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‘A SIGN OF CHANGE’: It’s been two weeks since the dramatic White House driveway announcement that President Trump had agreed to meet North Korea’s Kim Jong Un to discuss denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, and today we have the first glimmer of acknowledgment from Pyongyang. A commentary in the state-run Korean Central News Agency credited a “proactive measure and peace-loving proposal” by North Korea for creating a “dramatic atmosphere for reconciliation,” between North and South Korea, and for “a sign of change” in North Korea-U.S. relations. It also rejected the idea that North Korea was feeling the pressure from international sanctions, calling that idea “rubbish” spread by “hostile forces” that are “just as meaningless as a dog barking at the moon.” Instead, it claimed the “great change in the north-south relations is not an accidental one but a noble fruition” thanks to North Korea’s “proactive measure, warm compatriotism and will for defending peace.” There was no mention of any time or place for the expected meeting sometime in May between Trump and Kim. And there was none of the usual denunciations of annual U.S.-South Korean military exercises, which the Pentagon insisted yesterday would be the “same scale, scope, and duration as previous years,” despite the delayed start because of the Winter Olympics in South Korea. TRUMP TRUMPETS ARMS SALES TO SAUDIS: Pointing to a poster-size chart of recent weapons deals closed with Saudi Arabia, totaling $12.5 billion, Trump thanked visiting Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman for being one of America’s best customers. “Saudi Arabia is a very wealthy nation, and they’re going to give the United States some of that wealth hopefully, in the form of jobs and in the form of the purchase of the finest military equipment anywhere in the world,” Trump said in full salesman mode, as the smiling prince looked on. “When it comes to the missiles and the planes and all of the military equipment, there is nobody that even comes close to us in terms of technology and the quality of the equipment,” Trump boasted. “And Saudi Arabia appreciates that.” The $12.5 billion is far less than the $400 billion in pledges to purchase future weapons Trump touted last year during his visit to to the Kingdom, and yesterday he chided Prince Salman that the completed deals are “peanuts for you. … You should have increased it.” The president ran down the Saudi shopping list of orders being processed, which include $13 billion for Lockheed Martin’s Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system, $3.8 billion for C-130 cargo planes also made by Lockheed Martin, $1.2 billion for Bradley Fighting Vehicles made by BAE Systems, and $1.4 billion for P-8 Poseidon maritime patrol planes made by Boeing. But Bloomberg reports this morning the Saudis have managed to get deep discounts on some weapon buys, including a savings of $3.5 billion off the MSRP of the THAAD system. TERROR FUNDING: Trump also praised the crown prince for Saudi efforts to stop donations to extremist groups, saying the U.S. has “zero tolerance” for terrorism funding. TRUMP’S PUTIN CALL: The president spoke by phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin yesterday, a call in which he said Russia cannot win an arms race with the United States. “And we are spending $700 billion this year on our military, and a lot of it is that we are going to remain stronger than any other nation in the world by far,” Trump said. “We had a very good call, and I suspect that we’ll probably be meeting in the not-too-distant future to discuss the arms race, which is getting out of control, but we will never allow anybody to have anything even close to what we have.“ WHAT HE DIDN’T DO: Trump did not press Putin about 2016 election interference, Russia’s role in poisoning a spy in the U.K. or irregularities in the recent Russian election that Putin won overwhelmingly, press secretary Sarah Sanders said shortly after Trump and Putin spoke by phone. BUT WHAT HE DID DO: Trump congratulated Putin on winning re-election despite warnings from his national security advisers not to do so, according to the Washington Post. His advisers had written “DO NOT CONGRATULATE” in all-capital letters as part of the president’s briefing materials before taking he took Putin’s call. Trump ignored the explicit warning. “I had a call with President Putin and congratulated him on the victory — his electoral victory.” CUE THE McCAIN OUTRAGE: Sen. John McCain, an inveterate Putin critic, issued this statement from his home in Arizona where he is being treated for brain cancer: “An American president does not lead the Free World by congratulating dictators on winning sham elections. And by doing so with Vladimir Putin, President Trump insulted every Russian citizen who was denied the right to vote in a free and fair election to determine their country’s future, including the countless Russian patriots who have risked so much to protest and resist Putin’s regime.” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell also chided Trump, saying “When I look at a Russian election, what I see is a lack of credibility when tallying the results. Calling him wouldn’t have been high on my list.” NO BARGAINING CHIP: In the Nuclear Posture Review, the Pentagon suggested one new capability — a future sea-launched low-yield nuclear cruise missile — might be abandoned if Putin abides by nuclear agreements and backs off his aggressive military doctrine of using nuclear weapons to “escalate to win.” But yesterday the U.S. general in charge of America’s nuclear arsenal insisted the weapon, which isn’t even on the drawing board yet, is not a “bargaining chip.” “I don’t like the term ‘bargaining chip.’ The capabilities that we propose in the Nuclear Posture Review are in response to the threat,” Gen. John Hyten, commander of U.S. Strategic Command, told the Senate Armed Services Committee. “If that threat changes, then my military advice will change. But if that threat doesn’t change, then my advice will say that we need those capabilities in order to respond to the threat.” PUTIN’S ‘INVINCIBLE’ WEAPONS: In our magazine this week, we examine Putin’s claim that he has “invincible” weapons that can penetrate any defenses, including hypersonic warheads. While experts believe Putin’s claims are overblown, and the capabilities he touts are still years away, Hyten yesterday conceded, “We don’t have any defense that could deny the employment of such a weapon against us, so our response would be our deterrent force, which would be the triad and the nuclear capabilities that we have to respond to such a threat.” CHILLING ADVICE: In arguing that adding low-yield warheads to a small number of current submarine-launched ICBMs was not destabilizing, Hyten revealed what advice he would give the president if one or two enemy ICBMs were heading to the United States. Basically, it would be to hold off any immediate response. “If somebody does detect that launch, it will see a single missile, or maybe two missiles, coming. They will realize it’s not an existential threat to their country, and therefore they don’t have to respond with an existential threat. That’s what I would recommend, if I saw that coming against the United States,” Hyten said. BREAKING: Police and law enforcement officials in Texas say a suspect in the Austin serial bombings is dead, having blown himself up as police closed in on him in a motel room in Round Rock, Texas. Good Wednesday 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: For those of you outside the immediate Washington, D.C., area, most federal offices are closed today in the nation’s capital due to the forecast for a rare early spring snowfall of 4 to 6 inches, more in the northern suburbs. You may want to double-check our calendar items to make sure they have not been rescheduled. YEMEN BILL NARROWLY DEFEATED: An effort in the Senate to end U.S. military aid to Saudi Arabia’s war in Yemen was narrowly defeated yesterday. The 55-44 vote came just hours after Defense Secretary Jim Mattis made a visit to the chamber to discuss the three-year war with senators. Sens. Bernie Sanders, Mike Lee and Chris Murphy had pushed a joint resolution that would have stopped U.S. assistance to Saudi forces in selecting airstrike targets, refueling aircraft, and sharing intelligence in the fight against Iran-backed Houthi rebels. “What we are saying is if Congress wants to go to war in Yemen or anyplace else, vote to go to war. That is your constitutional responsibility,” Sanders said. The senators argued Congress has shirked its responsibilities to authorize U.S. military action, and the Yemen aid is deepening the suffering in a humanitarian crisis that has claimed thousands of civilian casualties and displaced about 3 million. “That is what some will argue on the floor today, that we’re really not engaged in hostilities, we’re not exchanging fire,” Sanders said. “Well, please tell that to the people of Yemen whose homes and lives are being destroyed by weapons marked ‘Made in the U.S.A.,’ dropped by planes being refueled by the U.S. military on targets chosen with U.S. assistance.” Mattis and Gen. Joseph Votel, the head of U.S. Central Command, have argued U.S. support has actually reduced civilian casualties by making the Saudi offensive more accurate. Senate Republicans intend to send the Yemen issue and the broader issue of Congress passing a new Authorization for the Use of Military Force, or AUMF, to the Foreign Relations Committee. Sen. Bob Corker, the committee chairman, said it is already working on Yemen legislation and will hold a markup hearing for a new AUMF next month. “Hopefully the Senate will not only have an ability to deal with a real bill on Yemen that will actually generate a real outcome coming through committee but also have the ability to deal with an AUMF that will set aside the fact that for years the Congress has not weighed in on this issue. To me that is a much better route,” Corker said. OMNIBUS UNCERTAINTY: The House and Senate have been busy trying to work out remaining disagreements standing in the way of finally passing a $1.3 trillion omnibus spending bill by a Friday deadline. Rep. Mac Thornberry, the House Armed Services chairman, said the defense funding is “pretty well settled” and the massive legislation appears to be coming in for a landing. “I will worry about it until it’s finished, yes, but I have no doubt it will happen and I think it will happen this week,” he said. But Thornberry still used a committee hearing Tuesday to spur on House members. He asked the service secretaries of the Navy, Army and Air Force to underscore the importance of the defense appropriations bill, which is now nearly six months overdue. “We desperately need this new appropriations bill to step forward,” Navy Secretary Richard V. Spencer said. “The capital assets and our cycling of maintenance — forget aviation, surface warfare, subsurface warfare — it is absolutely critical that we get a continuous form of funding in order to manage the industrial base to put us back on the footing to be out there on the seas protecting that which we should.” The military is still operating under a stopgap budget and Army Secretary Mark Esper said that bars starting any new programs as well as replenishing munitions. “So, those are two immediate impacts we face right now with regard to materiel and with regard to preparing for conflict,” Esper said. “More broadly … we miss our ability to fund training exercises, to fill seats at our training base, and it has an overall impact on the training readiness of the force.” Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson said her service is also hamstrung by the continuing resolution and needs the annual funding to carry out modernization plans. “We can’t have any new starts or programs so a lot of the programs that are going to take us into the future are still pending and we’ll have to execute those in the last six months of the year,” Wilson said. “One of our major readiness issues is munitions stockpile. We want to be able to expand the capacity of our munitions production and we can’t do that until we get this budget through this week.” WOMEN, THE PROTECTORS: During the House hearing, Wilson told lawmakers that the Air Force must do a better job appealing to female candidates. “We’re trying to change a little bit the way we talk and think about who the protectors are, because I think sometimes the way in which we talk about the services may appeal more to boys than to girls, and that’s important the way we talk about these things,” Wilson said. Women have a natural role in the U.S. military because they are mothers and protectors, she argued. “If I asked everyone in this room to think, just close your eyes for a second, and think about the most protective person in your life, someone who would do anything to keep you safe,” she told lawmakers. “Half the people in this room are thinking about their moms. We are the protectors; that’s what the military does. We serve to protect the rest of you, and that’s a very natural place for a woman to be.” GOING AFTER IRAN: Trump scolded Iran for causing an environmental disaster in a message wishing the people of the country a happy spring as they celebrate the Persian New Year called Nowruz. PETERS OUT: A Fox News contributor condemned the network with which he declined to renew his contract, saying he was “ashamed” to be a part of the “propaganda machine.” “Over my decade with Fox, I long was proud of the association. Now I am ashamed,” Ralph Peters wrote in an email to colleagues and obtained by BuzzFeed. STATE GOES FURTHER THAN WHITE HOUSE: Putin’s victory in Sunday’s presidential election is “no surprise” given international concerns about an unfair electoral process, according to the top State Department spokeswoman. Earlier, Sanders told White House reporters that it’s not up to the U.S. to comment on their elections. “Look, in terms of the election, we’re focused on our elections,” Sanders responded. “We don’t get to dictate how other countries operate. PROTECTING THE GRID: Energy Secretary Rick Perry told senators Tuesday a new cybersecurity office he plans to create will be sufficient to respond to Russia’s targeting of the U.S. power grid, as Democrats argued that action is not aggressive enough. THE RUNDOWN Task and Purpose: Why The Air Force Is Wrong To Freeze Its Engagement With The Media Defense One: Five Myths About Pentagon Weapons Programs Roll Call: Trump Touts Putin Get-Together as Senators Warn of Electoral Threat AFP: In Syria’s Ghouta, hard-hit but home again Business Insider: Trump showed off Saudi Arabia’s massive US military buys in giant charts — here’s everything that’s on them Defense News: Nuclear warhead manager seeks FY19 funding for new nuke designs Air Force Times: Boeing KC-46 delays are frustrating Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson Foreign Policy: ‘Fixing’ the Iran Nuke Deal Ahead of North Korea Talks Is a Terrible Idea Marine Corps Times: ‘US forces are needed here.’ After 15 years, fight in Iraq not over The Hill: Top general: Now not the ‘right’ time to create a space force Defense Tech: Raytheon’s Laser Dune Buggy Set to Fry Enemy Quadcopters Military.com: Active Supervolcano Could Someday Imperil US Bases near Naples New York Times: ‘At War,’ The Times’s Renegade Blog From the Front Lines, Returns Task and Purpose: Western Iraq Is Like The Bar From ‘Cheers,’ Marine Colonel Tells Reporters USNI News: SECNAV to Congress: Changes in Acquisition Will Mean More Money in Shipbuilding |
CalendarNOTE: Please check with event organizers, as some activities may be canceled due to weather WEDNESDAY | MARCH 21 6:45 a.m. 1250 South Hayes St. Special Topic Breakfast with Vice Adm. Charles Ray, Deputy Commandant for Operations, U.S. Coast Guard. navyleague.org 8 a.m. 2101 Wilson Blvd. Health Affairs Breakfast featuring Kenneth Bertram, Principal Assistant for Acquisition for the US Army Medical Research and Materiel Command. ndia.org 8 a.m. 1300 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. Directed Energy Summit 2018 with Nadia Schadlow, Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategy. csbaonline.org 9 a.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave. NW. Sen. Robert Menendez on Congressional Leadership in Foreign Policy. csis.org 10 a.m. Rayburn 2118. Hearing on State and Non-State Actor Influence Operations: Recommendations for U.S. National Security with retired Gen. Phillip Breedlove, Former Commander of U.S. European Command, and Michael Lumpkin, Former Assistant Secretary of Defense. armedservices.house.gov 10 a.m. Hart 216. Open Hearing on Election Security. intelligence.senate.gov 10:15 a.m. 1030 15th St. NW. Army Vision and Modernization Priorities with Secretary Mark Esper. atlanticcouncil.org 12 noon. Iran’s Ballistic Missiles: Capabilities, Intentions, and the Evolving Threat. defenddemocracy.org 1:30 p.m. 2425 Wilson Blvd. Discussion on the Close Combat Lethality Task Force with Robert Wilkie, undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness. ausa.org 2 p.m. Rayburn 2212. Subcommittee Hearing on Ground Force Modernization Budget Request for Fiscal Year 2019 with Lt. Gen. Paul Ostrowski, Military Deputy to the Assistant Secretary of the Army; Lt. Gen. John Murray, Army Deputy Chief of Staff; Lt. General Robert Walsh, Deputy Commandant; and Brig. Gen. Joe Shrader, Commanding General of Marine Corps Systems Command. armedservices.house.gov 2 p.m. Rayburn 2167. Subcommittee Hearing on U.S. Responses to China’s Foreign Influence Operations. foreignaffairs.house.gov 2 p.m. Rayburn 2172. Subcommittee Hearing on Implications of a U.S.-Saudi Arabia Nuclear Cooperation Agreement for the Middle East. foreignaffairs.house.gov 2:30 p.m. Russell 222. Subcommittee Hearing on Ballistic Missile Defense Policies and Programs with John Rood, Under Secretary Of Defense For Policy; Gen. Lori Robinson, Commander of U.S. Northern Command; Lt. Gen. Samuel Greaves, Director of the Missile Defense Agency; and Lt. Gen. James Dickinson, Commanding General of Army Space And Missile Defense Command. armed-services.senate.gov 2:30 p.m. Russell 232-A. Subcommittee Hearing on Navy Shipbuilding Programs James Geurts, Assistant Secretary of the Navy; Vice Adm. William Merz, Deputy Chief Of Naval Operations; and Brig. Gen. James Adams, Director of Marine Corps Capabilities Development Directorate. armed-services.senate.gov 3:30 p.m. Rayburn 2118. Subcommittee Hearing on Military Personnel Posture: FY 2019 with Lt. Gen. Thomas Seamands, Army Deputy Chief of Staff; Vice Adm. Robert Burke, Chief of Naval Personnel; Lt. Gen. Gina Grosso, Air Force Deputy Chief of Staff; and Lt. Gen. Michael Rocco, Marine Corps Deputy Commandant. armedservices.house.gov THURSDAY | MARCH 22 6:30 a.m. Institute of Land Warfare Breakfast Series with Lt. Gen. Timothy Kadavy, Director of the Army National Guard. ausa.org 8 a.m. Rayburn 2167. Aircraft Carrier Industrial Base Coalition Congressional breakfast with Reps. Rob Wittman, Joe Courtney, and others. 9 a.m. Rayburn 2118. Subcommittee Hearing on the Fiscal Year 2019 Budget Request for Nuclear Forces and Atomic Energy Defense Activities with John Rood, Under Secretary of Defense; Gen. Robin Rand, Commander of Air Force Global Strike Command; and Vice Adm. Terry Benedict, Director of Navy Strategic Systems Programs. armedservices.house.gov 10 a.m. Hart 216. Challenges in the Department of Energy’s Atomic Energy Defense Programs with Rick Perry, Secretary Of Energy. armed-services.senate.gov 10 a.m. 214 Massachusetts Ave. NE. Defending American Citizens: The Strategic Defense Initiative. heritage.org 10:30 a.m. Rayburn 2212. Subcommittee Hearing to Review Department of Defense Strategy, Policy, and Programs for Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction for Fiscal Year 2019 with Ken Rapuano, Assistant Secretary of Defense; Guy Roberts, Assistant Defense Secretary; and Lt. Gen. Joseph Osterman, Deputy Commander of U.S. Special Operations Command. armedservices.house.gov 12:30 p.m. 529 14th St. Release of “Testing Trilateral, U.S.-Japan, and U.S.-ROK Responses to North Korean Provocations: Tabletop Exercise Pacific Trident.” spfusa.org 3:30 p.m. 529 14th St. NW. Turkey’s July 15th coup book launch and discussion. press.org FRIDAY | MARCH 23 9 a.m. 214 Massachusetts Ave. NE. ISIS’ Genocide of Christians – A Step toward Its Caliphate: The Past, Present and Future of Christians in the Middle East. heritage.org 9:30 a.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave. NW. “Star Wars” and Cyber: Can history help us build today’s defenses? WIth a briefing by Army Capt. James Torrence on his award-winning essay “Cyber Defense and the Strategic Defense Initiative.” csis.org 10 a.m. 1775 Massachusetts Ave. NW. What’s next for the war(s) in Syria? brookings.edu MONDAY | MARCH 26 10:30 a.m. 1775 Massachusetts Ave. NW. The new geopolitics of Turkey and the West. brookings.edu 3:30 p.m. 1030 15th St. NW. Russian Influence in Moldova. atlanticcouncil.org TUESDAY | MARCH 27 11:30 a.m. 740 15th St. NW. Countering Violent Extremism: Learning from African-American Muslim Experiences. newamerica.org WEDNESDAY | MARCH 28 10 a.m. 1779 Massachusetts Ave. NW. Preventing Escalation in the Baltics: A NATO Playbook. carnegieendowment.org 1:30 p.m. 1616 Rhode Island Avenue, NW. Iraqi Public Opinion on the 2018 Parliamentary Elections. csis.org |
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