BIDEN AGAIN PRESSES FOR HUMANITARIAN PAUSE: With Israeli airstrikes hitting hundreds of targets and its ground troops moving against Hamas strongholds in Gaza City, which is still teeming with civilians, President Joe Biden again spoke by phone with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to push for greater efforts to avoid civilians deaths, which, according to the Hamas-controlled Gaza Health Ministry, now exceed 10,000.
“The President reiterated his steadfast support for Israel and the protection of Israeli citizens from Hamas and all other threats while also emphasizing the imperative to protect Palestinian civilians and reduce civilian harm in the course of military operations,” the White House said in a statement. “The two leaders discussed the possibility of tactical pauses to provide civilians with opportunities to safely depart from areas of ongoing fighting, to ensure assistance is reaching civilians in need, and to enable potential hostage releases.”
In a teleconference for reporters, NCS spokesman John Kirby could not confirm the 10,000 death toll but conceded that “many, many thousands have been killed, and many more injured.” Kirby said the U.S. is not telling Israel how to fight the war but is urging Israel to take steps to limit the deaths of innocents.
“These people are victims to this conflict. And we recognize that,” Kirby said. “And we’re going to continue to work with our Israeli counterparts to do everything we can to urge them to be as discriminate as possible and as cautious and careful as possible as they prosecute these operations.”
‘MANY, MANY THOUSANDS OF INNOCENT PEOPLE KILLED’ IN GAZA, US SAYS
‘TACTICAL PAUSE’ VS. ‘GENERAL CEASEFIRE’: The U.S. continues to oppose a general ceasefire, which it says would only benefit Hamas, and instead is pushing for “temporary localized pauses” in the fighting. Israel said it has done something similar in a few instances, in which a ‘humanitarian corridor” was open for a matter of hours for Gaza residents to move south.
“We talk about a general ceasefire, and what that means is a complete cessation of fighting across all of Gaza, which we believe, at this point in time, benefits Hamas. And so we don’t support a general ceasefire,” Kirby told reporters. “We do support temporary, localized, humanitarian pauses in the fighting for discrete purposes such as aid or hostage release, or a safe passage of civilians from one area to the next.”
More limited “tactical pauses,” Kirby said, “remain something we are actively discussing with our Israeli counterparts, and we consider ourselves at the beginning of this conversation, not at the end of it.”
NETANYAHU: NO CEASEFIRE WITHOUT HOSTAGE RELEASE: In a meeting with Israeli F-16 pilots at the Ramon Air Force Base, Netanyahu reiterated his one condition for a temporary ceasefire.
“There will be no ceasefire without the return of the hostages. This should be completely removed from the lexicon,” Netanyahu said. “We say this to our friends and to our enemies. We will simply continue until we defeat them. We have no alternative.”
Later, in a meeting with Bulgarian Prime Minister Nikolay Denkov in Jerusalem, Netanyahu insisted Israel is doing what it can to limit civilian casualties, given that Hama terrorists are embedded in the local population.
“We also are fighting an enemy, this most savage enemy that we have seen since the Holocaust, that commits a double war crime: not only deliberately targeting civilians but deliberately using their civilians as human shields,” Netanyahu said. “And while Israel is doing everything in its power to get the civilians out of harm’s way, Hamas is doing everything in its power to keep them in harm’s way, sometimes as gunpoint. So we will act, and not only in our right of self-defense but in defending our common values and our future, but also in a way that minimizes civilian casualties.”
US URGES ISRAEL TO ‘DISTINGUISH BETWEEN’ HAMAS, CIVILIANS AS DISSENT MEMO EMERGES
Good Tuesday 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 Conrad Hoyt. Email here with tips, suggestions, calendar items, and anything else. Sign up or read current and back issues at DailyonDefense.com. If signing up doesn’t work, shoot us an email and we’ll add you to our list. And be sure to follow me on Threads and/or on X @jamiejmcintyre
CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP OR READ BACK ISSUES OF DAILY ON DEFENSE
NOTE TO READERS: Daily on Defense will be taking a break on Veterans Day, Nov. 10, and the following week of Nov. 13 to 17. We’ll be back in your inbox and online at DailyonDefense.com on Monday, Nov. 20, before taking a long Thanksgiving weekend beginning Thursday, Nov. 23. While we’re gone, you can get your daily fix of defense and national security news here.
Subscribe today to the Washington Examiner magazine and get Washington Briefing: politics and policy stories that will keep you up to date with what’s going on in Washington. SUBSCRIBE NOW: Just $1.00 an issue!
HAPPENING TODAY: Secretary of State Antony Blinken is in Japan for two days of talks with ministers from the Group of Seven leading industrial democracies. Blinken is fresh off a whirlwind round of shuttle diplomacy that took him to Israel, Ramallah, Jordan, and Iraq, and ended in Turkey yesterday, as he pressed for humanitarian assistance in Gaza and a continuing push to secure the release of hostages from the U.S. and other countries.
“I’ll have an opportunity to debrief my colleagues on what we’ve learned and what we’ve done during this trip and to continue that work and carry it forward,” Blinken said in Ankara, where he described his talks with Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan as a “very good, lengthy, productive conversation.”
“Of course, we discussed the crisis in Gaza, including the efforts to significantly expand humanitarian assistance to people in need, efforts to prevent the conflict from spreading through other parts of the region, and what we can do to set the conditions for a durable, sustainable, lasting peace for Israelis and Palestinians,” Blinken said. “All of this is a work in progress … We’re working, as I said, very aggressively on getting more humanitarian assistance into Gaza. And we have very concrete ways of doing that, and I think you’ll see in the days ahead that that assistance can expand in significant ways.”
MORE US TROOPS WOUNDED: At a meeting with reporters yesterday, Pentagon spokesman Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder described the continuing attacks on U.S. troops in Iraq and Syria by Iranian proxy forces as “harassing attacks of drones and rockets,” which, in some cases, resulted in “minor injuries,” such as “things like shrapnel, headaches, perforated ear drums, tinnitus, rolled ankle, et cetera.”
But the number of U.S. troops diagnosed with traumatic brain injuries, or TBI, is now 20, nearing half the total number of injuries reported over the past three weeks at the al Tanf base in Syria and the al Asad Air Base in Iraq.
“We’ve had two U.S. personnel who had been treated for TBI and originally returned to duty. They have subsequently gone to Landstuhl for further examination and care. They are in stable condition,” Ryder said. “So this is out of an abundance of caution.”
The number of Iranian-backed attacks is now over 38 — including one in the last 24 hours — and the number of injured U.S. personnel stands at 46. “I would highlight that all of these injuries occurred prior to the self-defense strikes that we took on 26th October,” Ryder said. “To my knowledge, there’s been no injuries reported since then.”
The U.S. has dispatched a cruise missile-firing attack submarine, a converted Ohio-class ballistic missile sub, which is also capable of carrying Navy SEALs, as a signal to Iran but has so far not taken action since last month’s airstrikes against weapons and ammunition storage facilities in Syria. In the photo of the submarine released by the U.S. Central Command, the small mini-sub designed to carry commandos can be seen on the starboard side.
ROUGHLY 45 US TROOPS INJURED IN SYRIA AND IRAQ SINCE ISRAEL WAR BEGAN
BREACHING THE TUBERVILLE BLOCKADE: Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) is teeing up an effort to get around Sen. Tommy Tuberville’s (R-AL) hold on some 370 general and flag officers whose promotions are being blocked due to Tuberville’s battle over the Pentagon abortion travel policy.
“Sen. Tuberville has put a hold on promoting over 350 military officers, threatening our national security in the process,” Klobuchar said on social media. “Military officials and even members of his own party have called for this to end. Next week, I will hold a vote in the Rules Committee on a proposal to break this blockade.”
The session of the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration is scheduled for next Tuesday, Nov. 14, at 3 p.m. and will provide for the “en bloc consideration of military nominations,” which would allow all pending promotions to be approved in a single voice vote, as has been the custom.
ANOTHER FUNDING EFFORT FOR UKRAINE: The House Foreign Affairs Committee is scheduled to mark up a bill that would authorize the secretary of state “to provide additional assistance to Ukraine using assets confiscated from the Central Bank of the Russian Federation and other sovereign assets of the Russian Federation.”
The full committee session will also consider a bill that would freeze the $6 billion in Iranian funds involved in the 2023 hostage deal between the United States and Iran.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
The Rundown
Washington Examiner: Roughly 45 US troops injured in Syria and Iraq since Israel war began
Washington Examiner: ‘Many, many thousands of innocent people killed’ in Gaza, US says
Washington Examiner: US urges Israel to ‘distinguish between’ Hamas, civilians as dissent memo emerges
Washington Examiner: Israel war: Israeli chief of staff boasts ability to strike anywhere in Middle East as US prepares new weapons package
Washington Examiner: Republican infighting kills Texas legislature’s chances of passing big border bill
Washington Examiner: CENTCOM makes rare announcement that guided missile submarine has arrived in Middle East
Washington Examiner: Opinion: Iran is not threatened by US submarine announcement
Washington Examiner: Israel war: State Department employees can vent privately but must remember who is boss
AP: Civilians fleeing northern Gaza’s combat zone report a terrifying journey on foot past Israeli tanks
Reuters: Jordan Open To ‘All Options’ As Gaza Conflict Intensifies
Wall Street Journal: US Plans $320 Million Weapons Transfer To Israel As Gaza Toll Mounts
Bloomberg: Biden’s Military Aid Request for Israel Would Double Iron Dome Arsenal
Reuters: Ukraine’s Zelenskiy Dismisses Talk Of Wartime Election As Irresponsible
Air & Space Forces Magazine: Allvin to Airmen: The Course Is Set. Now We Must Follow Through
Military News: Eisenhower Strike Group, Submarine Arrive In Middle East
Air & Space Forces Magazine: B-1 Bombers, Guided-Missile Submarine in Middle East
Bloomberg: US Attack Submarine Enters Persian Gulf in Message to Iran
Air & Space Forces Magazine: What’s Next For Air Force Special Tactics?
Reuters: China And Australia Agree To Turn The Page As Tensions Ease
New York Times: Treasury Secretary Yellen To Hold Economic Talks With Chinese Counterpart
Breaking Defense: How South Korea’s Defense Industry Transformed Itself Into a Global Player
Defense News: Manufacturing Woes Could Sink US Sub Fleet. Can 3D Printing Save It?
New York Times: Tech Start-Ups Try to Sell a Cautious Pentagon on AI
NBC News: US Service Members’ Data Is Easy and Cheap to Purchase Online, Study Finds
Stars and Stripes: US Soldier Death at Air Base in Qatar Not Combat-Related, Pentagon Says
Air Force Times: Documentary ‘Three Chaplains’ Takes Hard Look at US Military Experience of Muslims
The National Interest: Opinion: The GOP Has Turned Its Back on America’s Military Families
The Cipher Brief: Defense Department Report Highlights Cyber Threat from China
Calendar
TUESDAY | NOVEMBER 7
9 a.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave. NW — Center for Strategic and International Studies launch of the 2023 “Project Atom Report,” focusing on nuclear credibility and flexibility https://www.csis.org/events/project-atom-report-launch
10 a.m. 1957 E St. NW — George Washington University Elliott School of International Affairs discussion: “NATO’s Strategic Challenges,” with Supreme Allied Commander Transformation Gen. Phillippe Lavigne https://calendar.gwu.edu/event/natos_strategic_challenges
10 a.m. — Center for a New American Security virtual discussion: “Military professionalism, challenges to recruitment, service member retention, and policy options for a resilient future force,” with Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks; and Katherine Kuzminski, deputy director of studies and director of the CNAS Military, Veterans, and Society Program https://www.cnas.org/events/fireside-chat-with-hon-kathleen-hicks
11 a.m. — Center for Strategic and International Studies conference call briefing: “Previewing 2023 APEC Leaders’ Meeting,” with Victor Cha, CSIS Korea chairman; Bonny Lin, director of the CSIS China Power Project; Jude Blanchette, CSIS chairman in China studies; Erin Murphy, senior fellow at the CSIS Asia Program; Charles Edel, CSIS Australia chairman; and Nicholas Szechenyi, CSIS Japan chairman. RSVP: Andrew Schwartz [email protected]
11:30 a.m. — Carnegie Endowment for International Peace virtual discussion: “Is America Overstretched?” with former CIA Director David Petraeus, co-author of Conflict: The Evolution of Warfare from 1945 to Ukraine https://carnegieendowment.org/2023/11/07/is-america-overstretched
12 p.m. — Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft virtual discussion: “After the Ukrainian Counter-Offensive,” with Daniel Davis, senior fellow and military expert at Defense Priorities; Rajan Menon, director of the Defense Priorities’s Grand Strategy program; Margarita Konaev, deputy director of analysis at Georgetown University’s Center for Security and Emerging Technology; and Anatol Lieven, director of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft’s Eurasia Program https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register
12:30 p.m. 2799 Richmond Highway, Arlington, Virginia — Naval Submarine League 2023 Annual Symposium: “Promoting the Importance of Submarines to the National Defense,” with Adm. Frank Caldwell, director of Naval Reactors; Vice Adm. Bill Houston, commander of Submarine Force; and Rear Adm. Scott Pappano, program executive officer of Strategic Submarines https://www.navalsubleague.org/events/annual-symposium
1:30 p.m. — Center for Strategic and International Studies virtual discussion: “Hamas’ October 7 Attack: The Tactics, Targets, and Strategy of Terrorists,” with former U.S. National Counterterrorism Center Director Michael Leiter; Emily Harding, director of the CSIS Intelligence, National Security, and Technology Program; and Daniel Byman, senior fellow at the CSIS Transnational Threats Project https://www.csis.org/events/hamas-october-7-attack-tactics
7 p.m. — New America virtual discussion: “Will Putin be Prosecuted for War Crimes?: The Future of Investigations into International Law Violations in Ukraine,” with former U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for War Crimes Issues David Scheffer, professor of practice at Arizona State University’s Future Security Initiative https://www.newamerica.org/future-security/events/online
7:30 p.m. 7920 Jones Branch Drive, McLean, Virginia — Intelligence and National Security Alliance discussion: “DOD’s strategic outlook for digital modernization and cybersecurity,” with Defense Department CIO John Sherman https://www.insaonline.org/detail-pages/event
WEDNESDAY | NOVEMBER 8
TBA — Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin departs for travel to India to attend the fifth Annual U.S.-India 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue, along with Secretary of State Antony Blinken. Austin will also travel to South Korea and Indonesia for meetings with regional counterparts https://www.defense.gov/News/Advisories/Advisory
7:55 a.m. 2799 Richmond Highway, Arlington, Virginia — Naval Submarine League 2023 Annual Symposium: “Promoting the Importance of Submarines to the National Defense,” with Rear Adm. Richard Seif, commander of U.S. Pacific Fleet Submarine Force; and Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS) https://www.navalsubleague.org/events/annual-symposium/
8 a.m. 1030 15th St. NW — Atlantic Council’s Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security and the Atlantic Council’s Forward Defense Program Symposium: “The Evolving Role of Special Operations Forces in Strategic Competition.” RSVP: [email protected]
9 a.m. — Wilson Center’s Asia Program virtual discussion: “A Half Decade of Indo-Pacific Strategies: Assessing U.S. Outreach to Allies and Partners,” with former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for East Asia and the Pacific Scot Marciel, fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies; Ashley Tellis, chairman for strategic affairs at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace; Shihoko Goto, acting director of the Wilson Center’s Asia Program; and Lucas Myers, senior associate for Southeast Asia at the Wilson Center’s Asia Program https://www.wilsoncenter.org/event/half-decade-indo-pacific-strategies
10 a.m. 419 Dirksen — Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing: “U.S. National Security Interests in Ukraine,” with testimony from James O’Brien, assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian affairs; Geoffrey Pyatt, assistant secretary of state for energy resources; and Erin McKee, assistant administrator for Europe and Eurasia at the U.S. Agency for International Development https://www.foreign.senate.gov/hearings
10 a.m — Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies “Schriever Spacepower Series,” with Lisa Costa, chief technology and innovation officer; and retired Air Force Gen. Kevin Chilton, explorer chairman, Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies Spacepower Advantage Center of Excellence https://mitchellaerospacepower.org/event
11 a.m. 1300 Pennsylvania Ave. NW — Wilson Center’s Asia Program discussion: “Navigating U.S.-China Competition: Options for Pakistan,” with Baqir Sajjad, diplomatic and national security correspondent at Dawn; and Michael Kugelman, director of the Wilson Center’s South Asia Institute https://www.wilsoncenter.org/event/navigating-us-china-competition
11:30 a.m. EST Brussels, Belgium — NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg and Hungarian President Katalin Novak hold a joint press conference at NATO headquarters https://www.nato.int
2 p.m. HVC-210 — House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing: “Friend and Ally: U.S. support for Israel after Hamas’ Barbaric Attack,” with testimony from Barbara Leaf, assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs, and Dana Stroul, deputy assistant secretary of defense for the Middle East https://armedservices.house.gov/hearings
2 p.m. — Defense One and Forecast International virtual discussion: “Toward a Connected Battlespace,” with Maj. Gen. Gavin Lawrence, commanding general of the Army’s Surface Deployment and Distribution Command; Rett Burroughs, chief information officer at America’s First Corps, G6; Ari Dimitriou, senior technical fellow at Collins Aerospace; David Morrison, director of Combined Joint All Domain Command and Control (CJADC2) initiatives at Collins Aerospace; and Andrew Dardine, senior defense analyst at Forecast International https://events.defenseone.com/defense-one-toward-a-connected-battlespace
3 p.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave NW — Association of the U.S. Army and Center for Strategic and International Studies “Strategic Landpower Dialogue,” with Gen. James Dickinson, commanding general of U.S. Space Command https://www.csis.org/events/strategic-landpower-dialogue
THURSDAY | NOVEMBER 9
7:30 a.m. EST Berlin, Germany — NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg holds a joint press conference with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz https://www.nato.int/
8:30 a.m. Union Station, 50 Massachusetts Ave. NE — Foreign Policy discussion: “East Meets West: Unpacking U.S. — China relations in the lead up to the Biden-Xi Meeting at APEC,” with Andrew Bacevich, chairman of the board at the Quincy Institute; Sarang Shidore, director of Quincy Institute’s Global South Program; and Ravi Agrawal, editor-in-chief of Foreign Policy https://foreignpolicy.com/events/east-meets-west/
9:30 a.m. — U.S. Institute of Peace virtual discussion: “First in War, First in Peace: U.S. Military Veterans as Peacebuilders,” with Patrick Spero, executive director of the George Washington Presidential Library at Mount Vernon; retired Army Lt. Gen. Douglas Lute, member of the USIP Senior Military Advisory Group; retired Adm. James Foggo, member of the USIP Senior Military Advisory Group; and retired Rear Adm. Peter Cressy, director of executive leadership programs at the Washington Leadership Institute at Mount Vernon https://www.usip.org/events/first-war-first-peace
10 a.m. — Wilson Center’s Middle East Program virtual discussion: “Hamas-Israel War: Risks of Escalation and Impact on Lebanon,” with Mona Yacoubian, vice president of the U.S. Institute of Peace’s Middle East and North Africa Center; Randa Slim, nonresident fellow at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies’s Foreign Policy Institute; and Edward Gabriel, president and CEO of the American Task Force on Lebanon https://www.wilsoncenter.org/event/hamas-israel-war-risks
10 a.m. 1030 15th St. NW — Atlantic Council conference: “Ukraine’s Fight and NATO’s Future: First Insights from Central Europe on the Washington Summit,” with Ukrainian Minister of Energy German Galushchenko https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/programs/europe-center
1 p.m. — National Defense Industrial Association virtual discussion: “Designing the Future: Tackling Challenges in 3D Heterogenous Integrated Microelectronics for Aerospace, Government, and Defense Systems,” with Carl McCants, special assistant to the director at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency; Josh Fryman, fellow at the Intel Corporation; Rob Aitken, architect at Synopsys; and Ian Land, senior director of security, government and aerospace solutions at Synopsys. RSVP: [email protected]
1:30 p.m. — Hudson Institute event: “The Israel-Hamas War: A Conversation with Seventieth Secretary of State Mike Pompeo,” with Michael Doran, senior fellow and director, Center for Peace and Security in the Middle East https://www.hudson.org/events/israel-hamas-war-iran-hezbollah-conversation
7 p.m. — New America and Arizona State University Future Security Initiative virtual discussion: “Will the U.S. Experience a Devastating Cyber Attack and What Can be Done to Protect Our Nation?” with Marine Corps Maj. Gen. Lorna Mahlock, deputy director for combat support at the National Security Agency; and former U.S. Cyber Command Deputy Director retired Marine Corps Lt. Gen. Robert Schmidle, professor of practice at FSI https://www.newamerica.org/future-security/events/online
7 p.m. — Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation and Hauenstein Center for Presidential Studies virtual discussion: “Mikhail Zygar’s War and Punishment: The Path to Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine” https://worldmichigan.org/event/zygar
FRIDAY | NOVEMBER 10 | VETERANS DAY OBSERVED
Federal offices closed. No Daily on Defense
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“There is a difference here, in terms of what Mr. Putin’s doing in Ukraine, deliberately making it a war aim to kill innocent civilians and torture and murder them. I mean, that’s a war aim of his armed forces, as opposed to what’s happening in Gaza, which is a result of an effort to go after Hamas. And it is Hamas that made it a war aim to torture, murder, and slaughter innocent Israeli civilians on the 7th of October. And it is Hamas who is holding these hostages. It is Hamas who is putting the innocent people of Gaza in greater harm’s way by not allowing them to move and tunneling under their homes.”
NSC spokesman John Kirby, in an interview on Fox News Monday.
