INSPECTORS BLOCKED: As the U.S. feared, experts from the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons are not getting access to the site of the April 7 suspected chemical weapons attack in Syria that prompted retaliatory strikes from the U.S., France and Britain. The OPCW inspectors arrived in Syria last week but have not been able to carry out their fact-finding mission in Douma, a suburb of Damascus. The area they seek to inspect is now totally under control of the Syrian government of Bashar Assad.

HAPPENING TODAY — TRUMP HOSTS ABE: Both Trump and Japanese President Shinzo Abe have a big incentive for this week’s Mar-a-Lago meetings to go well. Abe is under fire at home and his popularity is sagging under the weight of domestic political scandals, including charges of cronyism and the mishandling of official documents. Trump has some domestic distractions of his own, with his personal attorney under investigation and his former FBI chief hurling insults from his book tour. The two days of talks begin today.

Abe is known to be skeptical of Trump’s plan to meet with North Korea’s Kim Jong Un late next month or in early June, and that is certain to be one major agenda item, along with the president’s favorite topic: trade.  

ALSO TODAY — PACOM AND NORTHCOM NOMINEES: The Senate Armed Services Committee holds a nomination hearing this morning at 9:30 for Adm. Philip Davidson to be commander of U.S. Pacific Command and Gen. Terrence O’Shaughnessy to be commander of U.S. Northern Command.

BIG BORDER WEEK: The U.S. Customs and Border Protection chief said yesterday that this week would see the first major deployment of National Guard troops to the border, but California is not sticking to the script. Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown has said he’ll take the federal funds to deploy more National Guard troops, but not necessarily send them to the border, and not to enforce immigration laws, but rather to go after drug smugglers and gangs.

The Republican governors of Arizona, New Mexico and Texas are all on board with Trump’s interim border security beef-up plan. The AP reports the initial jobs for extra troops “include fixing and maintaining vehicles, using remote-control surveillance cameras to report suspicious activity to U.S. Border Patrol agents, operating radios and providing ‘mission support,’ which can include clerical work, buying gas and handling payrolls.”

DDG CONTRACT: Huntington Ingalls has won a $27 million Navy contract for follow yard services for the Arleigh Burke-class destroyer program. The contract covers configuration management and engineering design support of destroyer construction work, and includes four option years with a total potential value of $181 million if all options are exercised, according to the shipbuilder.

McCAIN UNDER THE KNIFE: Armed Services Committee chairman Sen. John McCain, who is battling an aggressive form of brain cancer, underwent surgery Sunday for an intestinal infection related to diverticulitis, his office revealed yesterday. “Over the last few months, Senator McCain has been participating in physical therapy at his home in Cornville, Arizona, as he recovers from the side effects of cancer treatment,” a statement said. “He has remained engaged on his work as Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, and has enjoyed frequent visits from his family, friends, staff and Senate colleagues.”

Last night his daughter, Meghan McCain tweeted, “My father @SenJohnMcCain is in stable condition – he continues to inspire me everyday with his intense grit and determination. Thank you to the doctors at Mayo Clinic in Phoenix and to everyone who is praying for him.”

The Washington Post reports that Senate colleagues who have spoken to McCain say “his mind is sharp,” but there is no indication of when he might be able to return to the Senate. No one wants to put any pressure on the highly-respected senior senator, but if he were to decide to step down before the end of next month, there would be a special election in November to fill his seat. If he were to give up his seat after May, Republican Gov. Doug Ducey would appoint an interim senator who would serve through the 2020 elections.

A NEW AUMF: Lawmakers on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee introduced new Authorization for the Use of Military Force legislation to replace war authorizations from 2001 and 2002 that have not been revised since they were passed. Key points:

• The measure allows the president to use necessary force to combat al Qaeda, the Taliban, the Islamic State, and other designated associated forces. However, it does not permit the president to take military action against a nation-state.

• The president must inform Congress of military action, which then has a 60-day window to try to remove the president’s authority to use military force if necessary.

• The legislation also requires Congress to review the AUMF every four years. It requires the president to issue a plan to Congress to either repeal, modify, or keep the current AUMF. Should Congress fail to pass a new AUMF, the existing authority will continue.

TRUMP’S TRANSGENDER TWEET CLAIM: Despite Trump’s Twitter claim that he consulted his generals before announcing a ban on transgender people in the military last summer, the president appears to have acted without the advice of experts and senior leadership, according to a U.S. district judge in Seattle. “As no other persons have ever been identified by defendants — despite repeated court orders to do so — the court is led to conclude that the ban was devised by the president, and the president alone,” U.S. District Court Judge Marsha Pechman wrote in an order Friday.

The federal district court, where Trump is being sued over the policy, had ordered the Justice Department to turn over evidence backing Trump’s tweeted claim that he would restrict transgender service “after consultation with my Generals and military experts.” But the department argued that the information is privileged and beyond the court’s reach. “Defendants to date have failed to identify even one general or military expert he consulted, despite having been ordered to do so repeatedly,” Pechman wrote. “Indeed, the only evidence concerning the lead-up to his Twitter announcement reveals that military officials were entirely unaware of the ban, and that the abrupt change in policy was ‘unexpected.’”

‘PLEASE BE ADVISED’: In the days and weeks that followed Trump’s surprise July 26 tweet, it became clear none of the Joint Chiefs had been consulted about the transgender ban, not even the chairman, whose job is defined as the senior military adviser to the president and secretary of defense. The tweet announcing the policy change contained some unTrumplike language, including the phrase “please be advised,” a locution not found in any other Trump tweet.

GAME OF LOANS: China’s massive infrastructure program, known as the “Belt and Road Initiative,” is ostensibly a win/win for poor countries in China’s sphere of influence. China underwrites much-needed improvements to ports and rail facilities, and countries such as Sri Lanka and Djibouti reap the benefits. But onerous loan terms can result in China getting control of key strategic facilities, in what critics call “debt-trap diplomacy.”

“Sri Lanka is kind of a cautionary tale for how China ended up with a controlling stake in a port, and a 99-year lease, when the Sri Lankan government never really intended that to happen in the first place,” said Jonathan Hillman at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Read more in this week’s Washington Examiner magazine.

BOEING CITED: Bloomberg is reporting that the Pentagon has cited Boeing for continuing quality, management and other deficiencies related to the production of F/A-18 and F-15 jets.

“Flaws at Boeing’s St. Louis aircraft production facility ranged from missing, backwards and out-of-specification fasteners found on undelivered F/A-18s and F-15s to oversized holes, missing components and incorrect parts installed on the factory’s production line,” Bloomberg reported, quoting documents and officials.

THANKS, MISSILE MAKERS: Vice President Mike Pence began his address to the National Space Symposium in Colorado yesterday with a message to the contractors in attendance. “The armed forces of the United States conducted what President Trump called a perfectly executed strike, crippling the chemical weapons program of the Assad regime,” he said. “But standing here, I’m mindful that many of the great American companies that helped develop the missile technology employed by our courageous armed forces are represented here today and I would be remiss not to express the great admiration and gratitude the commander in chief and the American people have for all of the men and women whose creativity and ingenuity made these resources available to our armed forces.”

Raytheon makes the Tomahawk cruise missile and Lockheed Martin manufactures the Joint Air to Surface Standoff Missile.

THE RUNDOWN

Reuters: Syria attack triggered Western action, but on the ground Assad gained

New York Times: U.S. and U.K. Warn of Cybersecurity Threat From Russia

AFP: Syria regime organises press tour of Eastern Ghouta’s Douma

USA Today: U.S. airstrikes unlikely to deter Bashar Assad from future chemical attacks in Syria

Defense News: Pence announces new space traffic management policy

Air Force Times: Air National Guard 3-star: Dinosaur puppet re-enlistment video unacceptable

Roll Call: On Cloud Computing Contract, No JEDI Contract Tricks

USNI News: Investigation: Reckless Flying Caused Fatal T-45C Crash That Killed Two Naval Aviators

Foreign Policy: Iranian-Backed Militias Set Sights on U.S. Forces

Marine Corps Times: Marines practice chemical warfare drills in Jordan just after US, allies pummel Syrian sites