ANOTHER DEADLY DAY IN IRAQ: More attacks in Baghdad this morning have left two dead, eight wounded. Yesterday’s three separate suicide bombings at a busy market and two checkpoints left at least 80 dead, the bloodiest day in Baghdad so far this year. The Islamic State claims responsibility.
WHITE HOUSE CONDEMNS BOMBINGS: The Islamic State bombings in Baghdad yesterday drew an angry response from the Obama administration, but it doesn’t appear this will drive a shift in strategy, Susan Crabtree reports.
Maj. Gen. Gary Volesky, the commander of Combined Joint Forces Land Component Command-Operation Inherent Resolve, told reporters at the Pentagon that the bombings were a “desperate attack” that’s characteristic of the terrorist group as it loses ground. There was no change in force posture for U.S. troops in Baghdad as a result of the attacks. Meanwhile Military Times reports the expansion of the U.S. military campaign is in low gear.
Good Thursday 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 and anything else. If a friend sent this to you and you’d like to sign up, click here.
Want to learn more about Daily on Defense? See our introductory video here.
AMENDMENTS GALORE: The House is gearing up for its debate of the fiscal 2017 National Defense Authorization Act on the floor next week. As of Wednesday afternoon, lawmakers had filed more than 300 amendments that lawmakers will need to approve or reject. Whatever is added will then need to survive conference with the Senate, which is expected to wrap up its mark up of the defense policy bill this afternoon.
One of the amendments the full House will consider comes from House Armed Services Committee Chairman Rep. Mac Thornberry, who has proposed capping the size of the National Security Council at just 100 people, far fewer than the 400-person staff working on the president’s advisory board.
A proposal from Rep. Seth Moulton was already included in the bill during the committee mark up. The former Marine Corps officer’s plan would require a twice-a-year report from the State and Defense departments on political and military strategies to defeat the Islamic State — something he said is needed after a friend of his in the Iraqi army was killed fighting battles the U.S. has already won once. Moulton, a Democrat, even called it Obama’s “failed policy in Iraq.”
EXAMINER PODCAST: Rep. Devin Nunes, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, told the Examining Politics podcast that the U.S. needs to engage with NATO and suggested an Arab military to promote peace in the region.
STREAMLINE SALES: Rep. Vicky Hartzler, chairwoman of the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, said it’s time for the Pentagon to simplify the process of selling military equipment to foreign militaries, while representatives from the defense industry said foreign sales are even more important to businesses when U.S. spending slows under tight budgets.
But Rep. Jackie Speier said that first and foremost, the goal of the foreign military sales process must be to ensure any weapon or platform the U.S. sells is used responsibly and in our interest, saying that it’s crucial to take whatever time to make that decision if it’s warranted.
After hearing from industry yesterday, the subcommittee will hear from the Pentagon on Tuesday when Vice Adm. Joseph Rixey, director of the Defense Security Cooperation Agency, is expected to testify on the foreign military sales process.
While we’re on the subject, Vietnam has been talking to Western and U.S. arms manufacturers to boost its fleets of fighter jets, helicopters and maritime patrol aircraft, reports Reuters. A foreign ministry statement said Vietnam would welcome the United States “accelerating” the lifting of a lethal arms embargo
EXPLOSIVE BENGHAZI CLAIM: An anonymous Air Force whistleblower said his team could have helped the Americans under attack at the U.S. Embassy in Benghazi in 2012, Joel Gehrke reports. “I definitely believe that our aircraft could have taken off and got there in a timely manner, maybe three hours at the most, in order to basically at least stop that second mortar attack and have those guys running for the hills,” the man told Fox News.
RHODES TO THE HILL: House lawmakers want Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes to testify following his admission to the New York Times that he created an “echo chamber” in the media that produced favorable coverage of the Iran deal, Pete Kasperowicz reports.
DOUBTS ON REFUGEE TOTALS: The administration is expected to fall well short of its goal of bringing in 10,000 Syrian refugees this fiscal year, Susan Crabtree reports.
ANTI-PROPAGANDA: House lawmakers want to create a new federal agency that would counteract the propaganda coming from China and Russia, Pete Kasperowicz reports. “The Countering Foreign Propaganda and Disinformation Act, from Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., would create a Center for Information Analysis and Response in the State Department. That center would analyze ‘government information warfare’ and ‘disinformation efforts,’ and work to ‘expose and counter’ those operations when they are directed against U.S. national security.”
HEAVY WATERED DOWN: Senate Democrats killed a controversial amendment yesterday that would have kept the Energy Department from buying heavy water from Iran. The amendment, introduced by Sen. Tom Cotton, was part of the energy and water bill, Kyle Feldscher reports.
BYE BYE BUDGET COMMITTEE? Joe Lawler reports that Sens. Mike Enzi and Sheldon Whitehouse, the two top members of the Senate Budget Committee, are open to its demise, and explains why.
INNOVATION 2.0: Defense Secretary Ash Carter announced Wednesday that he was learning from Silicon Valley and making changes to his Defense Innovation Unit Experimental program just eight months after starting. Among the changes are a second innovation hub in Boston, a new leadership team at the Silicon Valley branch — plus the program will now get a direct line to SecDef.
Carter explains the changes for himself in a blog post on Medium.
But the Pentagon has some pretty cool tech going on way closer to home than California and showcased it during DARPA’s Demo Day on Wednesday. We got a glimpse of some of the coolest exhibits, including one that turns troops into Spider-Man.
CHINESE THREAT: Beijing is building intermediate range and cruise missiles that could strike Guam, according to a congressional report obtained by the Washington Free Beacon.
Speaking of threats, Secretary of State John Kerry put the climate change threat in dramatic terms, Pete Kasperowicz reports. “If you think current conflicts are all-consuming, imagine what happens when we add food shortages, water shortages, stronger storms, longer droughts, steady rises in sea levels, which are already being predicted, and entire countries swallowed by the sea,” he said in a speech at the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom.
He called climate change “the greatest threat that our planet has faced in modern history, in all of our history.”
TRUMP TO THE HOLY LAND: Donald Trump told an Israeli tabloid that he plans to travel there “soon,” Kelly Cohen reports. “We are going to protect Israel. Don’t forget, Israel is our great bastion of hope in that region so Israel is very important,” Trump said.
The Donald also floated the possibility of asking former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani to lead a task force to tackle the Islamic terror problem, Al Weaver reports.
STUNNING VIDEO: Watch this “vent cam” video from Blue Origin’s April 2 launch. You get to see the reusable New Shepard vehicle zip back to Earth and land in the desert in two and a half minutes.
THE RUNDOWN
Stars and Stripes: A first? Lawmakers to stage hearing aboard USS Dwight D. Eisenhower
Associated Press: US gears up missile defense system in Europe to Russia’s ire
Defense News: US Air Force Will Hold Competition for Huey Replacement
Reuters: Georgia begins U.S.-led military exercise, angering Russia
Air Force Times: A new Air Force One for Trump or Clinton is on the way
Vice News: What Is the Pentagon’s Multi-Billion F-35 Jet Actually Supposed to Do?
Defense News: Hagel: US, Russia Risking Cold War Buildup
New York Times: Lack of Plan for ISIS Detainees Raises Human Rights Concerns
DoD Buzz: Boeing Says US Navy Needs About 100 More Super Hornets
Associated Press: Navy SEAL killed in Iraq to be promoted posthumously
The Hill: Clapper doubts Mosul can be retaken from ISIS this year
Federal News Radio: Pentagon endorses House’s revised approach to open architecture in weapons systems
Fedscoop.com: Watchdog starts two cyber audits on Pentagon
PBS NewsHour: Transgender soldiers gain ground as U.S. military transitions
Calendar
THURSDAY | MAY 12
10 a.m. Rayburn 2172. Think tank experts testify at a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing on the risks of economic engagement with Iran. foreignaffairs.house.gov
10 a.m. Dirksen 419. Former administration officials testify at a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on America’s role in the world. foreign.senate.gov
10 a.m. Cannon 311. The House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Counterterrorism and Intelligence hosts a hearing on terrorist financing. homeland.house.gov
FRIDAY | MAY 13
8:30 a.m. Kennedy Caucus Room, 325 Russell. Aerospace Industries Association hosts a “Rockets on the Hill” event with 50 teams from Team America Rocketry Challenge. aia-aerospace.org
MONDAY | MAY 16
8:45 a.m. 201 Waterfront St., Oxon Hill, Md. The Navy League’s three-day Sea-Air-Space Exposition gets underway at National Harbor. Seaairspace.org
2 p.m. 1150 17th St. NW. Think tank experts look at rethinking the map of the Middle East 100 years after the agreement that served as the foundation for the border lines in the region. Aei.org
TUESDAY | MAY 17
9:30 a.m. 1501 Lee Highway, Arlington, Va. Greg Zacharias, the chief scientist of the Air Force, will talk about the future of autonomous systems. Mitchellaerospacepower.org
9:30 a.m. 1211 Connecticut Ave. NW. A panel of experts discusses how drone proliferation may change the national security landscape of the future. stimson.org
1:30 p.m. 1401 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. White House national security advisor Ben Rhodes will speak about U.S. policy in Southeast Asia at an event, following a profile of him in the New York Times Magazine that sparked backlash among the media and on Capitol Hill. cnas.org
WEDNESDAY | MAY 18
11 a.m. 529 14th St. NW. Former Defense Secretary Leon Panetta will speak at a World War I Centennial Commission event. press.org
4 p.m. 1000 Massachusetts Ave. NW. Analysts will discuss the social and economic long-term viability of the Islamic State. cato.org
THURSDAY | MAY 19
8 a.m. 300 1st St. SE. Rep. Jim Bridenstine speaks about Congress’ perspective on space national security. Mitchellaerospacepower.org
