CLEARED FOR LANDING: It’s almost a done deal for retired Marine Gen. James Mattis to be in place to take the helm of the Pentagon on Day 1, Jan. 20. Legislation granting a waiver for his less-than-seven years out of uniform sailed through the Senate, which means his confirmation vote should be slam-dunk. After all, you don’t vote for a waiver, if you are going to vote against the nomination. The House, which has no role in the confirmation, does have to pass the waiver, and that vote is expected today.
There was nary a contentious moment during Mattis’ three hours of testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee, as the revered military commander and scholar-warrior outlined his thinking on world hotspots, and domestic challenges — everything from whether the military is prepared to counter growing threats around the world (he says it’s not), to why he’s committed to investing in innovation as the head of the Pentagon, to Trump’s Twitter blasts on the defense industry.
Russia was a key issue. Mattis called it a “strategic competitor,” while Sen. John McCain blasted Russian President Vladimir Putin in his opening statement. “Putin wants to be our enemy. He needs us as his enemy. He will never be our partner, including in fighting ISIL,” he said. A thumbnail guide:
Biggest threat: “I would consider the principle threat to start with Russia.”
Putin: “The most important thing is that we recognize the reality of what we deal with, Mr. Putin, and we recognize that he is trying to break the North Atlantic alliance and that we take the steps — the integrated steps, diplomatic, economic, military and the alliance steps, the working with our allies to defend ourselves where we must.”
Working with Russia: “I’m all for engagement but we also have to recognize reality and what Russia is up to and there’s decreasing number of areas where we can engage cooperatively and increasing number of areas where we’re going to have to confront Russia.”
Relevance of NATO: “NATO, from my perspective, having served once as a NATO supreme allied commander, is the most successful military alliance, probably in modern world history, maybe ever.”
China: “I would just say that what we’ve got to do is engage diplomatically, engage in terms of alliances, engage economically and maintain a very strong military so our diplomats are always engaging from a position of strength when we deal with a rising power. … But the bottom line is, sir, the international waters are international waters and we’ve got to figure out how do we deal with holding on to the kind of rules that we’ve made over many years that lead to the prosperity for many nations, not just for ours.”
North Korea: “It’s going to take an international effort. It’s going to have to require nations in the region as well as us to work together on this. And that’s going to be challenging with at least one or two of the nations. But also, I think we’re going to have to look at our negotiating stance and, working with State Department, [to] see if we have the right stance for the way ahead.”
Iran: “Once the new national security team is confirmed, we’ll work together, but I think to publicly display what Iran is up to with their surrogates and proxies, their terrorist units that they support, to recognize the ballistic missile threat, to deal with their maritime threat and to publicly make clear to everyone what they’re doing in the cyber realm, all helps to constrain Iran.”
The Islamic State: “I think we have to deliver a very hard blow against ISIS in the Middle East, so that there is no sense of invulnerability or invincibility there. There has got to be a military defeat of them there, but there must … be a much broader approach.”
The Intelligence Community: “In my many years of involvement in the military, I had a close relationship with the intelligence community. I could evaluate their effectiveness at times on a daily basis and I have very, very high degree of confidence in our intelligence community.”
President-elect Trump: “I would not have taken this job if I didn’t believe the president-elect would also be open to my input.
“He has shown himself open, even to the point of asking more questions, going deeper into the issue about why I feel so strongly. And he understands where I’ll stand.”
F-35: “Many of our allies have bet their air superiority on the F-35 program. And it bonds us tightly together with them.”
Keeping the land leg of the nuclear triad: “The ICBM force provides a cost-imposing strategy on an adversary. And again, what we’re trying to do is set such a stance with our triad that these weapons must never be used ever again. And so the deterrent value of the ICBM force is, that an enemy would have to basically use three or four times as many weapons to take out each individual one.”
Women in combat: “I have no plan to oppose women in any aspect of our military.”
Gay and transgender troops: “I believe that right now the policies that are in effect, unless a service chief brings something to me where there’s been a problem that’s been proven, then I’m not going in with an idea that I’m going to review these and right away start rolling something back.”
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WAIVER NEXT STEPS: It wasn’t so pleasant in the other chamber. Democrats on the House Armed Services Committee fumed over Mattis not being allowed by the transition team to testify before their committee Thursday afternoon, but the waiver still passed the panel on a 34-28 party line vote with all Dems voting no — something Republicans said sends a bad message of division heading into a new administration.
THE QUOTABLE MATTIS: Mattis has a reputation for giving quotable quotes, based on his thoughtful consideration of warfare and strategy, and deep reading of military history. At yesterday’s confirmation hearing, he didn’t disappoint, peppering his three hours of testimony with a number of succinct observations, or quote-worthy aphorisms. Here are my 11 favorites, and No. 6 will blow you away! Just kidding. Seriously, we did learn that Mattis blames reporters for his “Mad Dog” nickname, and as Sen. Ted Cruz observed, it was probably the first time the word “atavistic” was used in Senate testimony.
THAT OTHER HEARING YESTERDAY: The Senate also gathered to hear from Rep. Mike Pompeo, who’s been nominated to head up the CIA. In Pompeo’s opening remarks, he deviated from Trump’s thinking on Russia by saying “Russia has reasserted itself aggressively, invading and occupying Ukraine, threatening Europe, and doing nearly nothing to aid in the destruction of ISIS,” W. James Antle III writes.
Pompeo also assured Democrats that he will stand up to Trump on torture and other issues involving Russia. “Having been a member of the House Intelligence Committee, I understand full well that my job, if confirmed, will be to change roles from policymaker to information provider,” Pompeo told the committee. “The director must stay clearly on the side of collecting intelligence and providing objective analysis to policymakers, including this committee.”
During the hearing, Sen. Ron Wyden clashed with Pompeo over the issue of data collection. “You want to create a system that collects all metadata, finances and lifestyle data,” Wyden said. “Any boundaries?” In response, Pompeo promised to be constrained by the laws governing national surveillance. Wyden objected that Pompeo was proposing changing the law regarding the metadata program in ways “far more sweeping than anything Congress has proposed.”
NO CONSENSUS ON RUSSIA PROBE: After a “detailed” and “forthright” intelligence briefing on Thursday, top Senate Republicans remained divided on whether to form a special committee to investigate Russian hacking that led to leaks of Democratic emails during the election, Joel Gehrke and Susan Ferrechio report. Democrats, however, said the briefing demonstrated the need for additional information about what the FBI knew about Russian hacking into the Democratic emails, and why the agency chose to keep quiet about that information until after Trump’s victory.
TRUMP WEIGHS IN THIS MORNING: This morning Trump fired off three tweets on the so-called Russian dossier of unverified compromising information: “It now turns out that the phony allegations against me were put together by my political opponents and a failed spy afraid of being sued… Totally made up facts by sleazebag political operatives, both Democrats and Republicans – FAKE NEWS! Russia says nothing exists. Probably… released by “Intelligence” even knowing there is no proof, and never will be. My people will have a full report on hacking within 90 days!”
CHINA’S TABLOID MEDIA WAR TALK: An influential, but unofficial, state-run tabloid in China is reacting badly to statements this week by Rex Tillerson, the nominee to be secretary of state. At his confirmation hearing Wednesday, the former Exxon Mobil exec called for much more aggressive response to China’s island-grab in the South China Sea. “We’re going to have to send China a clear signal that first, the island-building stops, and second, your access to those islands is also not going to be allowed,” Tillerson said. The English language Global Times responded in an editorial that would require the U.S. to “wage a large-scale war,” according to Reuters. It also suggested Tillerson’s nomination was likely to be vetoed by Congress.
THE THUCYDIDES TRAP: Sen. Roger Wicker took mock offense yesterday when former Defense Secretary William Cohen suggested that SecDef nominee Mattis might be the only one in the Senate hearing room to know the meaning of “Thucydides Trap.” Wicker correctly stated that it refers to when “a rising power tries to meet the power of an already existing and established power.” As any schoolchild knows from the study of the Peloponnesian War, the phrase comes from the famous Thucydides quote: “It was the rise of Athens and the fear that this inspired in Sparta that made war inevitable.” Chinese President Xi Jinping invoked the phrase in 2014 in reference to rising tensions between Washington and Beijing.
COMINGS AND GOINGS: Eric Schmidt, the executive chairman of Google’s parent company, Alphabet, and chairman of the Defense Innovation Board stood up by Defense Secretary Ash Carter, was spotted heading into Trump Tower shortly before 2 p.m. yesterday. He said this week that he would stay on as chairman into the next administration if asked, but that he hadn’t talked with the transition team about the future of the board.
CYBER RUDY: Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani will head up a cybersecurity group that will advise Trump and his administration on how to protect the government from hacks, Kyle Feldscher writes. Giuliani said on Fox News Thursday morning that the aim of the group is to get the top technological people from private sector companies to advise the incoming administration on how best to protect the country.
MORE BAD NEWS FOR CROWLEY: Almost 40 passages and thousands of words of conservative commentator Monica Crowley’s 2000 Ph.D. dissertation were plagiarized, CNN reported Thursday morning. Crowley, who will take a role as the senior director of strategic communications for the National Security Council under Trump, has been under the microscope this week for plagiarizing other people’s work to include in her book and her dissertation.
CNN reported Crowley plagiarized passages from scholarly texts, the Associated Press and former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger. Crowley attended Columbia University and the university declined to comment on the dissertation.
OBAMA SANCTIONS SYRIANS: President Obama announced on Thursday a round of sanctions issued against 18 senior officials in the Syrian government in response to a year-old United Nations report that found the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad had used chlorine weapons against citizens in 2014 and 2015, Sarah Westwood writes. “We condemn in the strongest possible terms the Syrian regime’s use of chemical weapons,” said Ned Price, spokesman for the National Security Council, in a statement Thursday. “The Assad regime’s barbaric continued attacks demonstrate its willingness to defy basic standards of human decency, its international obligations, and longstanding global norms.”
HAPPENING TODAY: Carter hosts an award ceremony honoring Deputy Secretary of Defense Bob Work this morning in the Pentagon Auditorium. Work has reportedly been asked to stay on for at least a few months to provide continuity during the transition at the Pentagon, where initially many top civilian jobs will be unfilled.
TWO MORE QUOTES ABOUT MATTIS: “Many have supported the waiver legislation and your confirmation because they believe you will be, to paraphrase Thomas Jefferson, the saucer that cools the coffee.” Sen. Jack Reed.
“He has quickly learned what I call the ‘Admiral Crowe rule,’ that after retirement as a four-star, if you jump into the back seat of your car, you will go nowhere, until you move to the driver’s seat and turn over the key.” Former Sen. Sam Nunn.
THE RUNDOWN
U.S. News: Donald Trump, the CIA and the Intersection of Politics and Intelligence
The Atlantic: A Pledge for More of the Same at the Pentagon
AP: Iraqi forces enter Mosul University in battle for city
National Defense: Navy And Industry Say Capacity Is There To Boost Fleet Numbers
Air Force Times: More bases named to host F-35, K-46 and MQ-9 operations
USNI News: NAVSEA Commander: Trump Administration Demands Lower Shipbuilding Costs
Military.com: Under Trump, Army Eyes More Troops, Newer Equipment
The Guardian: Kremlin: Arrival Of U.S. Troops In Poland Poses Threat To Russia
Breaking Defense: Cyber/EW, Aviation, Air Defense, Artillery: CSA Milley’s Priorities
Military.com: Marine Corps May Get a Cyber-Only MOS
Defense One: The Drones of ISIS
Reuters: Europe Erects Defenses To Counter Russia’s Information War
UPI: U.S. Navy expecting USS Gerald R. Ford delivery in April
Seapower Magazine: SOUTHCOM’s Tidd: ‘Send Me The LCS’
Washington Post: Another Navy officer gets prison time for taking bribes and prostitutes from ‘Fat Leonard’
Army Times: Army chief: ‘We’re not there yet’ when it comes to readiness
Navy Times: Out-going SECNAV Mabus defends progressive personnel reforms
Calendar
FRIDAY | JANUARY 13
10 a.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave. NW. A panel of experts discusses lessons learned from Russia’s intervention in Syria. Csis.org
10 a.m. Pentagon Auditorium. Award ceremony honoring Deputy Secretary of Defense Bob Work hosted by Defense Secretary Ash Carter.
1:30 p.m. 601 Massachusetts Ave. NW. Army Secretary Eric Fanning discusses the future of the service. ndia.org
3:30 p.m. 901 17th St. NW. Retired Adm. James Stavridis talks about the growing problem of U.S. national security. stimson.org
TUESDAY | JANUARY 17
8 a.m. 600 New Hampshire Ave. NW. Chief of Naval Operations Adm. John Richardson talks about the future of the Navy in a Defense One Live event. defenseone.com
3 p.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave. NW. Frank Kendall, the undersecretary of acquisition, technology and logistics, talks about improving the Pentagon’s acquisition process. csis.org
4 p.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave. NW. Ben Rhodes, the assistant to the president and deputy national security adviser for strategic communications and speechwriting, discusses lessons learned about national security from which the next administration can benefit. csis.org
WEDNESDAY | JANUARY 18
9 a.m. 1789 Massachusetts Ave. NW. Gen. David Goldfein, the Air Force chief of staff, speaks about the future of American air power. aei.org
10 a.m. Dirksen 419. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee considers the nomination of South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley to be the U.S. representative to the United Nations. foreign.senate.gov
THURSDAY | JANUARY 19
11:30 a.m. 1667 K St. NW. The Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments releases a new report titled “Preserving the Balance—A Eurasia Defense Strategy.” csbaonline.org
