ESPER IN LONDON: U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper unloaded on Russia in remarks this morning at London’s Royal United Services Institute, which bills itself as the world’s oldest independent think tank on international defense and security
“Russia’s invasion of Georgia in 2008, its annexation of Crimea in 2014, its continued aggression in Ukraine, and its efforts to serve as a spoiler to peace in Syria demonstrate Moscow’s unwillingness to be a responsible international actor, even as far away as Venezuela,” Esper said. “We see Russia making allegiances with discredited and failing regimes in an intent to promote instability.”
Esper said that while Russia lacks the capacity to compete with NATO in conventional warfare, it remains a serious threat to launch an incursion against a neighboring state. “To put it simply, Russia’s foreign policy is to disregard international norms,” Esper said. “This is why the United States in consultation with our NATO allies is expanding our presence in Poland and continuing our close collaboration with the Baltic states.”
CHINA’S ECONOMIC WARFARE: Esper also cited China’s “Belt and Road” initiative as a growing threat, as Beijing uses its newfound economic power to trap poorer nations into economic servitude.
“Last month, I traveled throughout the Indo-Pacific on my first trip as the United States secretary of defense and I saw firsthand how China’s ‘One Belt, One Road’ initiative is manifesting itself throughout the region,” Esper said. “What are initially presented as reasonable investments by the PRC to build ports and facilities and other infrastructure end up coming with some significant strings attached.”
“The more dependent a country becomes on Chinese investment in trade, the more susceptible they are to coercion and retribution when they act outside of Beijing’s wishes,” he said. “The political and economic leverage China is gaining by carrying out this strategy has begun eroding the sovereignty of many nations.”
ON HONG KONG: “I was there for the handover in 1997 when the ‘One country, two systems’ designation was affirmed, and I would ask you given what we see in Hong Kong today: Has China kept those promises?” Esper said.
BURDEN SHARING: Esper used the occasion of his London visit to praise the United Kingdom for meeting the NATO goal of spending at least 2% of its GDP on defense, one of eight of the 29 NATO nations to meet the target set in 2014.
“Aside from the United States, the U.K. has the largest defense budget within NATO, and I would encourage the U.K. — regardless of the outcome of Brexit — to maintain this level of defense spending and to continue demonstrating your commitment to security and the rule of law around the world.”
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CONGRESS WANTS ANSWERS: With concerns rising about what exactly is in the “agreement in principle” with the Taliban, House Foreign Affairs Chairman Eliot Engel wants to hear directly from the chief U.S. negotiator, Zalmay Khalilzad.
And the New York Democrat dangled the possibility of a subpoena.
“I do not consider your testimony at this hearing optional,” Engel wrote in a letter to Khalilzad, the State Department’s special representative for Afghanistan reconciliation.
“If this letter is insufficient to secure your attendance, I will consider other options that would ensure this hearing takes place in a timely manner.”
DUNFORD: PEACE TALKS, NOT PEACE, THE GOAL: Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Joseph Dunford told an audience at the Council on Foreign Relations last night that the goal of U.S. talks with the Taliban is to bring them to the table to negotiate with the American.-backed Afghan government, not dictate the terms of any future peace agreement.
“The theory of the case has always been to initiate intra-Afghan dialogue in the hope that some political accommodation could be made,” Dunford said. “We always have known that some Afghan-owned, Afghan-led peace process was going to be the end. That would be the end.”
He called that a “relatively modest and yet achievable objective.”
And Dunford says the 8,600 troops the United States plans to leave in Afghanistan is how many U.S. Forces – Afghanistan commander Gen. Austin “Scott” Miller advised he needs to continue the separate counterterrorism mission against al Qaeda and ISIS.
POMPEO: US DELIVERED ON AFGHANISTAN: In an interview with the Heritage Foundation’s Daily Signal, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says America has “delivered” on its original mission in Afghanistan — to prevent al Qaeda from using the country as a base for attacks against the United States.
“If you go back and look at the days following 9/11, the objectives set out were pretty clear: to go defeat al-Qaeda, the group that had launched the attack on the United States of America from Afghanistan. And today, al-Qaeda … doesn’t even amount to a shadow of its former self in Afghanistan,” Pompeo told the Daily Signal. “We have delivered.”
US KIA IS 16TH COMBAT DEATH IN AFGHANISTAN: Among the dead from yesterday’s Taliban car bomb attack were two troops from the NATO Resolute Support mission, one American and one Romanian, according to a statement released after the attack.
The second major attack this week in Kabul killed 10 people and wounded more than 40 others. It claimed the life of the fourth American service member in the past two weeks and brought the number of U.S. combat deaths in 2019 to 16.
PICK UP THAT TAB: While traveling in Europe, Esper suggested European countries consider funding projects in their countries after the Pentagon diverted money to pay for barriers on the southern border, according to Reuters.
“The message that I’ve been carrying, since when I was acting secretary to today, has been about the increase in burden sharing,” Esper told reporters in London. “So part of the message will be ‘Look, if you’re really concerned then maybe you should look to cover those projects for us’ because that’s going to build infrastructure in many cases in their countries.”
“Part of the message is burden sharing, ‘Maybe pick up that tab,’” he added.
MATTIS ON BORDER FUNDING: Former defense secretary Jim Mattis, still making the rounds hawking his book on leadership, is trying to avoid answering questions on current political issues, but asked by Jake Tapper on CNN about the diversion of $3.6 billion in military construction funds, he agreed it was “a concern” while saying the real problem is that Congress and the president don’t agree on the problem, so they can’t agree on a solution.
“And one of the things I learned in leading is the first thing you’d better do is agree on what problem you’re trying to solve or you’re probably going to have a bit of chaos come out of the process,” Mattis said.
The Rundown
Washington Examiner: ‘It’s scary’: VA grapples with wall of silence over rising veteran suicides
Washington Examiner: Mattis writes a humdinger of a humblebrag
Reuters: Pentagon chief says he currently has no plan to seize Iranian tanker Adrian Darya 1
Defense News: The U.S. Navy Just Deployed Its New Ship-Killer Missile To China’s Backyard
Reuters: Putin Says Russia Will Make New Missiles, Warns Of Arms Race
The Drive: Marine Boss’s Audacious Plan To Transform The Corps By Giving Up Big Amphibious Ships
Defense News: Senate sets date for joint Air Force, Army secretary nomination hearing
AP: Cracks in Saudi-UAE coalition risk new war in Yemen
New York Times: Military Base Loses Funding for New School to Trump’s Border Wall
Washington Post: A family scarred by the Afghan war hopes a peace deal will make their sacrifices worth it
Al-Monitor: US waives human rights rules to send military aid to Egypt
New York Times: ISIS, Weakened, Finds New Bombers: Cows Wearing Explosive Vests
Bloomberg: Navy’s Top Auditor to Retire Under Sexual Harassment Allegations
Army Times: Army IG finds widespread concerns with privatized housing and lack of oversight
USA Today: An Army first: Two sisters attain general’s rank
Calendar
FRIDAY | SEPTEMBER 6
8:30 a.m. 300 First Street S.E. Air Force Association’s Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies “Space Power to the Warfighter” seminar on “Secure Communications,” with Lt. Gen. Joseph Guastella, commander of Air Forces Central Command, and Air Force Lt. Gen. J.T. Thompson, commander of the Space and Missile Systems Center. www.mitchellaerospacepower.org
7:30 p.m. 800 21st Street N.W. Politics and Prose and George Washington University present a conversation with former defense secretary Jim Mattis on his book Call Sign Chaos. calendar.gwu.edu
THURSDAY | SEPTEMBER 12
8 a.m. 2401 M Street N.W. Defense Writers Group breakfast, with R. Clarke Cooper, assistant secretary of state for political-military affairs. nationalsecuritymedia.gwu.edu
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“Part of the message is burden sharing, ‘Maybe pick up that tab.’”
Defense Secretary Mark Esper, urging European countries to replace Pentagon funds diverted for U.S. border security from projects on U.S. bases in their countries.
