THE SYRIA BLAME GAME: With the complete and total failure of the U.S.-Russia cease-fire deal in Syria, Moscow is blaming the U.S. The problem, according to the Kremlin, is that the U.S failed to live up to its side of the bargain by not separating the good guys from the bad guys on the ground, thereby leaving Russia and Syria no choice but to bomb them both. The U.S. blames Russia for failing to ground Syria’s air force as promised, and then bombing hospitals and humanitarian aid centers. A Kremlin spokesman called the U.S. version, “absolutely groundless accusations of all mortal sins against Russia.”
Meanwhile, Secretary of State John Kerry says Syria is the most frustrating thing he must deal with as America’s top diplomat, writes Pete Kasperowicz. “I’m very, very dissatisfied with where we are with Syria,” he said. “I’m extremely concerned about where it is going, and what will happen to the people of Syria and to the region if a more rational and moral-based common-sense approach is not found to deal with this situation.”
At the State Department, spokesman John Kirby insisted “nobody’s being played here,” in response to concerns that Syrian dictator Bashar Assad used the cease-fire to prepare for a major offensive against U.S.-backed rebels and civilians.
Kirby’s comments a day earlier, by the way, didn’t go over well in Moscow when he said Russian soldiers will be coming home “in body bags” due to the breakdown in the cease-fire agreement. “Don’t you think that such ventriloquism about ‘body bags,’ ‘terrorist attacks in Russian cities’ and ‘loss of aircraft,’ sounds more like a ‘get ’em’ command, rather than a diplomatic comment?” said Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova.
Zakharova, essentially Kirby’s counterpart in Russia, also accused the U.S. of the kind of reckless disregard for civilian casualties that the U.S. says is a hallmark of the Russian air campaign. In a series of tweets, Zakharova cited a U.S. drone strike this week in Afghanistan, where the U.N. says at least 15 civilians were killed and another 13 wounded. The U.S. military is investigating. At the same time the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says Russian airstrikes have killed more than 9,000 people in Syria over the past year.
DEMS LOSING PATIENCE: Senate Democrats are increasingly frustrated by Obama’s strategy in Syria amid continued attacks against civilians following the cease-fire failure, Joel Gehrke reports. “It seems to me that we need to look at all of those options because the current effort is not working. And I appreciate the arguments you’re making. I just don’t think they’re working,” Sen. Jeanne Shaheen said in a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing.
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CARTER’S BLIND EYE: In San Diego yesterday, Defense Secretary Ash Carter delivered a lengthy address on “rebalancing” the U.S. military focus on the Asia-Pacific region, which calls for promoting “regional prosperity” and “sharpening the U.S. military edge.” During his remarks on the deck of the aircraft carrier Carl Vinson, Carter said “Our alliance with the Philippines is ironclad.” A curious assertion, considering that while speaking in Vietnam, Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte was putting the U.S. on notice that next week’s scheduled joint military exercises between the two countries would be the last. Duterte, you will recall, didn’t take it well when the U.S. questioned his campaign to rid the country of drug dealers without the benefits of trials or due process. More than 1,300 suspected drug dealers have been killed.
Carter is in Hawaii today for a meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN.
BYE BYE BOATSWAIN’S MATE: OK this huge. Anytime you mess with military tradition, someone’s going to be unhappy. Nevertheless, the Navy is getting rid of hundreds of years of history and changing its rating structure following a review over making job titles gender-neutral. While the Marines ditched “man” from 19 job titles, the Navy did further review to change its rating system that would allow for more career flexibility while in uniform and more opportunities transitioning into the civilian world. Gone are the classic job titles like boatswain’s mate, master-at-arms and yeoman. Junior sailors are seaman, mid-grade enlisted are petty officers and senior enlisted are chiefs. The move also brings the Navy in line with the other three military services, which refer to their members by their ranks, not job titles.
PREPPING THE GROUND, BY KILLING THE LEADERS: As part its effort to pave the way for success in the forthcoming Iraqi offensive to liberate Mosul from the grip of ISIS, the U.S.-led coalition has been focusing on killing as many Islamic State leaders as possible. Col. John Dorrian, the chief U.S. military spokesman in Baghdad, said in the past 30 days, 18 ISIS leaders have been “taken off the battlefield,” including 13 in Mosul. Dorrian said the Iraqi assault on Mosul will begin “at a time of their choosing.”
DON’T BE EVIL: This is where Wells Fargo’s tarnished image goes from merely reprehensible to rapacious. Wells Fargo is paying $4.1 million as part of an agreement to settle allegations that the bank illegally repossessed 413 cars owned by members of the U.S. military, Anna Giaritelli reports. Justice Department officials began investigating Wells Fargo in March after the U.S. Army’s Legal Assistance Program claimed the company had repossessed a car belonging to an Army National Guardsman who had been preparing to deploy to Afghanistan. Wells Fargo reclaimed the used vehicle and then tried to charge the service member $10,000. Since opening the investigation, the Justice Department has discovered hundreds of similar cases dating back to 2008. The bank has been ordered to pay each of the affected service members $10,000, any lost equity in the vehicle with interest, and repair the credit score of each person.
MORE VETS VOTE: And volunteer and call their elected officials and donate to charity. A report from Got Your 6 found that veterans are more engaged in their communities than their non-veteran counterparts, including at the ballot box. Nearly three-quarters of veterans always or sometimes vote in local elections, compared to just 57.2 percent of non-vets.
At the launch event for the report, VA Secretary Bob McDonald revealed that he first applied to West Point when he was in 6th grade. “My congressman actually was Don Rumsfeld at the time. He encouraged me to continue to apply every year. Of course, when I got to be a junior in high school was when I was really eligible.” Asked if he’d be willing to stay on as head of the VA in the next administration, McDonald said it’d be up to the next president. “I’d have to discuss it with my family.”
PERRY’S PLEA: Former Defense Secretary William Perry, who served in the Clinton administration, has an op-ed in the New York Times today, once again arguing that the U.S. does not need the land-based leg of the nuclear triad; that America’s ballistic missile submarines, backed by the new B-21 stealth bomber are more than enough to provide a credible deterrent. “Russia and the United States have already been through one nuclear arms race. We spent trillions of dollars and took incredible risks in a misguided quest for security. I had a front-row seat to this. Once was enough. This time, we must show wisdom and restraint. Indeed, Washington and Moscow both stand to benefit by scaling back new programs before it is too late. There is only one way to win an arms race: Refuse to run,” Perry writes.
THE RUNDOWN
Breaking Defense: Raytheon Wins MDA Gallium Nitride Radar Deal: Companies Shift To GaN
Navy Times: Navy insists LCS warship program will be fine after a bumpy start
USNI News: Navy Can Weather 6-Week Continuing Resolution, But Extension Would Delay Columbia Submarine Class, Other Programs
Breaking Defense: SMC: ‘High Confidence’ In SpaceX, But Watching Closely
Defense One: Trump vs. the Generals
U.S. News: America is Losing the Cyber War
Real Clear Defense: Politicians Leave the Military in the Lurch – Again and Again
Military Times: Next phase of Pacific rebalance focuses on cyber and interoperability
Defense News: British Naval Commander Wants US Marine Aviation on Aircraft Carrier
Fox News: A new combat vehicle that swims for the Marine Corps
Washington Post: ‘They put us through hell’: A Marine abused at boot camp explains why he spoke out
Army Times: This new targeting system is going to get warheads on foreheads in a hurry
Marine Corps Times: Marine infantry squads may have their own UAVs in 2017
Defense News: New Draft on Drone Export Rules ‘More Problematic’ Than Original
Military.com: House Approves, But Doesn’t Fund, IVF Services at VA
Army Times: New general on tap to replace fired 1st ID commander
Defense One: Talking to Russia Cannot Save Syria
Wall Street Journal: Russia Says It Would Support 48-Hour Cease-Fire in Aleppo to Allow In Aid
The Intercept: U.S. Military Is Building a $100 Million Drone Base in Africa
Calendar
FRIDAY | SEPTEMBER 30
12 Noon. Suite 700, 1 Dupont Circle, NW. The Aspen Institute hosts a book talk with author Rosa Brooks regarding How Everything Became War and the Military Became Everything: Tales from the Pentagon. aspeninstitute.org
MONDAY | OCTOBER 3
7:30 a.m. Walter E. Washington Convention Center. The first day of the Association of the United States Army includes remarks from the sergeant major of the Army and Army Secretary Eric Fanning. ausameetings.org
10 a.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave. NW. Chief of Naval Operations Adm. John Richardson speaks about maintaining maritime superiority. csis.org
10:30 a.m. 1775 Massachusetts Ave. NW. Retired Gen. David Petraeus and former ambassadors talk about the future of Afghanistan. brookings.edu
Noon. 1000 Massachusetts Ave. NW. The Cato Institute hosts an event considering whether immigrants and refugees impact America’s national security. cato.org
TUESDAY | OCTOBER 4
2 p.m. 1775 Massachusetts Ave. NW. Think tank experts talk about arms control and the U.S. relationship with Russia. brookings.edu
WEDNESDAY | OCTOBER 5
8:15 a.m. 1775 Massachusetts Ave. NW. Brookings Institution experts discuss what the next president has to do to achieve success in the Middle East. brookings.edu
THURSDAY | OCTOBER 6
8:30 a.m. 1030 15th St. NW. European officials and think tank experts talk about alliances in Europe post-Brexit. atlanticcouncil.org
