|
Presented by Northrop Grumman: Delivered daily by 10 a.m., Morning Defense examines the latest news in defense policy and politics. | | | | | |  | | By Bryan Bender | Presented by |  | | | With Connor O’Brien Editor’s Note: Morning Defense is a free version of POLITICO Pro Defense's morning newsletter, which is delivered to our s each morning at 6 a.m. The POLITICO Pro platform combines the news you need with tools you can use to take action on the day’s biggest stories. Act on the news with POLITICO Pro. | | | — The Pentagon is in the hot seat with claims it overstepped its bounds in a war of words with Tucker Carlson. — There’s a new bipartisan push to consider how military depots could fill gaps in the defense supply chain. — The House and Senate have a full schedule of defense-related hearings this week. HAPPY MONDAY AND WELCOME BACK TO MORNING DEFENSE , where we want to give a shout-out to retired Army Maj. Gen. Gregg Martin for sharing his incredible story. Bravery comes in many forms. We believe his decision to so directly and honestly share his battle overcoming bipolar disorder will help countless others struggling with mental illness. We're always on the lookout for tips, pitches and feedback. Email us at bbender@politico.com, and follow on Twitter @bryandbender, @morningdefense and @politicopro. POLITICO LIVE PROGRAMMING NOTE: Join us on Wednesday, March 17, at 9:30 a.m. for “Out of This World: The Future of Satellite Imagery,” featuring Rep. Don Beyer , the new chair of the Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics, Karen St. Germain, director of NASA’s Earth Science Division, and Megan Coffer, a research scientist at North Carolina State’s Center for Geospatial Analytics. | | | | A message from Northrop Grumman: Nothing is more important than protecting our nation against long range missile attacks. Our unmatched NGI team has a deep understanding of this critical mission and possesses the proven experience and cutting-edge technology needed to field a system that can protect against existing threats and address new, emerging challenges. Learn more. | | | | | | BEARING DOWN ON MANCHIN: Moderate Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin is getting more pressure to vote against Colin Kahl, President Joe Biden’s nominee to be undersecretary of Defense for policy — this time from back home in West Virginia. “Colin Kahl is a political failure who has helped lead the effort to delegitimize our strongest ally in the Middle East,” 70 Republican state lawmakers wrote to him on Friday in a letter organized by Christians United for Israel. Manchin, a member of the Armed Services Committee who has said he remains undecided on the nomination, was one of the few Democrats who voted against the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, in which Kahl played a prominent role during the Obama administration. Kahl will need the support of every Democrat to get over GOP opposition to his nomination. FIRST LOOK — DON’T FORGET THE DEPOTS: As the Biden administration undertakes a broad review of the supply chain to ensure the availability of critical technologies, there is a new bipartisan push for the Defense Department to give special attention to weapons depots and other government-owned maintenance and industrial facilities. A Feb. 24 executive order signed by Biden directed a host of federal agencies to study the resilience of the supply chain for key materials, such as rare earth minerals used in semiconductors. “...We ask the Department of Defense to pay particular attention to how the Organic Industrial Base supports the broader defense industrial base,” Reps. Cheri Bustos and Blake Moore, co-chairs of the House Military Depot, Arsenal, Ammunition Plant and Industrial Facilities Caucus, write in a letter to Biden today. “We hope that such a review will better inform what resources or authorities are needed to ensure that the OIB is aligned to support the Department of Defense’s strategic priorities.” Bustos represents Rock Island Arsenal in Illinois and Moore represents Hill Air Force Base in Utah, including the Ogden Air Logistics Complex. 'WE WILL NOT ABIDE’: Top Senate Republicans are voicing fresh concerns about the continued presence of thousands of National Guard troops and extensive fencing around the U.S. Capitol following the Jan. 6 insurrection, the latest in a rising tide of bipartisan calls to lift the siege atmosphere. "Our National Guard personnel, who serve with great honor and distinction, are not law enforcement officers, and we will not abide the continued militarization of Capitol complex security," the senators wrote in a letter Friday to the Capitol Police. "Instead, we strongly believe that the future of a secure and open Capitol complex lies with internal reform, creative thinking, and improvements made by the Capitol Police, in conjunction with other federal and local civilian law enforcement agencies." The letter was signed by Sens. Jim Inhofe, Richard Shelby, Marco Rubio, Rob Portman and Roy Blunt. Related: Almost nobody wants troops at the U.S. Capitol, including the Guard chief and Congress, via Military.com. And: National Guard mission at Capitol expected to cost $521 million, via The Hill. INTEL PANEL NAMED: House leaders on Friday finally named new members to the House Intelligence Committee, POLITICO's Melanie Zanona and Kyle Cheney report. The Democrats are Reps. Jason Crow and Jim Cooper and the Republicans are Brian Fitzpatrick, Markwayne Mullin, Darin LaHood and Trent Kelly. HEARINGS-O-RAMA: Several defense-related congressional hearings will be held this week: Tuesday: The Senate Armed Services Committee will hear from the commanders of the U.S. Northern and Southern Commands at 9:30 a.m. The House Armed Services Committee’s Intelligence and Special Operations Subcommittee will hold a hearing on “Disinformation in the Gray Zone” at 11 a.m. The HASC Subcommittee on Military Personnel will also hold a hearing on the Fort Hood Independent Review Committee at 3 p.m. The House Oversight and Reform Committee also holds a hearing on the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction’s “2021 high-risk list” at 11 a.m. Thursday: HASC’s Subcommittee on Seapower will hold a hearing with top Navy and Marine Corps officials at 11 a.m. Friday: HASC’s Subcommittee on Readiness will hold a hearing with top Pentagon officials on the state of the industrial base at 11 a.m. And HASC’s Subcommittee on Cyber, Innovative Technologies, and Information Systems will hold a hearing on the electromagnetic spectrum at 3 p.m. | | | | JOIN THE CONVERSATION, SUBSCRIBE TO “THE RECAST”: Power dynamics are shifting in Washington, and more people are demanding a seat at the table, insisting that all politics is personal and not all policy is equitable. “The Recast” is a new twice-weekly newsletter that breaks down how race and identity are recasting politics, policy and power in America. Get fresh insights, scoops and dispatches on this crucial intersection from across the country, and hear from new voices that challenge business as usual. Don’t miss out on this new newsletter, SUBSCRIBE NOW. Thank you to our sponsor, Intel. | | | | | | | | The Hudson Institute hosts a discussion with Rep. Elaine Luria on the future of the Navy at noon. | | | On Tuesday, the Association of the U.S. Army kicks off its three-day Global Force Next conference, featuring acting Army Secretary John Whitley, Chief of Staff Gen. James McConnville, and the heads of the Army’s Space and Missile Defense Command, Futures Command, and Materiel Command. The Center for a New American Security hosts a discussion titled “Crafting a U.S. Technology Strategy” including former Pentagon policy chief Michele Flournoy and James Geurts, who is performing the duties of undersecretary of the Navy, at 1 p.m. And the Foreign Policy Research Institute hosts a webinar with Vice Chief of Space Operations Gen. David Thompson at 3:30 p.m. On Wednesday, the Air Force Association holds an online discussion with Maj. Gen. DeAnna Burt, who oversees operations for U.S. Space Command and the Space Force at 12:30 p.m. On Thursday, the Atlantic Council holds a virtual conference on security in the Arctic with Norway’s ministers of foreign affairs and defense at 9 a.m. | | | |   | | | | | | IRAQ AUMF REPEAL COMING: The House Foreign Affairs Committee will take up legislation “in the coming weeks” to revoke the 2002 authorization for the use of military force for the Iraq War, the panel's chairman said Friday. “Given that the 2002 AUMF is not needed for any ongoing military operations, there is no reason at all to leave it in place,” Chair Gregory Meeks told reporters, according to The Hill. “I intend to mark up legislation in the Foreign Affairs Committee in the coming weeks to repeal it.” The move comes after the White House signaled Biden will work with lawmakers to update presidential war powers, including repealing and replacing the 2001 AUMF that underpins many U.S. counterterrorism efforts worldwide. Related: Biden team engaged in ‘rigorous’ debate over ending forever war, via Foreign Policy. And: Biden doesn’t need to restrain his war powers, via National Review. | | | AUSTIN IN ASIA: Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is in Asia on his first overseas trip since taking office. At his first stop over the weekend in Honolulu he received a classified briefing from Adm. Philip Davidson, commander of Indo-Pacific Command, our colleague Lara Seligman relays. “Our goal is to make sure that we have the capabilities and the operational plans and concepts to be able to offer credible deterrence to China, or anybody else who would want to take on the United States,” Austin told reporters traveling with him, Lara reports for Pros. Upon arrival in Japan today, Austin met with U.S. Forces Japan at Yakota Air Base. He is being joined by Secretary of State Antony Blinken for high-level meetings before they travel to South Korea. Austin will go on to India later this week to meet with defense and military leaders. Related: America's partnerships are ‘force multipliers’ in the world, by Antony Blinken and Lloyd Austin, via The Washington Post. And: The rise of the East will not end the empire of the West, via The Nation. Plus: America’s Indo-Pacific folly, via Foreign Affairs. ‘WE WILL ADJUST FIRE’: Back home, the recriminations continued over the weekend in the war of words between the Pentagon brass and Fox News Channel’s Tucker Carlson over his attack on women in uniform, with new accusations that the military is overstepping its bounds by getting embroiled in what is ultimately a partisan battle. The II Marine Expeditionary Force Information Group issued an apology after its official Twitter account was criticized over the weekend for engaging in a bickering match with Carlson’s far-right backers, including since-deleted posting a picture of a female Marine carrying a comrade with the message, "Get right before you get left, boomer." The II MEF account later apologized in a reply to a tweet from Fox 11 Los Angeles reporter Bill Melugin, who said it was "pretty wild to see this tweet from an official US military account.” “We are human and we messed up,” the II MEF IG account responded. “We intended to speak up for female Marines and it was an effort to support them. They are a crucial part to our corps and we need them to know that. We will adjust fire and ensure the utmost professionalism in our tweets." At least one of Fox’s leading defenders in Congress is accusing the Pentagon of playing politics. “Under Biden, the military is launching political attacks to intimidate Tucker Carlson & other civilians who criticize their policy decisions,” Sen. Ted Cruz tweeted on Sunday in posting a letter he wrote to Austin seeking a meeting with Marine Commandant Gen. David Berger. Related: Women in the military are useless to Fox News' Tucker Carlson. The Pentagon wants more, via NBC News. And: House Republicans protest more books on Navy reading list, via Fox News. | | | | HAPPENING THURSDAY - PLAYBOOK INTERVIEW WITH CONGRESSMAN LEE ZELDIN : The GOP has not won a statewide election in New York in nearly two decades. Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-N.Y.), an ally of former President Donald Trump, is one of several Republicans considering a challenge against embattled New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo. Join Playbook co-authors Tara Palmeri and Ryan Lizza for a conversation with Rep. Zeldin to discuss a potential gubernatorial run and how he is working with Democrats in Congress. REGISTER HERE. | | | | | | | | ‘MAKE NO COMMENT’: So we have a bit more insight into why we may be getting stiff-armed on all those interview requests for the Pentagon’s mysterious Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Task Force, which was established last year to delve further into sightings of advanced craft by Navy pilots and other military personnel. “To date, we have not authorized any media interviews on the subject,” Navy spokesperson Joe Gradisher wrote in an internal email last summer that was obtained by researcher Marc Cecotti under the Freedom of Information Act, noting that all media inquiries needed to be steered to the Pentagon public affairs office. He went on: “Make no comment. The nuances of all this are such that any deviations from the statements that DoD makers result in multiple news stories … and additional FOIA requests at various levels.” The Navy has been inundated in recent years by FOIA requests seeking communications about the service’s public messaging on the topic. “We have been asking that FOIA offices coordinate with us on UAP-focused FOIA responses before they hit ‘reply’ so that new terms/language/etc. aren’t introduced that complicate the overall messaging efforts,” the newly released message stated. It also sounds like some of the UAP-related work has recently been classified. “Additionally, there is now a Security Classification Guidance (at the Secret) level, that addresses the UAP issue and what may/may not be discussed publicly,” Gradisher wrote. The Pentagon can’t be mum forever. It is required to reveal what it is up to on the topic in an unclassified report to Congress that is due this summer. | | | | A message from Northrop Grumman: If our nation doesn’t have effective missile defense capabilities, our nation is at risk. With proven expertise in missile defense and advanced weapon systems integration, our unmatched NGI team is utilizing cutting-edge technologies, agile processes and model-based systems engineering to offer an affordable, low-risk NGI solution. This solution will be able to meet the customer’s schedule and ensure mission success. Learn More. | | | | | | Tim Paynter, most recently VP for strategic communications at Northrop Grumman, is joining BAE Systems as VP for external communications. Morgan Lorraine Vina , most recently chief of staff for international security affairs at the Pentagon, is now an adjunct fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. | | | — Meet the Republican building a McCain model on foreign policy: POLITICO — Army reviewing investigation into Michael Flynn's dealings with Russia, foreign firm: The Washington Post — New missile defense program on deputy SECDEF’s desk awaiting approval: Breaking Defense — The fighter jet that’s too pricey to fail: The New York Times — FCC deems 5 Chinese companies security threats: POLITICO Pro — A blueprint for the Department of Defense’ strategic assessment of climate change: War on the Rocks — Why special ops forces are everywhere: The Atlantic — Inside U.S. troops’ stronghold in Syria, a question of how long Biden will keep them there: Los Angeles Times — Minister says Afghan forces can hold their own: The Associated Press — Call me? US-Turkey reset faces long list of hurdles: The Associated Press — BOOK REVIEW: “The Hardest Place”: Stars and Stripes — Coast Guard officer earns slot on Olympic sailing team: The Virgin Islands Daily News — 3 miles from Martha’s Vineyard is an empty island full of bombs: The Atlantic | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Follow us | | | | |  |
