TODAY: As Defense Secretary Ash Carter slowly makes his way to the Shangri-La Dialogue, an Asian security summit in Singapore, Chinese and North Korean officials are holding their highest-level political meetings in nearly a year. The Wall Street Journal reports relations between the two countries have been frosty over the past six months, and could worsen as North Korea shows no sign of curbing its nuclear ambitions.
JUST STOP IT: The White House condemned North Korea’s missile launch yesterday, even though it was a dud, Susan Crabtree reports. “The U.S. and the rest of the international community calls on North Korea to refrain from actions, including this failed missile test, that further raise tensions in the region, and focus instead on taking concrete steps toward fulfilling its international commitments,” Josh Earnest told reporters.
JUST STOP IT, PART TWO: The Pentagon keeps drawing a distinction between what U.S. troops are doing in Iraq and Syria, and “combat.” In confirming two U.S. military advisers were wounded by indirect fire in separate attacks over the Memorial Day weekend, Pentagon Spokesman Capt. Jeff Davis, felt compelled to point out the two were not in what he called “active combat.” What is passive combat? “They’re not out trigger-pulling offensively,” Davis said.
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BUDGET WINNERS AND LOSERS: American Enterprise Institute’s Mackenzie Eaglen and Rick Berger are out with an op-ed in the Washington Examiner this morning looking at one of Capitol Hill’s dirty secrets: Lawmakers favor the Navy over the Air Force … every time.
HELPING RUSSIANS: Rep. Joe Pitts also has an op-ed in the Examiner, this one looking at accountability for allies who welcome Russian naval vessels into their warm-water ports.
DRAFT DEBATE: A group of Republican senators is trying to strip out language in the fiscal 2017 National Defense Authorization Act that would require women to register for the draft, setting up what is likely to be a contentious debate next week in the Senate.
The amendment, introduced by Sen. Mike Lee, would not require women to register with the Selective Service and would also require the Pentagon to submit a report to Congress by July 2017 on whether the draft is even still needed.
If the Senate votes to keep the provision to draft women in the bill, it’ll still have to reconcile its version with the House-passed bill. UPI writes here about other places where there’s daylight between the two chambers’ bills.
Senators have introduced hundreds of amendments to the defense policy bill. One of the more interesting ones comes from Sen. John Boozman, which would require a human cranium at the National Museum of Health and Medicine that is associated with the Mountain Meadows Massacre of 1987 to be relocated to and interred at the Mountain Meadows grave site.
ISIS TACTICS: The Islamic State is using civilians as human shields in Fallujah, the U.N.’s refugee agency says in a new report. David Wilkes has the story, and reports that residents are going to horrific measures to escape the fighting there.
LEGIT TARGET: Yesterday we told you the family of the man killed alongside Taliban leader Mullah Akhtar Mansour last month claimed he was just an innocent taxi driver, caught in the drone strike by being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Today we can tell you the Pentagon says no, he was a “legitimate combatant.”
HEIGHTENED ALERT: The State Department issued a travel warning for Europe that runs until Aug. 31, because increased tourism during the summer months combined with high profile sporting events like the Tour de France could put tourists at an increased risk of being targeted by a terrorist attack.
A report from the Institute for the Study of War predicted that the Islamic State would “likely” target somewhere in the West during the month of Ramadan, which begins June 6, but said Europe faces a greater threat than the U.S.
BILLIONS FOR BOMBS: Boeing nabbed a $3.2 billion contract for joint direct-attack munition tailkits, the Pentagon announced Tuesday. Boeing will provide strap-on inertial guidance kits for the weapons so they can receive GPS updates in order to increase accuracy.
Insitu, meanwhile, received a $71 million contract for six Blackjack drones, while General Dynamics National Steel and Shipbuilding Co. received $106 million for long-lead procurement of Expeditionary Mobile Base 5 (the artist formerly known as Mobile Landing Platform Afloat Forward Staging Base).
The State Department on Monday approved the possible sale of $301 million of Raytheon Standard Missile-2 Block IIIB STANDARD missiles to Australia.
BON VOYAGE: The aircraft carrier Dwight D. Eisenhower departs from Norfolk today on a deployment to the Middle East, USNI News reports. It’ll replace the Harry S. Truman carrier strike group.
IT WAS STILL CARELESS, BUT NOTHING MORE: White House spokesman Josh Earnest said yesterday that President Obama stands by his earlier comments on Hillary Clinton’s use of a private server for emails. Susan Crabtree writes that Obama still doesn’t think the practice harmed national security.
TRUMP’S REFUGEE PLAN: Donald Trump’s national security adviser, Sen. Jeff Sessions, said yesterday U.S. troops should be deployed to Syria and Turkey to create a safe zone for refugees, therefore protecting Europeans from an influx, Anna Giaritelli reports. “It just cannot be the policy of the United States that when there’s a war-torn area everybody’s entitled to come here,” Sessions told Fox News host Greta Van Susteren.
AN IRAQ VET IN THE WHITE HOUSE?: It’s a longshot, but Weekly Standard editor Bill Kristol plans to recruit conservative author and Iraq war veteran David French to run as a third party candidate, Al Weaver reports. A major in the Army Individual Ready Reserve, French was a squadron judge advocate during his tour in Iraq and earned a Bronze Star.
And right out of the gate, Politico is taking heat for how a reporter characterized an agreement French struck with his wife about how they would stay true to each other during his deployment, T. Becket Adams reports.
IT’S MOSCOW’S FAULT: Syrian-Americans are blaming Russia for potentially putting the city of Aleppo into the Islamic State’s hands, Nicole Duran reports. “Russia has violated the cease-fire it recommitted to upholding just last week, according Omar Hossino, spokesman for the Syrian American Council. Hossino cited sources close to the ground, but the U.S. State Department has said several times that it doesn’t see Russia living up to the deal even yet, months after it was first reached.”
DISQUALIFIED BY HIS MILITARY SERVICE: Retired Lt. Gen. Karl Eikenberry had a distinguished 35-year career in the U.S. Army, and then served as U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan from 2009 until 2011. According to The Daily Northwestern, that ended up disqualifying Eikenberry from becoming executive director of the Buffett Institute of Global Studies at Northwestern University. In a visit to campus, Eikenberry told students he regretted having to withdraw after his selection. “Some of the criticisms that became public, they represented … to my mind, the very worst stereotyping of the United States military that one could possibly engage in,” he said.
OFFENSIVE BIBLE? Stars and Stripes reports the 8th Army is looking into a complaint that the use of a Bible during a military ball violated a soldier’s religious freedom. The independent paper reports the soldier objected to a Bible that was included in a POW/MIA table display at the Adjutant General’s Corps Ball.
ENTER THE MANTIS SHRIMP: Gizmodo has a fascinating story about how the mighty claw of the Mantis shrimp could help design next-gen helmets and body armor. The tiny crustacean has “exceptionally strong and impact-resistant dactyl club,” and in a statement researchers said “The more we learn about … its multilayered structural designs, the more we realize how much it can help us as we design better planes, sports equipment, and armor.”
NEW VCNO: Adm. Bill Moran is now 39th vice chief of naval operations after an informal “change of office” ceremony at the Pentagon.
THE RUNDOWN
Washington Post: Justice Department drops second criminal investigation into Navy SEAL Matt Bissonnette
Defense One: The B-21 Bomber Should Be Unmanned on Day 1
Defense News: Turkey, US Diverge Over Procurement and Security
UPI: New Russian submarine launched
Colorado Gazette: Former presidential candidate has Colorado Springs military installation in his crosshairs
War on the Rocks: ‘America Alone’: Trump’s unilateralist foreign policy
Fox News: Report: White House unable to detect a single cyber threat
Task and Purpose: National Guard NCO Becomes Army’s First Female Enlisted Infantry Soldier
War on the Rocks: An infantry squad for the 21st century
Al Jazeera: Libyan forces capture ISIL-held town east of Sirte
New York Times: On Falluja Battlefield, Entrenched Fighting and Fears
AP: Amid heavy clashes in Fallujah, fears rise for civilians
Wall Street Journal: At Least 29 People Killed in Syria Airstrikes
Army Times: Report: Chinese military relaxes weight standards for new recruits
Army Times: U.S. soldiers help African armies detect and defeat IEDs
Wall Street Journal: More Than 1,000 Migrants Feared Dead at Sea in Past Week
Calendar
WEDNESDAY | JUNE 1
10 a.m. The Pentagon. Army Brig. Gen. Charles Cleveland briefs the media live from Afghanistan to update Operation Resolute Support. Live stream at defense.gov
12 p.m. 214 Massachusetts Ave. NE.The Heritage Foundation hosts a discussion on how President Obama’s foreign policy has weakened America. heritage.org
3:30 p.m. 1300 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. The Wilson Center hosts a panel on the U.S. Pacific partnership in light of President Obama’s visit in late may. wilsoncenter.org
THURSDAY | JUNE 2
7 a.m. Hilton Alexandria Mark Center. Marine Corps Brig. Gen. Dennis Crall speaks at an NDIA breakfast on command, control, communications and computers. ndia.org
7:45 a.m. Army Navy Club NW. Stephen Welby, assistant secretary of defense for research and development, speaks at a science and engineering breakfast. ndia.org
8:30 a.m. Murrow Room. The National Press Club hosts a meeting to establish common ground to destroy ISIS/Al Qaeda. press.org
FRIDAY | JUNE 3
10 a.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave. N.W. CSIS will host a panel to discuss the efficiency of public and private defense industry partnerships. csis.org
MONDAY | JUNE 6
8:30 a.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave. NW. CSIS and Department of Justice computer crimes division will host a symposium on safety, security and privacy related to cybercrimes. csis.org
9 a.m. Kempinski Hotel, Lithuania. The Atlantic Council hosts a conference on sustaining NATO’s strength and deterrence. atlanticcouncil.org
TUESDAY | JUNE 7
10 a.m. Dirksen 342. The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee will discuss TSA operations in light of the current threat to aviation. hsgac.senate.gov
