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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 Matt Berg | | 
"It is right that we never provide these weapons systems on our own, but always in close cooperation," Olaf Scholz said Wednesday. | Sean Gallup/Getty Images | With help from Lili Bayer Subscribe here | Email Alex | Email Matt It’s a really good day to be OLAF SCHOLZ. A really good day. After taking a pounding in the press for weeks, the German chancellor got precisely what he wanted. The U.S. will send 31 Abrams tanks to Ukraine, paving the way for Berlin and other European capitals to send 80 German-made Leopard IIs of their own. The allies moved in lockstep and Europe’s most powerful state won’t be singled out by Russia — a win-win for Germany. “It is right that we did not let ourselves get carried away, but that on such a matter, we rely on this close cooperation and also maintain it,” Scholz said Wednesday in a victory-lap speech announcing the transfer of tanks. U.S. officials and experts NatSec Daily spoke to say Germany’s handling of the tanks issue is positive in the short term but highlights a longer-term problem. The short-term wins: Scholz can revel in the fact that he held strong and got the U.S. to heed Berlin’s position on Abrams tanks. “It is definitely a coup for him,” said SUDHA DAVID-WILP, director of the German Marshall Fund’s Berlin office, especially for his own domestic politics. “There’s now Western unity on this, and Ukraine is getting more than it expected.” And officials say it would’ve been embarrassing for Germany to show up empty-handed to February’s Munich Security Conference, arguably the world’s premier defense-focused global gathering. As a host, Scholz would’ve had to ask hard questions about why the Leopards remained in storage and weren’t on their way to Ukraine. But the celebration ends there. This episode was the second time that Germany needed the U.S. to bail it out of a geopolitical bind, as last year Scholz required Biden’s cover to kill the Russia-to-Germany Nord Stream 2 pipeline. It’s now clearer than ever that Germany can’t — or won’t — take the reins on security policy. It needs America standing right behind it. Scholz’s plays work for now. Biden is a transatlanticist and prioritizes allied unity. He’s shown a willingness to bend over backward to protect the chancellor politically. But another White House denizen, one less devoted to backing Ukraine and keeping Europeans happy, might require Scholz to change course. “With any other U.S. president, this could have ended very differently,” said the Council on Foreign Relations’ LIANA FIX.
| | | | JOIN POLITICO ON 2/9 TO HEAR FROM AMERICA’S GOVERNORS: In a divided Congress, more legislative and policy enforcement will shift to the states, meaning governors will take a leading role in setting the agenda for the nation. Join POLITICO on Thursday, Feb. 9 at World Wide Technology's D.C. Innovation Center for The Fifty: America's Governors, where we will examine where innovations are taking shape and new regulatory red lines, the future of reproductive health, and how climate change is being addressed across a series of one-on-one interviews. REGISTER HERE. | | | | | | | | UKRAINE TO PUSH FOR FIGHTERS: Kyiv is wasting no time in asking its allies for more items on the wishlist. On deck: fighter jets. Ukraine’s “next big hurdle” will be pushing for Western fourth-generation fighter jets such as the U.S. F16, YURIY SAK, who advises Defense Minister OLEKSIY REZNIKOV, told Reuters’ TOM BALMFORTH. Currently, the country’s air force uses Soviet-era fighter jets. "If we get them, the advantages on the battlefield will be just immense... It's not just F-16s: fourth generation aircraft, this is what we want,” Sak said. SWEDEN COULD SEND TANKS: Sweden is not ruling out contributing to a Leopard tank coalition, Defense Minister PÅL JONSON told our own LILI BAYER in an interview in Brussels. “I don't exclude the possibility of contributing in one way or another,” the Swedish minister said. Sweden has around 120 Leopards, and the minister noted that his country’s support “could be with training, it could be transport, it could be logistics, it could be supplies and so forth.” But Jonson also underscored that at the moment, Sweden’s focus is on getting its latest package — which includes Combat Vehicle 90s — to Ukraine. “It's quite demanding to do the training, logistics, support on the CV 90s, so I want to make sure we deliver on that,” the minister said. RUSSIA TAKES SOLEDAR: Ukrainian troops pulled back from a town in the eastern Donbas region today in a modest battlefield victory for Moscow, the Associated Press’ ANDREW MELDRUM reports. Russian forces took Soledar, a highly contested salt-mining town near the key city of Bakhmut, after weeks of fighting. Ukraine retreated to “preserve the lives of the personnel,” SERHII CHEREVATYI, a spokesperson for Ukraine’s forces in the east, told AP. It’s seen by military analysts as a largely symbolic win for Russia, as the Kremlin claimed it had taken the town two weeks ago. For about a month, Ukraine said its forces successfully defended the city enough to tie up opposing troops in the eastern region. “The reality is that the war is grounding to a bloody stalemate,” the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace’s PAUL STRONSKI told NatSec Daily. “The victories for Russia are pyrrhic in many ways … Soledar underscores what this conflict has become: a brutal old-fashion slog.” IT’S WEDNESDAY: 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 mberg@politico.com, and follow us on Twitter at @alexbward and @mattberg33. While you’re at it, follow the rest of POLITICO’s national security team: @nahaltoosi, @woodruffbets, @politicoryan, @PhelimKine, @laraseligman, @connorobrienNH, @paulmcleary, @leehudson, @magmill95, @johnnysaks130, @ErinBanco and @Lawrence_Ukenye.
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The F-35 delivers the unrivaled advantage for our pilots, nation, and partners. A decisive differentiator in near-peer warfare, the F-35 is the most advanced node in 21st century warfare network-centric architecture. Learn more. | | | | | | PERU PROTESTS: Thousands of protestors in Peru were tear-gassed Tuesday hours after President DINA BOLUARTE called for a “truce” after nearly two months of demonstrations, Al Jazeera reports. It was the largest and most violent anti-government protest since last week, when swarms of people descended on the capital calling for the president’s resignation, immediate elections and the dissolution of Congress. Protests first erupted late last year following the removal of former President PEDRO CASTILLO, who was arrested by national police, clearing the way for Boularte, his vice president, to be sworn in. The latest political violence in Peru, which started in remote regions in the south before moving to the capital, is the worst the country has seen in more than two decades. SUSPECTED LETTER BOMBER FOUND: A man suspected of sending letters containing explosives to Spain’s prime minister and U.S. and Ukrainian embassies was arrested today, the Associated Press reports. The suspect, a Spanish national, was arrested in the northern city of Miranda de Ebro, and a search of his home is “still underway,” according to Spain’s interior ministry. Earlier this week, The New York Times reported that American and European officials believe Russian military intelligence officers likely directed members of white supremacist militant group Russian Imperial Movement to carry out the attacks. No one was killed by the explosives, which investigators believe were intended to show that Moscow could carry out such attacks across Europe.
| | | FLORIDA TIKTOK BAN: University officials in Florida are considering a possible ban on TikTok that could block students from using the popular application on a dozen campuses across the state, our own ANDREW ATTERBURY reports. Members on the Board of Governors over state universities expressed support yesterday for creating a system-wide policy outlawing the app. The change could be introduced in the next two months, following similar bans adopted by several schools across the country in recent weeks. That comes amid growing concern among lawmakers about the potential security risks of TikTok, owned by the Chinese company ByteDance. Yesterday, Sen. JOSH HAWLEY (R-Mo.) vowed to introduce legislation to ban the social media platform nationwide, and the app has already been banned from government devices. Sen. MARK WARNER's (D-Va.) concerns about TikTok have broadened from privacy concerns to how the social media app disseminates information to young users, he told The Washington Post’s TIM STARKS. As the chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Warner is mulling legislation to ban the Chinese-backed social media platform in the United States.
| | | NO LONGER SUB-PAR: General Dynamics told investors today that it’s working with the Navy to get its Virginia-class submarine construction schedule back on track and anticipates delivering two attack submarines this year, our own LEE HUDSON reports (for Pros!). The Virginia-class submarine program was behind schedule before the global pandemic. But as Covid-19 spread, many experienced employees at General Dynamics Electric Boat decided to retire, CEO PHEBE NOVAKOVIC said during a fourth-quarter earnings call. “In a business that is heavily manpower dependent, these impacts had a disproportionate effect” on the schedule, forcing additional delays, Novakovic said. Her remarks come two weeks after the Chief of Naval Operations Adm. MIKE GILDAY and other service leaders blasted the industry over schedule delays.
| | | | DOWNLOAD THE POLITICO MOBILE APP: Stay up to speed with the newly updated POLITICO mobile app, featuring timely political news, insights and analysis from the best journalists in the business. The sleek and navigable design offers a convenient way to access POLITICO's scoops and groundbreaking reporting. Don’t miss out on the app you can rely on for the news you need, reimagined. DOWNLOAD FOR iOS– DOWNLOAD FOR ANDROID. | | | | | | | | ROSEN EYES AIR DEFENSES: Sen. JACKY ROSEN (D-Nev.) said she sees the potential for the Senate to work this year to expand air defenses in the Middle East through the Abraham Accords. It’s “particularly important that we continue to work and build on” the DEFEND Act, which was passed last year to promote regional air and missile defense cooperation, Rosen told Jewish Insider. Rosen’s remarks come on the heels of her trip to the Middle East with a delegation of senators, including others on the Armed Services Committee such as Sens. MARK KELLY (D-Ariz.), DAN SULLIVAN (R-Alaska) and KIRSTEN GILLIBRAND (D-N.Y.). They plan to meet with Armed Services Committee Chair JACK REED (D-R.I.) this week to discuss the topic. “I’m sure a lot of others are interested as well as we begin this year’s National Defense Authorization [Act] process,” she said.
| | | MOSCOW CAN BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE: Europe’s top human rights court ruled that it can adjudicate on cases by the Ukraine and Netherlands about Russia’s alleged human rights violations. Those cases include Russia’s 2014 invasion of Ukraine and the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 the same year, the Associated Press’ MIKE CORDER reports. The European Court of Human Rights decision marks significant progress in the countries’ efforts to hold Moscow accountable, which could lead to compensation orders.
| | | |   | | | | | | — Taiwan’s former vice president CHEN CHIEN-JEN was named as the new premier. He’ll replace the long-serving SU TSENG-CHANG. — ROY AZEVEDO, Raytheon Intelligence & Space president, is retiring but will serve as an adviser to the company during the reorganization of its business units. — CHRIS SOONG has been promoted to executive vice president and chief information officer at Huntington Ingalls Industries.
| | | — ISAAC HERZOG, POLITICO: Where Iran casts a shadow, human rights recede — SAMUEL CHARAP and MIRANDA PRIEBE, RAND: Avoiding a Long War: U.S. Policy and the Trajectory of the Russia-Ukraine Conflict — DAVID IGNATIUS, The Washington Post: Blinken ponders the post-Ukraine-war order
| | | — The Center for Strategic and International Studies, 9:30 a.m.: Book discussion on "Balance of Terror: Deterrence in the Nuclear Age" The Wilson Center Kennan Institute for Advanced Russian Studies and the Global Europe Program, 11 a.m.: Silicon Lifeline: Western Electronics at the Heart of Russia's War Machine The Center for Strategic and International Studies, 3 p.m.: The Kurdish Roots of Iran's Freedom Movement The R Street Institute, 4 p.m.: The Future of Data Privacy and Security in the 118th Congress Have a natsec-centric event coming up? Transitioning to a new defense-adjacent or foreign policy-focused gig? Shoot me an email at award@politico.com to be featured in the next edition of the newsletter. Thanks to our editor, Heidi Vogt, who forces us to do tons of things we don’t want to do. We also thank our producer, Kierra Frazier, who could make us do anything.
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