‘NUCLEAR TERRORISM’: Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was just beginning his two-day visit to Israel when word came Sunday of a mysterious explosion at Iran’s Natanz nuclear facility, just one day after Tehran announced it had begun testing its newest advanced nuclear centrifuge, designed to enrich uranium at a faster pace.
Iran immediately labeled the explosion an act of “nuclear terrorism” and began pointing the finger at Israel, suggesting a cyberattack by Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency or specialized military units on the secure underground facility, resulting in a massive power outage that triggered the blast.
Two intelligence officials told the New York Times the explosion dealt a severe blow to Iran’s ability to enrich uranium and that it could take at least nine months to restore Natanz’s production.
Asked today by reporters if the alleged sabotage would be an impediment to talks with Iran about rejoining the 2015 nuclear agreement, Austin avoided giving a direct answer, saying he was in Israel to advance U.S. interests and pursue President Joe Biden’s goals.
ISRAEL PLEDGES TO WORK WITH THE US: Austin meets today with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu following meetings yesterday in Jerusalem with Defense Minister Benny Gantz, who, despite Israel’s differences with the Biden administration over plans to leave sanctions against Iran imposed under President Donald Trump, pledged to stand by the United States.
“Our partnership is built not only on strategic interest, but on shared values, history, and personal relationship,” Gantz said. “We will work closely with our American allies to ensure that any new agreement with Iran will secure the vital interest of the world, of the United States, prevent dangers, unrest in our region, and protect the state of Israel.”
“As a major strategic partner for the United States, our bilateral relationship with Israel, in particular, is central to regional stability and security in the Middle East,” said Austin during a joint appearance with his Israeli counterpart. “I reaffirmed to Minister Gantz, our commitment to Israel is enduring, and it is ironclad.”
‘AN EXCELLENT PRESSURE TACTIC’: Iran is working to increase its nuclear capacity rapidly, which it claims is for peaceful energy generations, as a pressure tactic to get what it wants in the talks in Vienna, says Reuel Marc Gerecht, a senior fellow with Foundation for the Defense of Democracies.
“They want the sanctions lifted,” Gerecht said on CNN yesterday. “The Iranians are moving forward. It's an excellent pressure tactic.”
“I don't see a happy ending to this,” Gerecht told CNN’s Fareed Zakaria. “I suspect the Americans want this new deal or resumption of the JCPOA more than the Iranians do, so they're just going to make lots of concessions. When they make those concessions, they lose any leverage whatsoever for follow-on deal, and the sunset clause is particularly on the construction of advanced centrifuges.”
“Secretary of State Tony Blinken says there needs to be an addendum which is stronger and longer. The Iranians, of course, aren't going to do that,” Gerecht said. “The Obama administration premised, I think, the entire negotiation strategy on a hope, a belief, that if the United States were nicer, that Tehran would be nicer, that engagement, particularly commercial engagement, would somehow moderate the regime. And I think the events since 2012 have dispatched that illusion.”
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HAPPENING TODAY: At noon, President Joe Biden will briefly join the virtual CEO summit on semiconductor and supply chain resilience to discuss his “American Jobs Plan” and steps to strengthen the resilience of American supply chains for semiconductors and other key areas. National security adviser Jake Sullivan, National Economic Council Director Brian Deese, and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo will also take part.
Later, Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris meet with a bipartisan group of members of Congress to discuss the administration's proposed $2 trillion infrastructure plan.
PROGRESSIVES DISAPPOINTED BIDEN NOT CUTTING DEFENSE: On Friday, the White House confirmed that it will ask Congress for a $715 billion Pentagon budget for the next fiscal year that begins Oct. 1.
The funding request “invests in the core foundations of our country’s strength and advances key Department of Defense priorities to defend the Nation, innovate and modernize the Department, build resilience and readiness, take care of its people, and succeed through teamwork,” said the Pentagon in a statement.
“The President’s discretionary funding request represents an important investment that will ensure the Department’s resources are matched with our strategy and policy to defend the nation and take care of our people while revitalizing the key alliances and partnerships to succeed,” said Defense Secretary Austin.
But California Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna, deputy whip of the Progressive Caucus and member of the House Armed Services Committee, called the Biden defense budget, an increase of 1.6% over Trump’s $704 billion budget, “disappointing.”
“I am pleased to see that the proposal eliminates the overseas contingency operations slush fund, but I am concerned that this budget will likely include other wasteful spending, such as funding the new GBSD ICBM missiles that will cost almost $100B (over 10 years),” Khanna said in a statement. “We need a fundamental shift in how we address national security issues and invest in climate action and pandemic response. Those are the issues impacting the security of the American people and will keep Americans safer than spending billions on more deadly weapons.”
BLINKEN WARNS CHINA: Secretary of State Antony Blinken had a blunt warning for China yesterday when he was asked by NBC’s Chuck Todd on Meet the Press if the U.S. was “prepared to defend Taiwan militarily?”
“I'm not going to get into hypotheticals. All I can tell you is we have a serious commitment to Taiwan being able to defend itself. We have a serious commitment to peace and security in the Western Pacific. And in that context, it would be a serious mistake for anyone to try to change that status quo by force,” Blinken said.
“What we've seen and what is of real concern to us is increasingly aggressive actions by the government in Beijing directed at Taiwan, raising tensions in the Straits. And we have a commitment to Taiwan under the Taiwan Relations Act, a bipartisan commitment that has existed for many, many years, to make sure that Taiwan has the ability to defend itself and to make sure that we're sustaining peace and security in the Western Pacific,” Blinken said. “We stand behind those commitments.”
DEFINING EXTREMISM: The Pentagon announced Friday it’s moving ahead with initial steps aimed at combating extremism in the ranks, beginning with trying to get a better grasp of just what qualifies as extremism.
“The DoD will review and update DoDI 1325.06 to revise its definition of prohibited extremist activities among uniformed military personnel,” according to a memo issued by Austin.
In addition, the Pentagon will provide an update to service member transition checklists, review and standardize screening questionnaires for accessions for new personnel, and commission a study on extremist behavior to get a “greater fidelity on the scope of the problem,” according to Pentagon spokesman John Kirby.
One open question is whether the Pentagon will essentially blacklist some organizations deemed to be extremist groups and outright bar membership in those groups.
“That is something that the secretary has indicated that he wants the working group to look at,” said Kirby. “That's not something that's in the immediate actions, which is an updating of the actual instruction that exists right now. But he certainly is willing to have the working group take a look at this and see if that makes sense.”
DEFENSE DEPARTMENT DENIES BEING ‘THOUGHT POLICE’ IN LAUNCH OF EXTREMISM STUDY
AFGHANISTAN COUNTDOWN, DAY 19: As of today, there are 19 days left before U.S. and international troops are scheduled to withdraw fully from Afghanistan under the Feb. 29, 2020, agreement negotiated with the Taliban by the Trump administration.
NATO, which has twice as many troops in Afghanistan as the U.S., is still awaiting a decision from President Joe Biden, who is expected to extend the deployment of 2,500-plus U.S. troops, along with more than 5,000 NATO and partner forces.
Austin will be in Brussels Wednesday for a meeting with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, who will no doubt be all ears. A full U.S. and NATO withdrawal by the May 1 deadline is approaching the point of being a logistical impossibility.
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The Rundown
Washington Examiner: Defense Department denies being ‘thought police’ in launch of extremism study
Washington Examiner: Israel vows to assist US on Iran
Washington Examiner: US blacklists Chinese supercomputing companies for ties to military and WMD program
Washington Examiner: Blinken doesn’t say if he thinks China knows the true origins of COVID-19
Washington Examiner: Illinois man sentenced to 13.5 years in prison for supporting ISIS
Washington Examiner: Pentagon officer charged with murder faces new allegation of assault
Washington Post: U.S. Says It's Willing To Lift Certain Sanctions Trump Imposed On Iran
CNN: US and China deploy aircraft carriers in South China Sea as tensions simmer
AP: US-Philippines officials discuss concerns over China's ships
19fortyfive.com: Intelligence Sources: North Korea Nears Completion Of New Submarine
Yonhap: South Korea, U.S. Closely Watching North Korean Moves On SLBMs, New Submarine – JCS
Breaking Defense: China Leads U.S. In 3 Of 6 AI Areas: Bob Work
Navy Times: China’s Navy Has More Ships Than The U.S.. Does That Matter?
19fortyfive.com: Would Russia Invade Ukraine And China Invade Taiwan Simultaneously?
AP: Ukraine Says One Soldier Killed In East As Tensions Rise
AFP: Kremlin Says Not Moving Towards War With Ukraine
Military.com: CNO: Fatal AAV Accident Revealed Gaps Between Navy, Marine Corps That Need Attention
Task & Purpose: Hey, UFOs that keep buzzing Navy ships: Are you from China?
Calendar
MONDAY | APRIL 12
12 p.m. — Association of the U.S. Army Noon Report webinar with Lt. Gen. R. Scott Dingle, the Army surgeon general, and Command Sgt. Maj. Diamond Hough, senior enlisted leader for U.S. Army Medical Command. https://www.bigmarker.com/ausaorg/AUSA-Noon-Report
12 p.m. — Washington Post Live virtual discussion on "Modernizing the U.S. Army" with Army Chief of Staff Gen. James McConville; and David Ignatius, Washington Post columnist https://www.washingtonpost.com/washington-post-live
1 p.m. — Heritage Foundation virtual event: “SolarWinds and Cozy Bears: How Russian Hackers Compromised the U.S. Government and How We Can Reduce the Chances of It Happening Again,” with former acting Secretary of Homeland Security Chad Wolf; and Scott Jasper, Naval Postgraduate School. https://www.heritage.org/cybersecurity/event
1 p.m. — The U.S. Navy Memorial virtual 2021 Blessing of the Fleet ceremony, to honor the men and women of the sea services and wish them a safe journey as they sail away from home. https://www.navymemorial.org/new-events
1:30 p.m. — Atlantic Council webinar: “The Future of Security in Space: A Thirty-Year U.S. Strategy,” with former Joint Chiefs of Staff Vice Chairman Gen. James Cartwright, Atlantic Council board director; former Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James, Atlantic Council board director; former NASA Administrator Charles Bolden; Scott Pace, former executive secretary of the U.S. National Space Council; and Jennifer Griffin, national security correspondent at Fox News. https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/event/the-future-of-us-security-in-space
2 p.m. — Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments holds a virtual discussion with Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Michael Gilday. https://csbaonline.org/about/events/csba-webinar
TUESDAY | APRIL 13
9 a.m. — Ronald Reagan Institute event “The Future of Defense Spending: Strategic Choices and Hard Tradeoffs,” with Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., chairman of the House Armed Services Committee; retired Air Force Gen. Hawk Carlisle, president and CEO, NDIA; Thomas Mahnken, president and CEO, CSBA; Mackenzie Eaglen, resident fellow, AEI; and Roger Zakheim, director, Ronald Reagan Institute.
9 a.m. — Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association virtual forum: ‘Partnering for Space Power in 2021 and Beyond: Current Issues and Approaches for Industry and Government,” with retired Air Force Gen. C. Robert Kehler, senior fellow for National Defense University; Dave Gauthier, commercial and business operations director at the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency; Kevin O'Connell, former director of the Commerce Department's Office of Space Commerce. https://www.afcea.org/event/space-welcome
10:30 a.m. — Center for Strategic and International Studies virtual discussion on “UK Integrated Review: Strategic Challenges and Opportunities for Defense and Diplomacy,” with Angus Lapsley, director for general strategy and international security at the UK Ministry of Defence; Samantha Job, director for defense and international security at the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office; and former Deputy Assistant Defense Secretary for Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Rebecca Hersman, director of the CSIS Project on Nuclear Issues. https://www.csis.org/events/conversation-uk-integrated-review
12 p.m. — Atlantic Council virtual discussion with Iraqi Ambassador to the United States Fareed Yasseen on opportunities and challenges, and the outlook for U.S.-Iraq relations under the Biden administration. https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/event
7 p.m. — Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments virtual discussion: "The Future of Defense Spending: Strategic Choices and Hard Tradeoffs,”with House Armed Services Chairman Adam Smith, D-Wash.; retired Army Gen. Hawk Carlisle, president and CEO of the National Defense Industrial Association; Mackenzie Eaglen, resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute; and Thomas Mahnken, CSBA president and CEO https://csbaonline.org/about/events/the-future-of-defense-spending
WEDNESDAY | APRIL 14
TBD — Joint news conference with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg at NATO Headquarters. https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/news
10 a.m. 216 Hart — Senate Select Committee on Intelligence annual hearing on worldwide threats, with Avril Haines, director of National Intelligence; CIA Director William Burns; FBI Director Christopher Wray; NSA Director Gen. Paul Nakasone; and DIA Director Lt. Gen. Scott Berrier. https://www.intelligence.senate.gov/hearings/worldwide-threats
10:30 a.m. — Heritage Foundation virtual event: “Resurrecting the First Fleet for Great Power Competition,” with former Navy Secretary Kenneth Braithwaite; and Brent Sadler, Heritage senior research fellow. https://www.heritage.org/defense/event
11 a.m. 2118 Rayburn — House Armed Services Committee hearing: “National Security Challenges and U.S. Military Activity in North and South America,” with Robert Salesses, performing the duties of assistant secretary of defense for homeland defense and global security; Adm. Craig Faller, commander, U.S. Southern Command; and Air Force Gen. Glen VanHerck, commander, U.S. Northern Command and North American Aerospace Defense Command. https://armedservices.house.gov/hearings
1 p.m. — National Security Institute and the Center for Strategic and International Studies present a pre-recorded event: “Civics as a National Security Imperative,” a conversation with Supreme Court Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Neil Gorsuch; Jamil Jaffer, founder and executive director, NSI, and Suzanne Spaulding, director of the Defending Democratic Institutions Project, CSIS. https://nationalsecurity.gmu.edu/civics-as-a-national-security-imperative
1 p.m. — Heritage Foundation and Ronald Reagan Institute virtual event: “Old Bullies, New Toys: Confronting Iran and North Korea,” with Rep. Mike Turner, R-Ohio; Roger Zakheim, director of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute; David Albright, founder and president of the Institute for Science and International Security; Tom Karako, senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies International Security Program and director of the CSIS Missile Defense Project; Bruce Klingner, senior research fellow for Northeast Asia at Heritage; Peter Brookes, senior research fellow at Heritage; and Thomas Spoehr, director of the Heritage Center for National Defense. https://www.heritage.org/missile-defense/event
4 p.m. — Institute of World Politics virtual lecture: “Fear and Insecurity: Addressing North Korean Threat Perceptions,” with Patrick Cronin, Asia-Pacific security chair at the Hudson Institute. https://www.iwp.edu/events/webinar-fear-and-insecurity
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“This is not about being the thought police … it's not about what's in between your ears. It's about what you do with what's between your ears, it's about the behavior and the conduct that is inspired by or influenced by this kind of ideology.”
John Kirby, Pentagon press secretary, on the new steps aimed at getting a better understanding of the problem of extremists in the U.S. military.
