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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 | |  Jake Sullivan fessed up to the reason the U.S. is dipping into its reserve of cluster munitions: It doesn’t have enough other artillery shells to provide at the moment. The bombs with bomblets will serve as a stopgap until production ramps up again. | Drew Angerer/Getty Images | With help from Lili Bayer and Daniel Lippman Subscribe here | Email Alex | Email Matt In public and in private, the Biden administration is offering a full-throated defense of its decision to send cluster bombs to Ukraine. National security adviser JAKE SULLIVAN and Undersecretary of Defense for Policy COLIN KAHL addressed reporters at the White House and Pentagon respectively Friday, asserting that the U.S. should fulfill Ukraine’s request despite the risk to civilians. The danger to Ukrainians would be greater if Russia overtook the country, and if Moscow’s tanks rolled into Kyiv “because Ukraine does not have enough artillery, that is intolerable to us,” Sullivan said. Ukraine sent assurances that it would use the U.S.-provided weapons, supposedly with a dud rate of 2.5 percent or less, in ways that minimize harm to civilians. Kyiv has incentives to abide by those promises, Sullivan claimed, because it’s Ukrainians that VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY is charged with protecting. In the end, Ukraine wants the weapons to safeguard the nation from Russian, cluster-bomb-using invaders — and accepts the risks. Sullivan also fessed up to the reason the U.S. is dipping into its reserve of cluster munitions: It doesn’t have enough other artillery shells to provide at the moment. The bombs with bomblets will serve as a stopgap until production ramps up again. “We need to build a bridge from where we are today to when we have enough monthly production of unitary rounds,” he said. “This is the moment to begin the construction of that bridge so that there isn't any period over this summer or heading into this fall when Ukraine is short on artillery.” That, along with the need to help Ukraine break through Russia’s front lines during the counteroffensive, led the National Security Council to offer a “unanimous recommendation” for President JOE BIDEN to approve the transfer. Kahl said the U.S. has “hundreds of thousands of rounds” to deliver now. But he stressed that no one should consider the cluster bombs as some sort of panacea for Ukraine’s fight. “It's important that they have a mix of capabilities," he said, noting “no one capability is a silver bullet.” Still, civil society groups that met with senior administration officials earlier Friday about the decision, expressed concern to NatSec Daily that the administration wouldn’t say what kind of cluster munitions the U.S. will send and that they wouldn’t disclose why there’s confidence the dud rate will stay below 2.5 percent. Critics say that percentage comes from testing in pristine conditions and doesn’t account for the stresses of terrain and weather on the battlefield.
| | 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. | | | | | NOT YET UKRAINE: Before NATO leaders meet next week, Secretary-General JENS STOLTENBERG is seemingly throwing cold water on the prospect of Ukraine joining the bloc soon, the Associated Press’ LORNE COOK reports. NATO leaders “will reaffirm that Ukraine will become a member of NATO and unite on how to bring Ukraine closer to its goal,” Stoltenberg told reporters today. But when asked when or how Ukraine might be admitted, he said the “most important thing now is to ensure that Ukraine prevails” in the war. Members including Washington and Berlin support waiting until the war is over to invite Kyiv to join, to avoid further angering Moscow. Still, NATO plans to show Ukraine that the bloc has its back for the long haul. Leaders at the summit (which Alex will be reporting to you from) will agree to a “multi-year program of assistance” for Kyiv and help modernize the nation’s armed forces, Stoltenberg added. NUCLEAR PLANT THREAT ‘DECREASING’: The threat of a nuclear catastrophe at the Zaporizhzhia power plant is receding after Moscow and Kyiv traded accusations of potential false flag attacks, Ukraine’s spy chief said. "I can't tell you what happened recently but the fact is that the threat is decreasing," the spy chief, KYRYLO BUDANOV, told Reuters’ TOM BALMFORTH and SERGIY KARAZY. "It's not eliminated. As long as the station is occupied this can happen again any time if they want.” GRIM MILESTONE: Today marks 100 days that Wall Street Journal reporter EVAN GERSHKOVICH has been in Russian detention on flimsy espionage charges. “The WSJ and the U.S. government vehemently deny this bogus allegation and are calling for his immediate release,” WSJ editor EMMA TUCKER wrote. “Journalism is not a crime, and we will not rest until Evan is released.” The Kremlin suggested this week that it would be open to swapping Gershkovich for VLADIMIR DUNAEV, a Russian citizen held in the U.S. on cybercrime charges. Sullivan said today that "what the Kremlin said earlier this week is correct, there have been discussions, but those discussions have not produced a clear pathway to a resolution." 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 NATO chief Stoltenberg, who agreed to let us know what he’s been sipping on in preparation for next week’s summit. "I like Belgian beer,” he told our own LILI BAYER, without saying which is his favorite. As for his favorite place to drink that sweet nectar of the gods, “mostly I drink it at home with friends." Ever the diplomat. Cheers, sir, and see you in Vilnius next week. IT’S FRIDAY. WELCOME TO THE 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 and @JGedeon1.
| | ‘APOLOGIST FOR THUGS AND DICTATORS’: A super PAC supporting former Vice President MIKE PENCE’s presidential bid released an ad calling DONALD TRUMP “an apologist for thugs and dictators.” "America doesn't stand with thugs and dictators. We confront them," a narrator says in the Committed to America ad launched Thursday. "Or at least we used to." Pence was making his rounds through Iowa when reporters asked him about the ad, to which he responded that he “never had any illusions” about Russian President VLADIMIR PUTIN, while his former boss had expressed admiration for the Kremlin head. “In the vice presidential debate in 2016, I said Putin was the small and bullying leader of Russia and my opinion of that never changed,” Pence said, per KMTV’s ALEX WHITNEY. “The president had his own approach to dealing with some of these dictators around the world, and I'll leave him to defend that.”
| | | | 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. | | | | | | | | MAKING MOVES ON 702: A bipartisan group of leaders of the House Intel Committee is pushing federal privacy watchdogs to move fast but carefully on recommendations for wielding controversial Section 702 surveillance powers, our friends at Morning Cybersecurity (for Pros!) report. In a letter, Committee Chair MIKE TURNER (R-Ohio) and ranking member JIM HIMES (D-Conn.) told the independent oversight board studying how to mend Section 702 that it must come up with “balanced” ideas for reforms that will gain bipartisan support. Turner and Himes called the board’s recommendations essential to legislation, and urged the board to “complete this product as soon as feasible.” “We also urge the board to reach consensus on as many recommendations as possible, since it is those recommendations rooted in reasonable bipartisan compromise that have the greatest likelihood of being considered by our committee as part of our reauthorization and reform effort,” the lawmakers wrote.
| | | FINANCIAL ADVISER CHARGED: The Securities and Exchange Commission charged a former Army financial adviser today for allegedly defrauding Gold Star family members. From 2017 to 2023, CAZ CRAFFY worked with Gold Star families who received massive survivor and insurance payments after a family member died on active duty. At the same time, he allegedly worked as a broker for private brokerage firms but didn’t disclose that as required, according to the complaint. “Craffy then defrauded grieving families to enrich himself,” prosecutors wrote, adding that he “exploited the heartache and relative lack of financial sophistication of at least 29 Gold Star family customers to direct that they transfer funds to brokerage accounts under his control.” As a result, the families lost a total of about $1.8 million, with over $1.6 million going to Craffey, according to the complaint.
| | | |   | | | | | NDAA WHADDYA SAY: Our friends at Morning Defense (for Pros!) caught some tidbits in the Senate-approved NDAA you might’ve missed. Some of the highlights: Space Force job flexibility: Because the Senate bill would allow the Space Force to carry out its pitch to host active duty and reservists under a single component, which the House NDAA does not do, it tees up a fight when the two chambers reconcile their bills. Space Force leadership has argued that while it’s a different structure than the other services, it would give guardians the flexibility to switch from full to part-time work, or vice versa, without bureaucratic red tape. The idea is to help the service compete for talent with the space industry. Cluster munitions for Ukraine: The bill declares bipartisan support for sending Ukraine dual-purpose improved conventional munitionsThough the weapons are banned by more than 120 countries for their potential to harm civilians, they’ve become the focus of lawmakers pressuring the administration to send Kyiv new types of arms. Republicans in the Senate and House support the move, Democrats largely oppose it — and Reps. ILHAN OMAR (D-Minn.) and SARA JACOBS offered an amendment to the House NDAA, which is up for floor debate next week, that would effectively bar the transfer of cluster munitions. Damper on DEI: Republicans included provisions targeting Pentagon efforts to promote diversity, equity and inclusion in the ranks. Their addition, while politically charged, may ease efforts to reconcile with the HASC-passed bill, which offers a number of similar provisions. The SASC bill includes ranking Republican ROGER WICKER's (R-Miss.) proposal that bars the Pentagon from providing training or instruction that suggests any demographic such as race, sex or religion is inherently superior or inferior. The aim, Wicker said, is to ensure that personal merit and performance is the main factor in promotions rather than demographics. Another provision limits the pay and hiring of uniform or civilian employees whose sole responsibilities involve developing or implementing diversity and inclusion efforts.
| | ‘CONCERN’: Treasury Secretary JANET YELLEN is in China with a dual message: Washington and Beijing can work together but China has to stop some of its more aggressive protectionist actions. “I am also concerned about new export controls recently announced by China on two critical minerals used in technologies like semiconductors,” she told an audience at the American Chamber of Commerce in Beijing today. “We are still evaluating the impact of these actions, but they remind us of the importance of building resilient and diversified supply chains.” The metals, gallium and germanium, are used in chips, solar panels and also have military applications. “China produces 60 percent of the world's germanium and 80 percent of the world's gallium,” per NPR. Officials in Beijing said this move aims to counter export controls the U.S. enacted to complicate China’s access to the materials it needs for semiconductors. Yellen still offered some sugar with her vinegar: “I have made clear that the United States does not seek a wholesale separation of our economies. We seek to diversify, not to decouple. A decoupling of the world’s two largest economies would be destabilizing for the global economy, and it would be virtually impossible to undertake.”
| | | | — FIRST IN NATSEC DAILY: EDGARD KAGAN is stepping down as senior director for East Asia at the National Security Council to focus on his confirmation process to be ambassador to Malaysia. MIRA RAPP-HOOPER is stepping up to assume the role. In a statement to NatSec Daily, national security adviser Sullivan said “we are immensely grateful for [Kagan’s] service and wish him well during his upcoming confirmation process,” adding “Mira has brought a wealth of experience and expertise to the team, and we couldn’t think of a better, more qualified person to step into this role.” — NICK RUNKEL is now legislative director for Rep. STEVE WOMACK (R-Ark.). He most recently was military legislative assistant for Womack. — GREG PRIDDY has joined the Center for the National Interest as a senior fellow focused on the Middle East. From 2006 to 2018, he was the director of global oil for Eurasia Group. — JOSHUA BALL has joined the National Institute for Deterrence Studies as a senior fellow. He remains Codio’s VP for marketing.
| | 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. | | | | | — MATTHEW CONTINETTI, The Washington Free Beacon: Mike Pence and the fight over GOP foreign policy — SUZANNE NOSSEL, Foreign Affairs: How America can win over the Global South — Senegalese President MACKY SALL, Project Syndicate: Keeping Senegal’s success story alive
| | — The Hudson Institute, 10 a.m.: Is Israel the biggest loser of the Syrian Civil War? — The Air and Space Forces Association, 1 p.m.: Breaking down the advanced battle management system — Washington Post Live, 3 p.m.: Book discussion on "By Any Means Available: Memoirs of a Life in Intelligence, Special Operations, and Strategy” by MICHAEL VICKERS Thanks to our editor, Heidi Vogt, who never defends us against criticism. We also thank our producer, Sinobia Aiden, who drops bomblets on all the haters.
| | | | JOIN 7/11 FOR A TALK ON THE FAA’S FUTURE: Congress is making moves to pass the FAA Reauthorization Act, laying the groundwork for the FAA’s long-term agenda to modernize the aviation sector to meet the challenges of today and innovate for tomorrow. Join POLITICO on July 11 to discuss what will make it into the final reauthorization bill and examine how reauthorization will reshape FAA’s priorities and authorities. REGISTER HERE. | | | | | | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Follow us | | | | |  |
