‘WE DON’T KNOW’: The Pentagon was blindsided by the revelation last Thursday that highly classified documents, including briefing slides prepared for senior leaders, had popped up on social media sites Twitter and Telegram after languishing relatively unnoticed for weeks on Discord, a chatroom popular with gamers.
President Joe Biden and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin were both briefed about the massive intelligence breach for the first time the same day the New York Times broke the story, sending the Pentagon into five-alarm damage control mode.
“We don’t know who’s behind this. We don’t know what the motive is … We don’t know what else might be out there,” NSC spokesman John Kirby said at a White House briefing. “Is that a matter of concern to us? You’re darn right it is.”
The leak involves more than 50, perhaps as many as 100, photographs of folded and wrinkled briefing slides from February and March, including some marked “Top Secret,” “SI-gamma,” for “signals intelligence,” and “NOFORN” for “no foreign nationals.”
“These photos appear to show documents similar in format to those used to provide daily updates to our senior leaders on Ukraine and Russia-related operations, as well as other intelligence updates. Some of these images appear to have been altered,” said Chris Meagher, assistant to the secretary of defense for public affairs in a conference call with reporters. “The Department of Defense is working around the clock to look at the scope and scale of the distribution, the assessed impact and our mitigation measures.”
PENTAGON WORKING TO IDENTIFY ‘SCOPE AND SCALE’ OF CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS LEAK
PEOPLE COULD ‘LOSE THEIR LIVES’: The documents contain both embarrassing and potentially disastrous revelations, including the dire straits of the Ukrainian forces, who are overstretched and under-equipped as they plan a late spring offensive. They also detail the extent of U.S. spying on friends, including Ukraine, South Korea, and Egypt.
Other slides indicate the U.S. has sources deep within the Kremlin who could be listening to private communications between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his commanders. “Disclosure of sensitive classified material can have tremendous implications not only for our national security, but could lead to people losing their lives,” said Meagher at the Pentagon.
“Without confirming the validity of the documents, this is information that has no business in the public domain. It has no business, if you don’t mind me saying, on the frontpages of newspapers or on television. It is not intended for public consumption, and it should not be out there,” said Kirby at the White House. “I would hope every American can understand — that in order to protect this country every day the way we do, one of the things we have to protect is information, not only the information itself, but the manner in which we glean that information.”
RUSSIAN OPERATIVES BOAST NEW TIES WITH UAE IN LEAKED DOCUMENT: REPORT
TURNER: WE HAVE THE ABILITY TO ADJUST: While the document dump is a gift to Russia, full of assessments of Ukraine’s military strengths and weaknesses, along with intelligence on logistics and troop distribution, the daily briefing slides are a snapshot of where things stood weeks ago.
“These documents are static. They’re a picture of a specific time. Both United States and Ukraine have the ability to modify what they’re doing and how they’re approaching this issue, and we certainly have plenty of time for Ukraine to do so,” said Mike Turner (R-OH), chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, on CNN.
Turner said he’s confident that the Pentagon has taken appropriate action to mitigate the damage from the leak and that every effort is being made to find the leaker.
“If it certainly is an American, bringing them to justice, because this obviously is espionage right to the level of being a traitor to your country,” Turner said. “The fact that these are our photographs, it does given an opportunity for a signature, for us to be able to track down these documents. And there is limited access to these documents and certainly in hard copy.”
“I think the Department of Justice is going to be doing an excellent job in tracking down exactly who is responsible for this,” he said.
HOUSE INTELLIGENCE PANEL LEADERS FEAR ADDITIONAL LEAKS: ‘INCREDIBLY DISTURBING’
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 us on Twitter: @dailyondefense.
CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP OR READ BACK ISSUES OF DAILY ON DEFENSE
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 and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin meet with their counterparts from the Philippines at the State Department today amid a time of warming relations between the two long-time allies.
The “U.S.-Philippines 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue” comes as the government of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. announced earlier this year the approval of an expansion of U.S. military presence to four additional Philippine military bases.
Blinken and Austin will hold a joint news conference with Foreign Affairs Minister Enrique Manalo and Defense Minister Carlito Galvez at 3:15 p.m., which will be streamed live at both the State and Defense Department’s websites.
GERSHKOVICH WRONGFULLY DETAINED: The State Department has made an official determination that Wall Street Journal Reporter Evan Gershkovich is being “wrongfully detained” by Russia.
“Journalism is not a crime. We condemn the Kremlin’s continued repression of independent voices in Russia, and its ongoing war against the truth,” said State Department deputy spokesman Vedant Patel in a statement.
The United States has yet to be given consular access to Gershkovich, who was arrested on March 29 by Russia’s Federal Security Service, who accused him of trying to obtain classified information about a Russian arms factory.
“I can say is that we are still continuing to seek consular access,” Patel said at yesterday’s press briefing. “At this point, it is a violation of Russia’s obligations under our consular convention and a violation against international law. We have stressed the need for the Russian Government to provide this access as soon as possible.”
STATE DEPARTMENT RULES US REPORTER TO BE WRONGFULLY DETAINED IN RUSSIA
RUBIO: DOES MACRON SPEAK FOR EUROPE? After French President Emmanuel Macron, in an interview with reporters after a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing, appeared to suggest that it’s not in Europe’s interest to get involved in a war over Taiwan, Marco Rubio (R-FL), vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, is questioning France’s value as an ally.
“He says, which I found really interesting, that Europe needs to make sure that they don’t get involved in conflicts that are not their conflicts, specifically that Europe should not be picking sides on Taiwan between the United States and China,” Rubio said in a video posted on Twitter. “So I think this is a good moment for us to ask Europe, ‘Does Macron speak for all of Europe?’”
“We need to ask Europe, Does he speak for them, because we’re pretty heavily involved in Ukraine right now,” Rubio said. “We’re spending a lot of our taxpayer money on a European war and I’ve supported that because I think it’s in the national interest of the United States to be allies to our allies. But if, in fact, Macron speaks for all of Europe and their position now is they’re not going to pick sides between the U.S. and China over Taiwan, maybe we shouldn’t be picking sides either.”
“China is very excited about what he said. They enthusiastically support everything he said,” Rubio added. “And apparently, he said even worse.”
The Politico report on the Macron interview included this footnote:
“As is common in France and many other European countries, the French President’s office, known as the Elysée Palace, insisted on checking and ‘proofreading’ all the president’s quotes to be published in this article as a condition of granting the interview. This violates POLITICO’s editorial standards and policy, but we agreed to the terms in order to speak directly with the French president. …The quotes in this article were all actually said by the president, but some parts of the interview in which the president spoke even more frankly about Taiwan and Europe’s strategic autonomy were cut out by the Elysée.”
CHINA TOUTS ‘PARTNERSHIP’ WITH FRANCE AS MACRON CHARTS PATH SEPARATE FROM US
WHITE HOUSE: A ’TERRIFIC BILATERAL RELATIONSHIP’: The Biden administration expressed no concern about the flap over Macron’s remarks, which the French Embassy blamed on an “overinterpretation” of Macron’s comments as translated into English.
“We are comfortable and confident in the terrific bilateral relationship we have with France and the relationship that the president has with President Macron and the fact that we’re working together on so many different issues,” said Kirby at the White House.
“The French are stepping up in the Indo-Pacific. I mean, they’re conducting naval operations, even as you and I are speaking right now, in the Indo-Pacific, all in keeping with a concerted effort by all of us — this vast alliance or network of alliances and partnerships that we have — to continue to make sure that we’re standing up for stability, security, prosperity, and a free and open Indo-Pacific,” he said.
OPINION: MR. MACRON, THE MODERN TALLEYRAND, GOES TO BEIJING
The Rundown
Washington Examiner: Pentagon working to identify ‘scope and scale’ of classified documents leak
Washington Examiner: House Intelligence panel leaders fear additional leaks: ‘Incredibly disturbing’
Washington Examiner: Ukraine leaks give Biden big headaches at a bad time
Washington Examiner: Russian operatives boast new ties with UAE in leaked document: Report
Washington Examiner: China touts ‘partnership’ with France as Macron charts path separate from US
Washington Examiner: State Department rules US reporter to be wrongfully detained in Russia
Washington Examiner: US Navy sails through South China Sea as Beijing conducts military drills around Taiwan
Washington Examiner: Opinion: Biden’s Ireland trip comes with complications below the surface
Washington Examiner: Opinion: Mr. Macron, the modern Talleyrand, goes to Beijing
Washington Examiner: Opinion: Turkey just tried to kill Americans. Will Biden react?
Washington Post: U.S. doubts Ukraine counteroffensive will yield big gains, leaked document says
Washington Post: Egypt secretly planned to supply rockets to Russia, leaked U.S. document says
Politico: ‘I’m Sick to My Stomach’: Pentagon Officials Shocked by Intel Leaks
New York Times: Russia Adopts ‘Scorched Earth’ Tactics In Bakhmut, A Ukrainian Commander Says
New York Times: Lethal Surprises Hidden in the Grass: Russia’s Trip Wires and Land Mines
AP: China Military ‘Ready to Fight’ After Drills Near Taiwan
Reuters: Chinese Navy Ships Remain Around Taiwan After Drills End
AP: U.S., Philippines Hold Largest War Drills Near Disputed Waters
Defense News: How The U.S. Navy Prioritized Readiness, And Got More Ships Too
Breaking Defense: Turkey’s Erdogan Runs an Election Campaign Based on Fighter Jets, Drones, War Ships, and Tanks
Military Times: The ‘Genesis’ of Today’s Recruiting Crisis
Defense News: Inside The Neverending Race to Update the Pentagon’s IT
Air & Space Forces Magazine: Boeing: Developmental Flight Testing for the T-7 Expected This Summer
Air & Space Forces Magazine: Space Force CTIO: Let’s ‘Leap Over’ Tech Debt and Start New
Air & Space Forces Magazine: Air Force Flies C-17 as Command and Control Platform in ACE Experiment
Space News: Report: US Military Satellite Antennas Overdue for Upgrades
Fox News: WWII Navajo ‘Code Talker’ Turns 106: How These Marines’ Special Language Changed Military Capabilities
The Cipher Brief: Russia’s State-Sponsored Hostage Taking Reaps Rewards for the Kremlin
Forbes: Leidos CEO Roger Krone Looks Back On A Stellar Career, And Reflects On What He Has Learned
Calendar
TUESDAY | APRIL 11
7:15 a.m. 2425 Wilson Blvd., Arl. — Association of the U.S. Army discussion: with Army Undersecretary Gabe Camarillo https://www.ausa.org/events/coffee-series/camarillo
8:30 a.m. — Henry Stimson Center virtual discussion: “U.S.-China relations,” with U.S. Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns on “U.S.-China Relations” https://www.stimson.org/event/nicholas-burns-us-ambassador-to-china
10 a.m. — Hudson Institute virtual discussion: “Assessing the U.S. Military’s Force Structure,” with Jon Askonas, assistant professor of politics at the Catholic University of America https://www.hudson.org/events/assessing-us-militarys-force-structure
11:30 a.m. — Center for Strategic and International Studies virtual discussion: “Cyber threats to the Department of Defense, National Security Systems and the Defense Industrial Base and the future of the cybersecurity ecosystem,” with Rob Joyce, director of cybersecurity at the National Security Agency https://www.csis.org/events/conversation-cybersecurity
12 p.m. 37th and O Sts. NW — Georgetown University discussion: “Stabilizing China-U.S. Relations: A Chinese Perspective,” with Shao Yuqun, senior fellow at the Shanghai Institutes for International Studies’s Center for American Studies https://www.georgetown.edu/event/stabilizing-china-u-s-relations
12 p.m. — Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft virtual book discussion: Putin: His Life and Times, with author Philip Short https://quincyinst.org/event/book-talk-putin-and-putins-world
2 p.m. — Government Executive Media Group virtual discussion: “The Future of Army Fires and Multi-Domain Environments: How Data Convergence is Galvanizing Future Weapon Systems,” with Col. John Whelahan, director, Army capability manager for fires cells and targeting, Fires Center of Excellence; James Schliesske, chief for systems engineering at the Fire Support Command and Control’s Office of Product Manager; and Jeremiah Johnson, principal for C2 mission systems at Booz Allen Hamilton https://events.govexec.com/the-future-of-army-fires
2 p.m. — U.S. Institute of Peace book discussion: “Russian Grand Strategy in the Era of Great Power Competition,” with editor Andrew Monaghan, global fellow at the Wilson Center’s Kennan Institute; and Mary Glantz, senior adviser at the USIP’s Center for Russia and Europe https://www.usip.org/events/russian-grand-strategy-era-great-power-competition
4 p.m. 1957 E St. NW — George Washington University Elliott School of International Affairs discussion: “A Rock and A Hard Place: The Russian Opposition in a Time of War,” with Jeremy Ladd, visiting assistant professor at Cornell University https://calendar.gwu.edu/event/a_rock_and_a_hard_place
4 p.m. 1521 16th St. NW — Institute of World Politics discussion: “The War in Ukraine: An Estonian Perspective,” with Estonian Ambassador to the U.S. Kristjan Prikk https://www.iwp.edu/events/the-war-in-ukraine-an-estonian-perspective/
WEDNESDAY | APRIL 12
8 a.m. 2401 M St., NW — George Washington University Project for Media and National Security Cyber Media Forum breakfast-discussion: with Nathaniel Fick, ambassador at large, State Department Bureau of Cyberspace and Digital Policy. RSVP: https://docs.google.com/forms
10 a.m. — SETA Foundation at Washington, D.C. virtual discussion: “NATO’s Enlargement: Assessing the Cases of Finland, Sweden and Ukraine,” with former Ambassador to Turkey and Iraq James Jeffrey, chairman of the Middle East Program, Wilson Center; Burhanettin Duran, general coordinator at the SETA Foundation; Kilic Kanat, research director, SETA Foundation; and Kadir Ustun, executive director, SETA Foundation https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register
11 a.m. — Heritage Foundation virtual 2023 Margaret Thatcher Freedom Lecture with former U.K. Prime Minister Liz Truss https://www.heritage.org/global-politics/event
11 a.m. — Washington Post Live virtual discussion: “Investigating alleged Russian war crimes,” with Ukrainian Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin https://www.washingtonpost.com/washington-post-live
1 p.m. 1300 Pennsylvania Ave. NW -— Wilson Center’s Kennan Institute for Advanced Russian Studies event: “Ukraine’s Cultural Response to War,” with Ian Grant, creator and host of PBS’s Culture Quest https://www.wilsoncenter.org/event/ukraines-cultural-response
1 p.m. 1030 15th St. NW — Atlantic Council discussion: “Commission on Defense Innovation Adoption: Interim report launch,” with former Defense Secretary Mark Esper; and former Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/event/commission-on-defense-innovation
4 p.m. 1300 Pennsylvania Ave. NW — Wilson Center Asia Program Nancy Bernkopf Tucker Memorial Lecture on “U.S.-East Asia Relations,” focusing on current challenges for Taiwan and U.S.-Taiwan relations, with Jacques deLisle, director of the University of Pennsylvania’s Center for the Study of Contemporary China https://www.wilsoncenter.org/event
THURSDAY | APRIL 13
10 a.m. — Middle East Institute virtual discussion: “Transactional or Strategic? The Future of Russo-Iranian Relations,” with Abdullah Baabood, visiting professor at Waseda University; Anna Borshchevskaya, senior fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy; Mahmood Sariolghalam, nonresident scholar at MEI; and Alex Vatanka, director of the MEI’s Iran Program https://mei.edu/events/transactional-or-strategic-future-russo-iranian-relations
11 a.m. — Atlantic Council virtual discussion: “The role of digital economy in Ukraine’s reconstruction,” with Ukrainian Deputy Minister of Digital Transformation Alex Bornyakov; and Denelle Dixon, CEO of the Stellar Development Foundation https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/event/the-role-of-digital-economy
11 a.m. — Government Executive Media Group virtual discussion: “Enabling the Mission of the New Triad: A Dispatch from Global Force 2023,” with Col. Pete Atkinson, chief of operations at the U.S. Army Space Division https://events.govexec.com/enabling-the-mission-of-the-new-triad/
1:30 p.m. — National Defense Industrial Association virtual discussion: ”FY 2024 DoD Science and Technology Budget Priorities,” with Defense Undersecretary for Research and Engineering Heidi Shyu; Deputy Assistant Army Secretary for Research and Technology William “Willie” Nelson; Chief of Naval Research Rear Adm. Lorin Selby; and Stefanie Tompkins, director of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency https://www.ndia.org/events/2023/4/13/fy24-dod-s-and-t-budget-priorities
5 p.m. 1761 Business Center Dr., Reston, Va. — Institute of World Politics lecture: “The Myths and Realities of the 1968 Tet Offensive,” with James Robbins, senior fellow in national security affairs at the American Foreign Policy Council https://www.iwp.edu/events/the-myths-and-realities-of-the-1968-tet-offensive/
FRIDAY | APRIL 14
9 a.m. — Center for Strategic and International Studies virtual discussion: “The Future of Western Aid to Ukraine,” with Acting Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Dereck Hogan https://www.csis.org/events/future-western-aid-ukraine-conversation
10 a.m. — Carnegie Endowment for International Peace virtual discussion: “Russia, Ukraine, and the Struggle for Democracy,” with Anne Applebaum, staff writer for the Atlantic; and Aaron David Miller, senior fellow at CEIP https://carnegieendowment.org/2023/04/14/carnegie-connects
11 a.m. 1201 Pennsylvania Ave. NW — Hudson Institute discussion: “Constraining Russia’s War Economy: Lessons from Lithuania,” with Lithuanian Minister of Finance Gintare Skaiste https://www.hudson.org/events/constraining-russias-war-economy
2 p.m. — Center for Strategic and International Studies virtual discussion: “Sanctions and Russia’s Defense Industry,” with Samuel Bendett, adviser on Russia studies at the Center for Naval Analyses; Maria Snegovaya, senior fellow at the CSIS Europe, Russia, and Eurasia Program; Paul Schwartz, nonresident senior associate at the CSIS Europe, Russia, and Eurasia Program; and Max Bergmann, director of the CSIS Europe, Russia, and Eurasia Program https://www.csis.org/events/sanctions-and-russias-defense-industry
2 p.m. 1775 Massachusetts Ave. NW — Brookings Institution discussion: “The US-South Korea alliance at 70,” with U.S. Ambassador to South Korea Philip Goldberg; followed by a panel discussion with Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Multilateral Affairs Jung Pak https://www.brookings.edu/events/the-us-rok-alliance-at-70
MONDAY | APRIL 17
1 p.m. 1775 Massachusetts Ave. NW — Brookings Institution discussion: “The US Congress and national security,” with Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-VA) https://connect.brookings.edu/register-to-watch-us-congress-national-security
TUESDAY | APRIL 18
TBA 2247 Rayburn — House Oversight and Accountability Select Coronavirus Pandemic Subcommittee hearing: “Investigating the Origins of COVID-19, Part 2: China and the Available Intelligence,” with testimony from John Ratcliffe, former director of national intelligence; and David Feith, former deputy assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs http://oversight.house.gov
THURSDAY | APRIL 20
12 p.m. — Washington Institute for Near East Policy virtual discussion of recent paper: “Striking Back: Iran and the Rise of Asymmetric Drone Warfare in the Middle East,” with author, retired Marine Gen. Frank McKenzie, former commander, U.S. Central Command; Valerie Lincy, executive director, Wisconsin Project on Nuclear Arms Control; and Damien Spleeters, deputy director of operations at Conflict Armament Research
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“This is information that has no business in the public domain. It has no business, if you don’t mind me saying, on the front pages of newspapers or on television. It is not intended for public consumption, and it should not be out there.”
NSC spokesman John Kirby, briefing reporters at the White House on the massive leak of highly classified documents
