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Presented by Lockheed Martin: From the SitRoom to the E-Ring, the inside scoop on defense, national security and foreign policy. | | | | | |  | | By Nahal Toosi and Quint Forgey | | | With help from Andrew Desiderio and Lara Seligman. Welcome to the second edition of our second week here at National Security Daily , POLITICO’s newsletter on the global events roiling Washington and keeping the administration up at night. I’m Nahal Toosi, POLITICO’s foreign affairs correspondent, filling in for Alex Ward this week as your guide to what’s happening inside the Pentagon, the NSC and D.C.’s foreign policy machine. National Security Daily will arrive in your inbox Monday through Friday by 4 p.m.; go ahead and subscribe here. Still aim your tips, comments and hate mail at award@politico.com and @alexbward on Twitter. Make sure to follow @nahaltoosi and @QuintForgey, too! President JOE BIDEN has made no secret of his desire to fight global corruption, calling it a national security priority and commanding federal agencies to devise ways to combat it. But when it comes to using economic sanctions to go after VLADIMIR PUTIN and his associates’ dirty money, the American president is holding his fire. As your host reports today, Biden’s reluctance has frustrated Kremlin critics , some of whom have sent Biden a list of 35 people around Putin who they say the U.S. should target. Russian dissidents like chess champion GARRY KASPAROV argue that Putin won’t be deterred from undermining American interests until he senses that his wealth — much of which is believed to be held by his cronies — is in danger. Biden aides counter that past sanctions on Putin associates didn’t change his behavior and only made those pals more dependent on the Russian leader. Biden’s not ready for the nuclear option just yet: U.S. officials argue that there’s opportunity to cooperate on issues like climate change and battling ransomware gangs. Kasparov and others may have more luck with Congress, where there’s a burst of bipartisan activity on the anti-corruption front and plenty of resentment toward Putin. PAUL MASSARO, a Capitol Hill staffer long involved in the anti-corruption fight, recently published a list of some of the legislation in the works; one measure is called the “Countering Russian and Other Overseas Kleptocracy” (CROOK) Act. He expects lawmakers to write to Biden aides to urge them to crack down on the 35 people named by Russian dissidents, but at the moment, there’s no bill planned to force Biden’s hand. In addition, lawmakers are weighing legislation that will prevent the Biden administration from waiving future sanctions related to the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, a German-Russian project that has infuriated Congress. Rep. SHEILA JACKSON LEE (D-Texas) plans to introduce one broader bill that bars foreign officials from soliciting bribes. “Five years ago, when I’d walk into a room of national security experts and say, ‘Corruption is a huge national security threat!’ they’d be like, ‘What about terrorism? What about military invasion? What about nuclear weapons?’” Massaro said. “Now, I go in with, ‘Corruption is a national security threat!’ and people are like, ‘Oh thank you, Captain Obvious.’” Rep. TOM MALINOWSKI (D-N.J.) told NatSec Daily that it’s not just about new laws, but enforcing existing ones. “I’m sure there are some more Putin cronies we could and should sanction,” he said. “But the more important thing is to prioritize and properly resource sanctions enforcement, so that we find the shell companies, real estate, law firms and other enablers through which kleptocrats hide their money.” | | A message from Lockheed Martin: IRST21®: Passive Unmatched Threat Detection Crucial for Fighter Pilot Survivability
A necessary tool for achieving air superiority, IRST21 uses infrared search and track technology to detect, track and engage airborne threats with weapon-quality accuracy in radar-denied environments. Learn More | | | | | | HILL DEMOCRATS SLAM BIDEN FOR SOMALIA STRIKES: The commander in chief is again getting criticism from members of his own party about his use of military force around the world. Democrats on Capitol Hill tell our own ANDREW DESIDERIO and LARA SELIGMAN that the administration’s invocation of the 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force for recent airstrikes in Somalia is a stretch that undermines the president’s stated desire to replace outdated AUMFs. Sen. BEN CARDIN (D-Md.) said it’s “inconsistent with the intent of Congress” and that Biden “should recognize that the 2001 AUMF should be terminated.” Sen. CHRIS MURPHY (D-Conn.) said it was a “very dangerous precedent” to not ask Congress for an authorization to strike within Somalia. Meanwhile, Republicans — including Sen. MARCO RUBIO (R-Fla.) — are defending Biden on the issue, as they’ve done in the past. NASTY SWASTIKA SURPRISE: A swastika has been found carved into an elevator at the State Department headquarters. In a message to staffers obtained by NatSec Daily, Secretary of State ANTONY BLINKEN wrote that the “hateful graffiti” was removed and the incident is under investigation. The swastika’s appearance, first reported by Axios, is a reminder that antisemitism is “still a force in the world” and that “we must be relentless” in rejecting it, Blinken wrote. WELCOME TO NATIONAL SECURITY DAILY. Thanks for tuning in to POLITICO’s newsletter on the national security politics roiling Washington. NatSec Daily is for the top U.S. and foreign officials, the lawmakers, the lobbyists, the experts and the people like you who care about how the natsec sausage is made. Please share this subscription link with a colleague or friend. Tips welcome any time at award@politico.com, and follow the team here: @alexbward, @nahaltoosi, @woodruffbets, @politicoryan, @PhelimKine, @BryanDBender, @laraseligman, @connorobrienNH, @paulmccleary and @leehudson. IF YOU’RE MISSING MORNING D, DON’T WORRY — WE’RE STILL KICKING A: Morning Defense is now turbo-charged and better than ever, coming at Pro s bright and early every a.m. Get more intel and sign up here. With industry scoops, breaking Pentagon news, and new reporters covering acquisitions and influence, you can’t afford to miss it. | | | TROOPS TO STAY PUT IN SYRIA: Even as Biden seeks to end America’s “forever wars” in Iraq and Afghanistan, the U.S. military operation has escaped unscathed — and officials expect hundreds of troops, including Green Berets, to remain in the country for the foreseeable future, Lara reports . One reason for the different approach in Syria is that the American military mission there has broad ramifications far beyond the ISIS fight — most critically, providing a check on Russian and Iranian interests. Amid the smorgasbord of foreign interests in the country, the presence of U.S. troops prevents the Russian-backed Syrian government from accessing the oil fields and agricultural resources of northeastern Syria, and serves to obstruct Iran’s goal of establishing a geographic corridor connecting Tehran with Lebanon and the Mediterranean. But the reality is that no American troops have accompanied local forces on combat patrols for more than a year in either Iraq or Syria. “They are not kicking in doors, apprehending the enemy, etc.,” one defense official told Lara. PUTIN’S NEW PLANE: A Russian government news agency reports that Moscow is working on two so-called doomsday planes to carry the country’s senior military and political leadership in case of a nuclear attack, according to ALEXANDER BRATERSKY of Defense News. The Russian Air Force and Space Forces will reportedly receive two airborne commanding posts based on the Il-96-400M plane — the modernized version of the Il-96 long-haul, wide-body civilian jetliner. An Il-96 variant currently operates as Putin’s primary means of air travel, not unlike the U.S. president’s Air Force One. | | | DRONE LEAKER SENTENCED TO PRISON: DANIEL HALE — the 33-year-old former Air Force intelligence analyst who leaked top-secret information about U.S. drone operations abroad, including those aimed at locating and killing terror suspects — was sentenced to nearly four years in prison today, our own JOSH GERSTEIN reports. Prosecutors had urged stiff punishment for Hale, and the Justice Department seems eager to send a message that the unprecedented accommodations Biden and Attorney General MERRICK GARLAND have ordered for journalists do not herald a new era of leniency for government leakers. LAWMAKERS LOOK TO SCALE UP SILICON VALLEY OUTPOST: The House Armed Services panel that oversees cybersecurity and cutting-edge technology is seeking to expand the Pentagon’s Silicon Valley hub in its slice of the National Defense Authorization Act, per our own CONNOR O’BRIEN. The subcommittee’s bill includes an NDAA provision that would authorize the Pentagon to expand the efforts of the California-based Defense Innovation Unit to engage and collaborate with communities and industry in regions of the U.S. where the agency doesn’t have a presence and accelerate the adoption of advanced technologies. DOJ BACKS RANSOMWARE REPORTING REQUIREMENT: Justice Department officials threw their support behind a potential cyber incident reporting mandate for critical infrastructure companies, POLITICO's ERIC GELLER reports — telling lawmakers that voluntary cooperation had left the government blind to threats. “Such legislation would provide the federal government with a more complete view of the cyber threat environment and the collective risk that cyber threats pose to some of our nation’s most sensitive entities and information,” RICHARD DOWNING, a deputy assistant attorney general in DOJ’s Criminal Division, said today during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on ransomware. NDIA LAUNCHES NEW TECH CENTER: The National Defense Industrial Association unveiled its Emerging Technologies Institute yesterday, reports YASMIN TADJDEH for National Defense. The institute will focus on key technology areas including artificial intelligence; autonomy; biotechnology; cyber; directed energy; command, control and communications; hypersonics; microelectronics; quantum science; space; and “5G to Next G.” | | | SECDEF STANDS BEHIND TAIWAN: Defense Secretary LLOYD AUSTIN said that although the U.S. wants a new, more transparent relationship with Beijing, it will continue to help Taiwan and other allies in the Pacific defend themselves against Chinese aggression, according to Defense One’s TARA COPP. “We will not flinch when our interests are threatened, yet we do not seek confrontation,” the secretary told the International Institute for Strategic Studies in Singapore today. RAYTHEON SALES UP DESPITE SLOW ENGINE DELIVERIES: Raytheon Technologies is slightly behind on F-35 engine deliveries, but executives say they believe the company will make up for the lag during the second half of the year, according to our own LEE HUDSON . Overall, the company reported a 13 percent increase in second quarter sales over the same period last year. On the earnings call today, neither analysts nor company executives made mention of multiple ongoing Justice Department probes into Raytheon’s contracting practices. | | | |   | | | | | | BOYCOTTING BEIJING 2022: House lawmakers from both parties are proposing a measure that would effectively bar the U.S. from sending a diplomatic delegation to next year’s Winter Olympics in China, reports BENJAMIN SIEGEL of ABC News. The diplomatic boycott aims to punish Beijing for its atrocities against the Uyghurs in Xinjiang and other Muslims. | | | TOP REPUBLICANS WANT WHITE HOUSE CUBA MEETING: House Minority Leader KEVIN MCCARTHY and members of his Advisory Team on Cuba — including Sens. MARCO RUBIO (R-Fla.), RICK SCOTT (R-Fla.) and Rep. MICHAEL MCCAUL (R-Texas), the top Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee — sent a letter to Biden today asking for a sit-down to talk about U.S. policy toward the island. “[W]e are concerned that this pivotal moment is being squandered by indecision, bureaucracy, and a failure to lead,” the GOP lawmakers wrote. “Therefore, we request a meeting with you as soon as possible to discuss how Congress and your Administration can work together to bring an end to the oppressive communist regime in Havana and liberate the Cuban people. Now is the time to act.” | | | FIRST IN NATSEC DAILY — MIDEAST MOVES AT FOGGY BOTTOM: The State Department bureau that deals with the Middle East is getting two new members, a current and a former department official tell Nahal. YAEL LEMPERT , a career diplomat currently serving as the Chargé d’Affaires of the U.S. Embassy in London, will join the bureau as principal deputy assistant secretary. JENNIFER GAVITO, who also holds a top diplomatic post in London, will become deputy assistant secretary for Iran and Iraq. AIR FORCE SECRETARY WINS SENATE APPROVAL: The Senate yesterday confirmed FRANK KENDALL as Air Force secretary, making him the second of Biden’s three picks for the top civilian service secretaries to be approved, Connor reports. Two Democrats had placed procedural holds on Kendall’s nomination. Sen. ELIZABETH WARREN (D-Mass.) lifted her hold after Kendall pledged to extend his recusal from any matters involving a company he’s worked with from two to four years. Sen. GARY PETERS (D- Mich.) had blocked Kendall over the senator’s objections to the Air Force passing over Michigan’s Selfridge Air National Guard Base for a planned international training center for the F-35 fighter. But he ultimately lifted his hold, as well. Kendall previously served as the Defense Department’s chief weapons buyer during the Obama administration. Defense Secretary LLOYD AUSTIN praised him in a statement today: “No doubt, our Airmen, Guardians, and their families will be served well. I thank the Senate for his confirmation, and I look forward to Frank joining the team.” | | A message from Lockheed Martin: IRST21® Pod-to-Pod Communication Now Possible with Datalinks, Connecting Pilots Across Battlespace
Pilots can now share infrared data with new Datalink capability in Legion Pods to discover threats quicker, establish near instantaneous target range, and reduce workload to support Joint All-Domain Operations. Learn More | | | | | | The Atlantic: “Why Isn’t the Military Mandating COVID-19 Vaccines?” Sky News: “Iran’s Secret Cyber Files” H.R. MCMASTER and BRADLEY BOWMAN, The Wall Street Journal: “How to Avert Disaster in Afghanistan” | | | — Defense Secretary LLOYD AUSTIN continues his tour of Southeast Asia after visiting Singapore, with further stops in Vietnam and the Philippines. — Secretary of State ANTONY BLINKEN meets in New Delhi with Indian Prime Minister NARENDRA MODI and External Affairs Minister S. JAISHANKAR. Blinken will also travel to Kuwait City to meet with senior Kuwaiti officials. — Acting Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs JOEY HOOD, who is concluding his visit to Algeria and Morocco, will rendezvous with Blinken in Kuwait. — Senate Foreign Relations Committee, TBD: “Nomination Hearing: KENNETH SALAZAR, JESSICA LEWIS, DONALD LU and MARCELA ESCOBARI” — Chatham House, 10 a.m.: “Technology and de-extremization in Xinjiang” — House Armed Services Committee, 10 a.m.: “ Subcommittee on Cyber, Innovative Technologies, and Information Systems Markup: H.R. 4350 — National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022” — House Foreign Affairs Committee, 10 a.m.: “Markup of Various Measures” — The Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies, 10 a.m.: “Space Power Forum: Gen. DAVID THOMPSON” — The United States Institute of Peace, 10 a.m.: “The Convention on Refugees at 70: A Conversation with Ambassador LINDA THOMAS-GREENFIELD” — The Wilson Center, 10 a.m.: “Hindsight Up Front: Ambassador MARK GREEN in Conversation with Gen. DAVID PETRAEUS and Sir JOHN SCARLETT” — House Armed Services Committee, 12 p.m.: “Subcommittee on Strategic Forces Markup: H.R. 4350 — National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022” — The Hudson Institute, 12 p.m.: “ Iran’s Record of Smuggling, Kidnapping & Extortion” — The Atlantic Council, 1 p.m.: “Covering atrocities in Xinjiang: A discussion with award-winning journalists” — The United States Institute of Peace, 1:30 p.m.: “ Nuclear Security Policy in an Era of Strategic Competition: A Bipartisan Congressional Dialogue with Rep. JEFF FORTENBERRY (R-Neb.) and Rep. BILL FOSTER (D-Ill.)” — The Atlantic Council, 2 p.m.: “Enhancing deterrence in the Taiwan Strait ” — House Armed Services Committee, 2 p.m.: “Subcommittee on Seapower and Projection Forces Markup: H.R. 4350 — National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022” — The Center for Strategic and International Studies, 3 p.m.: “ U.S. National Security Policy in the Indo-Pacific: A Conversation with Senator TAMMY DUCKWORTH” — The Center for Strategic and International Studies, 3 p.m.: “The Need for Long-Term Pressure on the Ortega Regime” — House Armed Services Committee, 3:30 p.m.: “Subcommittee on Military Personnel Markup: H.R. 4350 — National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022” Have a natsec-centric event coming up? Transitioning to a new defense-adjacent or foreign policy-focused gig? Shoot us an email at award@politico.com or qforgey@politico.com to be featured in the next edition of the newsletter. | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Follow us | | | | |  |
