SAME HEGSETH, DIFFERENT TONE: When U.S. War Secretary Pete Hegseth sat down at Wednesday’s meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, he jokingly chided his fellow defense ministers to adopt the Pentagon’s new nomenclature for the civilian head of the military. “Might I suggest ministers of war,” he said as he addressed the group, created by the U.S., but now chaired by Germany, which meets regularly to discuss how to meet Ukraine’s defense needs as its war with Russia drags on well into its third year.
When Hegseth last addressed the group in February, less than a month after he took control of the Pentagon, his message was similar, but the tone was different. The emphasis was on how America faced “stark strategic realities” that prevented it from being “primarily focused on the security of Europe.” This time, Hegseth had a similar message about Europe’s need to provide for its own defense, but the tone was less scolding, and his remarks were more appreciative of how Europe has stepped up.
“European investment in defense for Ukraine has increased significantly. Now, of course, the United States will do our part but Europeans must continue to take primary responsibility for the conventional defense of the continent,” Hegseth said. “Allies often say that ‘Ukraine’s security is synonymous with European security.’ Well, now then, therefore is the time for all NATO countries to turn words into action … All countries need to translate goals into guns, commitments into capabilities, and pledges into power.”
“That’s all that matters, hard power. It’s the only thing belligerents actually respect,” Hegseth said.
‘FIREPOWER, THAT’S WHAT’S COMING’: Upon being greeted at his arrival at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Hegseth said the $2 billion committed so far would buy American “firepower” for Ukraine, under NATO’s new PURL program, an acronym for Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List.
“Firepower, that’s what is coming. We expect it is coming from NATO,” Hegseth said as he described the PURL initiative. “European countries buy U.S. weapons transferred to NATO for the fight in Ukraine to bring peace to that conflict.”
Hegseth made no mention of any specific weapons systems. However, Ukraine’s Defense Minister Denys Shmyhal said among his country’s vital needs was “long range missiles. The name of these missiles, everyone knows, is absolutely widely known,” an obvious reference to the Tomahawk cruise missiles that President Trump has said he’s considering selling to NATO for Ukraine’s use.
POINTED MESSAGE TO PUTIN: ‘NOW IS THE TIME TO END THIS TRAGIC WAR’: Hegseth echoed recent statements from President Trump that the war in Ukraine must end.
“President Trump knows how to forge peace, to create opportunities in situations in scenarios where peace seems far off. He, and he alone, has the ability to do that,” Hegseth said. “This is not a war that started on President Trump’s watch, but it will end on his watch.”
“European leaders are sending a clear message to Russia now is the time to end this tragic war, stop the needless bloodshed and come to the peace table now,” Hegseth said, adding a pointed warning. “Now, if this war does not end, if there is no path to peace in the short term, then the United States, along with our allies, will take the steps necessary to impose costs on Russia for its continued aggression. If we must take this step, the U.S. War Department stands ready to do our part in ways that only the United States can do.”
Hegseth’s message comes as in recent weeks, Trump has indicated he believes, with enough help from Europe, Ukraine can regain some, if not all, of the territory it has lost to Russia since the war began in 2022. Russia, Trump said in a Truth Social post three weeks ago, is turning out to be a “paper tiger,” while suggesting Ukraine, with its great fighting spirit, could “take back its country in its original form.”
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HAPPENING TODAY: WEIGHING THE TOMAHAWK REQUEST: President Trump is keeping his cards close to his vest as he awaits a face-to-face meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky tomorrow. There is a lot to discuss, but Trump knows full well what’s at the top of Zelensky’s wish list.
“I know what he has to say. He wants weapons. He would like to have Tomahawks,” Trump said earlier this week. But yesterday, he was still noncommittal about giving Ukraine the capability to strike 1,000 miles into Russia, potentially targeting the drone factory that is churning out the Iran-designed Shahed drones that Russia is using to pummel Ukrainian cities on an almost daily basis.
“They want to go offensive. I’ll make a determination on that, but they would like to go offensive,” Trump said. “You know that. And we’ll have to make a determination.”
Retired Gen. Jack Keane, former vice chief of the Army, and now a military analyst for Fox News, says Ukraine is desperate to take out the drone factory in Yelabuga, Russia. “Their number one target will be the Yelabuga manufacturing center for the Shahed missiles,” Keane said on Fox on Wednesday. “Twenty thousand North Koreans are there at that manufacturing center. It’s out of the range of everything they have right now. That will be target one, but they’ll all be military targets. Ukraine is not going to target civilian targets.”
“We have a lot of Tomahawks,” Trump has said, but typically, the missile is fired from ships or submarines. What the U.S. does not have a lot of are ground-based launchers.
“The U.S. only has a small number of Typhon ground-based launchers, which can be used to fire Tomahawks and are in high demand as part of the American effort to counter Chinese military power in the Indo-Pacific,” the Wall Street Journal reported. “Other ground-based launchers could be adapted to fire the Tomahawks, including a new launch vehicle made by Oshkosh Defense. Tomahawks can also be ground-launched from an Mk-41 launcher, which is normally found on Navy ships but has been modified for onshore use.”
“The Tomahawk is an incredible weapon, very offensive weapon,” Trump told reporters en route to the Middle East, but it’s not a silver bullet. “Delivery and training could take a few months, if Trump gives the go-ahead,” the Wall Street Journal noted.
UNDER UKRAINE DRONE PRESSURE, RUSSIA FUEL SHORTAGES SPREAD
THE CIA IN VENEZUELA: At yesterday’s White House news conference to tout “Operation Summer Heat,” an ongoing law enforcement campaign to crack down on crime, President Trump took a question from CBS News senior White House correspondent Ed O’Keefe, and surprisingly confirmed he has authorized the CIA to conduct covert operations in Venezuela.
“Mr. President, thank you. Curious, why did you authorize the CIA to go into Venezuela?” O’Keefe asked. The highly classified “finding,” as it is known, was first reported by the New York Times, but Trump seemed to have no problem with making it public.
“I authorize for two reasons, really. Number one, they have emptied their prisons into the United States of America. They came in through … the border,” Trump said. “The other thing are drugs. We have a lot of drugs coming in from Venezuela. And a lot of the Venezuelan drugs come in through the sea, so you get to see that. But we’re going to stop them by land also.”
Trump has authorized the U.S. military to destroy any speedboats detected off the coast of Venezuela that U.S. intelligence identified as drug smuggling boats, and it continued to put pressure on President Nicolas Maduro, who the U.S. accuses of controlling the drug cartel Tren de Aragua. In August, the Justice Department doubled the reward for information leading to his capture to $50 million.
“Does the CIA have authority to take out Maduro?” O’Keefe followed up.
“I don’t want to answer a question like that. That’s a ridiculous question for me to be given. Not really a ridiculous question, but wouldn’t it be a ridiculous question for me to answer?” Trump mused. “But I think Venezuela is feeling the heat.”
“The [CIA] would be able to take covert action against Mr. Maduro or his government either unilaterally or in conjunction with a larger military operation. It is not known whether the C.I.A. is planning any specific operations in Venezuela,” the Times reported. “But the development comes as the U.S. military is planning its own possible escalation, drawing up options for President Trump to consider, including strikes inside Venezuela.”
TRUMP VOWS TO STOP VENEZUELAN DRUG TRAFFICKERS BY LAND, APPROVES CIA OPERATIONS
PENTAGON FUNDING: Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) is trying a new tactic to break the impasse that has shut down the government for 16 days. Three of the 12 appropriations bills have actually passed both chambers and could be passed after being reconciled in a House-Senate conference committee.
Among the three include the $852 billion defense appropriations bill that funds the Pentagon and the military. “I filed on the Defense Appropriations bill, which is available past the Senate Appropriations Committee, 26 to 3, and it’s something that we ought to be moving forward on,” Thune said yesterday, indicating the bill could come to a vote on the Senate floor today. “And, hopefully, if possible, we’d like to attach some other appropriations bills to it and do the same thing we did with the first minibus, and that is, you know, package some bills that we can move at the same time. And get the government funded in the traditional way, which is through the annual appropriations process.”
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) expressed skepticism that the Democrats would go along with the plan, which would partially fund the government and lessen their leverage to force concessions on healthcare subsidies for millions of Americans. “My suspicion is the Democrats are going to play their same political games and stop that cold,” Johnson said yesterday. “I hope I am surprised by that, but we’ll see.”
“I think we are feeling strong because of what we’re hearing from our constituents,” Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) said on CNN. “What I hear from people is they appreciate the position that we’re taking, that we need to stop their healthcare premiums from dramatically spiking between now and the end of the year, which is a natural effect of the reconciliation bill that President Trump and Republicans passed over the summer. They want us to stop their health care costs from going up.”
IT’S GROUNDHOG DAY ON CAPITOL HILL WITH NO SHUTDOWN SOLUTION IN SIGHT
THE RUNDOWN:
Washington Examiner: Judge halts Trump’s federal worker layoffs during government shutdown
Washington Examiner: Federal judge extends order blocking deployment of National Guard to Portland
Washington Examiner: Trump vows to stop Venezuelan drug traffickers by land, approves CIA operations
Washington Examiner: Trump celebrates Operation Summer Heat crackdown on violent crime
Washington Examiner: Netanyahu insists Israel must maintain long-term military power over Gaza to prevent takeover by ‘jihadists’
Washington Examiner: What Israel’s defense industry learned from its multifront war
Washington Examiner: Under Ukraine drone pressure, Russia fuel shortages spread
Washington Examiner: Army’s counter-drone task force looks to ‘change the way the department’ thinks
Washington Examiner: Syria’s Sharaa meets Putin in Moscow, but Assad haunts event from the shadows
Washington Examiner: Border Patrol agents ‘lined up’ to re-arrest illegal immigrants, who Biden forced release of
Washington Examiner: Left-wing Chicago group teaches tactics for attacking ICE officers
Washington Examiner: USMC refutes Newsom’s claim of freeway closures during Marine Corps anniversary celebration
Washington Examiner: Tom Rogan Opinion: Phase two of Israel-Hamas deal requires Trump’s patient fortitude
Washington Examiner: Tom Rogan Opinion: Pete Hegseth’s swamptastic Pentagon press rules
AP: Journalists turn in access badges, exit Pentagon rather than agree to new reporting rules
New York Times: Trump Administration Authorizes Covert CIA Action in Venezuela
The War Zone: B-52 Bombers Just Flew for Hours Off Venezuela’s Coast
Washington Post: Public executions. Hunting rival gangs. Hamas seeks to regain control of Gaza by force.
Politico: Indonesia, Azerbaijan, Pakistan in Talks to Provide Troops for Gaza Stabilization Force
Wall Street Journal: Ukraine Wants Tomahawks. Trump Has to Decide if They Would Help End the War.
The Hill: Speaker Johnson suggests House would return to fund DOD — but only if the government is reopened
AP: Pakistan and Afghanistan announce ceasefire after deadliest clashes in years
CNN: How the Pentagon Sidelined Lawyers While Testing the Legal Limits of Military Action
Air & Space Forces Magazine: Hegseth’s Air Force Jet Diverts for Emergency Landing
Breaking Defense: Air Force Shields CCA Drone Wingman Program from Effects of Government Shutdown
Defense News: AeroVironment To Deploy Counter-Drone Tech at Grand Forks USAF Base
Air & Space Forces Magazine: Air Force Dropping Integrated Capabilities Command
Air & Space Forces Magazine: New Blue Origin Facility To Boost Space Force Launch Cadence
DefenseScoop: Army to Prioritize Counterspace Tech in Future Budget Requests
Air & Space Forces Magazine: Air Force Bases to Host AI Data Centers on Unused Land
Air & Space Forces Magazine: Space Development Agency Launches 21 Data Transport Satellites
Task & Purpose: The Army Is Buying 30 Tons of Powdered Sugar to Use in Its Smoke Grenades
THE CALENDAR:
THURSDAY | OCTOBER 16
8 a.m. 7920 Jones Branch Dr., McLean, Virginia — Potomac Officers Club GovCon International and Global Defense Summit, with Space Force Chief Science Officer Stacie Williams
9:30 a.m. 529 14th St. NW — Arab Center annual conference: “Trump and the Middle East: A Second Term Review,” with former U.S. Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Chas Freeman; and Mehdi Hasan, founder of Zeteo https://arabcenterdc.org/event/trump-and-the-middle-east-a-second-term-review/
10 a.m. 1201 Pennsylvania Ave. NW — Hudson Institute discussion: “The State of U.S.-China Relations,” with Rep. John Moolenaar (R-MI), chairman, House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party https://www.hudson.org/events/ccp-committee-chairman
11 a.m — Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft virtual discussion: “Ukraine Peace Talks and the Pitfalls of Maximalism in a Multipolar World,” with Emma Ashford, senior fellow, Stimson Center Reimagining U.S. Grand Strategy Program; Zachary Paikin, deputy director, Quincy Institute Better Order Project and research fellow in the Quincy Institute Grand Strategy Program; George Beebe, director of grand strategy at the Quincy Institute; Sarang Shidore, director, Quincy Institute Global South Program https://quincyinst.org/events/ukraine-peace-talks
12 p.m. 37th and O Sts. NW — Georgetown University Center for Jewish Civilization and the Georgetown Dialogues Initiative discussion: “War and Peace: A Palestinian and Israeli Leadership Dialogue,” with Former Israel Prime Minister Ehud Olmert; and Nasser Al-Kidwa, member, Palestinian political party Fatah, member, Palestinian National Council and former minister of foreign affairs of the Palestinian National Authority https://events.georgetown.edu/event/34858-war-and-peace
3:45 p.m. 1777 F St. NW — Council on Foreign Relations discussion: “Next Steps on Ukraine Reconstruction,” with Ukraine Minister of Finance Sergii Marchenko; Nadia Calvino, president of the European Investment Bank; Odile Renaud Basso, president of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development; and Heidi Crebo-Rediker, senior fellow, Council on Foreign Relation Center for Governance Studies https://www.cfr.org/event/next-steps-ukraine-reconstruction
FRIDAY | OCTOBER 17
9 a.m. 1201 Pennsylvania Ave. NW — Hudson Institute virtual discussion: “What Is North Korea Strategy?” with Glenn Chafetz, director, 2430 Group; retired South Korean Lt. Gen. In-bum Chun; Bruce Klingner, senior fellow, Mansfield Foundation; Dr. Taerim Lee, visiting Scholar, Institute for Korean Studies, George Washington University; and Patrick Cronin, Asia-Pacific Security chair, Hudson Institute https://www.eventbrite.com/e/what-is-north-koreas-strategy
MONDAY | OCTOBER 20
10 a.m. — Center for Strategic and International Studies Defense and Security Department and the U.S. Naval Institute virtual discussion: “Submarines in an Era of Renewed Great Power Competition,” with Vice Adm. Robert “Rob” Gaucher, commander, Naval Submarine Forces, commander, Submarine Force, U.S. Atlantic Fleet;aCommander, Allied Submarine Command; retired Rear Adm. Raymond Spicer, CEO and publisher, U.S. Naval Institute; and Seth Jones, president, CSIS DSD https://www.csis.org/events/submarines-era-renewed-great-power-competition
WEDNESDAY | OCTOBER 29
11 a.m. Charlottesville, Virginia. — University of Virginia Miller Center in-person and virtual discussion: “AI, national security, and democratic accountability,” with Ashley Deeks, Miller Center faculty senior fellow, and vice dean of the University of Virginia School of Law; Brian Lessenberry, senior national security practitioner; and Philip Potter, Miller Center faculty senior fellow https://millercenter.org/news-events/events/ai-national-security-and-democratic-accountability
