SHOWDOWN ON SEXUAL ASSAULT: A bipartisan group of senators is reviving an effort to take military sex assault cases out of the chain of command following a report this year that the Pentagon provided misleading information to lawmakers when the bill was previously considered.
Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand and Chuck Grassley are expected to announce today that they’ll introduce the proposal as an amendment to the fiscal 2017 National Defense Authorization Act, which the Senate is expected to consider this week.
It’s one of many fights we could see play out once the Senate officially takes up the NDAA. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell filed cloture on the defense policy bill yesterday and debate will begin Wednesday if an agreement isn’t reached to start sooner.
To prevent the measure from passing, an advocacy group for survivors of military sexual assault this year alleged that the military intentionally misled Congress on statistics of when military versus civilian lawyers agree to prosecute cases. Gillibrand has previously introduced the proposal, but has fallen short of getting the votes needed to advance it in the Senate each time. When the report was released last month, she said she heard the incorrect statistics repeatedly while lobbying senators to support her bill and said it is “without doubt that these false claims had a serious impact on senators’ positions on the reform.”
The Senate Armed Services Committee’s draft of the NDAA already includes some smaller changes to the military’s system for handling sexual assault, including making it easier for commanders to stop sexual harassment before it progress into assault.
You can watch the press conference here at 11am.
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SLOW GOING IN FALLUJAH: The Iraqi way of fighting calls for a careful, methodical advance into Fallujah, where the Pentagon estimates there are only several hundred Islamic State fighters holed up. At one point, an estimated 1,000 Islamic State fighters were in Iraq’s Anbar province, but the ranks have been dwindling steadily. One reason Fallujah is important is that it seems to be the source of bombs that have killed hundreds in nearby Baghdad, bombings which the AP notes has eroded faith in the government, “particularly the country’s Shiites, angered by political disarray and the continual pounding of the capital.”
NORMALIZATION TOUR: President Obama is on day two of his visit to Vietnam, and at almost every stop touts the move toward normalization of relations with the former foe, Nicole Duran reports. But Obama’s also pressing Vietnam to allow greater freedoms for its citizens and improve its abysmal record on human rights.
WHAT TO SELL? The Pentagon on Monday said it will be a while before it has any new intel on what types of military equipment the U.S. might sell to Vietnam, but analysts predicted to see sales of maritime patrol and surveillance equipment that would keep seas in the area safer — and benefit the U.S. as well.
One specific platform Vietnam may be looking for is Lockheed Martin’s P-3 Orion patrol aircraft, which can be used to spot submarines.
Rep. Ed Royce, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said the administration should have held out on lifting the ban on arms sales to Vietnam and used it as leverage to get the country to improve upon its human rights record.
Defense Secretary Ash Carter echoed the administration’s claims that the move is not directed at curbing China’s operations in the region, Defense One reported, though many analysts say otherwise.
China’s semi-official China Daily warns in an editorial that if the cozying up to Vietnam is meant to counter China, it “bodes ill for regional peace and stability, as it would further complicate the situation in the South China Sea, and risk turning the region into a tinderbox of conflicts.”
DIDN’T REALLY SEE THAT COMING: The Pentagon danced around the question of whether Pakistan was warned before U.S. drone operators violated the country’s sovereignty with the strike that killed Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed Akhtar Mansour. A spokesman said our “ongoing dialogue” covered it, and Pakistan said it was outraged. But behind the scenes, a Pentagon official confirmed Pakistan was only told after the fact, and that despite the official protest, Pakistan was cool with that. That’s how this game is played.
House Speaker Paul Ryan says the killing of the Taliban leader is just another a reminder that the nation is at war, while over at Defense One, they are examining the significance of the fact that the military, not the CIA, carried out the strike, and that it was in Pakistan, not Afghanistan. The Wall Street Journal writes about the power struggle that’s likely to happen now that Mansour is dead as other terrorists scramble to replace him.
WHISTLEBLOWERS PUNISHED? “At least two leaders at the agency overseeing the Pentagon lied to a judge and improperly destroyed documents, a former official is claiming, after they illegally outed whistleblowers at the department,” Rudy Takala reports.
“The claim made by John Crane, a former assistant inspector general at the Department of Defense, was first reported by The Guardian on Sunday. Crane claims the situation arose after National Security Agency analysts filed a complaint with the Office of Inspector General in September 2002, expressing concern that a $3.8 billion telephone surveillance program known as ‘Trailblazer’ was being used illegally.”
“COMPLETE BREAKDOWN”: The State Department usually puts this, well, diplomatically. But a spokesman was blunt yesterday when it came to the cease-fire in Syria, Pete Kasperowicz reports. “If this keeps up, we may be looking at a complete breakdown of the cessation,” Mark Toner said.
“What happened in Vienna last week was only words on paper, but where the rubber hits the road is [Russia’s] ability to influence the parties on the ground. It’s incumbent on Russia and to a certain extent Iran to put that pressure on the [Syrian] regime, and we haven’t seen it. We’re very concerned that we, frankly, if anything have seen an uptick in violence over the weekend.”
FIVE MORE ACRES OF SOVEREIGN US TERRITORY: Huntington Ingalls Industries was awarded a $152 million contract for initial advance procurement efforts for the detail design and construction of the aircraft carrier Enterprise, the Pentagon announced on Monday night. Enterprise will be the third ship in the Gerald R. Ford class. Construction on the ship is set to begin in 2018 with delivery in 2027, when it replaces the Dwight D. Eisenhower.
CARTER IN NEW ENGLAND: SecDef is visiting General Dynamics Electric Boat in Groton, Connecticut, today where he will observe the construction of submarines, before heading to the Naval Submarine Base New London to inspect an operational Virginia-class attack boat. Tomorrow, before returning to Washington, Carter’s at the Naval War College, in Newport, Rhode Island. He’s scheduled to get a demonstration of cutting-edge technologies being developed at the Naval Undersea Warfare Center.
TRUMP STAYING LOCAL: Donald Trump probably won’t be traveling overseas to bump up his foreign policy cred before November, Gabby Morrongiello reports. “I don’t think it registers with the voters to be honest with you,” he told the Wall Street Journal in an interview published Monday. “What I really want to do is focus on our country and the election. But I might. I’ve been invited by numerous countries to go.”
The businessman has said he’d be willing to talk with North Korean leader Kim Jung Un to end the country’s nuclear program, but a North Korean shot down Trump’s idea, saying it was “useless, just a gesture for the presidential election,” Jeremy Lott writes.
PUT A CORKER IN IT: Sen. Bob Corker, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, tried to downplay the significance of his meeting with Trump on Monday. “I was up here last Monday meeting with [former Secretary of State] Henry Kissinger and I think it was worthwhile to get to know the nominee in a little bit of a different way, and we did that today,” Corker said outside Trump Tower. Read the rest of Morrongiello’s piece to see how he does that thing where he looks like he’s tamping it all down but really isn’t.
LYIN’ KING: Veterans Affairs Secretary Bob McDonald learned it’s a small world after all when you compare veterans’ wait times to wait times at Disney. “When you got to Disney, do they measure the number of hours you wait in line? Or what’s important? What’s important is, what’s your satisfaction with the experience?” McDonald said Monday during a Christian Science Monitor breakfast with reporters. We’ll let the rest of the day’s headlines tell the story:
— Republicans blast McDonald’s ‘tone-deaf’ Disneyland, VA comparison (Westwood)
— VA: No apology, blames wait time scandal on computer program (Pete Kasperowicz)
— Now Disney is mad at the VA (Jeremy Lott)
— Fire Robert McDonald (Washington Examiner editorial)
WI-FI COMES TO DoD: That’s right, the world’s largest dead zone is being dragged into the 21st century. Al Gore’s amazing interweb is coming to the Pentagon briefing room. The PBR as it’s known inside the E-ring will be shut down for three days so high-tech wireless fidelity devices called “routers” can be installed, allowing reporters use the their “magic Google machines” to check Wikipedia while the briefer is briefing. Look for the speed, if not the quality, of reporting to improve. In announcing the miraculous technology leap, Director of Press Operations Capt. Jeff Jeff Davis joked to reporters, “We might even give you the password.”
THE RUNDOWN
USNI News: Zumwalt Brings Mix of Challenges, Opportunities to Fleet
Defense News: US Air Force Can’t Afford Its Fighter Jets Past 2021
Breaking Defense: Change How Air Force Buys Compass Call, JSTARS
Aviation Week Defense: F-35s Make First Eastbound Transatlantic Crossing
USNI News: Textron, Navy ‘Finalizing’ Details Of CUSV Contract For Mine Hunting Mission
Defense News: South Africa’s Paramount Group Poised To Collaborate With US Defense Firms
Washington Post: Top general rejects notion that Pentagon is ‘putting Band-Aids’ on the ISIS problem
Navy Times: A new Coast Guard icebreaker is a decade away. A lawmaker says that’s too long.
Defense News: Canadian Military Looks to Expand Arctic Footprint
Task and Purpose: This Soldier Stood Up To Sexual Harassment. Then She Was Kicked Out Of The Army
Military Times: No U.S. combat advisers for Fallujah invasion
New York Times: Suicide Attacks Hit 2 Syrian Cities in Assad Stronghold, Killing Scores
War on the Rocks: DIY Insurgency: Emerging technologies threaten SOF mission
Calendar
TUESDAY | MAY 24
8:30 a.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave. NW. Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., speaks about cybersecurity after information sharing. csis.org
10 a.m. Rayburn 2172. House Foreign Affairs will hold a hearing on the implementation and consequences of the Iran Nuclear Deal Oversight. foreignaffairs.house.gov
10 a.m. Dirksen 192. Senate Appropriations Committee will mark up its version of the fiscal 2017 defense appropriations bill. appropriations.senate.gov
11 a.m. Dirksen 138. Senate Appropriations Committee will mark up its version of the fiscal 2017 homeland security appropriations bill. appropriations.senate.gov
12:30 p.m. 1030 15th St. NW. The Atlantic Council think tank will host the 10th annual Country of Georgia Defense and Security Conference. atlanticcouncil.org
1:15 p.m. Tampa Convention Center. Gen. Raymond Thomas, commander of U.S. Special Operations Command, will speak at the Special Operations Forces Industry Conference. sofic.org
2 p.m. Rayburn 2172. House Foreign Affairs subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation, and Trade will hold a hearing on Terrorism and the Saudi Royal Family. foreignaffairs.house.gov
2 p.m. Rayburn 2154. House Oversight Committee on national security will hold a hearing on the remaining detainees at Guantanamo Bay. oversight.house.gov
2:30 p.m. 1211 Connecticut Ave. NW. Stimson releases its new report on the long-term foreign policy and budgetary implications of the overseas contingency operations fund. stimson.org
WEDNESDAY | MAY 25
6 a.m. Live Stream. The Council on Foreign Relations discuss economics and financial instruments as new means of war. cfr.org
10 a.m. Dirksen 419. The Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on East Africa, the Pacific, and International Cyber Security will hold a hearing to discuss cybersecurity deterrence and global cyber norms. foreign.senate.gov
10 a.m. House Homeland Security committee will discuss the TSA airport experience amid EgyptAir Flight 804’s speculated terrorist event. homeland.house.gov
2:30 p.m. Rayburn 2172. House Foreign Affairs subcommittee on the Middle East and North Africa discuss Tunisia’s stability, security, and democracy. foreignaffairs.house.gov
THURSDAY | MAY 26
10 a.m. Dirksen 342. Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs will hold a hearing on protecting the U.S. from ISIS. hsgac.senate.gov
10 a.m. Rayburn 2118. House Armed Services Committee will hold a Navy force structure readiness hearing. armedservices.house.gov
10:30 a.m. Dirksen 106. Senate Appropriations Committee will markup FY17 defense appropriations bill and FY17 homeland security appropriations bill. appropriations.senate.gov
12 p.m. Rayburn 2172. House Foreign Affairs subcommittee on Africa, global health, global human rights, and international organizations discuss what’s next after the ISIS genocide declaration. foreignaffairs.house.gov
5 p.m. 214 Massachusetts Ave. NE. Retired Adm. James Stavridis will speak about the future of NATO and U.S. alliances. heritage.org
6 p.m. Live stream. The Council on Foreign Relations host Ray Takeyh and Steven Simon to discuss the U.S. involvement from 1945 to 1991 and shed light on today’s Middle East. cfr.org
TUESDAY | MAY 31
9:30 a.m. 1775 Massachusetts Ave. NW. Brookings Institution hosts a panel to discuss if the Iran nuclear deal is a prelude to proliferation in the Middle East. brookings.edu
1:30 p.m. 1401 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. The Center for a New American Security hosts an event looking at a two-state solution that can meet both Israeli and Palestinian needs. cnas.org
