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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 | |  The news offers a lot more insight into why Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin needed treatment and wanted to keep his medical situation private. | Pool photo by Jung Yeon-Je | Subscribe here | Email Alex | Email Matt With help from Paul McLeary, Maggie Miller and Daniel Lippman Defense Secretary LLOYD AUSTIN was treated for prostate cancer, his doctors at Walter Reed said today. Complications from a minimally invasive surgical procedure led to a urinary tract infection, leading him to return to the hospital where he still remains. “His infection has cleared. He continues to make progress and we anticipate a full recovery although this can be a slow process. During this stay, Secretary Austin never lost consciousness and never underwent general anesthesia,” Drs. JOHN MADDOX and GREGORY CHESNUT said in a statement. President JOE BIDEN learned of Austin’s cancer diagnosis this morning, National Security Council spokesperson JOHN KIRBY said Tuesday. The news offers a lot more insight into why Austin needed treatment and wanted to keep his medical situation private. That said, he’s a Cabinet official and even Democrats say he should’ve been more forward leaning. “I understand why people want to shield privacy around their health. But when you assume a position like the secretary of Defense, unfortunately you have to sacrifice that privacy for the public good,” said Rep. RO KHANNA (D-Calif.), a House Armed Services Committee member. So let’s zoom out for a moment and look at how this whole disclosure was handled — and compare it to a similar case. On Oct. 29 last year, Gen. ERIC SMITH, the Marine Corps Commandant, collapsed near his home. The following day, the service released a statement that he was hospitalized but didn’t mention his condition. The Marine Corps notified Navy Secretary CARLOS DEL TORO personally and Austin’s office before that release went out, a service official told NatSec Daily, granted anonymity to discuss a sensitive internal issue. News began to leak that there was an issue with the 58-year-old’s heart, leading the service to finally reveal on Nov. 3 that Smith experienced a “sudden cardiac arrest.” The Marines continued to provide updates on Smith’s condition, noting about three weeks after his episode that the general needed “to repair a bicuspid aortic valve in his heart, which his doctors assess directly contributed to his cardiac arrest.” Then last night, the Marines announced Smith underwent open heart surgery to fix that problem. Now consider Austin’s situation. The prostate cancer was detected in early December. Austin had a prostatectomy to treat it at Walter Reed on Dec. 22, went home on Dec. 23, and returned to the hospital in an ambulance on Jan. 1 after suffering from nausea as well as severe abdominal, hip and leg pain. Doctors say his prognosis, thankfully, is good. But neither the White House nor Deputy Defense Secretary KATHLEEN HICKS knew about these procedures in real time. Biden, national security adviser JAKE SULLIVAN and Hicks found out about the hospitalization on Jan. 4 — three full days after the second hospital stint — when DOD’s chief of staff notified them. Austin’s top two public affairs aides, Maj. Gen. PATRICK RYDER and CHRIS MEAGHER, knew of their boss’ location on Jan. 2, giving them plenty of time to gather information and provide it to the press and public about what was going on. Reporters were clearly frustrated with Ryder during a Monday off-camera briefing. “Pat, you've been a public affairs officer for 30 years. You know the questions we're going to ask you. Prep the SecDef up on them. The fact that some of these things that are not available, I'm not trying to beat you up, but I'm being very candid here with you about, I think, the severe disappointment that you are seeing in our faces right now,” one journalist said. Ryder took responsibility for not pushing to notify the public and other officials about Austin’s status. DOUGLAS WILSON, the Pentagon’s top public affairs official during the Obama administration, told NatSec Daily that Smith’s case was handled far better than Austin’s. The public is owed information about Austin’s condition, what put him in the hospital and why, he said. “It's not like this is intelligence secrets.” Wilson noted that if he were on Austin’s team, he immediately would’ve called a White House counterpart to update them on the secretary and get advice on an information release plan, because “ultimately we all work for the president.” Wilson said that because Austin took responsibility for the public reporting mishap, the secretary shouldn’t be fired, but argued Austin should chat with his team about how to improve communications. “Being more public and transparent about what it is they're saying is not going to be a penalty on Austin’s privacy,” Wilson said. Last night, the Pentagon announced a 30-day review into how Austin’s hospitalization was kept from top staffers and the White House. Today, White House Chief of Staff JEFFREY ZIENTS asked Cabinet secretaries to inform his office when they can’t perform their duties.
| | A message from Lockheed Martin: PAC-3 MSE: Enabling a Hardened Defense against Maritime Threats
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. | | | | | STAY WHERE YOU ARE: Iraq’s prime minister privately told American officials that he wants to negotiate keeping U.S. forces in the country despite his recent announcement that he would begin the process of removing them, our own LARA SELIGMAN and ERIN BANCO report. Senior advisers to Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed SHIA AL-SUDANI told U.S. officials that his declaration was “an attempt to satisfy domestic political audiences” and that Sudani himself “remained committed” to negotiating the coalition’s future presence in Iraq, according to a Jan. 6 State Department cable obtained by our colleagues. There’s been public uproar in Iraq over a U.S. drone strike last week that killed a senior Iran-backed militia member in Baghdad, and Sudani’s office announced on Friday that his government is putting together a bilateral committee to end the presence of the U.S.-led international military coalition focused on preventing a resurgence of the Islamic State. ‘REAL OPPORTUNITIES’ FOR ISRAEL: Secretary of State ANTONY BLINKEN continued his diplomatic push in the Middle East today, telling Israeli officials that they have “real opportunities” to strengthen ties with Arab nations. “I look forward to sharing with you some of what I’ve heard from countries around the region,” Blinken told Foreign Minister ISRAEL KATZ before their meeting this morning. “I know your own efforts, over many years, to build much better connectivity and integration in the Middle East, and I think there actually are real opportunities there.” Blinken told reporters Monday night that Saudi Crown Prince MOHAMMED BIN SALMAN had told him that the kingdom still has “a clear interest” in normalizing diplomatic relations with Israel, The New York Times’ EDWARD WONG reports. In the meetings today, Blinken pushed the country to limit civilian casualties, avoid a war with Lebanon’s Hezbollah militants and seriously plan for what’s next for the Gaza Strip after the war ends. Arab nations and Turkey promised to help rebuild Gaza, Blinken said, they also want fighting to stop and concrete steps toward a Palestinian state alongside Israel. International calls for Israel to minimize its killing of civilians — some 23,000 Palestinians have been killed since Oct. 7, according to Gaza health officials — are ramping up as Israel says it is scaling back ground troops and airstrikes. The suffering of Palestinian civilians “cannot go on,” German Foreign Minister ANNALENA BAERBOCK warned today during a visit to Cairo. “The Israeli army must do more to protect Palestinian civilians in Gaza,” Baerbock said, per German media. “The suffering of so many innocent Palestinians cannot go on like this.” Those calls will likely continue in Gaza and the West Bank as well, where reports of rampant settler violence against Palestinians have emerged since the war began. A Washington Post review today found that Israeli troops failed to stop the killing of a 17-year-old boy — who was likely running from gunfire — during the deadliest settler attack in the territory since Oct. 7. GLOBAL TERROR FEARS: Hamas’ attack on Israel and the retaliatory operation in Gaza are likely to spur a massive growth in global terrorism, a top intelligence official warned today, our own MAGGIE MILLER writes in. “I think you could very easily see new types of actors emerge from this moment,” National Counterterrorism Center Director CHRISTY ABIZAID said at the NatSecGirlSquad conference in Washington. “I think it’s very safe to say that the Oct. 7 attack was the most consequential event for the global terrorism environment in the post-9/11 era.” Abizaid warned that the global growth in antisemitism linked to the conflict was also aiding terror groups, noting that “racially and ethnically motivated violent extremists are taking this moment and using it to encourage” lone actor attacks in the U.S. and other Western countries. AMERICAN ARRESTED IN RUSSIA: Russian authorities detained U.S. national ROBERT ROMANOV WOODLAND on drug charges today, a U.S. official confirmed to NatSec Daily. Woodland, 32, will be detained for two months as part of a “pre-trial restriction,” according to a statement from the Ostankino District Court of Moscow, as Reuters’ GUY FAULCONBRIDGE reports. Those charges can carry up to 20 years in prison. Russian news site Mash reported that Woodland, who was arrested on Friday, was charged with the attempted large-scale production and sale of illegal drugs. 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.
| | | | POLITICO AT CES® 2024: We are going ALL On at CES 2024 with a special edition of the POLITICO Digital Future Daily newsletter. The CES-focused newsletter will take you inside the most powerful tech event in the world, featuring revolutionary products that cut across verticals, and insights from industry leaders that are shaping the future of innovation. The newsletter runs from Jan. 9-12 and will focus on the public policy-related aspects of the gathering. Sign up today to receive exclusive coverage of the show. | | | | | | | | | CVA ENDORSES HALEY: Concerned Veterans for America Action, part of the Koch network, has endorsed NIKKI HALEY for president. In a statement today, CVA Action senior adviser RUSS DUERSTINE said Haley would “prioritize essential steps that improve America’s ability to sustainably fund a strong national defense, including revitalizing our economy by controlling spending, attacking our mounting debt, driving growth, and unleashing American energy abundance.” The group, outside of being a right-leaning veterans organization, is known for promoting a more restrained American foreign policy. That makes CVA Action and Haley strange bedfellows, as the former U.N. ambassador has the most establishment and hawkish foreign policy in the Republican presidential field. The Koch network announced in November that it would support Haley, so the announcement isn’t much of a surprise even if it remains a head-scratcher. Those watching her campaign note to NatSec Daily that Haley’s message has shifted recently toward the Koch network’s language on foreign policy, perhaps influenced by the millions it flows into her campaign. “No cash for Ukraine. No troops on the ground. We should give them the weapons they need to defend their sovereign country,” she posted to X Monday. Four days earlier, a campaign-affiliated X account stated there would be “no blank checks” for Ukraine during her presidency.
| | | | Tune in on Wednesday, Jan. 10, as POLITICO explores Taiwan's upcoming presidential election. Hear from our panel on the potential outcomes to the race and the profound implications for U.S.-China relations depending on who wins. REGISTER HERE. | | | | | | | | UKRAINE TECH PUSH: National security adviser JAKE SULLIVAN met with a dozen tech companies at the White House on Monday as part of a new effort to find weapons technology for Ukraine, two administration officials involved in the talks told our friends at Morning Defense (for Pros!). The huddle included venture capital execs as well as tech firms Skydio, Palantir, Anduril and others. It focused on what new drones, counter-drone technologies, and demining solutions the companies might be able to offer Kyiv as the war approaches the end of its second year. The administration push is part of a "renewed emphasis on helping Ukraine overcome these key technological challenges that they have identified as inhibiting their progress and momentum on the battlefield," an administration official told reporters on a call after the meeting. A second official added that the talks have an eye toward the day when Congress passes the multibillion-dollar supplemental request the White House sent to the Hill last year. The package includes $60 billion in Ukrainian military and humanitarian aid. PECSEA RETURNS: The Commerce Department today announced the reestablishment of the President’s Export Council Subcommittee on Export Administration. PECSEA will be the main advisory panel for the private sector on export control policy, namely on national security matters.
| | WHAT KYIV WANTS: Ukrainian Foreign Minister DMYTRO KULEBA hopes that Wednesday's NATO-Ukraine Council meeting will be followed with commitments to help his country's air defenses fend off waves of devastating Russian air attacks, he told our own VERONIKA MELKOZEROVA and LAURA KAYALI. “We expect the meeting to expedite critical decisions on further strengthening Ukraine's air defense capabilities. Both in terms of modern systems and their ammunition," he said in a statement. The NATO-Ukraine Council is gathering in Brussels in reaction to a recent upsurge in attacks from Russia that have hammered cities across Ukraine, killing dozens of people. Last week, Ukraine asked the alliance for a meeting to discuss air defenses after Moscow battered Kyiv, Kharkiv and other cities with a combination of Iranian-made Shahed drones and waves of cruise and ballistic missiles.
| | | |   | | | | | PUSH TO CLOSE HAMAS OFFICE: A bipartisan group of lawmakers told Qatari leaders to shutter Hamas’ office in the country after hostages held by the group — including six Americans — are returned home, Sen. JONI ERNST (R-Iowa) told NatSec Daily. Ernst was part of a congressional delegation that made stops last week in Egypt, Israel, Qatar and Bahrain to discuss growing tensions in the Middle East and the hostage situation. During the conversation, Ernst confirmed the group urged Qatari Prime Minister MOHAMMED BIN ABDULRAHMAN BIN JASSIM AL THANI to close Hamas’ representative office in the country. But shutting it down soon would lead to a major complication, the senator noted. “If they shut down the Hamas office and they leave Qatar, those hostage negotiations may simply stop,” she said during a phone interview. “What we told them, as soon as possible, as soon as it makes sense, you need to kick those guys out. They need to be gone and Qatar got that message loud and clear.” The Biden administration is also weighing the idea of asking Qatar to close Hamas’ office once all hostages are released, NatSec Daily reported in November. Ernst, alongside colleagues from the House and Senate, emphasized that Americans want to see their compatriots returned home as soon as possible, offering solutions that might work. While Ernst said she and her delegation stand by to be as helpful as possible, she added “we are not the negotiators, we don't want to color the negotiations and put anybody in a tough situation.”
| | LOST IN TRANSLATION: Beijing launched a satellite that caused Taiwanese officials to mistakenly warn of a missile launch days ahead of the island’s highly anticipated presidential election, The Wall Street Journal’s JONATHAN CHENG and JOYU WANG report. Taiwan Foreign Minister JOSEPH WU was in the middle of detailing evidence of Chinese election interference at a press conference today before more than 100 foreign journalists when cellphones in the room lit up with emergency notifications reading: “Please be safe,” labeled as a “presidential alert.” The English version of the message, however, was labeled as an “Air-Raid Alert” and warned of a “missile flyover.” Taiwan’s defense ministry clarified soon after the incident that there was a launch involving a satellite rather than a missile. While China often sends satellites up over Taiwan, they’re usually launched at an altitude high enough to avoid triggering an air raid alert.
| | | | — French President EMMANUEL MACRON has appointed GABRIEL ATTAL to become the country's youngest ever prime minister at age 34. — ABIGAIL JUNG will be a defense and foreign affairs legislative assistant for Rep. BRUCE WESTERMAN (R-Ark.). She previously was the aerospace and defense fellow for Del. JAMES MOYLAN (R-Guam). — Former Australian Defense Force Brig. IAN LANGFORD was appointed executive director of Security and Defence PLuS.
| | — LUIZ INÁCIO LULA DA SILVA, The Washington Post: Brazil thwarted a coup attempt. Here are our lessons for the world — MICHAEL BOCIURKIW, CNN: A turning point in Ukraine — ALICE ROTHCHILD, The New York Times: For Gaza’s pregnant women and newborns, the war will never be over
| | Join our China Watcher PHELIM KINE at 10 a.m. ET for the POLITICO Live event “Turning Point for Taiwan: A Presidential Election Preview” to unpack the implications for U.S.-Taiwan-China relations posed by the Taiwan presidential election on Saturday. Speakers include U.S. Rep. RAJA KRISHNAMOORTHI (D-Ill.), ranking member of the House Select Committee on China; Rep. MIKE WALTZ (R-Fla.) of the House Foreign Affairs Committee; YUN FAN, a legislator for Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party; and JASON HSU, a former opposition KMT party legislator. Register here. — The House Homeland Security Committee, 10 a.m.: Havoc in the heartland: How Secretary Mayorkas' failed leadership has impacted the states — The Senate Judiciary Privacy, Technology and the Law Subcommittee, 2 p.m.: Oversight of AI: The future of journalism — The Atlantic Council's Transatlantic Security Initiative and the Europe Center, 2:30 p.m.: Discussion with Bulgarian Defense Minister TODOR TAGAREV Thanks to our editor, Emma Anderson, who goes absent for days and tells no one. We also thank our producer, Gregory Svirnovskiy, who is always at the center of our attention.
| | 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 | | | | |  |
