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From the SitRoom to the E-Ring, the inside scoop on defense, national security and foreign policy. | | | | |  | | By Matt Berg | |  UNRWA employs about 30,000 people worldwide, including 13,000 in Gaza alone. Critics fear the pause in funding could exacerbate an already dire humanitarian situation in Gaza. | AFP via Getty Images | With help from Daniel Lippman Subscribe here | Email Alex | Email Matt Progressive lawmakers are pushing the Biden administration to resume much-needed funding for a United Nations aid group, where a dozen members are accused of participating in Hamas’ October attack. But the U.S. wants to see some “fundamental changes” first. Last week, Israel alleged that certain staffers at the U.N. Relief and Works Agency — Gaza’s main provider of food, water and shelter throughout the war — took part in abductions and killings during the attack. Soon after, top donors including the U.S. and Germany suspended funding for the group pending an investigation. Now, Israel’s Foreign Minister ISRAEL KATZ is calling for U.N. Secretary-General ANTÓNIO GUTERRES to resign from his post over the matter, our colleagues PAUL RONZHEIMER and SEJLA AHMATOVIC scooped. UNRWA employs about 30,000 people worldwide, including 13,000 in Gaza alone. Critics fear the pause in funding could exacerbate an already dire humanitarian situation in Gaza, where most of the population has been displaced and more than 25,000 Palestinians have been killed as a result of Israel’s military operation, according to Gaza health officials. A UNRWA spokesperson told Reuters that the agency wouldn’t be able to continue its work after February if funding isn’t resumed. It’s unclear how long an investigation by UNRWA into its staffers could take. "We need to look at the organization, how it operates in Gaza, how they manage their staff and to ensure that people who commit criminal acts, such as these 12 individuals, are held accountable immediately so that UNRWA can continue the essential work that it's doing,” U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. LINDA THOMAS-GREENFIELD said today, calling for “fundamental changes.” Proponents of resuming aid say a sustained pause would be catastrophic for millions of people who rely on its assistance. Washington has given nearly $1 billion to the agency in the past three years, including $296 million in 2023 alone. Sen. BERNIE SANDERS (I-Vt.) today blasted the Biden administration for pausing funding, saying in a statement that the actions of a few shouldn’t impact the entire organization. “Obviously, it’s not acceptable for any of the 13,000 UNRWA employees in Gaza to be involved with Hamas, and allegations against the 12 people charged must be investigated,” Sanders said. “However, we cannot allow millions to suffer because of the actions of 12 people. The U.S. and other countries must restore funding to stave off this humanitarian catastrophe.” Rep. RASHIDA TLAIB (D-Mich.), outspoken in her Palestinian support, told NatSec Daily in a statement: “To take concerning allegations as fact without any investigation, especially in light of the Israeli government’s well-documented history of using torture and obtaining forced confessions, as a means to suspend life-saving aid demonstrates the emptiness of the Biden administration’s claims to care about Palestinian lives.” Rep. ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ (D-N.Y.) also called the funding suspension “unacceptable.” The White House is still holding firm. But national security spokesperson JOHN KIRBY’s remarks on Monday sounded awfully similar to Sanders’ arguments, telling reporters, “let's not impugn the good work of a whole agency, because of the potential bad actions here by a small number.” The National Security Council did not respond to NatSec Daily’s request for comment on the matter.
| | 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. | | | | | BIDEN’S JORDAN RESPONSE: President JOE BIDEN said today that he’s decided how the U.S. will retaliate after a drone strike in Jordan killed three American soldiers, our own ADAM CANCRYN reports. Biden did not detail how the administration plans to respond, or when those actions would be taken. But, during a brief back-and-forth with reporters outside the White House, he said he’s not seeking a war with Iran, even though he held the nation somewhat responsible for the attack. “I do hold them responsible in the sense that they’re supplying the weapons to the people who did it,” Biden said as he left for campaign events in Florida. “I don’t think we need a wider war in the Middle East. That’s not what I’m looking for.” MIDDLE EAST REGRETS: The U.S. spent years pulling back intelligence and military resources from the Middle East and shifting focus elsewhere, believing Russia and China posed greater threats. When Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, the effects of that shift were felt more acutely than ever, our own ERIN BANCO reports. Analysts whose work had been focused on other regions were forced to quickly switch to Hamas and the Middle East. As they did, they strained to sift through and make sense of hundreds of reports of potential threats posed by a wide variety of groups, including those backed by Iran. That effort, and the uncertainty that followed, has forced a reckoning in the highest ranks of the Biden administration’s national security establishment about its Middle East strategy. “Biden has spent much of the last three years … ignoring the Middle East completely,” a former senior official who worked on Middle East matters during the Trump administration told Erin. “I’ve spent a long time in the Middle East, and part of me wants to forget it, too. That’s not the way it is. They ignored it. And now they are paying the price.” CONSIDER PALESTINE: British Foreign Secretary DAVID CAMERON said the U.K. is considering a push to recognize a Palestinian state at the United Nations, as he tries to sell a plan aimed at ending the war in Gaza, our own BETHANY DAWSON reports. The move could bring about “irreversible progress to a two-state solution,” Cameron, the former prime minister, said in remarks to the Conservative Middle East Council in the House of Commons on Monday night. “We, with allies, will look at the issue of recognizing a Palestinian state, including at the United Nations. … This could be one of the things that helps to make this process irreversible.” Such a proposal would face fierce resistance from Israeli Prime Minister BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, who has called for “full Israeli security control over the entire area in the west of Jordan,” a move he made clear is “contrary to a Palestinian state.” It would very likely also face pushback from Washington, which doesn’t recognize Palestine as a state but does recognize the Palestine Liberation Organization as the representative for the Palestinian people. DEAL ON THE TABLE: Hamas’ political chief ISMAIL HANIYEH announced today that the militant group has received a proposal to pause fighting in Gaza after four countries provided a framework that involves the release of hostages for a six-week cease-fire. As The New York Times’ ADAM RASGON, HWAIDA SAAD and ANUSHKA PATIL report, Haniyeh said Hamas is studying the proposal drafted in Paris over the weekend by the United States, Israel, Qatar and Egypt. Cairo had invited Hamas to participate in the meeting, he added. Like past deals, Israel would agree to pause fighting and release Palestinian prisoners while Hamas would release older hostages, as well as women and children, during the initial pause, officials told the Times. There could potentially be three phases of swaps, they said. But Hamas seems intent on making a deal that sees the war come to a definitive conclusion: “The priority is ending the unjust aggression on Gaza and the complete withdrawal of the occupation’s forces,” Haniyeh said. Meanwhile, Israeli security forces disguised as doctors and patients and killed three Palestinian militants in a hospital in the occupied West Bank this morning, The Washington Post’s KAREEM FAHIM, MIRIAM BERGER and MOHAMAD EL CHAMAA report. While the raid didn’t happen in Gaza, there’s a chance that such violence will continue to anger Hamas. 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.
| | | | YOUR GUIDE TO EMPIRE STATE POLITICS: From the newsroom that doesn’t sleep, POLITICO's New York Playbook is the ultimate guide for power players navigating the intricate landscape of Empire State politics. Stay ahead of the curve with the latest and most important stories from Albany, New York City and around the state, with in-depth, original reporting to stay ahead of policy trends and political developments. Subscribe now to keep up with the daily hustle and bustle of NY politics. | | | | | | | | | NIKKI’S IRAN PLAN: Speaking on Fox News this morning, GOP presidential candidate NIKKI HALEY laid out her three-point plan for countering Iran following the proxy group attack on U.S. troops in Jordan on Sunday:
- Sanctions: “Biden lifted the sanctions, the worst thing he ever did. … So we first need to get those sanctions back on Iran the way we should. China's giving them billions. We've got to stop that.”
- Pick your targets: “Take out those centers that are allowing those missiles to hit. Take out the drone areas in Iraq and Syria that's allowing for that to happen. We know where they are.”
- Hit leaders, not Iran: “We don't need to go and hit Iran hard. You need to hit them smart. Take out a couple of the [Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps] members making these decisions. Iran doesn't care whether they lose fighters, they'll get more. They don't care if they lose missiles, they'll get more. What they do care about is if they lose their money and if they lose their leadership.”
Questioned further on striking Iran itself, Haley was clear: “Now's the time to hit their leaders. it's different. Don't go and bomb the country.” | | SPY TRICKS: The CIA has to combine emerging technologies, interpersonal skills and “individual daring” to stay ahead of the game in the decades ahead, CIA Director BILL BURNS wrote in a Foreign Affairs column today. That includes equipping spies with tools to assist in a world of constant surveillance, and the agency is developing new artificial intelligence so that analysts can synthesize massive amounts of data, Burns wrote. “There will continue to be secrets that only humans can collect and clandestine operations that only humans can conduct. Technological advances, particularly in signals intelligence, have not made such human operations irrelevant, as some have predicted, but have instead revolutionized their practice,” he wrote.
| | | |   | | | | | UKRAINE’S NEW TOY: The Pentagon has successfully tested a new long-range precision bomb for Ukraine that is expected to arrive on the battlefield as soon as Wednesday, a U.S. official and three other people with knowledge of the talks told our own LEE HUDSON, LARA SELIGMAN and PAUL McLEARY. Ukraine will receive its first batch of Ground-Launched Small Diameter Bombs, a brand new long-range weapon made by Boeing that even the U.S. doesn’t have in its inventory, according to the four people, all of whom were granted anonymity to discuss matters ahead of an announcement. The new bomb, which can travel about 90 miles, is expected to be “a significant capability for Ukraine,” said the U.S. official. “It gives them a deeper strike capability they haven’t had, it complements their long-range fire arsenal. … It’s just an extra arrow in the quiver that’s gonna allow them to do more.” ICYMI — NATO chief huddles with Trump allies in longshot Ukraine funding push by Paul
| | COME SAIL AWAY: A bipartisan group of lawmakers wants Biden to create a maritime czar who would organize seapower and maritime policy, citing Chinese aggression and the United States’ deteriorating shipbuilding infrastructure, U.S. Naval Institute News’ MALLORY SHELBOURNE scoops. “America is—and will always be—a maritime nation,” the lawmakers wrote in a Monday letter. “But after years of neglect, changing the trajectory of our shipbuilding and shipping industries is a task that will be measured in decades, not days, months, or years. We stand at an inflection point. We must act now–before it is too late–to reinvigorate American and allied maritime power on the seas.” Lawmakers who joined the call for an “interagency maritime policy coordinator” include Sens. JOHN CORNYN (R-Texas), MARK KELLY (D-Ariz.), TAMMY DUCKWORTH (D-Ill.), MARCO RUBIO (R-Fla.), RICK SCOTT (R-Fla.) and JOHN BOOZMAN (R-Ark.).
| | | | 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. | | | | | | | | HUNGARY'S ‘ARMAGEDDON’: Hungarian Prime Minister VIKTOR ORBÁN claims Brussels is blackmailing him to approve a $54 billion lifeline to Ukraine, which he has fiercely opposed, our own NICOLAS CAMUT reports. Last weekend, the Financial Times reported that a document from an unnamed Council of the European Union official set out measures targeting Hungary's economy if Orbán does not approve the Ukraine aid package, which will be discussed at a summit of EU leaders later this week. In an interview with French weekly Le Point published today, Orbán said the plan was "like a blackmailer's manual" that would put Hungary under "a massive financial blockade … then Hungary would suffer Armageddon." KHAN SENTENCED: Former Pakistani Prime Minister IMRAN KHAN was sentenced to 10 years in prison today in a move seen as a campaign by the country’s military to silence one of its predominant critics, The NYT’s CHRISTINA GOLDBAUM reports. It came a week before Pakistanis are set to head to the polls in the first national election since Khan, now accused of leaking state secrets, was ousted in April 2022 in a vote of no confidence. Khan’s popularity in the country has remained high and disdain for the military has grown since his ouster. The decision today was handed down by a special court created last year that analysts believe is more deferential to the military. “This 10-year sentence won’t stand for 10 days before the appellate courts. Such brazen disregard of law and constitution has never been witnessed before,” TAIMUR MALIK, one of the lawyers for Khan, said in a post on X. Read: CIA director: Not passing Ukraine aid would be a mistake ‘of historic proportions’ by yours truly
| | — STEPHEN COBB is joining the State Department as a press officer in the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs. He previously was a director at Subject Matter.
| | — WILL HURD, POLITICO: Should four people be able to control the equivalent of a nuke? — JOSH ROGIN, The Washington Post: Biden’s cutoff of Palestinian aid is inhumane and strategically stupid — WILLIAM COURTNEY and PETER WILSON, The Hill: Upping the ante on Western weapons could end the stalemate in Ukraine
| | — Hudson Institute, 10 a.m.: Raising AUKUS pillar two: integrating autonomous systems into the Australian Defense Force — Heritage Foundation, 10 a.m.: NATO Secretary General JENS STOLTENBERG on modern needs of the alliance 75 years after its founding — House Select Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party Committee, 11 a.m.: The CCP cyber threat to the American homeland and national security — Center for Strategic and International Studies, 1:30 p.m.: China's approach to the Middle East — FedInsider, 2 p.m.: Navigating the complex landscape of modern threats, zero trust strategies for enhanced security — House Foreign Affairs Oversight and Accountability Subcommittee, 2 p.m.: Roundtable: Taliban reprisals — United States Institute of Peace, 2 p.m.: Frontline civilian response in Sudan: saving lives and the importance of the localization agenda — Center for Strategic and International Studies, 2 p.m.: Book discussion on “God, Guns, and Sedition: Far-Right Terrorism in America” — Senate Foreign Relations Europe and Regional Security Cooperation Subcommittee, 2:30 p.m.: The North Atlantic Treaty Organization at 75: reflecting on past successes and planning for the future — RAND Corporation, 4 p.m.: Women, peace and security in action: implications for U.S. foreign policy and national security — Common Good, 5:30 p.m.: Promise and perils: national defense in the age of AI Thanks to our editor, Emma Anderson, who wants Matt to resign from his post. We also thank our producer, Raymond Rapada, who would happily take over.
| | 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 | | | | |  |
