MATTIS’ WAR ON WASTE: Defense Secretary Jim Mattis is making the war on waste his own. Faced with a report last month from one of the Pentagon’s watchdogs that the U.S. may have wasted upwards of $28 million by supplying the Afghan army with custom woodland camouflage uniforms in a country where forests cover only 2.1 percent of the total land area, Mattis issued a blunt call to action to some of his deputies. The report, from the Special Inspector General For Afghanistan Reconstruction, said former Afghan Defense Minister Abdul Rahim Wardak “ran across” the proprietary pattern on a website in 2007 and “liked what he saw.” Mattis reviewed the report and decidedly did not like what he saw, calling it “an example of a complacent mode of thinking.”
“The report is an indication of a frame of mind — an attitude that can affect any of us at the Pentagon or across the Department of Defense — showing how those of us entrusted with supporting and equipping troops on the battlefield, if we let down our guard, can lose focus on ensuring their safety and lethality against the enemy,” Mattis wrote in a July 21 memo. “Cavalier or casually acquiescent decisions to spend taxpayer dollars in an ineffective and wasteful manner are not to recur,” Mattis said, and he made clear he didn’t want anyone making excuses or defending the wasteful spending. “Rather than minimize this report or excuse wasteful decisions, I expect all DoD organizations to use this error as a catalyst to bring to light wasteful practices — and take aggressive steps to end waste in our Department.”
The House Armed Services Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations hears testimony at 2 p.m. from both the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction John Sopko and Michael Roark, assistant inspector general, Office of the DOD Inspector General.
McCAIN’S BACK: Also on Capitol Hill today, John McCain, the influential chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, is back at his desk, despite his disheartening diagnosis of an aggressive form of brain cancer. McCain’s office made the announcement yesterday and the senator himself tweeted, “Look forward to returning to Senate tomorrow to continue work on health care reform, defense bill & #RussiaSanctions…”
McCain is expected to provide a critical vote on a “motion to proceed” to allow the debate on health care to move forward today, but his office said the widely respected senator is also anxious to weigh in on the National Defense Authorization Act, and new sanctions on Russia, Iran and North Korea.
WAVERING ON SANCTIONS: President Trump’s team won’t say yet if he will sign or veto legislation imposing new sanctions on Russia, which is poised for congressional passage after a weekend breakthrough in negotiations, Joel Gehrke writes. “He’s going to study that legislation and see what the final product looks like,” White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told reporters on Air Force One. That’s a change from what Sanders said Sunday on ABC’s “This Week.” Sanders told host George Stephanopoulos the administration is happy with changes made to the bill, and said, “We support where the legislation is now.” Stay tuned.
RUSSIA ARMING THE TALIBAN: As the Trump administration weighs cooperating more closely with Moscow to bring peace to Syria, there is fresh evidence that Russia is arming America’s enemies in Afghanistan. CNN says it has obtained two videos that to back up vague allegations made by senior Pentagon officials in the spring suggesting Russia was supplying small arms to the Taliban. CNN says the two videos show sniper rifles, Kalashnikov variants and heavy machine guns that weapons experts say are stripped of any means of identifying their origin.
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: Trump is scheduled to have a joint news conference at the White House at 3 p.m. after his meeting with Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri. The two leaders are expected to discuss issues ranging from “the fight against terrorism, the economy, and refugees,” according to a White House statement.
EARNINGS NEWS THIS WEEK: Last week Lockheed Martin was the first major defense contractor to report its second quarter earnings. This week everyone else reports in. United Technologies releases it Q2 earnings this morning. Tomorrow we’ll hear from Boeing, Northrop Grumman and General Dynamics. Raytheon wraps up the week with its report on Thursday.
DEFENSE FIRMS AT THE TOP: Defense News is out with its annual Top 100 list of worldwide defense companies for the year. For stateside firms, Lockheed, Boeing and Raytheon maintained their spots high on the list. Northrop Grumman and General Dynamics switched places this year, with Northrop now in the upper spot. You can see the list here.
AUMF HEARINGS: The House Foreign Affairs Committee will hear testimony from former attorney general Michael Mukasey and others on the U.S. authorizations for the use of military force. The so-called AUMFs provide the legal framework that has allowed the Trump administration and two preceding administrations to strike terrorists around the world. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee will hold a top secret hearing with Mattis and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to discuss war authorizations next week.
Debate over the authorizations, passed by Congress in the aftermath of 9/11 and during the runup of the Iraq invasion of 2003, have been heating up on the Hill. Anti-war progressive Rep. Barbara Lee scored a surprising victory last month when a House committee, including some Republicans, voted to add her repeal of the 2001 AUMF into an appropriations bill, which would have required the first vote on war authorizations in 15 years. But the measure was later quietly stripped from the bill by the House Rules Committee.
RYAN ASKED ME TO DO IT: Democrats who were angered by the removal of Lee’s amendment in the annual defense appropriations bill asked for an explanation and got one Monday night. Rep. Tom Cole, a senior Republican on the Rules Committee, said House Speaker Paul Ryan personally asked him to remove the AUMF repeal-and-replace language and he consented. “He said, look, jurisdictionally this can’t happen and he made another point which I agree with, which is the administration ought to participate in this exercise,” Cole said during a hearing on sending the appropriations bill to the House floor.
WRONG BUTTON: Human error led to a failed Navy ballistic missile intercept test, Defense News reported Monday. A U.S. Missile Defense Agency investigation found a sailor on the destroyer John Paul Jones, the Navy’s ballistic missile defense test ship, pressed the wrong button into the combat system, causing the missile to self-destruct before reaching its target.
The sailor, a tactical datalink controller, accidentally identified the incoming ballistic missile target as a “friendly in the system,” causing the missile to combust. The test, which occurred on June 22, was the fourth test of the missile defense system, which is known as SM-3 Block IIA.
RETURN OF MALIKI: Russia and Iraq will “build up [their] cooperation and partnership” on military and economic issues in an effort to expand Soviet-era partnerships between the two countries, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov declared Monday, Joel Gehrke writes.
“We will continue to develop and build up this cooperation and partnership, the foundations of which we laid during the second half of the 20th century,” Lavrov said Monday during a meeting with Iraqi Vice President Nouri al-Maliki.
Lavrov identified counterterrorism efforts as the top priority for the relationship, but the statement was laden with clues that the Russians hope to supplant the United States as a top power broker in the country.
TRUMP TROLLS SESSIONS: Trump called out Attorney General Jeff Sessions for the second day in a row on Tuesday, questioning why he hasn’t investigated “crimes” by Hillary Clinton. Trump also accused the acting head of the FBI of not probing Clinton because she donated money to McCabe’s wife’s campaign.
“Ukrainian efforts to sabotage Trump campaign – ‘quietly working to boost Clinton.’ So where is the investigation A.G. @seanhannity,” the president tweeted Tuesday morning.
Less than 10 minutes later, Trump added: “Attorney General Jeff Sessions has taken a VERY weak position on Hillary Clinton crimes (where are E-mails & DNC server) & Intel leakers!”
WHAT, ME COLLUDE? Senior White House adviser Jared Kushner is back behind closed doors before a House committee today, where he will again deny any improper contacts with Russians during the 2016 campaign. Yesterday, the president’s son-in-law and senior adviser spent more than two hours briefing Senate investigators on four meetings with Russian officials during and after the campaign.
“Let me be very clear: I did not collude with Russia, nor do I know of anyone else in the campaign who did so. I had no improper contacts. I have not relied on Russian funds for my businesses, and I have been fully transparent in providing all requested information,” Kushner said in brief remarks delivered at the White House after the closed-door questioning. In an 11-page statement released before his unsworn testimony, Kushner detailed the four meetings in question, but said he was never close to the Russians, and insisted he had done nothing illegal or improper.
Kushner has been criticized for failing to disclose his meetings with Russian officials on his initial disclosure form. But Kushner said that information was left off unintentionally due to a “miscommunication” that prevented information on any of his foreign meetings from being listed, not just those meetings with Russia.
TRUMP JOKES THIS MORNING: “Jared Kushner did very well yesterday in proving he did not collude with the Russians. Witch Hunt. Next up, 11 year old Barron Trump!” Hey, aren’t we supposed to leave the younger kids out of this?
“EXCEPTION, NOT THE NORM” The Pentagon says Sunday’s incident in which a hot-dogging Chinese pilot forced a U.S. EP-3 surveillance plane to take evasive action was “the exception, not the norm.” The U.S. spy plane was flying in international airspace over the East China Sea, when a Chinese J-10 fighter jet flew under it, and then abruptly pulled up in front of the American plane, triggering its automatic collision avoidance system. “There are intercepts that occur in international airspace regularly, and the vast majority of them are conducted in a safe manner,” said Navy Capt. Jeff Davis, a Pentagon spokesman.
HEY, A NEW NICKNAME: Trump criticized the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, calling him “sleazy” for discussing the investigation into Russian meddling on television. “Sleazy Adam Schiff, the totally biased Congressman looking into ‘Russia,’ spends all of his time on television pushing the Dem loss excuse!” Trump tweeted.
Schiff responded: “With respect Mr. President, the problem is how often you watch TV, and that your comments and actions are beneath the dignity of the office.”
THE RUNDOWN
CNN: U.S. sees more signs North Korea is preparing another missile test
The Diplomat: North Korea May Test A Second Intercontinental Ballistic Missile Any Day Now
Wall Street Journal: Beijing Bolsters Defenses Along Its 880-Mile Frontier And Realigns Forces In Surrounding Regions
UPI: Lockheed Martin expects F-35 software development to finish by end of 2017
Politico: The fast-approaching defense budget ‘train wreck’
Defense Tech: New videos offer peek into secretive NASA test flights
New York Times: Border games: Russia’s creeping occupation
Foreign Policy: New UAE documentary claims Qatar complicit in 9/11 attacks
AP: Trump blasts newspaper’s reporting on US-Syria policy
Wall Street Journal: China prepares for a crisis along North Korea border
Reuters: U.S. judge halts deportation of more than 1,400 Iraqi nationals
Defense One: The dangerous politicization of the U.S. military
USA Today: Congressional compromise on sanctions repudiates Russia and curbs Trump
USNI News: Newly commissioned carrier Ford’s leap-ahead technology approach may be a thing of the past
Daily Beast: Russian election hacking pits U.S. spy against spy
Calendar
TUESDAY | JULY 25
10 a.m. Rayburn 2172. Authorization for the Use of Military Force and current terrorist threats with former Attorney General Michael Mukasey. foreignaffairs.house.gov
10 a.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave. NW. Future of vertical lift and forging a new paradigm with David Dowling of Northrop Grumman; Keith Flail with Bell Helicopter; Richard Koucheravy with Sikorsky; Dave Schreck of Rockwell Collins Government Systems; H. Eric “Delta” Burke of Harris Corporation; and Col. Robert Freeland with the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics. csis.org
12 p.m. 214 Massachusetts Ave. NE. Lessons from Rome: Civic virtue and the empire’s decline with Hugh Liebert, associate professor at the United States Military Academy. heritage.org
2 p.m. Rayburn 2212. Evaluating DOD equipment and uniform procurement in Iraq and Afghanistan with John Sopko, special inspector general for Afghanistan reconstruction, and Michael Roark, assistant inspector general, Office of the DOD Inspector General, Armedservices.house.gov
2 p.m. Capitol H-313. Hearing on the 2018 defense appropriation act. rules.house.gov
2 p.m. Rayburn 2172. Held for ransom: The families of Iran’s hostages speak out. foreignaffairs.house.gov
2:30 p.m. Dirksen 419. Assessing the maximum pressure and engagement policy toward North Korea with State Department acting Assistant Secretary Susan A. Thornton. foreign.senate.gov
2:30 p.m. Russell 222. Options and considerations for achieving a 355-ship Navy from naval analysts. armed-services.senate.gov
WEDNESDAY | JULY 26
7:30 a.m. 300 First St. SE. Capitol Hill breakfast series with Gen. David Goldfein, Air Force chief of staff. afa.org
9 a.m. 214 Massachusetts Ave. NE. What a North Korean ballistic missile threat means for the U.S. missile defense system with Sen. Dan Sullivan. heritage.org
10 a.m. Rayburn 2172. U.S. cyber diplomacy with Christopher Painter, coordinator for cyber issues at the State Department. foreignaffairs.house.gov
2 p.m. Rayburn 2172. Assessing the U.S.-Qatar relationship. foreignaffairs.house.gov
2 p.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave. NW. History of U.S. alliances in the Asia-Pacific region. csis.org
4:30 p.m. 800 17th St. NW. 2017 Women In Defense HORIZONS Scholarship celebration. ndia.org
THURSDAY | JULY 27
9:30 a.m. 1152 15th St. NW. Economic levers of U.S. policy toward North Korea. cnas.org
10 a.m. 1300 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. Hostilities in the Himalayas? Assessing the India-China border standoff. wilsoncenter.org
10 a.m. Rayburn 2118. Continued oversight of the transfer of excess military equipment to civilian law enforcement agencies. armedservices.house.gov
12:30 p.m. 529 14th St. NW. Luncheon with Army Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Milley. press.org
2 p.m. Rayburn 2154. Subcommittee hearing on combating homegrown terrorism. oversight.house.gov
2:15 p.m. Rayburn 2172. Hearing on a bill to prohibit travel-related transactions to, from, and within North Korea by persons subject to the jurisdiction of the United States. foreignaffairs.house.gov
2:30 p.m. Rayburn 2172. U.S. interests in the Asia-Pacific region, a Fiscal Year 2018 budget hearing. foreignaffairs.house.gov
FRIDAY | JULY 28
12 p.m. 1030 15th St. NW. The ramifications of Rouhani’s reelection. atlanticcouncil.org
2:30 p.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave. NW. Retired military leaders from Japan and the U.S. discuss the results of the Military Statesmen Forum. csis.org
MONDAY | JULY 31
10 a.m. 1775 Massachusetts Ave. NW. NATO at a crossroads and the next steps for the trans-Atlantic alliance. brookings.edu
12 p.m. 5000 Seminary Rd. iFest 2017 with a keynote by Major Gen. Thomas Deale, vice director of Air Force Joint Force Development. ndia.org
TUESDAY | AUGUST 1
10 a.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave. NW. The U.S. Coast Guard’s priorities for the future with the commandant, Adm. Paul Zukunft. csis.org
6:30 p.m. 1700 Army Navy Dr. Reception and welcome dinner for Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson. afa.org
