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From the SitRoom to the E-Ring, the inside scoop on defense, national security and foreign policy. | | | | |  | | By Matt Berg and Alexander Ward | |  NASA Administrator Bill Nelson will travel to Brazil, Argentina and Colombia this week to meet with foreign leaders and officials. | Michael Wyke/AP Photo | With help from Joe Gould and Nahal Toosi Subscribe here | Email Alex | Email Matt FIRST IN NATSEC DAILY — NASA Administrator BILL NELSON will travel to Brazil, Argentina and Colombia this week to meet with foreign leaders and officials — and potentially secure another partner on the Artemis Accords for space exploration. Nelson’s first stop is in Brazil, where he’ll meet the country’s minister of science and potentially President LUIZ INÁCIO LULA DA SILVA. He then heads to Argentina for a confirmed meeting with President ALBERTO FERNÁNDEZ before finishing up in Colombia to possibly see President GUSTAVO PETRO. He’ll also meet with each nation’s space officials. “All of these countries have had entreaties from the Chinese government,” Nelson told NatSec Daily during an interview in his office last week. With Argentina in particular, he aims to “keep the ties, the information, flowing between our two countries.” While President JOE BIDEN has been friendly with Fernández, meeting at the White House in March, Argentina’s ties with China have been a touchy topic. Beijing is a strong trade and investment partner for Buenos Aires, and looping the latter into Washington’s space ambitions could sway the country away from China’s powerful space program. The clearest way to do that is convincing Argentina to sign onto the Artemis Accords, a nonbinding set of standards spearheaded by Washington to establish norms when it comes to space exploration. Brazil and Colombia, as well as more than two dozen other countries, already have joined. “I'm hopeful that the visit will prompt getting that wrapped, because certainly we would love to have Argentina be a signatory,” KAREN FELDSTEIN, the agency’s associate administrator for international and interagency relations, told Matt. If successful, it would be another sign that the accords can transcend political divides. Saudi Arabia signed onto the agreement last year, and India joined during Prime Minister NARENDRA MODI’s visit to the White House last month. That signaled a shift West for New Delhi, which has long avoided strong space partnerships with other countries. In Brazil and Colombia, which also share strong ties with Beijing, Nelson plans to discuss science partnerships with officials, such as how NASA could help protect the Amazon and other climate change mitigation efforts. Sometime next year, Nelson wants to visit several African nations to bolster ties with the continent and help draw Washington closer to its partners there, he told NatSec Daily. That’s been a key objective for the Biden administration, which has ramped up efforts to counter China’s influence in Africa. These visits are “utilizing the civilian space program as an element to bring us together to have shared common interests and goals,” Nelson said, noting his aim of strengthening ties with the newly formed African Space Agency. “As much as I can go and do this, I'm going to.” Note: Because the Aspen Security Forum takes place in two time zones west of Washington, NatSec Daily will publish after its usual 4 p.m. ET slot to report on important events happening earlier in the day there, later here. Don’t fret, we’ll still show up in your inbox this week, but just a few hours later than usual.
| | 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. | | | | | ASPEN LOOKAHEAD: The Aspen Security Forum begins tonight, and despite Matt’s pleas that Alex listens to John Denver to match the vibe, he’s been blasting Coldplay to get pumped for three days of nonstop natsec coverage. Here’s who he has spotted on travels so far:
- ANDREW SHAPIRO, former assistant secretary of State for political-military affairs, now at Beacon Global Strategies, was flying from DCA to Chicago.
- Harvard University’s JOSEPH NYE, who is also co-chair of the Aspen Strategy Group, suited up and dragging his bag through the airport in Denver.
- The Washington Post’s national security columnist DAVID IGNATIUS on the flight to Aspen in the same area as Alex.
- Beacon Global Strategies’ MICHAEL ALLEN taking what looks like an important call by the Aspen flight’s gate.
- NBC News’ DAN DE LUCE watching Alex scarf down a roast beef sandwich minutes before boarding.
- Ambassador to the U.N. LINDA-THOMAS GREENFIELD chatting it up with former Undersecretary of Defense COLIN KAHL as they started the boarding process.
- ALINA POLYAKOVA, president and CEO of the Center for European Policy Analysis, getting comfortable on the plane from Denver to Aspen.
- STEPHEN HADLEY, national security adviser to GEORGE W. BUSH, in the main Aspen building a few hours before events were due to start, spotted by NAHAL TOOSI. Hadley tells Nahal he’s there as a “utility infielder” — available to fill any slots that might go empty on stage. “I can play any position,” he says.
If you’re in Aspen this week, don’t be shy — say hi to Alex and Nahal (who listened to her “awesome” Happy playlist today, specifically this song. It is awesome.)
| | | | 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. | | | | | U.S. SOLDIER DETAINED: A U.S. service member willfully crossed the border from South Korea to North Korea without authorization today and is believed to be in North Korean custody, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin confirmed during a press conference. The soldier was on a civilian tour of the Demilitarized Zone, according to Col. ISAAC TAYLOR of United States Forces Korea Public Affairs, and not on duty at the time, our own ERIC BAZAIL-EIMIL and LARA SELIGMAN report. The soldier “willfully and without authorization” separated from the group and crossed the demarcation line, he said. The soldier was observed running toward North Korea and being taken into custody, said a person familiar with the incident. The U.S. has already spoken with South Korea about what happened and plans to coordinate with Sweden, the U.S.'s interlocutors with North Korea, the same person said. The junior enlisted soldier was due to face disciplinary action by the U.S. military, a DOD official told Lara. BRING THE KIDS HOME: Saudi Arabia and Turkey are working to broker a deal to repatriate Ukrainian children who were placed with Russian families or in children’s homes, the Financial Times reports. Ukrainian and Russian officials are compiling lists of the children as part of the process, and such talks have been going on for months, FT reports. But there’s no direct communication between the warring sides, DARIA HERASYMCHUK, children’s rights commissioner in President VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY’s office, told the outlet. News of the mediation comes a day after Alex and ADAM WREN reported that POPE FRANCIS dispatched a high-level emissary to speak directly with Biden about the thousands of Ukrainian children Russia has forcibly displaced. ‘CENTURIESLONG STRUGGLE FOR FREEDOM’: NatSec Daily has done its best to remind readers that the war in Ukraine isn’t two years old, or even nine years old. It’s part of a long-term fight for self-determination and independence. A new book out today, “The War Came to Us: Life and Death in Ukraine,” makes this point exceedingly clear, urgent and personal. Its author, CHRISTOPHER MILLER of the Financial Times (and formerly POLITICO), stated it even more starkly in an interview this week. “This war is merely the latest chapter in a centurieslong struggle for freedom by the Ukrainians,” he said. “It's a struggle to exist and there is a great desire for them to exist.” Miller’s work isn’t some high-level dissection of the politics and military tactics that have defined the last 16 months. It’s a granular, on-the-ground, raw look at the lives upended and changed forever. Miller has spent more than a decade living in and writing about Ukraine, which makes his stories rich with detail and insight, having seen friends die over years of fighting and experiencing the grim realities of war closely “I’ve learned the value of a life, and how narrow that space is between life and death,” he said. “I’ve seen it be one step to the left or one step to the right, … and how fragile it is becomes blindingly clear.” Miller’s own takeaway is that while Ukraine is a war in some far-off place in Eastern Europe, the fight there should still resonate in the United States. “Ukrainians are the defense of our Western democracies,” he said, fought by people with similar hopes, dreams and fears as Americans. “These people are like us.” I SPY: Ever wonder what JAMES BOND would think of today’s global state of affairs? Well, you’re in luck. Our own ANNE MCELVOY will speak with the chief of the U.K.'s Secret Intelligence Service, Sir RICHARD MOORE, on the threats facing foreign intelligence, the current state of play in Ukraine and the impact of AI on global security. If you’re a real early bird, tune in here at 4 a.m. ET to watch it live. IT’S TUESDAY: 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.
| | | |   | | | | | TRUMP TARGETED: Former President DONALD TRUMP said today he expects to be indicted by special counsel JACK SMITH’s Jan. 6 grand jury, citing a “target letter” he received from investigators Sunday, our own KYLE CHENEY reports. Such a letter “almost always means an arrest and indictment,” Trump, who has already been criminally indicted twice in recent months, wrote on Truth Social. It’s the clearest sign yet that Smith is close to seeking an indictment for Trump’s role in the effort to disrupt the peaceful transfer of power Jan. 6, 2021. | | | BLACKLISTED: The Biden administration blacklisted four foreign commercial spyware vendors linked to a former Israeli defense official today, accusing them of working against U.S. national security interests, our own JOHN SAKELLARIADIS reports (for Pros!). The Commerce Department said it placed Greece’s Intellexa S.A., Ireland’s Intellexa Limited, Hungary’s Cytrox Holdings Zrt. and North Macedonia’s Cytrox AD on the list for contributing to the proliferation of pernicious mobile surveillance software. The move significantly restricts their ability to acquire U.S. technology. The four vendors have all been linked to the development and sale of Predator spyware, which has been used to surveil and harass journalists, political opposition figures and activists across the globe. They’re also tied to former Israeli defense official TAL DILIAN, the entrepreneur behind Intellexa, an intelligence consortium that includes Cytrox.
| | A BILLION MORE: The United States will unveil another $1.3 billion in military aid to Ukraine in the coming days, Reuters’ MIKE STONE reports. It’s expected to include air defenses, counter-drone systems, exploding drones and ammunition. NEW TRAINING GROUND: The U.S. military wants to train and plan for space operations with allies as concerns rise about Russia and China’s space warfare capabilities, the Wall Street Journal’s ALISTAIR MACDONALD reports. “The conflict in Ukraine has made it clear: access to, and use of, space is fundamental to modern war,” Gen. CHANCE SALTZMAN, chief of space operations, told WSJ. He recently met with European counterparts to call for more cooperation in space. It’s a similar idea to how the military conducts ground, air and naval training alongside allies, he said. In recent years, China and Russia have invested in their military space capabilities, each developing new technology to disrupt satellites and communications systems.
| | | AFGHAN WITHDRAWAL SUBPOENA: House Foreign Affairs Chair MICHAEL McCAUL (R-Texas) announced he has subpoenaed requested documents relating to the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, our own JOE GOULD writes in. It’s the latest move in a running battle between McCaul and Secretary of State ANTONY BLINKEN over the chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. Last month, McCaul pressured the State Department to let his committee view a dissent cable related to the rapid fall of Kabul. This time, McCaul is seeking underlying documents used to produce the department’s after-action review, or AAR, of the withdrawal. A statement from McCaul’s office says he’s gotten two of the three items he requested last month, but the State Department “has repeatedly failed" to produce the complete files, in spite of McCaul’s warnings. “Despite repeated requests dating back to January 2023, the department has refused to produce the Afghanistan AAR files to the committee, impeding its efforts to obtain transparency and accountability for the American people,” the statement reads. “For these reasons, the committee has been forced, by the department’s obstruction, to issue a subpoena.” The new deadline is 10 a.m. on July 25. THE DRAMA ISRAEL: Speaker KEVIN McCARTHY will bring a measure to the House floor this evening that would affirm support for Israel — rebuking recent comments from Progressive Caucus Chair Rep. PRAMILA JAYAPAL (D-Wash.) calling Israel a “racist state,” DANIELLA DIAZ and ANTHONY ADRAGNA report. Set for introduction by Rep. AUGUST PFLUGER (R-Texas), the resolution was timed with the visit of Israeli President ISAAC HERZOG. But by offering a broad vehicle to condemn antisemitism while supporting Israel, the vote may also offer electorally vulnerable Democrats a chance for an easy messaging win. “The Democrats want an out to show they are not antisemitic? I think the Democrats have not just one member that’s antisemitic. They have a number of members,” McCarthy told our own OLIVIA BEAVERS, adding that Jayapal’s remarks were “unacceptable.”
| | JUSTICE FOR SHIREEN: A coalition of more than 60 national organizations sent a letter to lawmakers urging them to support the Justice for Shireen Act, which would require the FBI and the State Department to publicly report on the circumstances surrounding journalist SHIREEN ABU AKLEH’s death last year. Abu Akleh’s “killing is part of a systemic pattern of human rights abuses against Palestinians and the free press by the Israeli military,” the letter reads, urging “lawmakers to take immediate steps to ensure U.S. assistance to Israel does not contribute to human rights violations against Palestinians or attacks on members of the press.”
| | | | SUBSCRIBE TO POWER SWITCH: The energy landscape is profoundly transforming. Power Switch is a daily newsletter that unlocks the most important stories driving the energy sector and the political forces shaping critical decisions about your energy future, from production to storage, distribution to consumption. Don’t miss out on Power Switch, your guide to the politics of energy transformation in America and around the world. SUBSCRIBE TODAY. | | | | | | | | | — STEVE KELLY is departing as senior director for cyber and retiring from the FBI after 21 years of service. He will be replaced by CAITLIN CLARKE from the Office of the National Cyber Director. — ERICA BARKS-RUGGLES was appointed to represent the United States at the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization as head of the U.S. mission. Formerly the U.S. ambassador to Rwanda, Barks-Ruggles most recently served as the senior representative and head of delegation to four major International Telecommunication Union conferences in 2022. — ANDREA GOLDSTEIN is principal deputy assistant secretary for administration at Health and Human Services. She was previously acting director of force resiliency at the Department of the Navy. — SARAH WEINSTEIN is director of public affairs at the Commerce Department. She most recently was communications director for SASC and SFRC member JEANNE SHAHEEN (D-N.H.).
| | — JIANLI YANG and ANDRÉ GATTOLIN, POLITICO: Italy’s decision on China’s Belt and Road Initiative and beyond — MICHELLE GOLDBERG, The New York Times: The Hysterical Overreaction to Jayapal’s ‘Racist State’ Gaffe — Hoover Institution: Silicon Triangle: The United States, Taiwan, China and Global Semiconductor Security
| | — International Institute for Strategic Studies, 8 a.m.: Russia and the arctic maritime challenge — Atlantic Council, 9 a.m.: How can the United States counter normalization with Assad in the Middle East — Wilson Center, 9 a.m.: Building Lebanon's sovereignty and the State — German Marshall Fund, 9 a.m.: The impact of the war in Ukraine on the political situation in Belarus: three short-term scenarios — U.S. Institute of Peace, 9 a.m.: Russia in Africa: the Wagner Group, Russia-Africa summit and beyond — Stimson Center, 12 p.m.: Book discussion on "Grand Delusion, The Rise and Fall of American Ambition in the Middle East" — Cato Institute, 1 p.m.: Thawing a frozen conflict: The Korean War armistice at 70 years — Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association, 2 p.m.: Accelerating the kill chain: optimizing encrypted traffic and applications for decision dominance — Center for Strategic and International Studies, 2 p.m.: Book discussion on "Sailing Upwind: Leadership and Risk from TopGun to the Situation Room." — House Armed Services Military Personnel Subcommittee, 2 p.m.: Admissions, curriculum, and diversity of thought at the military service academies — House Homeland Security Committee, 2 p.m.: Biden and Mayorkas' open border: advancing cartel crime in America — Brookings Institution, 3 p.m.: The geopolitics of generative artificial intelligence Thanks to our editor, Emma Anderson, who wishes she could launch us into space. We also thank our producer, Emily Lussier, who keeps us all grounded.
| | 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 | | | | |  |
