RUSSIA’S NO-FLY ZONES: Those “safe zones” that Russia plans to impose on areas of western Syrian would also restrict U.S. and coalition planes from flying over so-called “de-confliction” areas, according to reports from Russian news agencies. The comments from Russia’s representative at peace talks being held in Kazakhstan follow an agreement by Russia, Iran and Turkey to establish the zones in Syria. Ostensibly, the flight restrictions are aimed at President Bashar Assad’s air force, which along with Russian warplanes, has been bombing opposition forces, civilians and even hospitals for years.
At first blush, the no-fly zones would have little effect on the U.S.-led coalition air campaign backing local forces fighting ISIS in the eastern part of the country. Russian representative Alexander Lavrentyev said the anti-ISIS coalition would be permitted to target Islamic State in specific areas, but the “de-escalation zones” are now off-limits, according to the AP.
MORE U.S. TROOPS TO AFGHANISTAN: The Pentagon plan to send thousands more U.S. military trainers to Afghanistan to stiffen the struggling Afghan military is headed to the White House next week, according to a top Pentagon official. “We are actually actively looking at adjustments to the approach in Afghanistan right now,” said Theresa Whelan, acting assistant defense secretary for special operations/low-intensity conflict, in testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee. “I expect that these proposals will go to the president within the next week,” she told the committee.
The top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, Gen. John “Mick” Nicholson, has been very public about his need for several thousand additional trainers for the NATO-backed Operation Resolute Support. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis has discussed the needs with NATO allies who are also expected to provide more forces for the “advise and assist mission.” The U.S. says it does not need more special operations forces for the other mission in Afghanistan, the counterterrorism Operation Freedom’s Sentinel, which is battling ISIS and al Qaeda remnants. The general who heads U.S. Special Operations Command told Congress the same thing yesterday. “Right now, I think we have an adequate number of my troops, special operation forces, on the ground,” said Gen. Raymond Thomas.
TRUMP’S TRAVEL PLANS: President Trump announced yesterday that on his first foreign trip, he will visit centers of three great religions, Islam, Judaism and Christianity. “Tolerance is the cornerstone of peace,” Trump said at a signing ceremony for an executive order directing the IRS not to unfairly target churches and religious organizations for political speech.
“I am proud to make a major and historic announcement this morning, and to share with you that my first foreign trip as president of the United States will be to Saudi Arabia, then Israel, and then to a place that my cardinals love very much, Rome,” Trump said, adding that his meetings will take place ahead of the NATO G-7 meetings and kick off with what he called “a truly historic gathering” in Saudi Arabia with leaders from all across the Muslim world. “Our task is not to dictate to others how to live, but to build a coalition of friends and partners who share the goal of fighting terrorism and bringing safety, opportunity and stability to the war-ravaged Middle East,” the president said.
Good Friday 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.
GREEN’S GATHERING HEADWINDS: The opposition to Trump’s ratcheted up yet again on Thursday, moving to Democratic members of the Senate Armed Services Committee, which is set to play a key role in his confirmation. Sen. Joe Donnelly, a moderate from Indiana, and liberal firebrand Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts both said Tennessee state Sen. Mark Green is the wrong person to be the Army’s top civilian. Green has made “hateful and ignorant” comments, Warren tweeted. Top Democrats in the chamber including Chuck Schumer and Patty Murray also said this week that the former Army flight surgeon should be rejected for his views on gay marriage, transgender rights and Islam.
The latest Green comments to surface from two years ago suggest the devout Christian views government-assisted healthcare is an “injustice” because it hampers church-affiliated providers from saving souls. Green told a church group that sickness is one of the main avenues that bring people to religion, but that citizens in the United States now instead rely on the government to help them, limiting the Christian church’s role.
But Green’s fate will likely turn on Republican support, or the lack of it. The signs so far are not good for him. There has been little Senate GOP backing amid a gale of liberal criticism and a report that he might withdraw this week. The only Republican lifeline was thrown earlier in the week by House members, including Rep. Duncan Hunter and lawmakers from his home state of Tennessee.
CLEARED FOR TAKE-OFF: While Green is staring down an uncertain future, things are looking up for Heather Wilson, the president’s nominee for Air Force secretary. She was approved by Senate Armed Services last month but had reportedly been put on hold by a Democratic senator. Now, she is set for a confirmation floor vote Monday evening.
Wilson’s path has been easier than Green’s, but she also brought some controversy over payments she accepted from the country’s contractor-run nuclear laboratories. An inspector general report found the money was not properly documented, but Wilson maintained she was paid for consulting services rendered. Sen. Jack Reed, the top Democrat on Armed Services, voted against her but Wilson, an Air Force Academy grad, appears likely to glide to confirmation Monday.
NORTH KOREA SANCTIONS: House lawmakers have passed new sanctions legislation designed to undercut North Korea’s economy by cracking down on the network of banks and industries that help it avoid western sanctions. “If we shut down their economy, they can’t move forward with their [nuclear weapons program] program,” House Foreign Affairs Committee chairman Ed Royce said Thursday on Fox.
The House easily passed the legislation in a 419-1 vote. The sanctions bill sharpens the warning against collaborating with North Korea that Secretary of State Rex Tillerson issued last week at a special meeting of the United Nations Security Council. Tillerson threatened to impose sanctions on entities that help North Korea circumvent international sanctions. The bill, called the Korea Interdiction and Modernization of Sanctions Act, targets anyone who buys North Korean products beyond legal limits or who helps provide indirect access to the international banking system.
DUTERTE’S PLEA: DON’T MESS AROUND WITH KIM: Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte is urging restraint in dealing with North Korea’s mercurial leader Kim Jong Un, who Duterte says “wants to end the world.” Speaking at a news conference after the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit in Manila, Duterte said he would urge Trump not to get into a confrontation with Kim. The two leaders are scheduled to talk by phone today. Duterte is ASEAN chairman and said the member countries are worried a single misstep would be a “catastrophe” and that Asia would be the first victim of a nuclear war, according to Reuters.
Meanwhile here in Washington, Tillerson hosted his first meeting with ministers from all 10 ASEAN member nations, urging them to do more to cut funding streams for North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs and to minimize diplomatic relations with Pyongyang. Tillerson called on ASEAN countries to fully implement U.N. sanctions and to show a united front in confronting the North, said Patrick Murphy, U.S. deputy assistant secretary of state for East Asia, according to a State Department transcript.
THE RIGHT TO ARM BEARS: Long-range Russian “Bear” bombers have become a common presence in the air space around Alaska in recent weeks, but on Thursday two of the Tu-95 bombers didn’t come alone. Two Russian Su-35 Flanker fighters escorted the nuclear-capable Cold War-era aircraft as they flew close enough that the United States scrambled its own F-22 stealth fighter jets. Russian activity in the area fluctuates and is in an upswing now, but the appearance of the Su-35s is a rare event. The last time NORAD recorded their presence there was in 2014. Russia may be telegraphing a message to the Trump administration, or not. Last month, the U.S. encountered its aircraft moving through international airspace four times in a single week, with three of the events causing F-22s to be scrambled.
AIR FORCE ONE’S GROWING TAB: Trump’s weekend jaunts to his Mar-a-Lago golf resort are racking up Air Force One costs of over $600,000 per trip, according to documents provided by the service to Judicial Watch. “We’re pleased the Air Force finally gave us some numbers for President Trump’s travel,” said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton. “We’re preparing to go to court to get a full accounting of President Trump’s controversial trips. Judicial Watch tracked some of the costs of President Obama’s unnecessary travel and we’re not closing up shop with a new administration.”
KELLY: DON’T BLAME US: Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly has a ready response to congressional critics of his agency’s deportation policies. And yesterday he unleashed it again on Sen. Bob Casey after the senator mounted a Twitter campaign following the deportation of a Honduran mother and her son. “I say it over and over again: If the laws are not good laws, then change them,” Kelly said at an event hosted by the Atlantic Council. “Don’t call me, or Twitter or tweet, or go to the press with outrageous stories about how we do business or why we’re deporting somebody.”
LAUGH IT UP, FUZZBALLS: The defense community has an affinity for the Star Wars franchise, and it was on full display yesterday for Star Wars Day (May the 4th Be With You). The Angry Staff Officer put together some of the best tweets from military commands here. Now on to Revenge of the 5th.
THE RUNDOWN
Associated Press: Iraq, US in talks to keep American troop presence after ISIS fight
Defense & Aerospace Report: McHugh: Deploying Troops Without Proper Training, Equipment ‘Would Be A National Tragedy’
CNN: Pentagon investigation: US hit mosque complex in Syria
Washington Post: Trump makes a questionable claim about Bibles and U.S. troops while pressing for religious liberty
Wall Street Journal: Trump’s Plan to isolate North Korea faces trouble—in the South
Fox News: Pentagon eyes Iran-North Korea military connection
Defense One: DOD ends civilian hiring freeze, but will review ‘necessity’ of vacant positions
Military.com: Espionage Trial for Taiwan-Born Navy Officer Set to Begin
Stars and Stripes: Navy SEAL transferred from California to Virginia to face federal child porn charges
McClatchy: Congress is not happy with the Pentagon’s F-35 office
Defense News: Lockheed VP: ‘There’s a part of Israel in every F-35’
New York Times: Iraqi forces open a front in west Mosul, trying to squeeze ISIS
Navy Times: Ingalls delivers America-class amphibious assault warship 13 weeks ahead of schedule
Defense Tech: What it’s like training brand-new Air Force pilots on the F-35A
Military.com: Navy pilot’s gutsy last-second call saves civilian lives near Mosul
Calendar
FRIDAY | MAY 5
8 a.m. 300 First St. SE. North Korean missile and nuclear threats, relations with China, and U.S. and ROK strategy. mitchellaerospacepower.org
MONDAY | MAY 8
8 a.m. 529 14th St. NW. Breakfast roundtable with Richard Haass, president of the Council on Foreign Relations. press.org
1667 K St. NW. Advanced strategy program: Strategy in the Asia-Pacific region, expert instruction and classes over 11 days. csbaonline.org
9:30 a.m. Senate Visitor’s Center 212/10. Discussion with Maj. Gen. Peter Gersten, director of strategic plans for the Office of the Deputy Air Force Chief of Staff for Strategic Plans and Requirements, and others about space access. mitchellaerospacepower.org
9:30 a.m. 1030 15th St. NW. A strategic look at U.S. Pacific Command with Adm. Harry Harris. atlanticcouncil.org
2 p.m. 1300 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. Isolationism versus multilateralism: 100 years on the global stage. wilsoncenter.org
4 p.m. 1300 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. Winning the Third World in Sino-American competition during the Cold War. wilsoncenter.org
TUESDAY | MAY 9
8 a.m. 11790 Sunrise Valley Dr. Class on how Washington works and navigating the DOD. ndia.org
9:30 a.m. Dirksen G50. Testimony by Adm. Mike Rogers, commander of U.S. Cyber Command. armed-services.senate.gov
11 a.m. 214 Massachusetts Ave. NE. The Roosevelt years and the origins of homeland security. heritage.org
2 p.m. 1775 Massachusetts Ave. N.W. What the China-Russia relationship means for the world. brookings.edu
2:30 p.m. Dirksen G50. Nominations for Defense Department comptroller, deputy comptroller and director of cost assessment and program evaluation. armed-services.senate.gov
3 p.m. 1300 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. Russian and U.S. roles in the Middle East and the view from Israel. wilsoncenter.org
3 p.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave. NW. New Latino voices in foreign affairs. csis.org
3:30 p.m. 1300 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. A new history of Vietnam and its role in the Cold War. wilsoncenter.org
WEDNESDAY | MAY 10
8 a.m. 2900 K St. NW. 16th U.S.-Sweden defense industry conference. ndia.org
9:30 a.m. 214 Massachusetts Ave. NE. The importance of the Mekong River and U.S. policy options. heritage.org
9:30 a.m. 1030 15th St. NW. The international politics of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict. atlanticcouncil.org
10 a.m. Dirksen 342. An overview of cyber threats facing America. hsgac.senate.gov
10 a.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave. NW. Book launch for Insider Threats: A Worst Practice Guide to Preventing Leaks, Attacks, Theft, and Sabotage. csis.org
10 a.m. Dirksen 419. Emerging external influences in the Western hemisphere. foreign.senate.gov
3 p.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave. NW. Aegis ashore and the future of European missile defense with Romanian Ambassador George Cristian Maior. csis.org
6 p.m. 1300 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. Woodrow Wilson awards dinner with Sen. Mitch McConnell. wilsoncenter.org
THURSDAY | MAY 11
8 a.m. 300 First St. SE. Missile defense and NATO. mitchellaerospacepower.org
9 a.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave. NW. A fifth-generation Air Force with alliance structures and networked capabilities from an Australian perspective. csis.org
4 p.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave. NW. Annual meeting of the U.S. Naval Institute. usni.org
FRIDAY | MAY 12
Seward Square. Team America rocketry challenge, rockets on the Hill. aia-aerospace.org
12 p.m. Dirksen G50. Forum on securing smart grid data. lexingtoninstitute.org
3 p.m. 1300 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. Cold War series on the Six-Day War: The Breaking of the Middle East wilsoncenter.org
