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From the SitRoom to the E-Ring, the inside scoop on defense, national security and foreign policy. | | | | |  | | By Matt Berg | |  President Joe Biden's remark is the most telling sign that action could be taken to keep Israel in check as its campaign against Hamas continues to kill civilians. | Stephanie Scarbrough/AP Photo | Subscribe here | Email Alex | Email Matt With help from Alex Ward and Kelly Garrity The day after we finished feasting on turkey and mashed potatoes, President JOE BIDEN gave us something new to chew on: Conditioning aid to Israel is a “worthwhile thought,” he told reporters. He qualified that remark by saying, “I don’t think, if I started off with that, we’d [have] ever gotten to where we are today,” according to remarks made in Nantucket. That signaled a potential shift in the administration’s stance toward its ally. Officials have reiterated for weeks that Israel won’t see any restrictions on Washington’s military assistance to the country as it battles the Hamas militant group. In early November, Vice President KAMALA HARRIS said the White House is “not going to create any conditions on the support that we are giving Israel to defend itself.” The president’s remark is the most telling sign that action could be taken to keep Israel in check as its campaign against Hamas continues to kill civilians. It’s also an indication that the recent push by lawmakers on the left to mandate conditions on aid — such as requiring a commitment from Israel for peace talks on a two-state solution and the end of the blockade of Gaza — could be gaining traction in the White House. National security adviser JAKE SULLIVAN took to the networks on Sunday, dodging direct questions about whether the administration would support conditioning aid to Israel. He didn’t rule out enacting guardrails, but he said the Biden administration’s approach toward the war has been working. “He is going to continue to focus on what is going to generate results,” Sullivan told NBC News’ KRISTEN WELKER. “You can see from the fact that for the last few days we’ve seen hostages released, the approach that he is taking — direct presidential diplomacy behind closed doors with the Israelis and with our Arab partners — that’s what’s generating the kinds of results that we’re seeing right now.” NSC spokesperson JOHN KIRBY reiterated Biden’s initial statements during a White House press briefing this afternoon. When NatSec Daily repeatedly asked the National Security Council to clarify Biden’s remarks, a spokesperson pointed us to Sullivan’s appearances. For now, the White House continues to unequivocally support and assist Israel, and it seems unlikely Biden would turn the “worthwhile thought” into tangible action. In its supplemental budget request in October, the White House requested the removal of restrictions on weapons and ammunition that Israel can access from U.S. stockpiles kept in the country. But several more lawmakers are vocally supporting the measure, which could turn up the pressure on the administration — especially if Israel continues its widespread airstrikes and ground operation in the Gaza Strip following the current pause, which was extended today (more on that below). The U.S. regularly conditions aid to allies based upon compliance with domestic and international laws, Sen. CHRIS MURPHY (D-Conn.), who sits on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, told CNN’s DANA BASH on Sunday. ”It’s very consistent with the ways in which we have dispensed aid … for us to talk about making sure that the aid we give Ukraine or the aid we give Israel is used in accordance with human rights laws,” Murphy said. Rep. MIKE TURNER (R-Ohio), chair of the House Intelligence Committee, also said the measure makes sense given Washington’s history of conditioning aid to allies: “I wouldn't propose it, but I think it does accurately reflect U.S. policy,” told NBC’s Meet the Press.
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Lockheed Martin is developing advanced IAMD capabilities to give sailors more options using existing capabilities. Integrating PAC-3 MSE into the Aegis Weapon System would deliver an advanced, combat-proven IAMD capability to U.S. Sailors. Learn more. | | | | | TRUCE EXTENSION: Israel and Hamas have agreed to extend the temporary pause in fighting in Gaza by two days as part of hostage negotiations, our own NICOLAS CAMUT and ERIC BAZAIL-EIMIL report. “The State of Qatar announces, as part of the ongoing mediation, an agreement has been reached to extend the humanitarian truce for an additional two days in the Gaza Strip,” MAJED AL ANSARI, spokesperson for Qatar’s foreign ministry, said on X. A deal would include Hamas releasing 20 hostages taken during the Oct. 7 attacks, while Israel releases 60 Palestinian prisoners, according to DIAA RASHWAN, the head of Egypt's State Information Service, per Reuters’ NIDAL AL-MUGHRABi and DAN WILLIAMS report. That falls in line with the hostage deal agreement finalized last week. The pause has proven fruitful for hostage negotiations. In a third exchange on Sunday, the militant group released 17 people and Israel released 39 Palestinian prisoners. Of the 240 hostages taken by Hamas, 62 have been released, one was freed by Israeli forces, and another was found dead in Gaza. WH STAFFERS SPEAK UP: A group of 20 distressed White House staffers met with Biden’s top advisers earlier this month to ask how the administration plans to curb the number of civilians deaths in Gaza and its postwar plan for the region, The Washington Post’s YASMEEN ABUTALEB and JOHN HUDSON reported Sunday. White House Chief of Staff JEFF ZIENTS, senior adviser ANITA DUNN and deputy national security adviser JON FINER listened respectfully, a White House official familiar with the meeting told the Post, but participants felt they fell back on talking points. “The administration had to be careful not to criticize Israel in public so it could influence its leaders in private, the advisers said. U.S. officials were pushing Israel to minimize civilian casualties. And the president and his top aides were advocating for a two-state solution once the conflict was over,” per the Post. The meeting underscores how the war has quickly shaped up to become potentially the biggest foreign policy challenge during Biden’s term. It has roiled the administration more than any other issue since he took office, numerous aides and allies inside and outside the White House told the Post. SEIZED ON THE SEAS: The five armed individuals who attacked a commercial vessel in the Gulf of Aden over the weekend were from Somalia, our own LARA SELIGMAN reports. The incident was “clearly … piracy-related,” Brig. Gen. PATRICK RYDER told reporters. DOD is still assessing whether the attackers have any ties to the Houthi rebels in Yemen, he added. About an hour and a half after the attackers were apprehended by the U.S. Navy, two ballistic missiles were fired from Houthi-controlled territory in Yemen “toward the general location” of the ship and landed harmlessly in the sea, according to DOD. Ryder also said the tally of attacks on U.S. troops in Iraq and Syria has risen to 73 since Oct. 17. The last attacks occurred on Thursday, but Ryder declined to link the lack of attacks to the pause in fighting between Israel and Hamas. TURM-OIL AHEAD OF COP: Leaked documents show that the United Arab Emirates schemed to use its position as host country of the imminent COP28 U.N. climate talks to discuss oil and gas deals with more than a dozen countries, Nicolas also reports. Briefing notes prepared by the UAE's COP28 team for meetings with foreign governments during the summit, which starts Thursday in Dubai, include talking points from the Emirati state oil and renewable energy companies, according to documents published today by the Center for Climate Reporting. Those documents detail talks for potential deals with Germany, China, Mozambique, Canada and Australia with the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company — whose CEO, Sultan AHMED JABER, is COP28's president. The notes also propose telling oil-rich giants Saudi Arabia and Venezuela that "there is no conflict between sustainable development of any country's natural resources and its commitment to climate change." IT’S MONDAY: 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.
| | | | 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 new episodes – click here. | | | | | | | | TRUMP’S TROOP LOOPHOLE: On the campaign trail this year, DONALD TRUMP has repeatedly said he was prevented from deploying the military within U.S. states to quell violence, mostly in Democrat-controlled areas. If Trump wins re-election, military and legal experts believe he would have the power to do just that, the AP’s GARY FIELDS reports. The Insurrection Act, enacted in the country’s early days, lets presidents call on troops to respond to unrest in the states. Courts can’t review the authority, and one of the act’s few guardrails is that the president asks the participants to disperse. “The principal constraint on the president’s use of the Insurrection Act is basically political, that presidents don’t want to be the guy who sent tanks rolling down Main Street,” JOSEPH NUNN, a national security expert with the Brennan Center for Justice, told the AP. “There’s not much really in the law to stay the president’s hand.” ICYMI — Christie: Trump deserves blame for rise in antisemitism by our own KELLY GARRITY
| | | |   | | | | | SHADOW HACKERS: A mysterious hacking group that has targeted Israel in recent years is showing signs of growing and evolving its operation since the war broke out, Cyberscoop’s AJ VICENS reports. While there have been numerous cyberattacks against Israel since Hamas’ attack on Oct. 7, the capabilities of “the so-far unattributed group is far more sophisticated,” Cyberscoop writes, citing NICOLE FISHBEIN, a researcher with Intezer. The group, dubbed “WildCard,” appears to be linked to attacks that targeted Israel’s largest electrical supplier between 2016 and 2017. From 2022 to 2023, the group developed new malware and programming that can aid in hacking efficiency and avoid detection, according to an Intezer report.
| | BORDER DISORDER: Senate Majority Leader CHUCK SCHUMER wants lawmakers to figure out a border security deal so they can push Ukraine and Israel aid through, our own BURGESS EVERETT reported Sunday evenin g. In a Dear Colleague letter to senators on Sunday, Schumer said he plans to hold a vote on Biden’s request for billions in assistance for the two allies as soon as the week of Dec. 4. Senate Republicans are seeking border security policy changes as part of any supplemental spending bill, hoping such a deal could clear a Ukraine-reluctant House GOP majority. Schumer blamed that border demand as the “biggest holdup” to delivering new funds to Ukraine’s defense against Russia and Israel’s war with Hamas. “This has injected a decades old, hyper-partisan issue into overwhelmingly bipartisan priorities,” he said. The Democratic leader said his 51-member caucus was “ready to work on common-sense solutions to address immigration” but warned that if the GOP took too hard a line, it could “jeopardize the entire” supplemental bill. Speaker MIKE JOHNSON said he's "confident and optimistic" Congress will be able to pass additional funds to help Israel and Ukraine before the holidays — provided lawmakers can coalesce around border security policy, our own ANTHONY ADRAGNA reports. "I think all of that will come together in the coming days," he said at an event in Florida today. Read: Israel’s appetite for high-tech weapons highlights a Biden policy gap by our own MOHAR CHATTERJEE
| | | | GET A BACKSTAGE PASS TO COP28 WITH GLOBAL PLAYBOOK: Get insider access to the conference that sets the tone of the global climate agenda with POLITICO's Global Playbook newsletter. Authored by Suzanne Lynch, Global Playbook delivers exclusive, daily insights and comprehensive coverage that will keep you informed about the most crucial climate summit of the year. Dive deep into the critical discussions and developments at COP28 from Nov. 30 to Dec. 12. SUBSCRIBE NOW. | | | | | | | | CHEMICAL CONCERNS: Top U.S. officials have grown increasingly concerned four months after the lapse of a federal program that protects chemical facilities amid a “heightened terrorism risk” caused by ongoing worldwide conflicts. “The risk accumulates over time. Our insight into the risk conditions in those facilities is now four months out of date, basically,” DAVID MUSSINGTON, executive assistant director for infrastructure security at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, told your anchor. The Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards program requires any facility that has a certain quantity of potentially dangerous chemicals — which could cause catastrophic damage if weaponized by terrorists — report the information to Homeland Security. There are about 3,200 such facilities, according to CISA data. In July, the House overwhelmingly voted to reauthorize the program. In the Senate, however, Sen. RAND PAUL (R-Ky.) was the lone lawmaker to oppose the measure. Due to the regulations, he contended, newer and smaller companies would see the program as a barrier — and bigger companies would keep safety standards in place out of self-interest. That’s not how many top U.S. officials see it. “There's no reason to sugarcoat this. This means that adversaries will have better opportunities to take previously well-secured chemicals … and misuse them, reducing the safety and security of Americans,” Mussington said, noting that the agency will have a greater backlog of inspections to perform the longer the program is lapsed. Homeland Security Secretary ALEJANDRO MAYORKAS raised the alarm to lawmakers in mid-November, pleading for Congress to re-up the measure that was put in place after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. And FBI Director CHRISTOPHER WRAY warned in late October that terrorism threats are at a “whole other level” in the U.S. due to the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict.
| | BRING OUR MEN HOME: Russian women are becoming increasingly frustrated with men’s lengthy deployments, and a grassroots effort to pressure the Kremlin into allowing troops to come home is gaining momentum, The New York Times’ NEIL MACFARQUHAR and MILANA MAZAEVA report. “Our mobilized [troops] became the best army in the world, but that doesn’t mean that this army should stay there to the last man,” a woman said in one of the movement’s videos. “If he did something heroic, spilled blood for his country sincerely, then maybe it was time to return to his family, make way for someone else, but that’s not happening.” Women in cities across the country are planning protests to challenge Moscow’s assertion that the troops are needed indefinitely to defeat Ukraine. It could prove to be a tricky balance for the Kremlin, which has sought to maintain public support for the war effort — shown through its hesitation to authorize a second draft — but has refused to scale back its war efforts. ICYMI — How JP Morgan got out of Russian sanctions in New Jersey — for now by our own DANIEL HAN
| | –– Qarbon Aerospace announced MICHAEL CANARIO as its new CEO, replacing PETE WICK.
| | –– ROBBIE GRAMER, Foreign Policy: The Masterminds –– IVO DAALDER, POLITICO: Stalemate best describes the state of war in Ukraine –– MATTHEW DUSS and NANCY OKAIL, Foreign Affairs: Extend the cease-fire in Gaza — but don’t stop there
| | — Axios, 9:30 a.m.: AI+ Summit — The Middle East Institute, 10:30 a.m.: The promise of artificial intelligence in U.S. defense policy and security cooperation efforts in the Middle East — The Heritage Foundation, 11 a.m.: The new authoritarian axis: the growing threat to the free world from China, Russia, and Iran — The Institute of World Politics, 5 p.m.: The politicization of U.S. intelligence: causes and consequences — Politics and Prose Bookstore, 7 p.m.: Book discussion on “State of Silence: The Espionage Act and the Rise of America's Secrecy Regime” Thanks to our editor, Heidi Vogt, who puts conditions on how much she’ll assist us with this newsletter. We also thank our producer, Gregory Svirnovskiy, who supports us unequivocally.
| | A message from Lockheed Martin: PAC-3 MSE: Enabling a Hardened Defense against Maritime Threats
To succeed in a multi-domain environment, sailors need more advanced options to stay ahead of evolving threats. Learn more. | | | | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Follow us | | | | |  |
