COLD WAR HEATS UP: Overshadowed by the latest U.S. combat death in Iraq is the tit-for-tat military build-up in Europe. No sooner did Defense Secretary Ash Carter announce NATO planning for rotational brigades, including U.S. troops to provide a continuous presence on its eastern flank, did Russia announced plans to reinforce its western and southern flanks with three new divisions by the year-end, reports Reuters.
“FIGHT TONIGHT” NATO’s new Supreme Commander Army Gen. Mike Scaparrotti invoked some of the same language he used as U.S. Korea commander, saying that in the face of a “resurgent Russia,” NATO needs to be ready to “fight tonight.” The Christian Science Monitor suggests it is all part of Europe’s shift to a “war fighting command.”
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DEATH IN IRAQ: Yesterday we learned more about the attack that took the life of a Navy SEAL and the counterstrike that followed. Navy Special Warfare Operator 1st Class Charles H. Keating IV had been part of a quick reaction force that was called in to help U.S. advisers and Peshmerga forces who had been pinned down inside their territory. U.S. airstrikes then took out nearly 60 Islamic State fighters in response to the attack. The 31 airstrikes, conducted by both manned and unmanned aircraft, also destroyed 20 enemy vehicles, two truck bombs, three mortar systems and one bulldozer, Col. Steve Warren, a spokesman for Operation Inherent Resolve, said Wednesday.
While the complex attack in northern Iraq was “one of the largest we’ve seen recently,” Warren cautioned that that doesn’t mean ISIS is gaining steam. “This enemy has suffered a string of defeats recently, and one of the things that we’ve noticed that ISIL likes to do is when they have suffered several defeats in a row, when they’re back on their heels, often they will try one of these more high-profile, high-visibility attacks in an effort to gain some attention,” he said. The Guardian has video of the initial attack.
Gen. Joseph Votel, the head of U.S. Central Command, put out a statement Wednesday afternoon to mourn the loss of the SEAL. “Keating’s honorable and selfless service was in keeping with the finest traditions of military service and certainly will not be forgotten as we continue to put pressure on and ultimately eliminate the terrorists associated with ISIL,” Votel said.
The White House is taking heat for its wording over the U.S. situation in Iraq in the wake of Keating’s death. Joel Gehrke reports that Sen. Dan Sullivan believes the White House is “diminishing the service” of Keating by the language it’s using. “The president and White House spokesman Josh Earnest need to level with the American people and tell the truth about what our brave troops are doing in the Middle East — they are in combat, it’s not a ‘small number,’ and they are doing their duty trying to keep our country safe.”
He was responding to Earnest’s statement that “This was an individual who was not in a combat mission, but he was in a dangerous place.” In Germany this week, Carter was more blunt. “He was in a firefight and he died in combat, so let me be very very clear about that.”
And while the media paid tribute to Keating by quoting friends and relatives to show the character of the man, such as this one from Navy Times, the Associated Press came under fire for spending too much time focusing on Keating’s grandfather, who was at the center of the savings and loan scandal, T. Becket Adams reports. Critics called it a “hit piece” and “smear” job.
DUMP THE DRAFT: Nearly 12,000 people have signed an online petition urging Congress to scrap an amendment requiring women to register for the Selective Service and instead get rid of the draft entirely.
“I can’t imagine a more tragic loss of liberty than forcing a citizen, whether male or female, to fight in a war with which they may disagree,” Julie Mastrine, the petition’s author, said in a statement. “Equality is a moot point if personal choice and bodily autonomy must first be eliminated to achieve it.”
ARMY CAPTAIN SUES OBAMA: That’s one way to get someone’s attention. Army Capt. Nathan Michael Smith has filed suit against President Obama in D.C. District Court, saying the fight against the Islamic State is illegal because it hasn’t specifically been authorized by Congress, Kelly Cohen reports. “To honor my oath, I am asking the court to tell the president that he must get proper authority from Congress, under the War Powers Resolution, to wage the war against ISIS in Iraq and Syria,” wrote Smith, an intelligence officer stationed in Kuwait.
CEASE-FIRE IN ALEPPO: U.S. and Russian officials have agreed to extend a “cessation of hostilities” to the war-torn city, Pete Kasperowicz reports, although they still need to figure out how to monitor the deal. “The U.S. has been hoping to end violence in Syria so key parties can resume talks aimed at reaching a political, and more peaceful, solution in Syria. Still, State Department spokesman Mark Toner indicated to reporters that the situation is ‘very fluid and very complex,’ and his formal statement called on all parties to adhere to the understanding.”
STEALTH SHIP VIDEO: You’ll swear you’re looking at computer-generated imagery, but it’s real. Yesterday, General Dynamics Bath Iron Works released video of the destroyer Zumwalt on acceptance trials on April 21. She knifes through the water, kicks into reverse and puts on a show for some lucky onlookers. And yeah, the ship still has the best name for a commanding officer we’ve ever seen.
NOTHING’S CHANGED FOR ‘NEVER TRUMP’ERS: A half dozen of the 121 conservative national security experts who promised in an open letter to fight Donald Trump’s nomination now say his ascension to presumptive nominee changes nothing.
Bryan McGrath, a defense strategist who helped coordinate the letter, promised to continue writing op-eds, talking to people and do everything in his power to convince voters that Trump poses a danger to the country. “I cannot vote for him,” he said. “My approach is going to be that I will write in an actual Republican, not Donald Trump.”
Other experts said they also planned to write in candidates come November. “I will not vote for Trump, nor will I vote for Hillary Clinton. But I will pray for my country,” said William Inboden.
Matthew Kroenig, however, said Clinton is the better option. “I vowed to work to stop Trump and, last time I checked, he is still utterly unfit for the office. I would warmly welcome the entry of a new candidate into the race. Short of that, Hillary Clinton is the strongest proponent of a conservative internationalist foreign policy left in the race.”
SO WHAT DOES THE WHITE HOUSE THINK OF ALL THIS? It’s not saying much about Trump or Bernie Sanders, who won Indiana on Tuesday, Susan Crabtree reports. “It is undeniable our country is stronger, our economy is stronger than it was eight years ago,” Earnest said. “The question voters will have to ask themselves is do we want to scrap the strategy that has worked so effectively or do we want to build on the progress that we made?”
UNDER THE SEA: The threat from Russia, including an uptick in their submarine activity, was “definitely on the minds” of sailors aboard the attack submarine Missouri, who spoke with CNN reporter Jim Sciutto during an overnight cruise on the sub. Sciutto talked with us about what he learned during his trip exclusively before the package was set to air on Thursday.
While no one complained to him about needing more submarines to do the job or asking for a break in activity, he said the crew did emphasize the need to spend money to keep a technological edge over Russia, which has always had a “varsity” sub squad. “When you talk to them, I haven’t heard a current U.S. Navy commander say we need X amount of money, we need X amount of subs, but clearly part of message is tempo is up and we have to stay ahead of it,” he said.
OVERSEAS: Australian media are buzzing over the reports that Australia’s most wanted terrorist has been killed in a drone strike in Iraq, according to U.S. military officials. Neil Prakash was believed to be behind a string of failed Australian terror plots.
GET TO THE CHOPPER! Check out this video of Arnold Schwarzenegger visiting U.S. troops in Kuwait to talk about green energy and hang out at the gym. Listen all the way through to hear his immortal line from “Predator.”
RAMP FREEZE: And finally, Carter got back to Washington last night after his three-day trip to Germany, but reporters traveling with the secretary hit a snag at the very end, thanks to his boss. Members of the news media, including Daily on Defense, spent a half hour in a bus on tarmac at Joint Base Andrews, stopped tantalizing close to the terminal by a “ramp freeze.” The plane’s crew was well aware the president was arriving the same time from Flint, Michigan, and tried to beat POTUS to the ground in order to avoid the extra delay. When Air Force One arrives, all ground traffic is frozen in place.
THE RUNDOWN
CNN: Top U.S. intel official: ISIS can stage Europe-style attacks in U.S.
RealClearDefense: Rebalancing missile defense
Inside Defense: Flynn joins Drone Aviation board
C4ISR&Networks: Raytheon to support SOCOM aircraft radar
NextGov: The Pentagon Wants to ‘Fingerprint’ the World’s Hackers
Defense One: The US Navy’s Next-Gen Comms System Is Frozen In the Italian Courts
AP: Iraq routed IS from Ramadi at high cost: A City Destroyed
C4ISR&Networks: Navy awards unmanned Wave Glider contract
Tulsa World: Daryl G. Kimball: Obama should visit Hiroshima and move forward the discussion of a nuke-free world
Defense News: Finland May Turn to Drones To Supplement Combat Aircraft
New York Times: Is America’s War on ISIS Illegal?
Calendar
THURSDAY | MAY 5
11 a.m. Pentagon Briefing Room Brig. Gen. Charles Cleveland, deputy chief of staff for communications, Resolute Support, briefs live from Afghanistan.
3:30 p.m. 1775 Massachusetts Ave. NW. The Brookings Institution hosts an event where analysts will look at America’s role in the world’s foreign policy. brookings.edu
FRIDAY | MAY 6
9 a.m. 1150 17th St. NW. Scholars from the Army War College discuss how to make the Army organizational structure less bloated and more efficient. aei.org
MONDAY | MAY 9
2:30 p.m. Russell 232-A. The airland subcommittee of the Senate Armed Services Committee holds a closed mark up of its portion of the fiscal 2017 National Defense Authorization Act. armed-services.senate.gov
TUESDAY | MAY 10
9:30 p.m. Russell 232-A. The Senate Armed Services Seapower Subcommittee holds a closed mark up for the fiscal 2017 NDAA. armed-services.senate.gov
10 a.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave. NW. Frank Kendall, the undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics, talks about the state of defense acquisition. csis.org
11 a.m. Dirksen G-50. The SASC Personnel Subcommittee holds an open mark up for its piece of the fiscal 2017 defense policy bill. Armed-services.senate.gov
2 p.m. Dirksen G-50. The SASC Subcommittee on Readiness and Management Support holds an open mark up for its piece of the fiscal 2017 NDAA. armed-services.senate.gov
3:30 p.m. Dirksen G-50. The SASC Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities holds an open mark up on the fiscal 2017 defense policy bill. armed-services.senate.gov
5:30 p.m. Russell 232-A. The SASC Strategic Forces Subcommittee holds a closed mark up on its piece of the NDAA. armed-services.senate.gov
5:30 p.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave. NW. Bob Schieffer hosts an event with State Department officials on how to break the Islamic State’s brand. csis.org
WEDNESDAY | MAY 11
9:30 a.m. Russell 222. The Senate Armed Services Committee begins three days of 12-hour closed mark ups that will wrap up on Friday on the fiscal 2017 defense policy bill. Armed-services.senate.gov
