TERROR IN TURKISH AIRPORT: The deadly attack on civilians at the entrance to Istanbul’s busy Ataturk International Airport is yet another grisly reminder of the difficulty of protecting soft targets from determined and suicidal terrorists. While the Islamic State has not claimed responsibility, the terrorist group is heavily suspected in the attack in which three men opened fire outside the airport’s security perimeter, and then set off suicide vests. CNN is reporting 41 are dead and 147 are wounded.
U.S. authorities suspended all flights to or from Turkey through most of last night, but the restrictions were lifted this morning. Both the White House and State Department condemned the attacks.
THE WAR ON ISIS continues, with incremental victories, the latest being the capture by U.S-backed Syrian rebels of Hamdan air base near the Iraqi border from the Islamic State. We should learn more this morning when Army Col. Chris Garver briefs Pentagon reporters from Baghdad at 10 a.m. and provides an update on Fallujah, the Tigris River Valley, Manbij, and a developing operation in southeastern Syria. Live-streamed on defense.gov
Former Vice Chief of the Army Jack Keane, a behind-the-scenes advocate of “the surge” in Iraq in 2007, writes in the Cipher Brief that Iraq wants to launch the long-awaited offensive to retake Mosul this year, but the U.S. military is advising it wait until next year, after more forces are trained. “I also believe that General Sean MacFarland – the Commander of Coalition forces fighting ISIS in Iraq and Syria – has made a request for additional U.S. forces, somewhere north of one thousand trainers, advisers and, I believe, tactical air controllers who can better facilitate the use of air power for the attack on Mosul. Of course, how all this will be resolved between the Iraqi government and U.S. government and both military commands remains to be seen.”
Meanwhile White House Special Envoy Brett McGurk was on Capitol Hill yesterday repeating familiar talking points about the steady progress in defeating and degrading the Islamic State, including cutting by half its self-proclaimed caliphate in Iraq. But skeptical senators questioned what comes next. What sort of political structure would maintain the hard-won gains? “What are we doing? Do we believe the Iraqi forces with our assistance clearing out Anbar, Mosul and Tikrit are going to have the ability to sustain and hold the places that were cleared so that we are not there for a third time?” Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., asked during a Senate Foreign Relations hearing.
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TRUMP OVER CLINTON ON ISIS: A Quinnipiac University National poll released today finds Americans think Donald Trump would be more effective handling ISIS, by 52 to 39 percent. Overall the poll shows Democrat Hillary Clinton leading Trump 42 percent to 40 percent — too close to call — and much tighter than other recent polls. American voters say neither candidate would be a good president and that the campaign has increased hatred and prejudice in the nation.
LAST WORD ON BENGHAZI? Probably not. The House Benghazi Committee final report, delivered after a two-year, $7 million investigation, provides more facts, but no new overall narrative about the 2012 attack that killed four Americans. Chairman Rep. Trey Gowdy defended the report’s “draw your own conclusions” format that undercut criticism by Democrats that the probe was a thinly-disguised effort to undermine Clinton’s presidential ambitions. But the lack of an executive summary left it to other committee members to connect the dots about the Obama administration’s failure to provide adequate security and inability to launch an effective military rescue effort.
Gowdy’s insistence that everyone read the 800-page report and decide for themselves what it all means also allowed major media outlets such as CNN, The New York Times, and the Washington Post to declare there was no new evidence of wrongdoing by Clinton. You can take the Gowdy challenge and read the report here.
The report’s strongest criticism was reserved for the military response, which it said never got off the ground, literally. The Pentagon pushed back, saying many of the deficiencies that existed in 2012 have been corrected. The White House dismissed the reports as a “variety of conspiracy theories” and “politically motivated fantasies.”
SPEEDY MARKUP: The Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations and Related Programs met for about three minutes on Tuesday afternoon, much of which Sen. Lindsey Graham spent honoring Paul Grove, who has served as a committee aide for 20 years. “Our goal is to make this the fastest subcommittee markup in the Senate. I think we did good,” was the entirety of Graham’s opening statement. Graham said some amendments will be considered today when the full appropriations committee considers the subcommittee’s mark at 2 p.m.
NAVY JUDGMENT DAY: Tomorrow the chief of naval operations announces the disciplinary actions against the U.S. sailors who wandered into Iranian waters, embarrassing themselves and their country by becoming props in an Iranian propaganda video. One Navy source describes the January misadventure as a “screwup from start to finish.” No courts-martial are expected unless sailors decline non-judicial punishment and request a trial, which is their right. The CNO will talk to reporters at 9:30 a.m. in the Pentagon Briefing room.
PENCIL IT IN: And Friday is still the day Defense Secretary Ash Carter is expected to formally lift the ban on transgender troops serving openly in the military, although his aides say the secretary’s schedule hasn’t been locked down.
THE MARINES ARE LOOKING FOR A FEW GOOD, ER … MARINES! Under orders from Navy Secretary Ray Mabus, the Marine Corps is gender-neutralizing its job titles. Mostly wherever “man” is part of the title, “Marine” the new term-of-art. So our colleague over at the Washington Post, Thomas Gibbons-Neff, who was formerly an “infantryman” is now a “basic infantry Marine.” In other changes, “antitank missileman” has been renamed “antitank gunner,” and “field artillery operations man” is now “field artillery operations chief.” Gibbons-Neff notes some of his fellow infantrymen, er basic infantry Marines, are complaining bitterly about political correctness run amok on social media.
U.K.’s F-35 MAKES ITS “BRENTRANCE” Lockheed Martin’s F-35B is making its first ever trans-Atlantic flight this week. According to a Marine Corps statement, two U.S. Marine Corps and one U.K. F-35B will make the trek and, upon landing, the United Kingdom will receive its first joint strike fighter of the 138 it intends to buy. All three F-35s will take part in the Farnborough International Airshow next month.
BYE BYE HARRIERS: A sign of the times at Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, Arizona, where tomorrow Marine Attack Squadron 211 will transition from the AV-8B Harrier to the F-35B Lightning. With the new plane comes a new name: Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 211. The last Harriers flew last month, just a few days before the first F-35s arrived. The F-35 is billed as a “quantum leap in air dominance capability,” with its stealth, supersonic speed, and the most sophisticated integrated sensor package “of any fighter aircraft in history.” But one thing the Harrier has the F-35 doesn’t: a gun. The Harrier has a 25mm cannon, the F-35 won’t get a similar Gatling gun until 2019.
RECORD RIMPAC: The world’s largest international maritime exercise, RIMPAC (Rim of the Pacific) kicks off tomorrow in and around the Hawaiian islands and Southern California. Featuring 45 ships, five submarines, more than 200 aircraft and 25,000 personnel from 26 nations, (including China) the massive event includes amphibious operations, gunnery, missile, anti-submarine and air defense exercises, as well as counter-piracy, mine clearance operations, explosive ordnance disposal and diving and salvage operations. Runs until Aug 4.
RIGHT TO CHEAT? Attorneys for an Air Force colonel are making a novel argument that the military ban on extramarital sex is unconstitutional against because it doesn’t apply to same-sex couples. The Colorado Springs Gazette reports lawyers for Col. Eugene Caughey argue adultery charges should be thrown out because the UCMJ discriminates against heterosexuals. It’s a bit of a stretch, and is based on the military’s definition of sexual intercourse as being between a man and a woman. Even if the adultery charges were dropped, so the paper reports the colonel is still charged with rape, assault and “taking a dirty selfie.”
McCHRYSTAL LIKES CARTER’S IDEA: This month, Carter floated the idea of bringing older, experienced civilians into the the military to take advantage of their expertise in certain high demand occupational specialities, such as cybersecurity. Testifying before the Senate Armed Services Committee yesterday, retired Gen. Stanley McChrystal endorsed the idea, telling senators, “I think we could bring people in. I’ve run into competent executives out in the world, who could come in and be infantry officers, and I tell them ‘in six months we could teach you enough to do what you have to do, and (with) your leadership skills and your wisdom, and you would be able to perform.’”
THE RUNDOWN:
London Daily Mail: U.S. Navy Is Developing ‘Supersonic Submarines’ That Could Cut Through The Ocean At The Speed Of Sound Using A Bubble
The National Interest: Can Drone Swarms Save America’s Aircraft Carriers?
Breaking Defense: Presumptive CSAF Goldfein’s Top Five: Mackenzie Eaglen
UPI: Exide Technologies gets $30.7 million DOD grant
Breaking Defense: Army Must Tell Story Better To Get $: New Secretary Fanning
Washington Post: In Pentagon bomb squad, an investigation and a fight to stave off financial ruin
Defense News: US destroyer came ‘dangerously close’ to Russian ship: Moscow
USNI News: Arms Expert: Russia Quick to Threaten Nuclear Strikes in Regional Conflicts
War on the Rocks: Russia is in charge in Syria: How Moscow took control of the battlefield and negotiating table
UPI: Source: U.S. Gatling guns placed on North Korea boats
Task and Purpose: Should Cyber Warfare Have Its Own Branch?
War on the Rocks: Swaggering in cyberspace: Busting the conventional wisdom on cyber coercion
UPI: Insitu gets Coast Guard drone contract
Daily Beast: They Survived ISIS, Then Disappeared
Reuters: Cracks show inside Islamic State’s shrinking caliphate
Military.com: Kabul to Investigate Child Sex Slavery Fueling Insider Attacks
Calendar
WEDNESDAY | JUNE 29
8:30 a.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave. NW. CSIS hosts Lt. Gen. John Wissler, commander of U.S. Marine Corps Forces, to discuss amphibious ship development and fleet implications in the Pacific. csis.org
9:30 a.m. SVC 217. Adm. Michael Rogers, commander of U.S. Cyber Command, will give testimony on national security cyber and encryption challenges. armed-services.senate.gov
10 a.m. 529 14th Street NW. Arab Center D.C. hosts a panel of think tank experts at the National Press Club to discuss the impact of the presidential elections on U.S. Middle East policy. arabcenterdc.org
10 a.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave. NW. Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken gives a keynote address on the Warsaw NATO summit. csis.org
11:45 a.m. 1201 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. The Hudson Institute hosts a panel to discuss the future of North Africa in light of current unstable conditions. hudson.org
2 p.m. 1777 F St. NW. The Council on Foreign Relations hosts CIA Director John Brennan to discuss instability and transnational threats to global security. cfr.org
THURSDAY | JUNE 30
12:30 p.m. 1211 Connecticut Ave. NW. Stimson hosts former Rep. Mike Rogers to discuss U.S. intelligence, foreign policy, and national security. stimson.org
1 p.m 1501 Lee Highway Arlington, VA. Maj. Gen. Jeff Harrigian, director of F-35 integration office, and Col. Max Marosko, deputy director of air & space operations, discuss maintaining the 5th generation joint force advantage. mitchellaerospacepower.org
FRIDAY | JULY 8
10 a.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave. NW. CSIS and USNI host a discussion with Rear Admiral Charles Richard and Rear Admiral Michael Jabaley on the future of submarine warfare. csis.org
