WHEELS UP: Defense Secretary Ash Carter is shipping up to Boston this morning, where he’ll continue his push for more innovation and talk about what the East Coast hub of the Defense Innovation Unit Experimental has been up to since it stood up in May. Carter also said he’ll announce some next steps for the Defense Innovation Board, which advises the Pentagon on things like rapid prototyping, cloud computing and partnering with non-traditional companies.
“We have to fish in more ponds, new ponds and ponds we haven’t been in for quite a while,” Carter said during a press conference on Monday.
While in Boston, Carter will also meet with recruiters to talk with them about challenges they face trying to bring the best and brightest into the military. Carter’s three-day trip continues with visits to Fort Bragg in North Carolina and the Navy’s boot camp in Illinois.
ANOTHER ATTACK IN FRANCE: A priest has been killed and another seriously wounded in northern France after two men entered a church, took hostages and then were shot by police, the Wall Street Journal reported. Investigators are treating it like a terror attack.
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OH THOSE RUSSIANS: The hack and subsequent leak of Democratic National Committee emails, and their fallout, thoroughly knocked the first day of the Democratic National Convention off balance. It confirmed Bernie Sanders’ supporters worst fears about the party leadership’s preference for Hillary Clinton, and forced the resignation of DNC chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz. It also lit a fire under protesters who already felt the system was rigged, who took to the streets and chanted through several of the prime time speeches last night. Sanders called for unity while comedian Sarah Silverman told supporters that while she herself has felt the Bern, the protesters were “being ridiculous.”
Off the main stage, speculation that Moscow was somehow behind the hack whipped through national security circles Monday, and it only intensified when the FBI announced it was investigating the theft.
But before the probe was announced, former NSA contractor and current Russian resident Edward Snowden tweeted out his belief that if the U.S. believes Russia was behind the hack, it should already have the proof, Rudy Takala writes. “Even if the attackers try to obfuscate origin, #XKEYSCORE makes following exfiltrated data easy. I did this personally against Chinese ops,” Snowden said.
Rep. Adam Schiff had no doubt that Russia was behind it after he got his intel brief. Writes Takala: “[It] would not be the first time cyber intrusions linked to the Kremlin and its supporters have sought to influence the political process in other countries,” Schiff said in the statement. “Given Donald Trump’s well known admiration for Putin and his belittling of NATO, the Russians have both the means and the motive to engage in a hack of the DNC and the dump of its emails prior to the Democratic convention.”
Retired Gen. Wesley Clark likewise said Putin did it because he wants Trump to be president, Joel Gehrke writes. “Here’s what Putin probably wants longer term: the break-up of NATO, the pullback of the EU, takeover of Ukraine, dominance over Georgia, re-establishment of Russian control over Eastern Europe and greater Russian influence worldwide,” Clark said in a statement for VoteVets, a Democratic-leaning veterans group.
At the State Department, spokesman John Kirby said he would let the FBI do its job before commenting. The answer was similar at the Pentagon, where Carter said he would defer to the FBI. At that same briefing, Carter and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Joe Dunford talked about the possible intel-sharing deal with the Russians, saying their transaction wouldn’t be based on trust, but shared interests.
And WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange said there’s no proof that the Russians stole the information, and claims that they did are being fabricated by the Clinton campaign, Anna Giaritelli writes.
Trump himself called his purported alliance with Putin “one of the weirdest conspiracy theories” he had heard at a rally last night. Reuters reported, however, that he would consider an alliance with Russia to fight ISIS. “When you think about it, wouldn’t it be nice if we got along with Russia?” Trump said. “Wouldn’t it be nice if we got together with Russia and knocked the hell out of ISIS?”
A RUSSIAN DEAL IN AUGUST? Kerry told reporters that despite the Carter’s and Dunford’s misgivings about an intel-sharing deal with Russia, he hoped to have something to announce in a week to 10 days, the Associated Press reported. “My hope would be that somewhere in early August – the first week or so, somewhere in there – we would be in a position to be able stand up in front of you and tell you what we’re able to do with the hopes that it can make a difference to the lives of people in Syria and to the course of the war,” he said.
NATSEC AT THE DNC: Some national security heavy hitters are expected to speak later this week at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia. On Wednesday, watch for former Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, who served in the Pentagon’s top post while Hillary Clinton was secretary of state, and retired Rear Adm. John Hutson, who previously served as the Navy’s top lawyer.
On the final day of the convention, retired Marine Gen. John Allen, the former leader of U.S. and coalition troops in Afghanistan as well as Obama’s first special envoy in the ISIS fight, will speak in support of Clinton. Allen, by the way, endorsed Clinton yesterday, saying he had “no doubt that she is the leader we need at this time to keep our country safe, and I trust her with that most sacred responsibility of commander in chief.”
KAINE VS. OBAMA: Clinton’s pick for vice president, Sen. Tim Kaine, also has extensive foreign policy experience as a member of the Senate Armed Services and Foreign Relations Committees. Read about his stances on some issues he could face as veep here, including where he differs from the Obama administration.
THORNBERRY IN AFGHANISTAN: Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee Rep. Mac Thornberry talked with reporters on Monday about his trip last week to the Middle East, where he saw first hand the readiness issues and challenges facing American forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. He cautioned that while local and U.S. forces are making progress on the ground against ISIS, even eliminating the caliphate will not get rid of the threat the group poses, as evidenced by the recent string of attacks against the West.
He also said troops are wrestling now with how they can cut about 1,400 troops in Afghanistan to meet the president’s revised troop cap of about 8,400 by the end of this year. Instead of actually cutting any missions, Thornberry said troops are looking at moving support personnel outside of Afghanistan or relying on contractors.
DID NOT/DID TOO: The Islamic State claimed that it had shot down an American military plane and killed its aircrew, but the Pentagon on Monday said they hadn’t. Contradicting a report on Twitter from the Islamic State’s news outlet, Pentagon spokesman Capt. Jeff Davis said all coalition aircraft are accounted for, David Wilkes reports.
ALL ARE WELCOME: White House press secretary Josh Earnest on Monday said that President Obama is standing by his pledge to ramp up the admission of Syrian refugees to America, even after refugees from Islamic countries carried out three different attacks in Germany over the past week. Obama wants to admit 10,000 Syrian refugees to the U.S. by this October, Susan Crabtree reports.
“The president feels like the U.S. has a responsibility to do our part to try to provide relief for people fleeing that type of violence,” Earnest said.
SUPER HORNET CONVERSION: The Pentagon announced yesterday that Boeing received a $12 million contract for “non-recurring design and development engineering for an engineering change proposal” to convert F/A-18 Super Hornets for the Blue Angels, which flies other Hornets.
COOL TIME-LAPSE: Check out this video of the aircraft carrier Ronald Reagan sailing in the South China Sea.
THE RUNDOWN
Breaking Defense: A-10, Then A-11 And A-12? Air Force Ponders CAS Future
Military.com: Air Force Describes Jets’ Role in New War
USNI News: Marine Corps F-35B Makes its Red Flag Air Combat Debut
Fox News: Tech company accuses US Navy of software piracy, seeks $596 million damages
UPI: Raytheon developing next-gen airborne communications
CNN: U.S. Navy’s new $13B aircraft carrier can’t fight
UPI: Huntington Ingalls gets $194 million contract modification for carrier overhaul
Defense News: Q&A: Air Force Gen. Frank Gorenc on Shifting Europe Priorities
Breaking Defense: NATO Not Ready As Russian Sub Threat Rises: CSIS
Wall Street Journal: ISIS Suicide Bombing Sets Germany on Edge
Associated Press: IS attacker: Germans ‘won’t be able to sleep peacefully’
Wall Street Journal: Over 100 Chinese Fighters Have Joined Islamic State in Syria
New York Times: As ISIS Loosens Grip, U.S. and Iraq Prepare for Grinding Insurgency
Wall Street Journal: U.N. Says Afghan Civilian Casualties Near Record High
Defense One: Trump’s NATO-Rattling Interview Has Delayed a Key Evolution in US Nuclear Posture
Defense News: White House Mulls Big Nuclear Policy Changes, and Lawmakers Speak Up
Military Times: Congressional committee seeks Baton Rouge gunman’s VA records
Defense News: US Presidential Helo Moves to Production Phase
Associated Press: Thunderbird pilot steered clear of home before ditching jet
Military Times: Americans think more than half of vets have mental problems, survey says
Washington Post: Women will attempt Army Special Forces training soon — but they’re not the first
Associated Press: U.S. approves release of last Russian held at Guantanamo
Daily Beast: George Washington Warned Us About Vladimir Putin’s Political Hack
Calendar
TUESDAY | JULY 26
8:30 a.m. The Watergate Hotel. Defense One hosts a conversation with Air Force Secretary Deborah James on the readiness crisis. defenseone.com
10 a.m. 1775 Massachusetts Ave. NW. The Brookings Institution hosts a discussion on the U.S.-China-Russia trilateral relationship and historical dynamics. brookings.edu
10 a.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave. NW. CSIS will host a conversation on how the 2016 presidential election will affect the future of U.S. military forces. csis.org
11:30 a.m. 1030 15th St. NW. The Atlantic Council hosts a panel to discuss implications for western nations in light of the recent coup attempt in Turkey. atlanticcouncil.org
FRIDAY | JULY 29
9 a.m. 1150 17th St. NW. AEI hosts Marine Lt. Gen. Jon Davis and Air Force Lt. Gen. (ret.) David Deptula to discuss the readiness crisis in Marine Aviation. aei.org
10 a.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave. NW. CSIS hosts Lt. Gen. Trey Obering to discuss how fewer resources, more responsibilities, and a growing budget squeeze affects the Missile Defense Agency. csis.org
MONDAY | AUGUST 1
1:30 p.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave. NW. CSIS hosts a panel to discuss religious extremism in Africa and how states and non-state actors are responding. csis.org
TUESDAY | AUGUST 9
10 a.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave. NW. CSIS hosts Gen. Robert Neller, commandant of the Marine Corps, to discuss maritime security. csis.org
