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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 Eric Bazail-Eimil | |  Samuel Aronson, an aide to Afghanistan evacuation lead John Bass with responsibility for who could get into the airport, offered his much-anticipated testimony to the House Foreign Affairs Committee. | Staff Sgt. Victor Mancilla/U.S. Marine Corps via AP | With help from Phelim Kine Subscribe here | Email Alex | Email Matt FIRST IN NATSEC DAILY — A former State Department official questioned about the Afghanistan withdrawal by Congress bluntly said the evacuation wasn’t a success, a statement that poses a direct challenge to the Biden administration’s rosier narrative. The Republican-led House Foreign Affairs Committee is conducting closed-door, transcribed interviews with Washington officials who oversaw the military withdrawal and those who served at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul. The administration admits the chaos surrounding HKIA wasn’t textbook, but they boast about airlifting 124,000 people to safety as the Taliban overran the country. HFAC Chair MICHAEL McCAUL (R-Texas) is unconvinced by that argument and is using the probe to learn more about what happened in 2021. Today, SAMUEL ARONSON, an aide to evacuation lead JOHN BASS with responsibility for who could get into the airport, offered his much-anticipated testimony. Aronson’s 10 harrowing days in Kabul were chronicled in the book "The Secret Gate," earning him a spot on the committee’s invite list. But before he took questions from aides, Aronson offered a stark opening statement — obtained by NatSec Daily — about what he witnessed. “Even sending in the best of the foreign service that August could only remedy so much. Let me be clear — I cannot call this evacuation a success,” he said, noting more than 200 people were killed or wounded while “thousands more like me struggle with invisible scars and moral injuries.” “I live with memories of women and men walking through razor wire, slicing up their bodies, for a chance that I would allow them into the airport. I remember giving a horrible choice to a young mother whose husband got stopped by the Taliban: Get on the airplane and never see your husband again or exit the airport and lose your only chance at freedom,” Aronson continued. The former official, now at Meta, went on to describe how he had to act like a soldier instead of a diplomat, carrying weapons of war like flashbang grenades instead of pens. He’s also been moved by what Gold Star families say of their loved ones who died during the evacuation and the injuries sustained by troops near the airport. Aronson’s frustration is palpable, but he’s far from just a disgruntled former employee. “The commendations he received from the State Department, the praise he received from senior leaders from Secretary of State ANTONY BLINKEN on down, speak to the way he behaved and the selflessness of his actions in Kabul,” said MITCHELL ZUCKOFF, author of "The Secret Gate" who spent countless hours interviewing Aronson. Aronson’s view may soon be countered by higher-level Biden officials. McCaul has requested that top spokespeople for the administration at the time — the White House’s JEN PSAKI, State’s NED PRICE and the Pentagon’s JOHN KIRBY — sit for interviews. It’s likely they’ll echo the conclusions from multiple government-led reviews that say while mistakes were made — like failing to prevent the terrorist attack outside HKIA that killed 13 service members and more than 170 Afghans — the withdrawal was ultimately well run given the country collapsing around it. U.S. Central Command reportedly will soon interview service members in Kabul during the evacuation. We asked the National Security Council and State if they had any response to Aronson’s conclusion. The NSC referred us to State, where spokesperson MATTHEW MILLER said the agency “remains immensely proud of the work done” during the withdrawal and offers its “thanks to the work of many brave department employees like Mr. Aronson who assisted in these efforts.” LESLIE SHEDD, a spokesperson for HFAC Republicans, wouldn’t go into details about what Aronson told the committee but said he “gave us significant insight into the level of utter chaos inside HKIA during the evacuation and dedication his colleagues displayed.”
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We’re hard at work to deliver what’s next for 21st Century Security. Learn more. | | | | | JUST IN — French President EMMANUEL MACRON is saying that France's ambassador to Niger and other French diplomats are being "held hostage" at the country's embassy in Niamey, according to CNN's DALAL MAWAD and CHRIS LIAKOS. RUSSIA IN THE MEDITERRANEAN: Russia is looking to gain access to a Libyan port, in the hopes of expanding its naval presence in the Mediterranean, according to The Wall Street Journal’s BENOIT FAUCON. Libyan officials told the Journal that Russian officials have begun meeting with warlords in Libya’s turbulent east in the hopes of obtaining docking rights for Russian warships, specifically looking to gain access to the ports of Benghazi and Tobruk, close to Greece and Italy. In response, the head of U.S. Africa Command, Gen. MICHAEL LANGLEY, and other U.S. officials are expected to visit the internationally recognized government in Tripoli. The naval moves come as the Kremlin seeks to expand Russia’s influence in Africa and capitalize on recent gains by the Wagner mercenary group on the continent. It also comes in the wake of several Wagner-backed coups on the continent, which have rankled the West and disrupted American and French diplomatic and geopolitical strategy in the region. FIRST IN NATSEC DAILY — WANG ON THE WAY: Chinese Foreign Minister WANG YI will visit the U.S. in early October to meet with Blinken, two people familiar with the planning told our own PHELIM KINE. Blinken invited Wang to the U.S. last month after he replaced deposed former Foreign Minister QIN GANG. There are no details on Wang’s meeting agenda, but it is likely to include planning for a long-anticipated phone call between Chinese paramount leader XI JINPING and President JOE BIDEN. That’s a necessary step toward a possible meeting between the two leaders on the sidelines of the APEC meeting in San Francisco in November. The State Department responded by referring NatSec Daily to a statement by Miller on Monday in which he stated that "whether it’s at UNGA or whether it is after UNGA sometime before the end of the year, it is still our expectation that Secretary Blinken will host Foreign Minister Wang Yi here in the United States." The Chinese embassy in Washington declined to comment. In the latest drama among top Chinese officials, Defense Minister Li Shangfu is under investigation for corruption and will likely be removed, two U.S. officials told The Washington Post’s ELLEN NAKASHIMA and CATE CADELL. That clears up some confusion about his whereabouts, since he hasn’t been seen in public in about two weeks. Speaking of Beijing’s military, remember that Chinese spy balloon that floated across the continental U.S. earlier this year? It appears that China has stopped launching such vessels after American fighter jets downed that one over the Atlantic, multiple people familiar with U.S. intelligence assessments told CNN’s KATIE BO LILLIS and NATASHA BERTRAND. ANOTHER VISITOR: Ukrainian President VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY will also head to Washington, with plans to meet with Biden and key members of Congress next week following the U.N. General Assembly in New York, our own OLIVIA ALAFRIZ reported Thursday night. On that note… UN PLAYBOOK: The high-level week at the U.N. General Assembly kicks off Monday in New York. Keep informed on all the news, analysis — and of course gossip — with our daily newsletter, authored by SUZANNE LYNCH who will be on the ground in NYC. Global Insider newsletter s will get the dispatches, as will others who sign up to POLITICO’s U.N. Playbook here. 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 ANNE NEUBERGER, the NSC’s deputy national security adviser for cyber and emerging technology. When she’s not swamped with the ones and zeros of the cyber world, Neuberger enjoys a glass of wine or two with friends over Shabbat dinner. There’s a good chance Neuberger will be enjoying that wine during Rosh Hashanah this weekend. Cheers, Anne!
| | | | Enter the “room where it happens”, where global power players shape policy and politics, with Power Play. POLITICO’s brand-new podcast will host conversations with the leaders and power players shaping the biggest ideas and driving the global conversations, moderated by award-winning journalist Anne McElvoy. Sign up today to be notified of the first episodes in September – click here. | | | | | 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 X 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, @JGedeon1 and @ebazaileimil.
| | ‘SURE’: Former President DONALD TRUMP said he would testify under oath that he didn’t ask a staffer to delete security footage showing the movement of boxes of classified materials at Mar-a-Lago. A clip shared online by NBC News’ “Meet the Press,” now hosted by KRISTEN WELKER, shows the frontrunner for the Republican nomination saying he would for “sure” call those allegations “false.” “It’s a fake charge,” Trump said of the indictment by special counsel JACK SMITH’s office. “The tapes weren’t deleted.” Trump added that he didn’t have to hand over tapes because they were his property. The classified documents case, along with three other ongoing legal matters, perpetually plagues Trump’s campaign, though polls show him far ahead in the nomination sweepstakes.
| | | SOMEONE’S GETTING A RAISE: The recent Chinese-linked hack that breached government emails could’ve been a lot worse were it not for an enterprising government IT analyst, our own JOHN SAKELLARIADIS and MAGGIE MILLER report. A State Department cybersecurity expert spearheaded an effort to implant a custom warning mechanism into the agency’s network more than two years ago in anticipation of future hacks, the officials said, shedding new light on how they spotted the breach, top State Department officials told John and Maggie. The tripwire-like alert went off almost immediately when Chinese spies targeted the agency’s Microsoft email systems in mid-June, enabling the agency to tip off Microsoft and the rest of the U.S. government to the sophisticated spying campaign. The hack, which Microsoft disclosed in July, still compromised the unclassified emails of top officials at the State and Commerce Departments, including Commerce Secretary GINA RAIMONDO and NICHOLAS BURNS, the U.S. ambassador to China. Read: TikTok hit with $368m fine in Europe for violating children’s privacy by our own CLOTHILDE GOUJARD
| | | |   | | | | | ‘THIS CUTS BOTH WAYS’: Sen. TOMMY TUBERVILLE (R-Ala.) has been holding up military promotions for nine months over a program that, it turns out, very few troops actually use, our own LARA SELIGMAN reports. Only a small number of service members have taken advantage of the year-old rule that offers paid leave and travel reimbursement to troops seeking abortions and other reproductive care, according to the Pentagon. A dozen DOD officials, current and former service members and military spouses told Lara that troops are nervous about seeking the benefit because they say it could compromise their privacy and open them up to retaliation. The widespread reluctance has fueled opponents of the policy, who ask why the administration is holding fast to a program that only a handful of troops have used. This shows “the Pentagon’s claims about the policy being critically necessary to recruiting … are factually baseless, and they can drop the policy,” STEVEN STAFFORD, a spokesperson for Tuberville, said in an email after Lara relayed the information. “This cuts both ways.” TRAINING SCHEDULE: Belgium and Denmark will start training Ukrainians on F-16s next year, Belgian Defense Minister LUDIVINE DEDONDER tweeted today, without further specifying when it would begin.
| | SHOW ME THE MONEY: Senate Democrats are asking the Pentagon to hand over its contract with ELON MUSK’s SpaceX in response to a book that detailed he shut off access to the satellites when Ukraine wanted to use them to strike Russian targets. “These allegations…raise serious concerns about whether Mr. Musk has personally intervened to undermine a key U.S. partner at a critical juncture – and if so, how and why he was allowed to do so,” Senate Armed Services Committee members JEANNE SHAHEEN (D-N.H.), ELIZABETH WARREN (D-Mass.) and TAMMY DUCKWORTH (D-Ill.) wrote in a Friday letter to Defense Secretary LLOYD AUSTIN. However the author of Musk’s biography, WALTER ISAACSON, later said that part was wrong. Still, the lawmakers want to know if other instances of suspicious Starlink shutoffs have occurred and DOD’s conditions for space-based service contracts, among other things. Musk denies switching off Starlink specifically for Kyiv’s operations, saying that some areas of the country are covered and others aren’t. But he’s openly critical of Ukraine’s attack on Russia and wants both sides to reach a peace deal. LET’S PLAY A (WAR) GAME: Rep. MIKE GALLAGHER (R-Wisc.) said it would be “useful” to get tech companies involved in the war games he has been running to prepare for a Chinese invasion of Taiwan, our own STEVEN OVERLY reports. “I just want us to do everything possible to prevent a war with China, because if nothing else, our war game teased out how destructive such a conflict would be, both in terms of the economic cost as well as the human costs,” Gallagher said in an interview on the POLITICO Tech podcast. If Beijing does invade the neighboring island nation, which U.S. military leaders predict could happen in a few years, tech companies would be massively impacted by the conflict, as Taiwan produces 60 percent of the world’s semiconductors and 90 percent of advanced chips worldwide.
| | | | JOIN 9/19 FOR A TALK ON BUILDING THE NEW AMERICAN ECONOMY: The United States is undergoing a generational economic transformation, with a renewed bipartisan emphasis on manufacturing. Join POLITICO on Sept. 19th for high-level conversations that examine the progress and chart the next steps in preserving America’s economic preeminence, driving innovation and protecting jobs. REGISTER HERE. | | | | | | | | CRENSHAW BLASTS TUBERVILLE: As tensions boil over between Republicans on Capitol Hill, Rep. DAN CRENSHAW (R-Texas) is airing out his grievances with Tuberville’s hold on military promotions, our own OLIVIA BEAVERS reports. In a text message to allies, Crenshaw, a former Navy SEAL who lost his right eye to a roadside bomb in Afghanistan, wrote that he’s “at a point where I’m going to tear apart (if asked) Coach/Senator/non-veteran Tuberville for personally attacking service members who have spent almost 30 years serving our country.” “I don’t know what outcome he expected,” Crenshaw added of Tuberville, “but I’m hearing more and more that his actions are having worsening consequences.” Tuberville’s office did not return Olivia’s request for comment. Crenshaw’s comments come as military leaders increasingly voice concerns that the blockade will have lasting impacts on U.S. military readiness. At her confirmation hearing yesterday, Adm. LISA FRANCHETTI said the hold has created “a lot of uncertainty” for Navy families and warned ‘it will take years to recover.’
| | — BRIANNE TODD is now director for Central Asian affairs at the National Security Council. She most recently was a professor at the National Defense University detailed to the Office of Central Asian Affairs at the State Department. — Scientific Systems, an autonomy and artificial intelligence firm, named RANDALL WALDEN as a strategic adviser. He was an acquisitions official in the Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office.
| | — Sen. JONI ERNST, Fox News: Three years into Abraham Accords, Biden's Iran deal threatens to unravel it all — Editorial Board, The New York Times: How to Support Ukraine Beyond the Next Election — ERIC SAYERS and KLON KITCHEN, Defense News: DJI isn’t the only Chinese drone threat to US security. Meet Autel.
| | But on Saturday… The Hudson Institute, 9 a.m.: Central and Eastern Europe Strategy Summit — The Clinton Foundation, 8 a.m.: A 2023 meeting of the Clinton Global Initiative — The Atlantic Council, 9 a.m.: New power dynamics in the Middle East and North Africa after the Ukraine crisis — The American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research, 10 a.m.: A book discussion on "Defending Taiwan: Essays on Deterrence, Alliances, and War" — The Wilson Center's Mexico Institute, 11 a.m.: Understanding the Fentanyl and Opioid crisis: U.S.-Mexico Solutions — Defense Priorities, 1 p.m.: Unraveling the GWOT in Africa — The United States Institute of Peace, 2 p.m.: Russia's new exiles — The Atlantic Council, 3 p.m.: What's next for the international response to Venezuela? — The Hudson Institute, 4 p.m.:A discussion on U.S. foreign policy with former Vice President MIKE PENCE Thanks to our editor, Heidi Vogt, who we can’t deem a success as our editor. We also thank our producer, Emily Lussier, the most successful producer in the game.
| | A message from Lockheed Martin: Distributed Teaming: Crewed and uncrewed systems working together for the Next Generation.
Increased survivability, extended reach of networked sensors and informed decision making – that’s how collaborative Distributed Teams work to ensure those we serve stay ahead of ready. Learn more. | | | | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Follow us | | | | |  |
