PROTECTING THE KURDS: Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says the U.S. and Turkey continue to discuss the protection of Kurdish fighters who have been the key factor in defeating ISIS. A planned Turkish offensive now threatens elements of the Kurdish militia that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan calls terrorists.

HAPPENING TODAY — TRUMP TAKES HIS CASE TO TEXAS: President Trump is heading McAllen, Texas today, where he’s scheduled to visit a border patrol station and stop at a section of the U.S.-Mexico border. It’s all part of his effort to pressure Democrats to bend to his demand for $5.7 billion to build a better, and longer, physical barrier between the countries.

Yesterday’s attempt at talks at the White House flamed out almost immediately and ended in recriminations on both sides.

Trump tweeted, “Just left a meeting with Chuck and Nancy, a total waste of time. I asked what is going to happen in 30 days if I quickly open things up, are you going to approve Border Security which includes a Wall or Steel Barrier? Nancy said, NO. I said bye-bye.”

The Democrats accused the president of throwing a temper tantrum, while Republicans said the Democrats refused to negotiate out of pure animus for Trump.

“The president stomped out of the meeting when he said to me, ‘Will you support a wall?’ And I said ‘no.’” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. “The White House seems to move the goalposts. Every time they come with a proposal, they walk away from it. Pretty soon these goalposts won’t even be in the stadium.”

“When the president says, ‘Well if I gave you exactly what you’re asking for, would you agree to border security and a wall?’ And they say no, I think the American people deserve better.” Vice President Mike Pence

“Again, we saw a temper tantrum, because he couldn’t get his way, and he just walked out of the meeting.” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer D-N.Y.

“The president’s laid out many different options; the president’s even said he’ll change the definition of a wall to work with Democrats. He’ll move off of the number. He even sent the vice president down weeks ago to offer a negotiation that would involve a lower [number] than what our national security experts have said. And not one single time have the Democrats offered a counter.” House Minority Whip Steve Scalise, R-La.

TRUMP’S NEGOTIATING STYLE: Trump is counting on the fact that the partial government shutdown, now in its 20th day, will cause more pain to Democrats than to Republicans. It’s a page right out of his 1987 best-seller “The Art of the Deal,” Chapter 2.

“My style of deal-making is quite simple and straightforward. I aim very high, and then I just keep pushing and pushing and pushing to get what I’m after,” he writes. And as anyone who has bought a new car knows, you don’t get the best deal unless you are willing to walk away.

“The worst thing you can possibly do in a deal is seem desperate to make it. That makes the other guy smell blood, and then you’re dead. The best thing you can do is deal from strength, and leverage is the biggest strength you can have,” Trump said referring to his real estate transactions in the 1980s. But he added this caveat: “I also protect myself by being flexible. I never get too attached to one deal or one approach.”

YOU’LL BE PAID: Trump called on the furloughed federal workers, as well as the 420,000 who are working but won’t get a paycheck tomorrow, to hang in there. Nine of the 15 Cabinet-level departments have not been funded, including Agriculture, Homeland Security, State, Transportation, Interior, and Justice. Essential workers are on the job at the FBI, TSA and other federal law enforcement officers, as well as some State Department and DHS staff.

“They all get their money. They’re all going to get their money, and I think they’re going to be happy,” Trump said, “Many of those people that you talk about are on my side. Trump pointed to messages of support he has seen on social media. “Many of those people are saying, ‘It’s very hard for me. It’s very hard for my family. But, Mr. President, you’re doing the right thing. Get it done.’ I’ve had so many of them. They’re patriots. They love our country, and they want to see it be done.”

THAT NOT SO ‘OFF THE RECORD’: The basic definition of something that’s off the record, is that by mutual agreement the information is not for reporting in any form. For that reason, many reporters are reluctant to go off the record with sources, because what good is knowing something if you can’t report it?

But knowing someone’s thinking can inform how you interpret publicly available facts and put on the record statements in better context. So, in some cases, journalists agree to off the record sessions. That happened Tuesday when President Trump invited TV anchors in for an off-the-record lunch session before his evening Oval Office address on immigration.

Except that New York Times reporter Peter Baker, who was not in attendance, got a leak and reported what the president shared privately. Baker’s reported, among other things, that Trump didn’t really want to give the Tuesday night address and felt today’s trip to the border was “not going to change a damn thing.”

“Gave an OFF THE RECORD luncheon, somewhat of a White House tradition or custom, to network anchors yesterday – and they quickly leaked the contents of the meeting,” Trump tweeted yesterday, after the apparent violation of the ground rules. “Who would believe how bad it has gotten with the mainstream media, which has gone totally bonkers!”

Baker yesterday explained his actions, tweeting, “We broke no off-the-record agreement — we were not invited to this lunch and therefore were under no obligations. We simply reported out what was said the same way we would have if he had met with, say, senators. Did the same with Obama.”

I would refer everyone to a 2009 piece I wrote for the now-defunct American Journalism Review in which I more accurately defined off the record as “not for reporting in any form, unless it’s REALLY, REALLY good.”

FATAL GITMO LOVE TRIANGLE: Navy Capt. John Nettleton is facing charges after he allegedly misled investigators about a physical fight with a civilian after the man accused the captain of sleeping with his wife. Nettleton, who previously was the commanding officer of Naval Station Guantanamo Bay in Cuba, was indicted on charges of obstruction, concealment, falsifying records, and false statements related to the Naval Criminal Investigative Service’s investigation on the death of civilian Christopher Tur in January 2015.

After Tur confronted Nettleton about having an affair with his wife at an event, the two got involved in a physical altercation at Nettleton’s home, according to the indictment. Tur never returned home after the incident and DNA testing revealed that several bloodstains in Nettleson’s home and on a paper towel in his backyard matched Tur’s DNA.

Nettleson allegedly failed to report the incident and misled officials searching for Tur by lying about when he last saw Tur. He also was dishonest about his affair with Tur’s wife and instructed her to lie to Navy investigators about the affair. Tur’s body was eventually discovered in the waters of Guantanamo Bay. Nettleton was arrested yesterday.

TEENAGE, U.S. ISIS FIGHTER CAPTURED: The U.S.-backed Kurdish People’s Protection Units announced yesterday that an American teenager — 16-year-old Soulay Noah Su — was one of eight suspected Islamic State terrorists recently captured in Syria. The Kurdish militia, known as YPG, said he was captured as part of operations conducted on Jan. 6 and 7, along with other alleged terrorists from Russia, Ukraine, Germany, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. The State Department told the Washington Examiner it was aware of the reports but didn’t comment further.

ONE MORE FIRST In the latest in a recent string of firsts for women U.S. military, Maj. Rachael Winiecki became the first female F-35 pilot to complete a test mission at Edwards Air Base in California.

Winiecki, of the 461st Flight Test Squadron, said while aviation is still mostly male, the number of women conducting flight tests is on the rise in addition to women serving in support roles such as maintenance.

THE RUNDOWN

Military Times: Vets working without pay: Government shutdown leaves hundreds of thousands in the lurch

Washington Post: Coast Guard families told they can have garage sales to cope with government shutdown

Wall Street Journal: Xi, Kim Signal Trump To Restart Discussions

Washington Post: As Iraq’s Shiite militias expand their reach, concerns about an ISIS revival grow

AP: Iraq closes camps for displaced, pushes families into peril

New York Times: The U.S. Spent $8 Billion on Afghanistan’s Air Force. It’s Still Struggling.

Military.com: Senator Seeks Wisconsin Air National Guard Sexual Misconduct Probe

Politico: A spy satellite revolution?

Forbes: The Military Spouse Employment Plight

Washington Post: Build the wall? It could take at least 10 years, even with 10,000 workers

Army Times: 4-star: The Army may be pushing to recruit from some blue-voting cities, but it’s not political

Task and Purpose: The US Military May Face A Huge Logistics Problem In A Future War With China Or Russia

South China Morning Post: Ready, aim … China’s military tipped to keep ramping up combat drills after 18,000 exercises in 2018

Space News: Thornberry predicts Space Force will have bipartisan support in the House

Brookings: Re-establishing U.S. Space Command is a great idea

USNI News: Navy May Deploy Surface Ships to Arctic This Summer as Shipping Lanes Open Up

Real Clear Defense: False Comparisons of Troop Withdrawals

Washington Post: José Ramón Fernández, Cuban vice president, Bay of Pigs commander, dies at 95