TRUMP IMPLORES CHINA TO ‘FIX’ NORTH KOREA: In Beijing today, President Trump tossed verbal bouquets to Chinese President Xi Jinping, who he called a “very special man,” and said he no longer blames China for what he called an “unfair and one-sided” trade relationship. “After all,” he said, “who can blame a country for being able to take advantage of another country for benefit of their citizens? I give China great credit.”
In remarks after a meeting between the two presidents, Trump gushed to Xi, “My feeling toward you is an incredibly warm one. As we said there’s great chemistry and I think we’re going to do tremendous things both for China and the United States. And it is a very, very great honor to be with you.”
The reason for the conciliatory tone: the U.S. believes China is the last best hope for pressuring North Korea’s Kim Jong Un to give up its nuclear weapons. “China can fix this problem quickly and easily,” Trump said at a signing ceremony with Xi. “I know one thing about your president. If he works on it hard, it’ll get done.”
Earlier in the week, Trump gave a speech to the South Korean National Assembly, which has drawn bipartisan plaudits for its measured tone and lack of inflammatory rhetoric. “In blunt terms, he urged North Korea to negotiate. He also demonstrated the necessary resolve to help stop North Korea from developing the capability to strike the American homeland,” said sometime Trump critic Sen. Lindsey Graham. “It was a clear, concise, and forceful message which has been missing for the last twenty-five years. Well done, Mr. President.”
THE REAL AUDIENCE: Trump’s words had no obvious effect on North Korea, which reacted with more invective aimed at the U.S. president, calling him a “warmonger” in its latest statements. But Trump’s tough talk is not aimed at Pyongyang, but at Beijing, says former CIA director and retired Gen. David Petraeus. “This is all about China, actually. And all of this rhetoric, all of the effort, all the communications have been to get China’s attention. And that’s why there’s been saber-rattling,” Petraeus said yesterday at an event sponsored by Bloomberg.
“It’s up to China,” Petraeus said. “Ninety percent of the trade to and from North Korea goes through China. The sanctions, if they’re implemented fully, will certainly reduce that. It will tighten down on the umbilical cord that literally keeps the lights on in Pyongyang.” China, he says, is facing a tricky balancing act, on the one hand not wanting North Korea to collapse and become unified with the south, but also not wanting an unstable nuclear neighbor. “This is challenging. They want to bring Kim Jong Un to his senses, but not to his knees.”
THE BIG NDAA REVEAL: In the end, negotiators on the House and Senate armed services committees settled on $634.2 billion in total base defense spending and $65.7 billion for overseas military operations in the National Defense Authorization Act, a budget cap-busting $700 billion policy bill that committee leaders said “will help reverse the dangerous readiness crisis that is endangering the lives of our men and women in uniform.” The NDAA deal struck by the Big Four of the armed services committees — Sens. John McCain and Jack Reed, and Reps. Mac Thornberry and Adam Smith — would give the military more ships, aircraft and troops than the $603 billion in base defense request by Trump. But it also defies an impending $549 billion budget cap for 2018, with no sure signs yet of a deal by Congress to raise the limit when the current budget measure expires Dec. 8.
The final NDAA policy bill must still be passed by both chambers of Congress. But its fate will be closely tied to the coming political fight to fund it, a fight that is likely to include Democrat demands for non-defense hikes and that could be swept up by debate over Trump’s tax reform push. “It is the height of craven politics and irresponsibility to, on the one hand, complain about an inadequate defense budget, while on the other hand pushing a $1.7 trillion tax cut,” Smith, the ranking House Armed Services member, said in a statement released separately from McCain, Thornberry and Reed, and in what could be a preview of the debate ahead.
AIRCRAFT, SHIPS, TROOPS: The bill aims for bigger fleets and wider ranks. On the air power side, the military services would get 90 Lockheed Martin F-35 joint strike fighters, versus the 70 in the president’s requested budget, and 24 Boeing F/A-18 Super Hornets, which is an increase of 10. It also authorizes 14 new ships to be built for $26 billion, which is five more ships than Trump requested. The conference committee ultimately sided with the House proposal to spend $1.5 billion on three littoral combat ships, which are made by Lockheed Martin and Austal USA, rather than just two as the administration and Senate proposed. “Securing the authorization for three more littoral combat ships is a big win for southwest Alabama and the thousands of people who work at the Austal shipyard in Mobile,” said Rep. Bradley Byrne, who sits on the Armed Services seapower subcommittee.
All the services would see a boost in current troop numbers. The Army could get 7,500 more active-duty soldiers as well as 500 more in the National Guard and 500 in the reserve. The Trump administration planned zero growth in the Army ranks for 2018. The Air Force would see an increase of 5,800 airmen, mostly in the active-duty force. The Navy would get 5,000 more sailors, and the Marine Corps would see an increase of 1,000 Marines. Check out our full rundown of what did and did not make it into the 2018 NDAA here.
SPACE CORPS: A big question leading up to the NDAA reveal Wednesday was whether it would include the controversial House plan to create a new Space Corps military service in the Department of the Air Force. The Air Force itself deeply disliked the idea and Congress was split. The NDAA conference committee mostly nixed the idea in favor of a package of reforms that reshape how the Air Force handles space. Despite the outcome, the creators of the Space Corps proposal, Reps. Mike Rogers and Jim Cooper, said they were pleased and called it a step toward “fundamentally changing and improving” national security space programs. The NDAA gives Air Force Space Command full authority over space operations and eliminates the service’s principal defense space adviser, the Defense Space Council and the deputy chief of staff for space operations.
But any reports of Space Corps’ death may be exaggerated. The Pentagon would be required to hire an outside research corporation to look into how a separate space service could be created in the future, just in case such a report may be needed down the road. “This is just the first step. We will not allow the United States national security space enterprise to continue to drift towards a Space Pearl Harbor,” Rogers and Cooper said in the joint statement.
Good Thursday 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.
HAPPENING TODAY: Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson and Chief of Staff Gen. David Goldfein are scheduled to take reporters’ questions on state of the Air Force at 3 p.m. in the Pentagon Briefing Room.
Meanwhile, the Air Force Vice Chief Gen. Stephen Wilson discusses “The Next Air Force for the New Era” at 7:30 a.m. as Defense One hold its 5th annual defense policy summit downtown. The day-long event will be livestreamed and a recorded version posted online afterward.
Among the panelists are Rep. Elise Stefanik, Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, Brig. Gen. Gregory Bowen, J3 deputy director of global operations at U.S. Strategic Command, and Matthijs Broer, chief technology officer, Directorate of Science & Technology, Central Intelligence Agency. You can see the full agenda here.
SASC HEARS NOMINEES: The Senate Armed Services Committee continues with its stepped-up hearing schedule for Trump’s Pentagon nominees at 10 a.m. McCain and his committee will be considering Robert McMahon to be assistant secretary of defense for logistics and materiel readiness; R.D. James to be assistant secretary of the Army for civil works; Bruce Jette to be assistant secretary of the Army for acquisition, logistics and technology; and Shon Manasco to be assistant secretary of the Air Force for manpower and reserve affairs.
CLOSING THE LOOPHOLE: It now appears a major reason the Air Force did not report the Texas church gunman’s conviction for domestic violence is that under the military law, there is no separate charge for domestic assault or abuse. “The military courts simply don’t always list or categorize domestic assault, they simply have assault,” Republican Sen. Jeff Flake said on CNN yesterday. “The problem is if you just have a category for assault, that could be anything from a bar fight to something far, far more serious like domestic assault.”
Flake and Democrat Martin Heinrich have introduced the “Domestic Violence Loophole Closure Act” which aims to correct the problem by directing the Pentagon to determine when an offense of assault qualifies as offense of domestic violence “against a spouse, domestic partner, or dependent child under State law.” Flake cited an FBI report that shows the military reported nearly 11,000 cases of dishonorable discharges, buy only one case of domestic violence.
Flake says while some lawmakers think directing the Pentagon to fix the problem is enough, he believes the Uniform Code of Military Justice needs to be amended. “I think we need to clarify the statute. Some people will say, no, all we need to do is direct the Pentagon to better enforce it. I do think there is certainly going to be direction to the Pentagon. The question is, do we clarify the statute? I think that we need to,” Flake said.
EXAMINING TRUMP’S NUCLEAR TRIGGER FINGER: Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Sen. Bob Corker plans to hold a hearing next week on the president’s “universal authority” to use nuclear weapons. Corker has engaged in several public spats with Trump and has questioned his maturity, at one point calling the White House an “adult day care center” lacking a minder. He has also described Trump as unstable and incompetent.
Corker, who is not running for re-election, said the hearing is part of the Senate’s broader examination of war powers. “A number of members both on and off our committee have raised questions about the authorities of the legislative and executive branches with respect to war making, the use of nuclear weapons, and conducting foreign policy overall,” Corker said in a statement. “This continues a series of hearings to examine those issues and will be the first time since 1976 that this committee or our House counterparts have looked specifically at the authority and process for using U.S. nuclear weapons. This discussion is long overdue, and we look forward to examining this critical issue.”
DHS CONFIRMATION HEARING: Trump’s nominee to lead the Department of Homeland Security, Kirstjen Nielsen, testified Wednesday that cyber attacks are the greatest threat to U.S. national security, and would be the organization’s primary focus if she were confirmed to lead the department.
“Each aspect of the department’s mission is important and as has been mentioned, there are many,” Nielsen told the Senate Homeland Security Committee Wednesday morning. “I believe one of the most significant for our nation’s future is cybersecurity and the overall security and resilience of our nation’s critical infrastructure.”
Nielsen, who worked under former DHS Secretary John Kelly before he moved to the White House, said the “scope and pace” of cyber attacks against the U.S. government is increasing both in the number and complexity of the incidents. But she told the senators her background in national security, defense and cyber issues has prepared her to deal with the 21st Century challenge.
AS PROMISED, COMING TO THE WATERS OFF KOREA: Three U.S. aircraft carrier strike groups will conduct a massive exercise in the Western Pacific starting this weekend, smack in the middle of Trump’s two-week trip to five Asian countries.
The Navy has announced the ships of the USS Ronald Reagan, USS Nimitz, and USS Theodore Roosevelt carrier strike groups will participate in the exercise from Saturday to Tuesday. “It is a rare opportunity to train with two aircraft carriers together, and even rarer to be able to train with three,” Adm. Scott Swift, head of U.S. Pacific Fleet, said in a statement.
The strike force is planning to participate in air defense drills, sea surveillance, replenishments at sea, defensive air combat training, and close-in coordinated maneuvers, among other training exercises. The Navy says it’s the first time that three carrier strike groups have operated together in the Western Pacific since exercises Valiant Shield 2006 and 2007 off the coast of Guam.
NIGER PROBE TO TAKE MONTHS: The Army has notified the family members of the four U.S. soldiers killed in the ambush last month in Niger that the investigation of the incident will likely not conclude until early next year. Maj. Gen. Roger Cloutier, U.S. Africa Command’s chief of staff, is spearheading the investigation team, which will be traveling to areas in the U.S., Africa, and Europe to gather information, according to a statement from the Pentagon on Wednesday. Although the investigation is anticipated to conclude by January 2018, families were told they would will be notified if it’s going to take longer.
RACIAL HOAX: One of the supposed victims of racist messages scrawled at the Air Force Academy Preparatory School was actually the author of the messages, an investigation by the Air Force Office of Special Investigations has determined.
The incident in late September, in which five black cadet candidates found slurs written on the message boards of their dorm room doors, drew national attention, especially after Lt. Gen. Jay Silveria addressed cadets and cadet candidates at the Colorado Springs Campus, saying, “If you can’t treat someone with dignity and respect, then get out.”
A mother of one of the cadet candidates at the time posted on social media that her son had found the message, “go home n—-r” on his dorm door. “We can confirm that one of the cadet candidates who was allegedly targeted by racist remarks written outside of their dorm room was actually responsible for the act,” academy spokesman Lt. Col. Allen Herritage said. “The individual admitted responsibility and this was validated by the investigation.”
IRAN’S WARNING: Saudi Arabia should strengthen ties with Iran rather than befriend Israel and maintain an alliance with the United States, Iran’s president said yesterday. “You are mistaken if you think Iran is not your friend, but the US and Israel are,” said Hassan Rouhani according to state-run media. “This mentality is a strategic mistake and miscalculation.”
Iran and Saudi Arabia are traditional rivals in the Middle East, bulwarks of the two leading sects of Islam with competing geopolitical interests. The risk of direct conflict has risen in recent years, as the Iranians pursued nuclear weapons and propped up Syrian President Bashar Assad, while the Saudi Arabians are leading a campaign to defeat an Iran-linked insurgency in Yemen.
NEW FACES AT DoD: The Pentagon has announced the following Senior Executive Service appointments that do not require Senate confirmation:
- Veronica Blount Daigle, principal deputy assistant secretary of defense for readiness.
- Ryan Fisher, principal deputy assistant secretary of the Army for civil works.
- Justin Johnson, special assistant to the deputy secretary of defense.
- Charlie Summers, principal deputy assistant to the secretary of defense for public affairs.
- Steven Walker, director of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).
- Jeffrey White, principal deputy assistant secretary of the Army for acquisition, logistics and technology.
You can read their brief bios here.
GORKA TO FOX: Former Trump aide Sebastian Gorka has joined Fox News as a national security strategist, months after he was ousted from the White House in a shakeup that saw several other departures.
Gorka serves a chief strategist for the MAGA Coalition, a pro-Trump outside group that plans to target Democratic “obstructionists” in next year’s midterm elections. He took the position shortly after leaving the West Wing, where he served as a national security adviser and worked closely with former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon. Gorka tells the Washington Examiner that he signed a contract with the cable news giant Tuesday.
TRUMP DEFIES TWITTER BAN: Twitter, Facebook and other social media are banned in China. But that didn’t stop the tweeter-in-chief from sending a Twitter thank you to China’s president. “President Xi, thank you for such an incredible welcome ceremony. It was a truly memorable and impressive display!” Trump tweeted this morning. It’s not known if he sent the tweet from a personal device, a secure computer link, or dictated it to someone back home who tweeted it on his behalf.
“The president will tweet whenever he wants. That’s his way of communicating directly with the American people,” an administration official told reporters on Air Force One. “I’m sure we’ve got the gear aboard this airplane to allow that to happen.”
THE RUNDOWN
AP: US could have almost 16,000 troops in Afghanistan next year
DoD Buzz: Lawmakers back $400 million for possible A-10 successor
Wall Street Journal: Informant sheds light on capture of Benghazi attack’s alleged plotter
Washington Post: NATO Defense Ministers Agree To Expand Operations, Adjust Alliance’s Focus
Observer: Pentagon Sounds Alarm on Budget Crisis, but No One Is Listening
Military Times: Military services dodge questions about 29-year-old crime reporting law
USA Today: As terrorist threat grows in West Africa, expect U.S. presence to grow
War on the Rocks: Something’s wrong in the surface fleet and we aren’t talking about it
New York Times: Iran’s president defends Yemeni rebel attack on Saudi capital
UPI: Lockheed test pilot reaches 100 hours in proposed 5th generation trainer
Foreign Policy: The next phase in the war on terror is here
USNI News: Fleet Forces making investments in training, equipment upgrades following collision review
Defense News: Fundamental changes afoot at major commands as US Army sets up modernization outfit
Calendar
THURSDAY | NOV. 9
7 a.m. 901 Massachusetts Ave. NW. The 5th Annual Defense One Summit with Gen. Stephen Wilson, Air Force vice chief of staff; Rep. Elise Stefanik; and former Ambassador Wendy Sherman. defenseone.com
8 a.m. 5151 Pooks Hill Rd. The 4th annual ISR & C2 Battle Management U.S. conference. isrusa.iqpc.com
8 a.m. 2401 M St. N.W. Defense Writers Group breakfast with Sen. James Inhofe. centermediasecurity.org
10 a.m. Dirksen G-50. Nominations hearing for Robert McMahon to be assistant secretary of defense for logistics and materiel readiness; R.D. James to be assistant secretary of the Army for civil works; Bruce Jette to be assistant secretary of the Army for acquisition, logistics and technology; and Shon Manasco to be assistant secretary of the Air Force for manpower and reserve affairs. armed-services.senate.gov
10 a.m. 1775 Massachusetts Ave. N.W. Turkey, Europe and the U.S.: New challenges and changing dynamics. brookings.edu
10:30 a.m. Rayburn 2212. Lt. Gen. Chris Nowland, deputy Air Force chief of staff for operations; Vice Adm. Mike Shoemaker, Naval Air Forces commander; Lt. Gen. Steven Rudder, deputy Marine Corps commandant for aviation; and Maj. Gen. William Gayler, commander of the Army Aviation Center of Excellence testify on aviation readiness. armedservices.house.gov
12 p.m. 1201 Pennsylvania Ave. Mounting challenges to U.S. naval power: A book discussion with “Seablindness” author Seth Cropsey and Rep. Mike Gallagher. hudson.org
2 p.m. 1789 Massachusetts Ave. NW. Japanese internationalism in an era of upheaval. aei.org
MONDAY | NOV. 13
10 a.m. 1775 Massachusetts Ave. NW. Is there really a military readiness crisis in the United States? brookings.edu
1 p.m. Preparing military leadership for the future with Rear Adm. Jeffrey Harley, president of the U.S. Naval War College; Brig. Gen. William Bowers, president of the Marine Corps University; Maj. Gen. John Kem, commandant of the U.S. Army War College; and Vice Adm. Frederick Roegge, president of the National Defense University. csis.org
4 p.m. 1300 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. A historical discussion about “When the World Seemed New: George H.W. Bush and the End of the Cold War” with author Jeffrey Engel. wilsoncenter.org
TUESDAY | NOV. 14
8 a.m. 2101 Wilson Blvd. Robotics division quarterly meeting. ndia.org
8 a.m. 45425 Holiday Dr. Navy League board of directors meeting. navyleague.org
11 a.m. 214 Massachusetts Ave. NE. Winter is coming: Russia, the Baltic states and U.S. policy in Europe. heritage.org
2 p.m Sustaining U.S. leadership against nuclear terrorism and proliferation: A conversation with Christopher Ford, special assistant to the president and senior director for weapons of mass destruction and counterproliferation. hudson.org
2:30 p.m. Dirksen 419. American leadership in the Asia-Pacific, part 4: View from Beijing. foreign.senate.gov
WEDNESDAY | NOV. 15
7:30 a.m. 300 First St. SE. Breakfast series with Gen. Darren McDew, commander of U.S. Transportation Command. mitchellaerospacepower.org
8 a.m. 45425 Holiday Dr. Navy League board of directors meeting. navyleague.org
9 a.m. 1201 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. Kleptocratic regimes and national security: A pervasive threat and how it can be neutralized. hudson.org
10 a.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave. NW. Prospects and challenges of building the 350-ship Navy with three former service secretaries. csis.org
2 p.m. Dirksen 419. Attacks on U.S. diplomats in Cuba: Response and oversight. foreign.senate.gov
4 p.m. 1030 15th St. NW. Book discussion of “Russia’s Border Wars and Frozen Conflicts.” atlanticcouncil.org
THURSDAY | NOV. 16
8:30 a.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave. NW. Sixth Annual Transatlantic Forum on Russia. csis.org
9:30 a.m. 1775 Massachusetts Ave. NW. Strengthening military readiness: The role of military families in 21st century defense with Anthony Kurta, performing the duties of under secretary of defense for personnel and readiness. brookings.edu
5 p.m. 1957 E St. NW. Opportunities and challenges of a complex future: NATO ACT report launch with Gen. Denis Mercier, NATO supreme allied commander for transformation. atlanticcouncil.org
