CHINA LOSES IN COURT: The verdict is in from the international tribunal at the Hague: China has no historic basis for its territorial claims in the South China Sea. The AP reports: “How Beijing responds to the ruling in the case filed by U.S. ally the Philippines could chart the course of global power relations in an increasingly dangerous hotspot. It comes as the U.S. has ramped up its military presence in the region and could seek to marshal world opinion to pressure Beijing into complying with the verdict.” China’s state media says China “does not accept or acknowledge” the tribunal’s ruling.
CARTER IN KABUL: If it’s Tuesday, it must be Afghanistan. Defense Secretary Ash Carter is in the Afghan capital. meeting with President Ashraf Ghani and Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah, as well as his top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, Army Gen. John Nicholson. Carter’s visit wraps up a trip that began in Warsaw, and includes stops in the U.A.E. and Iraq. Carter will be discussing the U.S. commitment, announced last week, to keep 8,400 U.S. troops in Afghanistan at least through January.
NEXT ANTI-ISIS COMMANDER: While in Iraq, Carter announced that the replacement for Lt. Sean MacFarland as commander, Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve will be, as rumored, XVIII commander Lt. Gen. Stephen Townsend. Townsend takes over next month. The announcement was included in Carter’s remarks to U.S. troops.
Meanwhile MacFarland confirmed the “preponderance” of the 560 additional U.S. forces will be deployed to the newly-captured Qayyarah West airfield, and it will be transformed into a base of operations for the coming Mosul offensive. “The whole idea is to envelop Mosul from the north and the south, and then collapse ISIL’s control over it, as has been done in other cities — Hit, Rutbah, Fallujah, Ramadi,” MacFarland told reporters traveling with Carter.
TIPPING POINT? It’s only with the perspective of time you can look back and identify a “tipping point,” a moment or event that marked the turning of the tide of battle, when the enemy’s defeat became inevitable. But the performance of Iraqi Security Forces in Fallujah and the seizure of the key air base at Qayyarah has the feel of the beginning of the end of the Islamic State in Iraq, and has some Pentagon officials expressing cautious optimism. Underline cautious.
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.
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THE “EXTREME CARELESSNESS” BILL: Rep. Michael McCaul has a new bill out that would strip a security clearance from Hillary Clinton and anyone else who shows “extreme carelessness” when it comes to handling sensitive information, Pete Kasperowicz reports. “McCaul’s bill could be part of a possible legislative response to the FBI’s failure to take any action. As of Monday morning, McCaul’s office had not put out a statement on the bill introduced Friday. But a brief description accompanying the bill makes it clear it’s aimed at the Clinton scandal. That description says the bill would ‘prohibit any officer or employee of the federal government who has exercised extreme carelessness in the handling of classified information from being granted or retaining a security clearance.’ ”
Director of National Intelligence James Clapper has sent a letter to House Speaker Paul Ryan saying he will not be denying intelligence briefings to Clinton as Ryan requested. In a response to Ryan’s letter sent last week, Clapper wrote that he did “not intend to withhold briefings from any officially nominated, eligible candidate.” Anna Giaritelli reports that Ryan’s spokesman fired back that he and others “obviously disagree with the decision and want to know what precautions will be taken and what assurances the director can give that Secretary Clinton won’t mishandle classified information. She has proven herself untrustworthy.”
“MISSION CREEP”: The State Department says that’s not the case as the U.S. plans to send 560 more troops to Iraq, Kasperowicz writes. “It ain’t mission creep if the mission ain’t changing,” State Department spokesman John Kirby told reporters. “The mission’s not changing in Iraq with respect to what U.S. troops are doing in a train, advise and assist capacity.”
Rep. Mac Thornberry slammed the number of additional troops as one driven by politics, not the actual needs on the ground.”The war against ISIS and Islamic extremists cannot be won by inches, and I am concerned that operational needs in Iraq and Syria are taking a back seat to troop levels the White House finds politically palatable,” the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee said in a statement.
Thornberry and Senate counterpart John McCain also worry about how to pay for the boost and asked the president for a supplemental request, since about 3,500 more U.S. troops than originally planned will now be operating in the Middle East at the start of 2017, including Monday’s Iraq announcement and last week’s announcement of the slowing Afghanistan drawdown.
ELECTION: As Hillary Clinton campaigns today for the first time with Bernie Sanders, and Democrats wait patiently to see if the second place finisher will final endorse his rival, Donald Trump is campaigning in Indiana amid speculation the presumptive Republican presidential nominee will announce Gov. Mike Pence as his running mate. Trump seemed to rule out going with a retired general as his veep in an interview with the Washington Post, saying he doesn’t need much help on the national security front: “I have such great respect for the general, but believe it or not that will be one of my strong suits,” he told the Post’s Chris Cillizza. “I do like the military, but I do very much like the political.”
MUSLIM SCRUTINY: A proposal to more thoroughly vet Muslims who visit the U.S. failed a Republican Party platform vote yesterday, David M. Drucker reports. “The intent of the amendment was to indicate that we should do a better job of vetting people who are trying to come into the country who are committed to ideologies in opposition to our American constitutional system,” said Len Munsil, an Arizona delegate who sits on the party’s Foreign Policy and Defense subcommittee.
MORE GITMO RELEASES: The release of two more prisoners from Guantanamo brings the number of prisoners down to 76. The Pentagon announced yesterday that Muhammadi Davlatov of Tajikistan and Mansur Ahmad Saad al-Dayfi of Yemen are now being detained in Serbia. Al-Dayfi is an admitted member of al-Qaeda and had prior knowledge of the Sept. 11 attacks in 2001, according to the Department of Defense.
GO POKÉMON GO: The addictive and insanely popular app has made it to the battle against the Islamic State, Kelly Cohen reports. Former Marine Louis Park posted a screenshot of his latest hunt on Facebook. “Just caught my first pokemon on the Mosul front line by teleskuf. Daesh [ISIS] come challenge me to a pokemon battle,” he wrote.
And let’s face it, when it comes to national security and Pokémon Go, Daily on Defense has you covered. Several Reddit users reported a “Pokémon Gym” in the Pentagon’s center courtyard, but our search seemed to indicate the creatures were limited to lurking outside the Pentagon’s Metro entrance. We did however catch a pocket monster on Capitol Hill. Joint Base Lewis-McChord is also warning troops not to chase the elusive critters into restricted areas, Military.com reported. Other troops are complaining that their bases aren’t populated enough with virtual creatures to hunt.
YIKES!: Eight sailors aboard the carrier Dwight D. Eisenhower were injured in March when the arresting gear snapped during the landing of an E-2C Hawkeye, and the Virginian-Pilot has video. Your heart goes in your throat as the Hawkeye disappears over the bow, only to rise again. It’ll be the longest four seconds of your day.
MARINES’ NEW BEST FRIEND: Check out this video of the MUTT, or Multi-Utility Tactical Transport, built by General Dynamics. Members of 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines, are training with the MUTT, which carries loads for “dismounted” Marines. That’s military jargon for “walking.”
THE RUNDOWN
CNBC: Lockheed Martin CEO: Price of F-35 jets down 57 percent
Wall Street Journal: Pentagon May Seek Compensation From Boeing for Delays on Refueling Plane
Defense News: British Officials Trumpet Apache, P-8 Deals Amid Post-Brexit Fears
Breaking Defense: Stackley: Navy Is Fully Committed To F-35C
Defense News: No System in Place To Strip Canadian F-35 Participation
Military.com: Rainstorm Shuts Down F-35 Demo on First Day of Farnborough
Defense One: ISIS, Iran Fueling Growth in Missile, Bomb Market, Says Raytheon CEO
Defense News: Pentagon Finds Navy Mismanaged Arresting Gear Program
UPI: Raytheon, Lockheed report successful Patriot tests
Task and Purpose: I’m A Veteran. Here’s Why I’m Voting For Donald Trump
Air Force Times: Air Force: No plans to drop ‘man’ from job titles
Military Times: Hunter: Marine had right intent, Hillary Clinton did not
Army Times: Field artillery soldiers battle ISIS with missiles, build partnerships with regional armies
Breaking Defense: Don’t Push China Too Hard After SCS Ruling
Calendar
TUESDAY | JULY 12
9 a.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave. NW. CSIS hosts its sixth annual South China Sea conference. csis.org
9:30 a.m. SVC 217. Senate Armed Services Committee hold a closed hearing on national security and encryption challenges. armed-services.senate.gov
10 a.m. Cannon 311. House Homeland Security Committee will discuss the vulnerability of cyberspace and infrastructure to terrorist attacks. homeland.house.gov
WEDNESDAY | JULY 13
7:15 a.m. The Ritz-Carlton, Pentagon City. Vice Adm. Thomas Moore, commander of Naval Sea Systems Command, speaks at a Navy League breakfast. navyleague.org
10 a.m. Rayburn 2172. House Foreign Affairs Committee holds a hearing to discuss the State Department’s performance on countering the virtual caliphate. foreignaffairs.house.gov
10 a.m. Cannon 311. House Homeland Security Committee will discuss insider threats and counterintelligence. homeland.house.gov
10:30 a.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave. NW. CSIS hosts a panel discussion on how the South China Sea disputes fit into a larger regional context. csis.org
10:30 a.m. Dirksen 419. Senate Foreign Relations committee discuss U.S. policy options in the South China Sea. foreign.senate.gov
10:30 a.m. Senate Appropriations Committee reviews budget requirements and justifications for the nuclear cruise missile. appropriations.senate.gov
11 a.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave. NW. CSIS hosts a discussion on harnessing new technological innovations for strategic effect in the 21st Century. csis.org
12 p.m. 214 Massachusetts Ave. NE. The Heritage Foundation hosts Retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn to discuss his new book on winning the war against radical Islam. heritage.org
1:30 p.m. 1775 Massachusetts Ave. NW. CIA Director John Brennan talks strategy at the Brookings Institution in the face of emerging challenges around the globe. brookings.edu
2 p.m. 1300 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. The Wilson Center hosts a discussion on what lies ahead for TSA. wilsoncenter.org
2 p.m. Rayburn 2212. House Armed Services Committee will hear from Air Combat Command commander Gen. Herbert Carlisle on the critical role of the F-35 for air dominance. armedservices.house.gov
3:30 p.m. Rayburn 2118. House Armed Services Committee host a panel of top generals and Defense Department officials to discuss President Obama’s nuclear deterrent modernization. armedservices.house.gov
3:30 p.m. Rayburn 2118. House Armed Services Committee hosts a panel to discuss oversight of the European reassurance initiative. armedservices.house.gov
3:30 p.m. 1201 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. The Hudson Institute hosts Sens. Tom Cotton and Jon Kyl, and retired Gen. Charles Jacoby to discuss the future of space defense and missile technology. hudson.org
4:30 p.m. 1030 15th St. NW. The Atlantic Council hosts Adm. Kurt Tidd, commander of U.S. Southern Command, to discuss strategy. atlanticcouncil.org
THURSDAY | JULY 14
9:30 a.m. Dirksen G50. Senate Armed Services committee will hear testimony on U.S. cybersecurity and national security. armed-services.senate.gov
10 a.m. Dirksen 419. Senate Foreign Relations committee discuss the Iran nuclear deal one year later. foreign.senate.gov
10 a.m. Cannon 311. House Homeland Security committee will discuss the new wave of terror to the homeland. homeland.house.gov
12 p.m. 214 Massachusetts Ave. NE. The Heritage Foundation hosts former CIA analyst Fred Fleitz to discuss his new book on the nuclear deal with Iran. heritage.org
TUESDAY | JULY 19
10 a.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave. NW. CSIS hosts a panel of experts to discuss the risks and security of Afghanistan. csis.org
