Daily on Defense — Aug. 1, 2016 — Trump’s very bad days

First there was the continuing and escalating blowback over his belittling of Khizr and Ghazala Khan, the Muslim-American parents of Army Capt. Humayun Khan, who was killed in Iraq in 2004. House Speaker Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell were among prominent GOP leaders distancing themselves from Trump’s comments. Sen. Lindsey Graham said, “This is going to a place where we’ve never gone before, to push back against the families of the fallen. There used to be some things that were sacred in American politics — that you don’t do — like criticizing the parents of a fallen soldier, even if they criticize you.” Even Trump’s running mate, Gov. Mike Pence said that Khan’s should be “cherished.” For his part Trump said in tweet he was “viciously attacked,” then he asked “Am I not allowed to respond?”

Then there was his attack on Gen. John Allen, the retired Afghanistan commander who endorsed Hillary Clinton at the Democratic National Convention, where Trump called him a “failed general.” Allen pushed back hard on ABC News saying of Trump, “He has no credibility to criticize me or my record or anything that I have done. If he had spent a minute in the deserts of Afghanistan or in the deserts of Iraq, I might listen to what he has to say.” Allen also warned that if Trump is elected the country will face “a civil military crisis, the like of which we’ve not seen in this country before.”

Trump seemed to step in it when discussing Ukraine on ABC. Trump denied he was involved in a move by his camp to soften the GOP platform on arming Ukrainian forces to combat Russian-backed rebels. “They softened it, I heard, but I was not involved,” he said. And he seemed confused about Vladimir Putin’s annexation of Crimea in 2014. “He’s not going into Ukraine, okay,” Trump told “This Week” host George Stephanopoulos. “You can mark it down. You can put it down.” When Stephanopoulos pointed out Putin was already there. “Okay, well, he’s there in a certain way,” Trump quickly conceded that Crimea is, or was part of Ukraine.

Fact-checkers were quick to challenge several Trump statements including his boast that he was responsible, along with a group of people, for getting the Vietnam Memorial built in downtown Manhattan in New York. Critics cited a 1984 Washington Post account that said Trump merely lent his name to the effort. And as for his claim the NFL had sent him a letter complaining that presidential debates were scheduled against pro football broadcasts, an NFL spokesman tweeted a denial: “While we’d obviously wish the Debate Commission could find another night, we did not send a letter to Mr Trump.”

More nude pics published of potential future first lady Melania Trump. This is probably the easiest story to ignore. The photos, published by the New York Post, are 20 years old, and Melania Trump was after all a model, a profession, like acting, in which it is de rigueur to appear au natural in front of the camera. On CNN, Trump senior communications director Jason Miller insisted the photos were nothing to be embarrassed about, “They are a celebration of the human body as art.”

And finally there are the polls, which show Trump losing again to Clinton by about 3 percentage points, following her expected post-convention bounce. A Morning Consult national poll conducted entirely after the Democratic Convention has Clinton leading Trump 43-40 percent, a 7-point swing from a Consult poll done just before the convention.

Good Monday morning and welcome to Jamie McIntyre’s Daily on Defense, compiled by Washington Examiner National Security Senior Writer Jamie McIntyre (@jamiejmcintyre), National Security Writer Jacqueline Klimas (@jacqklimas) and Senior Editor David Brown (@dave_brown24). Email us here for tips, suggestions, calendar items and anything else. If a friend sent this to you and you’d like to sign up, click here. If signing up doesn’t work, shoot us an email and we’ll be sure to add you to our list.

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BREAKING: Helo down in Syria. CNN reports a Russian Mi-8 helicopter with five people on board has been shot down in the Syrian city of Aleppo after making an aid delivery. The Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement cited by the state television that the helicopter was hit by ground fire with three crew and two officers on board as they returned to a Russian base.

PAUSE BEFORE THE SIEGE: Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Joseph Dunford was in Baghdad over the weekend. On his first visit to Iraq, since becoming chairman, Dunford told reporters traveling with him the biggest change he sees is the sense of confidence and optimism “that absolutely didn’t exist last fall.” Officials briefing reporters said there is there is a “tactical pause,” not an “operational pause,” as preparations continue for the future offensive to liberate Mosul. Dunford is in Turkey today to meet with political and military leaders, as the U.S. tries to tamp down a flap over comments made by U.S. Central Commander Gen. Joseph Votel, which Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan interpreted a sympathetic to the coup-plotters.

FOREVER SILENT? Dunford’s predecessor, retired Army Gen. Martin Dempsey has taken Dunford’s admonition to military members to remain apolitical a step further. In a Letter to the Editor of the Washington Post published yesterday, Dempsey argues military officers should keep their politics to themselves, even after they hang up their uniforms. He was critical of both Clinton-backer retired Marine Gen. John Allen and Trump-backer retired Army Lt. Gen. Mike Flynn. “It was a mistake for them to participate as they did. It was a mistake for our presidential candidates to ask them to do so,” Dempsey wrote.

SNIPER’S ARMY RECORD RELEASED: Late Friday the Army released records of an investigation of Micah X. Johnson, the former soldier who gunned down five law enforcement officers in Dallas this month. The record of what’s known as a Army Regulation (AR) 15-6 investigation, which the Army posted here, shows that Johnson was discharged after investigators found he had panties stolen from a female soldier, as well a prescription medicine belonging to another soldier and a grenade hidden in his sleeping bag. But the Army says its review of Johnson’s service record “has not identified any documented acts of violence.”

ISRAELI ARMS DEAL: A senior Israeli official arrives this week in Washington for a final round of negotiations over a multibillion dollar arms deal, that will last more than a decade after President Obama leaves office. The Washington Post calls it “the largest military aid package the United States has ever given any country.” Brig. Gen. Yaakov Nagel, the acting head of Israel’s National Security Council, will meet with White House officials this week, according to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office.

NATO COMMANDER AGREES, TO A POINT: NATO’s top commander says he agrees it’s important for alliance members to pay their bills, but in an interview at the Aspen Security Forum last week, Army Gen. Curtis Scaparrotti stopped short of saying the commitment to defend any NATO nation should be used as leverage to induce payments. Scaparotti avoided any mention of Donald Trump by name, but parted ways with Trump over how to get alliance nations to meet their financial obligations. He called says the U.S. commitment to Article 5 of the NATO charter, which specifies an attack on one member is an attack on all, must be “ironclad” and that member countries should not be in doubt about that. “One thing they need to know is that they can count on the United States to do what we say we’re going to do,” Scaparrotti said.

OBAMA IN ATLANTA: President Obama addresses the annual convention of the Disabled American Veterans service organization in Atlanta. He’s expected to tell the veterans the healthcare and benefits they’ve earned amounts to a national promise that “can’t be broken.” According to the AP, he’ll tout progress reducing homelessness among veterans, and announce that the administration is halfway toward building a massive database on veterans’ health.

COOK TIMER: Friday’s scheduled 1:30 p.m. news briefing by Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook, started promptly at 1:42 p.m.

THE RUNDOWN:

Japan Times: Chinese State Media Calls Australia ‘An Ideal Target To Strike’ In Event Of South China Sea Patrol

The Guardian: U.S.-South Korea Military Drills To Proceed Despite North Korea’s Warning

The Washington Post: America uses stealthy submarines to hack other countries’ systems

The Washington Post: Israel and U.S. are close to a deal on the biggest military aid package ever

AP: Syrian Rebels Launch Push Aimed At Breaking Aleppo Siege

National Defense: Directed Energy Weapons Gaining Acceptance Across U.S. Military

National Interest: F-35B Stealth Fighter: How the US Marine Corps Could Dominate the Sky

Air Force Times: The F-35 Is So Stealthy, It Produced Training Challenges, Pilot Says

DoD Buzz: Marines’ Future Helicopter Will Be Optionally Manned: Genera

Navy Times: Rising Oceans Threaten To Submerge 18 Military Bases: Report

WFED Radio: DoD Substantiates Its First-Ever Sexual Assault Reprisal Case, But Victim Still Waiting For Relief

War on the Rocks: Turkey And The West Are Heading For A Breakup

Christian Science Monitor: Boot Camps For The Mind? Pentagon Aims To Build Super Soldiers.

Calendar

MONDAY | AUGUST 1

12:15 p.m. Pentagon River Entrance. Secretary of Defense Ash Carter hosts an enhanced honor cordon to welcome Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong .

1:30 p.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave. NW. CSIS hosts a panel to discuss religious extremism in Africa and how states and non-state actors are responding. Csis.org

TUESDAY | AUGUST 9

10 a.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave. NW. CSIS hosts Gen. Robert Neller, commandant of the Marine Corps, to discuss maritime security. csis.org

THURSDAY | AUGUST 11

12:30 p.m. 1211 Connecticut Ave. NW. Stimson hosts General Mark Milley to discuss U.S. foreign policy and national security policy. stimson.org