SHOWDOWN WITH TURKEY: The U.S. decision to arm Syrian Kurds in preparation for a final assault on the ISIS capital in Raqqa has angered Turkey, which is threatening to step up attacks against the U.S.-backed Kurds, which in turn has angered the U.S. The long-simmering dispute, in which the U.S. military sees the Kurdish YPG militia as an effective partner in the war on the Islamic State, and Turkey views the faction as an arm of a banned terrorist group, threatens to boil over next week, when Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is scheduled to meet with President Trump at the White House.
Erdogan thought he had a handshake agreement with Trump to make sure Turkish forces would help take Raqqa in return for the U.S. ending its backing of the Kurds. But Trump, acting on the advice of military commanders and anxious to accelerate the defeat of ISIS, approved a plan to provide small arms and ammunition to the Kurds who make up a major part of the Syrian Democratic Forces, a loose coalition assembled by the U.S. with the specific goal of liberating Raqqa from the grip of ISIS.
The White House and Pentagon keep pretending that everything is fine with the NATO ally, as the gap between the two countries continues to grow. A White House statement about the Erdogan visit featured the standard boilerplate language, saying, “the two leaders will discuss how to further strengthen our bilateral relationship and deepen our cooperation to confront terrorism in all its forms.”
Speaking to reporters in Vilnius, Lithuania, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis conceded the situation was “untidy,” but insisted it will all be smoothed over in the end. “I’m not concerned at all about the NATO alliance and the relations between our nations,” Mattis said. “We have very open discussions about options. And we will work together. We’ll work out any of the concerns.”
Mattis said the U.S. is sympathetic to Turkey’s concerns that it is facing a very real threat from from the Kurdish PKK, which both countries have designated as a terrorist group. “Turkey is a NATO ally … it’s the only NATO country that confronts an insurgency in its own ground from the PKK,” Mattis said. “And we will work very closely with Turkey in support of their security on their southern border.” Turkey insists the PKK terrorists and YPG militia are one and the same. The U.S. argues the YPG is not a threat to Turkey.
COMEY WEIGHS IN: The man in the eye of the storm, former FBI Director James Comey, said he’s moving on from his unexpected and unceremonious firing and urged others to do the same, according to a letter he sent friends and colleagues Wednesday. “I have long believed that a President can fire an FBI Director for any reason, or for no reason at all. I’m not going to spend time on the decision or the way it was executed. I hope you won’t either. It is done, and I will be fine, although I will miss you and the mission deeply,” Comey wrote.
“It is very hard to leave a group of people who are committed only to doing the right thing,” Comey said in the letter. “My hope is that you will continue to live our values and the mission of protecting the American people and upholding the Constitution. If you do that, you too will be sad when you leave, and the American people will be safer.”
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 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: Given how little Trump has said about his firing of Comey, (“He wasn’t doing a good job,” Trump said at a photo op yesterday. “Very simple. He wasn’t doing a good job.”) there will be intense interest in today’s scheduled interview with NBC Nightly News anchor Lester Holt. The interview, Trump’s first in 10 days, is to be conducted at the White House midday, and we would expect that NBC will rush some excerpts out without waiting for the evening news.
ALSO TODAY: The Senate Select Committee on Intelligence holds a long-scheduled meeting on “worldwide threats,” this morning at 10. The original witness list included the FBI director, but now will feature Acting Director Andrew McCabe. A statement from the committee said, “The witnesses will provide a comprehensive overview of the current and projected national security threats to the United States and our national interests, both at home and abroad. The hearing will move into closed session following the open session.”
Other witnesses include Director of National Intelligence Daniel Coats, Director of the Central Intelligence Agency Mike Pompeo, National Security Agency Director Adm. Mike Rogers, National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency Director, Robert Cardillo, and the Defense Intelligence Agency Director Lt. Gen. Vincent Stewart.
Comey has been invited to address the committee in a closed session on Tuesday.
FLYNN SUBPOENAED: The Senate Intelligence Committee has subpoenaed former national security adviser Mike Flynn for documents in its investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election. A statement from Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Richard Burr said the committee first requested the documents on April 28, but Flynn declined to cooperate. So now the committee is not asking. The subpoena also comes after Burr said he was “troubled” by the president’s firing of Comey, calling the former FBI director a “public servant of the highest order” in a statement on Tuesday.
MEET THE ACTING FBI DIRECTOR: McCabe, a 20-year FBI veteran, was, by law, named acting FBI director and sworn in at about 5:30 p.m. Eastern time Tuesday. McCabe’s move up to acting FBI director came just hours after Trump fired Comey, on what he says was the recommendation of Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Deputy Attorney Rod Rosenstein.
Sessions made the announcement of McCabe’s new position in an internal memo sent to FBI employees, where he thanked them for “your steadfast dedication and commitment during this time of transition.” A Duke graduate, McCabe is a career lawyer who joined the FBI’s New York Field Office in 1996. Throughout his career, McCabe has held leadership positions in the Counterterrorism Division, the National Security Branch and the Washington Field Office.
AGAINST A SPECIAL PROSECUTOR: House Speaker Paul Ryan said yesterday he opposes appointing a special prosecutor to oversee the investigation into any relationship between Russia and President Trump’s campaign. “I don’t think it’s a good idea. We have three investigations going on right now. House investigation by our intelligence committee, which is the appropriate committee to do that, I believe, and we have a Senate Intelligence Committee … and have the FBI investigating all things Russia,” Ryan told Fox News host Bret Baier. “I don’t think that’s a good idea. I think the intelligence committee is the one that should do it.”
Ryan agreed with Trump that Comey was “compromised” and relieving him of his duties will allow for an objective investigation. “I really do believe that these three investigations are the way to go. Let’s get them done. Let’s see them through. Let’s go where the facts may lead.”
DEMS HAVE A DIFFERENT IDEA: Democrats are threatening to use every parliamentary maneuver possible to try to push Republicans to appoint an independent prosecutor. On Wednesday, Democrats worked to stall progress in several committees in protest of Comey’s firing. And while they can’t do much to stop an eventual nominee from moving in the Senate, they made it clear they were ready to wage guerrilla warfare to make it as painful as possible for the GOP until an independent person is picked to head up the Russia probe.
On the Senate floor, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer made an initial list of demands. Chief among them was making sure that Rosenstein does not pick a special counsel — Rosenstein’s memo was the ostensible justification for firing Comey. Schumer also said Democrats want Comey, Rosenstein and Sessions to brief Congress on Tuesday’s decision. But Schumer said Democrats would be rolling out additional steps to increase the pressure. “We will be pursuing several things in the coming days and weeks that we decided in our caucus, and we will have more to say about those next steps in the days ahead,” he said on the floor.
BOTCHED FIRING: A growing chorus of Senate Republicans on Wednesday expressed frustration with Trump for how he handled the firing of Comey. “It could have been handled, I think, better,” Sen. Pat Roberts told the Washington Examiner.
Republican critics, while in some instances sympathetic to Trump’s decision, said the president acted too abruptly, without sufficient consultation with Congress and without providing adequate justification — to them or the public. The misstep has put undue pressure on Senate Republicans who control the fate of Trump’s forthcoming pick to replace Comey, ceding the moral and political high ground to the Democrats unnecessarily.
NO, WE DIDN’T TALK ABOUT THAT: Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said he did not discuss the U.S. investigation into Russia’s alleged interference into the U.S. election in his Wednesday meeting with Trump. “We discussed specific issues and we didn’t even raise those absurd issues,” Lavrov told reporters through an interpreter after his meeting with Trump. When asked if Trump gave him any assurances that he believed the theory of Russia’s interference is a hoax, Lavrov said no assurances were needed. Lavrov said Trump has repeatedly dismissed the “accusations and allegations” about Russia’s alleged “meddling into your domestic affairs.”
“That is why there is no need for him to tell us anything or to give us assurance behind closed doors,” he said. Later at a news conference at the Russian embassy Lavrov added, “I think it is demeaning for the American people to hear that the Russian Federation controls domestic politics in the USA. I believe that politicians severely damage the US political system when they try to act like America is being governed externally.”
NEW DEPUTY AT THE NSC: With K.T. McFarland set to take on a new role, Army Reserve Maj. Gen. Ricky Waddell has been tapped to replace her as deputy national security adviser, according to a report Wednesday. Waddell, who in 2015 became commander of the 76th Operational Response Command infantry, will answer to Trump’s national security adviser H.R. McMaster, Politico reports.
Among his duties will be organizing meetings and putting together a long-term strategy. White House chief of staff Reince Priebus opposed Waddell replacing McFarland, Politico said in a previous report. The new addition to the White House security team comes as McFarland is expected to be nominated as ambassador to Singapore.
NOW YOU’RE STUCK WATCHING IN-FLIGHT MOVIES: Laptops will be banned in the cabin on all flights from Europe to the U.S., according to several reports. European officials told the Daily Beast that the announcement of the ban could come today, while Reuters reported DHS officials plan to meet with the airline industry, and Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly will brief senators in a classified session about domestic threats and airline issues.
The Trump administration in March banned laptops in carry-on bags from 10 airports in eight Middle Eastern and African countries, over concerns about terrorist organizations, including the Islamic State, developing the capability to implant explosives into laptops in a way that can evade airport security screening. In a statement to the Daily Beast, the Homeland Security Department said it has not made any final decisions on requiring computers to be placed in checked baggage for U.S.-bound flights from Europe.
THEY’VE DISAPPEARED! Not really. The website 38north.org has analyzed satellite photos of North Korea’s Punggye-ri nuclear test site and discovered that workers have painted the roofs of some of the buildings in a camouflage pattern to evade further detection. Check out the photos here to see why that really doesn’t work.
THE RUNDOWN
Washington Post: The strange Oval Office meeting between Trump, Lavrov and Kislyak
Associated Press: Options for truly independent Russia probe are limited
Washington Post: U.S. shifting forces to monitor large Russian military exercises, officials say
Reuters: New South Korean president vows to address North Korea, broader tensions ‘urgently’
The Nation: South Korea’s New President Says His Election Completes the ‘Candlelight Revolution’
Bloomberg: North Korea’s ICBMs Have ‘Important Shortfalls,’ Pentagon Says
Military.com: Stoltenberg: NATO may send many more troops to Afghanistan
BuzzFeed: Russia just delivered a master class in trolling
War on the Rocks: The ten main defense challenges facing Macron’s France
Associated Press: More inconsistencies in Flynn consulting work
Air Force Times: Boeing mechanics caused $4 million in damage to Air Force One’s oxygen system
New York Times: Trump’s mixed signals on South China Sea worry Asian allies
Defense Tech: Navy electronic jamming aircraft take quiet toll on ISIS
Wall Street Journal: U.S. to expand intelligence cooperation with Turkey
Fox News: Deso Dogg, the rapper who cheated death, humiliated the Pentagon and seduced an FBI translator
Defense One: Trump’s North Korea policy just got more complicated
UK Telegraph: Isil claims to have beheaded ‘Russian FSB agent’
Popular Mechanics: The Pentagon Is Bringing Back Air-Dropped Sea Mines
USA Today: Transgender cadets at military academies can graduate but not serve
AP: Chelsea Manning releases 1st statement since clemency win
Calendar
THURSDAY | MAY 11
8 a.m. 300 First St. SE. Missile defense and NATO. mitchellaerospacepower.org
9 a.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave. NW. A fifth-generation Air Force with alliance structures and networked capabilities from an Australian perspective. csis.org
10 a.m. 1775 Massachusetts Ave. NW. Syria strikes, travel ban, refugees, and Muslims: American attitudes on Trump’s early policies. brookings.edu
10 a.m. Hart 216. Open hearing on worldwide threats. intelligence.senate.gov
11:30 a.m. Dirksen 124. Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin testifies on what worked, what didn’t and what needs to happen next with the Veterans Choice program. appropriations.senate.gov
1 p.m. 1777 F St. NW. Terrorist attacks that have unsettled cities in Europe, and lessons to be learned to prevent future attacks around the world. cfr.org
1:30 p.m. Hart 219. Closed hearing on intelligence matters. intelligence.senate.gov
1:30 p.m. 529 14th St. NW. New conference examining terrorism efforts. press.org
4 p.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave. NW. Acting Navy Secretary Sean Stackley speaks at the annual meeting of the U.S. Naval Institute. usni.org
5:30 p.m. 1775 Massachusetts Ave. NW. Condoleezza Rice, former U.S. secretary of state, discusses democracy’s post-Cold War trajectory and the United States’ role in defending and promoting it. brookings.edu
FRIDAY | MAY 12
Seward Square. Team America rocketry challenge, rockets on the Hill. aia-aerospace.org
12 p.m. Dirksen G50. Forum on securing smart grid data. lexingtoninstitute.org
3 p.m. 1300 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. Cold War series on the Six-Day War: The Breaking of the Middle East wilsoncenter.org
MONDAY | MAY 15
2 p.m. Hyatt Regency Reston. Forum to present, discuss and answer questions related to the tactical wheeled vehicle acquisition program. ndia.org
3 p.m. 1300 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. State manipulation of Islamic rituals and symbols as a means for managing society in Tatarstan, the North Caucasus and Turkmenistan. wilsoncenter.org
4 p.m. 1300 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. U.S. Cold War diplomacy and the formation of the Third World. wilsoncenter.org
TUESDAY | MAY 16
8 a.m. 300 First St. SE. A discussion of nuclear deterrents and missile defense realities with Jim Miller, president of Adaptive Strategies. mitchellaerospacepower.org
10 a.m. 1000 Massachusetts Ave. NW. Ambassador Wendy Sherman, a lead negotiator, discusses the Iran nuclear deal. cato.org
5 p.m. 1030 15th St. NW. The European perspective and the case for U.S. engagement in the Balkans. atlanticcouncil.org
WEDNESDAY | MAY 17
8 a.m. 300 First St. SE. A discussion with Gen. Robin Rand, commander of Air Force Global Strike Command, on nuclear deterrent modernization. mitchellaerospacepower.org
10 a.m. Rayburn 2118. Setting the path for streamlining and improving defense acquisition. armedservices.house.gov
10 a.m. Dirksen 342. Business meeting. hsgac.senate.gov
10 a.m. 1211 Connecticut Ave. NW. Is strategic competition in Southern Asia an arms race or modernization? stimson.org
10:30 a.m. 1300 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. Drivers of insecurity and instability in the Middle East and South Asia. wilsoncenter.org
11 a.m. 214 Massachusetts Ave. NE. The rise of America’s special operations forces with scholar and author Mark Moyar. heritage.org
1 p.m. 1152 15th St. NW. How the Defense Department can evolve and adapt the force for an uncertain future. cnas.org
3:30 p.m. Rayburn 2118. Military personnel posture for Fiscal Year 2018. armedservices.house.gov
3:30 p.m. Russell 232-A. United States military small arms requirements. armed-services.senate.gov
THURSDAY | MAY 18
2 p.m. Rayburn 2118. Amphibious warfare in a contested environment. armedservices.house.gov
6:30 p.m. 1250 South Hayes St. Rep. Mac Thornberry, chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, receives the Dwight D. Eisenhower Award. ndia.org
