I CAN SEE THOSE FIGHTER PLANES: U2 lead singer Bono testifies this morning at a hearing on violent extremism and the role of foreign assistance hosted by the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations and Related Programs.
Bono, who is a founder of ONE, a group to end poverty, and RED, a charity to end AIDS, was scheduled to appear alongside Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken, retired Marine Gen. James Jones, and Kelly Clements, who works for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
It’s far from the rock star’s first appearance on Capitol Hill. He’s made several visits to lobby lawmakers, including in 2009 where he met with then-House Speaker John Boehner to promote relief efforts in struggling countries.
Also happening today: Navy Secretary Ray Mabus talks to Marines about his expectations for integrating women into combat positions at Camp Pendleton, Calif. The town hall follows previews visits to Camp Lejeune and Quantico on the same subject.
Good Tuesday morning and welcome to Daily on Defense, compiled by Jamie McIntyre (@jamiejmcintyre) and Jacqueline Klimas (@jacqklimas). Send tips, suggestions and anything else [email protected].
FOLLOW THE MONEY: Rep. Robert Pittenger just got home from leading a congressional delegation to Latin America to look at how terrorist groups are being financed and their growing links to drug lords.
After more than two dozen meetings during his trip to Colombia, Panama, Paraguay and Argentina, Pittenger saw that partners in South America lack the training and technical capabilities to be effective in shutting down funding streams for terrorist groups in the region.
“We must work with them through our government agencies and the private sector to enhance support systems to identify and cut off the flow of money used to finance acts of evil,” he said.
CYBERSPACE RACE: Leaders of the Senate Armed Services Committee told us they will turn their attention to improving the country’s cyberspace capabilities once they finish with the annual defense policy bill.
Sen. John McCain, leader of the committee, said the Pentagon must prioritize spending on cybersecurity advances, which accounts for nearly $7 billion of Obama’s fiscal 2017 budget request. Otherwise, “we’re headed down the path to a hollow cyberforce,” McCain said.
INNOVATION OVERSEAS: Defense Secretary Ash Carter’s focus on technology extends beyond the borders of the U.S. He told press traveling with him in India on Monday, the second day of his two-week Pacific trip, that he expected to make progress in signing several agreements with the Indian government to allow for more information-sharing between the two countries through the Defense Trade and Technology Initiative.
“There’s much we can do without the agreements, but there is much more that we can do with the agreements … stay tuned for tomorrow,” he said.
One example of technology that could be shared between the two countries? The catapult system used to launch planes off U.S. aircraft carriers.
Carter saw more than just ships during his visit in Goa, one of India’s innovation hubs. Asked by Indian press about his impressions: “It’s very beautiful. It’s been, if I may say so, it’s by international reputation, very well governed. The green aspects are very attractive. The way the beaches are kept.”
The defense secretary also coined troops after an event in Goa: “I gather they do fetch a little something on eBay. Probably at an ever decreasing price, but there you go.”
SPY GAMES: Lt. Cmdr. Edward Lin, the Navy officer charged with espionage, worked in Special Projects Patrol Project 2, an elite reconnaissance unit whose operations are “shrouded in secrecy,” Navy Times reported.
The squadron is made up of the top 25 percent of maritime patrol officers, who all undergo special screening.
Lin, who was born in Taiwan, allegedly gave military secrets to a Chinese girlfriend, according to the New York Times. He has already been charged with espionage, attempted espionage and communicating defense information. But there’s more: he’s also in trouble for allegedly visiting a prostitute, and the Navy is considering charges for prostitution, adultery and not disclosing foreign travel.
Prior to his arrest, the Navy held Lin up as the poster boy of what immigrants could achieve in the American military. At his naturalization ceremony in 2008, Lin, who came to the U.S. as a teenager, said “I grew up believing that all the roads in America lead to Disneyland.”
GRAY-HULL POLITICS: Navy Secretary Ray Mabus defended the size of the Navy on Monday from GOP attacks on the campaign trail that have characterized the military more broadly as weak, shrinking and “a disaster.”
“The Navy’s current number of ships is often bandied about as political semantics, doing a disservice to our sailors, Marines, shipbuilders, industry and to America,” Mabus said in prepared remarks at a ship naming ceremony in Detroit. “These statements embolden our potential adversaries, undermine the confidence of our allies, and frankly, they are completely wrong.”
During the speech, Mabus also heaped praise on former Sen. Carl Levin, who the next destroyer was named for, saying that the Michigan Democrat is a “hero,” “workhorse” and “attack dog.”
The Pentagon’s former personnel chief on Monday stressed that it wasn’t McCain who caused him to resign his post, which he officially left on Friday.
Brad Carson said that he stepped down because he was “tired” and largely done with the implementation for the early Force of the Future reforms, not because of a particularly bruising Senate confirmation hearing in which McCain called his effort “an outrageous waste of time.”
Still, he said he hoped the Force of the Future reforms to recruit and retain better troops move forward without him and get more support on Capitol Hill.
“There’s acrimony against the administration from certain people, there’s acrimony against the department … you become the person who gets targeted for that,” he said. “But no, in no way do I think the politics of this are in a bad way.”
RELIGIOUS FREEDOM IN THE RANKS: The Army on Monday granted three more Sikhs a religious exemption to be allowed to wear the turban and beard required by their religion while in the military, according to a release from the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, which is representing the soldiers.
The exemptions, however, are not permanent and can be revoked at any time, so the soldiers are continuing their lawsuit seeking permanent exemptions.
GET SOME! If you’re having trouble waking up this morning, load this video and crank up the speakers. You’ll be treated to Marines with Fox Company, 2nd Battalion, 14th Marines, firing the M142 High Mobility Rocket Artillery System, made by Lockheed Martin. The Marines launched the rockets during Exercise Balikatan on April 4 in the Philippines.
Bold
NEW NORMAL? Boeing reportedly is meeting with Iran to talk aircraft sales in what would be the most high profile business transaction between the two countries since sanctions were lifted this year and signal a return to normal relations between the two countries.
The Wall Street Journal writes that the preliminary meeting in Tehran included “the capabilities of its commercial passenger airplanes and aftermarket services with Iranian airlines approved by the U.S. government.”
Just keep Donald Trump out of the room. The GOP front-runner says he has the answer to Iran’s shenanigans … sell them bad missiles! During a speech in Rochester, New York, this weekend, Trump said the U.S. should cash in on the unfrozen assets as part of the Iran deal and remove the prohibition from selling them missiles.
“We’ll sell them missiles that don’t work correctly. Right? Let them sue us,” Trump said during the rally, according to a transcript posted by a CBS reporter. “Oh, I’m sorry they don’t work. Gee that’s too bad. We’ll take in about $12 billion for missiles and they’ll say these missiles are terrible. And I’ll say, ‘Yup, that was the purpose of it.'”
Roger Zakheim, a visiting fellow with the American Enterprise Institute, didn’t mince words when we talked to him about Trump’s idea. “It’s another example in a series of gimmicky policy proposals that are deceptively attractive to the populous, but once you go ahead and pierce that veil, and all you need is a pin prick, you see how wanting it is,” Zakheim said.
MOVE OVER MATTIS: The Washington Post is out with a list of other former top military leaders who could ride in to rescue the GOP. Besides retired Gen. Jim Mattis, David Ignatius floats retired Gens. Stan McChrystal and David Petraeus, retired Adm. Mike Mullen and former Rep. Mike Rogers.
On Twitter, user @pptsapper’s hot take was positively molten: “Call me when they’ve won a war.”
THE RUNDOWN
Defense News: Interview: John Sopko, Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction
Politico: Arms makers take on Pentagon’s cost cop
Air Force Times: Air Force sets retirement date for top officer
Defense News: Watchdog: Challenges Ahead For Boeing’s KC-46 Tanker
Wall Street Journal: Two new suspects charged in connection with Brussels attacks
Air Force Times: F-22 Raptors are back in Europe
Bloomberg: Obama’s biggest mistake isn’t Libya. It’s Syria.
Associated Press: Navy flyer describes spotting island castaways
Washington Examiner: Wounded Warriors name temporary CEO
Calendar
WEEK AHEAD
TUESDAY | APRIL 12
8 a.m. 1250 S. Hayes St., Arlington, Va.
Vice Adm. Joseph Rixey, the director of the Defense Security Cooperation Agency, will speak at a Navy League breakfast event.
navyleague.org
9 a.m. 1030 15th St. NW
Dennis McGinn, the assistant secretary of the Navy for energy, installations and environment, speaks about energy innovation in the defense sector.
atlanticcouncil.org
10 a.m. Dirksen 419
Think tank experts testify at the Senate Foreign Relations Committee about the spread of the Islamic State and transnational terrorism.
foreign.senate.gov
2:30 p.m. Russell 222
Leaders of the military’s innovation programs will testify on the Pentagon’s technology offsets initiative.
armed-services.senate.gov
2:30 p.m. Dirksen 192
Bono, the lead singer of U2 and cofounder of (RED), will testify at a Senate hearing on violent extremism and foreign assistance.
appropriations.senate.gov
WEDNESDAY | APRIL 13
9:30 a.m. 1127 Connecticut Ave. NW
The Foundation for Defense of Democracies hosts a day-long conference featuring remarks by retired Gen. Ray Odierno.
fddwashingtonforum.org
10:15 a.m. Dirksen 124
The Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Military Construction, Veterans Affairs and Related Agencies meets to markup the fiscal 2017 appropriations bill.
appropriations.senate.gov
10:30 a.m. Dirksen 192
Vice Adm. James Syring, the director of the Missile Defense Agency, will testify on the fiscal 2017 budget request for missile defense.
appropriations.senate.gov
11:30 a.m. Rayburn 2172
State Department and U.S. Agency for International Development officials testify on the fiscal 2017 budget request for the Middle East and North Africa.
foreignaffairs.house.gov
Noon, 1000 Massachusetts Ave. NW
The Cato Institute hosts an event for the release of a new book, “America’s War for the Greater Middle East: A Military History.”
cato.org
2 p.m. Russell 232A
Marine Corps officials testify on the service’s ground modernization budget.
armed-services.senate.gov
2 p.m. Rayburn 2172
State Department officials testify about countering extremist and the threat of the Islamic State in Southeast Asia.
foreignaffairs.house.gov
2:30 p.m. Russell 222
Defense officials appear before the Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Strategic Forces to discuss ballistic missile defense policies and programs.
armed-services.senate.gov
3:30 p.m. Rayburn 2118
Former Navy officials will provide an independent assessment of Navy force structure.
armedservices.house.gov
6:30 p.m. 1150 17th St. NW
A group of analysts and former officials will discuss American leadership and tomorrow’s foreign policy leaders.
aei.org
THURSDAY | APRIL 14
9 a.m. Hart 216
The defense ministers of Lithuania and Latvia discuss how to defend Europe’s eastern flank.
atlanticcouncil.org
9:30 a.m. 214 Massachusetts Ave. NE
The Heritage Foundation hosts an event on emerging threats to Turkish and NATO security.
heritage.org
10 a.m. Capitol H-140
Adm. Harry Harris, commander of U.S. Pacific Command, testifies at an oversight hearing on America’s role in the Pacific.
appropriations.house.gov
12:30 p.m. 1211 Connecticut Ave. NW
Rep. Ed Royce, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, speaks at a lunch event at Stimson.
stimson.org
2 p.m. Rayburn 2118
Brian McKeon and other military officials testify on the fiscal 2017 budget request for missile defense.
armedservices.house.gov
2 p.m. Rayburn 2154
The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform hosts a hearing on how to connect veterans suffering from post traumatic stress disorder with service dogs.
oversight.house.gov
4 p.m. 1030 15th St. NW
The Atlantic Council hosts an event on cyber war in Ukraine.
atlanticcouncil.org
FRIDAY | APRIL 15
8:45 a.m. 1307 L St. NW
Adam Szubin, the acting undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence at the Treasury Department, delivers the keynote address at an event on U.S. sanctions and national security.
cnas.org
9 a.m. Rayburn 2212
John Sopko, the special inspector general for Afghanistan reconstruction, testifies about the Defense Department investment in rebuilding the country.
armedservices.house.gov
MONDAY | APRIL 18
5 p.m. 1300 Pennsylvania Ave. NW
The National Defense Industrial Association begins its annual three-day national logistics forum.
ndia.org
TUESDAY | APRIL 19
4:30 p.m. 1030 15th St. NW
The Atlantic Council hosts an event on the future of defense innovation in Silicon Valley.
atlanticcouncil.org
