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‘FEAR’ GRIPS WASHINGTON: Today is the day Bob Woodward’s book “Fear: Trump in the White House,” is officially published in hardback and downloadable e-reader versions. Simon & Schuster has printed one million copies of the book in anticipation of blockbuster sales. “Fear” is already No. 5 on Amazon’s list of best sellers for 2018, with Michael Wolff’s “Fire and Fury” still sitting at No. 1. As has been fully reported, the book paints a picture of an impulsive and impatient president bristling at, and often ignoring or overruling, the counsel of his closest advisers. ‘FEAR’ IS A ‘JOKE’: President Trump launched an all-out attack on the book yesterday as Woodward began making the rounds to promote its sale. “Bob Woodward is a liar who is like a Dem operative prior to the Midterms,” Trump tweeted before Woodward’s appearance on NBC’s Today Show. “It is mostly anonymous sources in here, why should anyone trust you?” NBC’s Savannah Guthrie asked Woodward about the denial by White House chief of staff John Kelly that he called Trump “an idiot” and the flat rejection by Defense Secretary Jim Mattis that he ever uttered any “contemptuous” words about the president. “They are not telling the truth,” Woodward said. “These are political statements to protect their jobs, totally understandable.” At the White House, press secretary Sarah Sanders said Woodward never checked his quotes with Mattis or others who pushed back against their characterization in the book. “A number of people have come out and said that Woodward never even reached out to corroborate statements that were attributed to them, which seems incredibly reckless, for a book to make such outrageous claims, to not even take the time to get a $10 fact-checker to call around and verify that some of these quotes,” Sanders said. MATTIS MOSTLY MUM: Aside from Mattis’ statement, in which he dismisses as “a product of someone’s rich imagination,” a quote in which he supposedly laments that Trump has the understanding of “a fifth or sixth grader,” Mattis has disputed none of the other anecdotes attributed to him. When the book excerpts first leaked last week, Mattis was traveling to India with a stop in Afghanistan. Mattis spoke to reporters traveling with him on the plane a few hours before the first stories about the book were published, and then didn’t talk to reporters again for the duration of the trip. Frustrated reporters were stuck on a week-long trip with no access to Mattis aside from some off-the-record pleasantries. THE QUOTES ARE MADE UP: “The Woodward book is a scam,” Trump tweeted Friday. “I don’t talk the way I am quoted. If I did I would not have been elected President. These quotes were made up.” One of the most problematic aspects of Woodward’s style of reporting is that he reconstructs conversations from the descriptions provided by his sources, and then presents them as verbatim quotes. As they are based on the memories of people who were there, or were told about events afterward, the quotes can be close, but can’t really be taken word for word. WHAT MATTIS DENIED: There are about two dozen direct quotes from Mattis in the book. Mattis has denied showing contempt or tolerating disrespect for Trump. None of the other Mattis quotes fits that category. If fact most of them are things Mattis has said before, such as “If you didn’t have NATO, you would have to invent it.” Or things Mattis would say, such as “’The quickest way out is to lose.” His reported rebuke of Sean Spicer who tried unsuccessfully to persuade Mattis to appear on Sunday talk shows again sounds like classic Mattis. “I’ve killed people for a living. If you call me again, I’m going to fucking send you to Afghanistan. Are we clear?” Woodward has him saying. Mattis is portrayed as the calm voice of reason, who for instance advises the president that maintaining 28,500 U.S. troops in South Korea is not a waste of money. “Forward-positioned troops provide the least costly means of achieving our security objectives, and withdrawal would lead our allies to lose all confidence in us,” Mattis reportedly says. Again, classic Mattis. HOW MUCH IS ACCURATE? When Woodward wrote a book early in the administration of George W. Bush, Bush at War, I asked then-Pentagon spokesperson Torie Clarke what she thought about it. She pointed out Woodward had mistakenly identified her as Victoria A. Clarke, when in fact she has no middle name or initial. “If he can’t get that right, how can you believe anything else in the book?” she joked. But Clarke told me yesterday her experience is that while Woodward can get some details wrong, and sometimes embellished his description of events, he generally gets the essence right. In Woodward’s current book, much of what he reports matches our own reporting, albeit with a lot more detailed and colorful anecdotes. Take the case of Trump’s surprise tweet last year banning service by transgender troops. Initially the Pentagon told reporters that Mattis, who was on vacation in the Pacific northwest, had been consulted. In the weeks and months that followed it became clear no one at the Pentagon was in the loop, despite Trump’s contention that he made the decision “after consultation with my Generals.” Likewise, the months-long effort to dissuade Trump from pulling out of Afghanistan also tracks closely to our own reporting and Trump’s public statements. And his frustration with the cost of South Korea exercises, and desire to charge Seoul for the THAAD missile defense system, and evacuate U.S. dependents from South Korea also matches what we know about Trump’s predisposition. When Woodward recounts how White House economic adviser Gary Cohn swipes a decision memo off Trump’s desk to prevent him from withdrawing from a trade deal with South Korea, Woodward produces the actual memo. MUCH OF THE BOOK RINGS TRUE: I’m reminded of another anecdote about another Woodward book. Early in my days at Pentagon, I was reading The Commanders, about the 1991 Persian Gulf War. I had occasion to speak to one of the principals quoted in the book. “I’ll never talk to Bob Woodward again,” he told me. Being new to the beat and having not covered the Gulf War, I asked what he objected to. “I didn’t like the way he wrote what I was thinking,” he said. I asked which parts were wrong so I could calibrate my thinking as I read the book. “Oh, I think he got it about right, but I’ll never talk to him again.” A lot of people feel that way after talking to Woodward, one Pentagon insider confided to me yesterday. MATTIS’ GO-TO DENIAL: Mattis has developed a habit of characterizing reports he takes issue with as works of fiction, even when it’s not clear he has read the full report. In July, Mattis dismissed an NBC report that the Pentagon was in damage control mode after Trump’s NATO summit performance using the same language. “That was fascinating. I love reading fiction,” he told reporters traveling with him to a NATO conference, where he spent considerable time reassuring nervous NATO allies. One man’s reassurance could arguably be another man’s damage control. Asked yesterday whether Mattis would read Woodward’s book, Col. Rob Manning, a Pentagon spokesman said, “I don’t know. I doubt it. Like he said he reads enough fiction.” Good Tuesday morning and welcome to Jamie McIntyre’s Daily on Defense, compiled by Washington Examiner National Security Senior Writer Jamie McIntyre (@jamiejmcintyre), National Security Writer Travis J. Tritten (@travis_tritten) and Senior Editor David Brown (@dave_brown24). 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. |
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HAPPENING TODAY: Sept. 11 remembrances are being held at the Pentagon and around the country today, on this the 17th anniversary of the 2001 terrorist attacks. Trump and the first lady will be in Shanksville, Pa., where a “Tower of Voices” memorial was dedicated over the weekend to the passengers and crew of United Flight 93. Their heroic efforts prevented the hijackers from making it to Washington where it’s believed they intended to target the U.S. Capitol or the White House. The ceremony begins at 9:45 a.m. At the Pentagon, Vice President Mike Pence joins Mattis and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Joseph Dunford for a private ceremony to honor the 184 people who died on American Airlines Flight 77 and in the Pentagon. Here’s the rundown:
9/11 WAR POWERS RENEWED: Trump announced yesterday he is renewing a post-9/11 emergency proclamation that gives him broad powers to mobilize the military, hire and fire military officials, and work around limits on the number of generals who can serve. This is Trump’s second renewal of the proclamation. Trump is the third president to renew the proclamation. WAS TRUTH AMONG THE 9/11 VICTIMS? In this week’s Washington Examiner magazine, I write about my personal experience covering the Sept. 11 attacks on the Pentagon. I was in the building when the plane hit, and my subsequent reports became part of the twisted conspiracy theories promoted by so-called “9/11 truthers.” My inability to correct the record with facts and reason led me on a decade-long quest to understand how strong emotional attachment to our beliefs often means facts don’t matter. It’s a lesson that has particular relevance today, as we struggle to determine what is truly fake news. NUKE SUMMIT 2.0: The letter Trump was expected from Kim Jong Un has arrived and the White House is working on plans for a second summit to continue nuclear negotiations, Sanders confirmed yesterday. “It was a very warm, very positive letter,” Sanders said. “The primary purpose of the letter was to request and look to schedule another meeting with the president, which we are open to and are already in the process of coordinating that.” The White House continued to portray North Korea’s decision not to flaunt its nuclear-capable ICBMs at it annual military parade as a positive development. “We consider that a sign of good faith,” Sanders said. (Note that Joseph Dempsey at the International Institute for Strategic Studies tweeted that North Korea also didn’t showcase the hardware during the 50th, 55th, 60th or 65th anniversary parades either.) Meanwhile in a speech yesterday at the Federalist Society, national security adviser John Bolton continued to express some skepticism. “The possibility of another meeting between the two presidents obviously exists but President Trump can’t make the North Koreans walk through the door he’s holding open. They’re the ones that have to take the steps to denuclearize and that’s what we’re waiting for,” Bolton said. He also explained why he has said on numerous occasions he thinks the North could dismantle it nuclear program in as soon as a year. “Kim Jong Un had committed in April to South Korean President Moon Jae-in that he would denuclearize. He committed to do it quickly,” Bolton said. “He said we can do it in two years. Moon Jae-in said to Kim Jong Un — and President Moon told this to President Trump — Moon Jae-in said, well, why don’t we do it in one year. Kim Jong Un said we’ll do it in one year, so that’s where the one-year timetable comes from.” PROCEED WITH CAUTION: Over at the Heritage Foundation, Bruce Klingner, a former CIA Korea deputy division chief, warns that Kim’s flattery should not be taken at face value. “By praising Trump personally, Kim Jong Un seeks additional concessions from the president, whom the regime sees as more eager to maintain the proclaimed success of the summit,” Klingner wrote in an email. “It is premature to hold another summit meeting without any evidence of North Korean commitment to abandon its nuclear arsenal.” JAPAN CLEARED TO BUY HAWKEYES: The U.S. has given Japan the green light to spend $3.1 billion for nine Northrop Grumman E-2D Advanced Hawkeye Airborne Early Warning and Control aircraft, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency has announced. Japan, a longtime U.S. ally, will use the Hawkeyes for situational awareness in the Pacific and to augment its existing E-2C fleet, the agency said. SPACE COMMS: Boeing is investing in a Denver-based firm behind a network of optical ground stations capable of high-speed, secure communications with spacecraft as Trump accelerates American exploration and development beyond the planet. The Chicago-based aerospace and defense company didn’t disclose the size of its investment in BridgeSat Inc., whose Earth-based stations enable secure transmissions between satellites, other space vehicles and high-altitude aircraft. TANKER DEAL: Boeing also landed a $2.9 billion order from the Air Force on Monday for 18 KC-46 jets, the new refueling tankers based on its commercial 767 wide-body that completed Federal Aviation Administration certification last week. The price includes two spare engines and five wing-refueling pod kits, the Defense Department said in a statement, and Everett, Wash.-based production is scheduled for completion by January 2022. The order marks the fourth production lot for the tanker, bringing the total number on contract to 52, the Chicago-based planemaker said. SYRIA WARNING: Sen. Lindsey Graham is calling on Trump to act to prevent what he calls “the wholesale massacre of innocent men, women and children” in Syria’s Idlib province, where the forces of Bashar Assad, along with Russian backing, are preparing a final assault against the last rebel stronghold. “To sit on the sidelines and not rally the world to the cause of Idlib would be a major foreign policy mistake,” said Graham in a statement. “The world has the ability to push back against this impending slaughter — the only question is, does the world have the will? With American leadership we can stop this ongoing humanitarian disaster.” At the Pentagon yesterday, Manning repeated the U.S. would act, but only in the event Assad used chemical weapons. “We watch the Assad regime very closely. We’ve communicated the fact that any chemical attack will not be tolerated by the coalition or the United States,” Manning said. “And I think that our past actions prove the swift response that they can expect.” OPERATION ROUNDUP, PHASE 3: The U.S.-led coalition has announced the final assault on the Islamic State in Syria has begun. “Syrian Democratic Forces initiated ground operations for phase three of Operation Roundup on September 10,” says a statement issued this morning by Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve. “The ground offensive, supported by Coalition cross-border air and artillery strikes, will clear ISIS remnants from northeastern Syria, along the Middle Euphrates River Valley toward the Syria-Iraq border,” the statement said. Operation Roundup began May 1. Phase one successfully cleared ISIS near Baghuz in northeastern Syria May 15. Phase two cleared ISIS from Dashisha, Syria, July 20. POMPEO, MATTIS, COATS TO BRIEF ON YEMEN: Top Trump Cabinet officials are set to brief Congress on Yemen as a Wednesday deadline approaches for U.S. military support of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates in Yemen’s civil war. The president delegated Mattis, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats to speak to lawmakers about U.S. refueling assistance and efforts to limit civil casualties, which is required under the 2019 National Defense Authorization Act. The law signed by Trump in August sets a Wednesday deadline for the briefing and a certification by Pompeo that the U.S. allies are working to end the war and alleviate Yemen’s humanitarian crisis. Otherwise, the NDAA mandates the military ends its in-flight refueling of the Saudi and UAE aircraft, which have waged war for three years on Houthi rebels as they vie for control of the country. BRACING FOR FLORENCE: The Defense Department is working with the Department of Homeland Security and planning for potential aid to states in the path of Hurricane Florence, which is expected to make landfall later this week, Manning said. U.S. Northern Command sent an advance team on Monday to an emergency operations center in Raleigh, N.C., and more than 750 National Guard troops were prepared to deploy to Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina. The Navy has ordered about 30 ships in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia to leave before Florence makes landfall amid predictions of destructive winds and storm surges. “Ships will be directed to areas of the Atlantic where they will be best postured for storm avoidance. Some units will not get underway due to maintenance status but will be taking extra precautions to avoid potential damage.” THE RUNDOWN Defense News: State official predicts US weapon sales increase in 2019 Reuters: Iran ordered to pay $104.7 million over 1996 truck bomb attack: U.S. judge Foreign Policy: The Return of the Pentagon’s Yoda Defense One: How to Dampen Escalation Risks As Cyber-Attack Rules Loosen USNI News: Panel Asks: What Problem Does a U.S. Space Force Solve? Air Force Times: Wilson to lay out ‘Air Force We Need’ at AFA Task and Purpose: Navy Pilot Awarded Distinguished Flying Cross For First US Air-To-Air Kill In 18 Years Navy Times: ‘Do you really want to hurt, er, arrest me?’ Air Force colonel apprehended at Boy George concert |
CalendarTUESDAY | SEPT. 11 8:45 a.m. Pentagon. Sept. 11 Memorial Observance with Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Joseph Dunford, and Vice President Mike Pence. 10:30 a.m. 1779 Massachusetts Ave. NW. Trade Battles, North Korea, and U.S.-Japan China Policy. carnegieendowment.org 12 noon. 1201 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. Weapons of Mass Destruction and Cooperative Threat Reduction: Looking Ahead. hudson.org 2 p.m. 1775 Massachusetts Ave. NW. A conversation about China’s sharp power and Taiwan. brookings.edu 3 p.m. 1030 15th St. NW. Putin’s Propaganda: Pushing Back Against Kremlin-Run Television. atlanticcouncil.org WEDNESDAY | SEPT. 12 11 a.m. 1300 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. Book Launch of No Place for Russia with Author William Hill. wilsoncenter.org 12:30 p.m. 1211 Connecticut Ave. NW. Russia and Arctic Governance: Cooperation in Conflict. stimson.org 12:30 p.m. 1779 Massachusetts Ave. NW. Escalation Through Entanglement. carnegieendowment.org 2 p.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave. NW. The Next Step Forward for U.S.-India Strategic Ties: Assessing the First 2+2 Dialogue. csis.org 4 p.m. 1030 15th St. NW. Election Interference: Emerging Norms of Digital Statecraft. atlanticcouncil.org THURSDAY | SEPT. 13 7 a.m. 2101 Wilson Blvd. Mastering Business Development Workshop. ndia.org 7:30 a.m. 1667 K St. NW. Workshop: Current State and Long-Term Prospects for China’s Defense and Strategic Technological Development. csbaonline.org 8:30 a.m. Next Steps in Battling Global Extremism with Tony Blair, Former UK Prime Minister. cfr.org 10 a.m. 1201 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. Resetting US-Taiwan Relations: American and Taiwanese Perspectives. hudson.org 10 a.m. Rayburn 2172. Hearing on Oversight of U.S. Sanctions Policy. foreignaffairs.house.gov 10:15 a.m. Dirksen 419. Full Committee Hearing Russia’s Role in Syria and the Broader Middle East. foreign.senate.gov 10:30 a.m. Dirksen 342. Full Committee Hearing on Evolving Threats to the Homeland. hsgac.senate.gov 10:30 a.m. 1775 Massachusetts Ave. NW. Indian foreign policy in a changing world. brookings.edu 11 a.m. Defending Military Data: Challenges and Best Practices in a Connected World. defenseone.com 11:30 a.m. 51 Louisiana Ave. NW. Global Refugee Crisis Discussion with Madeleine Albright, Former U.S. Secretary of State; Ryan Crocker, Former Ambassador to Afghanistan and Iraq; and Kathleen Hicks, Former Principal Deputy Under Secretary of Defense. humanrightsfirst.org 12:30 p.m. Rayburn 2172. Markup of H. Res. 1017 Requesting President Trump and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo Turn Over Documents on the President’s Communications with Vladimir Putin. foreignaffairs.house.gov 1 p.m. 1300 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. A Decade of U.S.-China Relations: From Engagement to Rivalry. wilsoncenter.org 1:30 p.m. Rayburn 2020. Subcommittee Hearing Army Futures Command with Ryan McCarthy, Under Secretary of the Army, and Gen. John Murray, Commanding General of Army Futures Command. armedservices.house.gov 5:30 p.m. 2800 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. Wilson Center 50th Anniversary and 10th Anniversary of the Kissinger Institute on China and the United States Dinner and Celebration with Henry Kissinger, Sen. Roy Blunt and Rep. Steny Hoyer. wilsoncenter.org 6:30 p.m. 529 14th St. NW. Author Sean Parnell Discuss His Debut Novel “Man of War” with CNN Anchor Jake Tapper. press.org FRIDAY | SEPT. 14 8 a.m. House Visitors Center 210. Subcommittee Hearing on U.S. Strategy in Syria with Robert Story Karem, Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs, and Brig. Gen. Scott Benedict, Deputy Director J5 Strategic Plans and Policy for the Middle East on the Joint Staff. armedservices.house.gov 9:30 a.m. 1201 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. Lessons Emerging from the JEDI Cloud: Immediate Steps and the Future of Next-Generation IT. hudson.org 9:30 a.m. Rayburn 2172. Subcommittee Hearing on U.S. Policy Toward Syria. foreignaffairs.house.gov 10 a.m. 1030 15th St. NW. The US-French Partnership in a Changing World. atlanticcouncil.org 11 a.m. 214 Massachusetts Ave. NE. The Value of NATO in the 21st Century Address by Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. heritage.org 12 noon. 1152 15th St. NW. “Quantum Hegemony” Report Launch Event. cnas.org MONDAY | SEPT. 17 11 a.m. 214 Massachusetts Ave. NE. The Enduring Legacy of Desert Storm and Desert Shield. heritage.org 1:30 p.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave. NW. A Discussion on National Security with DIA Director Robert Ashley. csis.org TUESDAY | SEPT. 18 6:45 a.m. 1250 South Hayes St. Special Topic Breakfast with Rear Adm. John Neagley, Program Executive Officer for Navy Unmanned and Small Combatants. navyleague.org 7:45 a.m. The Human Machine Team with David Honey, IC Senior Scientist in the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, and Stacey Dixon, Director of Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity. defenseone.com 9 a.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave. NW. The United States’ Role in Space Situational Awareness. csis.org 10 a.m. 1775 Massachusetts Ave. NW. Mr. X and the Pacific: George F. Kennan and American policy in East Asia. brookings.edu 10 a.m. 1300 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. The Quetta Experience: Attitudes and Values Within the Pakistan Army. wilsoncenter.org |
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