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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 | Presented by Lockheed Martin | With help from Andrew Desiderio, Daniel Lippman, Burgess Everett, Erin Banco and Lara Seligman | 
Secretary of State Antony Blinken listens as Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) addresses him during the Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on Sept. 14, 2021. | Bill O'Leary-Pool/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 Congress failed in its oversight role over 20 years of the Afghanistan war. The last two days on Capitol Hill were no different. Secretary of State ANTONY BLINKEN faced the House Foreign Affairs and Senate Foreign Relations Committees on Monday and Tuesday to discuss the administration’s withdrawal from the Taliban-controlled country last month. But the sessions quickly devolved into partisan bloodsport. Some Democrats at most criticized the chaotic nature of the pullout, while several Republicans called for the top diplomat’s ouster. The hearings largely served as an opportunity for President JOE BIDEN’s party to pin the blame on the Trump administration and the opposition to bash its foreign policy in made-for-TV moments. Looking at you, Rep. BRIAN MAST (R-Fla.). “F---ing embarrassing,” a senior Republican Senate staffer told us. “Yikes,” a House Democratic staffer texted NatSec Daily amid the proceedings. During today’s SFRC meeting, for example, ranking member Sen. JIM RISCH (R-Idaho) used his questioning time to ask whether there was someone at the White House who purposefully cuts off the president’s microphone when he goes off script. Congressional staff and experts we spoke with said this was par for the course over the last two decades. Lawmakers of both parties stood by as the United States spent trillions of dollars and as thousands of Americans, Afghans and other nationals died in the ill-fated war. When there were hearings, they functioned mainly as opportunities for administration officials to exaggerate their successes on the battlefield — instead of producing real moments of introspection or serious inquiry into long-term war strategy. The hearings this week were largely in line with that unfortunate tradition, although three newsy bits did emerge from the grilling. It turns out “several thousand” Special Immigrant Visa candidates remain in Afghanistan, per Blinken. A leaked State Department cable seen by NatSec Daily today features a sensitive-but-unclassified item which states “8,200 at-risk Afghans and U.S.-affiliated individuals” seek to leave from Mazar-i-Sharif, “and at least 1,300 were seeking departure via Kabul International Airport or overland transport.” A State Department official said one reason these numbers seem so high is likely due to duplications in the manifest, which are drawn from data gathered by informal groups coordinating evacuations. Furthermore, Defense Secretary LLOYD AUSTIN refused to appear in front of SFRC, prompting Chair BOB MENENDEZ (D-N.J.) to threaten to subpoena him. And Blinken in both sessions also said he’d appoint a special envoy for human rights in Afghanistan, focused on protecting the dignity of women and minorities now under Taliban rule. That item was met mainly with skepticism by four U.S. officials NatSec Daily spoke to, all but one of whom said the soon-to-be-named person was destined to fail in the job. A senior State Department official pushed back on the criticism: “Neither our policies nor our personnel moves will rely on the goodwill of the Taliban.” Some administration officials said they were pleased with Blinken’s testimony because he didn’t make news that would drive negative coverage for weeks. Austin, Joint Chiefs Chair Gen. MARK MILLEY, and head of U.S. Central Command Gen. FRANK MCKENZIE will testify to lawmakers toward the end of this month. | | | ISRAELI POL DISHES ON WH MEETING: RUTH WASSERMAN LANDE — a member of Israel’s Blue and White party and co-chair of the Knesset’s pro-Abraham Accords caucus — is in Washington for an event at the JARED KUSHNER -founded Abraham Accords Institute. But before her session, she spoke with NatSec Daily about her meeting Monday with the National Security Council’s Middle East lead, BRETT MCGURK. “The administration is absolutely, and without a doubt, committed to the Abraham Accords,” she told us. “[McGurk] said that several times. He said that in a very clear manner.” How committed? The Knesset member wouldn’t provide too many details, but she did say that “they are speaking,” and “they are working on broadening with significant partners in the region.” Analysts have long assumed the Biden administration was working toward getting Saudi Arabia to join the Abraham Accords. NatSec Daily asked the White House about this directly, and a spokesperson neither confirmed nor denied the contents of the McGurk-Lande meeting or potential discussions with Riyadh. Still, the spokesperson added that “the Biden-Harris Administration strongly supports the Abraham Accords,” and “we are working to expand normalization arrangements to other countries in the region.” Blinken plans to host a virtual event Friday with his counterparts in Israel, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Morocco to celebrate the one-year anniversary of the pact, per Axios’ BARAK RAVID. NEW TRUMP BOOK COULD MEAN TROUBLE FOR MILLEY: Titled “Peril,” the tome by The Washington Post’s BOB WOODWARD and ROBERT COSTA has some jaw-dropping anecdotes about the Joint Chiefs chair’s conduct in the waning days of the Trump administration. Per the Post , Milley secretly called his Chinese counterpart twice to assure him then-President DONALD TRUMP wouldn’t start a war with the country. The first call came on Oct. 20, 2020, just before the presidential election; the second one was on Jan. 8, 2021, two days after the Capitol insurrection. “General Li, I want to assure you that the American government is stable and everything is going to be okay,” Milley said in the first call, according to the book. “We are not going to attack or conduct any kinetic operations against you.” Milley also pledged he’d call the Chinese general if the United States moved to strike: “It’s not going to be a surprise.” In another call on Jan. 8 to discuss nuclear command and control with NANCY PELOSI , the House speaker went off on Trump's mental health: “He’s crazy. You know he’s crazy. … He’s crazy and what he did yesterday is further evidence of his craziness.” Milley replied: “I agree with you on everything.” Milley also called a secret Pentagon meeting on Jan. 8, per CNN, to review how a military strike went from order to execution — including in the case of a nuclear attack. “No matter what you are told, you do the procedure. You do the process. And I’m part of that procedure,” Milley said in the Pentagon’s war room, the National Military Command Center. “Got it?” Milley asked, according to the book, receiving responses of “Yes, sir.” Woodward and Costa wrote that Milley “considered it an oath.” Milley has studiously avoided wading into political hot water ever since he walked with Trump last summer through a just-cleared Lafayette Square. But these revelations seem destined to put him in the middle of another firestorm. VLAD GETS SOME ALONE TIME: The Kremlin has announced that Russian President VLADIMIR PUTIN is self-isolating but remains “absolutely” healthy after several members of his inner circle became infected with Covid-19 — apparently breaching the rigorous set of preventative protocols meant to keep the coronavirus away from the 68-year-old leader, per Reuters’ ANDREW OSBORN and MAXIM RODIONOV. “Of course we know who fell ill in the president’s entourage and the self-isolation does not directly affect the president’s work,” said Kremlin spokesperson DMITRY PESKOV, adding that Putin himself had tested negative. EX-ADMINISTRATION OFFICIALS FORM GROUP TO AID AFGHAN REFUGEES: Former Bush and Obama administration officials have launched a new organization to help resettle the roughly 65,000 Afghans evacuated amid the U.S. military withdrawal and galvanize public support for their arrival in the United States, per USA Today’s REBECCA MORIN. Welcome.US “will work with local and state officials, businesses, veterans’ groups, faith-based organizations and the top refugee organizations to engage with Americans on how they can help the Afghan refugees,” Morin wrote, as well as direct grants from major businesses toward nonprofit groups assisting with resettlement efforts. BILL CLINTON, HILLARY CLINTON, BARACK OBAMA, MICHELLE OBAMA, GEORGE W. BUSH and LAURA BUSH will all serve as honorary co-chairs of the organization. CDC DECISION DELAYS REFUGEE FLIGHTS: U.S. efforts to resettle as many as 12,000 Afghans could be delayed by several weeks as a result of a recommendation from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that evacuees housed at American military bases overseas be tested and vaccinated for measles, per our own ERIN BANCO. That guidance comes after the Biden administration announced last week it would halt flights for Afghan evacuees at Germany’s Ramstein Air Base and Qatar’s Al Udeid Air Base after four individuals tested positive following their arrival in the United States. White House principal deputy press secretary KARINE JEAN-PIERRE said Monday the flights would be paused for “at least seven additional days.” But senior administration officials told Banco they are preparing for the flights to be halted for longer, pointing to the time it would take to vaccinate thousands of individuals and for the immunity to develop. IT’S TUESDAY: Thanks for tuning in to NatSec Daily. This space is reserved 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 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. | | A message from Lockheed Martin: How Experimentation Can Speed Joint All-Domain Operations (JADO)
By partnering with every branch of the U.S. military and allies in experiments like Northern Edge, Lockheed Martin is helping warfighters make better, faster decisions in the battlespace. Learn More | | | | | | IS IRAN ONE MONTH FROM THE BOMB? Under the most extreme timeline, analysts believe Iran has enough nuclear material to make a bomb within a month or so, according to The New York Times’ DAVID SANGER and WILLIAM BROAD. Tehran has long denied it seeks a nuclear weapon, and there’s no indication it’s seriously moving to create one. But the news is yet another blow to the Biden administration’s dwindling prospects of reestablishing the 2015 nuclear deal. “Iran has not been this close to a weapon capability since before President Obama agreed to the 2015 nuclear accord,” Sanger and Broad wrote. That agreement put a lid on Iran’s nuclear development, but Iran has once again moved back to the nuclear brink after Trump withdrew the United States from the pact in 2018. Last week, Blinken told reporters in Germany that ”we are getting closer to the point at which a strict return to compliance with the [deal] does not reproduce the benefits that that agreement achieved.” Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal’s LAURENCE NORMAN reported that Iranian guards physically harassed female U.N. inspectors over the last few months. AQ’S IMMINENT COMEBACK: Two top U.S. officials confirmed that it won’t take long for al-Qaida to once again seriously threaten America. During Tuesday’s Intelligence and National Security Summit just outside Washington, Lt. Gen. SCOTT BERRIER — the Defense Intelligence Agency director — said it could take one to two years for the terrorist group to regain such damaging capabilities. Deputy CIA Director DAVID COHEN agreed with that assessment, saying it “sounds about right.” He also revealed officials at Langley had seen some al-Qaida movement in Afghanistan. The messaging from the administration has been surprisingly consistent on this point. Last week, Defense Secretary Austin noted al-Qaida would try “ to find space to grow and regenerate” in Afghanistan — or elsewhere — after U.S. and foreign troops withdrew from the country. | | | | 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. | | | | | | | | NSO UH-OH: The Israeli cyber company NSO created a tool to hack into iPhones that’s been operational since February, prompting millions of people to scramble to protect their devices with a just-released Apple software update. “The intended targets would not have to click on anything for the attack to work. Researchers said they did not believe there would be any visible indication that a hack had occurred,” wrote Reuters’ JOSEPH MENN and CHRISTOPHER BING. NSO didn’t confirm or deny it was behind the surveillance tech, but Apple did say there was a vulnerability under threat. “After identifying the vulnerability used by this exploit for iMessage, Apple rapidly developed and deployed a fix in iOS 14.8 to protect our users,” IVAN KRSTIC, head of Apple Security Engineering and Architecture, said in a statement. “Attacks like the ones described are highly sophisticated, cost millions of dollars to develop, often have a short shelf life, and are used to target specific individuals.” It’s been a tough few months for NSO, after it was recently revealed that the company shares intelligence with the Israeli government and that its software has been found on the phones of journalists and human-rights activists. | | | NEW HOMELAND MISSILE TESTED: The United States launched a successful test of a new ground-based interceptor missile defense system over the weekend, per Breaking Defense’s AARON MEHTA. “The test featured only two of the stages, as opposed to all three which can be used to launch the EKV into position, according to the Missile Defense Agency,” he wrote. “Using only two of the three stages represents a new capability, which MDA is calling the ‘2-/3-Stage selectable GBI,’ that will allow earlier release of the EKV if needed to more accurately target an incoming weapon.” Vice Adm. JON HILL, the MDA chief, said in a statement this new missile will serve as a stopgap until the next-generation interceptor becomes operational down the line. | | | |   | | | | | | MURPHY’S IRE: After our own NAHAL TOOSI broke the story of the United States withholding and restricting parts of its $300 million in military aid to Egypt, one of Congress’ loudest advocates for suspending all funding went off on the administration. “This was a big missed opportunity to stand up strongly and unequivocally for human rights. Egypt had almost two years to meet the human rights improvements required by Congress, but arguably the situation on the ground in Egypt has gotten worse,” said Sen. CHRIS MURPHY (D-Conn.) in a statement Monday night. “Continuing our security relationship with Egypt, with only minor changes, sends the wrong message.” Per Toosi, the administration plans to give $170 million of the $300 million to Egypt, but will withhold the remaining $130 million until the Egyptian government meets unspecified human rights conditions. That’s not enough for Murphy. “Other dictators and aspiring dictators notice when America talks tough on human rights but doesn’t follow through with bold action. This was a chance to send a strong message about America’s commitment to human rights and democracy, with little cost to our security, and we fell short,” he said. HAWLEY TO BLOCK NOMINEES: Sen. JOSH HAWLEY (R-Mo.) vowed on the Senate floor Tuesday to block top Biden national security nominees until senior administration officials start resigning. “I will not consent to the nomination of any nominee for the Department of Defense or for the Department of State until Secretary Austin and Secretary Blinken and JAKE SULLIVAN resign,” he said. “Leaders take responsibility for their failures. And the failure of these individuals, the failure of this administration has cost Americans their lives.” This threat goes much further than the play by Sen. TED CRUZ (R-Texas) to block State Department nominees until the administration reverses its Nord Stream 2 policy. | | | MORE CALLS FOR KHALILZAD’S OUSTER: Family members of MARK FRERICHS — the U.S. Navy veteran who worked on development projects in Afghanistan for a decade before being abducted last February — are demanding the firing of ZALMAY KHALILZAD , the Biden administration’s beleaguered special envoy to the Taliban-controlled country, per Reuters’ JONATHAN LANDAY. CHARLENE CAKORA , Frerichs’ sister and the family spokesperson, said in a statement that she had “lost faith” in Khalilzad and accused him of appearing “to have ignored my brother’s kidnapping.” Administration officials “need someone talking to the Taliban who will make Mark a priority,” she said. In response, a State Department spokesperson told Reuters in an email the United States had communicated to the Taliban “in no uncertain terms” that it sought Frerichs’ “immediate and safe release,” adding that administration officials “meet with the family regularly.” HUMAN RIGHTS GROUPS IRATE OVER EGYPT: Nineteen prominent human rights organizations blasted the administration’s decision on Egypt aid. “This administration has repeatedly vowed to put human rights at the center of its foreign policy and specifically its relationship with Egypt. This decision, however, is a betrayal of these commitments,” Amnesty International USA, Freedom House, Human Rights Watch, the Project on Middle East Diplomacy and others wrote in a joint statement . “It is especially dismaying to see this decision, a notably weaker position than that taken by the Trump administration in the same situation in August 2017.” Biden and his team continue to say that defending human rights is central to every foreign policy they have. That’s much harder for them to argue now. | | | — DAVID SHAHOULIAN, a top DHS official for the border, is leaving the agency at the end of the month for personal reasons and to spend more time with family.
| | | — JESSICA BATEMAN, Foreign Policy: “Germany Braces for Election Disinformation” — AREZOU REZVANI, STEVE INSKEEP and SAMANTHA BALABAN, NPR: “At Pakistan's Border With Afghanistan, People Wait To Cross From Both Sides” — JACK SHAFER, POLITICO Magazine: “Can the Foreign Policy Elites Survive Biden’s Rejection?” | | A message from Lockheed Martin: Global threats demand better connections between U.S. Armed Forces, allies and their technologies.
Nimble adversaries operating in remote locations challenge soldiers to make smarter, more rapid decisions in the field. Here’s how Lockheed Martin is helping U.S. Armed Forces fight and win in the modern battlespace. Learn More | | | | | | — The Institute of International and European Affairs, 3 a.m.: “The State of the European Union 2021 — with LISA CHAMBERS, BRIGID LAFFAN, DEARBHAIL MCDONALD and DAVID O’SULLIVAN” — The Finnish Institute of International Affairs, 7 a.m.: “What role does human rights play in international politics? — with KATJA CREUTZ, NIINA LAAJAPURO and KAARINA VAINIO” — The International Institute for Strategic Studies, 8 a.m.: “ Conflict in the Central African Republic: Domestic insurgency, foreign intervention and peace prospects — with HANS DE MARIE HEUNGOUP, MOHAMED M. DIATTA, ENRICA PICCO and BENJAMIN PETRINI” — POLITICO, 9:10 a.m.: “Tech Summit: At a Digital Crossroads — with ERICA D. BORGHARD, YVETTE CLARK, CARLOS CONTRERAS, ZACK COOPER, STEVE DELBIANCO and more” — The Atlantic Council, 9:15 a.m.: “National security and digital privacy: A conversation with Chief Justice BRUNO LASSERE” — Chatham House, 10 a.m.: “Where is Ukraine in Biden’s Agenda? — with DAVID ARAKHAMIA, ROBERT BRINKLEY, ALYONA GETMACHUK, WILLIAM TAYLOR and KURT VOLKER” — The Royal United Services Institute, 10 a.m.: “ Whitehall Paper Launch: PRC's Overseas Political Activities — with JIE CHEN, ANDREW CHUBB and BONNIE S. GLASER” — The Pentagon, 10:30 a.m.: Austin welcomes Australian Minister for Defence PETER DUTTON in an enhanced honor cordon ceremony. — Senate Foreign Relations Committee, 10:30 a.m.: “Full Committee Hearing: Nominations — with DENISE CAMPBELL BAUER, JULIETA VALLS NOYES and JULIANNE SMITH” — The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, 11 a.m.: “ The Strategy of Denial — with CHRISTIAN BROSE, ELBRIDGE A. COLBY, JENNIFER LIND and ASHLEY J. TELLIS” — New America, 11 a.m.: “U.S. Choices and Opportunities in a Critical Season for Climate Policy — with GREG BERTELSEN, ERNEST MONIZ, ANNE-MARIE SLAUGHTER, LAWRENCE H. SUMMERS and CHRISTINE TODD WHITMAN” — Chatham House, 1 p.m.: “Democracy, open societies and human rights: America’s global role since 9/11 — with CHARLES KUPCHAN, MARK MALLOCH-BROWN, SUZANNE NOSSEL and LESLIE VINJAMURI” — The Foreign Policy Research Institute, 1 p.m.: “EMMANUEL MACRON: The Revolutionary President — with JOSEPH DE WECK and RONALD J. GRANIERI” — New America, 1:30 p.m.: “ Cracking Open the Black Box: Promoting Fairness, Accountability and Transparency Around High-Risk AI — with CHRISTINE CUSTIS, KATHARINA KOPP, CATHERINE M. SHARKEY and SPANDI SINGH” — Senate Foreign Relations Committee, 2:30 p.m.: “Full Committee Hearing: Nominations — with MARCIA STEPHENS BLOOM BERNICAT, MICHAEL CARPENTER, BATHSHEBA NELL CROCKER, C.S. ELIOT KANG and ADAM SCHEINMAN” | | | | HAPPENING WEDNESDAY - POLITICO TECH SUMMIT: Washington and Silicon Valley have been colliding for some time. Has the intersection of tech, innovation, regulation and politics finally reached a tipping point? Join POLITICO for our first-ever Tech Summit to explore the evolving relationship between the power corridors of Washington and the Valley. REGISTER HERE. | | | | | 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. And thanks to our editor, Ben Pauker — who could teach Congress a thing or two about real oversight. | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Follow us | | | | |  |
