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From: We are HAH - Monday May 10,2021 02:07 pm

May 10, 2021

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Quick Fix

— A trio of Pentagon nominees face senators this week.

— More blood is shed in Afghanistan as the Taliban makes gains and foreign troops head for the exits.

— A new think tank report says the aerospace industry is “falling short” in designing defense systems to withstand cyber attacks.

HAPPY MONDAY AND WELCOME BACK TO MORNING DEFENSE, where we bid farewell to Sam Greenberg, 93, former national commander of the Jewish War Veterans of America, who served as a combat medic on Guadalcanal for 14 months in World War II. He was a fixture in our community for what seemed like forever — leading Boy Scout troops, teaching the neighborhood kids to ride a bike, or raising money for his fellow veterans — and a mentor we’ll always be grateful for. He was also pretty cool: He drove a green Porsche 914. We're always on the lookout for tips, pitches and feedback. Email us at bbender@politico.com, and follow on Twitter @bryandbender, @morningdefense and @politicopro.

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On the Hill

‘THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT’: Congress is getting more impatient with the pace at which the Air Force and the new Space Force are tackling the primary mission of the new branch in the first place: speeding up acquisition.

The latest sign was on display Friday, when Rep. Betty McCollum , chair of the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, complained the Pentagon has still not nominated an assistant secretary of the Air Force for space for acquisition and integration, a position established in 2019, our colleague Connor O’Brien reports for Pros.

"We're only a few months into the new administration, but this is very important. ... This individual is going to be responsible for making acquisition decisions," McCollum said. "So when can we expect to see this position filled?"

Acting Air Force Secretary John Roth conceded the post has been left open for too long and should be filled "as soon as possible,” but offered no timeline. "I share your concern," he said. "The position ought to be filled, probably should've been filled last year as well, but for reasons beyond our control they were not filled at the time."

The post is being filled on an acting basis by Shawn Barnes.

CONFIRMATION HEARINGS: The Senate Armed Service Committee has a pair of Pentagon confirmation hearings scheduled this week.

On Tuesday it will hear testimony from Michael McCord to be Pentagon budget chief and Ronald Moultrie to be undersecretary of defense for intelligence at 9:30 a.m.

On Thursday the panel will hold a hearing for Christine Wormuth to be secretary of the Army at 9:30 a.m.

OTHER HEARINGS: Also on the congressional calendar is a series of oversight hearings on Afghanistan, the nuclear budget and cybersecurity.

On Wednesday, the House Armed Services Committee will get an update on the war in Afghanistan from David Helvey, acting assistant secretary of defense for Indo-Pacific Affairs, and Brig. Gen. Matthew Trollinger, deputy director for politico-military affairs on the Joint Staff at 11 a.m.

The SASC will also hold a hearing on military and civilian personnel programs at 2:30 p.m. and a separate hearing on the nuclear weapons budget at 4:30 p.m.

On Thursday, the House Appropriations Committee’s panel on military construction, veterans affairs and related agencies holds a hearing on “Navy and Marine Corps Quality of Life and Installations” at 10 a.m.

On Friday, the HASC Subcommittee on Cyber, Innovative Technologies, and Information Systems holds a hearing on building cyber capabilities with the head of U.S. Cyber Command at 11 a.m.

Related: Exclusive — Head of Pentagon’s ‘SWAT team of nerds’ stepping down, via POLITICO Pro.

Plus: “DOD Needs to Establish Oversight Expectations and to Develop Tools That Enhance Accountability,” via The Government Accountability Office.

HAPPENING TODAY

The Arms Control Association holds a webinar on “Reinforcing the Norm Against Chemical Weapons” at 10 a.m.

The Atlantic Council hosts a discussion with acting Army Secretary John Whitley and Chief of Staff Gen. James McConville on future warfighting priorities at 1 p.m.

And the Center for Strategic and International Studies and Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies kick off their three-day forum on “The Future of National Security and Technology.”

Happening This Week

On Tuesday, the Ronald Reagan Foundation and Institute hosts a discussion on defense priorities with SASC Chair Sen. Jack Reed at 4 p.m.

And the Naval Postgraduate School kicks off its virtual three-day Acquisition Research Symposium, featuring the acting assistant secretary of the Navy and director of the Missile Defense Agency.

On Wednesday, McAleese and Associates kicks off its two-day Defense Programs Conference featuring a who’s who of military and civilian leaders and members of Congress.

Check out the full agenda.

On Thursday, the Mitre Corp. holds a discussion on science and technology featuring former Defense Secretary Ash Carter at 4 p.m.

On Friday, John Hopkins holds a discussion on the future of Afghanistan with former Ambassador Doug Lute at 9 a.m.

Afghanistan

THE WAR RAGES: Another massive bombing in the Afghan capital over the weekend — this one targeting school girls in a Shia Muslim neighborhood of Kabul that killed at least 50 and wounded more than 100 — is the latest sign the country is likely to descend into a sectarian bloodbath as the U.S. military withdraws, the Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday.

Evidence also grew over the weekend that the Taliban are taking advantage of the drawdown of foreign troops, which is set to be complete by Sept. 11.

“The Taliban has carried out a string of attacks near vulnerable provincial capitals across Afghanistan since May 1, a marked escalation in violence that officials say is a sign the group is testing for defensive weak points and assessing the government’s capacity to provide air support as U.S. and NATO forces withdraw,” The Washington Post reported on Saturday.

The Taliban also appear to have seized control of two districts in the northern part of the country after overrunning Afghan security forces, the Foundation for Defense of Democracies’ Long War Journal recounted in a battlefield assessment on Friday.

“Heavy casualties were inflicted to the enemy particularly in Helmand, Baghlan, Ghazni, Maidan Wardak and Kandahar provinces,” the Afghan Defense Ministry said in a statement. “The security forces are crushing terrorists with more strength than ever before.”

Related: Taliban declare three-day Afghan ceasefire for Eid holiday, via Voice of America.

Related: The U.S. still has leverage in Afghanistan. Here’s how to keep it, via POLITICO Magazine.

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Intelligence Community

DEEP FAKES AND NATIONAL SECURITY: The nonpartisan Congressional Research Service is out with a fresh primer on “deep fakes,” the realistic digital forgeries generated with artificial intelligence technologies, that raises questions about how prepared the national security community is to combat them.

Deep fakes, for example, could be used “to embarrass or blackmail elected officials or individuals with access to classified information,” the paper states. “Already there is evidence that foreign intelligence operatives have used deep fake photos to create fake social media accounts from which they have attempted to recruit sources.”

They could be used to undermine U.S. military operations. “Some analysts have suggested that deep fakes could similarly be used to generate inflammatory content — such as convincing video of U.S. military personnel engaged in war crimes — intended to radicalize populations, recruit terrorists, or incite violence,” CRS says.

Some questions for Congress: “Do the Department of Defense, the Department of State, and the intelligence community have adequate information about the state of foreign deep fake technology and the ways in which this technology may be used to harm U.S. national security?” CRS poses. Also, it asks. “How mature are DARPA’s efforts to develop automated deep fake detection tools?”

We still think the best case study of the information threat they pose was MIT’s deep fake of President Richard Nixon delivering the back-up speech prepared for the 1969 moon landing in the event of disaster.

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Cybersecurity

‘FALLING SHORT’: The Atlantic Council is out today with a new blueprint outlining a series of steps that would make defense and aerospace systems more capable of withstanding cyber attacks and quickly recovering.

“Issues ranging from faulty acquisition practices to a failure-fearing organizational culture have plagued the US Department of Defense (DoD) and hindered its ability to develop and maintain resilient systems,” concludes the report, “Mission Resilience: Adapting Defense Aerospace to Evolving Cybersecurity Challenge.”

It recommends that defense contractors fully embrace the practice of “intentionally disrupting” systems, which it says “could provide insights into how defense aerospace would perform through disruption and how they could be made more resilient.”

It also calls for additional metrics to assess the resiliency of aircraft and weapon systems components. “These metrics should include values like failed deployments, availability, mean time to detect, mean time to deploy, change volume, and automated test pass rates,” states the report, which was sponsored by French aerospace company Thales.

“The DoD is now falling short on ensuring sufficient resilience throughout its mission systems,” it warns. “This lack of resilience in design, leading to years of delays and unpatched security flaws, has practical impacts.”

Making Moves

Justine Sanders, previously communications director for Rep. Chuck Fleischmann, will be communications chief for HASC ranking member Mike Rogers.

Speed Read

— Most of Pentagon billions moved to border wall not recoverable: Roll Call

— Robert Menendez is the last hawk on the left: Foreign Policy

— Internal study highlights struggle over control of America's special ops forces: POLITICO Pro

— Former acting defense chief to testify to Congress about Jan. 6 attack on U.S. Capitol: The Associated Press

— ‘We cut too deep’: Air Force reinstates hundreds of ROTC cadets after dismissals spark backlash: The Washington Post

— Drone attack on Iraqi base hosting U.S. troops; no casualties: The Associated Press

— Inside the Trump administration's secret plan to kill Qassem Soleimani: Yahoo News

— U.S. 5th Fleet seizes weapons shipment in Arabian Sea: The Associated Press

— Top U.S., China and Russian diplomats urge global cooperation: The Associated Press

— Putin reviews Russian military might as tensions with West soar: Reuters

— The wizards of Armageddon may be back: The Washington Post

— Congress should end the U.S. military’s wish lists: Bloomberg

— White House needs new arms sales approach: Breaking Defense

— I want my mutually assured destruction: The Atlantic

— WATCH: The secret U.S. unit that helped the allies beat Hitler: CBS’ 60 Minutes

— A taxonomy of tyrants: New York Review of Books

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