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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 | |  “There'll be no cease-fire, general cease-fire, in Gaza without the release of our hostages," Benjamin Netanyahu told ABC News’ David Muir last night, repeating a stance he’s held for weeks. | Pool photo by Christophe Ena | Subscribe here | Email Alex | Email Matt With help from John Sakellariadis, Joe Gould and Lara Seligman Listen to Israeli Prime Minister BENJAMIN NETANYAHU closely and it sounds like there was the smallest breakthrough on the humanitarian pauses he has to date resisted. “There'll be no cease-fire, general cease-fire, in Gaza without the release of our hostages," he told ABC News’ DAVID MUIR last night, repeating a stance he’s held for weeks. But then: “As far as tactical little pauses, an hour here, an hour there. We've had them before, I suppose, will check the circumstances in order to enable goods, humanitarian goods to come in, or our hostages, individual hostages to leave.” That comment followed a call Netanyahu had with President JOE BIDEN yesterday where they “discussed the possibility of tactical pauses,” per a White House readout, ensuring civilians can leave intense areas of fighting, aid can get in and hostages can be safely brought home. We asked a senior Israeli official what Netanyahu was messaging. “Israel is willing to do pauses, but only and if there's a substantial release of hostages,” the official said. “We're discussing localized solutions for specific needs with the American administration." A senior Biden administration official, who like others interviewed was granted anonymity to discuss a sensitive dynamic, told NatSec Daily that Netanyahu's remarks were seen as less than a win but better than a stiff arm, indicating Israel may be inching over to the American position. Negotiations with the Israelis continue as part of an ongoing process, the official continued. A second senior administration official said “it’s much better that Netanyahu’s indicating an openness to U.S. requests for pauses in fighting than rejecting it out of hand.” U.S. officials don’t see a substantive difference between “humanitarian” and “tactical” pauses, the official said. “They’re the same thing.” None of this, of course, means that the U.S. and Israel are fully aligned. National Security Council spokesperson JOHN KIRBY indicated as much when discussing the Biden-Netanyahu call. “I can’t say for sure coming out of this conversation that there was an agreement in date and time and length and purpose,” he said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” this morning, noting that the U.S. position was reiterated. But Biden did urge Netanyahu to agree to a three-day pause in fighting to allow for progress on the hostage releases, two U.S. and Israeli officials told Axios’ BARAK RAVID. Sen. TIM KAINE (D-Va.), who led a joint statement from Senate Democrats calling on Israel to shift course, wants longer pauses than Netanyahu has committed to. "It's got to be more than an hour or two,” he also said on MSNBC today. The Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry says that 10,000 people have been killed since Israel started retaliating against the militant group — about a third of them children — with 25,000 injured.
| | 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. | | | | | ISRAEL IN GAZA FOR ‘INDEFINITE PERIOD’: Israel has no plans to fully reoccupy the Gaza Strip after its war with Hamas — a move Washington has warned against — but Netanyahu said his nation would oversee the security situation for “an indefinite period.” The prime minister, speaking further on ABC News last night, didn’t shed light on the details other than saying Israel must have “the overall security responsibility” of Gaza. Israeli troops withdrew from the walled territory in 2005, and Hamas soon took over following an election. “We’ve seen what happens when we don’t have it,” Netanyahu said. “When we don’t have that security responsibility, what we have is the eruption of Hamas terror on a scale we couldn’t imagine.” It’s unclear how Netanyahu’s vision fits into the idea floating around that the U.S. and its allies may establish a multinational force to keep peace in the enclave. Secretary of State ANTONY BLINKEN, for one, has made it clear that the Palestinian Authority should play a role in Gaza’s governance, a senior State Department official told The New York Times’ VICTORIA KIM and MATTHEW ROSENBERG. It’s been exactly a month since Hamas’ surprise attack on Israeli soil, which killed some 1,400 citizens and sparked widespread airstrikes and a ground invasion from Israel. With the high Palestinian death toll, Israel is increasingly facing pushback from the international community and other countries calling for a cease-fire. But there’s no end in sight to the fighting. “With each passing day of bombing, blockade, rocket attacks and hostages not released, it becomes more and more difficult to resume the process towards a two-state solution,” Norwegian Foreign Affairs Minister ESPEN BARTH EIDE wrote in Al Jazeera today. OUT OF CONTROL: Another arms control pact is suspended. This time it’s the Conventional Forces in Europe treaty that will be paused after Russia left it, prompting the U.S. and its NATO allies to follow suit. “Our allies unanimously share our view that a situation where the United States and our NATO allies continue to be militarily constrained by the CFE Treaty, while Russia – whose armed forces are the largest in Europe, and who continues to actively wage a war of aggression against Ukraine using the very forces the treaty aims to constrain – is not, would be unacceptable,” national security adviser JAKE SULLIVAN said in a statement today. The deal between the West and Russia (then the Soviet Union) helped bring about the end of the Cold War in part by building trust between the two sides. As The Wall Street Journal’s MICHAEL GORDON writes, the CFE “was seen as a cornerstone of European security. Its purpose was to preclude either side from building up the forces for a surprise attack in the center of Europe by nullifying the Soviet bloc’s overwhelming numerical superiority in conventional forces.” In July, Reps. MIKE ROGERS (R-Ala.) and MICHAEL McCAUL (R-Texas), who respectively lead HASC and HFAC, sent a letter to top administration officials urging the U.S. to fully withdraw from — not suspend — the CFE. “We implore you to hold Russia accountable for its actions and initiate a U.S. withdrawal immediately,” they wrote to Blinken and Defense Secretary LLOYD AUSTIN. CHINA BASE: China is looking to put a military base in Oman and Biden has been briefed on the effort, Bloomberg News’ MICHELLE JAMRISKO and JENNIFER JACOBS report. “Biden was told that Chinese military officials discussed the matter last month with Omani counterparts, who were said to be amenable to such a deal,” they write. “They said the two sides agreed to more talks in the coming weeks.” That’ll add some heat ahead of Biden’s likely chat with Chinese paramount leader XI JINPING in San Francisco later this month. Defense Secretary Austin may also discuss the matter with his counterpart, whoever that may be. China already has a base in Djibouti and a no-longer-secret outpost in Cuba. 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.
| | | | 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. | | | | | | | | WHAT ELECTIONS? Ukrainian President VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY said his country won’t be holding elections next year because “now is not the time,” instead calling for political unity. The statement, which he made during his nightly address on Monday, ends speculation about whether Zelenskyy will face a political opponent back home on top of his globetrotting efforts to shore up support for Ukraine's war efforts. Elections cannot take place under martial law, which was declared after Russia invaded the country last year. The announcement is ruffling some feathers in Washington. “It's extremely hard to say that it's a battle for democracy when the president of the country is suspending elections,” Sen. J.D. VANCE (R-Ohio), a critic of sending more military aid to Ukraine, said in an interview. “You can't suspend elections and claim to be a democracy.” Sen. RICHARD DURBIN (D-Ill.), the No. 2 Senate Democrat, said he’s not worried by Zelenskyy’s move. “He's viewed as a good courageous leader and postponing the election in the middle of war is, I think, a valid explanation,” he told NatSec Daily. “It’s hard to run an election in the middle of a country that is being, in large part, occupied by Russian forces,” Sen. CHRIS MURPHY (D-Conn.) chimed in. “Zelenskyy shows over and over again his commitment to democracy.”
| | THAT DIDN’T TAKE LONG: The White House is racing to undercut the first congressional plan to reform and renew Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. The administration held a press call earlier today to criticize Capitol Hill’s first bill on the controversial electronic surveillance authority before it ever went public. The bill’s core proposal — requiring American intelligence and law enforcement officials to acquire a warrant before looking up information on U.S. citizens and residents — would “dramatically undermine” national security in a way that would be “unprecedented and immediately detrimental,” a senior administration official told reporters on the call, as our own JOHN SAKELLARIADIS writes in. The call was scheduled in anticipation of the release of a gargantuan, 206-page bill aimed at erecting new privacy and oversight protections around Section 702 and a host of other administration surveillance practices. The official admitted on the call he had not yet read a copy of the bill, which was unveiled formally by a group of Republican and Democratic co-sponsors in the House and Senate later in the morning. As John scooped (for Pros!) Monday night, however, the bill doesn’t actually propose a blanket warrant requirement, as the White House official suggested on the call. It includes carve-outs for a range of circumstances, including life-and-death emergencies, consent from surveilled targets and “defensive” queries to defuse cyberattacks. KEEPING YOU IN THE LOOP: The State Department really wants people to be hypervigilant about Russia’s ongoing disinformation campaign in Latin America, made evident by a public department readout released this morning. Moscow’s campaign has roots in the majority of Latin American countries, State wrote, outlining the efforts in clear sections labeled “what we know,” “the actors involved,” “the mechanics of the campaign” and “the Kremlin’s hidden hand.” One bullet details how Russians send propaganda to their editorial staff in Latin America, who “localize” the news and spread it on mass media channels to make it appear organic. It’s a surprisingly public effort by the U.S. government to combat a disinformation campaign, which the department says is aimed at undermining support for Ukraine and fomenting anti-U.S. and anti-NATO sentiment.
| | | | JOIN US ON 11/15 FOR A TALK ON OUR SUSTAINABLE FUTURE: As the sustainability movement heats up, so have calls for a national standard for clean fuel. Join POLITICO on Nov. 15 in Washington D.C. as we convene leading officials from the administration, key congressional committees, states and other stakeholders to explore the role of EVs, biofuels, hydrogen and other options in the clean fuel sector and how evolving consumer behaviors are influencing sustainable energy practices. REGISTER HERE. | | | | | | | | BUY FROM US TOO: The Senate’s “Buy American” provision in its version of the National Defense Authorization Act is getting pushback from some countries that, well, aren’t America. The U.K. and Canada are coming out against a shipbuilding provision in the bill, saying the measure would block U.S. cooperation with London and Ottawa, according to letters obtained by our friends at Morning Defense (for Pros!). The Senate NDAA includes an amendment from Sen. TAMMY BALDWIN (D-Wis.) that within 10 years would require any new Navy ship to use 100 percent domestically produced materials — though it would also allow DOD to waive those requirements. Baldwin, who represents a shipbuilding state, has argued that the measure would boost American jobs and the U.S. defense industry. In an Oct. 26 letter, Ottawa lobbied against the Baldwin measure, arguing it would “disrupt and hinder” longstanding U.S.-Canadian defense industry ties. And in an Oct. 23 letter, London wrote to lead lawmakers that the Senate proposal “increases barriers for the U.K. at a time when our shared cooperation, particularly in the maritime domain, is of great strategic importance.” DIB MEETING: The Defense Innovation Board will meet on Nov. 14 for a fall public meeting. “Hear from the DIB and Department officials on two DIB studies in-progress on Lowering Barriers to Innovation and Building a DoD Data Economy, as well as future DIB studies,” per the announcement.
| | SINEMA’S STRATEGY: Sen. KYRSTEN SINEMA (I-Ariz.) has emerged as an unlikely key player in moving the needle on military promotions, leveraging her often confounding relationships with GOP lawmakers to work toward ending Sen. TOMMY TUBERVILLE’s (R-Ala.) blockade, our own BURGESS EVERETT reports. She started back-channeling with Tuberville weeks ago, though he hasn’t moved an inch. She’s now helping both parties find an off-ramp from the gridlock — even helping clear the floor last week for Republicans to vent for hours about their Alabama colleague. Sinema’s ties with the GOP could prove critical to corralling 60 votes for a break-glass emergency plan to unravel Tuberville’s 300-plus holds on military promotions. She’s quietly worked for four months on that plan, running it by leaders in both parties weeks ago, but she knows Republican senators aren’t quite ready to shut down their conservative colleague. “I still hope not to have to use a resolution” to quash his protest, she told Burgess. “The best way for this to be resolved is for Coach to choose a hostage that is appropriate.” A memo Tuberville will circulate today before the GOP Conference meeting suggests that, while the senator likely won’t lift the holds anytime soon, he is open to the idea even as the Pentagon refuses to rescind its abortion travel policies, Punchbowl News’ ANDREW DESIDERIO reports. Tuberville seems ready to move on from this situation. “We’ve got several things that we can do,” he told reporters today, per our own CONNOR O’BRIEN and JOE GOULD. “I understand the urgency. I’m not just being hard-headed about this. I understand we’ve gotten into some unique problems the last few weeks.” “I want to get this over with,” Tuberville acknowledged, before adding the caveat, “but do it the right way.”
| | | |   | | | | | WHAT ABOUT?: Israeli officials have a quick answer for when their U.S. counterparts call for protecting civilians in Gaza: What about America’s wars? “In public statements and private diplomatic conversations, the officials have cited past Western military actions in urban areas dating from World War II to the post-9/11 wars against terrorism. Their goal is to help justify a campaign against Hamas that is claiming thousands of Palestinian lives,” The New York Times’ MICHAEL CROWLEY and EDWARD WONG report. They point to the roughly 200,000 killed in the nuclear attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki during World War II and the civilians who died during urban warfare in Iraq. The hypocrisy argument is one countries are using more and more in conversations with the U.S. When Biden went to Saudi Arabia last year despite the murder of JAMAL KHASHOGGI, the kingdom’s officials deflected the issue by highlighting America’s human rights abuses, specifically the torture of prisoners at Abu Ghraib. Opponents of Israel’s handling of the war are also asking why the U.S. helps Ukraine document evidence of alleged war crimes by Russia, but won’t do the same regarding Israel as it retaliates against Hamas in Gaza.
| | | | — BENJAMIN HAAS has joined the Commerce Department as chief of staff in the Bureau of Industry and Security. He last served as principal senior adviser in the office of the national cyber director. — Marine Corps Col. CHRIS DEVINE, the former deputy director of the Marine Corps’ communications directorate, is now the Pentagon’s new director of press operations, replacing Army Col. ROGER CABINESS.
| | — JOSEPH VOTEL, The Washington Post: The lessons of Iraq apply to Gaza — Insikt Group, Recorded Future: Charting China’s climb as a leading global cyber power — REBECCA GRANT, Fox News: Artificial intelligence and U.S. nuclear weapons decisions: How big a role?
| | — The Wilson Center's Science and Technology Innovation Program, 10 a.m.: Looking deeper: the enduring role of legacy semiconductors — The Middle East Institute, 10 a.m.: Can mediation and negotiations bring about a cease-fire or hostage release in the Israel-Hamas war? — The Senate Foreign Relations Committee, 10 a.m.: U.S. national security interests in Ukraine — The United States Institute of Peace, 10:30 a.m.: Afghanistan's economic, poverty and gender issues — The Wilson Center's Asia Program, 11 a.m.: Navigating U.S.-China competition: options for Pakistan — Defense One and Forecast International, 2 p.m.: Toward a connected battlespace — The House Foreign Affairs Committee, 2 p.m.: Friend and ally: U.S. support for Israel after Hamas' barbaric attack — The Center for Strategic and International Studies, 3 p.m.: Challenges in the space domain, the provision of space-enabled combat effects to joint warfighters, and the relation of space and landpower in the joint force — The Henry L. Stimson Center, 3 p.m.: Operation 1027: implications for the military junta in Myanmar Thanks to our editor, Emma Anderson, who has never taken a pause from annoying us. We also thank our producer, Gregor Svirnovskiy, of whom we can’t get enough.
| | 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 | | | | |  |
