TRUMP’S EUROPEAN EMISSARY: Meet Barack Obama, President-elect Trump’s ambassador to the world. Obama is in Greece this morning on the last scheduled overseas trip of his presidency, and among his priorities is reassuring shell-shocked allies that the next president is sincere, pragmatic and not tied to the bombastic rhetoric of his raucous campaign. Joel Gehrke writes Obama will lean on his post-election meeting with Trump to vouch for his successor, whom he described during the campaign as “unqualified” to sit in the Oval Office. “I think that he is coming to this office with fewer set hard-and-fast policy prescriptions than a lot of other presidents might be arriving with. I don’t think he is ideological. I think ultimately is, he is pragmatic in that way,” Obama told reporters at the White House yesterday before departing for Europe.
Obama’s next stop will be Berlin, where he meets with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who he called his “closest international partner” these past eight years. Obama says he will tell America’s allies that a Trump administration will maintain America’s core strategic relationships. “One of the messages I will be able to deliver is his commitment to NATO and the transatlantic alliance,” Obama said. “I think that’s one of the most important functions I can serve at this stage during this trip is to let them know that there is no weakening of resolve when it comes to America’s commitment to maintaining a strong and robust NATO relationship and a recognition that those alliances aren’t just good for Europe. They are good for the United States and they are vital for the world.”
From Germany, Obama will travel to Peru for an Asian economic summit before returning to Washington on Saturday.
RESET PART 2: Trump spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin about the situation in Syria and the relationship between the U.S. and Russia. A statement from Moscow described relations between the two countries as “unsatisfactory” and expressed the desire to improve them. Putin also called Trump to congratulate him on his victory in the presidential election, Sarah Westwood writes. “During the call, the two leaders discussed a range of issues including the threats and challenges facing the United States and Russia, strategic economic issues and the historical U.S.-Russia relationship that dates back over 200 years,” according to a summation of the call released by the Trump transition team.
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TRANSITION “KNIFE-FIGHT” Vice President-elect Mike Pence, who now heads the Trump transition team, meets with the president-elect at Trump Tower in New York today to begin hashing out who gets what Cabinet post. CNN is quoting a source “with knowledge of the transition” as describing the process fraught with infighting and a bit of a “knife fight.” CNN says there’s a clear divide between traditional Republican operatives such as Reince Priebus, Trump’s newly named chief of staff, and non-traditional influences such as Steve Bannon, who will be Trump’s chief strategist. Reuters reports that former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani has emerged as a leading candidate to be secretary of state. Citing “a source familiar with the situation,” the reports also say John Bolton, who served as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations under President George W. Bush, was also under consideration.
The American Enterprise Institute’s Mackenzie Eaglen argues in an opinion piece today that Trump should make an effort to include more women in his inner circle. “It’s time for the GOP to dust off its ‘binders full of women’ and get to work. Not only is it the party’s disconnect with female voters, it’s also a product of the lack of Republican women in powerful positions,” Eaglen writes. “Had Secretary Clinton prevailed, she promised to appoint a half-female cabinet. By contrast, Mr. Trump has floated a cabinet almost entirely composed of male CEOs and politicians, and the prospects for Republican women in Congress are not much better.” So far the only woman who’s name has surfaced is Sen. Kelly Ayotte, as a long shot for defense secretary.
THE DEFEAT OF ISIS: Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Joseph Dunford is back from his travels to Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Iraq. Speaking to reporters on the flight home, Dunford sounded optimistic about the progress in the war against the Islamic State. “In my judgment, what Mosul does is reduce ISIL inside of Iraq back to an insurgency with terrorist actions and get them to a level where Iraqi security forces with a minimum level of outside support will be able to manage the violence inside Iraq,” Dunford was quoted by the Pentagon’s news service. “It denies ISIL freedom of movement and sanctuary inside Iraq.” Dunford said once Raqqa and Mosul are seized, the last remaining ISIL stronghold is in the Euphrates River Valley near Qaim, Iraq. “The physical caliphate affects the virtual caliphate, which affects the narrative and the physical resources,” Dunford said. “And it further ‘disincentivizes’ people who want to be foreign fighters from coming to the region.”
ISIS’ CREEPING INFLUENCE: Islamic State propagandists are becoming “more overt” in their attempts to recruit fighters in Latin America, raising concern that the group will spread to the Western Hemisphere even as it loses ground in Iraq and Syria. “ISIS and its sympathizers are growing more overt in Latin America,” Sen. Joni Ernst wrote to Obama in a Monday letter. “Their increased use of messaging in Spanish and Portuguese, coupled with calls for terror in the region, exemplify ISIS’ unwavering determination to change and imbed in new surroundings.”
TACTICAL VS. STRATEGIC SURPRISE: Defense Secretary Ash Carter yesterday gently dismissed Trump’s criticism of the offensive to liberate Mosul, Iraq, from the grip of the Islamic State, saying there’s no way forces could have conducted a surprise attack on the city. Carter, who during the campaign assiduously avoided saying anything that could be seen as taking sides, rejected Trump’s repeated criticism that the U.S.-backed Iraqi offensive could have caught the Islamic State off guard with a sneak attack. “It’s actually important that the enemy know that … we intend and will destroy them,” Carter said at a forum hosted by The Atlantic Magazine and the venture capital firm 1776. “There are secret tactics involved there, but the fact that we’re going to Mosul and Raqqa is clear because they’re the two biggest cities.”
NAMES OF THE FALLEN: The Pentagon has identified the two soldiers killed over the weekend in Afghanistan as Sgt. John Perry of Stockton and Pfc. Tyler Iubelt. Two American contractors, who have not been named, were also killed by the suicide bomber who got onto Bagram Airbase.
INTO THE DRINK: A Russian MiG-29 fell into the Mediterranean Sea trying to take off from the deck of the Russia’s only aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov, though the pilot safely ejected, according to state-sponsored media reports. It’s the just the latest in a long line of problems that have plagued the carrier over the years. One problem is the basic design of the aging Kuznetsov, which relies on a “ski-jump,” instead of a catapult, to get the jets airborne. That means the fighters can take off with only half-full fuel tanks, or they are too heavy and can fall into the sea.
RUH-ROH: Tens of thousands of government and military-issued email addresses were among those stolen from a conglomeration of adult hookup and pornography sites last month, according to an analysis of the breach issued Monday by LeakedSource.com. Anna Giaritelli writes that at least 78,000 dot-mil email addresses and 5,650 dot-gov addresses were stolen from Friends Finder Network, which includes AdultFriendFinder.com, porn site Penthouse.com, and live streams Stripshow.com and Cams.com. But unlike those who were caught up in the Ashley Madison hack last year, names associated with this new breach won’t be released.
ALL IN THE FAMILY: Trump is reportedly exploring the process of getting top secret security clearances for his grown children, who are playing an instrumental role in his transition to the presidency. Trump transition officials have asked the White House to determine whether the incoming Republican president’s children could gain access to classified information at his discretion, CBS News reported Monday evening. In order for Ivanka, Eric and Don Jr. to receive security clearances, their father would have to name all of them to his team of national security advisers. Such a move would establish an unprecedented relationship between a president and members of his immediate family, and national security experts argue that unless Trump’s children are part of the government, they should have no need to access classified information. Plus, imagine how jealous that’ll make Tiffany and Barron.
THE RUNDOWN
Defense News: Trump Administration Could Spark Small Increase to Defense Companies’ R&D Spending
Defense One: So Far, Trump’s Talk Has Only Hurt America’s Counterterrorism Effort
Politico: Sessions leading choice for defense secretary
Wall Street Journal: European Union Backs Plan to Expand Military Coordination
Politico: Trump adviser linked to Turkish lobbying
USA Today: U.S. on alert for new nuclear or missile test by North Korea
AP: ICC Prosecutors: US forces may have committed war crimes
UPI: Duterte approves U.S. assault rifle deal for Philippine police
Daily Caller: Department Of Defense Bureaucracy Is Delaying A Better Radar System
Defense One: How Special Operators Trained for Information Operations Before the Mosul Fight
Military Times: VA drops plans to allow sex change surgeries
C4ISRNET: Army announces its own ‘Hack the Pentagon’
Task and Purpose: Vets Are An Extreme Minority Where They’re Needed Most: In Congressional Offices
Washington Post: Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl’s court-martial trial has been delayed once again
Military.com: Officer Testifies That Soldier Was Shot During Search for Bergdahl
Calendar
TUESDAY | NOVEMBER 15
8 a.m. 805 21st St. NW. Former Navy Secretary Jim Webb delivers the keynote at a conference on foreign policy under President-elect Trump. theamericanconservative.com
9:30 a.m. 600 New Hampshire Ave. NW. Adm. Harry Harris, the commander of U.S. Pacific Command, discusses what’s next for his area of responsibility. defenseone.com
11 a.m. 1300 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. A panel of experts talks about foreign policy expectations of President-elect Trump. Wilsoncenter.org
11 a.m. 2800 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Four Seasons Hotel. Adm. Michael Rogers, commander, U.S. Cyber Command and director, National Security Agency, provides remarks at the Wall Street Journal Chief Executive Officer Council annual meeting.
1 p.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave. NW. Former Defense Secretary Leon Panetta speaks at a CSIS invitation-only event on a new strategy for countering violent extremism. csis.org
4 p.m. 1101 K St. NW. Bloomberg and the National Defense Industrial Association takes a look at what the election means for defense industry. ndia.org
5 p.m. 701 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. The Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments holds an event talking about the future of amphibious warfare. csbaonline.org
WEDNESDAY | NOVEMBER 16
7:15 a.m. 1250 S. Hayes St., Arlington, Va. Maj. Gen. Christopher Owens, the director of expeditionary warfare, speaks at a Navy League breakfast event. navyleague.org
9 a.m. 214 Massachusetts Ave. NE. The Heritage Foundation releases its annual 2017 Index of U.S. Military Strength. The event includes a speech from Rep. Michael Turner. heritage.org
9 a.m. 1152 15th St. NW. Capitol Hill and Pentagon officials talk about how to make counterterrorism security assistance more effective. cnas.org
12 p.m. Rayburn B-369. Analysts from the Cato Institute discuss the state of world affairs and whether funding shortfalls have hampered the U.S. military. cato.org
5 p.m. 1300 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. Community Health Charities is hosting a panel discussion on military and veterans health concerns. healthcharities.org
THURSDAY | NOVEMBER 17
7:15 a.m. 901 Massachusetts Ave. NW. Defense One hosts its annual summit featuring Army Secretary Eric Fanning and Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Goldfein. defenseone.com
8:30 a.m. Livestream. House Armed Services Committee Ranking Member Rep. Adam Smith speaks at the Council on Foreign Relations. cfr.org
9:30 a.m. 214 Massachusetts Ave. NE. The Heritage Foundation hosts an event on the next administration’s relationship with Taiwan. heritage.org
3:30 p.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave. NW. Richard Stengel, the State Department’s undersecretary for public diplomacy and public affairs, talks about national security under Obama’s administration. csis.org
MONDAY | NOVEMBER 21
9 a.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave. NW. The Center for Strategic and International Studies hosts an event on U.S. and South Korea defense acquisition policy. csis.org
3 p.m. 1775 Massachusetts Ave. NW. Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright delivers the introduction at a Brookings Institution event on governance and stability in the Arab world. brookings.edu
