‘AN ACT OF SHEER EVIL’: Even by Afghan standards, in a country that has seen countless terrorist attacks against its citizens, the grisly scenes from a hospital maternity ward in Kabul were shocking.
“In an unconscionable assault, gunmen seized one of Kabul’s busiest hospitals, which housed a maternity ward run by Doctors Without Borders. In the hospital, the terrorists took the lives of at least 13 innocent people, including newborn babies, new mothers, and healthcare workers,” said Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in a statement. “Any attack on innocents is unforgivable, but to attack infants and women in labor in the sanctuary of a hospital is an act of sheer evil.”
In a separate attack, a suicide bomber killed at least 26 people and wounded 68 mourners lining up for prayer at the funeral of a local police commander in the eastern province of Nangarhar.
‘CONDEMNS IN THE STRONGEST TERMS’: “The United States condemns in the strongest terms the two horrific terrorist attacks,” Pompeo said. “Our thoughts are with the victims and their families of both attacks, as well as the brave Afghan security forces who defended against the terrorists.”
“The Taliban and the Afghan government should cooperate to bring the perpetrators to justice. As long as there is no sustained reduction in violence and insufficient progress towards a negotiated political settlement, Afghanistan will remain vulnerable to terrorism,” he said.
‘THIS IS NOT PEACE’: In the wake of the latest attacks, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani ordered his security forces to resume the offensive, even as the Taliban deny any responsibility and condemned both attacks as “heinous.”
In a televised address, Ghani said the Taliban have ignored repeated calls for reduced violence and a ceasefire and once again called on the Taliban to embrace peace, according to the Afghan news channel Tolo.
“The reason to pursue peace is to end this senseless violence. This is not peace, nor its beginnings,” tweeted Afghanistan’s national security adviser, Hamdullah Mohib. “The attacks of the last two months show us and the world that Taliban & their sponsors do not and did not intend to pursue peace. Their attacks this spring against Afghans are comparable to the level of fighting in past fighting seasons.”
TALIBAN RESPONSE: “In reaction to President Ghani’s remarks, Taliban in a statement says it is ready for offensive attacks and that the responsibility for further escalation in violence will be on the Afghan government,” reported Tolo News in a tweet.
Good Wednesday 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 David Sivak and Tyler Van Dyke. 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.
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HAPPENING TODAY: The Center for Strategic and International Studies Transnational Threats Project released a new report today: “Moscow’s War in Syria.”
Its main takeaway: “Russia was relatively successful in achieving its main near-term political and military objectives in Syria, including preventing the collapse of the Assad regime (an important regional partner) and thwarting a possible U.S. attempt to overthrow Assad.”
Among the lessons: “Russia adopted a light footprint approach in Syria that constituted an evolution in Russian military thinking. Rather than applying a heavy hand, Moscow leveraged air assets, unmanned aerial vehicles, civil-military units (such as military police and “reconciliation” centers), special operations forces, and information assets. For ground operations, Moscow relied on surrogate forces, such as the Syrian Tiger Forces, Lebanese Hezbollah, private military contractors, and militias from Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and other countries. This approach was a major advance for the Russian military.”
You can read the full report here and listen to a discussion with the report’s authors here.
POMPEO IN ISRAEL: Sporting a red, white, and blue face covering, Pompeo arrived at Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport for a day of meetings with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and coalition partner Benny Gantz.
As talks began, Pompeo praised Israel as “a great partner” and said the discussions would include the challenges the globe faces with COVID-19.
“Israeli technologies, Israeli medical expertise, all of the things that you and I and our teams can work on together,” he said. “You’re a great partner. You share information, unlike some other countries that try and obfuscate and hide that information.”
Missing from the arrival scene was U.S. ambassador to Israel David Friedman, who was feeling unwell and was advised to keep away, according to Reuters. Friedman was tested for COVID-19 and was negative.
COVID-19 UPDATE: The latest Pentagon report on coronavirus infections among military members, DOD civilians, contractors, and dependents shows the total number of people affected has reached 8,130, of which 3,525 have recovered, which means there are currently about 4,600 active cases, including just over 3,100 troops.
The death toll has been holding steady at 27, including two military members, 14 civilians, four dependents, and seven contractors.
CHINA WINS EVERY TIME: Washington Post national security columnist David Ignatius has a must-read review this morning of a must-read new book, The Kill Chain: Defending America in the Future of High-Tech Warfare.
It starts with this provocative quote from author Christian Brose, former staff director of the Senate Armed Services Committee: “Over the past decade, in U.S. war games against China, the United States has a nearly perfect record: We have lost almost every single time.”
Ignatius calls the book not “just a wake-up call” but “a fire alarm in the night” and says it lays bare “a terrible truth about war with China.”
“Our spy and communications satellites would immediately be disabled; our forward bases in Guam and Japan would be ‘inundated’ by precise missiles; our aircraft carriers would have to sail away from China to escape attack; our F-35 fighter jets couldn’t reach their targets because the refueling tankers they need would be shot down,” or as Brose himself puts it: “Many U.S. forces would be rendered deaf, dumb and blind.”
“How did this happen?” Ignatious asks. “It wasn’t an intelligence failure, or a malign Pentagon and Congress, or lack of money, or insufficient technological prowess. No, it was simply bureaucratic inertia compounded by entrenched interests. The Pentagon is good at doing what it did yesterday, and Congress insists on precisely that.”
INDUSTRY WATCH:
ApiJect Systems America has been awarded a $138 million contract by the departments of Defense and Health and Human Services for “Project Jumpstart” and “RAPID USA,” which together will dramatically expand U.S. production capability for domestically manufactured, medical-grade injection devices starting by October.
“By immediately upgrading a sufficient number of existing domestic BFS facilities with installations of filling-line and technical improvements, “Jumpstart” will enable the manufacture of more than 100 million prefilled syringes for distribution across the United States by year-end 2020,” the Pentagon said in a statement.
The Rundown
Washington Examiner: Dozens dead in Afghanistan after attack on maternity ward and suicide bombing at funeral
Washington Post: Brutal attack on mothers and newborns prompts Afghanistan to resume offensive operations against Taliban
New York Times: Nine Americans were injured last October in an attack by the Taliban in southern Afghanistan. The U.S. military said there were no casualties.
Washington Examiner: ‘Unprecedented’: US braces for pandemic to drive largest refugee wave ever to the border
Washington Examiner: Pompeo traveling to Israel
Washington Examiner: Bombers show readiness amid coronavirus pandemic with flyovers in Europe and Pacific
AP: Bulging deficits may threaten prized Pentagon arms projects
Breaking Defense: Navy Scraps Big Carrier Study, Clears Deck For OSD Effort
USNI News: Navy Quarantining New Recruits At Closed Indoor Waterpark Resort
Foreign Policy: China Uses Pandemic to Boost Military Pressure on Taiwan
Wall Street Journal: On the Ground in Wuhan, Signs of China Stalling Probe of Coronavirus Origins
The Capital: First Round Of Naval Academy Midshipmen Commissioned In Coronavirus Altered Ceremony
Bloomberg: F-35 parts shortage grows as GAO flags risk of Turkey expulsion
Reuters: Russia Slams U.S. Assertion At U.N. That It Remains Party To Iran Nuclear Deal
Talk Media News: US, others should be ready for confrontations with Iran once again this summer, analyst warns
Forbes: Think You Know Where Defense Spending Is Headed After Coronavirus? Guess Again.
Military.com: As Military Recruiters Embrace Esports, Marine Corps Says It Won’t Turn War Into A Game
NPR: Barbers At Camp Pendleton Are Working Despite COVID-19 Concerns
Calendar
WEDNESDAY | MAY 13
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo travels to Israel to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Speaker of the Knesset Benny Gantz in Jerusalem. https://www.state.gov/secretary-pompeos-travel-to-israel/
10:30 a.m. — Brookings Institution online discussion on “Space Junk — Addressing the orbital debris challenge,” with Jer Chyi Liou, NASA chief scientist for orbital debris; Victoria Samson, Washington office director at Secure World Foundation; and Frank Rose, senior fellow for security and strategy at Brookings. http://connect.brookings.edu/register
12 p.m. — Center for Strategic and International Studies webcast: “The Russian Campaign in Syria: Assessing Russian Strategy, Goals and Operations,” with Seth Jones, director of the CSIS Transnational Threats Project; Brian Katz, fellow in the CSIS International Security Program; Shannon Culbertson, visiting fellow in the CSIS International Security Program; and Jason Gresh, military fellow in the CSIS International Security Program. https://www.csis.org/events
12 p.m. — National Defense Industrial Association’s Virtual Special Operations Forces Industry Conference discussion, “Expanding Future SOF Capabilities to Increase the Competitive Space,” with Army Lt. Gen. Francis Beaudette, commander, U.S. Army Special Operations Command; Air Force Maj. Gen. Vincent Becklund, deputy commander, Air Force Special Operations Command; Navy Rear Adm. Collin Green, commander, Naval Special Warfare Command; and Marine Corps Maj. Gen. Daniel Yoo, commander, Marine Corps Special Operations Command. https://www.sofic.org/
12 p.m. — Atlantic Council webinar: “Walking a Tightrope, One Year Of Zelenskyy’s Foreign Policy,” with former Ukrainian Defense Minister Andriy Zagorodnyuk; Alyona Getmanchuk, director of the New Europe Center; Bohdan Nahaylo, journalist; former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Steven Pifer, nonresident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution; and former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine John Herbst, director of the Atlantic Council’s Eurasia Center. https://atlanticcouncil.org/event
4 p.m. — Intelligence and National Security Alliance webcast on COVID-19 cyberthreats, supply chain issues, Workforce 2.0 and the threat of foreign economic espionage, with Bill Evanina, director of the National Counterintelligence and Security Center; and Suzanne Wilson Heckenberg, president of INSA. https://www.insaonline.org/event
5 p.m. — Institute of World Politics webinar: “The Role of Nuclear Weapons in China’s Strategy,” with Peter Huessy, president of GeoStrategic Analysis and director of strategic deterrent studies at the Air Force Association’s Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies. https://www.iwp.edu/events
THURSDAY | MAY 14
11 a.m — Business Council for International Understanding webcast on “5G Development and Deployment,” with FCC Chairman Ajit Pai. Note: closed to press, but business community members can RSVP at http://www.bciu.org/events/upcoming-events.
11:30 a.m. — Center of Turkish-American Relations webinar: “The Future of the Transatlantic Military Alliance,” with retired Adm. James Stavridis, Former NATO Supreme Allied Commander, Europe; Fikri Isik, former Turkish defense minister; and Carla Babb, Pentagon correspondent, Voice of America. https://turkheritage.zoom.us/webinar/register
3 p.m. — Atlantic Council webinar with former Iraqi Electricity Minister Luay al Khatteeb. https://atlanticcouncil.org/event
FRIDAY | MAY 15
11 a.m. — Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments webinar discussing the book The Kill Chain: Defending America in the Future of High-Tech Warfare, with author Christian Brose, former staff director of the Senate Armed Services Committee; and Thomas Mahnken, president and CEO of CSBA. https://zoom.us/webinar/register
12 p.m. — Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies webcast: “Nuclear Arms Agreements and Human Rights,” with Roya Hakakian, founding member of the Iran Human Rights Documentation Center; David Koplow, professor of law at Georgetown University Law Center; and Benedict Rogers, East Asia team leader at Christian Solidarity Worldwide. https://fedsoc.org/events
2 p.m. — Woodrow Wilson Center’s Asia Program webcast on Pakistan’s response to the coronavirus pandemic, U.S.-Pakistan relations, and the peace and reconciliation process in Afghanistan, with Pakistani Ambassador to the United States Asad Majeed Khan. https://www.wilsoncenter.org/event
SATURDAY | MAY 16
TBA — The Department of the Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office, in partnership with the U.S. Space Force, is scheduled to launch the sixth mission of the X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle (OTV-6) on May 16 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida. https://www.spaceforce.mil
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“Over the past decade, in U.S. war games against China, the United States has a nearly perfect record: We have lost almost every single time.”
Christian Brose, author of the new book The Kill Chain: Defending America in the Future of High-Tech Warfare.
