THE ARMY GETS A BILLIONAIRE: President-elect Trump tapped billionaire businessman Vincent Viola to be Army secretary yesterday. In its announcement,Trump’s transition team touted Viola’s impressive resume as an Army infantry officer and successful businessman. Viola (pronounced VEYE-oh-lah) is founder and chairman of Virtu Financial, with a record of philanthropy. After the Sept. 11 attacks, he helped to fund and found the Combating Terrorism Center at West Point, his alma mater. “Viola’s business experience makes him well positioned to help guide a Fortune 10-sized company, the U.S. Army, to accomplish its broad mission in the most innovative and efficient way possible,” according to the statement. “Vinnie,” as the Team Trump announcement called him, won a quick Twitter endorsement from incoming Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York. “Of course, all PEOTUS’ nominees need a thorough investigation & questioning at their Senate hearings but Mr. Viola is up to the job,” Schumer tweeted. “I’ve known Vinnie Viola for over decade, and his dedication to the @USArmy is second to none.” Viola also owns the Florida Panthers hockey team.
LONE DRONE BACK HOME: China has returned the unmanned underwater vehicle it unceremoniously drone-napped last week, claiming the whole incident was overblown. The handover took place in international waters in the South China Sea, near the location where the Pentagon said it had been unlawfully seized on Dec. 15. The U.S. destroyer Mustin received the drone from a Chinese Navy ship. The U.S. says the “ocean glider” drone was a sovereign immune vessel of the U.S. Navy conducting routine operations in full compliance with international law. China said the drone was engaged in “snooping.” “This incident was inconsistent with both international law and standards of professionalism for conduct between navies at sea,” said Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook in a statement issued just before midnight last night. “The U.S. has addressed those facts with the Chinese through the appropriate diplomatic and military channels, and have called on Chinese authorities to comply with their obligations under international law and to refrain from further efforts to impede lawful U.S. activities.” The whole incident underscores China’s more aggressive claim that a vast stretch of the South China Sea is their hood, and other navies are not welcome.
TRUMP ON TERRORISM: Trump is blaming Islamic terrorism for deadly violence in Turkey and Germany, vowing the Islamic State must be completely eliminated, after the group’s suspected role in a terrorist attack in Berlin that left at least 12 people dead. “Innocent civilians were murdered in the streets as they prepared to celebrate the Christmas holiday,” Trump said. “ISIS and other Islamist terrorists continually slaughter Christians in their communities and places of worship as part of their global jihad,” Trump added. “These terrorists and their regional and worldwide networks must be eradicated from the face of the earth, a mission we will carry out with all freedom-loving partners.” The White House is describing the attack in central Berlin, in which a truck appeared to intentionally ram into patrons at a Christmas market, as “an apparent terrorist attack.” German Chancellor Angela Merkel said today the driver may have been an asylum-seeker.
Trump also called the assassination of Russia’s ambassador to Turkey as he attended a photo exhibit “a violation of all rules of civilized order.” And he labeled the man who assassinated the diplomat, Andrei Karlov, a “radical Islamic terrorist.” The assassin has been identified as a 22-year-old off-duty Turkish police officer, who was yelling “Don’t forget Aleppo. Don’t forget Syria,” in both Turkish and Arabic before he was shot dead. Turkish police have detained six suspects in connection with the attack .
Later Trump tweeted: “Today there were terror attacks in Turkey, Switzerland and Germany – and it is only getting worse. The civilized world must change thinking!” In Zurich, three people were wounded when a gunman opened fire in the prayer hall of a mosque frequented by Somali immigrants, according to the AP.
Good Tuesday morning and welcome to Jamie McIntyre’s Daily on Defense, compiled by Washington Examiner National Security Senior Writer Jamie McIntyre (@jamiejmcintyre), National Security Writer Jacqueline Klimas (@jacqklimas) 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 be sure to add you to our list.
Want to learn more about Daily on Defense? See our introductory video here.
LIGHTNING IN A BATTLE: Under fire from both the incoming president and some increasingly indignant members of Congress, supporters of the the embattled F-35 Lightning II sought to fend off the flak, disputing that costs for the Pentagon’s most expensive weapons program ever are “out of control.” That might have been true five years ago before the entire program was overhauled and strict cost controls imposed, Lt. Gen. Chris Bogdan, who heads the F-35 Joint Program Office, told reporters yesterday. That office released figures showing the price of the Lockheed Martin jets continues to drop as production continues. For example, the A variant, which is used by the Air Force and international partners for conventional takeoff, costs $102.1 million per jet in the most recent production contract, down 5.5 percent from the $108 million per jet in the eighth production contract. Speaking at the Atlantic Council yesterday, outgoing Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James said of the F-35, “It certainly has had a history of cost overruns and problems, and there’s just no doubt about that. But if you look at the recent years, the F-35 cost has been coming down. The per-plane cost will soon be approaching a fourth generation plane cost. So that’s a pretty good deal, fifth generation at fourth generation prices.”
STRONG BEDFELLOWS? It’s unclear whether Trump and Sen. John McCain will join forces to tackle over-budget Pentagon programs or clash over other defense issues such as confronting Russia or condemning the use of torture. But experts say several of Trump’s recent tweets about costly programs show the two could find some common ground, despite sparring during the campaign.
NEW KID ON THE BLOCK: Sen. Gary Peters announced on Monday that he’ll be joining the Senate Armed Services Committee in the next Congress. The Michigan Democrat also served in the Navy Reserve as a lieutenant commander. He joins Sen. Elizabeth Warren as the newest members of the key oversight committee.
RECYCLED OUTRAGE: Meanwhile, just in time for the holidays, McCain released a report which he said detailed some $13 billion in wasteful military spending, including $1 million in improper charges for strip clubs and casinos by personnel misusing their government credit cards, Susan Ferrechio writes. The vast majority of the “waste” — $12.4 billion — was spent on 24 littoral combat ships, a new class of small surface vessels, which McCain says lack “proven combat capability.” The LCS program is the poster child for acquisition run amok. But a closer inspection of McCain’s “America’s Most Wasted” report reveals some of the other examples are old or slightly overstated. Take those charges at casinos and strip clubs. Turns out that’s from a 2015 DoD IG report, and in many cases while government cards were used improperly, taxpayers did not pay the charges, the individuals did. And then there’s the example of $1.3 million to research the mating habits of African giant pouched rats. Sounds crazy right? But the research was actually to see if the rats could be used instead of dogs to sniff out mines. If you want to decide for yourself how outraged you want to be, check out the full report here.
FIGHT OVER HACKING PANEL: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell rejected calls from a bipartisan group of senators to create a select committee on cyber attacks to investigate possible Russian interference in the American election, Susan Crabtree writes.
McConnell last night called the allegations of Russian hacking “a serious issue,” but one that “doesn’t require” a special committee to run the inquiry. He also suggested that only one panel, the Intelligence Committees in the House and Senate, needs to focus on such an investigation. The comments are a response to plans by a bipartisan group of senators to create a committee to investigate the hacks. “We have a Senate Intelligence Committee and a House Intelligence Committee, run by knowledgeable, responsible people,” he said. “There’s no question that the Russians were messing around in our election. It is a matter of genuine concern and it needs to be investigated.”
IT USED TO BE A PROBLEM: Also last night, footage emerged from 2014 in which Trump, who has scoffed at claims that Russia was responsible for the hacks, said Russian hacks are a problem. “I’ve been talking about China for a long time,” Trump said in a Fox News clip uncovered by CNN’s KFile. “You know, they put on the front like we’re your friend and everything and in the meantime, the cash comes out of your back pocket. It’s disgraceful what’s going on with China generally. No, I think he’s 100 percent right, it’s a big problem, and we have that problem also with Russia. You saw that over the weekend. Russia’s doing the same thing.” See the video here.
RED WITH DISAPPOINTMENT: Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Corker said Monday that President Obama’s failure to follow up with his threat of attacking Syria for using chemical weapons was a low point in U.S. international relations, Pete Kasperowicz writes. “I think it’s the lowest point I’ve seen, personally, in foreign policy for the United States,” Corker said on Hugh Hewitt’s radio show.
Obama warned in 2012 that his “red line” with Syria would be its use of chemical weapons against its own people. But after Syrian President Bashar Assad used those weapons, Obama didn’t follow through.
THREE FOR ONE: After further review, the Pentagon says not just one, but three senior al-Qaeda leaders were killed in Afghanistan in a U.S. strike in October. The Pentagon said a while back that the strike killed Faruq al-Qatani, al-Qaeda’s “Emir for Eastern Afghanistan.” Yesterday, Cook said the same strike also killed Bilal al-Utabyi, al-Qatani’s deputy as well as Abd al-Wahid al-Junabi, a senior al-Qaeda explosives expert. “All three were actively involved in carrying out and plotting terror attacks inside and outside Afghanistan,” Cook said.
UNGROUNDED: Naval aviation passed on some good news yesterday after separate aircraft grounding incidents, Kyle Feldscher writes. After a mishap last week, Marines resumed V-22 Osprey flights in Japan. Then, the Navy announced that its fleet of F/A-18E/F Super Hornets and EA-18G Growlers are now allowed to fly after an incident on Friday.
THE RESULTS ARE IN: There was a presidential election yesterday. In 50 states and the District of Columbia, Trump ended up with 304 votes, while Hillary Clinton had 227. Both lost votes to rogues electors. Two Republican electors in Texas cast protest votes, for Ohio Gov. John Kasich and former Texas Rep. Ron Paul. Clinton lost four votes in Washington state. Three electors voted for former Secretary of State Colin Powell and one voted for Native American tribal leader Faith Spotted Eagle. Clinton lost an elector in Hawaii to Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders. It takes 270 Electoral College votes to win the presidency, so Trump will be officially elected when Congress counts and certifies the result Jan. 6.
COOK TIMER: Pentagon Press Secretary Cook seems intent on leaving his job next month having keep his record of tardiness unbroken. Yesterday’s scheduled 1:30 pm briefing began 20 minutes late, and then lasted only 12 minutes, both new records. Cook did apologize twice for being late, explaining there were “a few things going on.” And perhaps it’s not his fault the long-suffering press corps quickly ran out of questions Cook could answer.
THE RUNDOWN
Defense News: Trump Selects OCO-Opponent Mulvaney for OMB
Breaking Defense: Trump’s Generals: How Wartime Service Shaped Mattis, Kelly, & Flynn
Defense One: Trump Inherits ‘The Good War’
CNN: McCain issues ominous warning
Defense One: What the US Should Learn from Israel’s Silicon Valley
UPI: U.S. Navy test fires Raytheon SM-6 missile at sea
Reuters: Thousands evacuated from Aleppo after deal over besieged villages
USNI News: Experts: Pyongyang’s Nuclear Intentions Are Unclear
Task and Purpose: Why They Went: The Inside Story Of The Standing Rock Veterans
Military.com: NORAD’s Santa Tracking Operation Grows Larger Every Year
Calendar
D.C. is dark this week, but here’s a preview of what’s on deck in the New Year:
TUESDAY | JANUARY 10
11 a.m. 214 Massachusetts Ave. NE. Seth Jones, author of Waging Insurgent Warfare: Lessons from the Vietcong to the Islamic State, speaks at the Heritage Foundation. Heritage.org
2:30 p.m. The Pentagon. Defense Secretary Ash Carter hosts former defense secretary and Vietnam War veteran Chuck Hagel and other Vietnam War veterans at a ceremony to open an exhibit in the Pentagon honoring Vietnam veterans and their families.
WEDNESDAY | JANUARY 11
9:30 a.m. 1030 15th St. NW. Officials from the Marine Corps discuss how science fiction has impacted the service’s ability to develop new technology. atlanticcouncil.org
3:30 p.m. 1030 15th St. NW. The Atlantic Council releases a paper titled, “A Nonstate Strategy for Saving Cyberspace.” atlanticcouncil.org
FRIDAY | JANUARY 13
3:30 p.m. 901 17th St. NW. Retired Adm. James Stavridis talks about the growing problem of U.S. national security. stimson.org
