DAVID 1, GOLIATH 0: A small Silicon Valley software company has smacked the Army right between the eyes, winning an initial round in the Court of Federal Claims that could force the kind of acquisition reform that was envisioned in a 1994 law. Palantir Technologies, Inc. sued the service this year arguing the Army was blatantly ignoring both the spirit and letter of the Federal Acquisition Streamlining Act of 1994, which requires the government to look first to buying commercial products and technology before launching expensive projects to develop the technology from scratch. In its suit, Palantir argued the Army wasted $6 billion and 15 years trying to build its own version of a data management platform that still does not work, all while effectively shutting out private companies such as Palantir. A federal judge yesterday halted the Army’s effort to develop a battlefield data management system, and ordered it to give a hard look at whether Palantir’s software would be a cheaper, better alternative.
The Army says it won’t respond until it sees the written ruling, which was delivered orally by Judge Marian Blank Horn. And while the injunction applies only to this one $200 million contract, it could have wide implications, paving the way for more companies in the private sector to sell to the government. That’s been a goal of Defense Secretary Ash Carter, who has made numerous trips to Silicon Valley to woo tech firms. “The secretary does believe that there should be opportunities for the Department of Defense to be more nimble, more agile in terms of its engagement with the private sector, and he’s been supportive of that,” Carter’s spokesman Peter Cook said, adding that he had not seen the ruling.
The decision was hailed by Republicans on Capitol Hill. Rep. Duncan Hunter said the case was about more than just acquisition reform. “Soldiers in combat have repeatedly requested an off-the-shelf alternative that they assert saves lives,” Hunter said in a statement. “In one instance, a commander of a major division called it a matter of life and limb.” Arkansas Rep. Tom Cotton said he hoped the ruling would mean more opportunities for commercial companies to provide important advances for U.S. troops on the front lines. “The Army’s modernization budget is too small and has too many other priorities to continue to waste precious modernization dollars on developing a program from scratch when a viable commercial alternative already exists,” Cotton said.
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WEEKLY BRIEFING: In this week’s Daily on Defense video, we discuss the advance on Mosul, what’s next for Raqqa, Carter’s travel this week and a WikiLeaks email that gave an unvarnished view of the four-star officers on the short list for Joint Chiefs chairman. Check it out here.
HOW DO YOU SOLVE A PROBLEM LIKE TURKEY? The U.S. has said the offensive to liberate Raqqa, the Islamic State’s de facto capital in Syria, will begin in weeks. But it is trying to get around one big problem: Turkey. The U.S. plan is to have the most capable friendly force on the ground, and Kurdish Peshmerga fighters will encircle Raqqa in the coming weeks, a force that includes the People’s Protection Units, known as the YPG. Turkey considers the YPG a terrorist group, and has been attacking its members in northern Syria. Turkey is also demanding to take part in the liberation of Raqqa. Turkey wants to create a buffer zone along its border that is free of both ISIS and Kurds.
When I asked spokesman Cook at yesterday’s briefing about what specifically the U.S. is discussing with Turkey that would finesse the situation, he didn’t have a very satisfying answer. “As the fight shifts towards Raqqa, we believe there are going to be opportunities for coalition members of all kinds, not just Turkey, to play a role in that, and we’ll continue to have conversations. Again, I’m not going to get into specifics about every single role, but we absolutely believe that it would be beneficial for Turkey to play a role and for a host of coalition partners to play a role,” Cook said.
Turkey, a NATO ally, has been demonstrating less respect for democratic values lately. Yesterday, for example, Turkish authorities detained the editor and some staff members of an opposition newspaper, which has been critical of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Turkey claims the paper was supporting Kurdish terrorists, and backed the July coup attempt.
KERRY THE ETERNAL OPTIMIST: In London to accept the Chatham House prize from the venerable British think tank, Secretary of State John Kerry insisted there is still time in his remaining two and a half months to nail down a peace agreement in Syria. “We in positions of significant power and responsibility have an important duty to try. I’d rather be caught trying.” Kerry was given the award along with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif for their negotiation of the Iran nuclear deal. Kerry insisted the deal averted war, and said “Iran has complied with every part of it so far.”
THE SHADOW KNOWS: The group responsible for publishing National Security Agency data over the summer released hundreds of new files on Monday, exposing domains and Internet protocol addresses that could reveal who the agency has targeted over the past several years, Rudy Takala writes.
The information contains more than 300 folders with files allegedly taken from the Equation Group, which has been linked to attacks on foreign governments and thought to be representative of the NSA’s elite Tailored Access Operations unit. The files reportedly include 306 domain names and 352 IP addresses based in countries including Russia, China and India, meaning the NSA used hardware based in those countries to mask its operations. The information provides a roadmap for victims to trace cyberattacks back to the agency.
100 DAYS: The first 100 days of a Hillary Clinton presidency would look very different from those under a President Donald Trump, analysts said on Monday. While Clinton would likely first turn to the civil war in Syria and take another look at implementing a no-fly zone there, Trump’s foreign policy adviser Walid Phares said Trump’s first priority would be looking at the current system of alliances, including NATO, and how they might change.
BUT … RUSSIA! Clinton on Monday sought to divert attention away from renewed interest in her private emails by calling on Trump to disclose his reported ties with the Kremlin, T. Becket Adams writes. It’s a first in the “history of our country,” she told supporters in Kent, Ohio. “A foreign adversary trying to influence our presidential election. That should scare everyone: Democrat, Republican and independent. And with the election just eight days away, this can’t wait any longer. Donald Trump should immediately disclose all of his ties and connections to the Kremlin and its associates,” she added to cheers.
AND NOW THIS: House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes charged Monday that Hillary Clinton left sensitive documents while traveling overseas, and demanded an answer to those charges by the middle of this week, Susan Ferrechio writes. In a letter to FBI Director James Comey, Nunes raised startling accusations about the poor handling of classified information by Clinton and top staff while traveling in Russia and China. In one incident uncovered in Freedom of Information Act requests, according to Nunes, Clinton “left classified documents in her hotel room in China and that U.S. Marine Corps security officials filed a report related to the possible compromise of the documents.”
SORRY, MOSCOW. NO FUEL FOR YOU: Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu isn’t happy that NATO pressured it members not to grant port access to Russian warships en route to Syria. But the AP reports Shoigu insists its creaky aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov, and its support ships have all the necessary supplies, even though it could not stop in Spain. The Russian armada, such as it is, is in the Mediterranean, heading to Syria’s coast.
OUT OF PLAY: While he was eventually cleared of wrongdoing, former U.S. Pacific Commander Adm. Samuel Locklear was crossed off the shortlist to be Joint Chiefs chairman because he was tarred by the “Fat Leonard” bribery scandal, according to a stolen email posted by WikiLeaks. Eric Fanning, who is the current Army secretary and served as the undersecretary of the Air Force at the time of the March 2015 email, said it was “doubtful they could keep Locklear in play.”
Also of note in the 2015 email is Gen. Joseph Dunford, the man who got the top job as chairman, asked to stay in his previous role as commandant of the Marine Corps “because of his view, shared by the secretary’s office, that there is not a strong enough successor to replace him.” Gen. Robert Neller ended up being named as the new commandant.
COOK TIMER: Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook was true to form yesterday keeping to his habit of holding the curtain of his scheduled 1:30 briefing 12 minutes, presumably to allow for stragglers or to get late information. Cook only has three months left to surprise the press corps and start at least one of his briefings on time.
SPOTTED AT THE WHITE HOUSE: Looking at the video of the big Halloween bash at the White House late yesterday afternoon, we spotted Navy Capt. Jeff Davis and his family among the crowd being hosted by President and Michelle Obama. Davis is the head of Press Operations at the Pentagon.
THE ORIGINAL NOVEMBER SURPRISE: It was on this date in 1952 that the U.S. detonated the first hydrogen bomb in the Marshall islands. The fusion bomb was 1,000 times more powerful than fission bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The test came just days before Americans voters picked between Republican Dwight D. Eisenhower and Democrat Adlai Stevenson.
THE RUNDOWN
Defense News: Pentagon Could Focus on Services, Software for War on Sustainment
UPI: U.S. Navy’s first drone squadron stands up
Reuters: China debuts J-20 stealth jet in show of strength at country’s biggest expo
UPI: Northrop Grumman gets Fire Scout drone contract modification
Breaking Defense: Pentagon Can’t Afford To Field 3rd Offset Tech Under BCA: Frank Kendall
Defense News: Turkey to Order New F-35 Lightning II Jets
Military.com: Raqqa Offensive Should Wait for Fall of Mosul: Turkey
Los Angeles Times: California National Guard says it can’t find 4,000 soldiers who received improper payments
Military Times: The number of veterans in Congress will likely drop again next year
Military.com: Ratings Petition Unlikely to Sway Navy: Chief of Naval Personnel
Associated Press: Iraqi special forces poised on eastern edge of Mosul
CNN: Donald Trump, Pentagon differ on Mosul fight’s success
Wall Street Journal: Iraq Offensive Unleashes Tales of Islamic State Brutality
Military.com: Wave of Insider Attacks Hits Afghan Army
USNI News: Lt. Cmdr. Edward Lin Espionage Trial Pushed to March
Calendar
TUESDAY | NOVEMBER 1
8:15 a.m. The Brookings Institution hosts its fourth and final podcast recording about preparing for the next president with a look at how the next administration should counter violent extremist. Brookings.edu
11 a.m. City College, New York. Defense Secretary Ash Carter speaks about his Force of the Future initiative. Live streamed at www.defense.gov
10 a.m. Pacific. USS Midway Museum, San Diego. Rep. Scott Peters speaks at an event commemorating the beginning of National U.S. Navy Aircraft Carrier month. www.aircraftcarrier.com
WEDNESDAY | NOVEMBER 2
9 a.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave. NW. Rear Adm. Christian Becker, the program executive officer for space systems, talks about the role of space in maritime operations. csis.org
12 p.m. 1030 15th St. NW. The Atlantic Council hosts a discussion on what ISIS will become once it is militarily defeated. atlanticcouncil.org
5 p.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave. NW. Arnold Punaro launches his new book, On War and Politics: The Battlefield Inside Washington’s Beltway. csis.org
THURSDAY | NOVEMBER 3
9 a.m. 1030 15th St. NW. A panel of experts discusses the relationship between Russia and the West after the U.S. presidential election. atlanticcouncil.org
MONDAY | NOVEMBER 7
9:30 a.m. Capitol Visitor’s Center 208/209. Pilots of the F-35 and F-22 talk about fifth generation air combat and maintaining air superiority. mitchellaerospacepower.org
10:30 a.m. 214 Massachusetts Ave. NE. A panel of experts discuss how to improve the security relationship between the U.S. and Georgia. heritage.org
