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From the SitRoom to the E-Ring, the inside scoop on defense, national security and foreign policy. | | | | |  | | By Alexander Ward, Matt Berg and Ari Hawkins | |  The proposal to move Ukraine closer to accession — but still not close — that NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg (left) quietly floated in recent weeks now has the imprimatur of the American leader. | DIMITAR DILKOFF/AFP/Getty Images | With help from Zi-Ann Lum Subscribe here | Email Alex | Email Matt Programming Note: We’ll be off this Monday for Juneteenth but will be back in your inboxes on Tuesday. On Thursday evening, Alex and PAUL McLEARY reported that President JOE BIDEN is “open” to removing a big hurdle to Ukraine’s membership in NATO after the war, even if the plan doesn’t specify when Kyiv would join the alliance. Simply put, NATO allies would waive a requirement for Ukraine to meet standards under a Membership Action Plan, or MAP, which is a series of military and democratic reforms. The proposal to move Ukraine closer to accession — but still not close — that NATO Secretary General JENS STOLTENBERG quietly floated in recent weeks now has the imprimatur of the American leader. That increases the likelihood of the plan becoming policy during next month’s NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania. But the question over the last 24 hours remained: Would allies go along with it? The answer, per Alex and LILI BAYER today, is “yes” — but it’s not a done deal. “If it’s what America really, really, really wants, they can usually get it over the line,” said an official from a NATO country, who, like the seven other NATO and member-state officials they spoke to, was granted anonymity to discuss sensitive internal deliberations. A senior diplomat from Eastern Europe said on Friday that the proposal to remove the need for a MAP, “if suggested, is a good one. We would support.” Said another official from a NATO country: “There is support for this, but it is still under discussion.” Calling the chances of a consensus on MAP removal “likely” after Biden’s openness to the plan, the same official said, “Fundamentally more countries are supporting a more active line on Ukraine than the administration perhaps expected initially.” There are still stumbling blocks that could derail the momentum toward an agreement. Eastern European members want Ukraine to have a clear, imminent post-war pathway to membership. But some southern Europeans fear that removing the MAP barrier would further anger Russia, potentially escalate the war and make rebuilding ties with Moscow after the war harder. A number of central and eastern allies are likely to push for an even firmer political gesture to Ukraine ahead of Vilnius. And there’s also the problem of Hungary and Turkey, which are “uncomfortable” with inching Ukraine along the membership path, the first official from a NATO country said. “It won’t be that straightforward” in Vilnius. Ukrainian President VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY certainly won’t be happy with the compromise play, as he has been vocal about wanting a clear, imminent pathway for his country’s membership. But it seems to be an attainable plan for the alliance at this point. Read Alex and Lili’s full story.
| | A message from Lockheed Martin: Innovating at hypersonic speed.
Lockheed Martin is innovating with urgency to solve today’s hypersonic strike and defense challenges. We’re investing in the American hypersonic workforce and supplier base, to ensure our customers stay ready for what’s ahead. Learn more. | | | | | RIP: DANIEL ELLSBERG, the former military analyst who released the Pentagon Papers that exposed U.S. government lies about Vietnam, passed away Friday. He was 92. In a recent interview with POLITICO, his last, Ellsberg had some wisdom for wannabe whistleblowers like him: “Don’t do it under any delusion that you’ll have a high chance of ending up like Daniel Ellsberg.” COUNTEROFFENSIVE SLOWED: Ukraine’s forces have pressed pause on assaults in recent days as commanders analyze the first two weeks of the counteroffensive and how to move forward without major casualties, the Wall Street Journal’s MARCUS WALKER reports. It’s been a tough start for Ukrainian troops as they struggle to pierce Russia’s well-prepared lines of defense. Kyiv’s wins have been limited to the retaking of several villages, while Moscow has captured or destroyed a number of Western vehicles provided to Ukraine’s military. Russia’s aerial attacks have continued as well. The latest barrage of missiles came today as African leaders arrived in Kyiv to discuss ending the war, the Washington Post’s DAVID STERN reports. NUCLEAR SUB TO SEOUL: The U.S. Navy sent a nuclear-powered guided-missile submarine to visit South Korea on Friday, dispatching a vessel that's capable of carrying roughly 150 Tomahawk cruise missiles, reports HYUNG-JIN KIM and KIM TONG-HYUNG from the AP. The move comes one day after Pyongyang resumed military tests in response to U.S.-South Korean live-fire drills, and was done to enhance “regular visibility” as North Korea advances its nuclear arsenal, per a White House note. ALLEGED LEAKER INDICTED: JACK TEIXEIRA, the Massachusetts Air National Guard member accused of posting secret and sensitive military documents on social media, was indicted on six counts related to his retention and transmission of those documents, our own KELLY GARRITY reported Thursday. DRINKS WITH NATSEC DAILY: At the end of every long, hard week, we like to highlight how a prominent member of Washington’s national security scene prefers to unwind with a drink. Today, we’re featuring SUMANTRA MAITRA, senior editor of the American Conservative. “Usually, Jack Daniels Honey on the rocks at Blackfinns, or a Malbec at Bistro Cacao,” he told us. “Otherwise, if fancy, Respect your Elders, with Vodka and Elderflower, at Tabard Inn.” He’s also into experimenting with cocktails and noted that he recently made the best Scofflaw of his life. Maitra recommends we all watch a video of how they make the Bubbles and Berries cocktail at Ocean Prime. We were certainly entranced. Cheers, Sumantra! IT’S FRIDAY. WELCOME TO THE (LONG) WEEKEND: 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, @reporterjoe, @_AriHawkins and @JGedeon1.
| | SCRAPPING THE IRAN NUKE DEAL: If elected president, ROBERT KENNEDY JR. suggested he’d pursue a peace deal separate from the Iran nuclear deal, which has “outdated assumptions and conditions, and is not appropriate to our time.” “Iran must not be allowed to develop nuclear weapons. This is non-negotiable. It will require constant vigilance and stringent verification,” Kennedy tweeted Friday morning. With the nuclear deal being lackluster, “I will set my sights on real peace in the Mideast, including between Israel and Iran.” While he didn’t explicitly say he’d pull out, Kennedy’s stance aligns more with DONALD TRUMP’s, who abandoned the agreement when he was in office. Biden reentered the deal, which was negotiated by former President BARACK OBAMA, but efforts to revive the agreement have been futile. Kennedy’s comments also come two days after the New York Times reported that Washington and Tehran seem to have made a handshake agreement that reduces nuclear tensions and brings wrongfully detained Americans home.
| | | |   | | | | | HOW CHINA HACKS: Rep. MIKE WALTZ (R-Fla.) said he believes Beijing takes advantage of the source code of software companies’ operating in China to target U.S. agencies and businesses. “I can't imagine that they're not” using that data to hack the United States, Waltz, who serves on the House Armed Services Committee, said on CNN Friday morning, referring to China. He also expressed concern about Russian hackers — who breached federal agencies Thursday — and said lawmakers haven’t been specifically briefed on the latest hack, but have been briefed “on the explosion, the tsunami of ransomware attacks that are coming.”
| | ‘INCREDIBLY MISLEADING’: Last month, U.S. Space Command said it would take over missile defense operations from U.S. Strategic Command. That announcement was “incredibly misleading,” Gen. GLEN VANHERCK, who leads U.S. Northern Command and North American Aerospace Defense Command. “To be clear, the missile defense mission has not changed,” VanHerck told Breaking Defense’s THERESA HITCHENS. “There’s been no change to any of our missions, including the NORAD mission for missile warning, attack assessment, any of those. And we’re still tracking Santa Claus each year.” SPACECOM made the announcement after Biden signed a revision of the Unified Command Plan, which reassigned several missile defense support functions that STRATCOM previously owned. The vague language used by SPACECOM caused some to believe missile warning and defense responsibilities no longer fell to regional commands such as NORTHCOM or NORAD, which isn’t true. “When you have somebody from Space Command saying: ‘So, we’ve owned the missile warning mission since base command stood up,’ is totally deceiving and incorrect,” VanHerck said. CANADIAN TANKS TO LATVIA: Canada plans to deploy a squadron of 15 Leopard 2 tanks to Latvia, along with supporting personnel and equipment, Canadian Defense Minister ANITA ANAND announced today. Canada is sending about 50 total vehicles, including the tanks, two armored recovery vehicles and other fuel vehicles, Anand said at the Ukraine Defense Contact Group meeting in Brussels. She said 131 personnel will also be deployed.
| | EYE ON THE NAVY: Rep. ROB WITTMAN (R-Va.), a member of the House Armed Services Committee says they are taking on more oversight responsibilities when it comes to Navy ship maintenance, adding that he was “alarmed” and “bitterly disappointed” with higher-ups' handling of the naval fleet, reports MEGAN ECKSTEIN from Defense News. “The Navy hasn’t been as rigorous in their maintenance scheduling and efforts there, and when you aren’t rigorous with that, your ships wear out faster,” Wittman, who previously chaired the sea power subcommittee told the publication, adding that his colleagues would take a more proactive approach to ensure to ensure hulls are not retired prematurely. The comments come after the Biden administration asked for nine ships in its fiscal 2024 budget proposal while moving to retire 11. Wittman criticized the administration for decreasing the size of the fleet despite aiming to deter China’s aggression in the Indo-Pacific region.
| | A message from Lockheed Martin: Innovating at hypersonic speed.
Lockheed Martin is innovating with urgency to solve today’s hypersonic strike and defense challenges. We’re investing in the American hypersonic workforce and supplier base, to ensure our customers stay ready for what’s ahead. Learn more. | | | | | NOBODY PUTS CAMBODIA IN THE CORNER: As tensions between the U.S. and China mount, Cambodia wants nothing to do with the drama. “What we cannot accept is any strategy that would harm progress and stability in the region. We hope that the Indo-Pacific Strategy will avoid forcing us in a corner,” Cambodian diplomat SOPHEA EAT told our own PHELIM KINE. “We are trying to be friends with everyone.” China provides Cambodia with significant infrastructure investment and the U.S. is the nation’s largest market, Eat explained, “so we need both to coexist and benefit equally.” Her sentiment was similar to concerns recently raised by Pakistan’s Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs HINA RABBANI KHAR, who said Islamabad doesn’t want to pick sides. ‘RUSSOPHOBIC HYSTERIA’: Kremlin spokesperson DMITRY PESKOV slammed Australia’s government after the country canceled the lease on the land where Moscow was planning on building a new embassy. Australia cited national security concerns. “Another unfriendly display from Australia. We will take this into account and if there are issues on the agenda that require the principle of reciprocity, we will act accordingly,” Peskov said, according to the Russian news agency TASS, accusing the country of “Russophobic hysteria.” Australia’s parliament passed legislation Thursday to block the lease, which was rubber stamped later that night by Governor-General of Australia DAVID HURLEY. Lawmakers raised concerns over espionage and political interference as a result of the proximity of the Russian embassy to the Australian parliament.
| | — The Senate Foreign Relations Committee has added ERIC HARRIS as comms director, DANNY RODRIGUEZ as press secretary and KEMANI SCOTT as a press assistant. Harris most recently was senior adviser and comms director for the House Select Committee on Economic Disparity and Fairness in Growth. Rodriguez previously was deputy press secretary for Sen. ALEX PADILLA (D-Calif.). —TOM CUNNINGHAM has been promoted to director of community affairs for Beacon Wind at Equinor. He was a senior public affairs manager before the move.
| | | | 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. | | | | | | | | — Sens. CHRIS COONS and TODD YOUNG, The Messenger: Time to fight Russia and China’s economic coercion — YAROSLAV TROFIMOV, The Wall Street Journal: Why the war in Ukraine may not deter China — CNN: Kill, terrorize, expel: Testimonies detail atrocities by Wagner-backed militia in Sudan
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