THIS WEEK: The Democratic National Convention kicks off in Philadelphia, and based on the list of speakers, it looks like some national security heavy-hitters will be striding to the podium later in the week. On Wednesday, we’ll hear from former Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and retired Rear Adm. John Hutson. And on Thursday, retired Marine Gen. John Allen will speak.
ALSO THIS WEEK: Defense Secretary Ash Carter is hitting the road to focus on three of his top priorities: innovation, defeating the Islamic State and recruiting the best possible troops. The three-day trip, which starts on Tuesday, includes stops at Boston, Naval Station Great Lakes, Ill., and Fort Bragg, N.C., where he will meet with Lt. Gen. Steve Townsend, who is deploying soon to take the lead in the fight against ISIS. Our own Jacqueline Klimas will be along for the ride, so look for updates from this space mid-week.
Good Monday morning and welcome to Jamie McIntyre’s Daily on Defense. Today’s edition has been compiled by National Security Writer Jacqueline Klimas (@jacqklimas) and Senior Editor David Brown (@dave_brown24) while Jamie is away. 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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MAJOR BOMBING IN KABUL: A suicide bomber killed more than 60 people and wounded 200 others during a peaceful demonstration in the Afghan capital Saturday. The Islamic State claimed responsibility. “Peaceful demonstrations are the right of every citizen of Afghanistan and the government will do everything it can to provide them with security,” Afghan President Ashraf Ghani said in a statement.
WE HAVE A VEEP: Hillary Clinton announced on Friday night that she’d selected Sen. Tim Kaine as her running mate. Kaine is a member of the Senate Armed Services and Foreign Relations Committees and has been a key force behind the push for an Islamic State-specific authorization for the use of military force.
Kaine and Donald Trump’s running mate Mike Pence do have one thing in common: Both are Marine dads, according to this CNN report.
THE RUSSIAN CONNECTION: Things got heated this weekend following the release of thousands of hacked emails belonging to several top staffers in the Democratic National Committee. Before DNC chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz announced her resignation Sunday, Clinton campaign manager Robby Mook said experts told him that the Russians were behind the hack, and released the emails in an effort to get Trump into the White House.
“It’s troubling that some experts are now telling us that this was done by the Russians for the purpose of helping Donald Trump,” Mook said on ABC’s “This Week,” without naming his sources. The Clinton aide claimed the Republican nominee has become “pro-Russian” since last week, indicating he may be on board with the Russians who oversaw the hack. “I think that what’s troubling is how he praised Vladimir Putin,” Mook said about Trump’s remarks during his convention speech Thursday night. “It’s troubling how last week he said NATO should not protect Eastern Europe allies.”
Paul Manafort, Trump’s campaign manager, denied that’s the case and said this is all an attempt to redirect the conversation away from the hacked emails. “It’s pure obfuscation on the part of the Clinton campaign. What’s in those emails show [that] it’s purely a rigged system. Bernie Sanders never had a chance,” Manafort said.
Yet cyber experts have drawn a straight line from the hack to the Kremlin, according to this story from Defense One. The New York Times also has a piece on the connection.
ISIS PROPAGANDA ARM: President Obama said Trump’s rhetoric is doing the Islamic State’s work for them, Gabby Morrongiello writes. “Look, if we start engaging in the kinds of proposals that we’ve heard from Mr. Trump or some of his surrogates like Mr. Gingrich, where we start suggesting that we would apply religious tests to who could come in here, that we are screening Muslim Americans differently than we would others, then we are betraying that very thing that makes America exceptional,” Obama told CBS’ John Dickerson.
SECDEF PROSPECTS: Trump suggested this weekend that retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, who was on the Republican nominee’s short list for veep, could be the head of the Pentagon in his administration. After tweeting out an endorsement for Flynn’s book, Trump retweeted a follower who suggested the retired officer would be a good secretary of defense. One catch: officials must be out of uniform for seven years before serving as secdef, meaning Flynn wouldn’t be eligible until 2021. He could, however, become national security adviser, which is something Colin Powell did while he was still in the Army.
After that, Flynn found himself in hot water this weekend for accidentally retweeting an anti-Semitic message, which he later apologized for.
BRIEFINGS TO START NEXT WEEK: Both Trump and Clinton will start receiving classified intelligence briefings next week to prepare them to take office in January, Anna Giaritelli reports.
The intelligence community has expressed concerns about both candidates getting the briefings: Trump because of his uncensored, off-the-cuff speaking style and Clinton because of her mishandling of classified information in personal emails.
“A VALIANT AMERICAN”: Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban praised Trump over the weekend for proposing immigration policies that Europe should adopt, Keith Koffler writes. Still, he seemed to have reservations. “I am not a Donald Trump campaigner,” Orban said in a televised speech. “I never thought I would ever entertain the thought that, of the open options, he would be better for Europe and for Hungary,” Orban said.
NAVY WANTS MORE R&D $$: Rear Adm. Mat Winters, the chief of naval research, on Friday said there are “shovel-ready” innovations waiting in the pipeline that could reach the fleet faster if officials were willing to invest more in research and development. In fiscal 2016, the Office of Naval Research got $2.1 billion out of nearly $170 billion for the entire Navy. Winters said not many private companies survive or thrive by investing such a small percentage in working on the next new thing.
THE RUNDOWN
Washington Post: Donald Trump is expanding his Muslim ban, not rolling it back
Military.com: Norfolk Shipyard Gets Navy Job after a Few Lonely Months
Task and Purpose: The Air Force Is Done Testing Its Next-Generation Tanker
UPI: BAE’s first new rigid inflatable boat for Royal Navy compete
Military Times: Obama: Trump’s NATO comments show ‘lack of preparedness’
Breaking Defense: Five Tough Cyber Questions for Trump And Clinton
CNN: U.S. Navy tests new warship
Military Times: After Obama’s green light, Afghan forces on the offensive
Reuters: Al Qaeda chief urges kidnappings of Westerners for prisoner swaps: SITE
McClatchy: US again sees ‘victory’ coming in Iraq
Military Times: Democrats sharpen their post-GOP-convention attacks
Military.com: After Attack, France Bolsters Iraq Military Fight against ISIS
Washington Post: Nothing will ‘quickly or easily’ stop Islamic State bombings in Baghdad, U.S. military warns
Associated Press: Iraq finally bans fake bomb detectors after July 3 blast
New York Times: Syrian Refugee Arrested in Germany After Fatal Machete Attack
Wall Street Journal: Syrian Man Blows Himself Up Outside German Concert
Reuters: Civilian casualties increase as Afghan troops battle Taliban: U.N.
UPI: North Korea building bigger submarine pens: Report
USNI News: Report: Russian Sub Activity on the Rise in North Atlantic
Washington Times: Here comes G.I. Jane: Army accepts first women to attend school to become Green Berets
Calendar
TUESDAY | JULY 26
8:30 a.m. The Watergate Hotel. Defense One hosts a conversation with Air Force Secretary Deborah James on the readiness crisis. defenseone.com
10 a.m. 1775 Massachusetts Ave. NW. The Brookings Institution hosts a discussion on the U.S.-China-Russia trilateral relationship and historical dynamics. brookings.edu
10 a.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave. NW. CSIS will host a conversation on how the 2016 presidential election will affect the future of U.S. military forces. csis.org
11:30 a.m. 1030 15th St. NW. The Atlantic Council hosts a panel to discuss implications for western nations in light of the recent coup attempt in Turkey. atlanticcouncil.org
FRIDAY | JULY 29
9 a.m. 1150 17th St. NW. AEI hosts Marine Lt. Gen. Jon Davis and Air Force Lt. Gen. (ret.) David Deptula to discuss the readiness crisis in Marine Aviation. aei.org
10 a.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave. NW. CSIS hosts Lt. Gen. Trey Obering to discuss how fewer resources, more responsibilities, and a growing budget squeeze affects the Missile Defense Agency. csis.org
MONDAY | AUGUST 1
1:30 p.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave. NW. CSIS hosts a panel to discuss religious extremism in Africa and how states and non-state actors are responding. csis.org
