ESPER SELLING AFGHAN WITHDRAWAL PLAN TO ALLIES: Defense Secretary Mark Esper is in Germany, the first stop on a three-day trip to brief America’s major European allies on the pending deal to pull more than 5,000 troops out of Afghanistan.
Esper’s mission comes after a Monday meeting with President Trump in the White House in which the president underscored his desire to end America’s longest war and bring the bulk of the troops home.
“It’s been a long time. We have great warriors there, we have great soldiers, but they’re not acting as soldiers, they’re acting as policemen and that’s not their job — that’s not their job,” Trump said yesterday at a White House event. “So, we’d like to get at least a big proportion of them home. We also have NATO troops there. We’d like to bring a big portion of them home. So, we’re talking to the Taliban, we’re talking to the government, we’ll see what happens.”
“Negotiations in some ways are still ongoing,” Esper told reporters traveling with him, according to the Associated Press. “I don’t want to say anything that gets in front of that or upsets that process.”
Esper’s schedule has him meeting his British counterpart in London tomorrow and his French counterpart in Paris Saturday.
Vice President Mike Pence is in London today for a meeting with beleaguered Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who is consumed at the moment with a parliamentary crisis over his plans to crash the United Kingdom out of the European Union with a no-deal Brexit.
TALIBAN ATTACK: Meanwhile, the Taliban claimed responsibility for another deadly attack in the Afghan capital of Kabul, the second this week.
At least 10 people were killed and another 42 wounded when a car bomb went off in a neighborhood housing the United States embassy and the headquarters of the NATO Resolute Support mission, according to local officials.
On Monday night, the Taliban killed at least 16 people and wounded more than 100, almost all of them local civilians, in a suicide attack on a foreign compound in Kabul.
The attacks came as Zalmay Khalilzad, the U.S. special representative for Afghanistan reconciliation, was in Kabul briefing Afghan government officials on the details of the “agreement in principle” with the Taliban.
Good Thursday morning and welcome to Jamie McIntyre’s Daily on Defense, written and compiled by Washington Examiner National Security Senior Writer Jamie McIntyre (@jamiejmcintyre) and edited by Kelly Jane Torrance (@kjtorrance). 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 add you to our list. And be sure to follow us on Twitter: @dailyondefense.
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HAPPENING TODAY: Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Joseph Dunford, who retires at the end of the month, is making one of his valedictory public appearances tonight at the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington. (See calendar below.) You can expect Dunford to explain why he thinks dealing with the Taliban is worth a try but that any withdrawal of U.S. troops should be conditioned on the Taliban holding up its end of the bargain.
MORE WALL FALLOUT: The Pentagon has promised that the long list of military construction projects whose funds are being “redirected” to build more vehicle barriers and pedestrian fencing along the U.S.-Mexico border will not be seriously affected, so long as Congress ponies up more money to make up the $3.6 billion deficit.
“If Congress were to backfill the projects, our request, none of the projects would be delayed, but we do realize this could cause some delay,” said acting Pentagon comptroller Elaine McCusker. “They’re definitely not canceled.”
DEMS VOWING TO FIGHT: Democrats are feeling snookered by the budget sleight of hand, which is made possible by a 1976 law meant to deal with national emergencies, and are in no mood to reimburse Trump for the money he’s reappropriated to his pet project.
“This inappropriate move makes it crystal clear that Donald Trump cares more about appearing to keep his ridiculous campaign promises than he does about keeping the nation’s promises to our troops,” said Illinois Sen. Tammy Duckworth in a statement.
“The House of Representatives will not backfill any projects he steals from today,” vowed Florida Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, who chairs a key military construction panel.
REPUBLICANS FALL IN LINE: “I regret that the president has been forced to divert funding for our troops to address the crisis. His initial requests to secure the border were not unreasonable and Congress should have been able to come together to find a compromise,” said Texas’ Mac Thornberry, the top Republican on the House Armed Services Committee. “It is important that Congress now restore the military construction funding diverted for border security. Failing to do so only forces our troops to pay for political discord in Washington.”
Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Jim Inhofe, who noted the Pentagon plan will not affect any of the five major military installations in his state of Oklahoma, also backed the president. “The fact remains that we need to finish the wall, and temporarily redirecting military construction funds will let us make real progress on the wall without a substantial impact to readiness,” Inhofe said in a statement.
HERE ARE THE AFFECTED PROJECTS: After briefing Congress yesterday, the Pentagon released the full list of military projects from 23 states, 19 countries, and three U.S. territories that could be delayed, depending on what Congress does.
They run the gamut from minor infrastructure improvements, such as a new parking facility at West Point, to schools and daycare centers for military families, to a planned expansion of a missile defense field at Fort Greeley, Alaska. The projects also include target ranges and maintenance facilities.
You can read the full list of 127 projects here.
TRUMP: ‘THE WALL IS BEING BUILT’: Esper’s memo to Congress carefully avoids any mention of a wall, referring to the 11 approved projects on the U.S.-Mexico boundary as “vehicle barriers and pedestrian fencing” that will cover about 175 miles of the 1,954 mile border, much of it replacement for existing fencing.
But yesterday, Trump asserted he was “building very large sections of wall” and that by next November’s election, about 500 miles would be complete.
“The wall is being built. It’s going up rapidly,” he told reporters. “We think we’re going to have close to 500 miles of wall which will be complete. … That will take care of all of the areas that we wanted, including some of the marginal areas that we didn’t necessarily need, but if we could — could have gotten it done.”
NETANYAHU’S ADVICE: DON’T TALK TO IRAN: “This is not the time to hold talks with Iran. This is the time to increase the pressure on Iran,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told reporters yesterday in response to Trump saying he might meet Iranian President Hassan Rouhani at the upcoming United Nations General Assembly in New York.
“We’re going to see what happens. They want to talk. They want to make a deal,” Trump said yesterday. “Anything’s possible. They would like to be able to solve their problem.”
TRUMP HAS SAME ANSWER FOR EVERYTHING: No matter what question reporters ask about any of the difficult problems facing the president, Trump has a ready response: “We’ll see what happens.”
Asked about Iran, China, North Korea, anything really, Trump says the same thing repeatedly. “We’ll see what happens.” It was his answer 12 times in one White House event yesterday and nine more times in another. Will he say it again today? We’ll see what happens.
TRUMP’S FUZZY MATH: Also, for some inexplicable reason, Trump keeps adding a year to the length of America’s longest war, which will mark its 18th anniversary next month. “We’ve been there 19 years almost, and that’s a long time,” Trump said yesterday, referring to Afghanistan.
No. It’s been almost 18 years and will enter its 19th year in October.
AT LEAST WE KNOW THEY’RE STILL TALKING: We got this “readout” yesterday of Joint Chiefs Chairman Dunford’s phone call with his Russian counterpart:
“Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Joseph F. Dunford, Jr. spoke with Chief of the Russian General Staff Gen. Valery Gerasimov by telephone today. In accordance with past practice, both have agreed to keep the specific details of their conversation private.”
FAT SHAMING: A new Pentagon study has found that the Navy is the fattest U.S. armed service, with almost 1 in 4 sailors who are obese.
In addition to heart disease, stroke, and other health problems associated with obesity, an overweight force could put essential ship operations at risk. “I think it’s a real readiness issue,” Jimmy Drennan, a U.S. Navy officer and president of the Center for International Maritime Security, told the Washington Examiner.
He explained that portly sailors could find it more difficult to navigate narrow ships. “Not just hatches, but passageways … they are already very tight on U.S. Navy ships, compared to other navies,” he said. “Not to mention the fatigue and heat stress of fighting a fire in full gear.”
The Navy was the most obese service at 22%, beating out the Air Force at 18% and the Army at 17%. The Marine Corps is by far the leanest service, with 8.3%.
The Rundown
Time: Secretary of State Pompeo Declines to Sign Risky Afghan Peace Deal
New York Times: The Secret History of the Push to Strike Iran
AP: Iran Hikes Pressure Ahead of Weekend Nuclear Deadline
Reuters: North Korea tells United Nations to cut international aid staff: letter
Bloomberg: Navy Contractors Feud Over Who Pays for Fixes to Troubled $13 Billion Warship
Breaking Defense: Major War Game To Jolt 4 Services, Force Decisions
Washington Post: Mattis’s former speechwriter faces warning from Pentagon as he prepares book, memos show
Reuters: Solomon Islands to Sever Ties With Taiwan, Shift Alliance to Beijing
Washington Post: Trump may score symbolic victory in long fight with Germany over NATO spending
Calendar
THURSDAY | SEPTEMBER 5
10:45 a.m. 2425 Wilson Blvd., Arlington. Association of the U.S. Army Hot Topic Symposium on Army aviation, with Maj. Gen. David Francis, commanding general of the Army Aviation Center of Excellence and Fort Rucker, and others. www.ausa.org/events
Noon. 1763 N Street N.W. Middle East Institute discussion on “Assessing the Implications of a U.S.-Taliban Deal,” with former Army Lt. Gen. David Barno, visiting professor at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies’ Center for Strategic Studies; Javid Ahmad, senior fellow in the Atlantic Council’s South Asia Center; Jarrett Blanc, senior fellow in the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace Geoeconomics and Strategy Program; Laurel Miller, director of the International Crisis Group’s Asia Program; and Marvin Weinbaum, director of the MEI Afghanistan and Pakistan Program. www.mei.edu/events
12:30 p.m. CVC-268, Capitol. Air Force Association’s Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies discussion on “Building Tomorrow’s Air Force,” with Lt. Gen. Tim Fay, deputy chief of staff for strategy, integration and requirements at the Air Force Headquarters; Dave Gerber, senior principal systems engineer at the MITRE Corporation; Mark Gunzinger, director of future aerospace concepts and capabilities assessments at the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies; and Doug Birkey, executive director of the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies. events.r20.constantcontact.com/register/event
6:30 p.m. 1777 F Street N.W. Council on Foreign Relations discussion with Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Joseph Dunford on U.S. military and defense strategy in conflict areas around the world and the current state of cooperative efforts with U.S. allies, with David Sanger, national security correspondent at the New York Times. www.cfr.org
FRIDAY | SEPTEMBER 6
8:30 a.m. 300 First Street S.E. Air Force Association’s Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies “Space Power to the Warfighter” seminar on “Secure Communications,” with Lt. Gen. Joseph Guastella, commander of Air Forces Central Command, and Air Force Lt. Gen. J.T. Thompson, commander of the Space and Missile Systems Center. www.mitchellaerospacepower.org
7:30 p.m. 800 21st Street N.W. Politics and Prose and George Washington University present a conversation with former Defense Secretary Jim Mattis on his book Call Sign Chaos. calendar.gwu.edu
THURSDAY | SEPTEMBER 12
8 a.m. 2401 M Street N.W. Defense Writers Group breakfast, with R. Clarke Cooper, assistant secretary of state for political-military affairs. nationalsecuritymedia.gwu.edu
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“I wouldn’t comment on it other than to say that I’ve never believed in cowardice. If I felt that strongly about something, I would have signed it.”
Former Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, speaking on MSNBC’s Morning Joe, denying having anything to do with last year’s anonymous New York Times op-ed from someone claiming to be part of the resistance to President Trump.
