Posted on 03/10/2017 6:33:55 AM PST by mbarker12474
Washington Examiner’s Daily On Defense Newsletter
WHO WILL TILLERSON MEET WITH? With the unanimous vote of South Korea’s constitutional court, President Park Geun-hye has been impeached and removed on corruption charges, and elections for a new president must be held in 60 days. Demonstrators filled the streets of Seoul today, and several have died in the protests. The government crisis comes as North Korea has been ratcheting up tensions with its missile tests, and China has been pressing the South to reject the American missiles defense system known as THAAD.
And into the fray goes Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, who departs on a trip to South Korea, Japan and China next Wednesday. South Korea has an acting president, Hwang Kyo Anh, but polls in Korea suggest the elections could shift political power from conservatives to liberals, who might seek a change in the relationship between Seoul and Washington. At the State Department, acting spokesman Mark Toner said simply that South Korea is undergoing an “internal political process,” but that the U.S. remains committed to strengthening its relationship with the South. “With all countries, governments change, administrations change, new leadership comes into office. But what endures is the fundamental ties and bonds between two countries.” Asked if a new government in South Korea might change direction on THAAD, Toner said, “I'm not going to get ahead of the new government's decisions and policy choices that it may make going forward.”
On Capitol Hill, Armed Services Committee Chairman Sen. John McCain praised the peaceful transition of power under what he called “the most difficult circumstances.” “South Korea has demonstrated the strength of its democratic institutions,” McCain said in a statement last night, in which he expressed “great confidence” the South will emerge with renewed strength. “The South Korean people should know that the United States remains firmly committed to our alliance,” McCain said.
TILLERSON’S UNDIPLOMATIC DISSING OF THE PRESS: On what is shaping up to be his most important overseas trip to date, Tillerson shocked the Washington press corps by breaking with long-standing tradition and taking no reporters with him on his five-day trip. Bureau chiefs from most major news organizations sent a letter to the State Department this week protesting the unprecedented move, and requested an urgent meeting. Here’s an except from the letter which can be read at Poynter.org
“We were deeply concerned to hear that Secretary Tillerson plans to travel to Beijing, Seoul and Tokyo to hold key meetings about some of the most important foreign policy issues for the United States without any traveling press. Not only does this situation leave the public narrative of the meetings up to the Chinese foreign ministry as well as Korea’s and Japan’s, but it gives the American people no window whatsoever into the views and actions of the nation’s leaders. And the offer to help those reporters who want to travel unilaterally is wholly unrealistic, given the commercial flight schedules, visa issues and no guarantee of access once they are there.”
The letter is signed by bureau chiefs from The Associated Press, Fox News Channel, New York Times, NPR, BBC, CNN, Washington Post, Foreign Policy, Bloomberg, Los Angeles Times/Chicago Tribune, VOA and AFP.
NORTH KOREA EMBARGO? Colorado Republican Sen. Cory Gardner said Thursday it may be time for the global community to consider a "total and complete" economic embargo on North Korea, Todd Shepherd writes. “What we have to do is build a strong case, globally, that any economic interaction with North Korea is unacceptable," Gardner said on Denver radio station 710 KNUS. "We have other nations that are buying coal, like China, and they should stop buying anything from North Korea, because that money is going back to the proliferation of the North Korean regime.
"Perhaps it's time, and I think it is time, that we start the discussion of a global, economic, total and complete embargo of North Korea. Let's cut this regime off from the world," the senator added.
Good Friday morning and welcome to Jamie McIntyre’s Daily on Defense, compiled by Washington Examiner National Security Senior Writer Jamie McIntyre (@jamiejmcintyre), National Security Writer Jacqueline Klimas (@jacqklimas) 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 be sure to add you to our list.
HAPPENING TODAY: The House Armed Services Committee holds a rare Friday hearing at 9 a.m. where Lt. Gen. Gary L. Thomas, the deputy commandant for programs and resources, is expected to testify on readiness challenges facing the Marine Corps. The warnings top brass have been bringing to Capitol Hill have grown more dire in recent weeks, so expect to see questions focused on whether forces are adequately trained and equipped to fight, especially in the aviation community. You can watch the hearing live here.
NEW SECNAV: Former Marine aviator Richard V. Spencer is reportedly President Trump’s pick to be the next Navy secretary, after his first choice, Philip Bilden, withdrew because of his business ties. Spencer served from 1976 to 1981, when he left the Marine Corps as a captain.
WISH LIST: More than 30 lawmakers testified at the House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee Members’ Day yesterday to lay out their top priorities that should be included in the fiscal 2018 budget. Among their top requests were more air assets for the Air Force, Navy and Army, including the Lockheed Martin F-35, the Boeing F/A-18 Super Hornet and the General Atomics Gray Eagle drone.
YEMEN RAID REVISITED: The debate over the value of the Jan. 29 commando raid by SEAL Team 6 in Yemen that cost of the life of Navy Senior Chief Petty Officer Ryan Owens is not over, but the official investigation is, according to Gen. Joseph Votel, head of U.S. Central Command. Testifying before the Senate Armed Services Committee yesterday, Votel said the after-action review he ordered found no “incompetence, poor decision making or bad judgment.” Votel took full responsibility for the raid, and was notably reserved and sober in describing its outcome, which he did not call a success. “We lost a lot on this operation. We lost a valued operator, we had people wounded, we caused civilian casualties, lost an expensive aircraft,” Votel said. “We did gain some valuable information that will be helpful for us.” Note he said “valuable information,” not “actionable intelligence.”
When McCain questioned why the raid went forward in the face of heavy fire, and said that the raid failed in its objective to capture terrorists, Votel was silent. CNN reported that after the hearing Votel told reporters that McCain's characterization was correct, that the raid in fact was intended to target high-level AQAP officials, such as its leader Qasim al Raymi. This is something the Pentagon adamantly denied when it was first reported by NBC.
Other highlights from Votel’s testimony:
On Afghanistan: Votel said he believes more troops will be needed to help Afghan forces break their stalemate with the Taliban after more than 15 years of fighting. Votel and ground commander Lt. Gen. Mick Nicholson have sent private recommendations to Trump, but Votel testified that the U.S. mission to support the Afghan Nation Army will need more trainers and advisers. "I do believe it will involve additional forces to make the advise-and-assist mission more effective," Votel said.
On Syria: Votel said the deployment of a Marine artillery unit to Syria was done under existing authorities and is consistent with the current strategy of fighting ISIS without putting U.S. troops on the front lines. "We have adopted a by, with and through approach that places a heavy reliance on indigenous forces," Votel said. "While this approach does present some challenges and can be more time consuming, it is proving effective and is likely to pay significant dividends going forward.” Votel confirmed that elements of the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit moved from U.S. Navy ships in the Mediterranean into an undisclosed location in Syria as local Kurdish and Arab fighters prepare to mount an assault on Raqqa, the Islamic State’s self-proclaimed capital in Syria. Votel said the addition of the artillery unit was designed to provide "redundant, capable fire-support to local partners."
In an interview on Fox News last night, Vice President Mike Pence said, “As the father of a United States Marine, I can fully appreciate the importance of never signaling to the wider world where our troops are or aren't or activities they are involved in.” In response to a question from Bret Baier about whether the deployment of conventional forces represented an “escalation,” Pence said, “The president has made it very clear we intend to hunt down and destroy ISIS. We have more than 5,000 American servicemen and women in the battle in Mosul right now, and the American people can be assured that President Trump will keep his word to the American people that we will take those steps that are necessary to destroy ISIS and destroy its ability to inspire violence here in the homeland or bring violence to our people or our allies.”
McCAIN: ‘I FORESEE A TRAIN WRECK’: At that Armed Services Committee hearing, McCain had a dire warning about the possibility of open warfare between NATO ally Turkey and U.S.-backed Kurds in northern Syria. "Unless something changes, I foresee a train wreck here," McCain said as he lectured Votel. "I think there's a possibility of an impending conflict between Turkey and the Kurds, as opposed to us working together to try to defeat ISIS and remove them from Raqqa." McCain recently met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara and says the Trump administration is underestimating the antipathy Turkey has for the some factions of Kurdish fighters it sees as terrorists. "I'm not sure that the administration recognizes how seriously particularly President Erdogan views the threat," McCain said. "He is passionately opposed to Kurdish involvement, and our support of the Kurds."
THE TURKEY COMPLICATION: The Wall Street Journal reported last night that the Turkey problem has split the administration and threatens to postpone the siege of Raqqa. From the story: “Because of Turkey’s opposition, the new administration may not finalize its plans for taking Raqqa until Turkey votes April 16 on a referendum that would give President Recep Tayyip Erdogan sweeping powers, according to U.S. officials involved in the internal debate.”
ANTI-ISIS SUMMIT: More than 60 nations and international organizations have been invited to Washington this month for a two-day strategy session on countering the Islamic State. The March 22-23 meeting follows an Obama administration model that saw regular meetings of the anti-ISIS coalition. Tillerson will lead the session, which was announced by the State Department yesterday. “Secretary Tillerson has been crystal clear that defeating ISIS is the State Department's top priority in the Middle East,” said spokesman Toner. “This will be the first meeting of the entire coalition, all 68 members since 2014. It will be the largest gathering of the coalition since its inaugural meeting,” Toner said. The meeting comes as ISIS is losing ground by the day in Iraq and Syria, but is far from defeated. Toner said the conference will explore new fronts in the battle, including cyber warfare, “where we can improve our tactics, our strategy and our coordination.”
A VOTE FOR STATE: U.S. military commanders have shown a solid front is advocating for a strong State Department to complement military action. At yesterday’s Senate Armed Services committee hearing, the other witness, Gen. Thomas Waldhauser, head of the U.S. Africa Command, gave his partners at State an enthusiastic endorsement. “We could knock off all the ISIL and Boko Haram this afternoon; but by the end of the week, so to speak, those ranks would be filled,” said Waldhauser, in supporting the soft power of diplomacy. “Many people, especially those in uniform, have said we can’t kill our way to victory here.”
WIKILEAKS AND TECH FIRMS: WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange said Thursday that his organization is working with technology companies to protect them against the CIA's alleged hacking methods that were detailed in a massive document dump this week, Daniel Chaitin writes. "WikiLeaks has a lot more information on what has been going on with the cyber weapons program," Assange said during a press conference streamed on Periscope. "And so I want to announce today that after considering what we think is the best way to proceed and hearing these calls from some of the manufacturers, we have decided to work with them to give them some exclusive access to the additional technical details that we have so that fixes can be developed and pushed out so that people can be secured."
He added that once this material is "effectively disarmed by us by removing critical components," then WikiLeaks will publish the next wave of CIA documents it has in its possession.
IN THE DARK ON FLYNN: White House press secretary Sean Spicer said Thursday that Trump may not have been aware that Mike Flynn was registered with the Justice Department as a foreign agent at the time he was named national security adviser, Gabby Morrongiello writes. "I don't believe that that was known. I would refer you to Gen. Flynn and to the Department of Justice in terms of the filings that have been made," Spicer told reporters.
Documents made public this week revealed that Flynn and his firm were registered for lobbying last summer and fall that "could be construed to have principally benefitted" the Turkish government. The paperwork was filed by an attorney representing the ousted national security adviser. "I don't know what was discussed prior to the appointment in terms of his background, his resume, his client base," Spicer said. "From what I have read, he has filed the appropriate forms with the Department of Justice and you should ask him and subsequently them if you have any questions about his specific filing," he added.
THE RUNDOWN
War on the Rocks: In defense of the blob
C4ISRNET: Air Force looks to contractors to fly satellites
Defense One: What If Intelligence Agencies Can’t Secure Their Own Hacking Tools?
Military.com: Uncle Sam May Want You for Cyber War
USNI News: Panel: Navy Must Invest In Counter-C4ISR, Unmanned Boats, Railgun To Prepare For Future Fight
Defense News: US Navy to work with Air Force on E-6B replacement
Daily Press: Trump Could Stop Ingalls-Built Ship In Its Tracks
UPI: Russia to receive 10 new Su-35S fighters in 2017
Reuters: China Stealth Jet Enters Service, Navy Building 'First Class' Fleet
Reuters: Special Report : Aircraft carriers, championed by Trump, are vulnerable to attack
Fox News: US military budget cuts stretching 'Screaming Eagles' to the limit
Breaking Defense: Norway: A Model for NATO’s Northern Tier
Associated Press: Deported US vets in Mexico hope for return under Trump govt
Wall Street Journal: Three-Way Contest for Raqqa to Shape Mideast
Washington Post: As a new relationship is tested, Turkey keeps high hopes for Trump
Task and Purpose: ‘Marines United’ Is Now Sharing Explicit Videos Of Servicewomen On Porn Sites
The Intercept: New Evidence Contradicts Pentagon’s Account of Yemen Raid, But General Closes the Case
Weekly Standard: Which Side Is Gen. Mattis On? ADVERTISEMENT
Note the bit on Tillerson leaving the press off the plane for his trip to chaotic South Korea.
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