TOP STORY: While the buzz in Washington this morning is the newly-formed alliance of convenience between Ted Cruz and John Kasich to try to stop Donald Trump, and the wild 16-inning Nats’ win, the week is shaping up as one in which the Pentagon will be touting success against the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria. Both Defense Secretary Ash Carter and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Joseph Dunford are just back from the region and are scheduled to testify before Congress Wednesday and Thursday.
They’ll likely be asked about President Obama’s announcement this morning that 250 more troops are being dispatched to Syria. Meanwhile, a U.S. military official in Iraq said some 65,000 Iraqis civilians have returned to Ramadi, the city liberated by Iraqi forces backed by heavy coalition bombing over four months ago.
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MORE TROOPS TO SYRIA: Obama’s announcement brings the total number of U.S. troops to 300 in Syria. He agreed to expand the U.S. presence in Syria after being persuaded by his top military advisers and others that additional U.S. personnel would allow the Pentagon to extend recent gains against Islamic State, according to a senior administration official. He is expected to announce the move Monday in Hannover, Germany, as he wraps up a week-long foreign trip.
CYBER BOMBS AWAY: Back in February, Carter announced the U.S. was using what he called “cyber bombs,” in an attempt to deny the Islamic State access to the Internet. Obama will share how the cyber campaign is going with leaders in Britain, France, Italy and Germany, at that Hannover conference, reports the New York Times. One Pentagon official expressed surprise to us about the level of detail in the Times story.
U.S. VOLUNTEERS ON THE FRONT LINES: Reuters has an interesting look at U.S. volunteers seeking adventure fighting with the Kurds against the Islamic State. “U.S. volunteer John Cole… is among a relatively small band of Westerners who have made their own way to Iraq to take up arms against the militant group.”
IS MCCAIN IN TROUBLE? Susan Ferrechio reports that while Arizona Republican Sen. John McCain wields plenty of power as chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee, he might not have that much sway back home.
A new poll shows McCain “locked in a dead heat” with Democrat Ann Kirkpatrick. “Pollster Ron Faucheax, president of Clarus Research Group, said McCain’s long tenure in the Senate, which included a failed bid as the Republican presidential nominee in 2004, may be wearing on voters.”
“Arizona voters have a case of McCain fatigue, and it’s coming from the Right and Left,” Faucheux said. “This could be McCain’s last stand.”
A COUNTERPUNCH ON ENCRYPTION: Lawmakers are seeing the merits of encrypted messaging on smartphones following an explosive report last week that showed just how vulnerable cell networks are, Rudy Takala reports. In an exclusive interview with Rep. Ted Lieu, D-Calif, Takala reports on the ENCRYPT Act, which would keep encryption standards from being threatened by state laws. The move comes as another group of lawmakers is seeking to weaken encryption so governments can spy on would-be terrorists.
Lieu also said he expects foreign governments are already spying on members of Congress, and is shocked that they aren’t being warned as such.
UMM … YAY? Trump has a plan to defeat the Islamic State, but he’s not telling anyone, Ariel Cohen reports. “’We’re gonna beat ISIS very, very quickly folks. It’s gonna be fast,’ Trump said at a Saturday morning rally in Waterbury, Conn. ‘I have a great plan. It’s going to be great. They ask, ‘What is it?’ Well, I’d rather not say. I’d rather be unpredictable.’”
Trump’s foreign policy plans also seem to be out of step with those of his military advisers. Retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn said Sunday that NATO is not obsolete, contradicting one of Trump’s favorite talking points, The Hill reported.
“I don’t think it’s obsolete,” he told radio host John Catsimatidis on Sunday. “I do believe that NATO as an alliance has to be relooked, because NATO was created to only operate inside NATO.”
RUMMY’S OK WITH TRUMP: Former two-time Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld says he’s not troubled by Trump’s lack of foreign policy experience and pronouncements about waterboarding, killing terrorist families, or NATO’s irrelevance. “The reality is nobody goes into that job with 360 degrees of the capabilities and experiences and skill sets that they need.” While Donald’s not endorsing “The Donald,” he says he will vote for him if he ends up the nominee. More of our interview with Rumsfeld here.
USS POLITICS: In an exclusive interview, Navy Secretary Ray Mabus fired back at critics who say he’s playing politics with ship names. The criticism came after he named a destroyer after former Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., former head of the Senate Armed Services Committee.
Mabus said the name has nothing to do with politics, and says he’s more traditional than his predecessors. “’There’s the John Stennis, an aircraft carrier, he was chairman of the armed services committee for years. There’s the John Warner, a submarine, he was chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee for years. There’s the Carl Vinson, an aircraft carrier, he was chairman of the House Armed Services Committee for years,’” Mabus said. “’So this is a long standing tradition to name Navy ships after members of Congress, particularly the heads of armed services committees from both the Senate and the House, but those who have gone above and beyond in terms of protecting particularly our service men and women.’”
IT’S Q1 RESULTS WEEK: The top five U.S. defense companies will be releasing their quarterly earnings this week. Lockheed Martin will release on Tuesday, following by Boeing and Northrop Grumman on Wednesday. Raytheon is Thursday and General Dynamics is Friday. Stay with the Washington Examiner for the latest. You’ll find all the results here.
F-22 PIPE DREAM: Last week we reported on renewed interest in Congress in possibly restarting the production of the Air Force’s F-22 fighter jet. Defense One has a further breakdown of why. Problem No. 1: “The Air Force would need to find a boatload of money that it doesn’t have.” Read more here.
NUKE FAKEOUT: North Korea said over the weekend that it will halt nuclear weapons testing if the U.S. suspends its annual military exercises with South Korea. But Obama’s not buying it, Daniel Chaitin reports.
“Speaking at a press conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel during a visit to the European state, Obama said North Korea needs to do a better job at showing the world it is ready to put aside ‘provocative behaviors’ before the international community allows international talks about reducing tensions in the region.
“’We don’t take seriously a promise to simply halt until the next time they decide to do a test, these kinds of activities,’ Obama said. ‘What we’ve said consistently dating back to the Six Party Talks, is that if North Korea shows seriousness in denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula, then we will be prepared to enter into serious conversations with them about reducing tensions and our approach to protecting our allies in the region.’”
ANOTHER SUB DUD? Pentagon officials tell us they are still assessing North Korea’s claim to have launched a ballistic missile from a submarine, something that, if true, would be a new, dangerous capability. It’s the second such claim from Pyongyang, and is once again being met with skepticism. A missile was monitored emerging from the water off North Korea’s northeast coast Saturday, but whether it came from a sub or an undersea platform is not clear. In any event, the missile traveled only a short distance before falling back into the sea.
WAR ON MICROMANGERS: House Republicans are reportedly preparing an offensive aimed at clipping the wings of the National Security Council. The Washington Post reports House Armed Services Chairman Mac Thornberry, R-Texas, will offer an amendment to slash the NSC staff and give Congress more oversight.
McRAVEN TO THE DEFENSE: Former U.S. Special Operations Commander retired Adm. William McRaven comes to the defense of Rear Adm. Brian Losey in an Op-ed in the Tampa Tribune. In the opinion piece, McRaven laments what he calls a “trend of disrespect to the military” that if it continues “will undermine the strength of the officer corps.”
THE RUNDOWN
National Defense: Pentagon hard pressed to absorb next round of acquisition reforms
Janes: Lockheed Martin to build 100 more JASSM-ERs
Bloomberg: Hacking Risks Found in U.S. Army’s $12 Billion Mobile Network
Defense News: Interview with Rep. Randy Forbes
NextGov: Is the Pentagon’s innovation unit too cozy with Silicon Valley?
Janes: V-280 wing mating keeps Bell on track for JMR-TD
The Daily Beast: Bill Maher rips U.S. military mass murder machine
Washington Post: U.S. military chief pays a visit to Cairo as the Sinai militancy intensifies
Military Times: Congress takes its first step towards killing the military draft
NBC News: Russia’s military just bought five bottlenose dolphins and it won’t say why
Calendar
WEEK AHEAD
MONDAY | APRIL 25
10 a.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave. NW. The Center for Strategic and International Studies hosts an event on defense acquisition reforms proposed by Rep. Mac Thornberry. csis.org
12 p.m., 214 Massachusetts Ave. NE. The Heritage Foundation hosts a book event for the release of “Defeating Jihad: The Winnable War.” heritage.org
2 p.m. 1775 Massachusetts Ave. NW. U.S. Special Representative for the Arctic Robert Papp delivers an update on U.S. strategy in the Arctic halfway through its tenure as chairman of the Arctic Council. brookings.edu
TUESDAY | APRIL 26
8 a.m. 37th and O St. NW. Adm. Michael Rogers, the head of U.S. Cyber Command, delivers a keynote address as part of a day-long cyber engagement conference at Georgetown University. georgetown.edu
8:30 a.m. 101 Constitution Ave. NW. The Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments unveils a new report titled, “Winning the Salvo Competition: Rebalancing America’s Air and Missile Defenses.” csbaonline.org
10 a.m. Dirksen G-50. Frank Kendall, the Pentagon’s top acquisition chief, along with officials working on the F-35 program will testify on the fiscal 2017 budget for the Joint Strike Fighter. armed-services.senate.gov
11 a.m. Dirksen 106. Maj. Gen. Jeff Newell and Lt. Col. Andy Massie of the Royal Air Force speak about air superiority. mitchellaerospacepower.org
WEDNESDAY | APRIL 27
9 a.m. 1211 Connecticut Ave. NW. Stimson hosts a two-day conference on understanding terrorism. stimson.org
10 a.m. Cannon 311. The House Homeland Security Committee hosts a hearing on the Islamic State in Southeast Asia and the threat to the U.S. homeland.house.gov
10 a.m. Rayburn 2118. The House Armed Services Committee hosts its full committee mark up of the National Defense Authorization Act. armedservices.house.gov
10 a.m. 1150 17th St. NW. Analysts will discuss defense in 2017 at an event titled “Confusion among chaos.” aei.org
1:30 p.m. 1152 15th St. NW. Journalist Vago Muradian moderates a panel discussion on Army readiness. cnas.org
THURSDAY | APRIL 28
10 a.m. Cannon 311. The House Homeland Security Committee holds a hearing on the implications for states and local communities if Gitmo detainees are brought to the U.S. homeland.house.gov
1:30 p.m. 1030 15th St. NW. Analysts talk about the future of U.S. defense and national security partnerships. atlanticcouncil.org
