CHIEFS ON THE HILL: The ostensible subject of today’s Senate Armed Services Committee hearing is “long-term budgetary challenges,” but expect Chairman John McCain, and his Senate colleagues to solicit the service chiefs’ unvarnished views on everything bad happening in the world. The four top generals and admiral include: Army Chief Gen. Mark Milley, CNO Adm. John Richardson, Marine Commandant Gen. Robert Neller, and Air Force Chief Gen. David Goldfein. The fun and possible fireworks light off at 9:30.
TELL US HOW YOU REALLY FEEL: One subject almost certain to come up is what the U.S. military really thinks about the wisdom of partnering with Russia to fight the Islamic State in Syria. There’s been a lot of behind-the-scenes grumbling about the imperfect deal negotiated by Secretary of State John Kerry, which calls for a joint air campaign with the Russians, in return for a cease-fire to get humanitarian aid to Syrian civilians. When the chiefs appear before the Senate committee for confirmation, they pledge to give their honest opinion, even if it conflicts with administration policy.
At an event in Austin, Texas, Defense Secretary Ash Carter attempted to counter reports that he opposed the Kerry deal in a White House conference call last week, but was overruled by President Obama. Speaking to reporters traveling with him, Carter voiced support for the agreement and pledged the Pentagon “play whatever role we have with our accustomed excellence.”
“I commend Secretary of State Kerry for getting us an agreement, which if it’s implemented, will ease the suffering of the Syrian people, which is very important to all of us, very important to the president.” And then quickly added, “We’ve got a ways to go to see whether it will be implemented or not.”
So far this morning the Syrian truce seems to be holding, at least in Aleppo, but no sign of any of the trucks that are supposed to bringing in food, and medical supplies. A U.N. Syria envoy said “we have a problem” getting the aid into the country, the Associated Press reported this morning.
Good Thursday 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.
Want to learn more about Daily on Defense? See our introductory video here.
GITMO: The House will vote this morning on a bill from Rep. Jackie Walorski on whether to ban all transfers out of Guantanamo Bay for the remainder of this year amid reports that two more former detainees have engaged in terrorism after their release.
CARTER MEETS JAPANESE MoD: Amid rising tension over North Korea’s fifth and strongest nuclear test, Carter welcomes Japan’s newly- appointed Defense Minister Tomomi Inada to the Pentagon. There will be a full-on “enhanced honor cordon” on the steps of the Pentagon River Entrance. As of press time, no plans for a joint media availability. The U.S. is talking about even tighter sanctions against North Korea, which so far have had no apparent effect on Kim Jong-un.
KEEP AUSTIN WIRED: Carter was in Austin on Wednesday to announce the opening of the third Defense Innovation Unit Experimental hub at the Capital Factory, a tech incubator in Austin. The latest center will join DIUx offices in Silicon Valley and Boston, which have awarded more than $3 million in contracts since the program’s start more than two years ago.
TAKING THE HIGH ROAD ON POT: We present this unexpurgated exchange from the official transcript of Carter’s appearance in Austin on the subject of whether marijuana use might precludes a tech job at the Pentagon:
Q: In order to recruit the best engineers in the world right now, you need to be a bit flexible. Let’s say somebody went to Burning Man two weeks ago and partaked in some goodies; are they still eligible?
Carter: Well – so – so, the goodies – it depends on what the goodies are.
Q: Well, no, I’m serious.
Carter: But – no – well, it’s a very good question and we’re changing that in recognition of the fact that times change in generations. Changing – by the way – laws change as respecting marijuana and so forth. And that in many other ways, we need to – while protecting ourselves and doing the appropriate things to make sure that it’s safe to entrust information with people – we need to understand – and we do – the way people are – have – lives have changed. Not hold against them things that they’ve done when they were younger. And so it’s an important question and the answer is yes, we can be flexible in that regard.
WATCHDOG FINDS RAMPANT CORRUPTION IN AFGHANISTAN: A scathing report by the independent Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction concludes that the U.S. contributed to the growth of corruption by injecting tens of billions of dollars into the Afghan economy using flawed oversight and contracting practices and partnering with malign power brokers. The U.S. intervention in Afghanistan made the country’s already endemic corruption far worse, and ended up sabotaging success of the U.S. mission by effectively funding and fueling the insurgency and stoking popular grievances. Special IG John Sopko released the first-ever “lessons learned” report on how tens of billions of U.S. tax dollars were wasted, lost, stolen and misspent, undercutting the U.S. goal of rebuilding a stable society. It’s quite an indictment. You can read the full report here.
PRIORITIES FOR NEXT ADMINISTRATION: Michele Flournoy, who is widely rumored to be at the top of Hillary Clinton’s short list for defense secretary, said the next president and Congress must make striking a budget deal that does away with budget caps one of their top priorities soon after taking office. “Getting a budget deal early in the next administration has become a national security issue,” Flournoy said at a conference hosted by the Institute for the Study of War. “We can talk all we want about vision and strategy, but we can’t get there from here unless we sort that out.”
POWELL’S EMAILS: Washington should be chewing on Colin Powell’s hacked emails for a while, in which he dishes on … everybody. Read some of the highlights here, but not aloud to your kids.
Speaking of hacks, Rep. Michael McCaul, chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, had to retract a claim he made on CNN last night that the Russians had hacked the Republican National Committee. The RNC rushed out a statement saying there was no “known” breach of the servers. McCaul later said he “misspoke” and clarified that “Republican political operatives” have been hacked.
STATES OF FEAR: FBI Director James Comey jokingly calls his job “Director of all kinds of depressing things,” and at a Center for Strategic and International Studies conference on the National Security Division created 10 years ago, he shared the advice he gives his kids about living in today’s dangerous world. There are four possible states of the world, says Comey:
Red: “You’re in a fight, stress hormones are coursing through your body, you’re in a fight for your life, it’s unsustainable long-term.”
Orange: “You’re on the cusp of a fight, the hormones are starting to course through you.”
Yellow: “Healthy awareness that there are really bad things out there and people who do want to kill us, but not a disabling, unsustainable state of orange or red.”
White: “Headphones on, New York City subway platform, midnight texting. Obliviousness to the world.”
Comey’s advice to his kids and to all Americans: Live in yellow. “Resist obliviousness, be aware of your surroundings, but resist what they want from us which is a disabling state of fear. Live in yellow.” Oh and two seconds means everything, he said. “You have two seconds once something happens to seek safety, to get out of the way, to get down. In two seconds, if you’re in white, is like that. But if you’re living in yellow, two seconds is a meaningful period of time.”
COOK TIMER: The preternaturally tardy Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook was about an hour an half late for yesterday’s DoD Press Office/ Media baseball outing at Nats park yesterday. But he had a really good excuse. Cook landed just after the first pitch at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, having just returned to D.C. from Austin with Carter. In fact, Cook deserves credit for making it while the outcome of the game was uncertain. The Pentagon PAOs and their press corps adversaries saw the Nats beat the Mets 1-0, on a Wilson Ramos 7th inning solo homer. The Nats magic number is 7.
THE RUNDOWN
Air Force Times: Air Force gets ball rolling on UH-1N Huey replacement
USNI News: Northrop Grumman Awarded $108M Contract for 10 MQ-8C Fire Scouts
Military.com: Newport News Shipyard Cites Progress on Carrier Kennedy
Washington Post: Israel, U.S. sign massive military aid package, in low-key ceremony at the State Department
USNI News: New NAVSEA Commander’s Intent: Complete Ship Maintenance On Time
Defense News: European Commission President Calls for Increased EU Military Cooperation
Breaking Defense: Killer Robots? ‘Never,’ Defense Secretary Carter Says
Military Times: Lawmaker wants to force Congress to use VA health care
Defense One: Powerful Countries Don’t Nuke First
Reuters: Aligned with Russia in Syria, Pentagon awkwardly treads on new terrain
Associated Press: In long and bloody Syria war, this truce may be different
USA Today: Who cares about ISIL?: Our view
Calendar
THURSDAY | SEPTEMBER 15
9 a.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave. NW. Stephen Welby, the assistant secretary of defense for research and engineering, talks about the state of research and development at the Pentagon. csis.org
9:30 a.m. Dirksen G-50. The four service chiefs will testify at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on budgetary challenges facing the military. armed-services.senate.gov
9:45 a.m. Dirksen 419. Richard Olson, the State Department’s special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, testifies before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. foreign.senate.gov
12 p.m. 214 Massachusetts Ave. NE. Former Pentagon officials discuss what a no-first-use nuclear policy would mean for global security. Heritage.org
1:30 pm. Washington Convention Center. Marine Lt. Gen. Vincent Stewart, director, Defense Intelligence Agency, participates in a panel on increasing diversity in the intelligence community at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation annual legislative conference
5 p.m. 1789 Massachusetts Ave. NW. The American Enterprise Institute hosts an event in its new building on tension between the U.S. commitment to religious freedom and the tools the government has to stop terrorists. aei.org
FRIDAY | SEPTEMBER 16
8 a.m. 1777 F St. NW. Retired Adm. Mike Mullen, the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs, talks about a new Council on Foreign Relations report about North Korean aggression. cfr.org
9 a.m. 1030 15th St. NW. The Atlantic Council hosts an event on Russian President Vladimir Putin’s new terrorism laws in Russia. atlanticcouncil.org
SATURDAY | SEPTEMBER 17
7:30 a.m. National Harbor, Md. The Air Force Association’s two-day national convention begins. afa.org
TUESDAY | SEPTEMBER 20
4 p.m. 1789 Massachusetts Ave. NW. Rep. Michael McCaul, chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security, speaks about winning the war against Islamic terrorism, including stopping lone wolf attacks at home. aei.org
WEDNESDAY | SEPTEMBER 21
9:30 a.m. 1030 15th St. NW. A panel of experts discusses the future of the Army. atlanticcouncil.org
12 p.m. 1030 15th St. NW. A panel of academic experts talk about a smarter strategy for countering violent extremists like the Islamic State. atlanticcouncil.org
6 p.m. Livestream. Vice President Joe Biden speaks about the future of U.S. foreign policy. cfr.org
THURSDAY | SEPTEMBER 22
10 a.m. Cannon 311. The House Homeland Security Committee holds a hearing on identifying and defeating the threat from Islamic radical terrorists. homeland.house.gov
12:30 p.m. 1211 Connecticut Ave. NW. Rep. Adam Smith, ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee, speaks at a luncheon hosted by the Stimson Center. stimson.org
