WAR OF WORDS ESCALATING: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un appears to be ignoring both the carrot and the stick, as the effort of the U.S. and its allies to resolve the growing crisis with Pyongyang continues to defy all diplomatic initiatives to avoid a second Korean war over the North’s threat to strike the U.S. with a nuclear-tipped ICBM.
In the face of tough new U.N.-imposed sanctions passed Saturday, North Korea’s Foreign Affairs Minister Ri Yong-ho, taking a defiant tone, insisted that “under no circumstances” will the North negotiate away its nuclear missile program. In a speech to the media, Ri also said his country has no intention of using nuclear weapons against any country, “except the U.S.” He warned, North Korea is “ready to teach the U.S. a severe lesson with its nuclear strategic force.” The statements followed a 15-0 U.N. Security Council vote to impose new economic sanctions on North Korea following its two recent intercontinental ballistic missile tests with the range to hit the U.S. The sanctions could reduce North Korea’s annual export revenue by $1 billion – a one-third cut. “Very big financial impact!” President Trump tweeted over the weekend.
GUT PUNCH: On Fox News, U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley was asked about reports that U.S. spy satellites spotted two anti-ship cruise missiles being loaded on a North Korean patrol boat a few days days ago. “I can’t talk about classified information,” Haley said. “What I can tell you is that we are on it. We are very aware of what’s happening. We are going to continue to watch and see what happens.” North Korea loaded two Stormpetrel anti-ship cruise missiles on a Wonsan guided-missile patrol boat at Toejo Dong on North Korea’s east coast, reported Fox News, citing U.S. officials. President Trump tweeted a link to the story this morning.
Haley called the latest sanctions a “gut punch to North Korea,” a clear signal “the international community is tired of it and we’re going to start fighting back.” Noting that both China and Russia were on board with the sanctions, Haley said the world is speaking with one voice. “And all of the Security Council and the international community said that’s enough. You’ve got to stop it,” she said. “It’s reckless. It’s irresponsible. And the international community really laid down the groundwork of saying we’re not going to watch you do this anymore.”
TRUMP FAULTS MEDIA ON UN SANCTIONS REPORTING: Trump took the media to task for not paying enough attention to the new sanctions imposed on North Korea. “The Fake News Media will not talk about the importance of the United Nations Security Council’s 15-0 vote in favor of sanctions on N. Korea!” Trump tweeted yesterday. The resolution includes a ban on North Korean exports of coal, iron, iron ore, lead, lead ore, and seafood. There was plenty of reporting about the Saturday sanctions vote, but Trump seems miffed that he’s not being given enough credit for getting China and Russia to sign on, something that Haley said required a lot of “arm twisting.”
TILLERSON ON AFGHAN STRATEGY: Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said the president’s National Security Council is still exploring “a full range of options” about what to do in Afghanistan. “And when I say a full range of options, I mean the entire landscape,” Tillerson said at a news conference in Manila, according to a State Department transcript.
“The president is asking, I think, some very, very pointed questions, and they are good questions. They were the right questions that he should be asking, and perhaps these are questions that no one’s been willing to raise in the past,” he said. Trump has delayed approving any new troop deployments to Afghanistan because of his dissatisfaction with progress in the nearly 16-year-long war, and even suggested firing his top commander there Gen. John “Mick” Nicholson.
“We want to give him good, thorough answers and good, thorough analysis to go with that, a very clear-eyed view, a very realistic view of what the future is likely to look like,” Tillerson said. “I think we want to take the time to do the analysis,” he said. “It’s one thing to say we’re just going to keep fighting because there is no other option. There are always other options.”
DUTERTE GETS HUMBLE: Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has dialed down the anti-U.S. rhetoric, and could be seen smiling and laughing while shaking hands with Tillerson in Manila on Monday. “I am your humble friend in Southeast Asia,” Duterte said of Tillerson, according to NBC News. The Trump administration has taken some heat for establishing a relationship with Duterte, who once told former President Barack Obama “you can go to hell.” Since Duterte came to power in June 2016, police have killed thousands of alleged drug offenders as part of his brutal war on drugs.
Tillerson was in the Philippines to attend the annual meeting of ASEAN, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, and told reporters Monday the top item on his agenda is North Korea, as well as efforts to counter the emergence of Islamic State-linked fighters in the Philippines. He said the U.S. has provided the Philippines with surveillance capabilities, as well as training and guidance for fighting ISIS. Tillerson specifically said the U.S. has given the country several drones and Cessna aircraft.
3 YEARS, 89,000 BOMBS LATER: Today marks three years since a pair of U.S. Navy F/A-18s from the U.S. aircraft carrier George W. Bush dropped the first 500-pound laser-guided bombs on ISIS fighters in Irbil, Iraq. The air campaign against ISIS began Aug. 8, 2014, and in the three years since then the U.S. and its coalition partners have flown more than 58,000 combat sorties, and expended 89,144 munitions, bombs and missiles, as of the end of June.
“Just three year ago ISIS came out of nowhere and emerged as one of the most well-funded fastest-growing, and most capable terrorist networks in the world,” said Navy Capt. Jeff Davis, a pentagon spokesman. “More than just an insurgency that was capable of holding over 40,000 square miles of territory, it was also an organization that had the ability to launch external attacks in Europe and the United States.”
According to the Pentagon, here’s what has been accomplished in 3 years:
A total of 5 million people have been freed from the brutal rule of ISIS
In Iraq, 70 percent of territory once held by ISIS has been liberated.
In Syria, 50 percent of territory once held by ISIS has been liberated.
The anti-ISIS coalition now numbers 73 partners, 69 nations, plus the EU, NATO, The Arab League and Interpol.
Special presidential counter-ISIS envoy Brett McGurk gives credit to changes made by Trump for accelerating the pace of the ISIS’ defeat. “One-third of their losses in Iraq and Syria have taken place over the last six months,” McGurk told PBS NewsHour last night. He said the president authorized seval tactical changes recommended by Defense Secretary Jim Mattis. “Number one and probably most importantly was the decision to delegate tactical decision-making authority to the commanders in the field, and that has made a key difference,” said McGurk, who held the same job during the Obama administration.
Good Tuesday morning and welcome to Jamie McIntyre’s Daily on Defense, compiled by Washington Examiner National Security Senior Writer Jamie McIntyre (@jamiejmcintyre) and National Security Writer Travis J. Tritten (@travis_tritten). Senior Editor David Brown (@dave_brown24) is off this week. 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: Defense Secretary Jim Mattis welcomes Vietnamese Defense Minister Gen. Ngo Xuan Lich to the Pentagon.
HAPPENING TOMORROW: Mattis leaves tomorrow on a short trip to the West Coast, which will include his first visit to the Defense Innovation Unit-Experimental in California’s Silicon Valley. DIU-x, was pet project of former Defense Secretary Ash Carter, who was convinced the key to getting better technology to the troops was to forge alliances with innovators in the private sector. At DIU-x, Mattis will meet with staff and discuss with key leaders in the technology community how the Defense Department can leverage new commercial technologies and methodologies and further expand initiatives designed to accelerate fielding capabilities to the warfighter, according to the Pentagon.
Also on Mattis’ three-day agenda: a tour of Google’s main campus in Palo Alto, a visit to Amazon headquarters in Seattle, and a stop Naval Base Kitsap in Seattle, where he will inspect Ohio-class ballistic-missile submarine USS Kentucky.
DRONES IN THE CROSSHAIRS: Concerned that small commercial drones could be used to carry out an attack on a U.S. military base, the Pentagon made clear yesterday it has full authority to disable, destroy, or confiscate any “unmanned aircraft systems” that fly near or over U.S. military installations. The U.S. military always has the right of self defense, but the new guidelines, developed in coordination with the FAA, makes it clear that the U.S. can blast a drone out of the sky, no questions asked, if it encroaches on the airspace surrounding domestic military bases.
RUSSIA ‘INFO WARFARE’ PLAN: Lawmakers warned they may mandate a specific strategy for countering Russian disinformation if the State Department does not, Joel Gehrke writes. “I urge you to come up with a strategy and work with Congress to implement it at once,” Rep. Eliot Engel, the top Democrat on the Foreign Affairs Committee, wrote to Tillerson. “Otherwise, Congress will direct the Trump administration to treat the threats of Russia and the Islamic State “with the seriousness they deserve,” Engel wrote. The letter was spurred by reports that Tillerson has hesitant to make use of about $80 million that Congress provided for a counter-propaganda program. The delay has drawn bipartisan criticism, as well as allegations that Tillerson’s team doesn’t want to antagonize Russia by ramping up the program.
NO OSPREY GROUNDING: Japan’s defense minister has requested a grounding of all Marine Corps V-22 Ospreys stationed in his country, following the crash of a V-22 into the ocean off the east coast of Australia. But the Marines said Monday there was no pause in MV-22 operations. “We’ll continue to talk with the government of Japan but as ever safety is paramount for all of our operations,” said Davis, a Pentagon spokesman.
The Japanese have been wary of the revolutionary tiltrotor aircraft since two squadrons were deployed to Okinawa in 2012. The fleet was grounded in December after an Osprey crashed into the ocean off the island’s coast, injuring crew members.
CREW LOST: Three of the 26 Marines who were listed as missing after the crash have been declared dead, after the wreckage was found. “They will live on forever in our thoughts and our hearts. You will always be a part of the Marine Corps family, and you will remain in our prayers,” Col. Tye R. Wallace, commander of the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, said in a statement to their families. The Marine Corps was getting help from an Australian diving team, which had located the Osprey wreckage and was working to recover it. Here are the Marines who died:
1st Lt. Benjamin R. Cross, 26, of Oxford, Maine.
Cpl. Nathaniel F. Ordway, 21, of Sedgwick, Kan.
Pfc. Ruben P. Velasco, 19, of Los Angeles.
BAD BET: TRUMP’S 2018 DEFENSE HIKE DOUBTFUL: Trump’s proposed $54 billion increase in defense spending for 2018 is in deep trouble, according to a top independent budget analyst. Deep divisions on Capitol Hill are making just about any significant hike problematic, said Katherine Blakeley, a research fellow at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments. Hurdles include divisions among Republicans about how big an increase is warranted, looming caps under the Budget Control Act, and Democratic opposition to non-defense spending cuts. It all makes it “difficult to see how a substantial defense buildup … can be realized,” Blakeley wrote in her latest analysis.
Her prediction: The Pentagon budget will be delayed for months and Congress will be forced to pass another stopgap “continuing resolution” at the start of the new fiscal year in October.
Trump released a $603 billion defense budget request in May, which is a budget-busting $54 billion above the spending cap set by the Budget Control Act, a law passed by Congress in 2011. Defense hawks are pressing for even bigger increases. But lawmakers have come together to raise the caps three times with an average increase of just $19 billion, making the president’s proposal unlikely, according to Blakeley. Trump has complicated any effort on a deal by calling for his increase to be offset by cuts to non-defense programs, a move that has incensed Democrats who could stand in the way of his budget and a spending deal in the Senate
TRUMP VS. BLUMENTHAL: Trump has attacked one on his sharpest critics, Sen. Richard Blumenthal, on intensely personal terms over the senator’s past statements over his service in the Marine Corps Reserve during the Vietnam War. Blumenthal, like Trump, received multiple draft deferments during the 1960s, but in 2010 Blumenthal was forced to apologize for implying he served in Vietnam, when he actually served his six years in reserves in the U.S. during the Vietnam War. Now that Blumenthal is pushing the Russian investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller, Trump is in full Twitter attack mode.
“Interesting to watch Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut talking about hoax Russian collusion when he was a phony Vietnam con artist!,” Trump said in the first of four tweets. “Never in U.S. history has anyone lied or defrauded voters like Senator Richard Blumenthal. He told stories about his Vietnam battles and …conquests, how brave he was, and it was all a lie. He cried like a baby and begged for forgiveness like a child. Now he judges collusion?”
“I think Senator Blumenthal should take a nice long vacation in Vietnam, where he lied about his service, so he can at least say he was there,” Trump added later.
Appearing on MSNBC Blumenthal said, “I won’t be distracted by these bullying tweets. If anything, they strengthen my resolve and determination to work for protecting the special counsel against exactly these tactics of bullying and intimidating, and that’s the reason that I have joined with two other Republicans and four of us Democrats in sponsoring bills that would protect the special counsel required judicial review. A three-judge panel who would have to find good cause, which is defined in the statutes, before Donald Trump could fire Bob Mueller.”
GUADALCANAL ANNIVERSARY: 75 years ago today, the Battle of Guadalcanal began. Marines led the first major offensive by Allied forces in the Pacific Campaign.
GoT BDA: Navy Capt. Jeff Davis kicked off his final scheduled press gaggle with a brief status update on the ground forces of House Lannister operating north of Highgarden. (Spoiler alert: Stop here if you haven’t watched Episode 4, Season 7 of “Game of Thrones.”) “We can acknowledge Southern Kingdom forces suffered significant casualties sustained during an aerial incendiary attack by a dragon,” Davis said in mock seriousness. “We will to provide any additional details pending next of kin notification.” Given the nature and number of the casualties, don’t expect an update anytime soon. Perhaps by next week. Say Sunday, around 9 p.m. Stay tuned.
THE RUNDOWN
NBC News: U.S. may begin airstrikes against ISIS in Philippines
AP: Top Trump aides clashing over direction of US foreign policy
Wall Street Journal: Tillerson cautions Russia on expulsions
Foreign Policy: While Moscow mocks Trump, Tillerson tries to repair U.S.-Russia ties
DoD Buzz: US builds up European forces ahead of Russian war games
USNI News: VH-92A presidential helo flies for the first time
USA Today: Analysis: Why the latest sanctions on North Korea may fail
The Diplomat: China hits back at South Korea’s THAAD deployment following North Korea’s latest ICBM test
Reuters: Pentagon reviewing missile guidelines with South Korea
Reuters: China says willing to pay the price for new North Korea sanctions
New York Times: Seesaw conflict with Taliban takes toll in fallen Afghan district
AP: Iran says it has arrested 27 ISIS-linked militants, foiled attacks
Army Times: First electronic warfare prototypes from Army’s Rapid Capability Office put to test
Foreign Policy: Venezuela quells military uprising, fires outspoken government critic
Calendar
WEEK AHEAD
TUESDAY | AUG. 8
8 .m. 5701 Marinelli Road. Global explosive ordnance disposal symposium and exhibition. ndia.org
8 a.m. 11790 Sunrise Valley Dr. How Washington works workshop – Navigating the DOD. ndia.org
10 a.m. 529 14th St. NW. CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou and former State Department official Matthew Hoh discuss a petition to Congress and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis calling for removal of all U.S. military aircraft from Syrian skies. Press.org
11 a.m. The Pentagon. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis hosts an enhanced honor cordon welcoming Gen. Ngo Xuan Lich, minister of defense of Vietnam, to the Pentagon on the steps of the River Entrance.
11 a.m. 214 Massachusetts Ave. NE. Defending the homeland and the future of the U.S. countering violent extremism policy with Katharine Gorka, senior advisor for the Department of Homeland Security. heritage.org
FRIDAY | AUG. 11
8 a.m. 300 1st St. SE. Middle East missile realities discussion with Uzi Rubin, former director of the Israeli Missile Defense Organization. mitchellaerospacepower.org
1:30 p.m. 214 Massachusetts Ave. NE. The future of U.S.-Taiwan relations in new administrations. heritage.org
