TRANSITION IN TURMOIL: At the Pentagon, they are wondering when the Trump transition team will show up. Under orders to make the handover with military precision, the office space is ready, the briefing books prepared, but no one has called. The reason can be found in New York City where reports from Trump Tower are of a bloodbath, as key members of the transition team are jettisoned as the internecine warfare between competing camps reaches a fever pitch.
The national security team seems to be especially in turmoil with the ouster of former House Intelligence Committee chairman Mike Rogers, who had been seen as a top pick for CIA director. The pool of candidates to fill national security jobs has seemingly divided into two main groups: those who don’t want to serve Trump, and those who Trump doesn’t want to serve him. The toxic atmosphere inside the Trump transition prompted one former State Department official to change his mind about recommending conservatives serve in a Trump administration. Eliot Cohen, an admitted #NeverTrumper, said his suggestions for possible candidates was met with a seething email repose from a friend inside the Trump camp.
As Gabby Morrongiello writes, Chris Christie’s ouster as head of the transition team delayed the signing of a memorandum of understanding with the White House, which ensures neither team will disclose sensitive details about the government as they work together to ensure a smooth transition. Politico reported last night that Vice President-elect Mike Pence submitted the document to the White House last night, meaning should start meeting with agencies soon.
Trump tweets this morning: “Very organized process taking place as I decide on Cabinet and many other positions. I am the only one who knows who the finalists are!”
IS THIS TRUMP’S BLUEPRINT? Pay special attention to the Heritage Foundation’s release of its latest military index this morning at 9 a.m. Remember Trump’s Sept. 7 speech in Philadelphia where he was lauded for finally getting specific about his rebuild the military proposals? Many of those numbers were drawn directly from last year’s Heritage report, including his call for 350 Navy ships, 36 Marine Corps battalions and 1,200 fighter aircraft.
From Heritage: “This year’s report includes numerous, troubling findings about the declining state of American military might and the rise of major powers able to threaten U.S. interests and America itself, both in terms of intent and ability. Quite simply, the world is getting more dangerous, while the United States’ ability to respond to threats across the globe continues to decline.”
We’ll have all the details as soon as Heritage takes the wraps off its 2017 report, so check back with us this morning.
Good Wednesday morning and welcome to Jamie McIntyre’s Daily on Defense, compiled by Washington Examiner National Security Senior Writer Jamie McIntyre (@jamiejmcintyre), National Security Writer Jacqueline Klimas (@jacqklimas) and Senior Editor David Brown (@dave_brown24). 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 be sure to add you to our list.
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RUSSIA RESET REDUX REBUKE: In another sign of storm clouds on the horizon, Sen. John McCain issued a sharp warning to President-elect Trump Tuesday over his promises to work with Russian President Vladimir Putin: Beware or be sorry, Kyle Feldscher writes. The Arizona Republican said the new offensive launched by Russia in Syria this week shows Putin is working closely with Syrian President Bashar Assad in attacking rebel forces and the Syrian people. “We should place as much faith in such statements as any other made by a former KGB agent who has plunged his country into tyranny, murdered his political opponents, invaded his neighbors, threatened America’s allies and attempted to undermine America’s elections,” McCain said in the statement.
Part of that Russian offensive, by the way, is nothing but show, Pentagon spokesman Navy Capt. Jeff Davis said yesterday. He was referring to the deployment of Russia’s rickety aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov. “Anything they bring in from the outside, if it’s aircraft carriers, cruise missile launching from ships, long-range strike bombers flying in from Russia, those are done for show,” Davis said. “There’s not a kinetic effect that they bring that can’t already be brought with the forces that they have there.”
BASHING BASHAR: House lawmakers plan to quickly pass legislation sanctioning Assad’s regime for targeting civilians in his fight to remain in power, Joel Gehrke writes. “Republicans and Democrats recognize the need to isolate the Assad regime for its continued atrocities against the Syrian people,” House Speaker Paul Ryan said Tuesday in advance of the vote. “I’m glad the White House has stopped blocking these critical sanctions, which are a necessary response to Assad’s crimes against humanity.”
And in the bad optics department, Assad suggested he would consider Trump an ally if he joins the fight against “terror” in Syria, Sarah Westwood writes. “We cannot tell anything about what he’s going to do, but if … he is going to fight the terrorists, of course we are going to be ally, natural ally in that regard with the Russian, with the Iranian, with many other countries,” Assad told Portuguese state television, according to Agence France-Presse.
IRAN SANCTIONS: The House voted overwhelmingly on Tuesday to extend an Iran sanctions law for another 10 years, amid growing worries that the U.S. needs to keep some leverage over Iran as it pushes for that country to implement the nuclear agreement, Pete Kasperowicz writes. Lawmakers voted 419-1 in favor of extending the Iran Sanctions Act, the foundation of a range of U.S. sanctions against Iran.
NDAA HOLDUP: More than a dozen organizations delivered 340,000 signatures to the four lawmakers doing final negotiations on this year’s defense authorization bill asking them to strip out an amendment they say discriminates in government hiring. “The hundreds of thousands who signed the petition to #RejectRussell are sending a clear message: We won’t stand for taxpayer-funded discrimination. The Russell Amendment is one of the most significant threats to LGBT people, women, religious minorities, and others we have seen in Congress in years,” according to a statement from the groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union and American Military Partner Association.
It’s not the only paperwork the so-called “Big Four” have received. Last month, 42 senators also sent them a letter asking them to keep the proposal out of the final bill, though Sen. Richard Blumenthal, who led the effort, did not go so far as to say he’d vote against the NDAA if it’s left in.
HURDLES AHEAD: Trump may want to spend more on defense and build up the military, but experts on Tuesday night said that Congress’ inability to get a deal done and Democrats’ demand for non-defense spending may stall that plan. Todd Harrison, an analyst with CSIS, also said to look for any big increase in Trump’s fiscal 2019 budget, since the fiscal 2018 plan will largely be written by the Obama team passed off to Trump.
KERRY MEETS WITH HOUTHIS: Secretary of State John Kerry is trying to broker a cease-fire agreement in Yemen’s war by leaning on a United Nations-backed roadmap to resolve a conflict that has spawned a proxy war between Iran and the U.S.-allied Saudi Arabia, Joel Gehrke reports. Kerry met late Monday night with the Iran-backed Houthis — a Shia Muslim minority group in Yemen that has been at war with the official government for years — and the Sultan of Oman to rally support for the U.N. roadmap. He apparently succeeded in convincing the Houthis to agree to a cease-fire that would begin on Nov. 17, but the internationally-recognized Yemeni government immediately rejected the proposal. “We’ve made enormous progress,” State Department spokeswoman Elizabeth Trudeau told reporters Tuesday. “We think that this provides an opening.”
The Houthis, you may recall, were blamed for a series of missile attacks against U.S. Navy ships last month.
MORE SECDEF SPECULATION: With Sen. Jeff Sessions’ name appearing to be on the top of the short list of those to take over the Pentagon under Trump’s administration, Byron Callan of Capital Alpha Partners writes about what that could mean for industry.
“The state he represents is home to Redstone Arsenal which is home for Army Aviation and Missile Command, Space and Missile Defense Command, and NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center. Huntington Ingalls in Pascagoula, Mississippi is a key employer in Alabama, and the Boeing-Lockheed Martin ULA joint venture is based in Decatur,” Callan writes. He also points out that Sessions has been a fan of using Russian-made RD-180 rocket engines to send U.S. assets to space, which benefits United Launch Alliance, based in his home state.
NO WAR CRIMES: The Pentagon is rejecting findings of the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court in The Hague who concluded that members of the U.S. military may have committed war crimes in their treatment and questioning of detainees in Afghanistan between 2003-14. The U.S. says the investigation of the U.S. personnel in Afghanistan is neither warranted nor appropriate, because the U.S. is not a party to the applicable statute and therefore has never consented to the ICC jurisdiction. “We’ve got a system, and it works. We hold people accountable, and we have a proven track record of doing that when they screw up,” Pentagon spokesman Davis said.
THE RUNDOWN
Military Times: Lindsey Graham: I can work with Trump on defense
Breaking Defense: Wynne Mulled For DepSecDef; Trumpers Reject Ayotte
Associated Press: Never mind closing Guantanamo, Trump might make it bigger
Army Times: Early signs point to a bigger, badder Army under Trump
Navy Times: Donald Trump wants to start the biggest Navy build-up in decades
Air Force Times: Trump’s defense spending boom likely to mean more airmen and planes
Breaking Defense: US Pacific Commitments Will Survive Duterte, Trump: Adm. Harris
Military.com: Report Warns of Asia Arms Race if Trump Withdraws US Forces
CNN: Is bombing the s*** out of ISIS a strategy?
Wall Street Journal: Ukraine President Asks Trump to Help Counter ‘Russian Aggression’
Military.com: Carter: Opening Combat Jobs to Women ‘Makes Sense’
Defense News: Boeing to Consolidate Defense Sites, Cutting 500 Jobs
UPI: U.S. Air Force develops solution for F-22 weapon issue
Calendar
WEDNESDAY | NOVEMBER 16
7:15 a.m. 1250 S. Hayes St., Arlington, Va. Maj. Gen. Christopher Owens, the director of expeditionary warfare, speaks at a Navy League breakfast event. navyleague.org
9 a.m. 214 Massachusetts Ave. NE. The Heritage Foundation releases its annual 2017 Index of U.S. Military Strength. The event includes a speech from Rep. Michael Turner. heritage.org
9 a.m. 1152 15th St. NW. Capitol Hill and Pentagon officials talk about how to make counterterrorism security assistance more effective. cnas.org
12 p.m. Rayburn B-369. Analysts from the Cato Institute discuss the state of world affairs and whether funding shortfalls have hampered the U.S. military. cato.org
5 p.m. 1300 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. Community Health Charities is hosting a panel discussion on military and veterans health concerns. healthcharities.org
THURSDAY | NOVEMBER 17
7:15 a.m. 901 Massachusetts Ave. NW. Defense One hosts its annual summit featuring Army Secretary Eric Fanning and Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Goldfein. defenseone.com
8:30 a.m. Livestream. House Armed Services Committee Ranking Member Rep. Adam Smith speaks at the Council on Foreign Relations. cfr.org
9:30 a.m. 214 Massachusetts Ave. NE. The Heritage Foundation hosts an event on the next administration’s relationship with Taiwan. heritage.org
3:30 p.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave. NW. Richard Stengel, the State Department’s undersecretary for public diplomacy and public affairs, talks about national security under Obama’s administration. csis.org
MONDAY | NOVEMBER 21
9 a.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave. NW. The Center for Strategic and International Studies hosts an event on U.S. and South Korea defense acquisition policy. csis.org
3 p.m. 1775 Massachusetts Ave. NW. Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright delivers the introduction at a Brookings Institution event on governance and stability in the Arab world. Brookings.edu
