WORLD’S MOST DANGEROUS JOB: The Taliban has selected a new leader, Mullah Haibatullah Akhundzada. The announcement effectively provides final confirmation that Mullah Akhtar Mansour was killed in a car destroyed by U.S. drones in Baluchistan, the Taliban erstwhile “save haven” in Pakistan. Speaking in Vietnam, President Obama insists the targeting of the Taliban’s leader does not signal a shift in U.S. strategy in Afghanistan. “We are not reentering the day-to-day combat operations that are currently being conducted by Afghan security forces. Our job is to help Afghanistan secure its own country, not to have our men and women in uniform engage in that fight for them,” the president said. Obama is in Japan today.
FALLUJAH OFFENSIVE DAY 3: U.S. commanders have high hopes for the Iraqi offensive to liberate the highly symbolic city of Fallujah, where in 2004 nearly 100 U.S. troops died securing the city. Unlike the Ramadi operation five months ago, the attacking force has a large contingent of U.S.-trained Sunni fighters. How they do could be an indicator of future success in retaking Mosul from the Islamic State. Read our analysis here.
Meanwhile CNN reports a U.S.-backed group has launched an offensive north of Raqqa, the Islamic State capital in Syria.
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THOSE 28 PAGES: Former Rep. Tim Roemer, who served on the 9/11 Commission, is urging the Obama administration declassify the 28 pages about high-level members of the Saudi government’s links to the terrorist attack. Susan Crabtree reports Romer’s view is that there was no “high-level and direct Saudi government involvement in the plot.”
NDAA DEBATE BEGINS: Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand said on Tuesday that she’s been promised that her amendment to remove sexual assault prosecution decisions from the military chain of command will be considered during floor debate on the fiscal 2017 National Defense Authorization Act, which is expected to begin today.
Still, it’s unclear if the plan will get the 60 votes it needs to pass. The New York Democrat said she is “hopeful” that senators will support the amendment after a report this year alleged that the Pentagon was giving Congress misinformation to sway lawmakers to not support the plan.
Lawmakers have filed a total of 32 amendments to the Senate’s version of the defense policy bill as of Monday night, including one from Sen. Rand Paul that would get rid of the draft entirely, one from Sen. Heidi Heitkamp that would require old bombers to be modernized, and one from Sen. James Lankford that would cut U.S. aid to countries who take in transferred Gitmo detainees who later escape.
It’s still unclear which will be considered by the Senate, but Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s office said amendments will be allowed. Defense News has a story on the squabble over delays.
On the Senate appropriations side of things, lawmakers boosted spending on ships and aircraft by $2.1 billion and $2.5 billion respectively above the president’s request. The increase in shipbuilding funds includes $1 billion for faster procurement of a new heavy ice breaker.
On Thursday, the full Senate Appropriations Committee is expected to consider the version passed Tuesday by the defense subcommittee.
MORE INNOVATION: Rear Adm. Michael Manazir, the deputy chief of naval operations for warfare systems, spoke Tuesday night at Lockheed Martin’s Fighter Demonstration Center in Arlington about the need for the Navy to stay more innovative to stay ahead of peer competitors.
Manazir, who was speaking at the Association of the United States Navy’s Navy Now Forum, said the military needs the chance to experiment and learn lessons without answering to lawmakers who believe money spent on research that doesn’t produce an end product is wasted.
ISIS FOR TRUMP? New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman said in an radio interview that he believes Donald Trump is the preferred U.S. presidential candidate of Islamic State militants. “They would want someone who they think would do something more extreme than the other, push America back in the Middle East and therefore inflame the situation in ways that ISIS thinks would benefit them,” he told radio host Don Imus.
The New York Post reports that one retired officer on Trump’s short list for VP is retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, former head of the Defense Intelligence Agency and a critic of the Obama administration. He’s been serving as Trump’s national security adviser.
FOUR-STAR CANDIDATES: Former Navy Secretary Sean O’Keefe writes in the Cipher Brief that as political parties wrestle with the prospect of nominating “individuals with sky-high negatives, questionable leadership and ethical records,” former military officers would be a better choice, either as the standard bearer, or to round out the ticket. “Why are military officers so highly regarded? In large part because they get things done.” He suggests three names.
TERRORISM CHARGES: The Justice Department says a New York man was arrested Tuesday on suspicion that he tried to help another person fight for the Islamic State, Cassi Pollock reports. “Sajmir Alimehmeti, 22, is charged with purchasing military-style weapons and helping a supporter obtain ‘travel documents, equipment and encryption technology,’ Justice said. “Alimehmeti is charged today with actions that show a clear intention to support a terrorist organization that is hell-bent on murder and mayhem,” U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said.
THE WALL OF STARS: U.S. News reports that the CIA has added four names to the secretive memorial it keeps at its Langley headquarters for spies killed on agency missions. Paul Shinkman reports Director John Brennan presided at a ceremony at the Memorial Wall, adding the names of the four men, all of whom died in the 1950s and 1960s.
CURTAIN CALL: Our favorite plain-spoken U.S. military spokesman, the quotidianly quotable Col. Steve Warren, will conduct his last briefing from Baghdad Friday, before returning to the U.S. to study at the War College. As they say, “There’s a lot of reading at the war college, but only if you do it.” Warren leave some large PAO boots to fill.
THE RUNDOWN
The Nation: How to Disappear Money, Pentagon-Style
Defense News: Marine Pilots Say Software Rarely a Problem for F-35B
USNI News: Navy May Back Away From Advanced Arresting Gear for Ford Carriers
Breaking Defense: Welding Problems Fixed For Virginia Subs; Carter Tours Electric Boat
USNI News: Boeing Pushing For New Engines, Advanced Cockpit on Super Hornets, Growlers
Defense News: Report: Western Defense Industry Future Imperiled by Local Programs
Defense News: US Sees Potential for Future Norwegian Defense Cooperation
UPI: Railgun pulse power modules delivered to U.S. Navy
Military Times: Controversial Army general rumored to be on Trump’s VP list
War on the Rocks: The Price of Perpetual War
Daily Beast: The Mystery Battle for Fallujah, the Heart of ISIS in Iraq
Defense One: The Latest Taliban Leader’s Death Changes What, Exactly?
Wall Street Journal: How the U.S. Tracked and Killed the Leader of the Taliban
Washington Post: A Green Beret was denied the Medal of Honor. Will the new Army secretary intervene?
Calendar
WEDNESDAY | MAY 25
6 a.m. Live Stream. The Council on Foreign Relations discusses economics and financial instruments as new means of war. cfr.org
10 a.m. Dirksen 419. The Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on East Africa, the Pacific, and International Cyber Security will hold a hearing to discuss cybersecurity deterrence and global cyber norms. foreign.senate.gov
10 a.m. Cannon 311. House Homeland Security committee will discuss the TSA airport experience amid EgyptAir Flight 804’s speculated terrorist event. homeland.house.gov
2:30 p.m. Rayburn 2172. House Foreign Affairs subcommittee on the Middle East and North Africa discuss Tunisia’s stability, security, and democracy. foreignaffairs.house.gov
THURSDAY | MAY 26
9 a.m. Cannon 311. House Homeland Security Committee discusses TSA security lines in light of growing terror threats. homeland.house.gov
10 a.m. Dirksen 342. Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs will hold a hearing on protecting the U.S. from ISIS. hsgac.senate.gov
10 a.m. Rayburn 2118. House Armed Services Committee will hold a Navy force structure readiness hearing. armedservices.house.gov
10:30 a.m. Dirksen 106. Senate Appropriations Committee will mark up the fiscal 2017 defense appropriations bill and fiscal 2017 homeland security appropriations bill. appropriations.senate.gov
12 p.m. Rayburn 2172. House Foreign Affairs subcommittee on Africa, global health, global human rights, and international organizations discusses what’s next after the ISIS genocide declaration. foreignaffairs.house.gov
5 p.m. 214 Massachusetts Ave. NE. Retired Adm. James Stavridis will speak about the future of NATO and U.S. alliances. heritage.org
6 p.m. Live stream. The Council on Foreign Relations hosts Ray Takeyh and Steven Simon to discuss the U.S. involvement from 1945 to 1991 and shed light on today’s Middle East. cfr.org
TUESDAY | MAY 31
9:30 a.m. 1775 Massachusetts Ave. NW. Brookings Institution hosts a panel to discuss if the Iran nuclear deal is a prelude to proliferation in the Middle East. brookings.edu
12 p.m. 1667 K Street NW. The Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments will host a panel to discuss a new report on the extended nuclear deterrence in the second nuclear age. csba.org
1:30 p.m. 1401 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. The Center for a New American Security hosts an event looking at a two-state solution that can meet both Israeli and Palestinian needs. cnas.org
