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From the SitRoom to the E-Ring, the inside scoop on defense, national security and foreign policy. | | | | | |  | | By Alexander Ward and Quint Forgey | | 
Rep. Mike Waltz is set to introduce a resolution urging the Biden administration to keep the Afghanistan evacuation operation ongoing for “as long as necessary.” | Samuel Corum/Getty Images | Welcome to National Security Daily, your guide to the global events roiling Washington and keeping the administration up at night. Send tips | Subscribe here | Email Alex | Email Quint FIRST IN NATSEC DAILY — Rep. MIKE WALTZ (R-Fla.) is set to introduce a resolution today castigating President JOE BIDEN over the administration’s handling of the Afghanistan evacuation. If passed, the measure would condemn “President Biden’s failure to heed the advice of military and intelligence advisors about the speech and nature of the Taliban offensive” and his “inability to present a coherent plan to prevent a Taliban takeover or prepare for the long-term counterterrorism effects of a withdrawal.” It also calls on the president “to conduct a multi-agency accounting of United States military equipment and other resources left behind in Afghanistan, now in the hands of the Taliban or other groups” as well as “immediately present a clear plan to Congress of how he intends to fill the intelligence gaps created by this chaotic withdrawal.” The resolution urges the administration to keep the evacuation operation ongoing “as long as necessary to safely evacuate any United States citizen, lawful permanent resident, and Afghan partner that requests evacuation assistance and to utilize all the United States military resources to ensure access to Hamid Karzai International Airport remains open and unobstructed.” Waltz’s legislation has the support of the three main House Republican leaders: Minority Leader KEVIN MCCARTHY, Rep. STEVE SCALISE (R-La.), and Rep. ELISE STEFANIK (R-N.Y.). But all the condemnation and criticism in the bill means there's a slim to none chance Speaker NANCY PELOSI allows it to reach the House floor. Yet Waltz, the first Green Beret in Congress, believes the chaos in Kabul demands that Congress force Biden to rethink his approach. “President Biden has embarrassed the United States on the world stage and created the worst foreign policy blunder in our modern history,” he told NatSec Daily. “Rather than heeding the advice of military leaders and lawmakers, President Biden created a humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan that he alone owns.” “Now, we will have shamefully given away the freedoms of Afghans, or military equipment and infrastructure, and countless other resources to the hands of Taliban terrorists because of the president’s cluelessness and stubbornness,” he continued. The White House is already pushing back on Waltz's effort. "If this move was driven by anything other than politics, Minority Leader McCarthy would have eagerly spoken up last year when the previous president cut a flawed deal with the Taliban that put 5,000 of its fighters back on the battlefield and weakened our Afghan allies, but instead McCarthy praised it. That tells you everything you need to know about how serious his criticism is," MIKE GWIN, a White House spokesperson, told NatSec Daily. As of yet there’s no Senate office writing a companion bill, so the lambasting is limited to the House for now. At the moment, the White House appears confident in its position, as poll after poll show Americans favor the withdrawal. But the measure’s pending introduction means Republicans see value in starting this political fight — one that could last all the way to the midterms. “Biden’s complete disaster in Afghanistan is much better ground for Republicans to stand on than lost elections and culture politics. Kabul is a catastrophe that even Democrats can see with their own eyes and disrupts the narrative that Biden was bringing competency back to the White House,” RORY COOPER, a Republican political strategist with Purple Strategies, told NatSec Daily. | | | NEW LEAKED EVACUATION NUMBERS: NatSec Daily received another leaked State Department cable with updated evacuation numbers. The data was current as of 3 p.m. EST on Monday: Total people manifested since midnight, Aug. 23 in Kabul: — 483 American citizens
— 6,425 Afghan nationals
— 8 third-country or unknown
— 6,916 total Total manifested since the operation began: — 4,407 American citizens
— 21,533 Afghan nationals
— 642 third-country or unknown
— 26,582 total A senior State Department official today said "We have evacuated approximately more than 4,000 American passport holders plus their families. We expect that number to continue to grow in the coming days," adding, "We are focused on getting people out of Kabul as quickly as we can and then processing the total numbers, which is why there is a delay in reporting. We also take the time to verify the numbers to make sure we aren’t inadvertently under or double-counting." Numbers announced by the Pentagon and White House are much higher than State’s, though none will openly provide a specific count of evacuated Americans like State does internally. A White House official explained the discrepancy: “The Department of Defense numbers include coalition and charter flights, which they help facilitate. The State Department numbers to date have not, as the State Department does not play a role in these operations. Additionally, the Department of Defense [numbers] include contractors, U.S. direct hires, and other USG personnel, which the State Department does not include.” A State Department spokesperson weighed in: "We are moving thousands of people each day by U.S. military aircraft and civilian charter flights while also facilitating the flights of our coalition partner countries. This number is always changing as flights are continually departing from Kabul. There are going to be different numbers for a variety of reasons, including the exact time period for the data; whether we are looking at those manifested or processed into the airport or those who have actually departed; and whether we are including flights that may be operated by our coalition partners or going to destinations other than our designated transit points." ONE PILOT’S AFGHANISTAN EXPERIENCE: A U.S. Air Force pilot involved in the Afghanistan evacuation sent NatSec Daily their experience with the mission. The pilot, who isn’t authorized to speak to the press and requested anonymity, writes: “The first few days were pure chaos with very little direction given to efficiently distribute the food, hygiene products and clothes. Over the last week we have created a somewhat efficient system and more donations are finally arriving but the first few days we could not supply them with the basic hygiene products or clothes that they needed. We ended up running out of food and had to feed them MREs. It was very disappointing to see the faces of the mothers and children when they would stand in a 45-minute line to get something like a toothbrush and then we didn’t have it. Or handing a kid a pack of raisins from an MRE when he sees another kid with M&Ms. Now that we have more supplies and are better organized I think it will be smoother going forward.” “They are not really giving us a timeline of when we are going to go home but it’s kind of hard to complain about anything at this point when there are thousands of refugees sleeping in airplane hangars,” the pilot added. “Most people here are just trying to do their part to help. I’m sure there may be some frustration with the situation but most people keep those feelings private.” BIDEN WON’T EXTEND DEADLINE — YET: From our own LARA SELIGMAN and ANDREW DESIDERIO: Biden “has agreed with a Pentagon recommendation to stick to an Aug. 31 deadline to withdraw U.S. combat troops from Afghanistan, according to two people with knowledge of the recommendation. The decision comes amid doubts over whether the U.S. can safely evacuate all American citizens and Afghan allies before the deadline.” Biden did request contingency plans in case he cannot evacuate all the Americans who want to leave and others before the deadline. The Taliban have already vowed to impose “consequences” on the U.S. should forces remain in Afghanistan beyond Aug. 31. HAVANA SYNDROME SCARE IN HANOI: The U.S. Embassy in Vietnam’s capital released a statement Tuesday saying Vice President KAMALA HARRIS’ flight from Singapore to Hanoi was delayed over “a recent possible anomalous health incident .” That’s the term of art given to the so-called Havana Syndrome, a mysterious series of symptoms like nausea and splitting headaches suffered by U.S. personnel in Cuba, China and elsewhere — and often attributed to microwave weapons. Now it seems Vietnam may soon be added to the list. However, the VP’s trip will proceed as planned. In a brief interview, a senior administration official underscored to NatSec Daily that the health incident is “possible” and that it’s “still early in the investigation.” Before the health scare, Harris delivered a speech criticizing China while boosting America’s role in the Indo-Pacific. “We know that Beijing continues to coerce, to intimidate and to make claims to the vast majority of the South China Sea,” she said in Singapore. “Beijing’s actions continue to undermine the rules-based order and threaten the sovereignty of nations.” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson WANG WENBIN pushed back, invoking Afghanistan in the rebuke: “This is the order that the U.S. wants. The U.S. always tries to make use of the rules and order to justify its own selfish, bullying and hegemonic behavior, but who still believe it now?” VETS BACK BIDEN’S AFGHANISTAN PULLOUT: A solid majority of U.S. veterans, 63-24 percent, support the president’s decision to end America's military presence in the country, according to a new poll commissioned by the progressive advocacy group VoteVets and conducted Aug. 20-21. A similar margin of registered voters surveyed, 65-22 percent, also are in favor of the drawdown. Read the results from the poll’s veterans sample here and its national sample here. IT’S TUESDAY: Thanks for tuning in to NatSec Daily, the newsletter for top U.S. and foreign officials, lawmakers, lobbyists, experts and the people like you who care about how the natsec sausage gets made. Aim your tips and comments at award@politico.com and qforgey@politico.com, and follow us on Twitter at @alexbward and @QuintForgey. While you’re at it, follow the rest of POLITICO’s national security team: @nahaltoosi, @woodruffbets, @politicoryan, @PhelimKine, @BryanDBender, @laraseligman, @connorobrienNH, @paulmccleary, @leehudson, @AndrewDesiderio and @JonnyCustodio. | | | | INTRODUCING OTTAWA PLAYBOOK : Join the growing community of Politicos — from lawmakers and leaders to pollsters, staffers, strategists and lobbyists — working to shape Canada’s future. Every day, our reporting team pulls back the curtain to shed light on what’s really driving the agenda on Parliament Hill, the true players who are shaping politics and policy across Canada, and the impact it all has on the world. Don’t miss out on your daily look inside Canadian politics and power. Subscribe to Ottawa Playbook today. | | | | | | | | MOSCOW’S NEW NUCLEAR SUBS AND SHIPS: Russian President VLADIMIR PUTIN is accelerating his revamp of Russia’s military power by ordering the construction of two new nuclear submarines and two corvettes, per The Associated Press’ VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV. “We will continue to boost the potential of the Russian navy, develop its bases and infrastructure, arm it with state-of-the-art weapons,” Putin said in a video call Monday. “A strong and sovereign Russia needs a powerful and well-balanced navy.” TALIBAN BLOCKING AFGHANS FROM FLEEING: The Taliban will no longer allow Afghans to leave the country, even if they want to flee instead of living under the militants’ repressive rule. "The Afghans leaving, we are not going to allow that, and we are not even happy about it," Taliban spokesperson ZABIHULLAH MUJAHID said during a news conference Tuesday. People such as doctors or those with high-level skills "should not leave this country, they should work in their own specialist areas. … They should not go to other countries, to those Western countries." Meanwhile, militants are reportedly going door to door to execute any Afghans suspected of working alongside the United States during the 20-year-long war. | | | TALIBAN COULD WEAPONIZE TROVES OF AFGHAN DATA: Having captured Kabul, the Taliban are now able to harness vast digital data stores inside Afghan businesses and government offices — information that could help the militant group target Afghans who aided the U.S. war effort or supported the collapsed Western-backed government, per our own SAM SABIN and HEIDI VOGT. Potential efforts by the Taliban to access the data add a new layer of urgency to the U.S. effort to evacuate Afghan allies from Kabul. Records at risk of exploitation include call logs kept by telecom companies, government lists of foreign-funded projects and personnel, and stashes of fingerprints and other identifying biometric data. | | | ARMY JAMMER IN A JAM: After the Army cut an aerial electronic jamming pod for fiscal 2022, the program’s manager insists it’s time to show the system works. “We’ve got to show that the MFEW [Multi-Function Electronic Warfare-Air Large] capability can operate in a robust environment and potentially on platforms, not just the Gray Eagle, but looking at diversified platform set … and looking for how MFEW will operate before we make a commitment on how we’ll necessarily go after a capability like MFEW in the future,” MARK KITZ, program executive officer for intelligence, electronic warfare and sensors, told C4ISRNET’s MARK POMERLEAU. The Army canceled the acquisition of the MFEW, which mounts on a MQ-1C Gray Eagle, but did offer $12 million for research and development. Those boosting the MFEW believe it’ll be the exact kind of electronic weapon the Army wants to give soldiers in the years ahead. | | | HOUSE DEMS WANT AFGHANISTAN DEADLINE EXTENSION: Biden is facing pressure from top congressional lawmakers in his party to extend America’s military evacuation mission in Afghanistan past the Aug. 31 deadline he refuses to extend for now, per Desiderio. “I don’t see a scenario under which we get our folks out” by the end of the month, said Rep. JASON CROW (D-Colo.), a House Intelligence Committee member and former Army Ranger who served in Afghanistan. “The bottom line is, these are our people. These are our citizens. These are our Afghan partners, and we have to make a commitment to get them out.” Rep. ADAM SCHIFF (D-Calif.), who chairs the Intelligence panel, told reporters Monday night that the United States should “maintain a military presence as long as is necessary to get all U.S. persons out, and to meet our moral and ethical obligation to our Afghan partners.” He agreed with Crow that it isn’t possible to complete the evacuations before Aug. 31. | | | MCCONNELL GOES ON TV TO BLITZ BIDEN: Senate Minority Leader MITCH MCCONNELL savaged the Biden administration’s Afghanistan withdrawal as “one of the greatest foreign policy disasters in American history” in a Fox News interview Tuesday. Before Biden’s “reckless decision to leave,” McConnell said, “we only had 2,500 troops there. We hadn’t lost a single American person, military personnel in a year. The Taliban, the barbarians, were not in charge of the country. We were keeping the lid on. And al-Qaida was not there.” “The decision to pull out was a gargantuan mistake, in my opinion,” the senator added. “Having made that decision, you’d have to conclude these guys couldn’t organize a two-car funeral.” McConnell went on to urge Biden to “forget about the Aug. 31 deadline” for the U.S. troop pullout, echoing recent calls by some congressional Democrats: “Extend the deadline. Get outside the perimeter. Make sure that every single American who wants to leave is able to get out with our assistance — and our Afghan allies.” | | | — AKHIL BERY announced on Twitter he was leaving the Eurasia Group to join the Asia Society Policy Institute “to work on South Asia initiatives.” | | | | Be a Policy Pro. POLITICO Pro has a free policy resource center filled with our best practices on building relationships with state and federal representatives, demonstrating ROI, and influencing policy through digital storytelling. Read our free guides today . | | | | | | | | — GEORGE PACKER, The Atlantic: “Escape from Afghanistan” — KELLY KIMBALL, Foreign Policy: “Afghanistan Braces for a Brain Drain” — BEN RHODES, Foreign Affairs: “Them and Us: How America Lets Its Enemies Hijack Its Foreign Policy” | | | — The third day of VP Harris’ trip to Southeast Asia: In Hanoi, Harris will have several government meetings; lead the U.S. delegation in co-hosting, along with the government of Vietnam, the official launch of the CDC Southeast Asia Regional Office; and discuss the coronavirus pandemic with government officials from Vietnam, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and Papua New Guinea. — The Center for Strategic and International Studies, 1 p.m.: “Afghanistan Aftershocks” — The Intelligence and National Security Alliance, 3 p.m.: “Is the IC Staying Ahead of the Digital Curve?” 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 | | | | |  |
