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From the SitRoom to the E-Ring, the inside scoop on defense, national security and foreign policy. | | | | |  | | By Alexander Ward, Daniel Lippman and Quint Forgey | | 
Elizabeth Richard speaks in front of military vehicles that were unloaded from a ship during a ceremony at Beirut's port in Lebanon, Monday, Aug. 14, 2017. | Bilal Hussein/AP Photo | Send tips | Subscribe here | Email Alex | Email Quint FIRST IN NATSEC DAILY –– When President JOE BIDEN’s nominee for a top State Department post was ambassador to Lebanon during the Trump administration, she turned away a small military force deployed to Beirut for protection of the U.S. embassy following the killing of Iran’s QASSEM SOLEIMANI . But the decision to send them back wasn’t sufficiently coordinated with higher-ups, nine former U.S. officials and current congressional aides told NatSec Daily. ELIZABETH RICHARD, who will face the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Tuesday for her confirmation hearing as State’s coordinator for counterterrorism , made the call for three reasons: 1) she didn’t want to attract extra attention to the mission, namely from Hezbollah; 2) she didn’t have the space to house dozens of troops in the Quick Response Force, or QRF, that came from U.S. European Command’s area of responsibility; and 3) she assessed the embassy was secure without that force in place. Three people noted that Richards emphasized these points in meetings and cables, with two noting they comported with the facts. There’s already a good-sized security team in Beirut comprised of U.S. officials and former Lebanese military officials, they told us, and there’s long been fear that too many troops at the embassy might entice a terrorist attack along the lines of the 1983 Beirut embassy bombing. Critics still note that Richard’s move not to extend the QRF’s deployment came days before she left her post in Feb. 2020, about a month after then-President DONALD TRUMP had the top Iranian military leader killed. Even though intelligence indicated specific threats against the Beirut embassy following the assassination, Richard chose to cut the small group’s stay short without consulting Secretary of State MIKE POMPEO and Undersecretary of State DAVID HALE, six of the people said. “It was perceived as an act of insubordination,” a former U.S. official told NatSec Daily. By the time Pompeo sought to overrule Richard’s decision, EUCOM was already in the final stages of bringing the QRF back to base. “It was too late to do anything about it,” a former Trump official said. It’s important to note that Richard’s call on the QRF did not have any overt negative implications for security of the embassy: Neither U.S. facilities nor officials came under attack without the QRF in place. But Republicans could pounce during Tuesday’s confirmation hearing, even if the spotlight will mostly be on BRIDGET BRINK, Biden’s nominee as Ukraine ambassador, who will testify alongside Richard. In a statement, a State Department spokesperson said “[t]his decision was made in coordination with many stakeholders within the Department, and not by one person alone. In close consultation with our Diplomatic Security specialists, this request was made to ensure the safety and security of our embassy staff.” The White House didn’t respond to a request for comment and attempts to reach Richard directly were unsuccessful. Richard’s decision still festers in the mind of former Trump officials: “We were pretty flabbergasted,” one of them told NatSec Daily. “We breathed a sigh of relief once she left her post.” Richard became America’s ambassador to Lebanon during the final year of the Obama administration. It’s unclear if this line of attack will sink Richard’s confirmation chances, especially after a distinguished 30-year career in the Foreign Service that took her to hot spots like Yemen, Afghanistan and Pakistan, as well as Thailand, Italy and high posts inside the State Department. Republicans tend to home in on issues of embassy security, however, and could demand more answers from the nominee either in person Tuesday or in written form.
| | | | INTRODUCING DIGITAL FUTURE DAILY - OUR TECHNOLOGY NEWSLETTER, RE-IMAGINED: Technology is always evolving, and our new tech-obsessed newsletter is too! Digital Future Daily unlocks the most important stories determining the future of technology, from Washington to Silicon Valley and innovation power centers around the world. Readers get an in-depth look at how the next wave of tech will reshape civic and political life, including activism, fundraising, lobbying and legislating. Go inside the minds of the biggest tech players, policymakers and regulators to learn how their decisions affect our lives. Don't miss out, subscribe today. | | | | | | | | NO ‘WAR’ RHETORIC AT PUTIN’S PARADE: Russian President VLADIMIR PUTIN spoke today at a military parade on Moscow’s Red Square marking the Nazis’ defeat in World War II, where he was widely expected to announce an escalation in his military’s invasion of Ukraine and perhaps refer to his “special military operation” as an outright war, per The Associated Press. But ultimately, Putin “gave no indication of a shift in strategies or made any indication that he was going to declare a broad mobilization,” according to the AP. Instead, he argued the invasion was necessary to avert “a threat that was absolutely unacceptable to us [that] has been methodically created next to our borders.” “The danger was rising by the day,” Putin said, adding that “Russia has given a preemptive response to an aggression” in what he described as a “forced, timely and the only correct decision by a sovereign, powerful and independent country.” TRUDEAU REOPENS KYIV EMBASSY: Prime Minister JUSTIN TRUDEAU — joined by Deputy Prime Minister CHRYSTIA FREELAND, Foreign Minister MÉLANIE JOLY and Canadian Ambassador to Ukraine LARISA GALADZA — made a secret visit to Ukraine on Sunday and announced the reopening of his country’s embassy in Kyiv, per our own MAURA FORREST and SUE ALLAN. “Having the Canadian flag fly over the streets of Kyiv once again is yet another testament to the incredible strength and solidarity of Canadians and Ukrainians,” Trudeau said. The prime minister’s office also said in a statement that Trudeau would meet in person with Ukrainian President VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY to “reaffirm Canada’s unwavering support for the Ukrainian people.” Trudeau had been facing pressure in recent weeks to visit Ukraine, as several European leaders have done. Joly had suggested as recently as last week that the embassy would reopen imminently, after closing at the start of the war. ACTIVISTS TARGET RUSSIAN ENVOY: Protesters rallying against the war in Ukraine doused Russian Ambassador to Poland SERGEY ANDREEV in a red substance today as he went to lay flowers at the Soviet Military Cemetery in Warsaw, per Reuters. Russian state-owned news agency TASS reported that Andreev said he and his team were not seriously hurt in the incident. He added: “We will make a formal protest. When they recommended that we not hold a larger event, we met them halfway, we didn’t aggravate the situation.” As Reuters notes, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine “has cast a shadow over this year’s Victory Day, when Moscow honours the 27 million Soviet citizens who lost their lives in World War Two. Poland, a strong supporter of Ukraine in its resistance to Russia's invasion, opposed any large-scale commemoration taking place.”
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Lockheed Martin Sikorsky and Boeing are the U.S. Army Aviation’s trusted industrial base. Together, they are Team DEFIANT and they will deliver DEFIANT X®, a transformational, high-speed, highly maneuverable helicopter, bringing future capabilities to Army Aviation. Learn more. | | | IT’S MONDAY: 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, @ChristopherJM, @BryanDBender, @laraseligman, @connorobrienNH, @paulmcleary, @leehudson, @AndrewDesiderio and @JGedeon1.
| | | SRI LANKA’S PM STEPS DOWN AMID VIOLENCE: Sri Lankan Prime Minister MAHINDA RAJAPAKSA resigned today, ceding to protesters’ demands that he and his brother relinquish power amid the country’s worst economic crisis in decades, per the AP’s KRISHAN FRANCIS, BHARATHA MALLAWARACHI and KRUTIKA PATHI. Earlier today, supporters of Rajapaksa “rallied inside his office … urging him to ignore the protesters’ demand to step down,” according to the AP. Then, those supporters “went to the front of the office where protesters have been demonstrating for several days.” Sri Lankan media showed the supporters “attacking protesters with clubs and iron bars, demolishing and then burning their tents.” The attack by Rajapaksa’s allies “came as protesters marked their 31st day outside the president’s and prime minister’s offices demanding that they and other powerful Rajapaksa family members quit. Similar protests have spread to other locations, with people setting up camps in other towns across the country.”
| | | CHINA-RUSSIA TO BOOST MIL TECH TIES: China is going to deepen its partnership with Russia on military technology, energy and in space, Beijing’s top envoy in Moscow said Monday, as reported by the South China Morning Post’s LAURA ZHOU. “In an interview with Russian state news agency Tass, ZHANG HANHUI said energy had been the ‘most important, fruitful and extensive area of pragmatic cooperation between Russia and China.’ He said such cooperation would be strengthened but — as Europe tries to reduce its dependence on Russian fuel — Zhang stopped short of promising to buy more oil and gas from Russia,” per Zhou. “The US and Western sanctions against Russia are indeed causing some problems for Sino-Russia practical cooperation, and the two countries should strengthen communication and coordination to solve the difficulties caused by sanctions to both sides in trade settlement and logistics,” Zhang said, when asked if there were ways to bypass the sanctions on Russia. It’s another sign of China moving closer to Russia since the invasion of Ukraine — not further away. The U.S. has warned China of supporting Moscow, increasing the possibility of deteriorating ties between Washington and Beijing.
| | | DOUBLE TROUBLE: Our friends at Morning Defense (for Pros!) report that Navy Secretary CARLOS DEL TORO last week split the Navy’s top acquisition job between two officials, JAY STEFANY and TOMMY ROSS, according to two memos that our own LEE HUDSON snagged. Stefany will return to his role as the principal civilian deputy but retain top acquisition authorities, while Ross will be dual-hatted as the Navy secretary’s chief of staff and perform the duties of the assistant secretary of the Navy for research, development and acquisition. Oddly, Ross will have no procurement authority in his role. Instead that power is delegated to Stefany, his deputy.
| | | |   | | | | | | BREAKING: BIDEN SIGNS LEND-LEASE: Biden signed the Ukraine Lend-Lease bill into law, allowing the administration to enter into an agreement with Kyiv to provide additional weapons and equipment at a much quicker pace. "An expedited lend-lease program for Ukraine will give them the upper hand against Russia, and I’m glad America could act as the arsenal of democracy for this critical partner,” Sen. JOHN CORNYN (R-Texas), one of the progenitors of the idea in Congress, said in a released statement. In a tweet, Ukrainian Defense Minister OLEKSII REZNIKOV said " Thank you." MORE BUDGET TALK: Defense Secretary LLOYD AUSTIN, Joint Chiefs Chair Gen. MARK MILLEY and Pentagon budget chief MIKE MCCORD are back on Capitol Hill this week for the fourth and final time to make the case for the fiscal 2023 defense budget, Morning D also noted. The trio will testify at a House Defense Appropriations panel hearing on Wednesday. Worldwide threats: SASC, meanwhile, holds a hearing on worldwide threats on Tuesday with Director of National Intelligence AVRIL HAINES and Lt. Gen. SCOTT BERRIER, director of the Defense Intelligence Agency. Other hearings: The House is back in session this week, and Pentagon officials are testifying at a slew of oversight hearings on both sides of the Capitol: Tuesday:
- Senate Defense Appropriations holds a hearing on the Army budget request at 10 a.m. SASC’s Airland subcommittee holds a hearing with Army acquisition officials at 2:30 p.m.
- SASC’s Readiness panel convenes a hearing on the Navy’s shipyard modernization plan at 2:30 p.m.
Wednesday:
- HASC hears testimony from Navy and Marine Corps leaders on their budget request at 10 a.m.
- HASC's Strategic Forces subcommittee holds a hearing on missile defense programs at 2 p.m.
- The SASC Strategic Forces panel convenes a hearing on Space Force programs at 4:30 p.m.
- The vice chiefs of the military services testify at a HASC Readiness panel hearing at 4:30 p.m.
Thursday:
- HASC holds a hearing on the Army budget at 10 a.m.
- HASC Seapower subcommittee hears testimony from Air Force acquisition officials on projection forces programs at 2 p.m.
Friday:
- HASC's Tactical Air and Land Forces subcommittee holds a hearing on Marine Corps modernization programs at 10 a.m.
- Air Force and Space Force leaders testify on the budget at a House Defense Appropriations hearing at 9:30 a.m.
| | | ‘MOSTLY ME’: Former Defense Secretary MARK ESPER said he was one of the main reasons that the Trump administration didn’t wade deeper into a regime change effort in Venezuela, strike Iran or blockade Cuba. Esper, on a book tour for the latest anti-Trump tell-all, "A Sacred Oath," provided this detail Sunday night to 60 Minutes’ NORAH O’DONNELL. "These ideas would happen, it seemed, every few weeks," Esper said. "Something like this would come up and we'd have to swat them down." Who did the swatting? "Mostly me," Esper said, adding that he "had good support from Gen. Mark Milley." Pretty much anyone writing a “I was in the administration” book paints themselves in the best light, and Esper is no exception. But he doesn’t truly wrestle with his legacy as “Yesper,” the nickname he received for his pliancy and deference to the former president. He may be trashing Trump now, but he didn’t when he had the chance to say something while these events were happening.
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| | | — STEPHEN WITT, The New Yorker: “The Turkish Drone That Changed the Nature of Warfare” —NOAH BROWNING and DMITRY ZHDANNIKOV, Reuters: “Exclusive: Biden Sidelined Global Energy Partners With Record Emergency Oil Release” — JESSICA DONATI, The Wall Street Journal: “ Afghan Evacuees Encounter a Rocky Start in U.S.”
| | | — Biden holds a bilateral meeting with Italian Prime Minister MARIO DRAGHI. — Senate Armed Services Committee, 9:30 a.m.: “ Full Committee Hearing: Worldwide Threats — with SCOTT BERRIER and AVRIL HAINES” — Foreign Policy, 10 a.m.: “FP Virtual Dialogue: The American War in Afghanistan — with JANINE DI GIOVANNI, CARTER MALKASIAN and JANICE STEIN” — The Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies, 10 a.m.: “Schriever Spacepower Forum: Congressman JIM COOPER” — The United States Institute of Peace, 10 a.m.: “Stabilizing Fragile States: The Legacy of RUFUS PHILLIPS III — with MAX BOOT, H.R. MCMASTER, KEITH MINES and ROGER MYERSON” — The Jewish Institute for National Security of America, 1 p.m.: “Way Forward on Iran, and State of Israeli Politics — with RON DERMER and MICHAEL MAKOVSKY” — The Middle East Institute, 2:30 p.m.: “Book Talk: Rebuilding Arab Defense: U.S. Security Cooperation in the Middle East — with ANNE PATTERSON, KENNETH POLLACK, MISSY RYAN and BILAL Y. SAAB” — Senate Armed Services Committee, 2:30 p.m.: “Subcommittee Hearing: Army Modernization in Review of the Defense Authorization Request for Fiscal Year 2023 and the Future Years Defense Program — with DOUGLAS BUSH and JAMES RICHARDSON” — Senate Armed Services Committee, 2:30 p.m.: “Subcommittee Hearing: The Shipyard Infrastructure Optimization Program — with WILLIAM GALINIS, DIANA MAURER, TROY MCCLELLAND and FREDERICK STEFANY” — Senate Foreign Relations Committee, 2:30 p.m.: “Full Committee Hearing: Nominations — with BRIDGET A. BRINK, ALEXANDER MARK LASKARIS and ELIZABETH H. RICHARD” — The American Enterprise Institute, 3 p.m.: “A Conversation with Rep. MIKE GALLAGHER: The Future of U.S. National Security Policy — with COLIN DUECK” — The Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association, 12 p.m.: “ 14th Annual Law Enforcement and Public Safety Technology Forum — with TOM CHITTUM, STEVEN D’ANTUONO, ROY DOTSON, MATTHEW EMRICH, DARRIN JONES and more”
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