FINAL VOTE ON DEFENSE BILL: “Our military will soon be more powerful than it has ever been before,” President Trump boasted in his address to the U.N. General Assembly yesterday. And by the end of the day today, he could be poised to deliver an on-time budget to the Pentagon for the first time in a decade. A final minibus vote expected in the House today could send 2019 defense appropriations to Trump’s desk this week.

DON’T BLAME THE COMMENTATORS: Reacting to widespread criticism by analysts and foreign policy experts that the U.S. is about to hand North Korea’s Kim Jong Un another PR victory in the form of a second summit without any tangible progress toward denuclearization, Trump said yesterday to trust him, and that a lot is happening behind the scenes.

“You know, I listen to commentators, and I’m not blaming them because we can’t tell them, and we don’t want to tell them what’s going on, but we’ve had communication that nobody will know about that is extraordinary,” Trump said during an appearance with Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos at the U.N. yesterday.

“We have some very good feelings going on with North Korea — far greater than the media understands or knows. And I’m not blaming the media for that. Actually, in this case, I’m not at all, because we have been doing communication. Letters have been going back and forth, and conversations have been happening,” Trump explained. “I can only say, you know, look, in the end, who knows? Who knows? But I can say this: We’re doing very well. Far better than anybody would understand.”

READINESS DEGRADED: The general Trump has nominated to take over as commander of U.S. and U.N. forces in South Korea told Congress yesterday that the suspension of major exercises this year has resulted in a “slight degradation” in the readiness of the U.S. and South Korea militaries to deal with a threat from the North.

“I think that there was certainly degradation to the readiness of the force,” Gen. Robert Abrams testified at his Senate confirmation hearing yesterday. Trump ordered the Pentagon to cancel the Ulchi Freedom Guardian exercise that had been planned for August and September. “That’s a key exercise to maintain continuity and to continue to practice our interoperability.”

But he also said the current U.S. commander has implemented a plan to mitigate the impact of the suspension, including smaller level staff exercises, and he said the trade-off was worth it if it leads to peace. “I would say it was prudent risk if we’re willing to make the effort to change the relationship with [North Korea]. Something has to adjust, in my view, to be able to start to build trust and confidence as we move forward in the relationship.”

FUTURE EXERCISES STILL PLANNED: Defense Secretary Jim Mattis took a lot of flak last month when he suggested that future U.S.-South Korean military exercises have not been scrapped and that there were “no plans at this time to suspend any more.” But yesterday Abrams told the Senate Armed Services Committee pretty much the same thing.

“The exercises that are scheduled for the spring, the major exercises, to the best of my knowledge, they are proceeding with planning. That is a future decision to be made by alliance leaders,” Abrams said.

Abrams told senators it is “hard to judge” how long the military could put off the exercises before it begins having more severe effects. “I believe that exercises and training are routine activities of militaries across the world to maintain the readiness of their force in accordance with their national defense strategies.”

HAPPENING TODAY, TRUMP TAKES THE GAVEL: U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley is predicting it will be “the most watched Security Council meeting ever” when Trump chairs a meeting this morning of the U.N.’s most powerful body, a gathering of 15 member nations around a horseshoe-shaped table to debate the world’s weightiest issues. The 10 a.m. session was initially set to be about Iran, according to a Trump tweet last week, but the subject is now listed as the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction in general. Under U.N. rules that leaves less leeway for other countries to bring up side issues.

As Trump chairs his first Security Council meeting, it will be a dramatic moment in history laden with irony, coming a day after Trump rejected any U.S. subservience to international organizations. “We will never surrender America’s sovereignty to an unelected, unaccountable global bureaucracy,” Trump said in his speech yesterday. “America is governed by Americans. We reject the ideology of globalism and we embrace the doctrine of patriotism.” The president was talking specifically about the International Criminal Court, but the theme of his speech was American sovereignty, the right of the United States to place its own interest first. “The United States will not tell you how to live or work or worship. We only ask that you honor our sovereignty in return.”

Trump has a busy day ahead with private meetings scheduled with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, British Prime Minister Theresa May and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

WHAT’S THE SYRIA STRATEGY AGAIN? As the Trump administration eyes countering Iran in Syria, the House Armed Services oversight subcommittee is set for a 3:30 p.m. hearing on the U.S. strategy in the war-torn country. There will be testimony from Robert Karem, the assistant defense secretary for international security affairs, and Brig. Gen. Scott Benedict, deputy director on the Joint Staff for strategic plans and policy in the Middle East.

BOLTON EMBOLDENED? The noticeable disconnect between the U.S. mission in Syria, as described extensively by national security adviser John Bolton and narrowly by Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, was on display again this week as Bolton insisted the U.S. would maintain a military presence in Syria to counter Iran, not just to ensure that the Islamic State stays defeated.

That’s led some analysts to ask if we are witnessing a hijacking of Trump’s Syria policy by his more hawkish national security adviser. “You have to consider if Ambassador Bolton was going off script again — another ‘Libya model’ moment — trying to tweak the administration’s approach to Syria to something resembling his own personal viewpoint,” said Harry Kazianis, director of defense studies at the Center for the National Interest. “If so, that would be quite dangerous — and President Trump should take notice.” In May, Bolton suggested Libya could serve as a model for getting North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons program, only to be rebuked and contradicted by Trump a few days later.  

But Bolton’s insistence the U.S. will wait out Iran in Syria is being applauded by some key Republicans on Capitol Hill. “I don’t see that as a change of policy. First of all, I can’t be objective when we’re talking about John Bolton because everything he does is right and I have a long history with him,” said Armed Services Committee Chairman Sen. Jim Inhofe. “I think that’s a policy that should be projected or he wouldn’t have said it, so I would have to agree with him.”

But Mark Cancian, with the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said this goes against Trump’s campaign promises. “This would expand the mission to counter Iran, a long-term commitment with no clear end. It is the kind of mission expansion that Trump had campaigned against as a candidate,” he said. “This is a classic example of mission creep.”

FALLER GRILLED ON FAT LEONARD: Abrams appeared to skate through his nomination hearing, but Vice Adm. Craig Faller, who has been picked to head U.S. Southern Command, did not have it so easy. Sen. Elizabeth Warren pounced on a Navy investigation into Faller over his connections to Leonard Glenn “Fat Leonard” Francis, a defense contractor who pleaded guilty to bribing scores of Navy officials.

Faller confirmed he was cleared in the probe but it did little to deflect Warren’s criticism over a Washington Post report he went to a lavish party with cigars, caviar and “attractive young women dressed as Santa’s little helpers,” and that he was “allegedly offered a prostitute.”

Warren: And there was nothing about this dinner that set off any alarm bells in your mind? That it either might not meet ethical standards or at least give the appearance of impropriety from the outside?

Faller: Senator, it did not. There was nothing unprofessional, untoward that I witnessed at the dinner. The [Navy] ethics counselor actually attended the dinner.

Warren: Is it now, or was it then, common for senior Navy officers to attend events at which prostitutes and women in scantily clad outfits were expected to provide entertainment?

Faller: Senator, every decision I made in my nearly four decades of service has tried to be through the best ethical lens, with the ethics counselor. One of the benchmarks I use is with my wife of 34 years or my two grown daughters. If they were present, or watching me or saw it on video, would they be embarrassed or would I have discredited them? And I can look you in the eye and the committee, and say that I believe I’ve passed that benchmark.

THORNBERRY WOULD TELL TRUMP TO KEEP MATTIS: When asked by reporters on Tuesday, Thornberry offered some advice to Trump about rumors Mattis may leave the administration after the midterm elections. “The president does not ask my advice. If he were to ask my advice, I would say keep Secretary Mattis there as long as you possibly can,” Thornberry said during a gaggle in the House’s Rayburn building. “I think he is a great secretary of defense who has tremendous credibility on Capitol Hill, around the world. I think he has done a really great job and I would do everything I could to keep him there as long as possible.”

Mattis, who is from Richland, Wash., has said he is happy at the Pentagon, joking that he may retire on the Potomac River. He strongly denied incendiary reports in Bob Woodward’s new book Fear: Trump in the White House claiming he compared Trump’s understanding to a “fifth- or sixth-grader” when it comes to policy. “I think he’ll go back to Washington state someday, I hope it’s at the end of the administration,” Thornberry said.

MATTIS NOT SURE ABOUT WOMEN IN THE INFANTRY: Mattis gave an inspirational speech to cadets at the Virginia Military Institute in Lexington yesterday, and during the question-and-answer session afterward revealed that he thinks the jury is still out about whether women can serve effectively in ground combat infantry units.

One student, who conceded that there were “a lot of badass women” at VMI, “some physically fitter … and smarter” than him, asked Mattis about a Marine Corps study questioning whether adding women to infantry units made the group more combat effective.

“This is a policy that I inherited, and so far the cadre is so small we have no data on it. We’re hoping to get data soon,” Mattis said. “There are a few stalwart young ladies who are charging into this, but they are too few. Right now it’s not even dozens; it’s that few. So when we get a little more data I’ll give you a much more objective answer. Clearly, the jury is out on it but what we’re trying to do is give it every opportunity to succeed if it can.”

You can read Mattis’ full speech and his remarks on women in the military here.

BOEING SAT FIRM TAKEOVER: Boeing Co., which is designing a reusable space plane for the U.S. military, has completed the takeover of a firm that builds small satellites like those the craft is designed to carry as Trump attempts to broaden America’s off-world power.

The Chicago-based planemaker didn’t say how much it paid for Millennium Space Systems, which builds high-performance satellites weighing 50 to 6,000 kilograms for national security clients. Founded in 2001 and headquartered in El Segundo, Calif., Millennium has about 260 employees who will join Boeing’s $21 billion Defense, Space and Security Division. They will report to Mark Cherry, head of Boeing’s Phantom Works product-development unit.

TURKEY THREAT: Turkey’s president is warning the Trump administration that it will pay the price for refusing to extradite Fethullah Gülen, a cleric living in Pennsylvania who Turkey accuses of playing a role in a failed coup attempt in 2016.

“We are warning many of our friendly countries around the world and demanding the extradition of the terrorists hiding within their borders,” Recep Tayyip Erdogan said at the United Nations General Assembly in New York. “However, some of our friendly countries are shying away from extraditing the terrorists. But the price at the end for such a failure will be quite hefty.”

‘HELL TO PAY’: Bolton warned Iran that there will be “hell to pay” if the regime misleads or harms the U.S. and its allies.

“According to the mullahs in Tehran, we are ‘the Great Satan,’ lord of the underworld, master of the raging inferno,” Bolton said yesterday afternoon in New York. “So, I might imagine they would take me seriously when I assure them today: If you cross us, our allies, or our partners; if you harm our citizens; if you continue to lie, cheat, and deceive, yes, there will indeed be hell to pay.”

‘A NAZI DISPOSITION’: In response Iranian President Hassan Rouhani accused Trump of having a “Nazi disposition,” and said his decision to reimpose sanctions on Iran amounts to “economic terrorism” that will provoke retaliation from the regime.

“It is unfortunate that we’re witnessing rulers in the world who think they can secure their interests better, or at least in the short term ride public sentiments and gain popular support through the fomenting of extremists, nationalism, and racism, and through xenophobic tendencies resembling a Nazi disposition, as well as through the trampling of global rules and undermining international institutions, even through preposterous and abnormal acts, such as convening a high level meeting of this Security Council,” Rouhani said through a translator at the United Nations General Assembly.

REACTION TO TAIWAN ARMS SALE: A new batch of arms sales to Taiwan thrilled congressional China hawks and drew an angry response from diplomats in Beijing Tuesday, amid broader tensions between the United States and the Communist power.

“I am glad to see the Trump administration conducting regular arms sales to our Taiwanese allies,” said Sen. Ted Cruz in response to news of the sale.

The State Department approved the $330 million sale just days after imposing sanctions on a Chinese military entity that arranged the purchase of Russian fighter jets and anti-aircraft defense systems, in violation of U.S. sanctions on the Russian defense industry.

THE MATTIS BOOK CLUB: Asked by a VMI cadet yesterday for his recommendation of one book to read, Mattis was momentarily speechless. “Wow! One book,” he vamped, “I tell you, these are not easy questions.” But Mattis quickly came up with an answer. “I think if there was one book that I would read, it would be Marcus Aurelius, Meditations,” Mattis said. “In combat the reason I kept a tattered copy in my rucksack to pull out at times was it allowed me to look at things with a little distance.

“Marcus Aurelius had a very tough life. He’s the emperor of Rome but he’s got everything going wrong in his home life. His wife and his son were not people that you’d want to spend much time with. He spends almost all of his time up on the fringes of the empire trying to protect the thing and the one time he leaves the German forest seems to be to go kill one of his friends who’s revolted against him in another place. It was a tough life and yet the humility and the dignity with which he conducted his life, the commitment to his country, to his troops really comes through as you read those pages,” Mattis said.

Second choice? “If I wanted to know about a person who had to deal with big issues and how he did it in his own words, I don’t think you could do better than to read Ulysses Grant’s autobiography. I think his memoirs would be the one if you want something that’s perhaps not quite so ancient,” Mattis said. “I really didn’t serve with Marcus Aurelius, I just look that old; OK?” he joked.

THE RUNDOWN

CNN: US F-35 fighter jet poised for combat debut

Washington Examiner: H.R. McMaster dishes on two reasons for leaks: ‘One of them was to damage the president’

Washington Examiner: Feds accuse Chinese citizen who enlisted in US Army Reserves of spying

AFP: Macron counters Trump’s Iran stance at the UN

Defense News: Lead lawmakers urge DoD to halt new payment rule

Foreign Policy: Pompeo’s New North Korea Envoy Wades Into Diplomatic Minefield

Defense One: Two Reasons Not to Build Fort Trump in Today’s Poland

Fox News: Trump administration’s sanctions on Chinese military agency widens rift between Washington and Beijing

New York Times: China Rejects U.S. Warship’s Visit to Hong Kong as Tensions Rise

Breaking Defense: 300 Shots: Rafael Readies Trophy Lite For US Stryker

DoD Buzz: Marine Leaders’ Plea to Companies: Get Us Our Gear Faster