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From the SitRoom to the E-Ring, the inside scoop on defense, national security and foreign policy. | | | | |  | | By Daniel Lippman, Lara Seligman, Alexander Ward and Matt Berg | | 
A whole generation of Democratic foreign policy wonks emerged chastened from the Iraq experience and eager to avoid another catastrophic war of choice. | Felipe Dana/AP Photo | Subscribe here | Email Alex | Email Matt In March 2003, newly minted Washington Post staff reporter JON FINER embedded with a Marine infantry battalion to cover the U.S. invasion of Iraq. What he saw there — the war, the chaos, the dysfunction — made him want to leave journalism and join the U.S. government. Today, 20 years after the invasion began, Finer sits in the White House as the deputy national security adviser. “It made me much more interested in how foreign policy decisions get made since that one was so consequential,” he told NatSec Daily in an interview. “It’s probably the main thing that led me to want to work in government in the first place: to see how that worked and hopefully to help do it better.” President GEORGE W. BUSH’s fateful decision has affected Finer’s work again and again. In 2011, as a Middle East adviser to then-Vice President JOE BIDEN, he helped oversee the drawdown of U.S. forces from Iraq. A whole generation of Democratic foreign policy wonks emerged chastened from the Iraq experience and eager to avoid another catastrophic war of choice. “It’s been a constant reminder that there are people on the other end of U.S. policy, thousands of miles away, and that decisions that are made here can have extraordinary impact on real people’s lives and that that should never be far from the thought process of decision makers,” Finer said. Other senior members of Biden’s current team, like Under Secretary of Defense for Policy COLIN KAHL, also saw their careers changed by the war. “After 9/11, and then especially after the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003, I became increasingly dissatisfied with only residing in the ivory tower,” said Kahl, who was an assistant professor of political science at the University of Minnesota at the time. “And so I decided to apply for the Council on Foreign Relations international affairs fellowship, which I would call an embedded nerd program that essentially takes junior academics and puts them in a policy setting for a year or so.” Even though he was a Democrat who had opposed the Iraq war, Kahl was placed at the Pentagon led by DONALD RUMSFELD with PAUL WOLFOWITZ and DOUG FEITH in other top positions. Kahl, who later became VP Biden’s national security adviser, believes the U.S. is now “reaping the consequences of over-investment” in the greater Middle East having failed to adequately prepare for strategic competition with China. WHERE WERE THE JOINT CHIEFS?: Marine Corps Commandant Gen. DAVID BERGER tells NatSec Daily that 20 years ago, he was a battalion commander deployed to Okinawa. His battalion was not sent to Iraq for the invasion, which he said was “a huge leadership challenge.” “War is what Marines train for, this is what we live for in some respects, to be ready when our nation needs us. My battalion was ready, already overseas, and completed all the pre-deployment training and evaluations — we were likely the most trained and ready battalion in the Marine Corps,” Berger said. “But we never went — deterring hostilities in the Pacific was equally important.” Joint Chiefs Vice Chair Adm. CHRISTOPHER GRADY, meanwhile, had just begun a stint as the commanding officer of the destroyer USS Cole, according to his spokesperson. Then-Cmdr. Grady led the Cole on its first overseas deployment after al Qaeda attacked the ship on Oct. 12, 2000, during a routine refueling stop in Yemen’s port city of Aden. The blast tore a 40-by-60 foot hole in the ship’s hull and killed 17 sailors, injuring 37 more. In fall 2002, then-Air Force Lieutenant Colonel C.Q. BROWN was deployed in support of Operation Northern Watch, flying the F-16. That spring, he completed his squadron command tour at Shaw Air Force Base, S.C., and transitioned to the Institute for Defense Analyses in Alexandria, Va., as a National Defense Fellow. Gen. CHANCE SALTZMAN, chief of space operations, was assigned as an instructor at the U.S. Air Force Weapons School at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., from July 2001 to June 2003. But during the invasion, he deployed to what was then the 614th Air Operations Center at Vandenberg Air Force Base (now Space Force Base) in California as the chief of the assessments branch for space operations in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, his spokesperson tells us. Adm. MIKE GILDAY was the Commanding Officer of the guided-missile destroyer USS Higgins (DDG 76). He had taken command of the ship in February 2002 and detached in April 2003. He then went on to become the deputy executive assistance to the Vice Chief of Naval Operations. Army Chief of Staff Gen. JAMES MCCONVILLE was commanding the 4th Brigade, 1st Cavalry division. And then-Col. MARK MILLEY, now Joint Chiefs Chair, was serving with the 25th Infantry Division (Light) in Schofield Barracks, Hawaii, during the invasion, a spokesperson tells us.
| | | | 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. | | | | | | | | XI IN MOSCOW, PUTIN IN MARIUPOL: Chinese President XI JINPING touched down in Moscow today to kick off a three-day visit with Russian leader VLADIMIR PUTIN. “Strategic cooperation” will be high on the agenda, as “a number of important bilateral documents will be signed,” according to a Kremlin statement. The strengthening ties coincide with reports that Chinese companies have sent Moscow weapons and body armor that could be used for the war in Ukraine, while Xi has attempted to strike a balance between supporting his close ally without explicitly taking a side in the war. The Chinese leader’s visit comes a day after Putin made a trip of his own, visiting Russian-occupied Ukrainian territory for the first time on late Saturday, The New York Times’ MATTHEW MPOKE BIGG, IVAN NECHEPURENKO and ANDRÉS R. MARTÍNEZ reported. His expedition to Mariupol, a city devastated by Russian forces in the early days of the war, appeared to be a symbol of defiance, as it came one day after the International Criminal Court issued Putin’s arrest warrant. “I hope he got to see what his troops, his military and his war did to that city,” NSC spokesperson JOHN KIRBY said from the White House podium Monday. “That President Xi is traveling to Russia days after” the warrant was issued “suggests that China feels no responsibility to hold the Kremlin accountable for the atrocities committed in Ukraine and … would rather provide diplomatic cover for Russia to continue to commit those very crimes,” Secretary of State ANTONY BLINKEN said during a briefing on Monday. Read: Why Xi Jinping is still Vladimir Putin’s best friend by STUART LAU WOODKE RETURNS: American aid worker JEFF WOODKE was released after being held hostage for six years in West Africa, national security adviser JAKE SULLIVAN announced Monday. Woodke was taken from his home in Niger in 2016 by a terrorist group that operated in the region. He was released back into U.S. care in the Mali-Burkina Faso area, CBS News’ KATHRYN WATSON reports. Blinken returned last week from a visit to Niger where presumably he discussed the potential for Woodke’s release. NEW UKRAINE PDA: The Biden administration announced its 34th drawdown of security assistance for Ukraine, valued at about $350 million. The package includes HIMARS, 155 mm artillery rounds, 25 mm ammunition and high-speed anti-radiation missiles. 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 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, @PhelimKine, @laraseligman, @connorobrienNH, @paulmcleary, @leehudson, @magmill95, @johnnysaks130, @ErinBanco and @Lawrence_Ukenye.
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Lockheed Martin employees and customers are bound by a common cause. Ennobled by our shared patriotism, we will do all that is necessary to protect American and allied interests. Together, we will strengthen deterrence and help ensure mission readiness today. Learn more. | | | | | | SUNUNU ENTERS THE CHAT: There have been whispers that New Hampshire Gov. CHRIS SUNUNU may jump in the GOP race for 2024, a possibility that’s looking increasingly likely after he openly bashed Florida Gov. RON DeSANTIS over the weekend. On Saturday, Sununu penned an op-ed in The Washington Post calling out DeSantis, whose expected candidacy has not yet been announced, for his comments last week that Ukraine is not a vital national security interest to the U.S. “‘America First’ does not mean ‘America Only.’ It means putting our interests first — and that’s what opposing Russia in Ukraine does,” he wrote. “Simply opposing aid to Ukraine because President Biden supports it is not a viable foreign policy.” The New Hampshire governor, who doesn’t often voice his foreign policy views, doubled down on support for Ukraine as some in the GOP have “lost their moral compass on foreign policy.” The next day, Sununu appeared on CNN’s State of the Union to espouse similar views, our own KELLY GARRITY reported. Again, his remarks were specifically leveled at DeSantis. “If you let Russia start to come in,” Sununu said, “and walk over Ukraine, you put all of Eastern Europe at risk. You put all of our NATO allies there at risk. And then when a NATO ally is now at risk, now you really risk having to put potential American troops on the ground, which nobody wants to see and shouldn’t happen.” Sending $50 billion in aid to Ukraine, Sununu said, is “a deal,” if it means not having to send troops to fight a war in Europe. Read: The 2024 GOP field: How they win, how they lose by STEVEN SHEPARD ‘YOU ACTUALLY CAN FORCE-FEED’: Asked by his commander in 2006 at Guantánamo Bay how the U.S. could counter the hunger strikes detainees were on, 27-year-old Navy lawyer DeSantis said “Hey, you actually can force-feed…Here’s what you can do. Here’s kind of the rules for that.” The exchange, reported on by the Washington Post’s MICHAEL KRANISH, adds to the growing picture of the Florida governor’s time at the U.S. military base in Cuba. Speaking to a local CBS station in 2018, DeSantis said of the experience: “What I learned from that … is they are using things like detainee abuse offensively against us. It was a tactic, technique and procedure.” DeSantis was also part of a legal team looking into the deaths of three detainees on June 9, 2006, though the extent of his role in the review is unclear. The deaths were ultimately ruled as coordinated suicide, though that finding remains in dispute.
| | | MANY MORE TIKTOKERS: TikTok has 50 percent more users in the United States than the app currently reports, the social media giant’s CEO SHOU ZI CHEW is expected to tell Congress during a testimony on Thursday. When Chew appears before the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, he’ll say the number of users is at 150 million, up from the previously reported 100 million users, a senior Democratic strategist advising the video-sharing app told NBC News’ CAROL LEE. The planned remarks come as TikTok — owned by Chinese company ByteDance — pushes back on Washington’s recent efforts to limit the app’s influence in the country amid national security concerns. TikTok has since launched a lobbying effort using creators, who will be in Washington this week to talk with lawmakers, to show how critical the app is financially to users.
| | | FIRST IN NATSEC DAILY –– MILLEY: ‘DIFFICULT’ FOR UKRAINE TO PUSH RUSSIA OUT: It’ll be “extremely difficult” for Ukraine to force out all Russian troops this year, Milley said on a podcast episode that will air Tuesday. “That'll be a very difficult task. It's not impossible, but it's extremely difficult. And in the world of probabilities, I don't think it's likely. It could happen, but I don't think it's likely to happen,” he said on the Eurasia Group Foundation’s “None of the Above” podcast. The Joint Chiefs chair also said that Russia “will not be able to achieve their political objectives” in Ukraine, either. “You've got a state of nature where neither side, probably, can achieve their political objectives through military means, and that state of nature will exist for some period of time,” he said. Milley doesn’t see the war as a “frozen conflict.” It’s just that, at this stage, neither side will make significant gains toward their goals, he argues. It’s a repeat of what he’s said before, but it begs the question: Does the administration believe its support of Ukraine will remain as strong going into 2024? FASTER, BETTER, CHEAPER: The Air Force is testing a hypothesis that logistics for vertical-takeoff-and-landing technology would be cheaper than traditional aircraft and ground vehicles, our friends over at Morning Defense (for Pros!) report. The service is assessing the theory that the technology requires less maintenance, leads to improved safety, is more affordable when in mass production and needs less infrastructure, according to a new notice. The Air Force will work with industry to create an aircraft test plan with the possibility of production later.
| | | | 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. | | | | | | | | NO BUDGET CUTS, PLEASE: The Pentagon is warning lawmakers that steep budget cuts floated by conservatives would likely fall hardest on weapons modernization programs aimed at deterring China if the military isn’t spared, our own CONNOR O’BRIEN reports (for Pros!). Cuts could mean canceling ship construction, delaying the Air Force’s new nuclear bomber and slowing U.S. efforts to build up its military presence and stock up on needed weapons in the Indo-Pacific region, Pentagon Comptroller MIKE McCORD outlined in a letter. The letter came in response to a request by House Appropriations ranking member ROSA DeLAURO (D-Conn.) to all Cabinet agencies in January pressing them to outline the consequences of cutting spending back to fiscal 2022 levels, as proposed by House Republicans. House Democratic appropriators released responses from the Pentagon and other departments on Monday. Such cuts would bring the Pentagon topline "below the strategy-drive level necessary to provide for our nation's defense," McCord wrote. END NORMAL TRADE RELATIONS: A new bill would end normal trade relations treatment from products made in China, Daniel and NANCY VU scoop. Sen. JOSH HAWLEY’s (R-Mo.) measure “would permanently revoke China’s normal trade relations status within two years, subject imports from China to higher tariff rates, and provide the president with the authority to increase the rates for certain goods to be even higher,” per Daniel and Nancy. It’s unclear as of today if it has any support to pass.
| | | BIDEN’S ‘CONCERN’ WITH ISRAEL: Biden voiced “concern” about Israel’s plan to overhaul its judicial system during a talk with Israeli Prime Minister BENJAMIN NETANYAHU on Sunday amid nationwide protests opposing the action. There was no immediate indication that Netanyahu would back down from the measure, though the call was “candid and constructive,” a senior administration official told the Associated Press’ AAMER MADHANI and ZEKE MILLER. Biden spoke to Netanyahu “as a friend of Israel in the hopes that there can be a compromise formula found.” Last week, Netanyahu shut down a compromise proposal from Israeli President ISAAC HERZOG that would have replaced the far-right government’s plans to scrap the system, a radical change the prime minister’s allies say is meant to correct a power imbalance in the court. Critics worry the measure will cause the nation to bend toward authoritarianism, making their concerns clear through months of protests that have spread even to Israel’s military.
| | | |   | | | | | | — KAREN DONFRIED is stepping down as the assistant secretary of State for Europe and Eurasian affairs, Blinken announced. She will spend time focusing on her family. — JIMMY HALL, JR. is now the chief information officer at the State Department’s Bureau of Intelligence and Research. A retired U.S. Army colonel, he was previously the acting CIO at the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency.
| | | — LUCIE BÉRAUD-SUDREAU and OLIVIER SCHMITT, POLITICO: The future of the European defense industry depends on a fast Ukrainian victory — JULIA ANGWIN, The New York Times: How to Fix the TikTok Problem — RAMESH PONNURU, The Washington Post: DeSantis lacks moral clarity on Ukraine. His critics lack prudence.
| | | — The Center for Strategic and International Studies and the Japan Institute of International Affairs, 9 a.m.: 2023 U.S.-Japan Security Seminar — The Brookings Institution, 10 a.m.: The U.S. Army and American defense: Investing in modernization, readiness, and human capital — The Arms Control Association and the Chemical Weapons Convention Coalition, 11 a.m.: What to Expect at the fifth Chemical Weapons Convention Review Conference — The Atlantic Council, 11 a.m.: Bakhmut and beyond: Can Ukraine force Russia back this spring? — The Government Executive Media Group and TD Synnex, 1 p.m.: Scalable Security: Zero Trust Frameworks — The American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research, 4 p.m.: Superpower in Peril: A Battle Plan to Renew America — Georgetown University's Center for Security Studies, 4 p.m.: Ukraine Through International Lenses Thanks to our editor, Heidi Vogt, who wishes we would leave journalism like Finer did. We also thank our producer, Jeffrey Horst, who would do well in any newsroom or the Situation Room.
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