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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 Alexander Ward and Quint Forgey | | | With help from Paul McLeary You already know about President JOE BIDEN’s $750 million arms sale to Taiwan. What you might not know is that there’s some serious finger-pointing going on behind the scenes on Capitol Hill. NatSec Daily called our contacts to get some details on what led to yesterday’s formal notification of the deal, which we’re told arrived shortly after the online news releases due to pandemic-era mailing delays. One knowledgeable congressional aide said something that raised our eyebrows: Rep. GREGORY MEEKS (D-N.Y.), chair of the powerful House Foreign Affairs Committee, isn’t super-jazzed about the sale. “The Hill first heard of this in the spring, and we understand that Meeks didn’t clear on any weapons sales for two months,” after the informal notification, said a GOP congressional aide familiar with the situation. “If he were serious about helping Taiwan, he shouldn’t have sat on it.” The staffer insisted Meeks has used his time atop HFAC to water down bills that would put the United States on a more confrontational path with China. As an example, they said the House Democrats’ version of an anti-China bill is less antagonistic than the Senate’s version — asserting the Meeks-led legislation doesn’t define U.S.-China relations as “strategic competition” and would allow foreign money to pour into American universities without transparency safeguards. Meeks’ team didn’t hold back when asked for comment. “The sale of $750 million worth of defense equipment to our democratic friend Taiwan has already been cleared, and formal notifications have already been issued,” an HFAC aide told NatSec Daily. “These comments are not only factually incorrect, they also misrepresent the chairman’s position. As the chairman made clear in his comprehensive China bill, the Eagle Act, he believes the United States must support Taiwan in enhancing deterrence and ensuring peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait. This sale is consistent with that.” How the United States should handle China and Taiwan remains one of the thorniest issues in politics, with lawmakers constantly sniping at one another that they’re either too hawkish or too dovish. But it rarely gets this personal, and it seems the knives are out for Meeks. Readers in Taipei don’t have to worry, though, as the sale is all but certain to go through. The question now is whether passions about China will overwhelm Congress’ ability to work together and find common solutions to the challenge. | | A message from Lockheed Martin: PAC-3 MSE: Proven, Ready and Able
The PAC-3® Missile Segment Enhancement (MSE) uses a revolutionary two-pulse solid rocket motor and combat-proven Hit-to-Kill technology to defeat incoming threats, including tactical ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and aircraft. Learn More | | | | | | FIRST IN NATSEC DAILY — A VIRTUAL “SUMMIT FOR DEMOCRACY” IN DECEMBER: One of Biden's biggest promises has been to hold an in-person Summit for Democracy this year , working closely and in concert with U.S. democratic allies and partners. But the coronavirus pandemic is complicating planning for that effort, and now the administration is making other arrangements. Per a White House and a U.S. official familiar with the current proposal, the administration will host a virtual summit in December — somewhat fulfilling Biden’s pledge — and will aim for an in-person event some time next year. The official recommendation just reached the president, the official told NatSec Daily, which means the details could still change. But the general feeling inside the White House is that this will be the game plan moving forward. ANOTHER NATSEC DAILY FIRST — SENATORS PUSH TO BLOCK INFRASTRUCTURE FUNDS FROM BUYING CHINESE-MADE DRONES: Last night, Sens. JOHN HOEVEN (R-N.D.) and RICHARD BLUMENTHAL (D-Conn.) introduced an amendment to the bipartisan infrastructure bill to block funds for technology purchases from going toward buying Chinese-made drones. Tucked into the $1 trillion package is the $500 million Strengthening Mobility and Revolutionizing Transportation Grant Program — known as SMART — meant to help acquire drones and other technologies to improve the nation’s transportation systems. But nothing in the current language prevents that money from being used to buy Chinese-made drones from companies like DJI that the U.S. government has said pose a security threat. Hoeven and Blumenthal wrote an amendment that stops the funds from going to “an entity, a subsidiary or affiliate of an entity that is subject to influence or control by … the Government of the People’s Republic of China; or … the Chinese Communist Party.” “Our amendment would prevent grants in this bill from being used to purchase Chinese-manufactured drones for infrastructure inspections,” Hoeven told Alex today. “This is all about ensuring that we utilize the capabilities of unmanned aircraft, but do so in a way that ensures our national security.” You can read Alex's full story here. FOREIGN VISITORS NEED VACCINES: The White House is considering allowing foreigners to once again visit the United States, but only if they’re fully vaccinated, according to Reuters’ DAVID SHEPARDSON. A White House official told Shepardson that the administration has stood up working groups “to have a new system ready for when we can reopen travel” — adding that the plan includes “a phased approach that over time will mean, with limited exceptions, that foreign nationals traveling to the United States [from all countries] need to be fully vaccinated.” There’s still no timeline on when the policy would go into effect, but the administration is under immense pressure to lift pandemic-related travel restrictions. Yesterday, European Commission President URSULA VON DER LEYEN urged the U.S. to remove its barrier on European travel. IT’S THURSDAY. 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. Follow the whole team here: @alexbward, @nahaltoosi, @woodruffbets, @politicoryan, @PhelimKine, @BryanDBender, @laraseligman, @connorobrienNH, @paulmccleary, @leehudson and @QuintForgey. PUT YOUR INBOX TO WORK FOR YOU: Coming at Pro s bright and early every a.m., if you’re not getting Morning D, you’re missing out. Learn more about our best-in-class insider reporters and sign up here . Don’t let your competition be the first to act on industry scoops, breaking Pentagon news, the latest aerospace developments, defense acquisitions and influence plays.
| | | AIRSTRIKES RAMP UP ISRAEL-LEBANON CONFLICT: The Lebanese army and government officials reported that Israel launched overnight airstrikes into southern Lebanon on Thursday, per LAURIE KELLMAN and ZEINA KARAM of The Associated Press — a day after three rockets were fired from Lebanon into northern Israeli territory. The Israeli army blamed Lebanon for that attack Wednesday and said its latest retaliatory airstrikes had hit the Lebanese rocket launch sites, plus another target that had previously been used to carry out attacks against Israel. State Department spokesperson NED PRICE said Wednesday that administration officials “absolutely condemn” the initial rocket attack against Israel and attributed it to “armed groups based in Lebanon.” GANTZ GIVES WARNING TO TEHRAN: Israel is ready to take military action against Iran, Defense Minister BENNY GANTZ told the Israeli news outlet Ynet on Thursday. That threat comes after days of escalating tensions in the Gulf of Oman — where Tehran launched a deadly drone strike against an Israeli-managed commercial ship last week and suspected Iranian-backed forces mounted a possible hijacking of an asphalt tanker Tuesday. “Iran is a global and regional problem and an Israeli challenge,” Gantz said, accusing Tehran of “building up its forces in Lebanon and Gaza, deploying militias in Syria and Iraq, and maintaining its supporters in Yemen.” He added: “We need to continue to develop our abilities to cope with multiple fronts, for this is the future.” TALIBAN MAKING BANK ON BORDER TAXES: MOHAMMAD RAFI TABE, a spokesperson for Afghanistan’s Ministry of Finance, tells ELTAF NAJAFIZADA of Bloomberg News that the Taliban are responsible for major losses in government revenue from import duties after seizing several crucial customs posts. The Islamist fundamentalist militia has collected more than 2.7 billion Afghanis — or about $34 million — at those international border crossings, the spokesperson said. As a result, the Ministry of Finance raked in only 4.6 billion Afghanis in July compared with the 7.3 billion Afghanis it amassed in June from import duties, which make up roughly half of the country’s total domestic revenues. PAKISTAN ACCUSES AFGHANS OF SCAPEGOATING: Pakistani National Security Adviser MOEED YUSUF — who complained in an interview this week that his boss, Prime Minister IMRAN KHAN, hasn’t gotten a call from Biden — warned in new remarks Wednesday that Islamabad “will not accept a forceful takeover” of Afghanistan by the Taliban, according to Pakistani news outlet Geo News. “We have made it absolutely clear that we are with the international community on where this goes. But the world also needs to be clear that the U.S. invest in a political settlement,” Mooed said at a news conference at Pakistan’s embassy in Washington, D.C. Mooed added that Pakistani officials “are beginning to see a very conscious, deliberate effort by the Afghan government to scapegoat Pakistan,” as Kabul seeks “to shift the entire blame of its failures” on its southern neighbor.
| | | FEDS TURN TO BIG TECH FIRMS: The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency is turning to the private sector — specifically, major technology companies like Amazon, Google and Microsoft — to partner on a new initiative called the Joint Cyber Defense Collaborative, per The Wall Street Journal’s ROBERT MCMILLAN. CISA Director JEN EASTERLY says the agency’s effort will focus on shoring up the United States’ critical infrastructure defenses against cyberattacks and ransomware: “This will uniquely bring people together in peacetime, so that we can plan for how we’re going to respond in wartime.”
| | | PALAU’S LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION: Our own PAUL MCLEARY sends us this DOD-related missive: This afternoon, Defense Secretary LlOYD AUSTIN welcomed Palau President SURANGEL WHIPPS JR . to the Pentagon, a day after Whipps met with Secretary of State ANTONY BLINKEN, in an astonishingly high-profile visit for the leader of a country with about 18,000 people. The reason? Palau kicked off talks last year to allow more U.S. military aircraft and ships to use its facilities in what would be a huge boost for the Biden administration’s vision for increasing presence in the Pacific, and keeping that footprint dispersed in as many places as possible. The options are limited in the first island chain closest to the South China Sea, making islands in the second island chain even more attractive. “Places to pull ships into port and available airstrips will be invaluable,” in the coming years, said BLAKE HERZINGER, a Pacific Forum Non-resident WSD-Handa fellow in Singapore. Outside of that first island chain, “all you hear about is Guam, and for good reason. There aren’t a lot of options out there, and the U.S. is racing to rebuild relationships that it’s neglected and it’s doing it under pressure. The PRC is already out there looking for deals in the Pacific,” making timing, and wooing, important. FRESH MARINE ONE FLEET: POTUS is getting a new ride, per Defense One’s MARCUS WEISGERBER. Marine Corps Maj. Gen. GREGORY MASIELLO told attendees at the Navy League’s Sea Air Space convention in Maryland that the Marine Corps helicopter squadron tasked with transporting the commander in chief has already received its first four Sikorsky VH-92 helicopters, with two more arriving soon. The squadron’s current crop of aircraft consists of VH-3D helicopters and VH-60N White Hawks, as well as a few V-22 Ospreys. HUMAN RIGHTS EMPHASIS IN ARMS SALES: Biden is revamping America’s arms export policy to focus more on human rights, report Reuters’ MIKE STONE and PATRICIA ZENGERLE. Two State Department officials are expected to brief congressional staff on the president’s draft Conventional Arms Transfer Policy on Friday. That meeting will come after a session with a smaller group of Capitol Hill aides about two weeks ago, during which administration officials described how the State Department wants its human rights bureau to have more input on weapons sales. | | | |   | | | | | | UKRAINIANS MEET WITH KEY SENATE DEMS: On Wednesday, NSC spokesperson EMILY HORNE announced that national security adviser JAKE SULLIVAN met with with the Head of Presidential Administration ANDRIY YERMAK and Foreign Minister DYMTRO KULEBA of Ukraine. But the delegation from Kyiv had other big appointments on its schedule Wednesday — with Sens. JEANNE SHAHEEN (D-N.H.) and CHRIS MURPHY (D-Conn.). Shaheen’s office said they discussed "President [VOLODYMYR] ZELENSKY ’s upcoming visit, which is an opportunity to launch a new chapter on U.S.-Ukraine relations, focused on increased trade and security. They also discussed continued Russian aggression against Ukraine, and Nord Stream 2. Last, they discussed the investigation underway following the hanging of Belarusian diaspora leader VITALY SHISHOV in Kyiv.” Shaheen is not only the chair of the European relations subcommittee in the Senate; she’s also a vocal critic of the Biden administration’s Nord Stream 2 policy. Meanwhile, Murphy has long been a champion of improving U.S. relations with Ukraine, going back to his travels with the late JOHN MCCAIN to the Maidan during 2013 protests. While the senator may be seen as a dove on most national security issues, he’s quite adamant about bringing Ukraine into the West’s fold and out of Russia’s orbit. Per a congressional aide, Murphy and the Ukrainians "discuss[ed] their mutual concerns with Russia’s Nord Stream 2 energy pipeline and ways to solidify the commitments laid out in the recent US-German statement on support for Ukraine and European energy security." Both Shaheen and Murphy are critical allies of the Ukrainians in the Senate, and it makes perfect sense that they’d take time out of their D.C. tour to meet with both of them.
| | | SAFE HAVEN FOR HONG KONGERS: Biden is directing the Department of Homeland Security to defer for 18 months the removal of certain Hong Kong residents in the United States, Quint reports — citing Beijing’s crackdown on pro-democracy protesters and imposition of a strict national security law in the semi-autonomous Chinese city. The order comes less than a week after 24-year-old TONG YING-KIT, the first person to be prosecuted under the national security law, was convicted of inciting secession and terrorism and sentenced to nine years in prison. But Sen. BEN SASSE (R-Neb.) wants Biden to “go further” by granting full asylum to Hong Kongers fleeing Chinese oppression. The Senate Intelligence Committee member introduced a bill to the same effect in May. “The Hong Kongers have been bravely fighting CCP oppression for years. Chairman Xi and his minions have slowly strangled the freedoms in Hong Kong and are bringing down an iron fist on anyone who speaks ill of their ‘mighty leader,’” Sasse told NatSec Daily in a statement. “America needs to stand strong with our freedom loving allies who are fighting tooth and nail against a brutal communist regime. Today’s step is good, but we need to go all the way.” In a letter last month to U.S. lawmakers, a group of seven high-profile Hong Kong pro-democracy activists living in exile petitioned Congress to pass legislation granting refugee status to Hong Kong citizens with “well-founded fears of persecution” by the city’s authorities. | | A message from Lockheed Martin: Combat-Proven HIMARS wins U.S. Army production award
With more than 1.9 million operating hours, HIMARS is the most dependable long-range precision fires delivery system providing unmatched reliability in the field. HIMARS’ helps the warfighter maintain advantage in All-Domain Operations. Learn More | | | | | | SOCOM ARRIVAL LOUNGE: Per the Pentagon, Marine Corps Master Gunnery Sgt. ANDREW D. MCCURRY will replace Army Command Sgt. Maj. MICHAEL R. WEIMER as the command senior enlisted leader for Special Operations Command – Central, MacDill Air Force Base, Florida. McCurry was most recently assigned as the command senior enlisted leader, Special Operations Joint Task Force - Operation Inherent Resolve, Camp Arifjan, Kuwait. NEW AMBASSADOR NOMINATIONS: Biden has tapped MARK BRZEZINSKI as U.S. ambassador to Poland, ELIZABETH ANNE NOSEWORTHY FITZSIMMONS as U.S. ambassador to Togo, BRIAN WESLEY SHUKAN as U.S. ambassador to Benin and DAVID JOHN YOUNG as U.S. ambassador to Malawi. The president also nominated REBECCA ELIZA GONZALES as director of the Office of Foreign Missions at the State Department; ADRIANA KUGLER as U.S. executive director of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development; OREN WHYCHE-SHAW as U.S. director of the African Development Bank; COREY HINDERSTEIN as deputy administrator for Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation at the Energy Department; and DAVID HONEY as deputy undersecretary for Research and Engineering at the Defense Department.
| | | The Atlantic: “The Diplomats Without a Country” CNN: “‘There is no life for me here’: One of the last Guantanamo detainees is a litmus test for Biden ” The Wall Street Journal: “A Breakout Moment for a New Approach to Iran”
| | | — National Press Club Headliners Event, 2 p.m.: “U.S. Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. CHARLES Q. BROWN JR.” 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 | | | | |  |
