Daily on Defense — Nov. 18, 2016 — Let the transition begin

IN LIKE FLYNN: The first named member of the Trump national security team, according to sources, is retired Army Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, a fierce critic of President Obama’s foreign policy, who was fired as Defense Intelligence Agency director when he fell out of favor with the administration in 2014. Flynn’s reportedly been offered the job of national security adviser, a position that does not require Senate approval. That’s probably a good thing, since Flynn has some sharp critics in Congress. At a Defense One summit yesterday, Rep. Adam Schiff, the ranking member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, slammed Flynn for his temperament and his support of Russia and Turkey. “It concerns me a great deal that the president-elect may be getting advice that reinforces his view of Putin,” Schiff said. CNN also reported he was investigated over his handling of classified information.

CLAPPER’S PARTING WARNINGS: The man who fired Flynn two years ago was James Clapper, the director of national intelligence, who revealed during House testimony yesterday that he’s already submitted his resignation letter, effective Jan. 20. (All senior political appointees have been asked to have the paperwork in by Dec 9.) Clapper says Russia is not leaving Syria anytime soon. “They have sustained a presence of their artillery and a deployment of very advanced air defense systems. And so at least, I think that what that indicates that clearly the Russians are there to stay.” Clapper was not optimistic about a reset, “I don’t anticipate a significant change in Russian behavior.”

CABINET UPDATE: Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions, who has been the subject of much speculation as the possible next defense secretary, may end up at the Justice Department instead. Sessions met with the President-elect Trump yesterday and a statement afterward lauded his prosecutorial experience: “While nothing has been finalized and he is still talking with others as he forms his cabinet, the President-elect has been unbelievably impressed with Senator Sessions and his phenomenal record as Alabama’s Attorney General and U.S. Attorney,” the statement said. “It is no wonder the people of Alabama re-elected him without opposition.”

Assuming Sessions is nominated to be attorney general, that would leave Sen. Tom Cotton and former Sen. Jim Talent on the shorter list to be SecDef.

Trump’s scheduled meeting with Mitt Romney this weekend will be a chance for the president-elect to make peace with one of his earliest, and harshest critics. You may recall that in March, the former GOP presidential candidate and Massachusetts governor delivered a speech in which he said “Dishonesty is Donald Trump’s hallmark,” calling Trump “a con man and a fake,” whose personal qualities include “bullying,  greed, showing off, misogyny, and absurd third grade theatrics.” The take-down included the memorable line, “Donald Trump is a phony, a fraud. His promises are as worthless as a degree from Trump University.” Nevertheless the meeting has spurred speculation Romney may be considered for secretary of state. Other candidates for state include South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani and Rep. Dana Rohrabacher. Newt Gingrich has confirmed he will not be taking a Cabinet post.

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“THIS MADNESS NEEDS TO END” Armed Service Committee Chairman Sen. John McCain took to the Senate floor to vent his frustration over the failure of Congress to pass an appropriations bill for the Department of Defense, instead relying on a continuing resolution to fund the government until March. “This madness needs to end. It is time for Congress to do its job,” fumed McCain, who argued a continuing resolution will lock the military into last year’s budget and last year’s priorities. “A continuing resolution would place our troops at greater risk by forcing them to operate under an outdated budget that does not recognize the full extent of the threats they face. Worse still, a continuing resolution doesn’t quite live up to its name. A continuing resolution would actually cut funds for our troops.”

And yet, while a CR could force some changes in the National Defense Authorization Act, it doesn’t necessary halt its progress. See what the experts have to say here.

THE RACE IS ON: If you’re going through election withdrawal, the races for the top spots on congressional committees is just heating up. Minnesota Rep. Tim Walz has asked his colleagues to support him in his bid to serve as the top Democrat on the House Veterans Affairs Committee. This week, veterans groups, including the Veterans of Foreign Wars and the American Legion, backed Walz over California Rep. Mark Takano. Walz lost his 2014 race for the ranking member spot to Florida Rep. Corrine Brown, who lost her primary this year amid an indictment. The House vets committee is also losing its chairman with the retirement of Florida Rep. Jeff Miller, who talked about the four lawmakers vying to take over his vacant seat here.

WIKIPEDIA WOES: The Pentagon’s second in command struggled to explain on Thursday why he turned over a document plagiarized from Wikipedia as part of a private congressional briefing. “It’s not just that it was plagiarized from Wikipedia — every single graph in the document was taken from Wikipedia,” House Intelligence Committee chairman Devin Nunes said during a rare public hearing with Defense Department and intelligence community officials. Joel Gehrke reports that Deputy Defense Secretary Bob Work, who delivered the offending document during a private meeting with Nunes and other House committee chairmen, said he didn’t know the origin of the document. “I would say that I am surprised that this information came from a Wikipedia page,” Work told Nunes. We’ve got video of the exchange here.

IRAN BAN: The House passed legislation Thursday that would bar the U.S. government from facilitating aircraft sales to Iran, after Republicans accused President Obama’s team of making concessions to Iran that are not mandated by the recent nuclear deal, Joel Gehrke writes. The Treasury Department’s decision to allow U.S. banks to finance the sale of Boeing aircraft to Iran, after Treasury Secretary Jack Lew’s initial statement that the U.S. did not have to provide such authorization under the Iran deal, was the impetus for the legislation. “This bill would keep Americans’ deposits away from a country where the president’s own State Department calls ‘the foremost state sponsor,’ and treasury called it a primary money laundering concern,” Rep. Bill Huizenga said Wednesday evening during debate on the legislation.

SOME TROOPS WORRIED ABOUT TRUMP: A Military Times poll out this morning finds 1 in 4 troops is worried about life under Commander in Chief Trump. The poll, taken right after Trump’s surprise victory, surveyed 2,790 active-duty troops. Among those who voted, 51 percent said they supported Trump. Many expressed optimism at his election, predicting a stronger military and better quality of life for service members. But 25 percent expressed concern Trump may issue orders that violate military rules or traditions. The results of the Military Times/Institute for Military and Veterans Families Poll can be found here.   

CHANGE IS HARD, SO IS CHANGING BACK: Army Secretary Eric Fanning said it’ll be “very difficult” for Trump to undo some of the historic social reforms Obama implemented during his administration should he choose to try. “When you’re looking into making some of these changes, the debate is whether or not you’re going to let someone wear the uniform, which is a very different discussion from whether or not you’re going to make someone take the uniform off,” Fanning said at the Defense One Summit. “I feel pretty confident that these changes and this direction is here to say.”

TRUMP’S MURKY FOREIGN POLICY: A top House Democrat says there’s no real idea in Washington about what Trump’s foreign policy will be once he comes into office, Kyle Feldscher writes. Washington Rep. Adam Smith, the ranking Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, said Trump didn’t focus much on foreign policy during the campaign. Between the lack of specifics and the varied viewpoints of names being floated for secretary of state, Smith, speaking at the Council on Foreign Relations, said many questions are waiting to be answered. “Foreign policy was not really the focus of his campaign,” Smith said. “The focus of his campaign was economic populism. There are a significant number number of people in our country who aren’t getting a fair shake and he stood up as their voice … but foreign policy was kind of an afterthought. So what does he do know? Nobody knows.”

SLAM-DUNK FACT CHECK: Trump’s team is denying that he ever said that he plans to make Muslims register with the government. “President-elect Trump has never advocated for any registry or system that tracks individuals based on their religion, and to imply otherwise is completely false,” Jason Miller, Trump’s transition communications director, said in a statement to CNN on Thursday. Problem is, video exists that shows otherwise. You can watch it here.

The issue re-entered the spotlight after a spokesman for a group that supported Trump in the election said the Japanese internment in World War II created a “precedent” for registering Muslim immigrants, Kyle Feldscher reports. “We have in the past [made registries],” Carl Higbie, who was a spokesman for the Great America Political Action Committee, said on Fox News Wednesday. “We’ve done it based on race, we’ve done it based on religion, we’ve done it based on region. To be perfectly honest, it is legal, I think it’ll hold constitutional muster. I know the [American Civil Liberties Union] is going to challenge it, but I think it’ll pass. We’ve done it with Iran back a while ago, we did it during World War II with Japanese which, call it what you will …”

RETURN OF WATERBOARDING? A former congressman possibly being considered for the job as Trump’s CIA director said he would support a “clear discussion” on using waterboarding and other torture techniques in the new administration, Kyle Feldscher writes. Former Rep. Pete Hoekstra said on CNN Thursday that Trump can’t use torture techniques such as waterboarding at the moment because Congress forbids it. But that could change. “Congress has spoken on that and at this point in time he can’t do it,” Hoekstra said. “If there’s a decision to move in another direction, that’d be a process you’d have to work through with Congress. You’d probably do it in secret.”

WHAT DID RUDY KNOW? House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said Democrats will push for an investigation into potential Russian interference in the general election as well as how Giuliani appeared to know in advance about a renewed FBI investigation into Hillary Clinton’s private email server, Susan Ferrechio reports. “I think there should be an investigation into how Giuliani knew two days before the Comey letter was coming,” Pelosi told reporters Thursday, referring to FBI Director James Comey.

BRIEFING TENSION: Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov might punish U.S. journalists if State Department criticism of a Kremlin-backed media outlet continues, his spokeswoman said, Joel Gehrke writes. “I would like to focus on a shocking incident yesterday, when it was stated at a briefing at the U.S. Department of State that the State Department does not put RT television on a par with other respected media outlets,” Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Thursday. “If our TV channel faces the same attitude in Washington once again, American journalists will have a special place set aside at the Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson’s briefings.”

That threat was prompted by a testy exchange between State Department spokesman John Kirby and a reporter from Russia Today that pertained to the civil war in Syria. Kirby had cited “credible aid organizations” that Russia and Syrian dictator Bashar Assad recently attacked five hospitals and a mobile clinic. When the Russia Today reporter pressed for specifics, Kirby rebuffed the question. “You work for Russia Today, right? Isn’t that your agency?” Kirby said. “Why shouldn’t you ask your government the same kinds of questions that you’re standing here asking me?” You can see the exchange here.

GET UP, STAND UP: Obama warned Trump on Thursday against pursuing “deals” with Russia out of political expediency, Sarah Westwood writes. “My hope is that the president-elect coming in takes a similarly constructive approach, finding areas where we can cooperate with Russia where our values and interests align, but that the president-elect is also willing to stand up to Russia where they are deviating from our values and international norms,” Obama said Thursday in Berlin after a meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

JUMPING THE GUN: Hours before sources said Flynn had been asked to be national security adviser, a spokesman for Sen. Jack Reed sent a press release reacting to the news that hadn’t happened yet. “I do not agree with General Flynn on every issue,” the press release said. “I have concerns about some of the statements he made in the heat of the campaign.” It didn’t take long for Reed’s spokesman, Chip Unruh, to issue a correction.

“My apologies to you, Lt. General Flynn, and the Trump transition team. I jumped the gun based on non-official information,” he wrote. “I can NOT confirm that General Flynn has been named national security advisor.”

THE RUNDOWN

Military Times: John McCain says ‘idiots’ are behind the decision to delay military spending bill

Breaking Defense: HASC Leaders Press To Keep House In Town Til NDAA Passes

Defense One: Sen. Cotton: Trump Will Likely Take a Tougher Line on Russia

Military Times: Advocates want more veterans on Congress’ policy staff

Task and Purpose: The Trump Administration Shouldn’t Touch New Women-In-Combat Rules

Defense News: Army Secretary Sees ‘More Work’ Ahead in Tapping Commercial Vendors

Military Times: USO, Raytheon team up to help transitioning service members

Washington Post: Britain set to purchase $1 billion in advanced U.S. Predator drones

USNI News: North Korean Threat Pushing U.S., Korea and Japan Closer in Ballistic Missile Defense Cooperation

UPI: South Korea to buy Large Aircraft Infrared Countermeasures from U.S.

Defense One: The YouTube Effect: Intelligence Operations Move Out of the Shadows

Army Times: Army researchers take up fight against sand

Military.com: One Month In, Iraq Still Faces Grueling Urban Combat in Mosul

Calendar

FRIDAY | NOVEMBER 18

2:30 p.m. 1300 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. A panel of experts discusses humanitarian challenges in the Mosul offensive. wilsoncenter.org

MONDAY | NOVEMBER 21

9 a.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave. NW. The Center for Strategic and International Studies hosts an event on U.S. and South Korea defense acquisition policy. csis.org

3 p.m. 1775 Massachusetts Ave. NW. Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright delivers the introduction at a Brookings Institution event on governance and stability in the Arab world. brookings.edu