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RIDING TO THE RESCUE? A popular Hollywood trope in many Christmas movies is that Christmas is in trouble and needs to be saved. Neither President Trump nor Democratic congressional leaders showing any signs of backing down in their fight against over Southern border wall funding. So, there is a real prospect that some federal workers will get an extended holiday break Christmas week as the government partially shuts down. Unless the military can provide a face-saving fig leaf to allow Trump to claim victory, absent his wish for a $5 billion wall down-payment. “If we don’t get what we want one way or the other, whether it’s through you, through a military, through anything you want to call, I will shut down the government, absolutely,” Trump told Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, N.Y., and the likely next House speaker, Rep. Nancy Pelosi, Calif., and in one the most memorable Oval Office meetings of his administration. “I’ll tell you what, I am proud to shut down the government for border security,” Trump boasted. TRUMP LIKES USING THE MILITARY: As the president has shown with his deployment of active-duty troops to border, Trump likes the flexibility and capabilities that the military provides. He issues the orders, and they salute smartly and carry them out, without any annoying political arguments. And Trump has repeatedly suggested that having military engineers construct more border barriers would be a way to circumvent congressional roadblocks. Back in March, Trump tweeted that the “our Military is rich again” and “Build WALL through M!” And then yesterday he said it again, tweeting, “If the Democrats do not give us the votes to secure our Country, the Military will build the remaining sections of the Wall.” GOP SENATORS KEEPING AN OPEN MIND: With hopes dimming for a breakthrough on the budget impasse, key Republican may be giving him some leverage. Sens. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., the Senate Appropriations chairman, and Jim Inhofe, R-Okla., the Senate Armed Services chairman, signaled they might be open to the idea. “The president’s got a lot of leeway on all this. Under the Constitution, he has the right and duty to defend the nation and protect the borders and everything that goes with it,” Shelby said. “I’d have to see what he’s basing it on and what’s the rationale and everything about it, and does it fit.” Inhofe has been pushing his own stand-alone bill to pay for a U.S.-Mexico wall. But a military-built wall, possibly funded from military construction coffers, could also be an option if defense hawks get a $750 billion defense budget next year, he said. “It depends on where we come down on Milcon, if we get enough, I’d say yes,” Inhofe said. “But you have to clarify what I said … it depends on where we come down as to the amount of money, we are going to have that is going to go to defense. If they are coming in with a low number, I’d say no because we have to continue to rebuild our defense.” ON WHOSE AUTHORITY? Likely legal issues still remain over whether the Pentagon can build hundreds of miles of civilian barriers and essentially take over what has been primarily a domestic law enforcement role at the border. “To date, there is no plan to build sections of the wall. However, Congress has provided options under Title 10 U.S. Code that could permit the Department of Defense to fund border barrier projects, such as in support of counter drug operations or national emergencies,” Lt. Col. Jamie Davis, a Pentagon spokesman, said. Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., the Senate Armed Services ranking member, said using the military to secure the southern border is inappropriate and that the Pentagon does not appear to have the ability to fund any wall construction for now. “The real issue here is the money. There is nothing in the DOD budget that I could recognize as authorizing them to build a wall. I don’t know where they get the authority,” Reed said. WHO’S TO BLAME? If the government shuts down, it will be Trump’s fault, Schumer argued after their brief, unproductive, meeting behind closed doors. “If President Trump wants to throw a temper tantrum ahead of the holidays and cause a Trump shutdown, it’ll be solely on his back. We hope he chooses one of the two reasonable options we gave him, and that the country can avoid a Trump shutdown,” Schumer said later on Capitol Hill. “I could have debated Chuck Schumer for a long period of time,” Trump said at a bill signing in the afternoon. “I actually like that in terms of an issue,” he said. “I’ll take it. If we close down the country I will take because we’re closing it down for border security and I think I win that every single time.” The Democrat’s plan is to allow the 25 percent of the federal government that remains unfunded to shut down, and then in January when they control the House to pass a clean Continuing Resolution and send it to the Senate, where it would be Majority Leader Sen. Mitch McConnell’s task to find a solution. Good Wednesday 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, SMITH’S BREAKFAST: This morning Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., the next House Armed Services chairman, sits down for an on-the-record breakfast with defense reporters at the Fairmont Hotel. No doubt he will get questioned about the fiscal year 2020 defense budget top line and his other upcoming priorities for the committee. Smith has already laid down some markers where he is at odds with President Trump, including his opposition to the deployment of U.S. military service-members at our southern border, and keep them there over the holidays. “The decision to extend this deployment to the end of January 2019 is not a responsible use of Department of Defense resources and is the completely wrong approach to the situation,” Smith said in a statement last month. Smith has called the deployment “a politically motivated stunt,” and said it is a “misuse” of active-duty trips. Smith has also sharply criticized Trump for deciding to withdraw from the Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty with Russia without meaningful consultation and coordination with NATO allies. “Setting us on a precipitous course toward withdrawal from this treaty undermines the NATO alliance and transatlantic security, while playing directly into President Putin’s plans to divide us,” he said earlier this month. And Smith also opposes Trump’s treatment of the migrants in the so-called caravan, which the president says amounts to an invasion by immigrants attempting to enter the country illegally. “The continued practice of detaining asylum seekers is inhumane, and the cost is overwhelming. It’s abhorrent that there are over 40,000 people in custody in detention centers across the U.S. when we know alternatives to detention are proven to be effective at ensuring compliance with immigration proceedings, and drastically less costly than detention,” he said in a Dec. 7 statement. SCOTUS ASYLUM APPEAL: As promised, the Trump administration has made an emergency appeal to the Supreme Court in an attempt to clear the way to enforce of its asylum policy, which requires asylum-seekers to enter the country at legal ports of entry in order to have their asylum request processed. So far, two federal courts have temporarily blocked the policy. The courts have said the ban is inconsistent with federal law, which allows asylum requests no matter how people arrived on U.S. soil. The administration said in court papers filed yesterday that an injunction upheld by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals Friday preventing the policy from taking effect “is deeply flawed” and should be lifted pending an appeal that could reach the high court, according to the AP. NAVY, MARINE LEADERS TESTIFY: A Senate Armed Services subcommittee hears testimony at 9:30 a.m. from the Navy and Marine Corps about the readiness of the services, with more questions expected on the effects of budget hikes and the needs for next year. The hearing includes Navy Secretary Richard Spencer; Gen. Robert Neller, the Marine Corps commandant; and Vice Adm. Bill Moran, the vice chief of naval operations. MARINES ID’d BY FAMILIES: Four of the Marines who died when their KC-130 refueling jet crashed in the Pacific have been identified by their families, before the official announcement from the Pentagon later today, according to Stars and Stripes. Six Marines died as the result of a mid-air collision between the tanker and an F/A-18. One of the two fighter pilots did not survive the resulting crash, and all five of the KC-130 crew went down with the plane, Stars and Stripes identified four of the five crew members as Maj. Kevin Herrmann, 38, of Fredericksburg, Va.; Staff Sgt. Maximo Flores, 27, of Litchfield Park, Ariz.; Cpl. Carter Ross, 21, from Hendersonville, Tenn., and Cpl. Daniel Baker, 21, of Tremont, Ill. RUSSIA POISED TO STRIKE IN UKRAINE: Russia is setting military conditions to prepare its forces for open conflict with Ukraine, and will likely escalate militarily against Ukraine imminently, according to the latest assessment from Institute for the Study of War. “The Russian military is now preparing its forces for direct military involvement. The Kremlin is reinforcing ground, naval, and air elements in its Southern Military District — the command likely responsible for managing its ongoing war in Ukraine,” the group warns. “Moscow may calculate that the international community will not meaningfully respond if the visibility of its role in the war now increases.” The ISW concludes: “NATO’s inaction following Russia’s escalation in the Sea of Azov is likely emboldening Putin to continue challenging the West in Ukraine. NATO must reassess the threat that Russia poses to European security and the rules-based international order and respond decisively to deter an increasingly likely Russia military escalation in Ukraine itself.” MISSILE DEFENSE FIRSTS: Missile defense advocates are still basking in the glow of yesterday’s successful test of the U.S newest interceptor, the Standard Missile-3 (SM-3) Block IIA. The interceptor missile fired from Hawaii was able to hit a target missile hundreds of miles away which was designed to mimic an Intermediate-Range Ballistic Missile (IRBM), of the kind that North Korea might fire toward Guam or Iran toward Europe. “There was a plethora of firsts for the SM-3 Block IIA from this test,” writes Riki Ellison, of the Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance, including “the first successful intercept from a land-based Aegis Ashore Site, first successful intercept of an Intermediate-Range Ballistic Missile, and first successful intercept from Engage on Remote.” The target missile target was three to four times the range of the last intercept test and shows the Aegis Ashore sites in Europe will be able defend against Iranian missiles and future sites in Japan from North Korean ballistic missiles, Ellison says. RAPE CHARGES REVIVED: Retired Army Maj. Gen. James Grazioplene has been charged with rape in Prince William Circuit Court in Virginia. He was arrested on Friday and arraigned on Monday in connection to the alleged assault. In 2017, he was charged by the Army for raping a minor on multiple occasions between 1983 and 1989. But the case was ultimately dismissed in March by the Army because the military statute of limitations for the case had been changed. CACHE vs. CASHET: Here’s a pro tip for Army Col. Jonathan Byrom, who briefed reporters at the Pentagon remotely from Baghdad yesterday. Byrom has followed in the tradition of a long line of military briefers who have routinely mispronounced the word “cache.” Referring to ISIS weapons caches, he referred to “ka-SHAYS.” A collection of items of the same type stored in a hidden or inaccessible place is a cache, pronounced KASH. The state of being respected or admired, having prestige is what’s known as having “cachet,” pronounced “ka-SHAY.” Of course, as in any discussion of proper pronunciation, if any word in the English language is mispronounced often enough, by enough people, the correct pronunciation can change. Hence it often impossible to win an argument, and corrective advice can be dismissed, as Winston Churchill supposedly did once as “arrant pedantry.” THE RUNDOWN AP: Korean border troops verify removal of each other’s posts Military.com: Japan moves forward on aircraft carrier, major F-35 buy Bloomberg: The Naval Academy’s Campus Is Old, Leaky and Outdated, Audit Says ABC News: Video: Trump, Schumer, Pelosi publicly spar over border security Daily Beast: Trump Administration Won’t Back Up President’s Terror Claim Defense News: Pentagon claims nearly $4.4 billion in savings last year. Can it top it for FY19? Military.com: Military Pay Not Likely To Be Affected Under Threat Of Partial Government Shutdown AFP: Video: US returns war trophy bells to Philippines Navy Times: Happy holidays, Seaman Timmy! No more confinement on bread and water for you Defense One: Four Steps to Fix the Security Clearance Backlog New York Times: A Tragedy in Yemen, Made in America Wall Street Journal: Iraqi Who Once Killed Americans Is a U.S. Dilemma as He Gains Political Power Air Force Times: Travis AFB psychologist sexually assaulted patients, who were recovering from sexual trauma USNI News: Truman Strike Group Headed Home After ‘Dynamic’ Deployment |
CalendarWEDNESDAY | DEC. 12 8 a.m. 2401 M St. NW. Defense Writers Group Breakfast with Rep. Adam Smith. 9:30 a.m. Dirksen G-50. Subcommittee Hearing on Navy and Marine Corps Readiness with Navy Secretary Richard Spencer; Gen. Robert Neller, Marine Corps Commandant; and Vice Adm. Bill Moran, Vice Chief Of Naval Operations. armed-services.senate.gov 9:30 a.m. Dirksen G-50. Subcommittee Hearing on Implications of China’s Presence and Investment in Africa. armed-services.senate.gov 10 a.m. 2425 Wilson Blvd. Association of the United States Army Job Fair. ausa.org 10 a.m. 1775 Massachusetts Ave. NW. How should the transatlantic alliance counter Russian aggression? brookings.edu 10 a.m. Rayburn 2172. Full Committee Hearing on Development, Diplomacy, and Defense: Promoting U.S. Interests in Africa. Foreignaffairs.house.gov 10:45 a.m. 529 14th St. NW. Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations and Combating Terrorism Andrew Knaggs provides keynote remarks at the Jamestown Foundation’s 12th Annual Terrorism Conference, National Press Club Grand Ballroom. 11 a.m. 1300 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. Why Do Russia and the US Need Each Other: Foreign Policy and National Identity. wilsoncenter.org 3:30 p.m. Rayburn 2118. Subcommittee Hearing on Security Clearance Processing Status Report with Garry Reid, Director for Defense Intelligence; Dan Payne, Director of Defense Security Service; and Charles Phalen, Director of the National Background Investigations Bureau. armed-services.senate.gov 4 p.m. 1211 Connecticut Ave. NW. Our Uncertain Nuclear Future: How Do We Proceed if Treaties are Trashed? stimson.org THURSDAY | DEC. 13 8:30 a.m. 1700 Army Navy Dr. Hypersonics Senior Executive Series with Deputy Defense Secretary Pat Shanahan and Under Secretary Michael Griffin. ndia.org 9 a.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave. NW. Targeted Sanctions on Human Rights Abusers and Kleptocracies: Lessons Learned and Opportunities from the Global Magnitsky Sanctions with Sen. Ben Cardin. csis.org 9:30 a.m. 214 Massachusetts Ave. NE. National Security Advisor John Bolton to Unveil Trump Administration Africa Strategy. heritage.org 9:30 a.m. 1779 Massachusetts Ave. NW. How Can U.S. Foreign Policymakers Do Better for the Middle Class? carnegieendowment.org 2:30 p.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave. NW. The Humanitarian and National Security Crisis in Yemen: An Update and Path Forward with Sen. Todd Young. csis.org 3:30 p.m. 1030 15th St. NW. U.S. Force Posture in North Central Europe: Adapting to Strategic Realities. atlanticcouncil.org 5 p.m. Book Launch of “Small Wars, Big Data: The Information Revolution in Modern Conflict” with Author Jacob Shapiro. csis.org 5 p.m. 700 F St. NW. Cocktails and Conversation – The Human Machine Team: The Analyst of Today and Tomorrow. defenseone.com FRIDAY | DEC. 14 6:45 a.m. 1250 South Hayes St. Special Topic Breakfast with Adm. Karl Schultz, Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard. navyleague.org 9 a.m. 1000 Massachusetts Ave. NW. 2018 Cato Institute Surveillance Conference. cato.org MONDAY | DEC. 17 Noon. 1030 15th St. NW. The Future of US Policy in Syria. atlanticcouncil.org TUESDAY | DEC. 18 9:30 a.m. 1501 Lee Hwy. Mitchell Hour AFWIC and Future Force Design with Maj. Gen. Clint Crosier, Director of Air Force Warfighting Integration Capability. mitchellaerospacepower.org 10:30 a.m. 1300 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. U.S. China 2018 Year in Review: A New Cold War? wilsoncenter.org 2:30 p.m. 1300 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. Is There Any Hope for Yemen? wilsoncenter.org |
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