NOW IT’S THE SENATE’S TURN: The upper chamber returns to Washington on Monday and begins its consideration of the fiscal 2017 National Defense Authorization Act. A vote is expected Monday afternoon on an amendment from Sen. Deb Fischer, R-Neb., on military healthcare.
Time is ticking for the Senate to finish and approve of the bill, then iron out differences with House negotiators. Analysts predict that timeline could push finalizing the bill until after the election, which could leave some lame-duck lawmakers fighting tooth-and-nail to keep their priorities in the final product.
KILLED IN ACTION: NPR Photographer David Gilkey was killed in Afghanistan along with his Afghan interpreter Zabihullah Tamanna Sunday when the Afghan military convoy they were traveling in came under rocket and mortar attack from the Taliban in southern Helmand province. NPR Pentagon correspondent Tom Bowman was in a separate vehicle, which turned back when it began taking fire. Bowman was unharmed, and didn’t learn until hours later of the death of the others. Gilkey is remembered by his NPR colleagues at npr.org.
Secretary of State John Kerry released a statement, which said in part: “This attack is a grim reminder of the danger that continues to face the Afghan people, the dedication of Afghan national defense and security forces to securing their country, and of the courage of intrepid journalists — and their interpreters — who are trying to convey that important story to the rest of the world.”
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WASTE WATCHDOG: John Sopko, the special inspector general for Afghanistan reconstruction, told the Washington Examiner magazine he’s still hopeful that the U.S. can rein in waste in its rebuilding of Afghanistan, despite attention-grabbing examples he’s unearthed like a failed program to breed Afghan goats.
“I keep getting people asking me, ‘Why do you have to always give the bad news?’ Well, I give the news,” Sopko said. “Too many people want us to not talk about the problem, and if you don’t talk about the problem, you’re never going to fix it.”
Read the full Q&A, where he discusses upcoming reports and how his office is using local investigators to hold projects accountable in places where it’s too dangerous to put Americans on the ground.
HECKUVA JOB, BOBBY: President Obama gave a vote of confidence to his Veteran’s Affairs Secretary Robert McDonald, just weeks after the McDonald stirred controversy for comparing the waits at VA hospitals to lines at Disneyland. “I think Secretary McDonald has done a terrific job,” Obama said in an interview in the Colorado Gazette. Donald Trump was among those who jumped on the Disneyland comments.
“I’M RUBBER, YOU’RE GLUE:” Trump says he’ll “do a retort,” to Hillary Clinton’s takedown of his foreign policy chops. Trumps tells CNN he plans to deliver a rebuttal speech, or in his words, “I will actually be doing it. I think I’m going to go do a retort to her speech.” Trump at first hinted he might do it as soon as today, before Tuesday’s primaries, but later a spokesman said that wasn’t happening.
Also on the Sunday shows, Bernie Sanders went after Clinton’s foreign policy record, painting her as too eager to use U.S. military force and also questioning the Clinton Foundation charity’s acceptance of foreign countries’ contributions as a conflict of interest.
RUN & HIDE OR STAY & FIGHT? The question over how hard the Islamic State would fight to hold onto Fallujah, its last stronghold in Iraq’s Anbar province, seems to be answered. It appears ISIS fighters are digging in for a desperate last stand, even — according to international aid organization — shooting at civilians as they try to flee the fighting between Iraqi government forces and Islamic State militants.
THE NEXT WAVE: Defense Secretary Ash Carter is back from Singapore where he announced what he called “the next wave in Asia-Pacific security.” AP reports Carter proposed expanding a “security network” of countries whose militaries would train together and eventually operate together to confront China’s expansive military ambitions.
SOUTH CHINA SELFIE: Check out this photo tweeted out by Sen. John McCain on the way to the Shangri-La Dialogue on Friday. On the map over their shoulders, you can see he and Sen. Tom Cotton are flying over the South China Sea, where the two lawmakers have been prodding the Obama administration to sail and fly over as China builds up man-made islands in the area.
WHEN IT PAYS TO PROTEST: The Pentagon announced on Friday that six companies were added to a $900 million contract for command-wide, mission-support systems for U.S. Special Operations Command, the result of a bid protest. The six firms are ACADEMI Training Center, AECOM-URS, ARMA Global Corp., Fulcrum IT Services, Jacobs Technology Inc. and Raytheon Technical Services Co.
“These contracts will provide U.S. Special Operations Command with a variety of services in the following knowledge-based services portfolios: program management, engineering and technical, and professional services,” the Pentagon said.
TRAGIC COINCIDENCE: A former commander of the Air Force Thunderbirds tells us that, despite the readiness crisis facing most of the military as budget cuts force training and maintenance to be reduced, last week’s two demonstration jet crashes have nothing to do with readiness.
“The readiness of these two units is not in question,” said J.V. Venable, who now serves as a senior research fellow for defense policy at the Heritage Foundation. “They’re flying six days a week, they fly across the U.S. to air show venues. These pilots are getting a great deal of flying time because of demands of their position.”
Venable also gave details of how the investigation will play out, and how long it may be until we have answers about what caused both crashes, one of which killed the pilot.
The military, meanwhile, argues that despite last week’s accidents, demonstration teams are worth the risk because of their value in recruiting new troops, according to an AP report.
SOLDIERS ID’ED: The Army has identified all nine soldiers who died in the training accident last week at Fort Hood after a military vehicle flipped over in a flood. After this story came out, the service identified the ninth soldier, Spc. Yingming Sun.
RUSSIAN BOMBS AWAY: Russia has pivoted its air war in western Syria to target mainstream elements of the armed opposition, and dramatically escalated the scale of the bombing campaign, according to the Institute for the Study of War. “The rate and breadth of Russian airstrikes nearly tripled from May 29 – June 2 in comparison to the previous five day period,” reports the think tank.
SOCIAL SCREENING: Rep. Vern Buchanan has introduced a bill requiring the Department of Homeland Security to screen the social media accounts of people seeking visas to the U.S., Rudy Takala reports. “In the wake of the San Bernardino attack, we learned the government does not screen social media accounts of foreigners seeking entry to the country. That’s pretty scary.”
Two other tech issues are on the agenda for the summer Congress: Data-breach notification legislation and law enforcement access to encrypted communications. But Charlie Mitchell reports that proponents may not have much luck.
And while we’re on surveillance, Takala reports that an issue lawmakers thought was dead has been given new life through the intelligence appropriations bill.
SPOX, LIES AND VIDEOTAPE: Late on Friday, we learned that the State Department’s truthiness problem has now spread to the White House, Pete Kasperowicz reports. “The Obama administration suddenly has a credibility problem, and not just with Congress or the press, but with its own senior-level officials. The State Department was forced to admit on Wednesday that it altered a press briefing video to hide an exchange in which a spokeswoman seemed to indicate officials lied about when the Iran nuclear talks began. And late Friday, a report came out that a White House transcript was altered, in another discussion about Iran. That transcript omitted a comment from Josh Earnest in which he said ‘No, Kevin’ when asked if he could categorically state that no one ever lied about the Iran deal.”
MORE GITMO TRANSFERS: Scrambling to empty the U.S. prison camp in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, the Obama administration has announced 30 more prisoners will be sent to other countries over the summer. Already barred from bringing prisoners to U.S. soil, Congress is considering also banning transfers to third-party nations.
SHAKE-UP AT SAF/PA: The Air Force’s embattled public affairs shop is being overhauled with a pair of highly experienced and respected pros installed in two top positions. Newly-promoted Brig. Gen. Ed Thomas, former spokesman for Joint Chiefs Chairman Martin Dempsey, and Col. Pat Ryder, current spokesman for U.S. Central Command, will be charged with restoring the Air Force’s credibility. Thomas replaces Brig. Gen. Kathleen Cook, who was criticized for what were seen as a series of missteps, including an errant tweet that seemed to criticize the Obama administration two years ago.
GIVIN’ ‘EM HELL: The Navy released video of aircraft launching from the carrier Harry S. Truman as they strike the Islamic State. Spotted: several Boeing F/A-18 Super Hornets and one Northrop Grumman E-2C Hawkeye. (6th Fleet area of operations means the Mediterranean Sea.)
IN MEMORIAM: From veteran war correspondent Joe Galloway, via Facebook: “Just received word of the death today of David Lamb, former UPI and Los Angeles Times reporter, in Alexandria VA hospital following a long illness. Dave was a war correspondent in Vietnam for UPI. Among other stories he covered was the battle of Hamburger Hill. In fact it was David who so dubbed that 101st Airborne battle. He was a good friend, a great raconteur and all around great human being. We will miss his smiling face.”
THE RUNDOWN
Breaking Defense: How Big Will Boeing’s KC-46 Penalty Be?
Defense News: Raytheon Breathes New Life Into Patton Tanks
UPI: Aurora tests remote aircraft system for USMC
Breaking Defense: US On China: Cooperate Where We Can, Confront Where We Must
CNN: ‘We have no fear of trouble’: China talks tough over South China Sea
Wall Street Journal: India’s Narendra Modi Looks to Cement Bond With U.S.
Military Times: Without solid training options, mysterious Cyber Command remains a work in progress
Defense One: No More Cyber Maginot Lines: We Need to Hunt Down Hackers Before They Strike
Breaking Defense: To Sen. McCain: Why SASC Should Not Change B-21 Acquisition Rules
Daily Beast: On the Front Line in the Bloody Fight to Take Manbij From ISIS
Military.com: Generals, Diplomats Urge Obama to Freeze Afghanistan Troop Levels
Military.com: A-29s Carry Out ‘Dumb’ Bomb Raids in Afghanistan, Official Says
Air Force Times: Warthogs join forces for biennial Hawgsmoke competition
Calendar
MONDAY | JUNE 6
8:30 a.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave. NW. CSIS and Department of Justice computer crimes division will host a symposium on safety, security and privacy related to cybercrimes. csis.org
9 a.m. Kempinski Hotel, Lithuania. The Atlantic Council hosts a conference on sustaining NATO’s strength and deterrence. Atlanticcouncil.org
4:45 p.m. Defense Secretary Ash Carter takes part in a wreath-laying ceremony with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Arlington National Cemetery.
TUESDAY | JUNE 7
10 a.m. Dirksen 342. The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee will discuss TSA operations in light of the current threat to aviation. hsgac.senate.gov
2:15 p.m. Dirksen 419. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee holds a hearing with State and Defense Department officials on Russian border and human rights violations. foreign.senate.gov
WEDNESDAY | JUNE 8
11:30 a.m. 1030 15th St. NW. The Atlantic Council hosts a discussion on the future of NATO with Philip Breedlove, the former supreme allied commander of NATO. atlanticcouncil.org
THURSDAY | JUNE 9
8:30 a.m. 1777 F St. NW. Sen. Lisa Murkowski and Robert Papp, the State Department’s special representative to the Arctic, will speak at an event on national security risks in the Arctic. cfr.org
2 p.m. Rayburn 2118. The House Armed Services Committee holds a hearing on stopping the flow of funding to terrorists. armedservices.house.gov
3 p.m. 214 Massachusetts Ave. NE. The Heritage Foundation hosts a panel to discuss the major foreign policy and defense issues related to Asia. heritage.org
5:30 p.m. 1775 Massachusetts Ave. NW. Brookings Institution discusses the future of Islam and the Middle East through Shadi Hamid’s book, Islamic Exceptionalism: How the Struggle Over Islam is Reshaping the World. brookings.edu
FRIDAY | JUNE 10
1 p.m. Newseum, Washington D.C. Defense Secretary Ash Carter speaks at the Defense One Tech Summit. defenseone.com
