TRANSLATING TRUMP: “You know my plans,” President-elect Trump cryptically told the small press pool outside his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach yesterday afternoon, setting off a new round of consternation over what precisely Trump was actually saying. In a spectacle akin to clerics attempting to draw universal truth from small scraps of scripture, reporters attempted to divine the true meaning behind Trump’s day-long meetings, and his two-minute impromptu press availability.
Here’s what we know, and what we think, and we’ll try to make clear which is which.
THE GERMAN ATTACK: As German authorities scrambled to explain why an asylum-seeker who was on a terrorist watch list was arrested and released in the past, Trump seemed to be saying his proposed “extreme vetting” policy was validated. “All along, I’ve been proven to be right. 100 percent correct. What’s happening is disgraceful,” he told reporters. The man suspected of plowing into a Berlin Christmas market has been identified as Anis Amri, a Tunisian, who was facing deportation after being caught with fake papers. The New York Times headlined its story, “Trump Suggests Berlin Attack Affirms His Plan to Bar Muslims.” But asked by a reporter whether the attack targeted Christians and how that might affect relations with Muslims, Trump replied, “It’s an attack on humanity. That’s what it is. An attack on humanity and it’s got to be stopped.” As of this morning the manhunt for Amri continues.
THE MILITARY PARADE: The network pool video showed a line of uniformed generals and admirals shaking hands with their soon-to-be commander in chief after meeting with Trump. The list of three and four stars was heavy on officers involved in acquisition, including Vice Adm. Dave Johnson, the Navy’s top uniformed acquisition officer, Lt. Gen. Chris Bogdan, program executive officer for the F-35, Vice Adm. James Syring, director of the Missile Defense Agency, Adm. Bill Moran, the vice chief of naval operations, and Lt. Gen. Jack Weinstein, deputy chief of staff for strategic deterrence and nuclear integration.
Bogdan, who is in charge of bringing the cost down of the pricey F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, presumably explained why the most expensive weapons system the Pentagon has ever bought is not “out of control.” Earlier in the day, Trump met with Marillyn Hewson, the CEO of Lockheed Martin, which builds the F-35. She left without commenting to reporters, but Trump said, “We’re just beginning, it’s a dance. It’s a little bit of a dance. But we’re going to get the costs down and we’re going to get it done beautifully.” The president-elect got more of a commitment after meeting with Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg, who said the company will build the new Air Force One for less than the estimated $4 billion. “We’re going to get it done for less than that. … I was able to give the president-elect my personal commitment on behalf of the Boeing Company,” Muilenburg told reporters.
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HAWK’S NEST: Trump is creating a new office in the White House dedicated to overseeing industrial policy and trade and it will be headed his campaign adviser and noted China hawk Peter Navarro. “I read one of Peter’s books on America’s trade problems years ago and was impressed by the clarity of his arguments and thoroughness of his research,” Trump said in a statement. Navarro, a University of California Irvine economist, has been tapped to run a new National Trade Council, responsible for crafting trade policies that “shrink our trade deficit, expand our growth, and help stop the exodus of jobs from our shores,” according to the campaign.
CHILLY, BUT NOT FROZEN: The State Department is downplaying Russia’s claim that all dialogue between the U.S. and Russia has ended, Joel Gehrke writes. “Dialogue has not been broken,” State Department spokesman John Kirby told reporters yesterday. That contradicts Russian President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, who said that communication with the U.S. was “frozen.” “Almost every level of dialogue with the United States is frozen,” Peskov said, according to Russian media. “We don’t communicate with one another, or [if we do] we do so minimally.”
Kirby indicated the U.S. was confused about that statement, and noted that Secretary of State John Kerry and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov spoke Tuesday about the Syrian civil war. The Defense Department and Russian military officials also had a “deconfliction” videoconference Wednesday as part of an effort to avoid a clash between American and Russian fighters flying in Syria.
AND NO, U.S. NOT TO BLAME FOR TURKEY ASSASSINATION: Kirby also dismissed the idea that there was any U.S. connection in the Monday assassination of Russia’s ambassador to Turkey. “It’s really unhelpful at this stage of the investigation to make such claims, that in some way the United States is involved, or encouraged or enticed,” Kirby said on Fox News. “It’s totally ridiculous to claim that the United States was in any way involved in this.”
Kirby was reacting to a question about Ankara’s claims that the shooter was inspired by an exiled cleric who now lives in the United States. Turkey has blamed that same cleric, Fethullah Gulen, and his organization for attempting a military coup in Turkey over the summer. Turkey has since pressured the U.S. to return Gulen, but the U.S. hasn’t budged.
In a video address made available to The Associated Press, Gulen accused the Turkish government of blaming and defaming his movement and suggested the government would facilitate other assassinations and blame them on his followers.
MORE WARNINGS ON TURKEY: A former U.S. diplomat warned that Turkey is a weakening link in the NATO alliance, citing that country’s participation in negotiations with Russia despite the exclusion of the United States. “It’s a Turkey that’s moving away from the West, but also a Turkey that’s moving away from NATO,” said John Bolton, a former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.
Russia hosted negotiations over a cease-fire in the Syrian civil war with Turkey and Iran, one of its allies in the fight to prop up Syrian dictator Bashar Assad. Turkey began engaging with Russia in secret, despite its alliance with the United States, which maintains a military presence in the NATO country that includes a nuclear weapons arsenal. “Three countries that don’t necessarily have our best interests at heart, despite one of them being a NATO ally, convening to decide what to do with the region,” Bolton said. “No United States, no Europe, it’s really remarkable. But it’s a sign of the times. It is a precise reflection of the diminution of American influence under the Obama administration.”
TRAPPED IN THE USA: NPR’s Tom Bowman has a interesting story on NPR’s Morning Edition about a group of Turkish military officers who are stuck in the U.S. after having deployed for exchange postings before a failed military coup led to deep purges. Bowman reports some Turkish service members have asked for asylum, putting Washington in an awkward situation.
McCAIN’S RANTS: The press office of Senate Armed Services Chairman John McCain, which functions as a sort of quick reaction force, fired off two statements yesterday from the senator, one praising the Navy (while insulting its leadership) and the other decrying President Obama’s Syria policy.
On Syria: “Reports indicate that Russia, Iran and Turkey met in Moscow without the United States to decide the fate of Syria. That the Syrian people will be left to the tender mercies of Bashar Assad, Vladimir Putin, Qasem Soleimani, and Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is the predictable consequence of President Obama’s reckless policy of disengagement from the Middle East. And it is ironic that after touting the power of diplomacy for years, President Obama’s refusal to back diplomacy with strength has left the United States without even a seat at the diplomatic table.”
On the Navy’s about-face: “The Chief of Naval Operations made the right decision in restoring Navy rating titles. Revoking these titles, many of which have been a part of the Navy’s identity for centuries, defied basic common sense and distracted from the real challenges confronting the men and women serving in our Navy. Unfortunately, this was not an isolated incident of pointless policy tinkering. A number of other recent policy changes also appear to have been made with shallow analysis and unnecessary urgency.”
OKINAWA GIVE-BACK: As promised by Defense Secretary Ash Carter in his recent visit to Japan, the U.S. returned title to 10,000 acres of a training area on Okinawa, reducing the footprint of U.S. forces on the Japanese island by 20 percent. During a ceremony hosted by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at his office in Tokyo. U.S. Ambassador to Japan Caroline Kennedy said the transfer marks a milestone in the U.S.-Japan alliance. “This return … is an important step in the Okinawa consolidation plan, which will eventually result in the transfer of 60 acres of land south of Kadena Air Base,” she said.
WANNA SEE WHAT ALL THE FUSS WAS ABOUT? The U.S. Pacific Fleet has released photos of the Navy “ocean glider” unmanned underwater vehicle swiped by the Chinese Dec. 15. The Honolulu Star-Advertiser has them.
SALE TO NORWAY: The State Department on Wednesday announced it had approved the sale of five Boeing P-8 Poseidon surveillance aircraft to Norway, valued at about $1.75 billion.
FIRST FLIGHT: Boeing’s candidate to be the Air Force’s newest trainer jet made its first test flight this week in St. Louis. Boeing and Saab are one of at least four industry teams hoping to get the contract to build the two-seat T-X trainer jet to replace the service’s aging fleet of T-38 aircraft.
THE RUNDOWN
Reuters: China Says Don’t Read Too Much Into U.S. Drone Case
Defense Daily: Government Could Again Force Lockheed Martin To Accept F-35 Price For Lot 10 Aircraft
Defense News: DoD Opens Biofabrication Hub in New Hampshire
USNI News: Interview: Capt. James Kirk and USS Zumwalt
National Interest: Trump Should Cut Pentagon Waste and Craft a New Strategy
Military.com: Air Force Wants 350K Airmen by 2024
UPI: Raytheon to demonstrate military satellite capabilities for U.S. Air Force
Reuters: Exclusive: U.S.-supplied drones disappoint Ukraine at the front lines
Washington Free Beacon: Pentagon: Iran Seeking New Missiles, War Equipment
Associated Press: Germany had monitored Berlin truck attack suspect for months
Military Times: IG report: U.S. support to Kurds could be better
C4ISRNET: ACTUV on track for Navy success story
Calendar
D.C. is dark this week, but here’s a preview of what’s on deck in the New Year:
THURSDAY | JANUARY 5
3 p.m. 1300 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. A panel of experts talks about the future of the Pakistani Taliban. wilsoncenter.org
FRIDAY | JANUARY 6
7 a.m. 1401 Lee Highway, Arlington, Va. Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James speaks at an Air Force Association breakfast event. afa.org
TUESDAY | JANUARY 10
11 a.m. 214 Massachusetts Ave. NE. Seth Jones, author of Waging Insurgent Warfare: Lessons from the Vietcong to the Islamic State, speaks at the Heritage Foundation. heritage.org
WEDNESDAY | JANUARY 11
9:30 a.m. 1030 15th St. NW. Officials from the Marine Corps discuss how science fiction has impacted the service’s ability to develop new technology. atlanticcouncil.org
3:30 p.m. 1030 15th St. NW. The Atlantic Council releases a paper titled, “A Nonstate Strategy for Saving Cyberspace.” atlanticcouncil.org
