Trump, Putin safe zone talk could lead to partition of Syria

Not mentioned in the White House summary (but it was in the Kremlin’s): “Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump expressed support for the continuation of contacts over the phone, as well as in favor of organizing a personal meeting on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Hamburg on July 7-8.”

AFGHANISTAN ATTACK: In Kabul today a suicide bomber attacked a convoy of armored vehicles carrying coalition troops. Three U.S. soldiers were wounded and eight Afghan civilians were killed. Navy Capt. Bill Salvin, a spokesman for Operation Resolute Support gave us this account this morning:

“The attack happened around 8am inside the green zone near the US Embassy. An MRAP convoy of US soldiers (operating in a NATO mission) was the target. The attack was an IED on the side of the road. When the convoy rolled past, the IED detonated. Eight Afghan civilians were killed and 28 wounded. Three U.S. soldiers were wounded. The injuries are not considered life threatening and the three are currently being treated at coalition medical facilities.”

ISIS has claimed responsibility for the attack, the AP reports.

IT’S NOT EASY BEING GREEN: Trump’s embattled pick for Army secretary may not have enough Republican support to be confirmed in the Senate, sources told CNN Tuesday. The iffy path to confirmation might force Tennessee state Sen. Mark Green to withdraw from consideration as soon as this week. A spokesman for Green denied the anonymous claims and said he is in Washington this week working with senators to prepare for upcoming confirmation hearings.

But weeks of pressure from Democrats and liberal advocacy groups appear to be taking a toll on the conservative Christian lawmaker and former Army flight surgeon. They claim Green’s public comments opposing gay marriage, transgender bathroom rights and teaching Islam in Tennessee schools equals a history of homophobia, transphobia and Islamophobia. Here’s a rundown of who is opposing his confirmation as the Army’s highest civilian.

CRUISING TO CONFIRMATION: Over at the Senate Foreign Relation Committee, Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad was saying all the right things and seemed to be on the glide path to confirmation as the Trump administration’s ambassador to China. Branstad regaled the committee with his account of how he met and bonded with now-President Xi Jinping in 1985 when he was a provincial official and visited Iowa. As a first-term governor, he took Chinese visitors on tours of farms and factories. “They attended a birthday party, a Mississippi River cruise, and we showed them true Iowa life and hospitality.”

Branstad promised to work to convince the Chinese that they have the potential to influence North Korea more than anyone else. “If confirmed, I hope to use my unique position as an ‘old friend’ of President Xi and a trusted confidant of President Trump to positively influence the U.S.-China relationship,” Branstad said, while insisting he would take a tough line with Beijing. “On the South China Sea, China cannot be allowed to use its artificial islands to coerce its neighbors or limit freedom of navigation or overflight. The United States will uphold freedom of navigation and overflight by continuing to fly, sail, and operate wherever international law allows.”

The testimony was warmly received by the committee. “I must tell you, the way that you’ve expressed it, I believe expressed what I would’ve hoped to hear from our ambassador-to-be to China,” Maryland Democrat Sen. Ben Cardin gushed. “I think you’ll find there’s strong bipartisan support for the way that you have expressed U.S. interests in these areas.”

Good Wednesday morning and welcome to Jamie McIntyre’s Daily on Defense, compiled by Washington Examiner National Security Senior Writer Jamie McIntyre (@jamiejmcintyre), National Security Writer Travis J. Tritten (@travis_tritten) 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 add you to our list. And be sure to follow us on Twitter @dailyondefense.

HAPPENING TODAY: Trump tries his hand at Middle East peacemaking today when he welcomes Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to the White House. A trio of Republican senators is urging Trump to pressure Abbas to end the PA policy of giving aid to terrorists. “The PA’s practice of diverting aid money to terrorists and their families must end,” South Carolina’s Lindsey Graham, Tom Cotton of Arkansas, and Florida’s Marco Rubio wrote Tuesday in a letter to Trump. The Palestinian leadership provides a pension to the families of terrorists, according to the lawmakers, which is a rewards system established by law that functions as an incentive for potential terrorists to carry out attacks.

“The more deadly the attack, the larger the payments,” they wrote. “Alongside lavish financial benefits, PA law establishes assistance programs to promote the careers of those who served time in jail for attacks — in essence, an affirmative action program for terrorists, funded by US aid.”

COMEY ON HILL: FBI Director James Comey is scheduled to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee at 10 a.m. The hearing is on FBI oversight, and is not supposed to be on the subject of the FBI’s investigation of potential coordination between the Trump campaign and Russia. The senators are free to ask, and Comey will be free not to answer.

IF IT COMES TO WAR: Wars can be won and lost on logistics, and at yesterday’s Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on U.S. Transportation Command, the general in charge admitted that in the event of all-out war he would be hard-pressed to keep troops and equipment flowing to the war zone because of the heavy reliance on commercial sea and airlift, which can’t operate in hostile contested areas. “We do not have the capability I wish we had,” said Air Force Gen. Darren McDew. “The initial force can be brought by organic fleets, and then we would have to see what we can do after that.” That drew a pointed response from committee chairman Sen. John McCain. “Well general, to quote, ‘see how we can do after that,’ is not comforting to this committee,” McCain said. In his opening statement McCain quoted Gen. George Patton as saying, “The officer who doesn’t know his communications and his supply as well as his tactics is totally useless.”

SPECIAL OPS STRESSED: America’s special operations forces on the front lines in the war on terrorism are unable to retool and recharge because the elite commando units are in constant demand, a situation that is risking serious readiness challenges for the future, a top commander and a Pentagon official told Congress yesterday.

“With budgets going down, what we have had to do essentially, we have had to eat our young,” testified Theresa Whelan, the Pentagon’s acting assistant secretary of defense for special operations/low-intensity conflict. “We have mortgaged the future in order to facilitate current operations.”

WHAT IS IT WITH TRUMP AND DICTATORS? Trump’s positive statements about Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi and past praise for Putin are a stark departure from American values, McCain said Tuesday.

McCain said on MSNBC that Trump’s praise for strongmen and dictators goes against everything the Republican Party, as shaped by Ronald Reagan, stands for. “It’s very disturbing … because we are proud Republicans and we stand for human rights,” he said.

AND DON’T FORGET RUSSIA: McCain and Graham are worried the public might get the impression Russia’s meddling in the presidential election might be “forgotten or forgiven.” As the House considered tighter North Korea sanctions, it pressed the Senate to move on sanctions legislation targeting cyber activities by Russian intelligence agencies and its energy sector. The two hawkish Republicans chided Congress for doing “nothing” a day after Sen. Bob Corker, the Foreign Relations chairman, said it does not plan to take up Russia sanctions

NUCLEAR SHUTDOWN: Trump on Tuesday called for a government shutdown at the end of September in order to kill the legislative filibuster in the Senate so he can pass more of his priorities. “The reason for the plan negotiated between the Republicans and Democrats is that we need 60 votes in the Senate which are not there!” Trump tweeted. “We either elect more Republican Senators in 2018 or change the rules now to 51%. Our country needs a good ‘shutdown’ in September to fix mess!”

That set off a lot of reaction from lawmakers and administration officials. Rep. Mac Thornberry said a partial closure of the federal government could affect the Pentagon and military and break a moral obligation that lawmakers and the administration have to support troops. “It would be better for the country if the Pentagon and the military do not shut down at any point because the threats to the country do not shut down,” Thornberry said.

THE OTHER, REAL NUCLEAR OPTION: A group of nervous Democrats is not comfortable with Trump having is finger on the button that could launch a nuclear war. At noon today a number of arms control and anti-nuclear weapons advocates will urge Congress to pass legislation preventing Trump from unilaterally firing off nukes. Massachusetts Sen. Ed Markey and California Rep. Ted Lieu will accept nearly 500,000 signatures from the advocacy groups in support of their legislation: The Restricting First Use of Nuclear Weapons Act. The legislation would prohibit the president from launching a nuclear first strike without a declaration of war from Congress.

BUDGET WINNERS AND LOSERS: Another day, another dissection of that bipartisan budget deal announced Sunday night. So who really won? Democrats claimed victory because it didn’t fund the wall. But at a ceremony honoring the Air Force Academy football team, Trump bragged about getting the Democrats agree to increase defense spending by $21 billion without a promise of equivalent spending on non-defense programs.

“Not only did we achieve this massive and badly needed increase in defense, but we did so without having to put in place an equal increase in nondefense spending, breaking the so-called parity rule that was breaking our budget and degrading our military,” Trump said, adding “And that’s not happening anymore, that I can tell you with surety.” While touting his victory over the Democrats, Trump said, without a hint of irony, “And we didn’t do any touting like the Democrats did, by the way.”

At the White House, Trump’s top budget negotiator defended the omnibus spending bill as a triumph for the commander in chief and his “tremendous” negotiating skills. Mick Mulvaney, the director of the Office of Management and Budget, criticized congressional Democrats for taking a victory lap over the outcome of spending bill to keep the government funded through the end of September. Mulvaney detailed a list of wins for the administration in the legislation and said they were all due to Trump’s negotiating prowess.

“The American people won here because the president simply out-negotiated” the Democrats, an obviously sensitive Mulvaney told reporters. “They were desperate to make this administration look like we couldn’t govern, like we couldn’t’ function. They actually cut a deal with President Trump and President Trump did a tremendous job.”

Speaking on CNN, Graham begged to differ. “Democrats cleaned our clock,” Graham said. “This is not winning from the Republican point of view.” Pressed, Graham said, “There’s all kinds of ways to look at it. We got more money for the military. You know, I’m for comprehensive immigration reform, but sanctuary cities go untouched. Obamacare continues to be funded in a way that we all say is illegal.”

SHOW HIM THE DOORKA: Fifty-five House Democrats signed a letter Tuesday asking Trump to fire Sebastian Gorka, a deputy assistant in the White House. “As members of the U.S. Congress who care deeply about fighting anti-Semitism at home and abroad, we urge you to immediately dismiss senior White House counterterrorism adviser Sebastian Gorka,” the letter states.

The letter accuses Gorka of having ties to “former prominent members of the anti-Semitic Jobbik party in Hungary.” Over the weekend, the Washington Examiner reported that Gorka will soon accept a position outside the White House. Gorka, by the way, spoke to reporters outside the White House yesterday, and implied he wasn’t going anywhere.

OF HISTORICAL NOTE: Now that we’re all brushing up on our American history in the wake of Trump’s ruminations over President Andrew Jackson and how he might have prevented the Civil War had he been around at the time, Golf Digest has reposted an article from 2015 about another historical debate involving Trump. This one involves a historical marker at one of Trump’s golf courses that commemorates a battle historians said never happened. The article quotes Trump as saying at the time, “How would they know? Were they there?”

THE RUNDOWN

BuzzFeed: UK Defence Ministry Casts Doubt On Trump Aide’s Military Service Claims

Defense News: McCain: Lawmaker has hold on Trump’s Air Force secretary pick

Reuters: U.S., China talk firmer U.N. response to North Korea’s missiles: diplomats

New York Times: Trump’s turn toward China curtails Navy patrols in disputed zones

War on the Rocks: Trump’s next task: Learning the limits of military power

Washington Post: Alarm grows in Washington as Saudi coalition attack on Yemen port appears imminent

Military.com: Army concerned over ban on cluster munitions, landmines

USA Today: Frontline clinic window on hell of IS-held Mosul areas

Bloomberg: Test of U.S. Defense Against North Korea Missiles Set This Month

USNI News: House Armed Services Committee looking at 25-30 year pace for reaching 355-ship Navy

Defense One: Here’s a look at new exosuits for the civilian world

Task and Purpose: Is the Pentagon really sabotaging North Korea’s missile tests with cyber attacks?

Washington Post: Libya has become a hub for online arms trading, report says

Time: The Story Behind an Army Combat Photographer’s Final Picture

Calendar

WEDNESDAY | MAY 3

8:30 a.m. 1201 M St. SE. Systems engineering division meeting. ndia.org

9:30 a.m. 1307 L St. NW. Nicholas Rasmussen, director of the National Counterterrorism Center, and others discuss new terrorism threats and counterterrorism strategies. cnas.org

10:30 a.m. Dirksen 192. A review of defense innovation and research funding. appropriations.senate.gov

11 a.m. Pentagon Briefing Room. Air Force Col. John Dorrian, spokesman, Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve briefs the media live from Baghdad.

11 a.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave. NW. On America’s Arctic frontline: A conversation with Adm. Paul Zukunft, commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard. csis.org

2 p.m. House Visitor Center 210. Findings of the bipartisan Task Force on Combatting Terrorist and Foreign Fighter Travel. homeland.house.gov

2:30 p.m. Russell 222. Building a F.A.S.T. Force, a flexible personnel system for a modern military. armed-services.senate.gov

3:30 p.m. Rayburn 2118. Rear Adm. John P. Neagley, program executive officer for Navy littoral combat ships, and Rear Adm. Ronald Boxxall, director of Navy surface warfare, testify about littoral combat ships and the transition to frigate class. armedservices.house.gov

THURSDAY | MAY 4

9 a.m. 1030 15th St. NW. John Negroponte, former secretary of state, discusses a new strategy for U.S. engagement in Central America. atlanticcouncil.org

9:30 a.m. 901 17th St. NW. A conversation with Gen. Mark Milley, Army chief of staff. atlanticcouncil.org

9:30 a.m. Dirksen G50. Testimony by Gen. Raymond Thomas, commander of U.S. Special Operations Command, and Theresa Whelan, acting assistant secretary of defense for special operations. armed-services.senate.gov

1 p.m. House Visitors Center 304. Closed hearing on ongoing intelligence activities. intelligence.house.gov

MONDAY | MAY 8

8 a.m. 529 14th St. NW. Breakfast roundtable with Richard Haass, president of the Council on Foreign Relations. press.org

1667 K St. NW. Advanced strategy program: Strategy in the Asia-Pacific region, expert instruction and classes over 11 days. csbaonline.org

9:30 a.m. Senate Visitor’s Center 212/10. Discussion with Maj. Gen. Peter Gersten, director of strategic plans for the Office of the Deputy Air Force Chief of Staff for Strategic Plans and Requirements, and others about space access. mitchellaerospacepower.org

9:30 a.m. 1030 15th St. NW. A strategic look at U.S. Pacific Command with Adm. Harry Harris. atlanticcouncil.org

2 p.m. 1300 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. Isolationism versus multilateralism: 100 years on the global stage. wilsoncenter.org

4 p.m. 1300 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. Winning the Third World in Sino-American competition during the Cold War. wilsoncenter.org

TUESDAY | MAY 9

8 a.m. 11790 Sunrise Valley Dr. Class on how Washington works and navigating the DOD. ndia.org

9:30 a.m. Dirksen G50. Testimony by Adm. Mike Rogers, commander of U.S. Cyber Command. armed-services.senate.gov

2:30 p.m. Dirksen G50. Nominations for Defense Department comptroller, deputy comptroller and director of cost assessment and program evaluation. armed-services.senate.gov

3 p.m. 1300 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. Russian and U.S. roles in the Middle East and the view from Israel. wilsoncenter.org

3 p.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave. NW. New Latino voices in foreign affairs. csis.org

3:30 p.m. 1300 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. A new history of Vietnam and its role in the Cold War. wilsoncenter.org

WEDNESDAY | MAY 10

8 a.m. 2900 K St. NW. 16th U.S.-Sweden defense industry conference. ndia.org

9:30 a.m. 1030 15th St. NW. The international politics of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict. atlanticcouncil.org

10 a.m. Dirksen 342. An overview of cyber threats facing America. hsgac.senate.gov

10 a.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave. NW. Book launch for Insider Threats: A Worst Practice Guide to Preventing Leaks, Attacks, Theft, and Sabotage. csis.org

6 p.m. 1300 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. Woodrow Wilson awards dinner with Sen. Mitch McConnell. Wilsoncenter.org