WAR ON POLICE: Our top national security story this morning is the security of our own nation after snipers in Dallas, Texas, murdered five police officers and wounded six others, some critically, at what had been a peaceful protest against police violence. The act of domestic terrorism, just a few blocks from where President John F. Kennedy was assassinated, was the deadliest day for law enforcement since 9/11. It has virtually shut down the city center of Dallas and has deeply shocked the nation. We’ll have the latest on the suspects, the investigation, and the victims throughout the day at washingtonexaminer.com
President Obama, speaking at the NATO summit in Warsaw said he was “horrified” by the targeted killing of police, which he called “a vicious, calculated and despicable attack against law enforcement,” Susan Crabtree reports this morning. The president called it a wrenching reminder of the sacrifice given by police officers. And while he said today was a day to mourn the victims, he also raised the political issue of gun control. “Powerful weapons make the attacks more deadly and more tragic,” Obama said.
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DEMS FILIBUSTER DEFENSE: Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid led a Democrat filibuster of a Defense Department funding package yesterday in an attempt to extract policy concessions on other spending bills. The filibuster vote brought an effective halt to the appropriations process in the Senate, reports Joel Gehrke, who says Reid is trying to force Republicans to revise a Zika crisis package that contains a number of House Republican-favored policy riders.
THORNBERRY’S DEFENSE: Under fire for moving funds from the overseas account to the base budget, Rep. Mac Thornberry named three others who’ve done it: Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and John Kerry, David Wilkes reports. Thornberry also said at a Heritage Foundation event “We’re gonna have to do better than spend 15 percent of the national budget on defense.”
MORE TROOP TALK: At the NATO summit, which began today, Defense Secretary Ash Carter is talking to his counterparts about extending the commitment of troops to Afghanistan. In his discussions with reporters on his plane en route to Warsaw, Carter again could not answer how the Pentagon decided it could carry out its two missions, train, advise and assist, and counterterrorism, just as well with 1,400 fewer U.S troops.
Carter kept repeating that top commanders didn’t have any number in mind as they looked at how many troops were needed. You can get an idea of the reporters’ frustration by reading the official transcript of the back and forth, as Carter can’t or won’t explain what capabilities are being given up to achieve the 15 percent troop cut. He also would not say how many troops he will ask the NATO allies to commit to. About 6,000 troops from other countries are in the Afghanistan mission.
MISSILE SHIELD TO S. KOREA: When the Pentagon announced it was planning to send the Lockheed Martin Terminal High Altitude Area Defense anti-missile system to Korea, it sounded as if the interceptors would be deployed within weeks. Now, almost six months later, the announcement came last night (Friday Korea time) that an agreement had been reached with South Korea to upgrade its missile defenses. “When the THAAD system is deployed to the Korean Peninsula, it will be focused solely on North Korean nuclear and missile threats and would not be directed towards any third party nations,” said a Pentagon statement. “The THAAD deployment will contribute to a layered missile defense that will enhance the alliance’s existing missile defense capabilities against North Korean missile threats.”
IT’S BACK ON: Now that the FBI investigation into Hillary Clinton’s mishandling of classified emails is complete, the State Department has restarted its own internal probe, Spokesman John Kirby said last night in a statement. Kirby says former officials could still face “administrative sanctions.” The most serious is loss of security clearances, which could complicate Clinton’s naming of a national security team if she becomes president. But Kirby made no promise the administrative actions would be made public. “Our goal will be to be as transparent as possible about our results, while complying with our various legal obligations. I’m not able to make commitments today one way or the other about what we will be able to disclose,” his said in the statement.
COMEY EXPLAINS HIS UNPRECEDENTED ACTION: About two-thirds of the way through his marathon testimony yesterday, FBI Director James Comey said he was feeling the pressure on his bladder, but was good to his word to stay as long as necessary to explain to skeptical Republicans why Clinton was facing no charges for what Comey admitted was negligence in handling classified information on her insecure private email server. Normally when the FBI closes an investigation without bringing charges, it says nothing, but Comey said extraordinary times calls for extraordinary measures.
“I was very concerned that if I didn’t show that transparency, that in that lack of transparency people would say, ‘what is going on here — something seems squirrely here?’ So I said I would do something unprecedented because I think it is an unprecedented situation,” Comey said. “Now, the next director who is criminally investigating one of the two candidates for president may find him or herself bound by my precedent. OK, if that happens in the next 100 years, they will have to deal with what I did. I decided it was worth doing.”
THE CLINTON DEFENSE: A Marine reservist who got in trouble for sending an email over an unclassified network is using the result of this week’s FBI determination of Clinton’s use of an unauthorized server as the reason he shouldn’t be punished, Maria Biery reports. The Marine, Maj. Jason Brezler, used the email to warn others about an Afghan police chief who went on to kill other Marines. Remember Comey said “no reasonable prosecutor” would have brought a case against Clinton.
Three senators, meanwhile, want to revoke Clinton’s security clearance, Kelly Cohen reports. “When individuals mishandle our country’s most sensitive information they jeopardize national security and shouldn’t be trusted with such an important responsibility,” Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn said. House Speaker Paul Ryan has made a similar request.
CATCH AND RELEASE: House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Rep. Ed Royce grilled two Pentagon officials about their flawed assurances back in March that Uruguay was capable of taking six Guantanamo prisoners and ensure they would not be a future threat. After one of the detainees disappeared, Royce wanted to know why the Obama administration ignored Uruguay’s clear warnings it would not restrict the travel of “resettled” detainees. The title of the hearing said it all: “Demanding Accountability: The Administration’s Reckless Release of Terrorists From Guantanamo.”
BLOCKING SALE: Sen. Marco Rubio introduced legislation yesterday to block any possibility that a pending $17 billion-plus deal between Boeing and the Iranian government could receive financing from the Export-Import Bank of the United States, Joseph Lawler writes. “Republicans have expressed concern that the planes, the sale of which was made possible by President Obama’s deal with the Iranian government that pulled back some sanctions, could be used by terrorists sponsored by or affiliated by the Iranian government.”
GOOGLE BEATS THE PENTAGON: OK, only when it comes to consumption of electricity generated by wind and solar, John Siciliano reports. “The Pentagon is numero dos when it comes to renewable energy, with Google being the top user of renewable electric power in the nation, according to analysts at Bloomberg New Energy Finance. Wind and solar energy made up the largest chunk of new power generators in 2015, although they make up less than 6 percent of total electricity generated in the U.S., according to government data.”
WOULD-BE ISIS HELPER: Another day, another person pleads guilty/is charged/is convicted of trying to help the Islamic State. Yesterday, an Ohio man pleaded guilty to plotting to kill a government employee on behalf of ISIS, Maria Biery reports. First he planned to travel to Syria to join the fight, then decided against it, then at the urging of an ISIS member decided to take out someone in the military, but was arrested before he could.
THE GRIM TOLL: An average of 20 United States veterans committed suicide daily in 2014, according to Department of Veterans Affairs data. Overall in 2014, at least 7,403 U.S. veterans killed themselves. This is the first count of suicides among former service members, as the VA had previously only estimated suicides. In 2010, it said there was an average of 22 a day.
“I’D BOMB THE HELL OUT OF THE OIL FIELDS” That has been among Donald Trump’s plans for what to do about ISIS. But based on some recent satellite images, that might not be terribly effective, David Wilkes reports. The website Stratfor is now saying ISIS is using portable oil refineries, called “teapots,” to refine their oil and sell it on the black market in order to keep production going amid the airstrikes.
THE RUNDOWN
Defense News: Continuing Resolution Could Derail Army Aviation Readiness Recovery
Washington Post: Pentagon chief on pulling air support for U.S.-backed rebels: ‘We missed an opportunity’
Christian Science Monitor: Will recent deaths tame Navy SEAL training?
Military.com: No Timeline for Tricare Transgender Coverage
USA Today: Military ordered to turn over emails in Bergdahl case
Bloomberg: Armed Drones Used by Islamic State Posing New Threat in Iraq
CNN: China unveils huge military plane
Los Angeles Times: Why investment in space companies is heating up
Wall Street Journal: Lockheed Martin Says New F-35 Contract Talks in Final Stages
Defense News: F-35 Ejection Seat Concerns Have Not Reached Lockheed Martin
UPI: Raytheon’s air and missile defense radar to be tested
PBS NewsHour: ‘Zero Days,’ a detective story about the cyber warfare arms race
Cyberbrief.com: Ryan Crocker: The U.S. is Not Walking Away from Afghanistan
Calendar
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. NE. 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
3:30 p.m. 1201 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. The Hudson Institute hosts Sens. Tom Cotton and Jon Kyl, and retired Gen. Charles Jacoby to discuss the future of space defense and missile technology. hudson.org
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
THURSDAY | JULY 14
12 p.m. 214 Massachusetts Ave. NE. The Heritage Foundation hosts former CIA analyst Fred Fleitz to discuss his new book on the nuclear deal with Iran. heritage.org
