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‘AMERICA FIRST’ RECAST AS U.S. SOVEREIGNTY: When President Trump addresses the 73rd session of the United Nations General Assembly at 10:15 a.m. he will once again advocate for putting the interests of America first, but like his address last year the key buzzword will be “sovereignty.” In last year’s address to the world body, his first as president, Trump referred to “sovereign” or “sovereignty” almost two dozen times. “Whether it’s security issues, economic issues, human rights or anything else, the president’s asking for countries to exert their sovereignty to solve challenges,” said national security adviser John Bolton yesterday in New York, who said the theme is more than just an abstract concept. “It derives obviously, from the word ‘sovereign,’ meaning ‘the monarch.’ But it’s one of the reasons I think America is exceptional, and that is we understand sovereignty not to be vested in the head of state. We understand it, as the framers said in the Constitution itself, ‘We, the people.’ We, the people, are sovereign in America, so that infringements on our sovereignty are not infringements on abstractions or infringements on the government. They’re an infringement on the people themselves.” NEW TONE ON NORTH KOREA: Last year the most quotable line from Trump’s General Assembly address was his infamous threat to destroy North Korea if Kim Jong Un didn’t give up his nuclear arsenal. “The United States has great strength and patience, but if it is forced to defend itself or its allies, we will have no choice but to totally destroy North Korea. Rocket Man is on a suicide mission for himself and for his regime,” Trump said last September. This year, Trump had nothing but praise for the erstwhile “Little Rocket Man” as he spoke to reporters while sitting next to South Korean President Moon Jae-in. “We’re making tremendous progress. Chairman Kim has been really very open and terrific, frankly. And I think he wants to see something happen,” Trump said. “I see tremendous enthusiasm on behalf of Chairman Kim for making a deal, and I think that that’s something that’s very good. We are in no rush. There’s no hurry.” SECOND SUMMIT ON: Later as the two leaders signed a revised trade deal between the U.S. and South Korea to replace an agreement that Trump called “very unfair” to the U.S., the president said he’s looking forward to meeting face-to-face with Kim again. “We have an agreement to work out another summit, and we look forward to doing that,” Trump said. “I’m going to be meeting with Chairman Kim in the not too distant future. The location is being worked on, the time is being worked on, and we’ll be announcing it.” The president said Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will be “dealing with that subject” and that Pompeo has been “in touch with” North Korea. The location is yet to be determined, but the format will be “very similar” to the summit in Singapore in June, Trump said. NO IRANIAN TALKS: Despite Trump’s stated willingness to talk to Iran’s leaders about replacing the 2015 nuclear agreement that the U.S. has rejected, it’s clear there will not be any “pull-aside” between Trump and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani while both are in New York. Yesterday, Rouhani said it was pointless to talk unless Trump was willing to change his mind and honor the deal negotiated by six world powers, according to the New York Times. “You can bet the president will have well-deserved strong words for the Iranian regime, which is among the worst violators of the U.N. Security Council resolutions, if not the absolute worst in the world,” said Bolton, previewing Trump’s speech. “He’ll call on every country to join our pressure campaign in order to thwart Iran’s global torrent of destructive activity.” Trump tweeted this morning: “Despite requests, I have no plans to meet Iranian President Hassan Rouhani. Maybe someday in the future. I am sure he is an absolutely lovely man!” SHOWDOWN OVER SANCTIONS: The U.S. is promising to increase the economic pain for Iran in November when another round of U.S.-imposed sanctions is due to take effect. “We’ve imposed very stringent sanctions on Iran. More are coming,” Bolton said. “What we expect from Iran is massive changes in their behavior. And until that happens, we will continue to exert what the president has called ‘maximum pressure.’ ” But the U.S. move was undercut when the other signatories to the Iran nuclear deal announced they would institute a barter system to get around the U.S. ban on doing business with Iran. The financial mechanism will allow them to continue trade with Iran, including importing oil, as U.S. sanctions kick in. “The participants recognized that Iran has continued to fully and effectively implement its nuclear related commitments as confirmed by 12 consecutive reports by the International Atomic Energy Agency,” said the statement, which was signed by France, Germany, Britain, China, Russia and Iran. IRAN, U.S. IN SYRIA FACE-OFF: Iran is vowing to stay in Syria and the U.S., according to Bolton, is vowing to stay in Syria, too, at least as long as Iran is there. “We will be in Syria until terrorism is completely eradicated,” Rouhani said yesterday, speaking to a group of two dozen academics, former government officials and journalists. He noted Iran has been invited to stay in Syria by the regime of President Bashar Assad. “The U.S. sees a right for itself to have a presence in the region,” he said, but “does not recognize the right for Iran.” Bolton was quoted by The Associated Press as saying the U.S. would maintain a military presence in Syria until Iran is no longer active there. “We’re not going to leave as long as Iranian troops are outside Iranian borders and that includes Iranian proxies and militias,” he said. SAME HYMNAL, DIFFERENT PAGE: In one of his short-notice off-camera meetings with Pentagon reporters, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis insisted that despite Bolton’s definitive statement, there has been no change of mission in Syria from defeating the Islamic State to countering Iran. “We are in Syria right now to defeat ISIS and destroy the geographic caliphate and make sure it doesn’t come back the moment we turn our backs. So there is going to be a little while that we’ve got to work with the locals,” Mattis said. Mattis and the Pentagon both referred questions about the comment to Bolton and the White House. But the defense secretary said “there is no daylight” between his position on Syria and Bolton’s position. “Please talk with Ambassador Bolton, I think we’re on the same sheet of music,” Mattis said. “I can assure you as of my latest meeting we’re on it and I’ve talked to him so far today twice.” Good Tuesday 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. |
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HAPPENING TODAY: In addition to his morning address to the United Nations General Assembly, Trump has bilateral meetings scheduled with Colombian President Iván Duque Márquez and U.N. Secretary General António Guterres, and a working lunch. NO CANADA: But sadly Trump could not squeeze in a meeting with our neighbor to the north. “The present schedule is very compressed this year in New York. And so there were a lot of requests and a lot of desires by the president to have bilaterals that simply couldn’t be accommodated,” said Bolton, explaining why a request by Canadian PM Justin Trudeau could not be accommodated. “He speaks with Prime Minister Trudeau by phone all the time. And always possible, here in New York, that they would have time for a pull-aside, as we call it. But there is full and open complete communication between Prime Minister Trudeau and President Trump. That I can assure you,” Bolton said. MATTIS SPEAKS AT VMI: Mattis is in Lexington, Va., today where he is scheduled to speak at Virginia Military Institute at 11 a.m. As of this morning there were no plans to live-stream his remarks. NOMINEES GET HEARING: The Senate Armed Services Committee holds a hearing at 9:30 a.m. on the nomination Gen. Robert “Abe” Abrams to be commander of U.S. Forces Korea, as well as United Nations Command and Combined Forces Command. Vice Adm. Craig Faller is being considered to head U.S. Southern Command. FALLER CLEARED IN FAT LEONARD SCANDAL: The Washington Post reported last night that Faller, a three-star admiral who served as the senior military assistant to Mattis, was under investigation for more than three years by the Justice Department and the Navy for his interactions with a Singapore-based maritime tycoon Leonard Glenn Francis, known as “Fat Leonard.” “The Pentagon has never publicly disclosed that Faller was under investigation,” reports the Post. “The admiral was ultimately cleared of wrongdoing.” The Post based its report on a document in which Faller’s name is redacted but in which other details match his military service history, and says Pentagon officials speaking on the condition of anonymity confirmed that Faller was the subject of the investigation. “In March, the Navy concluded that Faller had not committed misconduct, the documents show. Although Navy officials confirmed Faller had accepted three dinners from Francis, they excused his actions. A full explanation for the decision was redacted from the documents,” the Post said. TAIWAN BUYS PARTS: The State Department has cleared Taiwan to buy up to $330 million spare parts and replacement parts for F-16, C-130, F-5, Indigenous Defense Fighter, and other aircraft, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency announced. The deal will help Taiwan bulk up its defense and transport fleet. BOEING WINS HUEY REPLACEMENT: Boeing expanded a winning streak for its defense business on Monday with a $2.4 billion contract to replace the aging UH-1N “Huey” helicopters used to protect America’s missile bases. The agreement covers up to 84 of Boeing’s MH-139 helicopters, which are flown by more than 270 governments, militaries, and companies worldwide, the Chicago-based company said in a statement. The helo is a derivative of Italian-based Leonardo’s AW139 helicopter, used around the world. Earlier this summer, Boeing won a $194 million contract to update software and equipment used by crews training to work on the Navy’s P-8A Poseidon, a maritime patrol jet; a $2.9 billion order from the Air Force for 18 KC-46 refueling tankers; and an $805 million contract to develop the unmanned MQ-25 tanker for Navy aircraft carriers. PIE IN THE SKY? In this week’s Washington Examiner magazine we take a closer look at the ambitious Air Force proposal to dramatically increase the size of the service by adding 74 combat squadrons. Announced last week as a “need” not a “want,” the dream force faces strong budget headwinds and would require as yet unknown billions of dollars, at least $17 billion a year, not including the acquisition costs for all those additional B-21 bombers, F-35 fighters and KC-46 tankers. The plan intentionally ignored the cost associated with the massive build-up, essentially looking at the problem as if money were no object. “So this is the first time in recent memory that a service secretary has come out and said, ‘Look we did this evaluation on the basis of what are the actual requirements for our forces based on threats and our national security policy,’ ” said retired Lt. Gen. Dave Deptula, the architect of the coalition air campaign during the 1991 Persian Gulf War. EXAMINING LAND FOR ‘FORT TRUMP’: A week after Polish President Andrzej Duda proposed a “Fort Trump,” the Pentagon is in the early stages of examining land in Poland for a potential permanent U.S. military base, Mattis said on Monday. “What we’re doing right now is with Poland, alongside Poland, we’re examining what land they are talking about,” Mattis said. The military is looking at what type of operations, such as test flights and test firing, could be conducted on land being offered by the NATO ally. “The first thing we have to do is look at what are they offering, because then you size up what it can actually hold and sustain. So we are in the exploratory phase of doing just that,” Mattis said. Duda, who is concerned about Russian aggression, had worked to sell Trump on the idea of a Fort Trump during his visit to the White House on Sept. 18. Trump said he was considering the plan because Duda offered to pay $2 billion and the U.S. can no longer foot the bill for “defending immensely wealthy countries.” MATTIS TO NATO NEXT WEEK: In his remarks to reporters yesterday, Mattis announced he’ll be traveling to France and Belgium next week to take part in NATO’s fall Defense Ministerial. The meetings are set for Oct. 3-4 in Brussels. THE RUNDOWN Washington Examiner: Mike Pompeo: ‘Lord willing,’ a second Trump-Kim summit is coming soon Washington Examiner: Ex-top DEA official asks Jeff Sessions to investigate video of Elon Musk smoking marijuana Bloomberg: Army Mulls $31.6 Billion Shift in Armor, Copters in War Plan Washington Post: In a blow to Israel, Russia says it will send Syria powerful antiaircraft missiles AP: US warns Russia over missile defense for Syria New York Times: Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, Humiliated by Attack, Vow to Retaliate Air Force Times: Air Force JTACs, fighters, drones and more head to Ukraine to train with allies on Russia’s western flank Breaking Defense: Defense Industry Pushes Back Against New Pentagon Rules Task and Purpose: Afghan Governor: The Taliban Are ‘Going To Win’ If Death Toll Continues To Rise Navy Times: Bullet’s bold blueprint to save Navy aviation Air Force Magazine: Roper Sees Hypersonic Weapon Operational Circa 2020, But Only First Version Daily Beast: Team Trump Swears It’s Not Trying to Overthrow Iran’s Mullahs Military Times: Duncan Hunter won’t face trial before the November election |
CalendarTUESDAY | SEPT. 25 8 a.m. 300 1st St. SE. Missile Defense Perspectives with Retired Lt. Gen. Richard Formica, Vice President of Defense Accounts at Calibre, and Retired Brig. Gen. Kenneth Todorov, Vice President of Missile Defense Solutions at Northrop Grumman. mitchellaerospacepower.org 9:30 a.m. Dirksen G-50. Nomination Hearing for Gen. Robert Abrams to be Commander, United Nations Command, Combined Forces Command, and U.S. Forces Korea; and Vice Adm. Craig Faller, to be Commander of U.S. Southern Command. armed-services.senate.gov 10 a.m. Marine Corps Base, Quantico. Modern Day Marine Exposition with Assistant Navy Secretary James Geurts. marinemilitaryexpos.com WEDNESDAY | SEPT. 26 8 a.m. 1250 S. Hayes St. A Discussion with Brig. Gen. Chance “Salty” Saltzman, Director of Current Operations at Headquarters U.S. Air Force. mitchellaerospacepower.org 8:30 a.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave. NW. Beyond the Water’s Edge with Reps. Adam Smith and Ted Yoho. csis.org 10 a.m. Rayburn 2141. Full Committee Hearing on the Impact of National Defense on the Economy, Diplomacy, and International Order. armedservices.house.gov 10 a.m. Rayburn 2247. Subcommittee Hearing on Countering China: Ensuring America Remains the World Leader in Advanced Technologies and Innovation. oversight.house.gov 12:15 p.m. 740 15th St. NW. America’s First Foreign Fighter for al Qaeda After 9/11: Bryant Neal Viñas Tells His Story. newamerica.org 12:30 p.m. 529 14th St. NW. NPC Headliners Luncheon: Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson. press.org 2 p.m. Rayburn 2200. Subcommittee Hearing on Countering Iranian Proxies in Iraq. foreignaffairs.house.gov 2:30 p.m. Hart 216. Subcommittee Hearing on Cyber Operational Readiness of the Department of Defense with Essye Miller, Department of Defense Chief Information Officer; Lt. Gen. Vincent Stewart, Deputy Commander of U.S. Cyber Command; Lt. Gen. Stephen Fogarty, Commander of U.S. Army Cyber Command; and Brig. Gen. Dennis Crall, Principal Deputy Cyber Advisor and Senior Military Advisor for Cyber Policy. armed-services.senate.gov 3:30 p.m. Rayburn 2123. Subcommittee Hearing on the U.S. Strategy in Syria with Robert Story Karem, Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs, and Brig. Gen. Scott Benedict, Deputy Director J5 Strategic Plans and Policy for Middle East Joint Staff. armedservices.house.gov 7 p.m. 1777 F St. NW. A Conversation with Afghanistan Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah. cfr.org THURSDAY | SEPT. 27 9 a.m. 37th and O St. NW. Kalaris Intelligence Conference with Eric Fanning, CEO of the Aerospace Industries Association, and Valerie Browning, Director of Defense Sciences at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. kalaris.org 12 noon. 1201 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. Oceans Ventured: A Discussion with Former Navy Secretary John Lehman. hudson.org 1:30 p.m. Rayburn 2172. Subcommittee Hearing on U.S. Policy Toward Syria (Part I). foreignaffairs.house.gov 3:30 p.m. Rayburn 2322. Subcommittee Update on Military Review Board Agencies. armedservices.house.gov 4 p.m. 1030 15th St. NW. From Inside the Pentagon: The Work of Women in National Security with Kathleen McInnis, Security Analyst for the Congressional Research Service; Christine Wormuth, Director of RAND’s International Security and Defense Policy Center; and Loren DeJonge Schulman, Deputy Director of Studies at the Center for a New American Security. atlanticcouncil.org 5:30 p.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave. NW. Book Discussion: The Perfect Weapon: War, Sabotage, and Fear in the Cyber Age with Author David Sanger. csis.org FRIDAY | SEPT. 28 9 a.m. House Visitors Center 210. Subcommittee Hearing on Contributing Factors to C-130 Mishaps and Other Intra-Theater Airlift Challenges with Air Force and Navy Officials. armedservices.house.gov 11 a.m. 214 Massachusetts Ave. NE. Oceans Ventured: Winning the Cold War at Sea with Former Navy Secretary John Lehman. heritage.org TUESDAY | OCT. 2 8 a.m. 600 New Hampshire Ave. NW. Defense One Global Business Briefing 2018 with Mitch Snyder, President and CEO of Bell. defenseone.com 8:30 a.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave. NW. Nuclear Energy, Naval Propulsion, and National Security with Keynote by Adm. John Richardson, Chief of Naval Operations. csis.org 9 a.m. 1789 Massachusetts Ave. NW. America engaged: Attitudes toward US global leadership. aei.org 11:30 a.m. 901 17th St. NW. The Embassy/Defense Attaché Luncheon Series Featuring Sweden’s Maj. Gen. Bengt Svensson. ndia.org |
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