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TURNS OUT THERE WAS A THREAT: The Central American migrants who have been massing in Tijuana, across the border from San Diego, Calif., were planning to a supposedly peaceful protest yesterday. Then several hundred men, women, and children overwhelmed Mexican police and began to scale barriers at the busy San Ysidro border crossing. U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents, wielding shields, turned back the horde without the use of lethal force, firing tear gas and closing the border for several hours. Later the Mexican government announced that it will deport nearly 500 migrants who it says attempted to cross the border “violently” and “illegally.” Mexican officials pledged to shore up security on its side of the international line. The protest was supposed to be a peaceful demonstration calling on the U.S. to speed up asylum processing. The effort came after the Trump administration said the migrants would have to wait in Mexico and would only be allowed in after a U.S. court ruled their asylum claim was merited. Videos and photos of the migrants crossing a footbridge over a canal in Tijuana as they headed to the border were posted to social media — including footage of children on the treacherous path. Some of the migrants made it all the way up to the fence chanting, “Yes we can.” President Trump tweeted about the events Monday morning: “Mexico should move the flag-waving Migrants, many of whom are stone cold criminals, back to their countries. Do it by plane, do it by bus, do it anyway you want, but they are NOT coming into the U.S.A. We will close the Border permanently if need be. Congress, fund the WALL!” CALL HIM ‘THE NORMALIZER’: While video showed the chaotic scene at the border yesterday, what you didn’t see were any armed U.S. troops participating in crowd control. That’s largely due to the intervention of Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, who has perfected the fine art of taking extraordinary orders from his commander in chief and “normalizing” them. Last week Mattis received a White House memo giving military forces who are supporting the CBP officers authority for “a show or use of force (including lethal force, where necessary), crowd control, temporary detention, and cursory search.” As many as 400 MPs were moved from Texas to California last week as Chief of Staff John Kelly cited “credible evidence and intelligence” in a separate memo, which he said indicating migrant caravans, “may prompt incidents of violence and disorder.” But in a meeting with reporters at the Pentagon the day before Thanksgiving, Mattis insisted he would not violate the 1878 Posse Comitatus Act, which bars active-duty troops from engaging in domestic law enforcement, and instead said the new authority would be extremely limited, used only unusual circumstances, and that any back-up would be provided by unarmed troops. “Probably MPs [Military Police], unarmed MPs with shields, batons. No firearms,” Mattis said. The defense secretary said he would not be giving U.S. troops arrest authority. Nor would they detain any migrants, except for perhaps briefly in order to turn them over to civilian authorities. “I would put it in terms of minutes,” Mattis said. “In other words, if someone’s beating on a border patrolman — and if we were in position to have to do something about it — we could stop them from beating on them and take them over and deliver them to a patrolman who would then arrest them for it.” THERE’S A PATTERN HERE: When Mattis gets an order from President Trump that doesn’t seem to in the best interests of the military, he’s careful not to defy it, but instead tries to find a way to implement the intent while minimizing the downside. Take, for example, Trump’s order to end “provocative” “war games,” the joint U.S.- South Korean military exercises the Pentagon considers vital to maintaining readiness on the Korean peninsula. Last week Mattis tacitly admitted that the joint drills have continued, but that their profile has simply been lowered to keep them under the radar. “We are not canceling exercises,” Mattis told reporters. “We are realigning one exercise.” That would be Foal Eagle, the big annual spring exercise among two major military drills the U.S. is loath to scrap. So instead of canceling, “Foal Eagle is being reorganized a bit to keep it at a level that will not be harmful to diplomacy.” In other words, the name is being dropped, along with any publicity about the number of troops involved. Good Monday morning and welcome to Jamie McIntyre’s Daily on Defense, compiled by Washington Examiner National Security Senior Writer Jamie McIntyre (@jamiejmcintyre) and National Security Writer Travis J. Tritten (@travis_tritten). Email us here for tips, suggestions, calendar items and anything else. If a friend sent this to you and you’d like to sign up, click here. If signing up doesn’t work, shoot us an email and we’ll add you to our list. And be sure to follow us on Twitter @dailyondefense. |
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HAPPENING TODAY: Mattis is scheduled to speak at today’s comanage of command ceremony U.S. Southern Command in Doral, Fla. Adm. Craig Faller will be assuming command from Adm. Kurt Tidd, who is retiring after more than four decades in uniform. The Senate confirmed Faller’s presidential nomination to command SOUTHCOM Oct. 11. Also taking part is Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Joseph Dunford. Mattis’ remarks will be live streamed live on the Pentagon’s website at 1 p.m. UN EMERGENCY SESSION: The United Nations Security Council has scheduled an emergency meeting today after Russia seized three Ukrainian naval vessels that Moscow claimed entered Russian territorial waters. The Russian Navy has blocked the Kerch Strait between Ukraine and Russian-controlled Crimea. The Ukrainian Navy says Russia’s coast guard opened fire on and seized three Ukrainian vessels and wounded two crew members in the Black Sea following a tense standoff off the coast of the Crimean Peninsula. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko is demanding the release of the ships and 23 crew members who were seized and is calling for a “de-escalation” of the crisis around Crimea. Poroshenko today asked his parliament to introduce martial law in response to what he described as Russian aggression. ISIS ATTEMPTS BREAKOUT FROM ITS LAST REDOUBT: The U.S.-led counter ISIS coalition says the increasingly desperate remnants of ISIS fighters trapped in Syria used inclement weather as cover to attack U.S.-backed forces, in an attempt to escape from the Middle Euphrates River Valley over the weekend. ISIS is now confined to less than one percent of the territory it once held. A statement from Operation Inherent Resolve said U.S. airstrikes and indirect fire helped beat back the coordinated attack by ISIS elements near Deir ez-Zor, Syria. The U.S. still estimates there are approximately 2,000 ISIS forces remaining in Syria, despite months of efforts to finish them off with an offensive dubbed “Operation Roundup,” which began in May. Agence France Presse reports at least 47 US-backed fighters were killed by ISIS over two days quoting a war monitoring group. “The presence of one ISIS terrorist anywhere is too many, but at this point in the operation, there are not enough ISIS to make any significant or lasting gains,” said British Maj. Gen. Christopher Ghika, deputy commanding general of the coalition. AFGHAN WAR CLAIMS NINTH US COMBAT DEATH: For the ninth time this year, a U.S. service member supporting Afghan forces has been killed by hostile fire. The Pentagon has identified the latest American killed in action as U.S. Army Ranger Sgt. Leandro A.S. Jasso, 25. He died Saturday as a result of wounds sustained while engaging enemy forces in Khash Rod District, Nimruz Province, Afghanistan. Jasso death is the 10th American service member to die in Afghanistan this year, nine in combat, one from a “non-combat” incident. So far in 2018, the Pentagon has announced the deaths of 25 U.S. service members, including seven under non-combat circumstances. Nine American troops have died in Iraq, and one each in Syria, Somalia, Kosovo, Djibouti, United Arab Emirates, and Germany. TRUMP NOT SO STEAMED: In a Thanksgiving Day phone call to sailors on the U.S. aircraft carrier Ronald Reagan, President Trump brought up one his pet peeves — namely that the Navy’s new-fangled electromagnetic catapult system is not yet as reliable as the old-fashioned steam catapults on a Nimitz-class carrier like the Reagan. But the ship’s commanding officer, Capt. Pat Hannifin seemed to assuage those concerns in an exchange with the president. “How do you find steam versus what they’re doing on the Gerald Ford, which is electronic and digital, if you can believe it?” asked Trump referring to the Navy’s troubled Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS) made by General Atomics. “And I know they have some difficulties, which I’m not happy about. And they spent a lot of money. And I was just curious.” “Obviously, like any new piece, you got to work through the bugs,” explained Hannifin. “But they offer some benefits not only to stress and strain on the aircraft; to extend service life and other pieces. I have no doubt we’ll work through that just as we work through all of our other advancements.” When Trump said the new system was so complicated, “You have to be Albert Einstein to really work it properly,” Hannifin had a ready comeback. “You sort of have to be Albert Einstein to run the nuclear power plants that we have here as well, but we’re doing that very well.” Hannifin then offered a vote of confidence in the electromagnetic system, saying, “I think that’s the way to go.” That approach seemed to assuage the president. “I’m actually happy about that answer,” Trump said. “That’s actually a very good answer.” CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR: Former State Department and Pentagon spokesman retired Rear Adm. John Kirby, who is now a paid CNN contributor, is taking Trump to task for his phone calls to the troops on Thanksgiving. In an opinion piece published on CNN.com, Kirby accuses the president of politicizing the calls and suggests maybe it’s just as well Trump hasn’t visited troops in combat zones during his first two years in office. “He needlessly politicized that conversation, railing against the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, which has ruled against him on immigration, complaining about unfair trade deals, and wrongly accusing his predecessor, Barack Obama, of underfunding the military,” Kirby wrote. “Let me be blunt. The United States military is not a voting bloc. It’s not a MAGA rally crowd. It’s not a plaything, and it’s most certainly not an arm of the Republican Party. Our troops, of course, must obey the orders of the commander in chief. They execute the military policy he sets forth. But their loyalty belongs to the American people and to the Constitution.” MATTIS SIDES WITH TRUMP: President Trump has plenty of critics who want to fault him for not visiting U.S. troops in combat zones during his first two years in office, but Secretary Mattis is not among them. “The president’s the commander in chief, and he decides where he needs to go,” Mattis told reporters at the Pentagon Wednesday. “There are times I don’t want him in certain locations, to be frank with you, for his security and the troops’ security.” Trump cited security as one of the reasons he has yet to make a visit to active war zones, in a recent interview with “Fox News Sunday” host Chris Wallace. And Mattis confirmed that he has advised the president to stay away from some danger zones, which he would not name. “There’s places that I’ve been very straightforward: I don’t want him to go at certain times. Yes, absolutely,” he said. And Mattis dismissed the criticism of Trump as misguided. “Don’t worry about that,” he told the reporter who asked the question. “That’s not a big [deal].” MCMASTERS’ ADVICE: One thing that is clear about the president is when he’s convinced of something, it’s often difficult to get him to change his mind. According to a new report, former national security adviser H.R McMaster learned that firsthand in his constant debate with Trump over the idea of seizing the oil reserves of Iraq oil to compensate the U.S. for the money it has spent. McMaster reportedly rebuked Trump after the president raised the prospect in a 2017 call with Iraq’s then-Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, according to Axios. “We can’t do this and you shouldn’t talk about it because talking about it is just bad,” McMaster reportedly said. “It’s bad for America’s reputation, it’ll spook allies, it scares everybody.” McMaster, who has a strained relationship with Trump, was pushed out of the administration in March and replaced by George W. Bush-era United Nations Ambassador John Bolton. THE RUNDOWN BBC: Tension escalates after Russia seizes Ukraine naval ships Axios: Trump to Iraqi PM: How about that oil? Reuters: Scores Poisoned In Aleppo Gas Attack, Syria And Russia Blame Rebels Politico: Democrats going nuclear to rein in Trump’s arms buildup Military Times: Constitutional questions emerge about expanding role of troops on US soil New York Times: Afghanistan Considers Delaying Presidential Election Defense News: US Navy steps up training standards following fatal McCain, Fitzgerald collisions Task and Purpose: Trump Asks Supreme Court To Consider Transgender Military Ban The Hill: Five challenges facing Trump’s military USNI News: VIDEO: President Trump Quizzes Reagan Carrier CO on EMALS Program |
CalendarMONDAY | NOV. 26 10:30 a.m. 1030 15th St. NW. Implementing Defense-Industrial Policy with Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Eric Chewning. Atlanticcouncil.org 1 p.m. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis speaks at the change of command ceremony at the U.S. Southern Command in Doral, Florida. Streamed live streamed on www.defense.gov/watch/Live-Events 1 p.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave. NW. Supporting Global Integration: The Joint Staff Approach to Air and Missile Defense. csis.org TUESDAY | NOV. 27 9 a.m. 2018 Global Security Forum: Prospects and Priorities for U.S. Gray Zone Competition with Retired Adm. Mike Rogers and William Lynn, CEO of Leonardo DRS. csis.org 9 a.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave. NW. Press Briefing: The State of the U.S. Defense Industrial Base. csis.org 9:30 a.m. Dirksen G-50. Findings and Recommendations of the Commission on the National Defense Strategy with Ambassador Eric Edelman and Retired Adm. Gary Roughead, Co-Chairs of the Commission. armed-services.senate.gov 10 a.m. House 137. Recalibrating Middle East Policy. defensepriorities.org 2 p.m. 2301 Constitution Ave. NW. India and Pakistan 10 Years After the Mumbai Attacks. usip.org 2:30 p.m. Russell 220. Subcommittee Hearing on Navy Shipbuilding Programs with Assistant Navy Secretary James Geurts; Vice Adm. William Merz, Deputy Chief Of Naval Operations; and Deputy Marine Corps Commandant Lt. Gen. David Berger. armed-services.senate.gov WEDNESDAY | NOV. 28 9 a.m. 1740 Massachusetts Ave. NW. The Commission on the National Defense Strategy Discusses Its Report to Congress with Ambassador Eric Edelman and Retired Adm. Gary Roughead. said-jhu.edu 9 a.m. 2301 Constitution Ave. NW. Soft Power in a Sharp Power World: Countering Coercion and Information Warfare with Reps. Francis Rooney and Don Beyer. usip.org 10 a.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave. NW. Maritime Security Dialogue: The Return of Great Power Competition and the Second Fleet with Vice Adm. Andrew “Woody” Lewis. csis.org Noon. 214 Massachusetts Ave. NE. Russia’s Serial Violations: The INF and Beyond. heritage.org THURSDAY | NOV. 29 8:15 a.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave. NW. China’s Power: Up for Debate with Adm. Philip Davidson, Commander of United States Indo-Pacific Command. csis.org 9:30 a.m. Dirksen G-50. Hearing on Nominations of Thomas McCaffery to be Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs, and William Bookless to be Principal Deputy Administrator for the National Nuclear Security Administration. armed-services.senate.gov MONDAY | DEC. 3 8 a.m. 2101 Wilson Blvd. Robotics Division Quarterly Meeting. ndia.org 9:30 a.m. 529 14th St. NW. Press Freedom Book Talk: Lindsey Hilsum on war correspondent Marie Colvin. press.org 5:30 p.m. Rape as a Weapon of War: A Conversation with Former Kosovo President Atifete Jahjaga. csis.org “You sort of have to be Albert Einstein to run the nuclear power plants that we have here as well, but we’re doing that very well.” Capt. Pat Hannifin, Commanding Officer of the USS Ronald Reagan, responding to President Trump’s concern that the Navy’s new aircraft launching system was so complicated “you have to be Albert Einstein to really work it properly.” |
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