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‘WELL DONE, MR. PRESIDENT’: “I applaud President Trump’s decision to leave a small contingent of American forces in Syria as part of an international stabilizing force,” said Sen. Lindsey Graham, after the president relented and agreed at the urging of Graham and a bipartisan consensus in Congress to keep 200 U.S. troops in Syria past the end of April. “With this decision, President Trump has decided to follow sound military advice,” said Graham in a statement last night. “For a small fraction of the forces we have had in Syria, we can accomplish our national security objectives. Well done Mr. President.” The White House announced the troops would stay shortly after the president got off the phone with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. “A small peacekeeping group of about 200 will remain in Syria for a period of time,” said press secretary Sarah Sanders in a statement. Sanders provided no further details, apart from saying Trump and Erdogan agreed to “continue coordinating on the creation of a potential safe zone” in Syria. “A safe zone in Syria made up of international forces is the best way to achieve our national security objectives of continuing to contain Iran, ensuring the enduring defeat of ISIS, protecting our Turkish allies, and securing the Turkish border with Syria,” said Graham in his statement. WHAT WILL THE TROOPS DO? The American special operations troops will continue to advise the Syrian Democratic Forces, which includes members of a Kurdish militia that Turkey considers terrorists, furnishing logistical support and intelligence, including providing overhead surveillance and calling in airstrikes when necessary. It appears most of the U.S. troops will remain in the areas of northeast Syria liberated by the U.S.-backed SDF, although some will remain in the south at al-Tanf, a remote outpost along the Iraqi border. THE BIGGER MISSION: The real purpose of leaving 200 of the 2,000 U.S. troops behind is to persuade allies Britain and France to keep their troops on the ground, to serve as a bulwark against Iran, Russia, and the Syrian regime. In their discussions with allies at last weekend’s Munich Security Conference, members of the U.S. congressional delegation were told if the United States leaves, they would leave too. “This will ensure ISIS does not return and Iran does not fill the vacuum that would have been left if we completely withdrew. This also ensures Turkey and SDF elements that helped us defeat ISIS will not go into conflict,” said Graham. NO HARD FEELINGS: Both Graham and the object of his recent frustration, Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan, seemed ready to move on after last weekend’s tense exchange in Munich over Trump’s pullout plan, which Graham called the “dumbest fucking idea” ever. “I always think of Sen. Graham as an ally and we have shared interests. He is a problem-solver and I am very confident we will come together with solutions for Syria,” Shanahan said Thursday while standing next to Belgian Deputy Prime Minister Didier Reynders. FULL HONORS FOR TURKEY: Shanahan will be rolling out the red carpet and much more when he welcomes Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar to the Pentagon this afternoon. The River Entrance Parade Field is soggy but is cleared of snow, thanks to yesterday’s 50 degree temperatures, and the Pentagon is planning a “full honors parade” to greet the Turks. It will include several hundred ceremonial military units and the firing of cannons. Such pageantry used to be a regular feature of welcome ceremonies, but full honors have become rare in recent years. THE FATE OF TURKEY’S F-35s: The warm welcome for Turkey’s defense minister comes at the same time a chill has descended on relations between Washington and Ankara over Erdogan’s increasing coziness with Russian President Vladimir Putin and the NATO ally’s decision to purchase Russian S-400 air defenses, which are not only incompatible with NATO systems but could end up giving Russian engineers access to sensitive U.S. missile defense technology. The spending bill President Trump signed last week, averting another government shutdown, contained a provision blocking the transfer of F-35s to Turkey, pending a report from the Pentagon and State Department on the status of the S-400 purchase. Turkey is not just a customer of the Lockheed Martin jet, it’s also a partner in the production. At last weekend’s Munich conference, Vice President Mike Pence, without mentioning Turkey by name, issued a not-so-veiled warning. “We’ve also made it clear that we will not stand idly by while NATO allies purchase weapons from our adversaries. We cannot ensure the defense of the West if our allies grow dependent on the East,” he said. “The acquisition of the sophisticated S-400 system from an adversary is just the latest example of how the government of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has become an ally no more,” comments Frank Gaffney of the conservative Center for Security Policy. “Now that it’s being cut off from access to our military hardware, will Turkey come back into the fold – or become an even bigger problem for Europe and for us?” “[T]he smart money says he’s gone for good,” says Gaffney of Erdogan. “It behooves NATO formally to recognize that reality – instead of ignoring, and thereby enabling, it.” Good Friday 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: House Democrats will introduce a resolution today aiming to block the national emergency declaration President Trump issued last week to shift billions in Pentagon funds to pay for construction of more than 200 miles of additional barriers along the U.S.-Mexico border. The formal introduction of the measure will tee up a vote by the full House, likely by mid-March. The bill seems certain to pass the House, and could muster the 51 votes required for Senate passage as well, but would likely be vetoed by Trump, and it appears neither chamber has the two-thirds majority required to override a presidential veto. Still, the resolution could have an impact on the lawsuits now pending in federal courts. One of the legal arguments advanced by opponents of the president’s plan is that the 1976 National Emergencies Act was never intended to allow the president to thwart the will of Congress. A resolution blocking the emergency declaration would make the will of Congress more clear. THAT PESKY ‘DENUCLEARIZATION’ DEFINITION: As the the second Trump-Kim summit draws near, U.S. and North Korean negotiators are still trying — in the language of diplo-speak — to “advance” to a “shared understanding of what ‘denuclearization’ is.” “That’s one of the places where we think we can successfully build on the joint Singapore statement,” a senior administration official told reporters yesterday. “It’s certainly a high priority for my team this week.” The administration has spent eight months lauding North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un‘s “commitment to complete denuclearization” in last June’s Singapore statement. The White House has released a fact sheet ahead of next week’s summit in Hanoi, touting the commitment while omitting any mention of the fact the two sides have reached no agreement on what that commitment means. LET’S BE CLEAR: The Democratic chairmen of three national-security-focused House committees are accusing the Trump administration of keeping Congress in the dark on North Korea. Noting the recent testimony from Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats in which he said the intelligence community concludes North Korea “is unlikely to completely give up its nuclear weapons,” the Democrats said they were “perplexed and troubled by the growing disconnect between the Intelligence Community’s assessment and your administration’s statements about Kim Jong Un’s actions, commitments, and intentions.” In a letter to President Trump, signed by Armed Services Committee chairman Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., Foreign Affairs Committee chairman Rep. Eliot Engel, D-N.Y., and Intelligence Committee chairman Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., the lawmakers demand Secretary of State Mike Pompeo brief all House members on the results of the summit within seven days. “Furthermore, our ability to conduct oversight of U.S. policy toward North Korea on behalf of the American people has been inappropriately curtailed by your administration’s unwillingness to share information with Congress,” they said. IRANIAN NAVY EXERCISES UNDERWAY: Iran has begun a week of naval exercises in the Strait of Hormuz and the Sea of Oman in a show of force amid escalating tensions in the region with the United States. The large-scale drills are expected to feature Iran’s first test of a submarine-launched cruise missile. Earlier this week, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani inaugurated the Iranian-built submarine dubbed “Fateh” or “Conqueror,” which is said to be capable of firing cruise missiles. THE RUNDOWN AP: Worry about US-SKorea alliance grows before Trump-Kim summit Military Times: U.S. Troop Withdrawals Aren’t On The Table For Trump’s North Korea Peace Talks — For Now Reuters: Pakistan army warns will respond to any attack by India with ‘full force’ AP: From Syria, IS slips into Iraq to fight another day New York Times: Christopher Hasson, Coast Guard Officer, Plotted Attacks at His Desk, Filings Say NBC News: U.S. military surveillance planes flying over Russia Thursday and Friday Washington Post: Venezuela Braces For A Clash Over Relief Supplies Cumberland Times News: Navy veteran donating kidney to stranger Defense News: US military officers prep the battlefield for White House budget Time: The U.S. Sent Its Most Advanced Fighter Jets to Blow Up Cheap Opium Labs. Now It’s Canceling the Program Stars and Stripes: On suicides, Air Force’s top chaplain preaches hope over darkness to Yokota airmen Air Force Magazine: Contingency Wing Commander Relieved Due to Conduct Unbecoming AP: US Soldier Wounded in Suicide Attack Sues Bomber’s Employer Military Times: These military bases will be among the first to get water contamination reviews Military.com: Navy Ships Will Again Fly the Union Jack as U.S. Enters Great Power Competition |
CalendarFRIDAY | FEBRUARY 22 10 a.m. 1616 Rhode Island Avenue N.W. “Prospects for the Trump-Kim Vietnam Summit.” www.csis.org MONDAY | FEBRUARY 25 9 a.m 120 F Street N.W. Georgetown Law’s Journal of National Security Law & Policy holds annual symposium on “The Continuing Threat of Nuclear Weapons.” Speakers include David Koplow, Georgetown Law; James Feinerman, Georgetown Law; Adam Mount, Federation of American Scientists; John Burroughs, Lawyers Committee on Nuclear Policy; Alexandra Bell, Center for Arms Control & Non-Proliferation; Michael Krepon, Stimson Center; Bonnie Jenkins, Brookings Institute; Adam Scheinman, Former Special Representative of the President for Nuclear Nonproliferation, Dept. of State; Dakota Rudesill, Ohio State University Moritz College of Law; Scott Snyder, Council on Foreign Relations; Joel S. Wit, Stimson Center; Sue Mi Terry, Center for Strategic and International Studies; Stephen Dycus, Vermont Law School. 9:30 a.m. 1211 Connecticut Avenue N.W. “Competing with Russia ‘Short of War’: How the U.S. and NATO Have Countered Russian Coercion Panel Discussion.” www.stimson.org TUESDAY | FEBRUARY 26 7 a.m. 2425 Wilson Blvd. Breakfast with Ryan McCarthy, Under Secretary of the U.S. Army. www.ausa.org 7:30 a.m. 2101 Wilson Boulevard, Suite 700. Breakfast discussion with Rep. Don Bacon. www.ndia.org 10 a.m. 2118 Rayburn. House Armed Services Readiness and Seapower Subcommittee Joint Hearing: Naval Surface Forces Readiness: Are Navy Reforms Adequate? Witnesses: Adm. Christopher Grady, U.S. Fleet Forces Commander and Adm. John Aquilino, U.S. Pacific Fleet Commander. www.armedservices.house.gov 10:15 a.m. 2172 Rayburn. House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing: On the Eve of the Summit: Options for U.S. Diplomacy on North Korea. Witnesses: Bill Richardson, former governor of New Mexico and U.S. ambassador to the United Nations; Victor Cha, senior adviser and Korea chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. 10:30 a.m. Constitution Ave. and 23rd Street N.W. Dedication of the National Desert Storm and Desert Shield Memorial Site near the Lincoln Memorial, honoring the service and sacrifice of the U.S. and Coalition military personnel who liberated Kuwait from Iraq and defended Saudi Arabia in 1991. Scheduled speakers: Scott Stump, president and CEO of National Desert Storm War Memorial Association; Rep. Phil Roe, R-Tenn; Lt. Gov. Jenean Hampton, R-Ky.; retired Air Force Gen. Chuck Horner; Edward “Skip” Gnehm, former U.S. ambassador to Kuwait; and Abdullah Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, the Kuwaiti ambassador. Open to the public. 12 p.m. 214 Massachusetts Ave N.E. “Modernizing the U.S. Sea-based Strategic Deterrent Force and the Need for 12 Columbia-class SSBNs.” www.heritage.org 12:30 p.m. 1300 Pennsylvania Avenue N.W. “Does the U.S.-Iranian Relationship Have a Future?” www.wilsoncenter.org 2 p.m. 2118 Rayburn. House Armed Services Strategic Forces Subcommittee: INF Withdrawal and the Future of Arms Control: Implications for the Security of the United States and its Allies. Witnesses: Former Sen. Richard Lugar, Former NATO Amb. Alexander Vershbow, Paula DeSutter, former assistant secretary of state. www.armedservices.house.gov 2 p.m. 2212 Rayburn. House Armed Services Intelligence and Emerging Threats and Capabilities Subcommittee: Department of Defense Information Technology, Cybersecurity, and Information Assurance. Witnesses: Dana Deasy, Pentagon chief information officer, Lisa Hershman, acting DoD chief management officer, and Marine Brig. Gen. Dennis Crall, deputy principal DoD cyber adviser. www.armedservices.house.gov WEDNESDAY | FEBRUARY 27 10 a.m. Rayburn 2172. House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing on The Trump Administration’s Foreign Policy: A Mid-Term Assessment. Witnesses: former secretary of state Madeleine Albright. www.foreignaffairs.house.gov 10:15 a.m. 1201 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. Rep. Seth Moulton, member of the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Seapower and Projection Forces, will join Bryan McGrath, Hudson Institute’s Deputy Director of the Center for American Seapower, for a discussion on the future of the U.S. Navy and its role in American defense and foreign policy. Live streamed at www.hudson.org 11 a.m. 1700 Army Navy Drive. Expeditionary Warfare Division Annual Meeting. www.ndia.org 2 p.m. 2118 Rayburn. House Armed Services Military Personnel Subcommittee hearing on Transgender Service Policy. Panel 1: Dr. Jesse Ehrenfeld, Lt. Cmdr. Blake Dremann, Army Capt. Alivia Stehlik, Army Capt. Jennifer Peace, Army Staff Sgt. Patricia King, and Navy HM3 Akira Wyatt. Panel 2: James Stewart, performing the duties of under secretary of defense for personnel and readiness, and Vice Adm. Raquel Bono, director of the Defense Health Agency. www.armedservices.house.gov THURSDAY | FEBRUARY 28 8 a.m. 1616 Rhode Island Avenue, N.W. “Strategic National Security Space: FY 2020 Budget and Policy Forum.” www.csis.org 8:30 a.m. 1789 Massachusetts Avenue N.W. “Congress and the National Defense Strategy: A bipartisan conversation with congressional national security leaders.” www.aei.org 9:30 a.m. Dirksen SD-G50. Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on Nuclear Policy and Posture. Witnesses: Madelyn R. Creedon, former principal deputy administrator, National Nuclear Security Administration; Franklin C. Miller, former special assistant to the president of the United States and former senior director for defense policy and arms control, National Security Council staff; General C. Robert Kehler, USAF (ret.), former commander, United States Strategic Command. www.armed-services.senate.gov FRIDAY | MARCH 1 12:15 p.m. 740 15th Street N.W. “Trump’s Taliban Negotiations: What it Means for Afghanistan.” www.newamerica.org SUNDAY | MARCH 3 10:30 a.m. 8900 Little River Turnpike, Fairfax. Breakfast discussion with rocket scientist behind Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system, Dr. Ari Sacher. jnf.org/vabreakfast TUESDAY | MARCH 5 6:30 a.m. 2425 Wilson Boulevard. Breakfast discussion with Army chief information officer Lt. Gen. Bruce T. Crawford. www.ausa.org WEDNESDAY | MARCH 6 10 a.m. Cannon 310. “The Way Forward on Border Security.” www.homeland.house.gov MONDAY | MARCH 11 7 a.m. 1779 Massachusetts Avenue N.W. Carnegie International Nuclear Policy Conference. www.carnegieendowment.org TUESDAY | MARCH 12 7 a.m. 1779 Massachusetts Avenue N.W. Carnegie International Nuclear Policy Conference (Day 2). www.carnegieendowment.org WEDNESDAY | MARCH 13 4 p.m. 1775 Massachusetts Ave. N.W. “Putin’s World.” www.brookings.edu |
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