A TALE OF TWO CITIES: The days appear numbered for two cities, Aleppo in Syria, and Mosul in Iraq. The Syrian government has announced it will let up on its punishing strikes by Syrian and Russian planes that have reduced much of Aleppo to rubble, and killed more than 400 civilians over the past week or so. It’s not a sign of peace, but rather a signal Syria believes it’s on the verge of wresting control of the city held by rebels since 2011. Syria has now cut off supply lines into the city, is urging citizens to leave, and opposition fighters to surrender.
Meanwhile in Mosul, the Islamic State’s de facto capital in Iraq, coalition officials say all is ready for the liberation of the strategic northern city. The Canadian one-star general who has been overseeing the training of Iraqi forces was gushing in his praise of the combat effectiveness of the forces that will soon launch the long-awaited offensive. Brig. Gen. Dave Anderson, briefing Pentagon reporters from Baghdad, insisted they are fully capable of defeating the estimated 3,500 to 5,000 ISIS fighters dug into the city for a last stand. “We’ve given everything that they need to be able to shoot, move and communicate,” Anderson said. “I just want to go back to how good these guys are. One thing, when you’re playing a team sport, you don’t have to be better than the guy next to you. You’ve just got to be better than the guy you’re facing.” Anderson said he has “every confidence” that the Iraqi security forces are better than ISIS.
A TEST FOR KABUL: The northern Afghan city of Kunduz remains under the control of U.S.-backed Afghan security forces after a series of Taliban raids this week. At a donors conference in Brussels Secretary of State John Kerry said, “The Taliban are again just trying to test the Afghan government’s resolve. And Afghan forces continue to bravely repel these challenges.”
Kerry pointed to the Afghan government’s recently announced peace agreement with Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, one of the country’s most notorious figures, as “a model for what might be possible” if the Taliban negotiates for peace. “The agreement requires Hekmatyar and his commanders to cease violence, cut all ties with their international terrorist organizations, and accept the Afghan constitution, including its guarantee of the rights for women and minorities,” Kerry said. “In return for keeping these commitments, Hekmatyar’s group will be able to emerge from the shadows to rejoin Afghan society.”
GREEN BERET KIA ID’d: The Pentagon has identified the soldier killed in Afghanistan Monday as Staff Sgt. Adam Thomas, 31, of Takoma Park, Maryland. The highly-decorated Green Beret died as the result of an IED explosion while on foot patrol with Afghan forces on a counterterrorism mission in Nangarhar Province targeting Islamic State fighters. Thomas was assigned to Company B, 2nd Battalion, 10th Special Forces Group (Airborne), Fort Carson, Colorado.
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RUSSIA TALKS ARE SORT OF STILL ON: Kerry is continuing to talk to his Russian counterpart about the crisis in Syria, even after the U.S. formally suspended bilateral talks due to Russia’s determination to support attacks on civilians.
“We’re not going to stop talking altogether,” State Department spokesman Mark Toner told reporters on Wednesday. Kerry’s decision to talk to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, just two days after suspending talks, prompted derision within the press briefing. “Do you guys actually do anything that you say?” one reporter laughed. “Come on,” Toner replied. “It would be irresponsible for us, given what’s happening in Aleppo, not to touch base with Foreign Minister Lavrov periodically.”
RUSSIA RESPONDS: The Russian Embassy in Washington mocked the U.S. concerns over the deployment of S-300 anti-aircraft missiles to Syria, posting a tweet that says “All jokes aside,” #Russia will take every defensive measure necessary to protect its personnel stationed in #Syria from terrorist threat.” The tweet juxtaposes a picture of White House Spokesman Josh Earnest with an S-300 missile battery with the tagline: ”You never really know what kind of assistance terrorists might get,” a not-so-veiled warning to the U.S. not to intervene on behalf of the rebels fighting the regime of Bashar Assad.
VACILLATING ON VLADIMIR: One day after his running mate Mike Pence called Vladimir Putin, “the small and bullying leader of Russia, Donald Trump is moderating his praise of the Russian president. “They say, Donald Trump loves Putin. I don’t love. I don’t hate. We’ll see how it works. We’ll see,” Trump said at a rally in Nevada yesterday. “Maybe we’ll have a good relationship. Maybe we’ll have a horrible relationship. Maybe we’ll have a relationship right in the middle. I can say this: If we got along with Russia and Russia went out with us and knocked the hell out of ISIS, that’s OK with me, folks. That’s OK with me.”
THAT’S SOME EXPENSIVE PR: The Defense Department has spent an average of $630 million per year over the past decade on public relations, and has more than 2,000 public affairs employees, according to a new Government Accountability Office report. Overall, the government spends $1.5 billion per year on PR efforts, Joseph Lawler writes. The watchdog reported that agencies spend about $1 billion annually on public relations and advertising, and another $500 million in salary for roughly 5,000 federal PR employees.
ANGST OVER NEW SETTLEMENTS: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s decision to build a new settlement in an area disputed by the Palestinians provoked harsh condemnation from the United States, including a rare hint that military support for Israel could be imperiled by such actions, Joel Gehrke writes. “Proceeding with this new settlement is another step towards cementing a one-state reality of perpetual occupation that is fundamentally inconsistent with Israel’s future as a Jewish and democratic state,” State Department spokesman Mark Toner said in a Wednesday statement.
Toner accused the Israeli government of breaking a commitment not to build any more settlements, and suggested the decision would forestall successful peace talks. “It is deeply troubling, in the wake of Israel and the U.S. concluding an unprecedented agreement on military assistance designed to further strengthen Israel’s security, that Israel would take a decision so contrary to its long-term security interest in a peaceful resolution of its conflict with the Palestinians,” Toner said.
DEJA VU: Another Booz Allen contractor at the National Security Agency has been arrested for his handling of classified information, allegedly walking in the footsteps of Edward Snowden. Authorities detained Harold Thomas Martin III, a Maryland resident and former Navy officer, after raiding his home and allegedly discovering six documents containing Top Secret and Sensitive Compartmented Information, Rudy Takala reports.
The White House is monitoring developments, and spokesman Josh Earnest said top officials are taking the allegations seriously, Nicole Duran writes. “Any time that we have information like this that is released in the context of a criminal complaint, the federal government is reminded about how important it is to be vigilant in protecting the national security of our country,” Earnest told reporters.
John Schindler, a former NSA analyst, said it’s time for Congress to investigate the failure of American counterintelligence to detect moles at the agency, even if the latest incident turns out to be innocuous.
“The evidence that Russian moles are lurking inside NSA remains compelling,” he wrote in a column for the Observer. “The FBI’s 2010 roll-up of 10 deep-cover operatives of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service, or SVR … revealed the existence of multiple SVR agents deep inside NSA and the Defense Department. That was six years ago, and nobody’s been publicly fingered as any of those moles.”
WEARING THE UNIFORM: It’s important to the majority of veterans polled by the Veterans of Foreign Wars that their commander in chief have prior military service. A survey released Wednesday found that 54 percent of respondents said a candidate’s veteran status mattered when running for president, while an additional 33 percent said it “maybe” mattered. None of the politicians at the top of the ticket this year has military service.
THE RUNDOWN
Reuters: Exclusive: Dozens of Afghan troops missing from military training in U.S.
Associated Press: Why The Torrent Of N. Korean Weapons? Maybe The US Elections
Breaking Defense: Holy Smoke! GM, Army Turn Out New Hydrogen Car In 9 Months
UPI: BAE Systems begins production of new thermal sights
Defense News: Counter-ISIS Cyber Task Force Provides Greater Clarity, C2
USNI News: Marine Harrier Flights in Japan to Resume Friday After Inspection Finds Sufficient Readiness
Defense News: White House Rolls Out Armed Drone Declaration
Breaking Defense: Big Gun, Small Truck: AM General Mounts Howitzer On Humvee (VIDEO)
Military Times: Congress eyes Marine Corps response to hazing allegations
Air Force Times: After 10-year search, remains of F-16 pilot killed in Iraq are home
Associated Press: Afghan officials: Clashes with Taliban continue in Kunduz
The Daily Beast: Obama Has No Plan to Save Aleppo From Putin and Assad
Wall Street Journal: Iraqi Militias Complicate Aleppo Battle
Air Force Times: 22 Pushup Challenge? Not in uniform or on duty, says Air Force
Calendar
THURSDAY | OCTOBER 6
8:30 a.m. 1030 15th St. NW. European officials and think tank experts talk about alliances in Europe post-Brexit. atlanticcouncil.org
12 p.m. 1300 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. Wall Street Journal reporter Jay Solomon discuss his new book The Iran Wars: Spy Games, Bank Battles, and the Secret Deals That Reshaped the Middle East. wilsoncenter.org
1 p.m. The Council on Foreign Relations hosts an event looking at President Obama’s pivot to Asia and if it’s working. cfr.org
5:30 p.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave. NW. A panel of national security reporters discusses the relationship between the U.S. and Iran. csis.org
TUESDAY | OCTOBER 11
1:30 p.m. 1211 Connecticut Ave. NW. The Stimson Center holds an event looking at Japan’s defense buildup and alliance with the U.S. stimson.org
WEDNESDAY | OCTOBER 12
7 a.m. 1401 Lee Highway, Arlington. Lt. Gen. Gina M. Grosso, the deputy chief of staff for manpower, personnel and services, speaks at an Air Force Association breakfast event. afa.org
12:30 p.m. 529 14th St. NW. Navy Secretary Ray Mabus speaks at a National Press Club luncheon. press.org
