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From the SitRoom to the E-Ring, the inside scoop on defense, national security and foreign policy. | | | | |  | | By Paul McLeary and Alexander Ward | |  Mourners remove the Israeli flag from the coffin of Yosef Vahav, 65, during his funeral Oct. 31 in Beit Guvrin, Israel. Vahav was killed by Hamas militants on Oct. 7, in Kibbutz Nir Oz near the border with the Gaza Strip. | Ohad Zwigenberg/AP | Subscribe here | Email Alex | Email Matt With help from Matt Berg and Maggie Miller Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. MICHAEL HERZOG spoke plainly: “Israel of October 6th and Israel of October 8th are different countries,” he said before playing a gruesome 45-minute video of Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel to illustrate his point. The video is a compilation of unreleased body cam footage taken from Hamas militants along with clips from security cameras and social media posts shot Oct. 7. Israeli officials are showing the clips to reporters, including Monday afternoon when NatSec Daily was present at their embassy in Washington, to expose the brutality of the attacks on innocent civilians, and as a way to justify the ferocity of Israel’s retaliation that Hamas says has killed more than 8,000 people in Gaza, most of them innocent civilians. The campaign, culminating in a ground invasion of the enclave, shows no signs of relenting, with soldiers now encircling main population centers. NatSec Daily couldn’t verify the contents of the video. Still, the images, which the Israeli government won’t publicly release out of respect for the victims’ families, form the most complete record we’ve seen of the slaughter of 1,400 people in Israel in a single morning. Collectively, the images invoke a feeling we’re told is sweeping through Israel at the moment, only a million times multiplied. The following descriptions may be disturbing. There’s a man on the ground, gravely wounded but very much alive. Militants slowly and inexpertly behead him with an old garden hoe while chanting praises to god. A young Israeli man whose arm ends abruptly in a bloody stump is tossed into the back of a pickup truck already slick with the blood of his friends, as their jubilant captors laugh. A young woman cowers under a desk in her bedroom before Hamas members wait and wait before killing her. Two tween boys in their underwear run into a shed with their father, only to see him die after a terrorist throws a grenade in behind them. The father flops backward, after having protected his boys with his body. “Why am I alive,” one brother screamed before telling the killer, in English, that he wanted his mother. One of the most striking elements of the clips is the sheer joy and the wild exhilaration the killers expressed at every turn while killing children, the elderly and spraying bullets into homes, killing dogs loping out of gardens to see what’s going on. There was audio of the gunmen making calls home to celebrate. Seeing those images provides a glimpse into the national trauma overcoming Israel. There were 45 minutes of video of such scenes — and that’s just what was caught on tape and made it into Israeli hands. Eventually, the video ended abruptly in a flood of images of dead babies and children. Another 10 children under the age of 5 are still missing and presumed kidnapped, according to Israeli officials. As the lights came on, the people in the room sat dumbly for a long beat. It wasn’t clear what to do. The Biden administration urges Israel not to overreact to Oct. 7. Though the U.S. backs Israel’s retaliation, they insist that soldiers must hunt Hamas while ensuring the safety of Gaza’s 2.3 million civilians. It’s unclear whether Israel is listening, as it maintains a siege on the enclave, shuts off the internet and intensifies bombardments. During discussions before the ground operation began, Israeli officials said mass civilian casualties in Gaza were acceptable, citing Western bombing runs on Germany and Japan in World War II. Mass civilian casualties were also the result of the attacks by Hamas, which is now accused of using its own people as human shields. What Herzog told us before showing the video gives insight into what Israeli officials may also be telling their American counterparts: “You have to understand the mindset, the psychology of what is happening right now.”
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We're accelerating production of combat-proven capabilities like HIMARS and PAC-3 MSE to support our customers’ national security missions. Learn more. | | | | | BREAKING: President JOE BIDEN will meet Chinese paramount leader XI JINPING on the sidelines of a conference in San Francisco next month, the White House confirmed. White House press secretary KARINE JEAN-PIERRE said they’re expected to have a “tough conversation” about the state of their competition. DON’T LET PUTIN WIN: Top Biden administration officials warned senators today that if they approve aid to Israel but cut out funding for Ukraine, VLADIMIR PUTIN will win, our own CONNOR O’BRIEN and JOE GOULD report. Secretary of State ANTONY BLINKEN and Defense Secretary LLOYD AUSTIN argued against decoupling President JOE BIDEN’s $106 billion supplemental request for Israel, Ukraine and the Pacific while testifying before the Senate Appropriations Committee. The pair warned Russia would prevail without continued U.S. assistance and would have implications outside of Europe. “We are much better sustaining our effort now, seeing this to success, than having to pay a much higher price later when we have to deal with a world full of aggression,” Blinken said. Austin also argued that not sending aid to Ukraine increases the likelihood that American troops might one day face combat against Putin’s forces in defense of a NATO ally in Europe. New House Speaker MIKE JOHNSON plans to hold a vote on legislation that grants $14.3 billion in military funding for Israel, matching Biden’s request for that country but leaving out money for Ukraine. The Republican-led bill also offsets the new Israel aid with cuts to the Internal Revenue Service. The move is a nonstarter in the Senate and likely means many House Democrats will oppose the bill this week. ISRAEL-GAZA LATEST: Israel struck a refugee camp in Gaza, Israel’s military confirmed, killing IBRAHIM BIARI, commander of Hamas' Central Jabaliya Battalion. Palestinian health officials said the attack on the Jabalya camp in northern Gaza also killed at least 50 Palestinians. About 20 buildings have been destroyed at the site, and video shows people wading through the rubble in search of victims. “We don’t have the equipment to work properly there,” MAHMOUD BASSAL, a spokesperson for the Palestinian Civil Defense emergency services, told The Washington Post. “It may need a week of work.” Israel Defense Forces said in a statement that “a large number of terrorists who were with Biari were killed. Underground terror infrastructure embedded beneath the buildings, used by the terrorists, also collapsed after the strike.” Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister BENJAMIN NETANYAHU has rejected growing calls for a cease-fire to protect innocent civilians. “Just as the U.S. wouldn’t have agreed to a cease-fire after the bombing of Pearl Harbor or after the terrorist attack on 9/11, Israel will not agree to a cessation of hostilities with Hamas after the horrific attacks of Oct. 7,” he wrote in a Wall Street Journal op-ed that posted online Monday night. “Calls for a cease-fire are calls for Israel to surrender to Hamas, to surrender to terrorism, to surrender to barbarism. That will not happen.” The Pentagon announced today that 300 more U.S.-based troops will be headed to the Middle East, leading to a total of 1,200 deployed since the Israel-Hamas war started. “These troops will provide capabilities in explosive ordnance disposal, communications, and other support,” our own LARA SELIGMAN wrote on X. DOD also revealed that U.S. troops have experienced 27 attacks from Iran-backed proxies since Oct. 17, comprising 16 in Iraq and 11 in Syria. As the humanitarian crisis continues, Cyprus is discussing with its European and Middle Eastern partners how to establish a sea corridor to deliver aid to Gaza, The Associated Press’ MENELAOS HADJICOSTIS reports. A senior Cypriot official told the AP that Netanyahu “wasn’t opposed” to the idea during a discussion with Cyprus’ president last week. Meanwhile, Hezbollah, the Iranian proxy group in Lebanon, is trying to regroup after losing 47 fighters during three weeks of fighting with Israel. That’s about a fifth of the number lost during the Israel-Hezbollah full-scale war in 2006, Reuters’ LAILA BASSAM and TOM PERRY report. There are signs that conflict could escalate. “Hezbollah has unveiled its surface-to-air missile capability for the first time, declaring on Sunday it downed an Israeli drone,” Reuters reported. “The Israeli military has not commented on Sunday's reported drone incident.” ROAD TRIP FOR UKRAINE: European politicians are planning to tour the U.S. to shore up support for Ukraine — a response to calls by some GOP lawmakers for Washington to cut the flow of assistance to Kyiv, our own GABRIEL GAVIN, JACOPO BARIGAZZI and ERIC BAZAIL-EIMIL report. “We need to find ways to reach out to [the public] on both sides of the Atlantic — not to forget that there are actual electorates that see their problems in a certain way," Lithuanian Foreign Minister GABRIELIUS LANDSBERGIS told our colleagues. The itinerary includes heading to multiple states and meeting with companies that “sell equipment that actually create jobs” in the United States, he added. A roadshow where Baltic nations and others with close ties to Ukraine speak out in favor of providing continuing support, Landsbergis went on, “might work quite well if they are laid out not just by American politicians, but those who depend on that assistance and on that foreign policy track.” PAKISTAN TO DEPORT AFGHANS: Pakistan is threatening to deport a large number of undocumented Afghans as part of an anti-migrant crackdown, a move that will push many more people into living under the Taliban’s brutal rule. Pakistan said that, after today, anyone who is in the country illegally could face deportation or arrest. The United Nations estimates that 2 million undocumented Afghans are currently in Pakistan, more than a quarter of them arriving after the Taliban took over Afghanistan in 2021, The Associated Press’ RIAZ KHAN and ABDUL SATAR report. The U.S.-based Human Rights Watch advocacy group blasted the Pakistani government today, alleging it has used “threats, abuse, and detention to coerce Afghan asylum seekers.” Deportations, if the threats turn into reality, could imperil Afghans still seeking a Special Immigrant Visa to the United States. The Biden administration says that applicants must be in a third country — like Pakistan — to have their cases processed, the AP notes.
| | | | GET READY FOR POLITICO’S DEFENSE SUMMIT ON 11/14: Russia’s war on Ukraine … China’s threats to Taiwan … a war in Gaza. The U.S. is under increasing pressure to deter, defend and fight in more ways — but not everyone agrees how. Join POLITICO's 3rd Annual Defense Summit on November 14 for exclusive interviews and expert discussions on global security and the U.S.'s race to bolster alliances and stay ahead of adversaries. Explore critical topics, including international conflicts, advanced technology, spending priorities and political dynamics shaping global defense strategies. Don’t miss these timely and important discussions. REGISTER HERE. | | | | | 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 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, and @JGedeon1.
| | ‘INFORMATION ENVELOPE’: MARK PENN, a prominent Democratic pollster, spoke to Forbes’ DIANE BRADY about what’s animating young people to support Palestinians as Israel retaliates against Hamas — and what it could mean for Biden’s reelection campaign. A Harvard CAPS/Harris poll from earlier this month revealed a majority of Americans support Israel and back Biden’s handling of the crisis. But about half of 18- to 24-year-olds are staunchly on the Palestinian side, conflating Hamas’ cause with the Palestinian struggle for a sovereign state, though Penn suggests that cohort isn’t fully informed about the immediate issue. “A lot of people who are out there demonstrating don't really support what Hamas’s objectives are,” he said. “Young people are in an information envelope of their own … I've rarely seen an issue that is more generationally-focused than party-focused in the last few years.” The war and Biden’s support for Israel isn’t only a political liability with young voters. “Muslim Americans and some Democratic Party activists say they will work to mobilize millions of Muslim voters to withhold donations and votes towards President Joe Biden's 2024 reelection unless he takes immediate steps to secure a Gaza ceasefire,” Reuters’ ANDREA SHALAL and ANDREW HAY report.
| | SEC CHARGES SOLARWINDS: The Securities and Exchange Commission announced charges against software company SolarWinds and its Chief Information Officer TIMOTHY BROWN, alleging they failed to disclose cybersecurity vulnerabilities that allowed Russian hackers to infiltrate the systems of multiple federal agencies and Fortune 500 companies. “The complaint alleges that, from at least its October 2018 initial public offering through at least its December 2020 announcement that [SolarWinds] was the target of a massive, nearly two-year long cyberattack,” the SEC noted in a Monday evening statement. “In its filings with the SEC during this period, SolarWinds allegedly misled investors by disclosing only generic and hypothetical risks at a time when the company and Brown knew of specific deficiencies in SolarWinds’ cybersecurity practices as well as the increasingly elevated risks the company faced at the same time.” It’s quite the move by the SEC and a milestone for how the government tries to enforce cybersecurity practices in the private sector. The complaint also presents SolarWinds less as the victim of a far-reaching Russian hack and more as a negligent actor that put federal secrets at risk. The company has pushed back on the allegations via its lawyer. “SolarWinds is a U.S. company that was the victim of an incredibly sophisticated cyberattack by Russia,” said attorney SEAN BERKOWITZ. “The SEC has now decided to re-victimize the victim. This decision will send a chilling message to the security community and hinder information-sharing across the industry.”
| | | |   | | | | | GET WELL SOON, SIR: The commandant of the Marine Corps, Gen. ERIC SMITH, was hospitalized Sunday after a medical emergency. “Out of respect for the expressed wishes of the family, we will not provide any further details on the medical condition of General Smith at this time,” his spokesperson, Maj. JIM STENGER, said Monday when the service announced the general’s condition. Some reports indicate that Smith is recovering from a heart attack suffered while jogging, though NatSec Daily couldn’t verify that. The incident happened about a block from the Marine Barracks in Washington, per The New York Times. The Marines have yet to release more information about Smith’s condition. Normally the service’s No. 2 would serve as acting commandant, but that job has remained unfilled due to Sen. TOMMY TUBERVILLE’s (R-Ala.) blockade of military promotions in protest of the Pentagon’s abortion travel policy. Lt. Gen. KARSTEN HECKL, deputy commandant for combat development and integration, is serving as acting commandant.
| | ON HIGH ALERT: FBI Director CHRISTOPHER WRAY warned today that terrorist attacks are likely to increase in connection with the Israel-Hamas conflict, in particular domestic attacks, Maggie writes in. “We assess that the actions of Hamas and its allies will serve as an inspiration the likes of which we haven’t seen since ISIS launched its so-called caliphate several years ago,” Wray testified to the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee during a hearing on threats to the homeland. Wray cited attacks already seen since Hamas’ Oct. 7 assault and Israel’s subsequent bombardment of the Gaza Strip. In the U.S., this includes the murder of a 6-year-old Muslim boy in Illinois that the FBI is investigating as a hate crime, as well as terrorist group al Qaeda’s recent call to attack Americans. “We also cannot and do not discount the possibility that Hamas or another foreign terrorist organization may exploit the current conflict to conduct attacks here on our own soil,” Wray said. He also warned of specific threats from Iranian-linked cyberattacks on U.S. critical infrastructure. Wray said such cyberattacks are likely to get worse in response to U.S. support for Israel in its fight against Hamas militants, Maggie reports (for Pros!). “The cyber targeting of American interests and critical infrastructure that we already see conducted by Iran and non-state actors alike we can expect to get worse if the conflict expands, as will the threat of kinetic attacks,” Wray told lawmakers. The warning comes as hacktivist groups have waded into the conflict in recent weeks, and after years of Iranian cyberattacks against critical U.S. organizations and industries that have contributed to an increase in cyber defense measures.
| | | | PLAYBOOK IS GOING GLOBAL! We’re excited to introduce Global Playbook, POLITICO’s premier newsletter that brings you inside the most important conversations at the most influential events in the world. From the buzzy echoes emanating from the snowy peaks at the WEF in Davos to the discussions and personalities at Milken Global in Beverly Hills, to the heart of diplomacy at UNGA in New York City – author Suzanne Lynch brings it all to your fingertips. Experience the elite. Witness the influential. And never miss a global beat. BE PART OF THE CONVERSATION. SUBSCRIBE NOW. | | | | | | | | HOUNDING HARRIS: Vice President KAMALA HARRIS’ former presidential campaign aides are rounding up signatures to pressure her to “seek an immediate ceasefire” between Israel and Hamas. That’s according to a draft letter obtained by our own CHRISTOPHER CADELAGO and SAM STEIN, which encourages the VP to support a cease-fire resolution introduced by Rep. CORI BUSH (D-Mo.) as well as “independent investigations of human rights violations in Gaza” that the group calls a “genocide.” “We must mourn the tragic loss of Israeli life targeted by Hamas,” the draft letter reads, “however, we must firmly and unequivocally reject the Israeli government’s exploitation of these deaths to stage a retaliatory and genocidal campaign against civilians.” Harris’ office didn’t comment on the signature-gathering effort, but two supporters who worked for her in the past dismissed it as an unhelpful stunt that unfairly targets her.
| | — The Senate confirmed JACK LEW to be ambassador to Israel. — REBECCA SHEROUSE has joined Amazon as a global security risk manager. Her last role was at HiveWatch as head of customer success and account management.
| | — ALEJANDRO MAYORKAS, The Washington Post: Congress must bring our border security into the 21st century — ZEYNEP TUFEKCI, The New York Times: Past Lies About War in the Middle East are Getting in the Way of the Truth Today — JEFFREY HORNUNG, War on the Rocks: Japan’s play for today: Too much? Just right? Or never enough?
| | — The International Institute for Strategic Studies, 10 a.m.: French President EMMANUEL MACRON: Interpreting his vision for European security — The Center for a New American Security, 11 a.m.: Taking stock of the U.S. bioeconomy, focusing on the national security implications of securing a robust U.S. bioeconomy — The Henry L. Stimson Center, 1:15 p.m.: Arms trade treaty reporting in the shadow of Ukraine — The Center for Strategic and International Studies, 1:30 p.m.: Geostrategic challenges and how DIA is posturing to meet them Thanks to our editor, Emma Anderson, whose animosity toward us is clearly because she, too, lives in an “information envelope.” We also thank our producer, Emily Lussier, who sees all and knows all.
| | A message from Lockheed Martin: Delivering Multi-Domain Deterrence.
Fast-moving threats require agile deterrence with multi-domain enabled platforms. Lockheed Martin’s combat-proven systems work together to protect critical assets against evolving threats.
We're accelerating production of combat-proven capabilities like HIMARS and PAC-3 MSE to support our customers’ national security missions. Learn more. | | | | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Follow us | | | | |  |
