POST-COUP PURGE: In the wake of the failed coup in Turkey, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s loyalists are busy arresting thousands of military personnel as well as firing police officers, judges and rounding up other suspects. The fear is that Erdogan, who was already seen as increasingly authoritarian, will crack down even harder on opponents, and further restrict civil liberties and press freedoms.
The instability in a key NATO ally has also raised questions about the reliability of the Incirlik air base, from which the U.S. conducts airstrikes against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. The Turkish base commander was among more than 100 officers arrested, and for about 24 hours the base was shut down when Turkey closed the airspace over the country. Operations resumed Sunday, although with back-up generators.
Secretary of State John Kerry says Turkey has assured the U.S. that the shutdown of the base was aimed at the coup-plotters, not the U.S., and that counter-ISIS operation will continue uninterrupted. Kerry also says the defense and foreign ministers will still be coming to Wednesday’s summit in Washington, including a meeting of defense ministers at Joint Base Andrews hosted by Defense Secretary Ash Carter.
“Show us the evidence.” That’s Kerry’s response to a demand from Turkey to extradite a Muslim cleric, Fethullah Gulen, who lives in Pennsylvania, and who Erdogan blames for fomenting the failed coup. “We have never had a formal request for extradition, and we have always said, give us the evidence. Show us the evidence. We need a solid, legal foundation that meets the standard of extradition in order for our courts to approve such a request,” Kerry said on CNN.
H-BOMBS IN TURKEY: Nonproliferation advocates are raising questions about the safety of some 50 B-61 hydrogen bombs believed to be stored in underground vaults at Incirlik, more than 25 percent of the nuclear weapons in the NATO stockpile, according to some reports. Joe Cirincione of the Ploughshares Fund says the U.S. should pull its estimated 180 nukes out of Europe. “We have terrorism in Belgium, instability in Turkey and popular opposition in the Netherlands. These weapons have outlived their mission, outlived the war with the Soviets they were intended to fight. It’s time to bring them home before we lose one,” he tells Daily on Defense.
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THE WAR ON ISIS: Kerry says he made progress in his talks with Moscow about ways to improve the implementation of the cessation of hostilities agreement in Syria, and to facilitate a transition from the government of President Bashar Assad. As if to underscore how the agreement has failed to cease those hostilities so far, Assad’s forces have sealed the only road going in and out of Aleppo where rebels still hold parts of the city. No word on the whether Russia agreed to the controversial plan to “synchronize” airstrikes against the Nusra Front and Islamic State targets in Syria.
THE ATTACK IN NICE: As the investigation continues into the Bastille Day attack in Nice, France, that killed 84 people, three more people have been arrested, including an Albanian man and a woman, who are alleged to have provide weapons and exchanged suspicious texts with a third man. Also a third American confirmed killed in the Thursday attack, Nicolas Leslie, was a University of California, Berkeley, student. A father and son from Texas also died in the attack.
BATON ROUGE: Three law enforcement officers were shot dead and three wounded on Sunday, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, near where protests had been held since the police shooting of Alton Sterling on July 5. The lone suspect shot dead at the scene was identified as as 29-year-old Gavin Long, an ex-Marine who served in Iraq, and who was discharged as a sergeant in 2010.
GRAND OLD PARTY KICKS OFF: The Republican National Convention begins today in Cleveland, Ohio, to anoint Donald Trump as the party’s standard-bearer. Defense and foreign policy takes center stage tonight under the theme, “Make America Safe Again.” Speakers include retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, Sen. Joni Ernst, Sen. Tom Cotton, Sen. Jeff Sessions, Rep. Michael McCaul, Rep. Ryan Zinke, “Lone Survivor” Marcus Luttrell, several people connected to the Benghazi attack and, for some reason, Scott Baio.
In his first joint interview alongside running mate Mike Pence, Trump told CBS’ “60 Minutes” “Hillary Clinton invented ISIS with her stupid policies. She is responsible for ISIS… She led Barack Obama, because I don’t think he knew anything. I think he relied on her.”
TROOPS HATE THEIR CHOICES: A survey, not a scientific poll, conducted by Military Times finds that U.S. military personnel favor Trump for president over Clinton by more than a 2-to-1 margin, but a strong majority of respondents say they are wholly unimpressed with both candidates. “More than 61 percent indicated they are ‘dissatisfied’ or ‘very dissatisfied’ with Trump as the Republican nominee, including 28 percent of those who intend to vote for him. More than 82 percent said the same about Clinton, the Democratic nominee, with 30 percent of those pledging to vote for her voicing displeasure with the choice,” the Times reports.
BEST OFFENSE IS A GOOD OFFENSE: Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Joe Dunford is on his way back to the U.S. after traveling to Afghanistan to meet with U.S. and NATO leaders. U.S. Afghanistan commander Gen. John Nicholson told reporters traveling with Dunford the “expanded authorities” he now has to support Afghan forces offensively will help defeat the Taliban. The Washington Post says it obtained an Afghan security document that shows over the past four months, Afghan special forces have also killed more than three dozen senior and mid-level Taliban commanders in targeted airstrikes or raids.
COMING TO A THEATER NEAR YOU: “Shock and Awe” is the working title of a Rob Reiner-directed movie that will tell the story of Knight-Ridder reporters Jonathan Landay and Warren Strobel, who after Sept. 11 try to figure out the truth about claims of WMD in Iraq along with their bureau chief John Walcott to get to the bottom of who was responsible. Check out the all-star cast.
VIETNAM HELO PILOT GETS HIS DUE: Obama is scheduled to award retired Army Lt. Col. Charles Kettles the Medal of Honor for heroic actions during the Vietnam War. You can watch it live here 11 a.m.
THE RUNDOWN
The Daily Beast: Turkey’s Coup Won’t Stop ISIS War
Air Force Times: Air Force general: F-35 ready to fight ISIS if called upon
Washington Post: Trump excuses Mike Pence’s Iraq War vote — but slams Hillary Clinton for voting the same way
Washington Times: Pentagon issues sex change manual, allows extended time off for process
Defense News: US Navy Stretches Submarine Fleet in Latest Fleet Plan
Defense One: Flexible Flyers: Companies Race to Equip Warplanes for Quick Modification
Breaking Defense: BAE Systems Inches Out In Public On Electronic Warfare
Task and Purpose: Is The F-35 Program Finally Getting Its Act Together?
UPI: Lockheed gets U.S. Navy Trident missile contract
Reuters: Twitter, Facebook move quickly to stem celebrations of Nice attack
UPI: U.S. and U.K. to study robotic troop re-supply
Military Times: Chattanooga, one year later: Are troops any safer?
Washington Post: ‘Quiet crisis’: A stark look in graphics at how many fighter pilots leave the Air Force
Military Times: Gen. John Nicholson: U.S. support of Afghans could be game-changer
Calendar
TUESDAY | JULY 19
10 a.m. 1775 Massachusetts Ave. NW. Brookings will host a discussion on President Obama’s role in African security and development. brookings.edu
10 a.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave. NW. CSIS hosts a panel of experts to discuss the risks and security of Afghanistan. csis.org
THURSDAY | JULY 21
9:30 a.m. 1300 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. Wilson Center will host a panel discussion on post-ISIS politics, deal-making, and the struggle for Iraq’s future. wilsoncenter.org
FRIDAY | JULY 22
10 a.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave. NW. CSIS and the U.S. Naval Institute host Rear Adm. Mathias Winter, chief of naval research, to discuss naval innovation and capabilities. usni.org
