ANTI-ISLAMIC STATE WAR COUNCIL CONVENES: This morning at Joint Base Andrews outside Washington, defense and foreign ministers from more than 30 members of the counter-Islamic State coalition meet to plot the next steps in the war on the self-proclaimed caliphate. Defense Secretary Ash Carter hosts the defense ministers, while Secretary of State John Kerry will meet with foreign ministers tomorrow in Washington. Carter will brief reporters at the end of today’s session and can be seen live at www.defense.gov 1:45 p.m.
White House Special Presidential Envoy to the Coalition Brett McGurk told reporters on a conference call yesterday that the ministers will be looking ahead to the liberation of Mosul, which now seems much more doable with the capture of the key Qayyarah West airfield in northern Iraq. McGurk called the seizure “probably one of the most complex things the Iraqis have done in the campaign.” Though still probably months away, “Mosul is now increasingly coming upon us. We have it in sight.” McGurk said. The idea is to assemble a force of about 15,000 of Iraqi Security Forces and local fighters. “And we are now very much underway of identifying those fighters; of getting them trained, equipped, and incorporating into what will be the overall campaign.”
THE PURGE WIDENS: In Turkey the purge of supporters of Fethullah Gulen, the Muslim cleric Ankara suspects of fomenting the coup from his home in self-imposed exile in Pennsylvania. More than 45,000 government workers have been fired and in some cases arrested, including military officers, judges, and 15,000 education workers. And Turkish officials say a formal extradition request for Gulen has been sent to the U.S. Turkey’s air force, meanwhile, was operating enough for its F-16s to conduct cross-border strikes against PKK rebels in Iraq, according to Turkish state media.
CARTER ON NPR: Carter sat down with NPR at the Pentagon yesterday, and in an interview aired this morning said he finally talked to his Turkish counterpart early yesterday. Some key sentence fragments from the back and forth:
Turkey coup: “Didn’t know this was coming,” “a surprise,” “won’t affect our campaign against ISIL,” “entire military wasn’t involved,” it “was a faction.”
The Plan: “Take Raqqa away from them” and Mosul. “It’s important that we destroy the fact of and the idea of an Islamic State.”
Coordinating with the Russians in Syria: “Not in the cards at the moment,” “discussing with them the possibility,” “only a possibility,” “they will begin to do … what they said they were going to do.” Russia remains “intent on operating in ways that are not consistent with our interests,” “we’ll see what the future holds.”
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PRESUMPTIVE NO MORE: Defying the laws of political gravity, and proving all his detractors wrong, last night in Cleveland Donald Trump was installed as the nominee of the Republican Party to seek the office of president of the United States. Day 3 of the GOP convention should be interesting. It features Trump’s running mate, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence. But many will be watching to see whether Texas Sen. Ted Cruz will offer an olive branch to the man who spent much of the campaign calling Cruz, “Lyin’ Ted.”
SOMETHING’S MISSING: House Speaker Paul Ryan reassured grassroots supporters in Cleveland yesterday that the party has a unified defense and foreign policy platform. But Susan Ferrechio couldn’t help but notice that the speech didn’t have a single reference to the guy with the hair who was nominated a few blocks away and a few hours later. “Please know you see in front of you a Republican Party in Congress very soundly and very squarely in great knowledge of who we are and what we believe in,” Ryan said. “We know what kind of country we want, what kind of foreign policy we want, what kind of defense policy we want. We know what we need to do to improve our security posture.”
BLOCK BUY: Rep. Peter Roskam told the Washington Examiner why Congress needs to step in and block the sale of 100 commercial aircraft to Iran. Our video crew caught up with the Illinois congressman at the Republican National Convention, where he said such aircraft can be “weaponized and used for a military purpose.”
SOUTH CHINA STAND: Chief of Naval Operations Adm. John Richardson isn’t backing down, and neither is China. During a visit to a Chinese naval base yesterday Richardson said the U.S. would continue to exercise its rights of navigation on the seas and in the air, according to Reuters. “The U.S. Navy will continue to conduct routine and lawful operations around the world, including in the South China Sea, in order to protect the rights, freedoms and lawful uses of sea and airspace guaranteed to all. This will not change.” China has refused to recognize a ruling by a Permanent Court of Arbitration against its sovereignty claims. Over the weekend, a Chinese admiral threatened that freedom of navigation patrols by foreign navies in the South China Sea could end “in disaster.”
BAD STRIKE? A coalition airstrike killed at least 56 people in the Syrian city of Manbij, including 11 children, according to the British-based Syrian Observatory. The coalition is aware of the reports and is investigating, Kelly Cohen reports.
IT’S ONLY NEW TO US: The State Department acknowledged a secret portion of the Iran nuclear deal really does mean that Tehran will be able to ramp up its nuclear enrichment capacity after about a decade, Pete Kasperowicz reports. Spokesman Mark Toner said the countries negotiating the deal last year knew all about it, and that the capacity won’t help Iran build a bomb. It will be used for civil nuclear power only. “We’re confident that Iran’s enrichment capacity in the years after I guess year 10, the initial decade of the JCPOA, will undergo measured, incremental growth that is consistent with a peaceful, civilian nuclear program,” he said.
See? Told you so. Sen. Bob Corker took to Twitter and announced this was why he and others were opposed to the deal last year, Mariana Barillas reports. “As many of us warned, Iran can continue to research advanced centrifuges and will be able to industrialize their nuclear capability when many of the restrictions end in 10 years.”
NAVY OFFICIAL FACING CHARGES: Karnig Ohannessian, the deputy secretary of the Navy for the environment, was charged on Tuesday with three counts of brandishing a firearm after a confrontation last month near his home in Burke, Va. A Navy spokeswoman had no updates to provide about the ongoing internal Navy investigation into Ohannessian’s actions, where he was caught on video pointing a gun at three young men.
LOCKHEED’S EARNINGS: Second quarter earnings jumped 11 percent for Lockheed Martin, according to figures released Tuesday. David Wilkes reports that the windfall came from a service life extension to the F-35 program.
TURKEY’S F-35 BUY: Analysts are divided over whether last week’s attempted coup in Turkey will impact how many Lockheed Martin F-35s the country buys. While Richard Aboulafia, the vice president of analysis at the Teal Group, says the government may avoid buying large platforms to reinforce a military that just tried to overthrow leaders, the Heritage Foundation’s J.V. Venable said Ankara has already cleaned house of those who don’t support it and still faces a pressing need to replace aging jets that could have to take on threats from the Islamic State or Russia.
Both experts agree, however, that the instability is unlikely to have a major impact on Turkey’s economy and business sector, so the 10 Turkish companies that contribute to building parts of the joint strike fighter are expected to be able to continue their partnerships.
$2 MILLION UP FOR GRABS: The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency on Tuesday announced its Spectrum Collaboration Challenge, which will award $2 million to the team that designs the most effective radios to communicate with other systems and efficiently use limited spectrum resources. The competition will begin in 2017 and consist of three year-long phases, wrapping up with the championship event in late 2019, according to a DARPA release.
MISSILES TO UAE: The State Department announced on Tuesday that it approved the sale of $785 million in munitions and other support to the United Arab Emirates, including more than 8,000 bombs. The release said this potential sale helps the UAE remain an active contributor to the fight against ISIS.
WEAPONS IN SYRIA: Defense One is out with a series of charts and interactive graphics that gives a fascinating view into all the weapons involved in the Syrian war.
TROOPS FOR TRUMP: Rep. Ryan Zinke, who spoke late Monday night at the Republican National Convention, told the Military Times in Cleveland that he’s supporting Trump not just because he’s a better choice than Hillary Clinton, but because the GOP nominee is actually a friend to the troops. “Our troops and veterans are proud, they love our country and serve the red, white and blue, not just one party,” the former SEAL said. “But they see how the fabric of the country is being stretched right now. … The status quo is not working, and the corruption and cronyism of [Hillary] Clinton is not going to fix that.”
THE RUNDOWN
AP: U.N.: Islamic State fighters face possible defeat in Libya
Breaking Defense: New Cruise Missile Crucial To Nuclear Deterrence
AP: Prominent journalist killed in car bombing in Ukraine
UPI: Lockheed Martin team lays keel for 17th LCS
Defense News: KC-46 Moves Closer to Production Decision After Successful Flight Test
UPI: GenDyn awarded $19 million Virginia-class submarine contract modification
C4ISR Net: Funding GPS OCX is the right approach
Air Force Times: Anti-ISIS airstrikes in Iraq, Syria hit 2016 high
War on the Rocks: Five reasons why cooperating with Moscow on Syria is a bad idea
CNN: ISIS claims responsibility for German train attack, authorities investigating
Military.com: The ‘Earthquake’ Off Florida’s Coast Was Likely Navy Testing
C4ISR Net: Top naval intel and cyber posts filled
Task and Purpose: How Race Factors Into West Point Admissions
Fox News: Pentagon manual details rules for transgender military personnel
Calendar
WEDNESDAY | JULY 20
1:45 p.m Joint Base Andrews, Maryland. Defense Secretary Ash Carter press briefing at the conclusion of the Counter-ISIL Ministerial. defense.gov.
3:30 p.m. 1775 Massachusetts Ave. NW. Brookings Institution hosts a discussion with French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian on numerous security challenges in light of his meeting with U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter. brookings.edu
THURSDAY | JULY 21
9:30 a.m. 1300 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. Wilson Center will host a panel discussion on post-ISIS politics, deal-making, and the struggle for Iraq’s future. wilsoncenter.org
FRIDAY | JULY 22
10 a.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave. NW. CSIS and the U.S. Naval Institute host Rear Adm. Mathias Winter, chief of naval research, to discuss naval innovation and capabilities. usni.org
1 p.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave. NW. CSIS hosts a panel to discuss Russia’s undersea warfare in Northern Europe. csis.org
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. 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
