MUTED RESPONSE TO NEW TRAVEL BAN: Reaction so far has been quiet to President Trump’s new travel ban, which maintained restrictions on people flying into the U.S. from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Syria and Yemen. The list also now includes North Korea and Chad, and places limited restrictions on Venezuela. Sudan was removed. “Making America Safe is my number one priority. We will not admit those into our country we cannot safely vet,” Trump tweeted last night. Trump made the announcement as his previous 90-day ban was set to expire, and the new ban takes effect mid-October.
The reaction so far has been a far cry from the airport protests and lawsuits that broke out after Trump’s first travel ban was announced in January, although Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif denounced the ban on Twitter. “Trump’s fake empathy for Iranians rings ever more hollow, with his new and even more offensive travel ban against such outstanding citizens.”
North Korea, which has been in rapid-response mode lately on other things, hasn’t yet reacted. Although, as the Associated Press points out, the effect on North Koreans is largely symbolic. Pyongyang doesn’t allow its citizens to travel abroad, unless they meet certain circumstances. The country is already under severe sanctions and only a small group of North Koreans are in the U.S. as part of its diplomatic mission at the U.N.
CONGRESS ALSO QUIET: Lawmakers, even as the new ban was announced last night, still were focused more on the reaction to Trump’s feud with the NFL over players conducting silent protests during the National Anthem. Most others were tweeting about healthcare. Among the few responses to the ban, most were from Republicans, and they sided with Trump.
“.@realDonaldTrump continues his work to keep Americans safe,” tweeted Rep. Lou Barletta.
Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen praised the ban on Venezuelan government officials. “It is correct q # Trump denies visas to officers and family d # SEBIN and Ministry of Popular Power for Internatl Relations, Justice, and Peace,” Ros-Lehtinen tweeted in Spanish. “Officials of the corrupt regime d # Maduro and their families can no longer come to Disney or make purchases in # USA . Support for the people d # Venezuela.”
“I fully support President Trump’s executive order, which recognizes new, evolving threats our nation faces from North Korea and Chad, and I applaud the administration’s commitment to prioritizing American security interests,” said Rep. Dan Donovan.
One lawmakers who didn’t approve was Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff. “No amount of repackaging can disguise the fact that the travel ban was, and remains, a noxious attempt to ban people based on their faith,” he tweeted.
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TODAY — ISW CONFERENCE: The Institute for the Study of War holds its invitation-only 2017 security conference in Washington, D.C., today with a roster of national security heavyweights, including White House national security adviser Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster, Sen. John McCain, Sen. Lindsey Graham, David Petraeus, Ambassador Kurt Volker, and Lt. Gen. Paul Nakasone, head of Army Cyber Command. McMaster will be moderated by former New York Times Pentagon correspondent and author Michael Gordon, while McCain will be interviewed by friend and ISW chairman Jack Keane, a retired four-star general who was the Army vice chief of staff.
MATTIS AND MODI: Defense Secretary Jim Mattis is on his way to New Delhi today in what will be the Trump administration’s first Cabinet-level trip to India. He is scheduled to meet with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and India Defense Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. After delivering a speech in Maryland last week about the importance of alliances, Mattis is expected to highlight the country’s value as a U.S. partner and its security contributions in Afghanistan, the Pentagon said. While in the capital, Mattis will also be part of a wreath-laying ceremony at the India Gate, a war memorial to the more than 83,000 Indians killed fighting for the British in World War I and the Third Anglo-Afghan War of 1919.
KURDS VOTE IN IRAQ: “Polls have opened in Iraq’s Kurdish-run provinces and disputed territories as Iraqi Kurds cast ballots in support for independence from Baghdad in a historic but non-binding vote,” the AP reports. “Millions are expected to vote on Monday across the three provinces that make up the Kurdish autonomous region, as well as residents in disputed territories — areas claimed by both Baghdad and the Kurds, including the oil-rich city of Kirkuk.
“The vote is being carried out despite mounting regional opposition to the move. The United States has warned the vote will likely destabilize the region amid the fight with the Islamic State group. Baghdad has also come out strongly against the referendum, demanding on Sunday that all airports and borders crossings in the Kurdish region be handed back to federal government control.”
Turkey President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, meanwhile, denounced the vote, saying the Turkish Army is at the border with Iraq and is ready to take “necessary steps.”
AGGRESSIVE SHOW: U.S. bombers and fighter jets buzzed North Korea in what the Pentagon billed as one of the most significant shows of force this century on Saturday. “This is the farthest north of the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) any U.S. fighter or bomber aircraft have flown off North Korea’s coast in the 21st century, underscoring the seriousness with which we take [the North Korean regime’s] reckless behavior,” Pentagon spokeswoman Dana White said in a statement.
The U.S. Air Force B-1B Lancer bombers deployed from Guam, a U.S. territory in the region that North Korean officials have threatened to attack in recent months. The bombers were escorted by F-15 fighters that took off from Okinawa. The bombers and their escort stayed in international airspace, according to the Defense Department.
MORE THREATS FROM RI: An attack on the United States by North Korea is “inevitable” following Trump’s insult of dictator Kim Jong Un, according to the regime’s top diplomat. “Our rocket’s visit to the entire US mainland [is] inevitable all the more,” North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho said in a speech to the United Nations on Saturday.
Ri’s speech drew upon Trump’s rhetoric but heightened the war of words even from the president’s own U.N. speech. Trump vowed to “destroy” North Korea if the regime attacked the United States or its allies and warned the pariah state’s dictator to suspend efforts to develop the ability to strike the United States with a nuclear weapon.
“None other than Trump himself is on a suicide mission,” Ri said, per the Associated Press. “In case innocent lives of the U.S. are lost because of this suicide attack, Trump will be held totally responsible.” Read his full speech here.
TRUMP RESPONDS: “Just heard Foreign Minister of North Korea speak at U.N. If he echoes thoughts of Little Rocket Man, they won’t be around much longer!”
AIDES CAUTIONED AGAINST ‘ROCKET MAN’: Senior aides to Trump advised him not to make any personal remarks regarding Kim last week at the United Nations General Assembly, out of concern that the attacks would escalate an already tense situation with Pyongyang and prevent any negotiation from occurring.
Speaking to world leaders in New York on Tuesday, Trump taunted Kim, calling him “Rocket Man,” and said he was on a “suicide mission.” Trump also warned that the U.S. would have “no choice but to totally destroy North Korea” if the rogue regime threatened the U.S. or its allies.
This language was not in a speech draft that several senior officials examined Monday, and senior officials, including McMaster, had reiterated for months to not make attacks against Kim because there could be negative repercussions, according to the Los Angeles Times. Now some advisers are concerned that the mocking has removed any hope of negotiating with North Korea.
SIMILAR MESSAGE FROM SEOUL: Trump should avoid “excessive verbal threats” against North Korea, according to the ruling South Korean political party.
“Under such circumstances, an exchange of excessive verbal threats would only heighten anxiety,” Kang Hoon-sik, a spokesman of the Republic of Korea’s Democratic Party, said in a Saturday statement.
LIBYA STRIKE: An American airstrike in Libya killed 17 Islamic State fighters and destroyed three vehicles Friday evening.
U.S. Africa Command said in a statement U.S. forces conducted six precision airstrikes against an ISIS desert camp Friday evening local time. The camp was used to move ISIS fighters in and out of Libya, stockpile weapons and other equipment, and to plot attacks.
IRANIAN MISSILE: Iran has tested a new type of ballistic missile that a senior commander claims can carry multiple warheads, in defiance of a United Nations resolution banning such tests. “As it was observed, the missile has become smaller in size and more tactical, and it will be operational in the near future,” an Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps commander told state-run PressTV before the test on Friday.
That boast came in the context of a military parade that displayed the missile, followed within hours by the test. The demonstration could motivate Trump to declare the regime out of compliance with the nuclear deal, a topic that dominated the U.N. General Assembly last week. But the Iranians are also signaling they will defy such a move.
Trump responded on Saturday: “Iran just test-fired a Ballistic Missile capable of reaching Israel.They are also working with North Korea.Not much of an agreement we have!”
RUSSIA ON SYRIA: Trump will soon have to withdraw U.S. special operations forces from Syria, according to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
The top diplomat argued that the U.S. should leave after the impending defeat of the Islamic State in Syria. That would leave Syrian President Bashar Assad, backed by Russian and Iranian forces, in military control of the country. The warning is part of jockeying for long-term control of the strategically significant Syria.
“There is legitimate presence based on an invitation from official authorities, but there is illegitimate one, namely presence of the U.S.-led coalition and special forces’ troops from a wide range of foreign countries who nobody has invited,” Lavrov told reporters Friday. “After terrorism is defeated, the first step should be the pullout of those who stay illegitimately in Syria.”
THE RUNDOWN
AP: Army looks for new ways to address misbehaving generals
New York Times: Pentagon tests lasers and nets to combat a vexing foe: ISIS drones
Military.com: Mattis to visit India: Drones, fighter jets on table
USA Today: German election: Why Americans should care about a Merkel win
Wall Street Journal: U.S.-backed forces seize Conoco gas plant from Islamic State
Task and Purpose: Navy sailor indicted in series of bomb threats at bases across Hampton Roads
Daily Beast: Tim O’Brien on what we all can learn from Ken Burns’ ‘The Vietnam War’
Defense One: How solar power can protect the U.S. military from threats to the electric grid
Washington Post: China watches in frustration as North Korea crisis enters dangerous spiral
Calendar
MONDAY | SEPT. 25
8 a.m. Institute for the Study of War Security Conference 2017 with Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster, Sen. John McCain, Sen. Lindsey Graham, David Petraeus, Ambassador Kurt Volker, and Lt. Gen. Paul Nakasone, head of Army Cyber Command. understandingwarconference.com
10 a.m. 1000 Massachusetts Ave. NW. National security oversight: Congressional case studies and reform prospects. cato.org
12 p.m. 1030 15th St. NW. How Europe and Iran’s neighbors view the nuclear deal future with French ambassador Gérard Araud, British ambassador Sir Kim Darroch, European Union ambassador David O’Sullivan, and German ambassador Peter Wittig. atlanticcouncil.org
3:30 p.m. 1300 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. Consequences of the German election for the European Union and transatlantic relations. wilsoncenter.org
4 p.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave. NW. Foreign policy for South Korea and U.S. in a new era with Kang Kyung-wha, South Korean minister of foreign affairs, and former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright. csis.org
TUESDAY | SEPT. 26
9 a.m. 1030 15th St. NW. Transatlantic forum on strategic communications and digital disinformation with Sen. Ron Johnson, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, Andrea Thompson, national security adviser to the vice president, and Ambassador Tacan Ildem, assistant secretary general at NATO. atlanticcouncil.org
10 a.m. Hart 216. Hearing on the reappointment of Gen. Joseph Dunford to be chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. armed-services.senate.gov
10 a.m. Rayburn 2172. Redesign of the State Department with John Sullivan, deputy secretary of state. foreignaffairs.house.gov
10:30 a.m. Dirksen 419. Managing security assistance to support foreign policy with Tina Kaidanow, acting assistant secretary of state; Thomas Harvey III, acting assistant defense secretary; and Lt. Gen. Charles Hooper, director of the Defense Security Cooperation Agency. foreign.senate.gov
4 p.m. 1300 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. Book discussion on “Why Wilson Matters: The Origin of American Liberal Internationalism and Its Crisis Today” with author Tony Smith. wilsoncenter.org
5 p.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave. NW. Bob Schieffer series: North Korea and the next steps. csis.org
WEDNESDAY | SEPT. 27
8 a.m. 2799 Jefferson Davis Hwy. Integrated Air and Missile Defense Conference with Brig. Gen. Tim Lawson, deputy commanding general for U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command. airmissiledefenseevent.iqpc.com
8:15 a.m. 1127 Connecticut Ave. NW. 2017 Women in Defense National Conference with Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson; Gen. Lori Robinson, head of U.S. Northern Command; Leda Chong, senior vice president at Gulfstream Aerospace Corp.; and Sharon Dunbar, vice president at General Dynamics Mission Systems. womenindefense.net
9 a.m. 1789 Massachusetts Ave. NW. Europe’s pressure points. aei.org
10 a.m. Dirksen 342. Full committee hearing on threats to the homeland. hsgac.senate.gov
10 a.m. Rayburn 2172. Joint subcommittee hearing on the president’s Fiscal Year 2018 budget request for Afghanistan and Pakistan. foreignaffairs.house.gov
2 p.m. Rayburn 2212. Hearing on the strategy for modernizing the Army’s tactical network with Lt. Gen. Bruce Crawford, Army deputy chief of staff; Maj. Gen. James Mingus, director of the Mission Command Center of Excellence at the Army Combined Arms Center; and Gary Martin, program executive officer for Army Control and Communications-Tactical. armedservices.house.gov
2:30 p.m. Rayburn 2172. Burma’s brutal campaign against the Rohingya. foreignaffairs.house.gov
4:30 p.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave. NW. Debate on the future of the INF treaty. csis.org
THURSDAY | SEPT. 28
8 a.m. 2799 Jefferson Davis Hwy. Integrated Air and Missile Defense Conference with Rear Adm. Jon Hill, deputy director of the Missile Defense Agency. airmissiledefenseevent.iqpc.com
10 a.m. 214 Massachusetts Ave. NE. Assessing the defense industrial base with Jerry McGinn, acting deputy assistant secretary of defense. heritage.org
FRIDAY | SEPT. 29
8 a.m. 2799 Jefferson Davis Hwy. Integrated Air and Missile Defense Conference with Brig. Gen. Sean Gainey, commanding general of the 94th Army Air and Missile Defense Command. airmissiledefenseevent.iqpc.com
9 a.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave. NW. Global hotspots and security challenges: A conversation with Sen. Joni Ernst. csis.org
10 a.m. 1030 15th St. NW. What the new Russia sanctions law does and how to make it work. atlanticcouncil.org
12:30 p.m. 1777 F St. NW. A conversation with Sen. Jack Reed. cfr.org
3 p.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave. NW. A panel discussion with veterans and experts on Ken Burns‘ “The Vietnam War.” csis.org
MONDAY | OCT. 2
10 a.m. 1300 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. Public opinion on “America First” with Rep. Mike Gallagher. wilsoncenter.org
