HERE WE GO AGAIN: North Korea has resumed test-firing rockets or short-range missiles and at the same time is ratcheting up its rhetoric decrying international protests against the launches, which are in violation of U.N. resolutions.
Monday (Sunday Washington time), North Korea fired what were described “as three short-range projectiles” into the East Sea, according to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff. It was the second such test in a week, which North Korea calls “routine drills of our army.”
North Korea has been under U.N. sanctions since 2006 over its ballistic missile and nuclear weapons programs.
‘MOMENTOUS REACTION’: North Korea’s Foreign Ministry issued a statement Saturday rejecting criticism from the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Belgium, and Estonia, which condemned the launch of two missiles a week ago as a provocative action, after a closed-door meeting of the U.N. Security Council.
“If even a routine drill of multiple launch rocket system artillerymen should be a target of condemnation and alleged ‘violation of resolutions,’ then with what do we hold in check the military forces of the U.S. and South Korea in front of us and how do we defend our state?” said the North Korean statement, as reported by the state-run North Korean Central News Agency.
“These countries are just gradually bearing a close resemblance to the U.S. which is hostile to us,” the statement concluded. “The reckless behavior of these countries instigated by the U.S. will become a fuse that will trigger our yet another momentous reaction.”
MIXED MESSAGE: The bellicose message came just days after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un sent a personal letter to South Korean President Moon Jae-in, wishing him and other Koreans in the south good health amid the massive outbreak of the novel coronavirus, according to South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency.
“Such a conciliatory gesture came as a surprise as Kim’s younger sister, Kim Yo-jong, had issued a statement just the previous day blasting Moon’s office as “gangster-like” and “foolish” for complaining about Pyongyang’s recent projectile launches,” Yonhap reported.
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HAPPENING TODAY: It looks as though Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine’s war powers resolution, which passed the Senate last month, could get a vote in the House as early as today. The House Rules Committee has the resolution on its agenda for tonight’s meeting.
The resolution, which passed with eight Republican votes, “directs the President to terminate the use of United States Armed Forces for hostilities against the Islamic Republic of Iran or any part of its government or military, unless explicitly authorized by a declaration of war or specific authorization for use of military force against Iran.”
If the measure passes the House, it faces certain veto by President Trump, who has called the original 1973 War Powers Act an unconstitutional limit on his authority as commander in chief of the armed forces.
ALSO TODAY: Former CIA Director and U.S. Afghanistan commander retired Army Gen. David Petraeus discusses national security with Michael O’Hanlon, senior fellow at Brookings.
The discussion is said to be full and is listed as an “in-person event” only, despite an advisory on the group’s webpage “asking any visitors to Brookings to reschedule their visit, tune in via webcast, or conduct their meeting by phone or videoconference” if there is any chance they came in contact with someone exposed to the COVID-19 virus “out of an abundance of caution.”
MARINE POSITIVE: The Pentagon revealed Saturday that a U.S. Marine assigned to Fort Belvoir, Virginia, has tested positive for COVID-19 and is currently being treated at Fort Belvoir Community Hospital. The Marine has been in Ethiopia, according to Talk Media News.
“The Marine recently returned from overseas where he was on official business,” the Pentagon statement said. “The Secretary of Defense has been briefed. The White House has been notified.”
The news came as Washington, D.C., reported its first confirmed case of COVID-19 infection, a man in his 50s, who was later identified as a rector at a local church, who began showing symptoms of COVID-19 late last month, after attending an Episcopal conference in Louisville, Kentucky.
NATO’S FIRST CASE: NATO has revealed that a staff member working at its headquarters in Brussels has tested positive for COVID-19. “The staff member had come back from a holiday in northern Italy, felt unwell at the end of last week, and was tested due to the onset of fever-like symptoms,” said the statement posted this morning. “The staff member is currently at home in self-isolation … All the immediate work colleagues were informed. They had been working from home at the end of last week and continue to do so.”
TROOPS TO THE BORDER: The Pentagon has announced it’s repositioning 160 troops, who are currently assigned to support U.S. Customs and Border Protection, to ports of entry near San Ysidro, California, and El Paso, Texas.
The troops will “emplace temporary barriers to restrict access through ports of entry and provide force protection for CBP personnel as they perform their federal functions,” according to a Pentagon statement.
The soldiers are from the 687th Engineer Construction Company and the 519th Military Police Battalion, from Fort Polk, Louisiana.
TRIAL IN 2014 UKRAINE SHOOTDOWN: A criminal trial is scheduled to begin today in the Netherlands, in which four men, three Russian and one Ukrainian, are charged with murder in connection with the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 in 2014.
Prosecutors say they have evidence the Boeing 777 with 298 on board was shot down by a surface-to-air missile launched from Russian territory. All of those indicted are members of Russia-led forces in eastern Ukraine and are not expected to attend the trial.
“This trial is a critical moment in the search for justice,” said Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in a statement Sunday. “As the trial begins, we recall the UN Security Council’s demand that ‘those responsible … be held to account and that all States cooperate fully with efforts to establish accountability.’”
TALIBAN PEACE DEAL ENTERS CRUCIAL PHASE: This is the week that the Taliban and the Afghan government are supposed to sit down and begin to iron out a peace agreement. It comes as members of Congress are getting a chance to look at the secret annexes, that lay out the specifics of what the U.S. expects from the Taliban in the months ahead, as the U.S. begins to withdraw thousands of its troops.
The deal has come under increasing scrutiny from Congress, which suspects the Taliban will abandon their commitments once U.S. troops are gone. In an interview Friday on Fox and Friends, Pompeo vigorously defended the deal as “a historic opportunity for the United States and for the Afghan people.”
“Look, we’re not naive. We all know who the Taliban are and what they have done to America. But it’s time. It is time to seize this opportunity,” Pompeo said. “We did what President Obama had tried to do, which was to get the Taliban to make a public break with al Qaeda. The very reason we went there, the reason we went there after this city was attacked, was to go destroy al Qaeda. We’ve largely taken it down. Al Qaeda is a shadow of its former self. It’s now time to turn the corner to make sure that we never are attacked again from Afghanistan, and we can do that, but reduce our cost, reduce our risk.”
‘A FIG LEAF FOR WITHDRAWAL’: In an op-ed in the Washington Post, New Jersey Democratic Rep. Tom Malinowski argues that while a limited deal committing all sides to reducing violence as the U.S. withdraws some troops and the Taliban starts talks with the Afghan government “would have been a good thing,” the current agreement “is not a peace agreement. It is a fig leaf for withdrawal and for abandoning our Afghan allies.”
“It does not require the Taliban to stop killing Afghan troops and civilians, only to stop shooting at Americans as we leave the country. The deal does not commit the Taliban to break fully with al Qaeda, only to prevent it from attacking the United States from Afghan soil. There is no mention of preventing al Qaeda from attacking us from the parts of Pakistan where the Taliban is also present,” Malinowski writes. “The deal includes no verification measures or agreed penalties for noncompliance. And it commits the United States to withdrawing all troops from Afghanistan within 14 months even if the war rages on.”
ELECTION MUDDLE: Meanwhile, “squabbling Afghan presidential rivals threatened to both declare themselves president in dueling inauguration ceremonies Monday, throwing plans for negotiations with the Taliban into chaos,” reports the Associated Press.
INDUSTRY WATCH: Palantir Technologies has bested Raytheon, winning an $80 million sole-source contract for a logistics management system for U.S. Navy warships and aircraft.
The deal is “a major step forward for a West Coast tech company that has long struggled to break into the Pentagon’s insular information technology industry,” according to the Washington Post.
“The Navy will use Palantir’s software to fuse together existing data sets that are walled off from one another, forming a broader operating system the Pentagon is calling Naval Operational Business Logistics Enterprise, or NOBLE,” the Post reported, citing Palantir spokeswoman Lisa Gordon.
The Rundown
Washington Examiner: ‘That would really be historic’: Trump wants NATO to tighten ties with Brazil’s Jair Bolsonaro
Washington Examiner: Spy bill set to expire without last-minute deal in Congress
Washington Examiner: Veteran illness from post-9/11 service at secret Uzbek base inadequately addressed, lawmakers say
Washington Examiner: Fiona Hill: Democrats propagate Russian disinformation when they call Trump
NBC News: U.S. has persuasive intel Taliban do not intend to abide by terms of peace deal, officials say
AP: Cruise Ship Passengers To Be Quarantined At Military Bases In 3 States; U.S. Army Stops Troops Moving To And From South Korea, Italy For New Assignments
Marine Corps Times: Iwo Jima 75th Anniversary Reunion Called Off Due To Coronavirus Concerns
Navy Times: China Disputes Report It Fired Laser At U.S. Navy Plane
Air Force Magazine: Dyess or Ellsworth to Get First B-21s
Washington Post: ‘Thrown under the bus’: Some Afghans view U.S.-Taliban peace deal with mix of disbelief and anger
Politico: ‘Fun To Watch’: Meet The General Who’s Upending The Marine Corps
Military.com: The Marine Corps’ New Priority: A Ship-Seeking Cruise Missile
Military Times: Airstrike Takes Out A Top Terrorist Suspected Of Involvement In Attack On U.S. Personnel In Kenya
Washington Post: After killing Iranian general, U.S. military confronts new reality in Mideast
Calendar
MONDAY | MARCH 9
9:30 a.m. 801 Mt. Vernon Pl. N.W. — Access Intelligence LLC 2020 Satellite Conference and Exhibition, with Deputy Assistant Defense Secretary for Space Policy Stephen Kitay; Mark Dankberg, chairman and CEO of Viasat; and Elon Musk, founder and chief engineer of SpaceX. https://www.satshow.com/
9:30 a.m. 1501 Lee Hwy., Arl. — Air Force Association’s Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies discussion “The Latest on F-35,” with Brig. Gen. David Abba, director of the Air Force F-35 Integration Office. http://events.r20.constantcontact.com/register
10 a.m. 5275 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church — National Defense Industrial Association Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear Defense Roundtable. https://www.ndia.org/events/2020/3/9/cbrn-defense-roundtable
12 p.m. 1201 Pennsylvania Ave. N.W. — Hudson Institute discussion “Funding America’s Defense Future: President Trump’s Proposed Budget,” with Rep. Joe Courtney, D-Conn.; Rep. Robert Wittman, R-Va.; Dan McKivergan, vice president of government relations at Hudson; and Seth Cropsey, director of the Hudson Center for American Seapower. http://www.hudson.org
12:30 p.m. 1777 F St. N.W. — Council on Foreign Relations discussion on the March/April 2020 issue of Foreign Affairs magazine, focusing on whether America should “retrench,” a strategy designed to reduce a country’s military costs and commitments by “cutting defense spending, withdrawing from certain alliance obligations, scaling back on deployments abroad, or reducing international expenditures,” with Kathleen Hicks, director of the Center for Strategic and International Studies’s International Security Program; Stephen Wertheim, deputy director of research and policy at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft; Thomas Wright, director of the Brookings Institution Center on the United States and Europe; and Daniel Kurtz-Phelan, executive editor of Foreign Affairs. Livestream at: https://www.youtube.com/user/ForeignAffairsMag/
2 p.m. 1775 Massachusetts Ave. N.W. — Brookings Institution discussion on national security with former CIA Director and Afghanistan Commander retired Army Gen. David Petraeus, chairman of the KKR Global Institute, and Michael O’Hanlon, senior fellow at Brookings. http://www.brookings.edu
TUESDAY | MARCH 10
8:30 a.m. 1 Constitution Ave. N.E. — Air Force Association’s Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies discussion “The Importance of Space in the Air Force,” with Air Force Secretary Barbara Barrett. http://events.r20.constantcontact.com/register
10 a.m. 2118 Rayburn — House Armed Services Committee hearing “National Security Challenges and U.S. Military Activities in the Greater Middle East and Africa,” with Kathryn Wheelbarger, assistant secretary of defense for international security affairs; Gen. Frank McKenzie, commander, U.S. Central Command; Gen. Stephen Townsend, commander, U.S. Africa Command. https://armedservices.house.gov/hearings
2 p.m. 2118 Rayburn — House Armed Services Subcommittee on Tactical Air and Land Forces hearing “Department of Defense Tactical and Rotary Aircraft Acquisition and Modernization Programs in the FY21 President’s Budget Request,” with Bruce Jette, assistant secretary of the Army for acquisition, logistics, and technology; Brig. Gen. Walter Rugen, director, future vertical lift cross-functional team, Army Futures Command; James Geurts, assistant secretary of the Navy for research, development, and acquisition; Lt. Gen. Steven Rudder, deputy Marine Corps commandant for aviation; Rear Adm. Greg Harris, director, air warfare office of the Chief of Naval Operations; William Roper, assistant secretary of the Air Force for acquisition, technology, and logistics; Gen. James Holmes, commander, Air Combat Command; Lt. Gen. David Nahom, Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Plans and Requirements. https://armedservices.house.gov/hearings
2:30 p.m. 2212 Rayburn — House Armed Services Subcommittee on Military Personnel Hearing: “Domestic Violence in the Military Services — What is Being Done to Reduce the Scourge of these Abhorrent Crimes?” with Dolores Geise, director, Soldier and Family Readiness, U.S. Army; Lolita Allen, Navy counseling, advocacy, and prevention program manager; Col. Patrick Pohle, chief, Air Force Family Advocacy Program; Lisa Eaffaldano, assistant branch head, Prevention and Clinical Services, U.S. Marines Corps. https://armedservices.house.gov/hearings
4:30 p.m. White House East Room — President Trump presents the Presidential Medal of Freedom to retired Gen. Jack Keane, former vice chief of staff of the Army. https://events.whitehouse.gov
WEDNESDAY | MARCH 11
8:30 a.m. 14th and F St. N.W. — Woodrow Wilson Center’s Africa Program, the Institute for Defense Analyses, and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence “Africa Symposium: Advancing Africa’s Governance, Peace, and Security,” with Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for West Africa and Security Affairs Whitney Baird delivering remarks, Maj. Gen. Christopher Craige, director of strategy, engagement, and programs at U.S. Africa Command, delivering luncheon keynote address.
9 a.m. 801 Mt. Vernon Pl. N.W. — Access Intelligence LLC Satellite Conference and Exhibition, with Air Force Lt. Gen. David Thompson, vice commander of the Air Force Space Command, Clare Grason, chief of the Air Force Space Command’s Commercial Satellite Communications Office; and Derek Tournear, director of the Space Development Agency. https://www.satshow.com/
10 a.m. 214 Massachusetts Ave. N.E. — Heritage Foundation discussion with White House national security adviser Robert O’Brien. http://www.heritage.org
10 a.m. 2118 Rayburn — House Armed Services Committee hearing “National Security Challenges and U.S. Military Activity in North and South America,” with Kenneth Rapuano, assistant secretary of defense for homeland defense and global security; Adm. Craig Faller, commander, U.S. Southern Command; Gen. Terrence O’Shaughnessy, commander, U.S. Northern Command. https://armedservices.house.gov/hearings
2 p.m. 2118 Rayburn — House Armed Services Subcommittee on Intelligence and Emerging Threats and Capabilities Hearing: “Reviewing Department of Defense Science and Technology Strategy, Policy, and Programs for Fiscal Year 2021: Maintaining a Robust Ecosystem for Our Technological Edge,” with Michael Griffin, under secretary of defense for research and engineering; Bruce Jette, assistant secretary of the Army for acquisition, logistics, and technology; James Geurts, assistant secretary of the Navy for research, development and acquisition; William Roper, assistant secretary of the Air Force for acquisition, technology, and logistics. https://armedservices.house.gov/hearings
2:30 p.m. 2212 Rayburn — House Armed Services Subcommittees on Seapower and Projection Forces and Readiness Joint Hearing: “Sealift and Mobility Requirements in Support of the National Defense Strategy,” with Gen. Steve Lyons, commander, U.S. Transportation Command; Mark Buzby, U.S. Maritime Administration; Vice Adm. Ricky Williamson, deputy chief of naval operations, Lt. Gen. David Nahom, Air Force deputy chief of staff for plans and programs. https://armedservices.house.gov/hearings
2:30 p.m. 106 Dirksen — Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Personnel hearing on programs in the Department of Defense, with Matthew Donovan, performing the duties of the under secretary of defense for personnel and readiness; Virginia Penrod, acting assistant secretary of defense for manpower and reserve affairs; Thomas McCaffery, assistant secretary of defense for health affairs; Thomas Constable, acting assistant secretary of defense for readiness; Elizabeth Van Winkle, executive director, Office of Force Resiliency. https://www.armed-services.senate.gov/hearings
6 p.m. 1957 E St. N.W. — George Washington University Elliott School of International Affairs discussion on “The State of the Transatlantic Alliance,” with former NATO Deputy Secretary General Rose Gottemoeller. http://elliott.gwu.edu
THURSDAY | MARCH 12
9 a.m. 2118 Rayburn — House Armed Services Subcommittee on Readiness Hearing: “FY21 Navy and Marine Corps Readiness Posture,” with James Geurts, assistant secretary of the Navy, research, development, and acquisition; Adm. Robert Burke, vice chief of naval operations; Gen. Gary Thomas, Assistant Marine Corps Commandant. https://armedservices.house.gov/hearings
9:30 a.m. 2212 Rayburn — House Armed Services Subcommittee Strategic Forces hearing: “FY21 Priorities for Missile Defense and Missile Defeat Programs,” with Gen. Terrence O’Shaughnessy, commander, U.S. Northern Command; Vice Adm. Jon Hill, director, Missile Defense Agency; Lt. Gen. Daniel Karbler, commanding general, U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command; Rob Soofer, deputy assistant secretary of defense for nuclear and missile defense policy; Cristina Chaplain, director, contracting and national security acquisitions team, Government Accountability Office. https://armedservices.house.gov/hearings
10 a.m. 2301 Constitution Ave. N.W. — United States Institute of Peace discussion on “A Peace Regime for the Korean Peninsula,” with Scott Snyder, director of the Council on Foreign Relations Program on U.S.-Korea Policy; Kathleen Stephens, president and CEO of the Korea Economic Institute; Jacob Stokes, senior policy analyst at USIP; Joseph Yun, senior adviser at USIP; Frank Aum, senior expert on North Korea at USIP; and Patricia Kim, senior policy analyst at USIP. https://www.usip.org/index.php/events/peace-regime-korean-peninsula
2 p.m. 214 Massachusetts Ave. N.E. — Heritage Foundation discussion on “Shining a Spotlight on Human Rights in North Korea,” with Kwang Cheol-Hwan, founder and chairman of the North Korea Strategy Center; Eiko Kawasaki, chairwoman of Action for Korea United; and Greg Scarlatoiu, executive director of the Committee for Human Rights in North Korea. http://www.heritage.org
4 p.m. 1521 16th St. N.W. — Institute of World Politics lecture on “The Role of the U.S. Military Under the NDS (National Defense Strategy) Over the Next Decade,” with Col. Jon Duke, deputy director of operations at the Marine Corps Headquarters.
FRIDAY | MARCH 13
8 a.m. 1135 16th St. N.W. — American Bar Association Standing Committee on Law and National Security breakfast, with Special Inspector General John Sopko discussing “Corruption: A Threat to Rule of Law and Sustainable Peace in Afghanistan.” https://www.americanbar.org/news
9:30 a.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave. N.W. — Center for Strategic and International Studies discussion on “Army Air and Missile Defense,” with Maj. Gen. Robert Rasch, program executive officer for Army Missiles and Space; Brig. Gen. Brian Gibson, director of the Army Air and Missile Defense Cross-Functional Team; Barbara Treharne, senior analyst at the Joint Integrated Air and Missile Defense Organization; Brian Green, nonresident senior associate at CSIS; and Thomas Karako, director of the CSIS Missile Defense Project. http://www.csis.org
10:30 a.m. — Carnegie Endowment for International Peace discussion on “France’s Defense Strategy,” with French Ambassador to the U.S. Philippe Etienne; and former Deputy Secretary of State William Burns, president of CEIP. http://carnegieendowment.org/
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“It does not require the Taliban to stop killing Afghan troops and civilians, only to stop shooting at Americans as we leave the country. The deal does not commit the Taliban to break fully with al Qaeda, only to prevent it from attacking the United States from Afghan soil … In short, this is not a peace agreement. It is a fig leaf for withdrawal and for abandoning our Afghan allies.”
New Jersey Democratic Rep. Tom Malinowski arguing against the U.S. agreement with the Taliban, writing in an op-ed in the Washington Post.
