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From the SitRoom to the E-Ring, the inside scoop on defense, national security and foreign policy. | | | | |  | | By Nahal Toosi, Alexander Ward, Matt Berg and Lawrence Ukenye | | 
Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks during a press conference on the sidelines of the G20 foreign ministers meeting March 2, in New Delhi. | Altaf Qadri/AP Photo | With help from Daniel Lippman Subscribe here | Email Alex | Email Matt No matter how many opportunities the Biden administration gets, officials just can’t get themselves to criticize India. The latest example comes from Secretary of State ANTONY BLINKEN, who in New Delhi today dodged a question about human rights abuses committed by Prime Minister NARENDRA MODI’s government. “We have to continue to hold ourselves to our core values, including respect for universal human rights, like freedom of religion or belief, freedom of expression, freedom of assembly — which makes our democracy stronger,” Blinken said in restrained language while stressing the U.S. isn’t perfect, either. He did, however, insist that he raises such topics with his Indian counterpart. Blinken’s answer was illustrative of how carefully President JOE BIDEN’s team treads when it comes to India. That’s despite the Indian government’s amply documented crackdowns on minorities, the media and civil society. And it has persisted even amid India’s surge in trade with Russia that undermines U.S. sanctions designed to end the war in Ukraine. The Biden administration considers India a critical counterweight to China. So the U.S. is often reluctant to publicly say anything that might undermine this convenient alliance, even if it harms the administration’s narrative of standing up for human rights and democracy worldwide, human rights advocates say. The U.S. and India may “speak privately about human rights issues, but problematic governments don’t change their conduct unless they face public scrutiny, so, of course, that’s why it’s important to speak publicly,” said JOHN SIFTON, an advocacy director with Human Rights Watch. The group sent Blinken a letter ahead of his India trip asking him to raise specific human rights concerns while he was there. The letter urged him to do so “including in your public comments.” (Yes, the italics were in the letter.) The Indian government, meanwhile, is pursuing what it sees as its national interest. That means joining the United States against China, and buying cheap gas from a needy Russia. It’s easy to have it both ways when both countries need you. The Indian Embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment. But Indian officials have generally denied abusing human rights, often citing legal and security-related reasons for various crackdowns. Inside the State Department, many diplomats are frustrated by the kid-glove treatment. The caution toward India isn’t just in public settings, they say, but also in internal, private documents. A Feb. 17 State Department cable from the U.S. Embassy in India, for instance, recounted a 60-hour raid Indian authorities recently carried out at the BBC’s offices in New Delhi. Indian officials called it a “survey” to examine allegations of tax evasion. But it happened to follow Indian fury over a BBC documentary about Modi’s role in past anti-Muslim violence. What was striking about the unclassified cable, a copy of which NatSec Daily obtained, was how it avoided any real analysis or direct conclusions from U.S. diplomats. Instead, it recited basic facts and relied on the voices of outsiders, such as opposition politicians or Indian journalists, to raise critical points. “One senior journalist asked why Indian authorities confiscated phones of working level reporters when the alleged tax offenses would have been committed by BBC management,” the cable noted. There was no mention of U.S. officials raising the issue with the Indian government. One State Department official said the language in the cable showed the challenges of reporting on the reality of India that Washington sometimes does not want to hear. A second State official was more blunt, saying the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi was well-known among diplomats for having “clientitus” — meaning it tends to parrot a host country’s line or at least avoid looking at it through a critical lens. “Delhi is terrible on any kind of human rights reporting,” the second official said of the embassy there. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue. A State Department spokesperson declined to comment on the cable, but insisted that U.S. officials regularly engage with top Indian officials on human rights issues.
| | | | STEP INSIDE THE WEST WING: What's really happening in West Wing offices? Find out who's up, who's down, and who really has the president’s ear in our West Wing Playbook newsletter, the insider's guide to the Biden White House and Cabinet. For buzzy nuggets and details that you won't find anywhere else, subscribe today. | | | | | | | | BLINKEN-LAVROV TALK: Also in India, Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister SERGEY LAVROV spoke briefly with one another on Thursday during the G-20 meeting, our own KELLY HOOPER reports. The roughly 10-minute conversation on the sidelines of the meeting marks the first time the two counterparts have come face-to-face since Russia’s launched its war on Ukraine. Blinken used the brief conversation, according to a U.S. official, to make three points to Lavrov: that the U.S. would continue to support Ukraine in its defense against Russia for as long as it takes to end the war; that Russia should rejoin the New START nuclear treaty; and that Russia should release imprisoned American PAUL WHELAN. The official added that Blinken “disabused” Lavrov of any idea that the United States’ support of Ukraine would waver, and that the SecState didn’t get the impression from the Russian foreign minister that Moscow’s behavior would change in any way. E.U. AMMO ASKS: The European Union will call for more than $1 billion for ammunition to Ukraine, particularly 155mm howitzer shells, our own JACOPO BARIGAZZI reports. Top E.U. diplomat JOSEP BORRELL intends to propose the “extraordinary support package” as soon as possible, according to a document drafted by the bloc’s diplomatic service. So far, the EU has helped supply Ukraine with arms through an off-budget, inter-governmental cash pot called the European Peace Facility, which is used to reimburse countries that export arms to Ukraine. To date, the facility has dispensed more than $3.5 billion, with another $2 billion planned this year. IRAN MISSILES SEIZED: U.S. forces assisted the U.K. in a seizure of Iranian anti-tank missiles likely bound for Yemen. On Feb. 23, an American aircraft flying over the Gulf of Oman detected a small motorboat with cargo that came from Iran, traveling along a route historically used to traffic weapons to Yemen, U.S. and British officials said in statements. The boat attempted to reenter Iranian territorial waters, but was stopped before it could. On the boat, authorities found Russian 9M133 Kornet anti-tank guided missiles, known in Iran as “Dehlavieh,” and medium-range ballistic missile components, officials said. While Tehran has long denied supplying Yemen’s Houthis despite evidence showing otherwise, Iranian parts have been used by the rebels to build a missile arsenal, who have controlled the nation’s capital since 2014. POTENTIAL CHINA SANCTIONS: Beijing could face an international onslaught of sanctions if it decides to send weapons to Moscow, Reuters’ TREVOR HUNNICUTT and MICHAEL MARTINA reported Wednesday evening. The U.S. has been pulsing allies on the possibility of imposing new sanctions on China in that case, according to four U.S. officials and other sources. Those talks are still in preliminary stages, focusing on drumming up support, particularly from wealthy G-7 nations. For more on China relations, read this week’s China Watcher by our own PHELIM KINE. IT’S THURSDAY: 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.
| | A message from Lockheed Martin: Our mission is to prepare you for the future by engineering advanced capabilities today.
Many of today’s military systems and platforms were designed to operate independently. Through our 21st Century Security vision, Lockheed Martin is accelerating innovation, connecting defense and digital to enhance the performance of major platforms, to equip customers to stay ahead of emerging threats. Learn more. | | | | | | WHAT IS A DESANTIS FOREIGN POLICY?: As a House member, RON DeSANTIS pushed for the U.S. to send lethal aid to Ukraine after Russia seized Crimea and also voted to fast-track the Trans-Pacific Partnership free-trade deal. But the now-Florida governor has since shifted his views on both issues. On Ukraine, for example, he told “Fox & Friends” last week that the Biden administration has “effectively a blank-check policy with no clear, strategic objective identified, and these things can escalate, and I don't think it's in our interests to be getting into a proxy war with China, getting involved over things like the borderlands or over Crimea.” He expressed some skepticism of the TPP shortly after his 2015 fast-track vote. “I think opening markets could be a huge boon for Florida, but we have to look at the details and say, ‘Okay, is this something that is liberalizing and I think that would be pro-growth, or are there things in there that are essentially picking winners and losers? Is there any diminution of American sovereignty?’” So the question is: what is a DeSantis foreign policy? Does it skew traditional Republican or MAGA? We asked the governor’s press team about where DeSantis stands on these two issues but didn’t hear back.
| | | NATIONAL CYBER STRATEGY: The Biden administration will aggressively regulate to protect critical systems against cyberattacks, introducing a new approach that strays from allowing companies to voluntarily strengthen their cybersecurity, our own MAGGIE MILLER and JOHN SAKELLARIADIS report. The increased oversight is part of the new national cyber strategy unveiled Thursday, the first such plan in five years. It comes as officials increasingly worry about cyberattacks on U.S. soil from Russia and China, and as cybercriminals ramp up “ransomware” attacks where they hold networks hostage for payments. The strategy also makes clear that the U.S. plans to be aggressive against foreign adversaries who try to hack into American networks, saying the U.S. will “disrupt and dismantle” attackers. There’s also a plan to increase coordination among federal agencies in case of a major cyberattack, and “develop mechanisms” to help identify when and how to respond to cyberattacks on other countries.
| | | $250M FOR RAYTHEON: Raytheon Technologies won a $250M+ contract from the Space Development Agency for a missile-tracking satellite system. Once deployed, this will be the fifth set of satellites providing missile warnings for the Defense Department. TANKS TO POLAND: More than 100 of the 450 M1A1 tanks the Marine Corps transferred to the Army in recent years will be refurbished and sent to Poland as part of a $1.4 billion signed in January, our friends in Morning Defense report (for Pros!) However, some lawmakers are pressing the White House to send some M1A1 tanks, which are no longer being deployed, to Ukraine while the U.S. works to prepare its 31 Abrams tanks for Kyiv, which could take more than a year. “I still haven’t got a really good response about why we can’t take the Marine Corps tanks that are being obviously no longer deployed, recondition those tanks … and send those to the fight much sooner,” said House Defense Appropriations Chair KEN CALVERT (R-Calif.).
| | | | 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. | | | | | | | | LAWMAKERS SPAR OVER DOD ABORTION RULE: Republicans and Democrats are respectively deriding and applauding the Pentagon’s February decision to grant service members up to three weeks leave for abortions. Sen. ROGER WICKER (R-Miss.), the top Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, led a Wednesday letter to Defense Secretary LLOYD AUSTIN blasting the policy. “These policies will force military commanders that hold sincere pro-life beliefs to choose between their beliefs and their command,” Wicker and 11 other Republican senators wrote. Meanwhile, Democrats are lining up behind the move. “I applaud the Department of Defense for moving to protect our servicemembers and mitigate recruitment, readiness and retention challenges. The servicemembers who fight for us should not have to fight for basic health care,” Rep. JASON CROW (D-Colo.), a House Armed Services Committee member and veteran, said in a Thursday statement. The policy goes into effect on March 18. ACTUALLY, IT’S BIPARTISAN: House Foreign Affairs Committee chair Rep. MICHAEL McCAUL (R-Texas) pushed back on claims that the committee’s bill that would allow a ban on TikTok was rushed, underscoring that there has been consistent bipartisan support for the measure. “We value the views of our colleagues, but they need to work with us in a timely manner,” McCaul said in a statement to NatSec Daily, responding to ranking member Rep. GREGORY MEEKS’s (D-N.Y.) comments that more time was needed to debate and consult with experts. On both fronts, that’s not true, McCaul said. For years, the Trump and Biden administrations have voiced concerns about the social media platform’s safety, and a variety of experts were consulted with before and during the drafting process. “The idea that this was somehow rushed through the process simply isn’t true. And casting Republicans as fear mongers, or somehow an attempt to limit free speech in the face of long-standing, bipartisan agreement that TikTok is a national security risk is disingenuous and unnecessary,” he said.
| | | SCHOLZ BASHES CHINA: German Chancellor OLAF SCHOLZ condemned China for failing to speak out against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. “It is disappointing” that Beijing “was no longer willing to reaffirm what was still the consensus” during a meeting of G20 finance ministers in India last week, he said per our own HANS VON DER BURCHARD. “My message to Beijing is clear: Use your influence in Moscow to press for the withdrawal of Russian troops.” Scholz’s message comes just a day before he’s set to meet with Biden at the White House. They’re on message about Ukraine, but NatSec Daily readers know there’s still some distance between the U.S. and Germany on tanks. UKRAINIAN SABOTAGE?: Russian President VLADIMIR PUTIN accused Ukrainian “terrorists” of crossing the western border and attacking civilians in villages, a claim Ukrainian officials have denied. What happened and what the strategic purpose of such an attack in the Bryansk region would be were unclear, NBC News’ MATTHEW BODNER and HENRY AUSTIN report. But Ukrainian officials worry that such accusations may allow Moscow to justify ramping up its assaults. If confirmed, it would mark a second week of Kyiv exposing Russian weaknesses, following drone strikes deep inside Russia that appeared to be Ukrainian. However, a group of anti-Kremlin fighters, known as the Russian Volunteer Corps, claimed responsibility on Telegram for the western attack, denying claims that Ukrainian saboteurs were involved.
| | | |   | | | | | | — FIRST IN NATSEC DAILY: ZEPHRANIE BUETOW is now assistant secretary for legislative affairs at DHS, DANIEL LIPPMAN has learned. She most recently was special assistant to the president and Senate legislative affairs liaison at the White House, where she worked on getting the CHIPS and Science Act and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act passed. — MAGNUS NORDENMAN has rejoined the Atlantic Council as a non-resident senior fellow with the Forward Defense initiative. He remains an international market analysis lead at Lockheed Martin. — OSCAR ARBULU has joined the Common Defense advocacy group as deputy political director. He was previously on Rep. RASHIDA TLAIB's (D-Mich.) campaign.
| | | — MACKENZIE EAGLEN, American Enterprise Institute: Beyond Monopsony: Pentagon Reform in the Information Age — BRODERICK McDONALD and GUY FIENNES, Modern War Institute: The Wagner Group’s Growing Shadow in the Sahel: What Does it Mean for Counterterrorism in the Region? — THOMAS MEANEY, The New York Times: America Is In Over Its Head
| | | — The Center for Strategic and International Studies, 11 a.m.: Pressing Challenges to U.S. Army Acquisition: A Conversation with Hon. DOUGLAS BUSH — The Center for a New American Security, 1 p.m.: Virtual Fireside Chat | Featuring GEN JAMES RAINEY and The Hon. DOUGLAS BUSH Thanks to our editor, Heidi Vogt, who never keeps quiet about all the things we do wrong. We also thank our producer, Kierra Frazier, who only says the nicest things to us.
| | A message from Lockheed Martin: Our mission is to prepare you for the future by engineering advanced capabilities today.
Many of today’s military systems and platforms were designed to operate independently. Through our 21st Century Security vision, Lockheed Martin is accelerating innovation, connecting defense and digital to enhance the performance of major platforms, to equip customers to stay ahead of emerging threats. Learn more. | | | | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Follow us | | | | |  |
