|
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 Daniel Lippman. | 
Rep. Sara Jacobs (D-Calif.) will soon propose a bill to encourage America’s diplomats to get out of their compounds. | Ting Shen/Pool via AP Photo | Send tips | Subscribe here | Email Alex | Email Quint Rep. SARA JACOBS (D-Calif.), a member of both the House Foreign Affairs and Armed Services Committees, will soon propose a bill to encourage America’s diplomats to get out of their compounds — an explicit push for the State Department to take on more risk in getting to know the countries they serve in and an implicit nudge to move beyond post-Benghazi politics. The legislation, currently titled the Diplomatic Support and Security Act, is the House companion to Senate efforts by Sens. CHRIS MURPHY (D-Conn.) and JIM RISCH (R-Idaho), demonstrating there’s bipartisan support for measures like this one. If this or another version gets signed by President JOE BIDEN after winding its way through Congress, the hope is America’s frontline diplomats will feel a push to leave their embassies and meet with civil society in their countries. “We need to make sure that the State Department is able to be more proactive to do preventative work,” Jacobs told NatSec Daily in her first interview on the bill. “That means being able to get better information from the ground so that our diplomats can inform policymakers on what's happening. They can't do that if they're not leaving embassy compounds and really only talking to people inside the capital city.” “We need to focus more on risk management rather than complete risk avoidance, which is just not realistic or what we actually want our diplomats to be doing, and that's why we're working on this bill,” she told us. Jacobs, 32, and a former State Department official herself, acknowledged that Secretary of State ANTONY BLINKEN could institute such a reform on his own. But she argues lawmakers need to signal to the diplomatic agency that the era of political blowback for taking risks is over. The yearslong recriminations over the deaths of four Americans in Benghazi, Libya in 2012 — including that of Amb. CHRISTOPHER STEVENS — made the State Department’s periculophobia worse. In an effort to keep staff safe, critics say the nation’s Foreign Service went too far — mainly by forbidding diplomats to stray too far from an embassy or consulate. That, Jacobs and others contend, has made America’s excellent diplomatic corps less effective. “State is risk averse because of Congress, so Congress needs to say that there was an overreaction and we actually believe diplomats need to get out there. That's what this bill does,” Jacobs said. So will this legislation — in some form or another — pass Congress and make it to the president’s desk for signature, we asked? “Let's say yes,” Jacobs said before forecasting that it’ll happen this term. “I'm an optimist.” | | | SATELLITE IMAGERY SHOWS RUSSIAN BUILDUP NEAR UKRAINE: Russian forces are once again growing in numbers on the Ukrainian border — and POLITICO has the pictures to prove it. (“Pics or it didn’t happen,” as the kids say.) “The new images taken by Maxar Technologies and shared with POLITICO show a buildup of armored units, tanks and self-propelled artillery along with ground troops massing near the Russian town of Yelnya close to the border of Belarus. The units, which began moving in late September from other areas of Russia where they are normally based, include the elite 1st Guards Tank Army,” our own BETSY WOODRUFF-SWAN and PAUL MCCLEARY report. This is a reprise of Moscow’s moves in the spring, when it similarly amassed a large military contingent on Ukraine’s doorstep . But those forces ultimately backed off and it remains unclear exactly why they were there in the first place. Now, it’s possible Russian President VLADIMIR PUTIN — a no-show at the G-20 — wants to calm down talks of Ukraine joining NATO or show strength after Defense Secretary LLOYD AUSTIN’s October visit to Kyiv. On the sidelines of COP26 in Glasgow, Biden and Ukrainian President VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY spoke about America’s continued support for Ukraine’s “ territorial integrity.” DEADLY KABUL BLAST: An attack on Afghanistan’s biggest military hospital today killed at least 25 people and injured 50 more, per Reuters’ GIBRAN NAIYYAR PESHIMAM, though there’s still no official toll. Two blasts followed by gunfire rang out in central Kabul, right at the entrance of the 400-bed Sardar Mohammad Daud Khan. Taliban spokesperson BILAL KARIMI told Peshimam that four attackers were killed and a fifth captured. No group has taken responsibility for the assault yet, though the local ISIS franchise has been extremely active since the U.S. and its allies withdrew their forces from Afghanistan and are now locked in a fight with the ruling Taliban militants. RUSSIA PROPOSES MORE NUKE SPENDING: Moscow is preparing a modest increase in its spending on nuclear weapons over the next three years, Defense News’ ALEXANDER BRATERSKY reported, citing a new national budget making its way through Russia’s rubber-stamp legislature. “Under the proposal, 2022 and 2023 would each see national defense spending total approximately 3.5 trillion roubles (U.S. $49.3 billion), and 3.8 trillion roubles in 2024,” he wrote, where “49 billion roubles will be allocated for the nuclear armed complex on an annual basis from 2022-2023. The figure for 2024 will be about 56 billion roubles.” Part of the reason for the increase is modernization: Russia wants to replace its Soviet-era weapons with newer ones. The U.S. will factor this in — plus China’s own advances — ahead of the release of the much-anticipated Nuclear Posture Review. 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: Who builds the unrivaled F-35? The unrivaled, high-tech American workforce.
The F-35 provides unrivaled air combat superiority to the warfighter and supports high-paying, high-quality jobs for American workers in the innovation economy. More than half of U.S. based F-35 suppliers are small businesses. Learn More | | | | | | NORTH KOREA’S END OF WAR DEMANDS: North Korea has named its price for potentially signing an end of war declaration: No more sanctions. The intelligence committee of South Korea’s National Assembly concluded in a recent report that Pyongyang’s stance is firm and the cost steep to formally close the Korean War. “According to intelligence committee members KIM BYUNG-KEE of the ruling Democratic Party (DP) and HA TAE-KEUNG of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) ... the North’s demands for discussing a formal end to the 1950-1953 Korean War, which ended with only an armistice and not a peace treaty, included the lifting of sanctions on mineral exports and imports of refined oil along with the suspension of joint training exercises between South Korea and the United States,” MICHAEL LEE wrote for the Korea JoongAng Daily. Pyongyang has allies in Moscow and Beijing, who are currently pushing for the United Nations to lift imposed sanctions. Russia and China’s draft resolution for the UN Security Council “proposes removing a ban on Pyongyang's exports of statues, seafood and textiles, as well as lifting a cap on refined petroleum imports,” per Reuters. The U.S. also has many sanctions on North Korea, but so far has shown no desire to lift them. EU MEPS VISIT TAIWAN: Seven European parliamentarians will arrive in Taiwan today over China’s objections, escalating the growing fight between Brussels and Beijing. The delegation, which is led by Socialists and Democrats' MEP RAPHAËL GLUCKSMANN, is supposed to send a strong signal in support of the self-ruling island amid increasing political pressure from Beijing. China opposes the visit and has vowed ‘further reactions’ should it go ahead,” report POLITICO’s SARAH ANNE AARUP and STUART LAU. Last week, Taiwan’s Foreign Minister JOSEPH WU took a secret trip to Brussels, which infuriated China. This latest meeting between European politicians and Taiwanese leaders on disinformation, cybersecurity and semiconductors — among other topics — won’t help matters.
| | | JOURNALISTS TARGETED BY PAKISTAN’S “CYBERCRIME” LAW: At least 23 Pakistani reporters were targeted by Islamabad for supposedly violating a cybercrime law critics say is being abused to stifle dissent. In a new report today, the Pakistan-based Freedom Network civil liberties group said the country’s government is increasingly using the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) to charge journalists for their criticism — namely on the military’s powerful role in running the state. “New research reveals that cases were registered against 56 percent of the two dozen Pakistani journalists and information practitioners who had a brush with PECA between 2019 and 2021. Out of these individuals who were formally charged under PECA, around 70 percent were arrested. Just over half of the arrested were allegedly subjected to torture in custody,” the report reads. “We have noticed a corresponding increase in efforts to control online expression, either legally or through coordinated digital campaigns against journalists,” said IQBAL KHATTAK, Freedom Network’s executive director, in a news release. “The report supplies evidence that PECA has emerged as the primary legal instrument to intimidate and silence Pakistani journalists in recent years because it criminalizes online expression.” The Pakistani Embassy in Washington, D.C., did not respond to NatSec Daily’s request for comment. | | | | KNOW WHAT THE INSIDERS KNOW, READ PLAYBOOK: POLITICO Playbook analyzes the big stories and trends, bringing you the latest from Washington and across the political landscape. Rachael Bade, Eugene Daniels, Ryan Lizza and Tara Palmeri deliver the scoops you need to know — and the insider nuggets that you want to know — about the biggest political power players. Subscribe to Playbook, the unofficial guide to official Washington. | | | | | | | | GRADY THE VCJCS PICK: Biden is set to nominate Adm. CHRISTOPHER GRADY, the commander of the Navy’s Fleet Forces Command, as the next vice chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, sources told our own PAUL MCLEARY. The Pentagon made the decision official in a news release hours later. The move comes extremely late, and will all but guarantee a vacancy in the role after current VCJCS Gen. JOHN HYTEN retires on Nov. 20. McLeary and CONNOR O’BRIEN previously reported that Grady was long the frontrunner for the job, leading lawmakers to question why a decision wasn’t made earlier to avoid a delay in the confirmation process. “While the Senate could move into high gear to quickly confirm Hyten's replacement, it would have to fit a hefty amount of work — including vetting the nominee, meetings with senators, a confirmation hearing, a committee vote and a confirmation vote in the full Senate — into just a few weeks before the expected handover,” they reported last month. “With a narrow window, any delay in the Senate, where one member could throw up procedural roadblocks and draw out a confirmation, could mean a lengthy gap in the No. 2 spot on the Joint Chiefs.”
| | | HAWLEY PROPOSES $3B PER YEAR FOR TAIWAN: Sen. JOSH HAWLEY (R-Mo.) has proposed a bill to give Taiwan $3 billion a year to boost its defenses ahead of a potential Chinese invasion. The Arm Taiwan Act would establish the Taiwan Security Assistance Initiative and conditions future arms sales on the island purchasing weapons to counter Beijing’s military plans. “Taiwan is in grave danger, but the future is not yet written,” the Senate Armed Services Committee member said in a news release. “We should do everything in our power to help Taiwan urgently strengthen its defenses.” Hawley’s proposal is yet another sign of a growing feeling on Capitol Hill that the U.S. must boost its support for Taiwan, even if it means upsetting the delicate balance between how Washington interacts with Beijing and Taipei. As we’ve noted many times before, the sense among lawmakers is that the policy of “strategic ambiguity” should at least be revisited, though the administration has shown no appetite for that. SENATE PASSES UPDATED “RENACER” ACT: The full Senate last night passed an amended version of legislation to push Nicaragua toward a fair and free election in five days. The updated bill, the Reinforcing Nicaragua’s Adherence to Conditions for Electoral Reform (RENACER) Act, calls for sanctions should longtime President DANIEL ORTEGA rig the vote, as he’s already doing , as well as a classified report on the Ortega family’s corruption. “I’m glad to announce that the revised legislative text that was adopted last night puts the RENACER Act on a glide path to be approved by the House of Representatives and signed into law by President Biden in the coming days,” said Sen. BOB MENENDEZ (D-N.J.), the Senate Foreign Relations chair. Last week, our own NAHAL TOOSI went deep into Ortega’s autocratic rule and the outsized role his wife — Vice President ROSARIO MURILLO — plays in the democratic decline of Nicaragua . “The repression is among the most intense a Western Hemisphere country has experienced in decades. ... U.S. officials and prominent Nicaraguans say, they appear to be taking things to a new level, imposing a police state with the goal of bringing about dynastic rule to the country,” she reported. | | | |   | | | | | | GOP SENS QUESTION BIDEN’S GERMANY PICK: Three Senators — Sens. MARCO RUBIO (R-Fla.), RON JOHNSON (R-Wisc.) and TED CRUZ (R-Texas) — sent a letter to the top two members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to express their concern over Biden’s pick for America’s ambassador to Germany: AMY GUTMANN. “It appears that President Biden could be rewarding a friend who previously provided him with more than $900,000 for what seems to have been a no-show job as the Benjamin Franklin Presidential Practice Professor at the University of Pennsylvania. It is our understanding that this position required no active teaching on Biden’s part,” they wrote. Gutmann’s time as president of UPenn also concerns them, they say, because the institution “received at least $258 million in foreign cash between 2013 and mid-2019, with the largest portion originating from Chinese entities.” UPenn has long denied the China charges, with a university spokesperson last year calling them "completely untrue." After we sent a copy of the letter to the White House, spokesperson ANDREW BATES sent us this fiery response: "This is based on a stale, boring, and long-debunked conspiracy theory. As a leader who is respected around the world — and the daughter of Jewish German refugees — Dr. Gutmann is an extraordinarily qualified nominee to be the United States’ Ambassador to Germany. The President is very proud to have named her. He puts absolutely no stock in performative complaints meant as grist for outlets like Gateway Pundit made by individuals who gave a pass to the most egregious ethical abuses in the history of the American presidency." Bates has a point: These lawmakers rarely made a stink when former President DONALD TRUMP nominated fundraiser after fundraiser to key diplomatic posts, so their concerns about “quid pro quos” now are quite rich. Still, there’s a sense in Washington that the era of giving plum ambassadorships to friends — especially ones with any financial ties to the president — should come to an end .
| | | — HEATHER CONLEY has been named the sixth president of the German Marshall Fund of the United States. Conley is currently a senior vice president for Europe and the Arctic at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. — ANNE BULIK has been named vice president of Teledyne FLIR’s unmanned aerial systems business unit. She most recently was head of operations for Teledyne FLIR’s facility in Waterloo, Ontario. — RACHEL RIZZO is returning to the Atlantic Council as a senior fellow in the Europe Center. Previously she was at the Truman National Security Project and the Center for a New American Security. | | | | BECOME A GLOBAL INSIDER: The world is more connected than ever. It has never been more essential to identify, unpack and analyze important news, trends and decisions shaping our future — and we’ve got you covered! Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, Global Insider author Ryan Heath navigates the global news maze and connects you to power players and events changing our world. Don’t miss out on this influential global community. Subscribe now. | | | | | | | | — ANNA COREN, JESSIE YEUNG and ABDUL BASIR BINA, CNN: “She was sold to a stranger so her family could eat as Afghanistan crumbles” — HENRY KISSINGER, ERIC SCHMIDT and DANIEL HUTTENLOCHER, Newsweek: “The Perils of Military Brinkmanship in the Age of AI” — FANNY POTKIN and WA LONE, Reuters: “ ‘Information combat’: Inside the fight for Myanmar’s soul”
| | | — Biden returns from his European trip to Washington, D.C. — The International Institute for Strategic Studies, 8 a.m.: “Climate Change and Water Security: Stressors, Governance and Mitigation Measures — with SHILOH FETZEK, HASSAN JANABI, ANGELO RICCABONI, SANDRA RUCKSTUHL and ERIKA WEINTHAL” — The Royal United Services Institute, 8 a.m.: “Global Perspectives on the Transnational Far-Right Threat and Response — with KARIN VON HIPPEL, LUNIYA MSUKU, ALEXANDRA PHELAN, MARK ROWLEY, JESSICA WHITE and more” — Stand Together and Charles Koch Institute, 8:30 a.m.: "Advancing Security: Realism, Restraint, and the Future of U.S. Foreign Policy –– with ZALMAY KHALILZAD, JAMES STAVRIDIS, KORI SCHAKE, WILL RUGER, THOMAS WRIGHT, our own ALEX WARD and more" — The Stimson Center, 9 a.m.: “South Asian Security Issues: Views from Emerging Analysts — with KASHIF HUSSAIN, KASHOON LEEZA, JYOTSNA MEHRA and MUHSIN PUTHAN PURAYIL” — House Inteligence Comitteee, 9:30 a.m.: “Subcomittee Hearing: Countering Domestic Terrorism — with JOHN COHEN and TIMOTHY LANGAN” — Senate Foreign Relations Committee, 9:30 a.m.: “Full Committee Hearing: Business Meeting” — The Foreign Policy Research Institute, 10 a.m.: “The 25th Templeton Lecture on Religion and World Affairs — with ROBERT D. KAPLAN” — House Foreign Affairs Committee, 10 a.m.: “Full Committee Hearing: Assessing Progress and Challenges in State Department Management, Operations, and Reforms — with BRIAN P. MCKEON” — House Homeland Security Committee, 10 a.m.: “ Full Committee Hearing: Evolving the U.S. Approach to Cybersecurity: Raising the Bar Today to Meet the Threats of Tomorrow — with JEN EASTERLY and CHRIS INGLIS” — The Overseas Development Institute, 10 a.m.: “ Opportunities and Challenges: Collaborative Advocacy by Humanitarian and Human Rights Actors” — Senate Foreign Relations Committee, 10 a.m.: “Full Committee Hearing: Update on U.S. Cybersecurity Policy — with BRETT HOLMGREN” — Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, 10:30 a.m.: “Full Committee Hearing: Business Meeting” — The Heritage Foundation, 11 a.m.: “The Margaret Thatcher Freedom Lecture by NIKKI HALEY — with NILE GARDINER and STEVEN GROVES” — New America, 12 p.m.: “The Abu Dhabi Express: Assessing UAE Support for The Wagner Group in Libya — with OLIVER IMHOF, AMY MACKINNON, JACK MARGOLIN and CANDANCE RONDEAUX” 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. | | A message from Lockheed Martin: Who builds the unrivaled F-35? The unrivaled, high-tech American workforce.
The F-35 program invests in American workers, creates the jobs of the future, and advances the digital enterprise. Learn More | | | And thanks to our editor, Ben Pauker, who should encourage us to leave our compounds more often. | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Follow us | | | | |  |
