BRITAIN’S WAR REPORT: At this hour, Great Britain is releasing its long-awaited review of Britain’s involvement in the 2003 invasion of Iraq and all the things that went wrong afterward. In the U.K. it’s called the “Chilcot Report,” after Sir John Chilcot, the chairman of the commission charged with answering questions about the real reasons Britain went to war, and what lessons learned should be applied in the future. It’s longer than War and Peace and was seven years in the making, so it will take a while to sift through its voluminous findings, including a fact-check of then-Prime Minister Tony Blair’s infamous 2002 dossier that formed the basis of his controversial “casus belli” for the war that claimed the lives of 179 British troops.
The 12-volume report outlines a long litany of mistakes. “In exacting detail, the report lays out a series of failures and misjudgments in a war initially sold to the public on both sides of the Atlantic as a vital intervention to rid Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein of weapons of mass destruction,” says the Washington Post. “No such weapons were ever found.”
IN PRAISE OF SADDAM?: Presumptive nominee Donald Trump drew different lessons from that chapter of history, praising Hussein as a “bad guy” who was an effective killer of terrorists. At a rally in Raleigh last night, Trump said “Saddam Hussein was a bad guy, right? … But you know what he did well? He killed terrorists. He did that so good,” adding “They didn’t read ’em the rights, they didn’t talk. They were a terrorist, it was over.”
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NOTHING NEW TO SEE HERE: Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook told reporters on Tuesday that the holiday weekend’s string of violence overseas reinforced how urgent it is for the Islamic State to be defeated quickly, but said there’s no plan for the U.S. to change its strategy of targeting the terrorist group in Iraq and Syria. “If you strike at ISIL’s heart in Iraq and Syria, if you make it harder for them to wage these kind of attacks in other parts of the world, we think that’s the most effective thing we can do at this time,” Cook said.
THE ATTACK AD WRITES ITSELF: Where to begin with the fallout from Hillary Clinton’s email debacle? First off the FBI won’t recommend Clinton charges despite ‘extremely careless’ handling of classified intel, while the Clinton campaign ‘pleased’ by no charges, she ‘would not do it again’. So while she faces no prosecution, it turns out Hillary Clinton may not get off scot-free after all. But her explanation has been shredded by the FBI. Check out Five Clinton email talking points that were debunked by the FBI, and The 14 most damaging things said about Clinton’s emails at the FBI press briefing.
DOUBLE STANDARD: Many Clinton critics, including Trump, were quick to draw a parallel to the case of former CIA director, retired Gen. David Petraeus, who was convicted of mishandling classified material and lying to the FBI. Rep. Mike Pompeo said Petraeus deserves an apology for the Clinton double standard. The speaker of the House was among those who found the FBI’s rationale baffling, and it’s still not clear if anyone will face any administrative discipline. Ryan then said Clinton should be banned from receiving classified intel.
NOT UP TO THE JOB: Writing in the Washington Examiner, Sen. Thom Tillis argues President Obama’s weak response to the terrorist attack in Orlando shows he’s not up to the task of defeating the Islamic State. “It’s long overdue for our commander in chief to develop and execute a winning strategy to defeat the Islamic State in the Middle East and cut off its rapidly growing reach of influence in the West,” writes Tillis. “Unfortunately, this is a task that our current president, through his words and his deeds, has demonstrated he’s not up for. Let’s hope our next president is.”
GUARDSMAN TO ISIS? A former soldier with the Army National Guard has been charged with attempting to help the Islamic State, Kelly Cohen reports. Court documents made public say Mohamed Jalloh, 26, of Sterling, Va., was planning a Fort Hood-style attack against the U.S. military.
ABOUT THAT BILL: After Trump demanded to know who paid for Obama’s and Clinton’s campaign trip to North Carolina on Air Force One, representatives from both camps said they are splitting the bill, Susan Crabtree reports. But neither said who is paying for what.
IRAQ MINISTER OUT: Mohammed al-Ghabban, Iraq’s interior minister, has resigned after a suicide bomber killed about 200 people over the weekend, Kelly Cohen writes. Ghabban told reporters Tuesday that the Iraqi government “has failed in having the different array of security forces work under a unified plan in Baghdad.”
MISSILES TO KOREA: The State Department announced on Tuesday that it had approved the sale of $65 million worth of Raytheon SM-2 Block IIIB Standard missiles, containers and support to South Korea.
COOK TIMER: We’ll have to wait another day for Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook to record an on-time appearance. But Cook’s improving, taking the podium only eight minutes late, as he began yesterday’s Pentagon briefing with a statement on this weekend’s attacks in Baghdad that left more than 200 dead.
THE RUNDOWN
Washington Post: Why the Marines decided to allow heavier women (and men in some cases) to serve
Defense News: Congress’ Shrinking Calendar Suggests Omnibus, CR Ahead
Breaking Defense: SecAF James Is Cool To F-22 Restart
Defense One: Watch How NATO Leaders Respond to Brexit at The ‘Most Important’ Summit in 25 Years
Air Force Times: Russia’s ‘high-velocity confrontations’ present risks for U.S. pilots
UPI: Lockheed Martin gets Canadian submarine contract
USNI News: Chilean Navy Set to Upgrade Frigates with U.S. Missiles
Defense News: Austal takes $115 million LCS write-off
UPI: Electric Boat gets $116 million for Virginia-class sub work
War on the Rocks: The U.S. military’s protection deficit disorder
Associated Press: Paris attacks findings: Gross intel failure, policy rivalry
Air Force Times: Reaper down: MQ-9 crashes in Syria
Military Times: U.N. counterterror chief: Nations must work smarter against ISIS
CNN: Medina bombing is an assault on Islam itself
Navy Times: Militaries gather in Hawaii for largest maritime exercises
CNN: Roscoe C. Brown Jr., Tuskegee airman, dies at 94
Calendar
WEDNESDAY | JULY 6
10 a.m. Rayburn 2172. House Foreign Affairs Committee will hear testimony on financially rewarding terrorism in the West Bank. foreignaffairs.house.gov
10 a.m. Rayburn 2118. House Armed Services Committee will hear testimony from four flag officers on aviation readiness. Armedservices.house.gov
12:30 p.m. The Pentagon Briefing Room. Army Col. Christopher Garver, spokesman, Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve briefs the media live via Skype at 12:30 p.m. live stream Defense.gov
2 p.m. Dirksen 342. Senate Homeland Security Committee will examine the threat of ISIS online radicalization and recruitment, and how to counter it. hsgac.senate.gov
1 p.m. 1211 Connecticut Ave. NW. Stimson hosts a discussion on the newly-released drone casualty data. stimson.org
THURSDAY | JULY 7
8:30 a.m. 214 Massachusetts Ave. NW. Rep. Mac Thornberry will discuss national security challenges facing the U.S. in light of the FY17 NDAA. heritage.org
10 a.m. Location TBD. House Armed Services Committee will discuss the way ahead with Goldwater-Nichols reform. armedservices.house.gov
10 a.m. Rayburn 2167. House Homeland Security Committee will examine the threat of smuggling nuclear materials around the globe. homeland.house.gov
10 a.m. Rayburn 2172. House Foreign Affairs Committee will hear testimony on the administration’s “reckless” release of detainees from Guantanamo Bay. foreignaffairs.house.gov
3:30 p.m. Rayburn 2118. House Armed Services committee holds a hearing on maritime disputes in the South China Sea. armedservices.house.gov
FRIDAY | JULY 8
10 a.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave. NW. CSIS and USNI host a discussion with Rear Adms. Charles Richard and Michael Jabaley on the future of submarine warfare. csis.org
TUESDAY | JULY 12
9 a.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave. NW. CSIS hosts its sixth annual South China Sea conference. csis.org
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
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. NW. 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 Brookings Institution in the face of emerging challenges around the globe. brookings.edu
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
