agreement.”
U.S. WILL ARM JAPAN: Before traveling to South Korea, Trump visited Japan and refused to rule out eventual military action against North Korea. He declared that the United States “will not stand” for Pyongyang menacing America or its allies, the Associated Press reported.
In his first stop of an extended trip in Asia, Trump stood with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at a news conference and suggested the United States will arm Japan, much as the United States has done with allies in the Middle East like Saudi Arabia. He did not deny reports that he has expressed frustration that Japan did not shoot down a ballistic missile North Korea recently fired over its territory.
“He will shoot ’em out of the sky when he completes the purchase of lots of additional military equipment from the United States,” Trump said of Abe. “He will easily shoot them out of the sky.”
SAUDI MOVES: Trump backed Saudi Arabian leaders Monday, following surprise arrests over the weekend of influential Saudi princes, military officers, businessmen, and governmental ministers overseen by the crown prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman.
“I have great confidence in King Salman and the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, they know exactly what they are doing,” Trump tweeted. “Some of those they are harshly treating have been ‘milking’ their country for years!”
Those arrested on Saturday include billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal and two of the late King Abdullah’s sons, according to the Associated Press. Alwaleed is one of the most affluent men in the world and has massive holdings in Western companies. Some of those arrested are adversaries or critics of the crown prince.
TURKEY’S PROMISE: Turkey’s government has promised to stop making surprise arrests of Turkish nationals who work for the U.S. State Department, U.S. diplomats announced Monday.
The pledge clears the way for the State Department to resume “limited visa services in Turkey,” which U.S. officials suspended in October. The diplomatic dispute, a rarity between two members of NATO, was part of a larger trend of fraying ties between the U.S. and a key ally in the Middle East.
CAMP HUMPHREYS: Trump today said he eschewed a fancy lunch to chow down with U.S. troops at a dining facility at Camp Humphreys in South Korea. Trump later said he was impressed with the sprawling U.S. base, which resembles a typical American suburb, and has been renovated at a cost of $10 billion. “I thought that Humphreys was an incredible military installation. I know what it costs, and it’s a lot of money,” Trump said. “I’m sure I could have built it for a lot less. That’s what I do.”
Trump couldn’t resist getting a dig in about the high cost, which he noted was incurred before his time. “We actually spent some of that money, and, as you know, that money was spent, for the most part, to protect South Korea, not to protect the United States,” he said. Trump did not note that South Korea picked up 93 percent of the construction costs for America’s biggest overseas base.
A ROOKIE MISTAKE: While toasting Abe at a dinner in Tokyo Monday night, Trump recalled his “rocky start” in U.S.-Japanese relations, as he unknowingly broke protocol by agreeing to meet with Abe while Barack Obama was still the president. “After I had won, everybody was calling me from all over the world. I never knew we had so many countries,” Trump said in his informal remarks. “So I was now president-elect. But I didn’t know you were supposed to not see world leaders until after you were in office.”
Trump said after he was advised that the meeting would be “considered bad form … not a nice thing to do,” he tried to call Abe to cancel. But it was too late, the Japanese leader was already on a plane to New York. “And I said, ‘You know what? There’s no way he’s going to land and I’m not seeing him.’ So I saw him, and it worked out just fine.” Trump said. “We had a great meeting. It lasted forever. It was a very long meeting in Trump Tower. And for some reason, from that moment on, we had a really — and developed a really great relationship.”
McCAIN’S ACHILLES HEEL: McCain’s office released the following statement yesterday: “Senator McCain was treated at Walter Reed Medical Center over the weekend for a minor tear in his right Achilles tendon, as well as for other normal and non-life-threatening side effects of cancer therapy. Senator McCain has returned to work in the Senate and will be wearing a walking boot until his injured tendon is fully healed.” He also tweeted a photo of himself with his new accessory. “I can’t tell you how much I hate wearing this boot!” he wrote.
THE RUNDOWN
New York Times: Saudi Arabia charges Iran with ‘act of war,’ raising threat of military clash
Washington Post: In Finland, Mattis backs creation of a hybrid warfare center focused on Russia
USA Today: When it comes to North Korea, what is Japan’s military role?
War on the Rocks: The long-term budget shortfall and national security: A problem the United States should stop avoiding
USNI News: Columbia Class Ballistic Missile Sub On Schedule, Down To $7.2 Billion Apiece
The Diplomat: China’s New Aircraft Carrier To Use Advanced Jet Launch System
Defense News: Turkish Procurement Saga Weighs Russian S-400 Deal Against Pleasing The West
Foreign Policy: Is the ‘jihadi drug’ moving out of Syria?
USNI News: 7 U.S. aircraft carriers are now simultaneously underway
Defense One: It took Comfort 39 days to get pierside in Puerto Rico. That’s a national security problem.
Defense News: Norway accepts its first three F-35s
Wall Street Journal: In Saudi purge, echoes of Putin and Xi
Task and Purpose: Air Force master sgt murdered in Texas church shooting was everything his killer was not
Daily Beast: How does Trump deal with North Korea when he can’t trust South Korea?
Reuters: U.S. Investigation Finds No Afghan Civilian Casualties In Kunduz Strike
Calendar
TUESDAY | NOV. 7
8 a.m. 11790 Sunrise Valley Dr. How Washington Works – Navigating the DOD course. ndia.org
8 a.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave. NW. Global Security Forum 2017 with Sen. John McCain; James Clapper, former director of national intelligence; and William Lynn, CEO of Leonardo North America and DRS Technologies. csis.org
8:45 a.m. 1300 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. 2017 International Conference on Cyber Conflict with Army chief of staff Gen. Mark Milley and Lt. Gen. Paul Nakasone, head of Army Cyber Command. Milley speaks at 11:30 a.m. Nakasone at 9 a.m. Aci.cvent.com
10 a.m. Dirksen G-50 . Nomination hearing for Robert Behler to be director of operational test and evaluation; Dean Winslow to be assistant secretary of defense for health affairs; Thomas Modly to be under secretary of the Navy; and James Geurts to be assistant secretary of the Navy for research, development and acquisition. armed-services.senate.gov
10 a.m. Rayburn 2172. Democracy and governance in the Middle East and North Africa. Foreignaffairs.house.gov
11 a.m. Pentagon Briefing Room. Air Force Brig. Gen. Andrew Croft, deputy commander, Air, Combined Joint Forces Land Component Commander – Operation Inherent Resolve briefs the media live from Baghdad. Live streamed www.defense.gov/live.
1 p.m. 5151 Pooks Hill Rd. The 4th annual ISR & C2 Battle Management U.S. conference with Lt. Gen. Paul Nakasone, head of Army Cyber Command. isrusa.iqpc.com
2 p.m. Rayburn 2172. Joint subcommittee hearing on whether Russia is a counterterrorism partner or is fanning the flames. foreignaffairs.house.gov
2:30 p.m. Senate Visitor Center 217. Top secret hearing on North Korea’s cyber capabilities and the U.S. policy response with Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Robert Strayer and an unidentified CIA briefer. foreign.senate.gov
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
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
