WHEN A ROUTINE DEPLOYMENT ISN’T ANYMORE: The chief of naval operations confirmed yesterday that the U.S. aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln and its escort ships were already en route to the Arabian Gulf when they were ordered to the Arabian Gulf in response to undisclosed threats from Iran and its proxies.
“The Abraham Lincoln Strike Group was planned to deploy for some time now,” Adm. John Richardson told the Navy League’s annual Sea-Air-Space conference outside Washington, later sending a tweet hinting the carrier deployment schedule had been adjusted in response to the Iranian threat. “This is the beauty of having a dynamic force. The @USNavy can easily maneuver to protect national interests around the globe.”
SHANAHAN CITES ‘CREDIBLE THREAT’: When national security adviser John Bolton announced the deployment of additional U.S. warships and bombers to the region Sunday night, he said in a statement it was in response to “a number of troubling and escalatory indications and warnings.” Yesterday, Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan confirmed that the Lincoln’s plans were altered by the latest intelligence.
“Last night’s announced deployment of the @CVN_72 and a @USAirForce bomber task force to the @CENTCOM area of responsibility, which I approved yesterday, represents a prudent repositioning of assets in response to indications of a credible threat by Iranian regime forces,” Shanahan said in a pair of tweets. “We call on the Iranian regime to cease all provocation. We will hold the Iranian regime accountable for any attack on US forces or our interests.”
At last report, the Lincoln was still in the Mediterranean Sea and had not yet transited the Suez Canal in the Red Sea to make the eventual trip through the Strait of Hormuz to the Arabian Gulf. (The U.S. Navy uses “Arabian Gulf,” instead of the historical name “Persian Gulf,” in solidarity with Arab Gulf states, who don’t want to recognize any special claim by Iran to the body of water.)
POMPEO: ‘WE HAVE GOOD REASON’: Speaking to reporters on his plane en route to Finland, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo wouldn’t give any specifics about the Iranian threats but said, “Make no mistake. We have good reason to want to communicate clearly about how the Iranians should understand how we will respond to actions that they may take.”
On the ground in Finland, where he was attending a meeting of the Arctic Council, Pompeo said a little bit more. “We have continued to see activity that leads us to believe that there is escalation that may be taking place, and so we’re taking all the appropriate actions both from a security perspective as well as our ability to make sure that the president has a wide range of options in the event that something should actually take place.”
SPOILING FOR A FIGHT?: The White House insists America is not seeking war with the Iranian regime, but some Democrats in Congress aren’t so sure.
“The Trump administration’s team of saber-rattling foreign policy advisors are all but openly shouting their desire for an unauthorized and unconstitutional war with Iran, needlessly putting American troops and their families at risk, said Sen. Tom Udall, D-N.M., in a statement on his website.
“Nearly a year after abandoning the [Iran nuclear deal] with little to show for their diplomatic failure, the administration is pulling directly from the same failed playbook that launched us into war with Iraq – barreling toward an open-ended conflict in the Middle East that the American people do not want and that Congress has not authorized. Congress must act immediately to stop this reckless march to war before it is too late.”
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 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.
HAPPENING TODAY: With Venezuela still at the top of his list of hot spots, Acting Defense Secretary Shanahan meets with Marta Lucía Ramírez, vice president of neighboring Colombia, this afternoon at the Pentagon.
Shanahan has said all options remain on the table in terms of supporting opposition leader Juan Guaidó’s efforts to oust Nicolás Maduro from power.
In Finland, Secretary of State Pompeo met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and discussed Russia’s involvement, repeating the U.S. demand that Russia back off.
“I made clear our view that the Venezuelans deserve a democracy that doesn’t have any foreign party running their country or involved in their country on a consistent basis in a military way,” Pompeo told reporters. “We want the Cubans out, we want the Iranians out, Russia’s military out. We had that conversation, and we started to talk about how our interests might be able to find a way forward. I don’t know that we’ll get to the right place, but we’ll have further conversations.”
REPORT: PENCE TO OFFER ‘CARROTS’: Reuters quotes a senior administration official saying that Vice President Mike Pence will today “offer new incentives to Venezuela’s military to turn against Maduro.” Pence is scheduled to give a 3:25 p.m. speech at the State Department on “U.S. Leadership in the Hemisphere” at the 49th Washington Conference of the Americas.
“Pence will also warn that the United States will soon move to sanction 25 additional magistrates on Venezuela’s supreme court, the official said on Monday, speaking on condition of anonymity,” Reuters reports. “Pence will also offer assistance for refugees who have fled the country, and an economic aid package contingent on a political transition, according to the official.”
CHINA’S DUBIOUS ARCTIC CLAIM: In his speech on the sidelines of the Arctic Council ministerial, Pompeo mocked China’s claim to be a “near-Arctic state.” “Beijing claims to be a ‘near-Arctic state,’ yet the shortest distance between China and the Arctic is 900 miles. There are only Arctic states and non-Arctic States,” Pompeo said. “No third category exists, and claiming otherwise entitles China to exactly nothing.”
Pompeo warned that China will cause economic and military havoc in the Arctic if regional powers fail to curb Beijing’s “pattern of aggressive behavior.”
“We’re entering a new age of strategic engagement in the Arctic, complete with new threats to the Arctic and its real estate and to all of our interests in that region,” Pompeo said. “The region has become an arena for power and for competition.”
“China’s pattern of aggressive behavior elsewhere should inform what we do and how it might treat the Arctic,” he said. “China’s words and actions raise doubts about its intentions.”
TRUMP PARDONS ARMY RANGER: President Trump has granted a full pardon for former Army 1st Lt. Michael Behenna, who was convicted of murdering an Iraqi prisoner.
In 2009, a military court sentenced Behenna, an Army Ranger who deployed to Iraq in 2007, to 25 years in prison for the “unpremeditated murder” of Ali Mansur Mohamed in a combat zone. That sentence was reduced to 15 years after the Army’s highest appellate court reviewed Behenna’s claim of self-defense.
Prosecutors said Behenna, who was ordered to bring Mansur back to his village, took him out to the desert, stripped him naked, and shot him dead during an unauthorized interrogation.
In a statement, the White House noted Behenna’s “case has attracted broad support from the military, Oklahoma elected officials, and the public.” Behenna was paroled in 2014 after serving less than five years in prison.
“Thirty-seven generals and admirals, along with a former Inspector General of the Department of Defense, signed a brief in support of Mr. Behenna’s self-defense claim,” the statement said. “Further, while serving his sentence, Mr. Behenna was a model prisoner. In light of these facts, Mr. Behenna is entirely deserving of this Grant of Executive Clemency.”
The Rundown
Washington Examiner: US and Russia chart ‘narrow’ path for cooperation after release of Mueller report
New York Times: Iran Appears Ready to Reduce Compliance With Nuclear Deal
Defense News: China Completing More Ballistic Missile Subs, With Plans For A New Version
Agence France Presse: US-Taliban talks stumble over troop withdrawal: Taliban
Bloomberg: Navy Plans to Surge Submarine Spending to $5 Billion by 2024
Reuters: Analysts: Images show construction on China’s third – and largest – aircraft carrier
Defense News: NORTHCOM: Arctic Now America’s ‘First Line Of Defense’
AP: Climate change missing as US defends Arctic policy
The Hill: Trump says he may allow service academy athletes to go straight to pros
UPI.com: New Destroyer To Be Named In Honor Of Ex-U.S. Sen. Sam Nunn
Air Force Magazine: Improperly Installed Engine Part Caused T-6 Crash
Washington Examiner: ‘Agent Penis’: Woman arrested at CIA HQ after citing unusual codename
New York Times: Opinion: Susan Rice — The Real Trump Foreign Policy: Stoking the G.O.P. Base
Calendar
TUESDAY | MAY 7
6:45 a.m. 201 Waterfront St., National Harbor. Day two of the Navy League’s 54th annual Sea-Air-Space Exposition, with the theme “Sustainability, Agility, Superiority.” Navy undersecretary Thomas Modley speaks at 6:45 a.m. and assistant Navy secretary James Guerts delivers the luncheon keynote address at 12:15 p.m. www.seaairspace.org
7 a.m. 2425 Wilson Blvd., Arlington. Association of the United States Army Land Warfare Educational Program discussion with Gen. John Murray, commanding general of Army Futures Command.
8 a.m. 58 East 68th Street, New York. Council on Foreign Relations discussion with House Armed Services ranking member Mac Thornberry, R-Texas, on “The American Military.”
9:50 a.m. 4301 Wilson Blvd. Arlington. Principal Deputy Defense Undersecretary for Intelligence Kari Bingen delivers morning keynote remarks at the Intelligence and National Security Alliance event “The New Intelligence Community (IC): Empowering Women and Engaging Men.” www.insaonline.org
12 p.m. 1800 K Street N.W. The Korea Economic Institute of America discussion: “Does Kim Jong-un Have the Domestic Political Space to Denuclearize?” Speakers: Ken Gause, research program director at CNA, and Patrick McEachern, author of What Everyone Needs to Know About North Korea. keia.org/event
2 p.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave N.W. Center for Strategic and International Studies event: “The Army’s New Air and Missile Defense Strategy.”
WEDNESDAY | MAY 8
6:45 a.m. 201 Waterfront St. National Harbor. Day three of the Navy League’s 54th annual Sea-Air-Space Exposition, with the theme “Sustainability, Agility, Superiority.” Navy Secretary Richard Spencer delivers the luncheon keynote address at 12:15 p.m. www.seaairspace.org
8:30 a.m. 300 First Street S.E. National Defense Industrial Association, the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies, the Air Force Association, and the Reserve Officers Association forum on “Missile Defense and Nuclear Deterrence and Alliance Relations.” Speakers: Tom Karako, senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, and Frank Rose, senior fellow for security and strategy at the Brookings Institution. www.afa.org/hbs
9 a.m. 801 Wharf St. S.W. Foundation for Defense of Democracies event: “Rising to the Threat: Revitalizing America’s Military and Political Power.” Speakers include retired Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster, former national security adviser; Gen. Kenneth McKenzie, U.S. Central Command head; Rep. Mac Thornberry, ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee; and retired Lt. Gen. Ed Cardon, former U.S. Army Cyber Command head. Invitation only.
10 a.m. 310 Cannon. House Homeland Security Committee hearing on “Confronting the Rise of Domestic Terrorism in the Homeland.” Witnesses: Assistant FBI Director for Counterterrorism Michael McGarrity; Principal Deputy Homeland Security Undersecretary for Intelligence and Analysis Brian Murphy; and Deputy Assistant Attorney General for National Security Brad Wiegmann. homeland.house.gov
11 a.m. Foyer, Rayburn. National Defense Industrial Association 2019 Missile Defense Day on the Hill to discuss the latest advances in missile technology. www.ndia.org
12 p.m. 1800 M Street N.W. The Foundation for Defense of Democracies and the Brookings Institution sponsor an invitation-only discussion on Operation Tidal Wave II and its role in the destruction of the Islamic State’s finances. Speakers: Retired Gen. John Allen, president of the Brookings Institution; David Asher, former State Department official and FDD senior fellow; and retired Lt. Gen. Sean MacFarland, former commander of the coalition against ISIS in Syria and Iraq. Moderated by Nancy Youssef, national security correspondent at the Wall Street Journal.
2 p.m. 2118 Rayburn. House Armed Services Strategic Forces Subcommittee hearing on “FY2020 Priorities for Missile Defense and Missile Defeat Programs.” Witnesses: Robert Behler, operational test and evaluation director in the office of the defense secretary; James Anderson, assistant defense secretary for strategy, plans and capabilities; Air Force Gen. Terrence O’Shaughnessy, commander of U.S. Northern Command; Air Force Lt. Gen. Samuel Greaves, director of the Missile Defense Agency; and Navy Vice Adm. David Kriete, deputy commander of U.S. Strategic Command. www.armedservices.house.gov
2 p.m. 2154 Rayburn. House Oversight and Reform National Security Subcommittee hearing on “Veteran and Active-Duty Military Suicides.” oversight.house.gov
THURSDAY | MAY 9
9 a.m. 1616 Rhode Island Avenue N.W. The Center for Strategic and International Studies hosts a discussion on the consequences of cutting U.S. aid to the Northern Triangle countries of Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador. Speakers: Leah Campos, former senior staff for the House Foreign Affairs Committee chairman; Dan Fisk, COO of the International Republican Institute and former senior director for the Western Hemisphere at the National Security Council; former U.S. ambassador to Guatemala Stephen McFarland; Katie Taylor, executive director of the Pan American Development Foundation; Rebecca Chavez, nonresident senior fellow at the Inter-American Dialogue and former deputy assistant defense secretary for the Western Hemisphere; Mark Schneider, nonresident senior adviser at the CSIS Americas Program and Human Rights Initiative; Michael Matera, director and senior fellow at the CSIS Americas Program; Daniel Runde, senior vice president and global analysis chair at CSIS and director of the CSIS Project on Prosperity and Development; and Erol Yayboke, deputy director and senior fellow at the CSIS Project on Prosperity and Development and the Project on U.S. Leadership in Development. www.csis.org
FRIDAY | MAY 10
10:30 a.m. 1616 Rhode Island Avenue N.W. Center for Strategic and International Studies discussion on “Rules in War – A Thing of the Past?” Speakers: Peter Maurer, president of the International Committee of the Red Cross; Susan Glasser, staff writer at the New Yorker; Charles Stimson, manager of the Heritage Foundation’s National Security Law Program; J. Stephen Morrison, director of the CSIS Global Health Policy Center; and Kimberly Flowers, director of the CSIS Global Food Security Project. www.csis.org
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“Beijing claims to be a ‘near-Arctic state,’ yet the shortest distance between China and the Arctic is 900 miles. There are only Arctic states and non-Arctic states. No third category exists, and claiming otherwise entitles China to exactly nothing.”
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, speaking before the eleventh ministerial meeting of the Arctic Council, in Rovaniemi, Finland.
