‘A REGRETTABLE INCIDENT’: Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke by phone yesterday with his Turkish counterpart Yasar Guler after a U.S. F-16 shot down a drone conducting airstrikes near U.S. troops in Syria that turned out to belong to the NATO ally.
“They had the opportunity to have a fruitful conversation and again commit to one another that the U.S. and Turkey will continue to closely communicate and coordinate,” spokesman Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder said at the Pentagon. “Turkey is one of our strongest and most valued NATO allies, and that partnership continues and will continue. So this is certainly a regrettable incident.”
“We have no indication that Turkey was intentionally targeting U.S. forces,” Ryder said, noting no U.S. troops were injured. “But U.S. commanders on the ground did assess that there was a potential threat, and so they took prudent action in this scenario.”
WHAT HAPPENED: The day began yesterday with the U.S. military, which has a small number of troops operating in Syria to continue to fight against the Islamic State, noting that Turkish drones were conducting airstrike in the vicinity of Hasakah, Syria, in an area the U.S. has declared a restricted operating zone, or ROZ, in Pentagon lingo. U.S. troops were less than half a mile away.
“At approximately 11:30 local time, a Turkish UAV reentered the ROZ on a heading toward where U.S. forces were located,” Ryder said. “U.S. commanders assessed that the UAV, which was now less than half a kilometer from U.S. forces, to be a potential threat, and U.S. F-16 fighters subsequently shot down the UAV in self-defense at approximately 11:40 local time.”
“U.S. forces, as part of the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS, have been operating in that area for a while,” Ryder said. “When it comes to northern Syria, we do remain concerned about the potential impacts of military escalation in that region in so much as it affects the civilian population and importantly as it affects our ability to maintain focus on rooting out ISIS.”
“It’s been a hard-fought battle to prevent ISIS from resurging,” he added. “And so that is what we are going to continue to stay focused on. We’re going to continue to advocate for de-escalation in the maintenance of ceasefires. But we will never question Turkey’s legitimate right to protect its people from terrorists.”
US SHOOTS DOWN ARMED TURKISH DRONE IN SYRIA
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ABOUT-FACE ON BORDER WALL: Despite his August 2020 campaign pledge that “there will not be another foot of wall constructed” in his administration, President Joe Biden said yesterday he had little choice but to spend money allocated for border wall expansion under the Trump administration.
“The money was appropriated for the border wall,” Biden told reporters ahead of a Cabinet meeting with his national security team. “I tried to get them to reappropriate, to redirect that money. They didn’t. They wouldn’t, and in the meantime, there’s nothing under the law other than they have to use the money for what it was appropriated. I can’t stop that.”
Asked if he believes the border wall works to limit illegal immigration, Biden replied, “No.”
At a contentious back-and-forth at the afternoon White House briefing, press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre sparred with reporters questioning what had changed since Biden’s 2020 promise.
“He said, ‘There will not be another foot of wall.’ … So, something changed. What?”
“You want us to break the law? Is that what you want? You want us to not comply with the law?” Jean-Pierre shot back. “Congress appropriates the funding. We asked them to not use that funding for that particular purpose. They denied it. And now we’re complying with the law.”
JOE BIDEN PLEDGED ‘NOT ANOTHER FOOT’ OF BORDER WALL. NOW HE’S BUILDING IT
MAYORKAS: ‘NO NEW ADMINISTRATION POLICY’: At a news conference in Mexico, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, who on Wednesday announced in the Federal Register he was waiving 26 federal laws in South Texas to allow border wall construction, citing an “acute and immediate need,” insisted there has been no change in the administration’s opposition to building walls.
“The language in the Federal Register notice is being taken out of context, and it does not signify any change in policy whatsoever,” Mayorkas insisted. “The construction project reported today was appropriated, funded during the prior administration, in 2019, and the law requires the government to use these funds for this purpose, which we announced earlier this year — in June, to be precise.”
“There is no new administration policy with respect to the border wall. From day one, this administration has made clear that a border wall is not the answer. That remains our position, and our position has never wavered,” Mayorkas said.
HERE ARE THE 10 SPOTS ON THE TEXAS BORDER WHERE BIDEN IS BUILDING MORE WALL
FLIP-FLOP ON DEPORTING VENEZUELANS: Mayorkas did announce a change in administration policy of granting Temporary Protected Status to hundreds of thousands of Venezuelan immigrants who had already entered the United States unlawfully, instead of sending them back to Venezuela.
Now, just three weeks after announcing the temporary legal status, Mayorkas said the U.S. government will begin deporting Venezuelans under a new agreement.
“Just today, the United States announced its agreement with the country of Venezuela to repatriate Venezuelan nationals who do not take advantage of the lawful pathways and instead arrive irregularly at our southern border and do not qualify for relief,” Mayorkas said.
Last month alone, 50,000 Venezuelans crossed the southern border, a record number, and they now represent the second largest nationality group, after Mexicans, crossing the border illegally.
BIDEN TO DEPORT VENEZUELAN ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS FROM THE BORDER IMMEDIATELY
ABC REPORT: TRUMP SHARED NUCLEAR SUB SECRETS: ABC News, citing “sources familiar with the matter,” claimed that former President Donald Trump shared apparently classified information about U.S. ballistic missile submarines with an Australian businessman during a social event at Mar-a-Lago a few months after leaving the White House.
The Australian billionaire, Anthony Pratt, is said to have shared the sensitive information with “scores of others, including more than a dozen foreign officials, several of his own employees, and a handful of journalists,” according to the ABC report.
Pratt is reported to have told prosecutors and the FBI that Trump, in a conversation about whether Australia should buy American submarines, told him “the supposed exact number of nuclear warheads they routinely carry and exactly how close they supposedly can get to a Russian submarine without being detected.”
A spokesperson for Trump gave the following response to several media outlets: “The Department of Justice should investigate the criminal leaking, instead of perpetrating their baseless witch-hunts while knowing that President Trump did nothing wrong, has always insisted on truth and transparency, and acted in a proper manner, according to the law.”
Trump faces 40 counts in the Mar-a-Lago classified documents case, including willful retention of national defense information and conspiracy to obstruct justice, but he was not charged with disseminating classified information to a foreign national.
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The Rundown
Washington Examiner: Biden reverses course and builds border wall with Trump funding
Washington Examiner: Joe Biden pledged ‘not another foot’ of border wall. Now he’s building it
Washington Examiner: Here are the 10 spots on the Texas border where Biden is building more wall
Washington Examiner: Congressional veteran ‘stunned and appalled’ at possible special operations cuts
Washington Examiner: US fight over Ukraine aid could lead to ‘Putin winning this war,’ EU warns
Washington Examiner: Dozens killed in Russian attack on Kharkiv grocery store
Washington Examiner: Russia agrees to build naval base in breakaway Georgia region
Washington Examiner: NATO admiral floats ‘form of conscription’ to face Russia war threat
Washington Examiner: Former President Donald Trump endorses Jim Jordan for speaker
Washington Examiner: Chip Roy says Congress won’t pass spending bills before new deadline after McCarthy booted
Washington Examiner: Heritage’s Project 2025 a socially conservative plan for US national security
Washington Examiner: US shoots down armed Turkish drone in Syria
Washington Examiner: French decline in Africa paves the way for US
Washington Examiner: The forgotten war that made Germany militant and France French
AP: Philippines Protests After A Chinese Coast Guard Ship Nearly Collides With A Philippine Vessel
USNI News: Beijing Continues To Use Military For South China Sea Coercion, Says Pentagon Official
VOA: U.S. Warns China Cost For Blockading Taiwan To Be ‘Very High’
ABC: Trump allegedly discussed US nuclear subs with foreign national after leaving White House: Sources
Politico: Biden Team Weighs Using State Department Grants to Fund Weapons for Ukraine
New York Times: Pressure Grows on Germany to Give Ukraine Long-Range Missile
CNN: Satellite Imagery Indicates Russia Moving Navy Ships To Other Ports After Sevastopol Attacks
Defense News: Lawmakers Mull Ukraine Plans amid Uncertainty after McCarthy Ouster
Reuters: Putin Says Russia Has Tested Next-Generation Nuclear Weapon
Bloomberg: Political Dysfunction Undermines US Forces, Pentagon’s No. 2 Says
New York Times: Putin Suggests New Narrative for Prigozhin Plane Crash: Cocaine and Grenades
Air & Space Forces Magazine: Lockheed CEO: Pentagon Must Adopt New Acquisition System for Digital
Bloomberg: Pentagon Developing AI to Aid Indo-Pacific and Other Commands
The War Zone: XQ-58 Valkyrie Is Now Flying with the Marine Corps
Breaking Defense: Space Force Sticks to Plan for 3 High-Value Launch Providers Through 2028
DefenseScoop: SDA Director Blasts Critics Inside DOD Bureaucracy Who Don’t Like His ‘Bad Cop’ Attitude
Defense One: ‘Continuous Vetting’ Effort Will Expand to Cover More Defense Civilians
Military.com: Majority of Retired 4-Star Officers Got Jobs in Defense Industry, New Report Says
Air & Space Forces Magazine: Space Force Takes Over JTAGS Mission from the Army
Space News: LMI Gets $98 Million Contract for Space Wargaming Software
Military Times: Senators Want Answers on Housing for Disabled Military Family Members
Calendar
FRIDAY | OCTOBER 6
10 a.m. — Center for Strategic and International Studies virtual discussion: “The Future of U.S. Security Assistance to Ukraine,” with Dara Massicot, senior fellow, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace; John Deni, research professor of security studies, U.S. Army War College’s Strategic Studies Institute; Karoun Demirjian, congressional reporter, the New York Times; and Max Bergmann, director, Europe, Russia, and Eurasia program and Stuart Center, CSIS https://www.csis.org/events/future-us-security-assistance-ukraine
MONDAY | OCTOBER 9
8 a.m. 801 Mount Vernon Place NW — Association of the U.S. Army three-day Annual Meeting and Exposition, with the theme “Be All You Can Be.” Speakers include: Army Secretary Christine Wormuth; Gen. Randy George, Army vice chief of staff and current Army chief of staff nominee; and Sgt. Maj. of the Army Michael Weimer https://meetings.ausa.org/annual/index.cfm
WEDNESDAY | OCTOBER 11
11 a.m. — Foundation for Defense of Democracies Center on Military and Political Power in-person discussion: “Latin America’s China Challenge,” with Army Gen. Laura Richardson, commander, U.S. Southern Command https://forms.monday.com/forms
4 p.m. — Hudson Institute “Presidential Speech Series,” with Gov. Doug Burgum (R-ND), presidential candidate, delivering an address on foreign policy https://www.hudson.org/events/presidential-speech-series
THURSDAY | OCTOBER 12
7 a.m. Brussels, Belgium — NATO defense ministers meet for two days at NATO Headquarters in Brussels. The meeting will be chaired by NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/news
9 a.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave. NW — Association of the U.S. Army and Center for Strategic and International Studies “Strategic Landpower Dialogue,” with Gen. Charles Flynn, commanding general of U.S. Army Pacific https://www.csis.org/events/strategic-landpower-dialogue
MONDAY | OCTOBER 16
9:30 a.m. 1400 K St. NW — Center for Nonproliferation Studies in-person and virtual panel discussion: “The Nonproliferation Implications of a U.S.-Saudi Arabia-Israel Deal,” with Aziz Alghashian, researcher and fellow, SPD Project; Eric Brewer, deputy vice president, NTI; Chen Zak Kane, Middle East nonproliferation program director, CNS; Barak Ravid, political reporter, Axios; and moderator Ellen Knickmeyer of the Associated Press https://middlebury.zoom.us/webinar/register
MONDAY | OCTOBER 23
4:30 p.m. 1789 Massachusetts Ave. NW — American Enterprise Institute book discussion: Riding the Tiger: Vladimir Putin’s Russia and the Uses of War, with author Leon Aron, AEI senior fellow; and Kori Schake, director of foreign and defense policy studies, AEI https://www.aei.org/events/vladimir-putins-russia
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“It is shameful that on the heels of that visit, after looking President Zelensky in the eye and promising to stand with him, our House colleagues decided to strip all Ukraine funding from their continuing resolution. That decision contradicts the will of the majority of Congress and the American people, and it breaks faith with the people of Ukraine, who are in a battle to preserve their nation and their lives. And their battle is our battle. Their battle against unprovoked aggression by Putin against a democratic neighbor is a battle that we must ensure they can win because he won’t stop there.”
Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI), on the floor of the Senate on Thursday
