Daily on Defense — Jan. 24, 2017 — Mattis reaches out

In the call with Fallon, Mattis emphasized the “uniquely close relationship” between the U.S. and the U.K. and thanked Great Britain for being one of the few NATO members meeting its commitment to spend 2 percent of its gross domestic product on defense. Getting NATO members to pay their fair share was a campaign promise of President Trump.

In his call to Sajjan, the conversation focused on the relationship shared between the U.S. and Canada as NORAD partners, NATO allies and North American neighbors. Mattis thanked Sajjan for Canada’s strong support for our alliance, and expressed his personal appreciation for the professionalism of the Canadian Armed Forces.

HE’S GETTING THE BAND BACK TOGETHER: Mattis is calling on people he knows and respects from his time in military service as he begins to build his team. So far he has appointed two two-star admirals to his staff, one active-duty and one recently retired. Retired Rear Adm. Kevin Sweeney will serve as his chief of staff and Rear Adm. Craig Faller, the Navy’s former chief of legislative affairs, as his senior military adviser. Neither position requires Senate confirmation.

POMPEO IN AT CIA: The Senate easily confirmed Trump’s nominee to lead the CIA Monday night, installing a House Republican into the post after a temporary delay of the vote by Democrats critical of government surveillance programs, Joel Gehrke writes. Mike Pompeo was sworn in shortly afterward by Vice President Mike Pence. This morning, Pompeo takes over an agency that has been in the political crosshairs for two months, due to the ongoing analysis of Russian cyberattacks and leaks targeting the Democratic party during the 2016 presidential election. Trump has complained that political leaders at the agency were trying to undermine him with leaks, but he assured the CIA that it was receiving “a gem” of a leader in Pompeo.

TILLERSON ADVANCES: Secretary of State-designate Rex Tillerson has been approved by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in a straight party-line vote, Joel Gehrke writes. “It’s a little bit of a departure in the vote count than things have been in the past on nominations like this, but I certainly respect everyone’s ability to cast votes in the manner in which they wish,” committee chairman Sen. Bob Corker said after the vote. Tillerson carried the day on the strength of 11 Republican votes, after Sen. Marco Rubio came down on Tillerson’s side, while all 10 Democrats opposed the nomination. Tillerson’s confirmation vote in the full Senate, where Republicans hold 52 of the 100 seats, is not expected before next week.

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IT’S Q4 WEEK: This is the week some of the biggest defense contractors release their earnings results for both the fourth quarter of 2016 and the full year. Lockheed Martin is up first when CEO Marillyn Hewson discusses the company’s results at 11 a.m. today. Boeing goes tomorrow morning, Northrop Grumman and Raytheon both release their results on Thursday morning and General Dynamics is up on Friday. Check back here tomorrow for the first batch of results.

CAREFUL COUNTING THOSE CHICKENS: Experts warned defense industry yesterday to not be too quick in celebrating what they expect to be dramatic increases in defense spending under Trump’s administration, pointing out that fractures in the Republican Party and the need to partner with Democrats to meet the 60-vote threshold in the Senate could prevent the big boosts some are predicting. “It’s not Christmas in July and I just keep hearing this euphoria in defense circles,” Mackenzie Eaglen, an analyst with the American Enterprise Institute, said during an event at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

HAPPENING TODAY: Senate lawmakers prepare to voice their opinions about defense spending in fiscal 2018 and beyond at a hearing this morning with a panel of think tank experts. Look for chairman Sen. John McCain to talk about his $640 billion defense spending plan for fiscal 2018 he released in a white paper last week. Dakota Wood of the Heritage Foundation is expected to say that, in addition to rebuilding the military and readiness, a boost in defense spending will send a message to the world “that America is once again becoming serious about protecting itself and its interests, standing with those who choose to align with it in common cause and prepared to lead like-minded nations in the effort to preserve peace, enhance stability, and expand freedom and opportunity, and to serve as a bulwark against forces of disorder.” You can watch live here.

MEGA APPROVALS: The Defense Security Cooperation Agency notified Congress yesterday it had approved the possible sale of a total of $1.8 billion in sales to Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, the U.K. and Kenya. They include Raytheon’s advanced, medium-range, air-to-air missiles, AH-64D Apache helicopter support, aerostats, Air Tractor aircraft and C-17 support by Boeing. More here.

OCO-NFIRMATION: Rep. Mick Mulvaney appears at his confirmation hearing to be the next director of the Office of Management and Budget this afternoon. And while it doesn’t look like a defense hearing on its face, he’s almost certain to field some questions on his stance on the Pentagon’s overseas contingency operations account. Lawmakers have used the war chest to get around budget caps to spend more on defense, but critics — among whom Mulvaney was often the loudest — call it a slush fund that should be done away with. Three senators serve on both the committee confirming Mulvaney and the Senate Armed Services Committee and could raise the issue: Sen. Claire McCaskill, Sen. Gary Peters and McCain, who promised “some very interesting questions” on the topic.

YOU’VE GOT A FRIEND IN ME: Members of the House Armed Services Committee praised the selection of Heather Wilson to be the next Air Force secretary after Trump announced her nomination on Monday. Many lawmakers had previously served with her during her time in the House as a New Mexico Republican when she served on the committee. “Having served with her on the House Armed Services and Intelligence Committees and worked with her on many issues, I know her to be a serious and thoughtful leader who is well-equipped to meet the challenges we face in national security. I look forward to working with her in this new role,” Rep. Mac Thornberry said in a statement.

POTUS TO PENTAGON: Trump makes his first visit to the Pentagon Friday for the formal swearing ceremony for Mattis. Trump has given the Pentagon 30 days to submit options to supercharge the war against the Islamic State. But it’s not expected he’ll get a report that soon.

HEAVY BOMBING: A check of the daily airstrike totals released by the U.S. Central Command seemed to indicate a spike on Sunday with a reported total of 42 strikes against ISIS in Syria and Iraq, with most of those strikes hitting 71 targets In Syria, and 8 strikes against 22 targets in Iraq. That compares to 31 airstrikes Saturday and 26 on Friday, the day Trump became commander in chief. The U.S.-led coalition carried out 31 attacks on Thursday, 26 on Wednesday, 23 on Tuesday and 17 on Monday, according to Central Command. It may look like a trend, but Pentagon spokesman Navy Capt. Jeff Davis denied there was already an acceleration of the bombing campaign under the Mattis Pentagon. Davis attributed some of the increase to targets of opportunity, such as Islamic State fighters fleeing east Mosul, who made for fat targets in their boats crossing the Tigris River. Ten boats were blasted out of the water. “It is a great day to not be a member of the ISIL Navy,” Davis deadpanned.

DRONING ON IN YEMEN: The Obama administration’s weapon of choice against terrorists in far flung corners of the earth, where the U.S. has limited military presence, continues to pick off terrorists a few at a time under the new administration. The Pentagon confirmed three drone strikes over the inaugural weekend killed five al Qaeda in Arabian Peninsula members in Yemen: one on Friday, three on Saturday and one on Sunday.

NO ASSAD PARTNERSHIP: Trump may be unlikely to partner with Syrian dictator Bashar Assad to defeat the Islamic State, despite previously suggesting he would be open to working with anybody to combat the radical Islamic terror group. Speaking to reporters on Monday, White House press secretary Sean Spicer said the new administration is going to approach its campaign to counter the Islamic State “smartly” and will work only with countries that have America’s interest at hand, Gabby Morrongiello writes.

“Let’s be clear, part of it is to make sure that they have America’s interest in what they’re doing and who they are,” Spicer said when asked if Trump would consider aligning itself with Assad. “We’re not going to get together with people under the guise of defeating [the Islamic State] if that’s not truly their guise,” he added. “So let’s not take that too far.”

The Pentagon also issued a short statement Monday denying a Russian claim that it was now flying joint missions with the U.S.-led coalition in Syria. “The Department of Defense is not coordinating airstrikes with the Russian military in Syria,” the statement said, insisting the only coordination with Moscow was to avoid any confrontations on the sky between U.S. and Russian warplanes. “DoD maintains a channel of communication with the Russian military focused solely on ensuring the safety of aircrews and de-confliction of coalition and Russian operations in Syria.”

FLYNN’S RUSSIAN CONNECTION: Responding to a report that the FBI is investigating phone calls between Trump’s National Security Adviser Michael Flynn and the Russian ambassador to the U.S. on the day more sanctions were announced against Russia, the White House insisted there is no smoke or fire. “One call, talked about four subjects,” Spicer said. One was the loss of life that occurred in the plane crash that took their military choir, two was Christmas and holiday greetings, three was to talk about a conference in Syria on ISIS and four was to set up … a call between President [Vladimir] Putin and President Trump.” No evidence of wrongdoing has been found, according to a report on CNN.

ABOUT THAT OIL: Spicer dodged when asked whether Trump still plans to take Iraq’s oil, which Trump said was a possibility on Saturday and which legal scholars have said is quite illegal. Given the chance to say Trump didn’t really mean it, Spicer took a pass. “I think what the president has been very clear about in foreign policy is too often the United States is going in with a lot of money, a lot of manpower, and in many cases losing both loss of life. And we want to make sure that our interests are protected if we are going into a country for a cause,” Spicer said. “I think he wants to make sure that America is getting something out of it for the commitment and the sacrifice that we’re making.”

SHOWDOWN IN SOUTH CHINA SEA? China said this morning it has “irrefutable” sovereignty over disputed islands in the South China Sea after the White House yesterday questioned China right to occupy the islands and man-made reefs.  “I think areas in the South China Sea that are part of international waters and international activities I think the U.S. is going to make sure that we protect our interests there,” Spicer said. “So it’s a question of if those islands are in fact in international waters and not part of China proper, then yes, we’re gonna make sure that we defend international territories from being taken over by one country.” The Washington Post asks in a headline this morning, “Is Trump ready for war in the South China Sea, or is his team just not being clear?”

THE RUNDOWN:

Defense News: Diverting From Norm, Army Sends Hill 2017-2018 Wish Lists

Military.com: HASC Chairman: Here’s How We Will Make America’s Military Great Again

Breaking Defense: Why Mattis Should Support Long Range Stand-Off Nuclear Cruise Missile

Defense One: A Key NATO Ally Looks Nervously at Putin—and Trump

UK Times: US urged Britain to keep Trident blunder secret

Wired: The Military May Soon Buy the Same Drones You Do

Navy Times: Fix the ships we have, Mr. President

USNI News: Navy Sticking With Advanced Arresting Gear in Next Carrier

Defense One: Trump’s Air Force Nominee Could Bring Strong Voice to Capitol Hill

C4ISRNET: Marines stand up rapid capabilities office

Military.com: Marine Veteran Out to Make World’s Strongest Body Armor

UPI: U.S. AETC fires first live bombs from an F-35A

Calendar

TUESDAY | JANUARY 24

8:30 a.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave. NW. Sen. Dan Sullivan speaks on a panel about U.S. defense priorities in the Arctic. csis.org

9:30 a.m. Hart 216. A panel of think tank experts testifies at the Senate Armed Services Committee about defense spending in fiscal 2018 and beyond. armed-services.senate.gov

2:30 p.m. Dirksen 342. Rep. Mick Mulvaney, a vocal critic of the overseas contingency operations account, has his confirmation hearing to serve as the director of the Office of Management and Budget. hsgac.senate.gov

5:30 p.m. 1789 Massachusetts Ave. NW. Reporter Graeme Wood talks about his first-hand encounters with the Islamic State. aei.org

WEDNESDAY | JANUARY 25

9:30 a.m. 1333 H St. NW. Rep. Adam Schiff, the top Democrat on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, talks about Russian hacking of the U.S. election. americanprogressaction.org

9:30 a.m. Senate Visitor’s Center 203. The Air Force Association’s Mitchell Institute for Aerospace releases a new study on the value of ICBMs and the new ground-based strategic deterrent. mitchellaerospacepower.org

10 a.m. 1300 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. The Woodrow Wilson Center hosts an event on NATO and Russia. wilsoncenter.org

3:30 p.m. 1030 15th St. NW. A panel of experts predicts what relations with Iran will look like under the Trump administration. atlanticcouncil.org

FRIDAY | JANUARY 27

12 p.m. 214 Massachusetts Ave. NE. Jay Solomon, author of The Iran Wars: Spy Games, Bank Battles, and the Secret Deals That Reshaped the Middle East, speaks at the Heritage Foundation. heritage.org

MONDAY | JANUARY 30

10 a.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave. NW. The Center for Strategic and International Studies releases a new study on international joint acquisition projects. csis.org

12 p.m. 1030 15th St. NW. Sen. Chris Murphy delivers the keynote address at an event looking at what implications the Iran nuclear deal has for the U.S. interests in the Middle East. atlanticcouncil.org

5:30 p.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave. NW. Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright talks about America’s place in the world. csis.org