IF TRUE, ‘WE WILL TAKE ACTION’: While the intelligence suggesting Russia paid cash bounties to the Taliban to kill U.S. troops in Afghanistan remains “uncorroborated,” that doesn’t mean it’s not being taken seriously, the nation’s top military officer told Congress yesterday.
In testimony before the House Armed Services Committee, Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Mark Milley said while there is plenty of evidence Russia and other countries are supporting the Taliban, what’s still unclear is whether Russian operatives directed attacks against U.S. and coalition forces.
“We do not have concrete, corroborating evidence, intelligence to show directing, and that’s a big difference. And if we did, there’d be a different response,” said Milley, who added that the investigation continues. “I and the secretary and many others are taking it seriously, we’re going to get to the bottom of it. We’re going to find out if, in fact, it’s true. And if it is true, we will take action,” Milley said.
“If, in fact, there’s bounties, I’m an outraged general,” he said. “If, in fact, there’s bounties directed by the government of Russia or any of their institutions to kill American soldiers, that’s a big deal — that’s a real big deal. We don’t have that level of fidelity yet. We’re still looking.”
APRIL 8, 2019, ATTACK: Among the incidents under review is an April 8, 2019, suicide bombing outside the Bagram Air Base that killed three U.S. Marines.
So far, there is no evidence that attack was the result of a bounty payment, Defense Secretary Mark Esper told the panel, citing recent comments by Gen. Frank McKenzie, head of the U.S. Central Command.
“Gen. McKenzie is looking back over time. I think he stated publicly as well he doesn’t see causality with that one,” Esper testified. “And I believe that I got a separate report from one of my intelligence agencies saying they cannot find any corroborating evidence with regard to that alleged program with regard to that attack on those three Marines.”
“As of today, right now, we don’t have cause-and-effect linkages to a Russian bounty program causing U.S. military casualties,” Milley said. “However, we are still looking. We’re not done. We’re going to run this thing to ground.”
‘BOUNTIES’ VS. ‘PAYMENTS’: The members of the committee were briefed ahead of the public testimony about the classified intelligence behind the alleged Russian interference, and early in the hearing, Ohio Republican Rep. Mike Turner used that information to get Esper to admit that his intelligence briefing never specifically mentioned bounties.
“Have you received an intel briefing that stated — that included the word ‘bounty’ with Russians and the killing of American men and women in uniform?” Turner asked.
“Congressman, to the best of my recollection, I have not received a briefing that included the word ‘bounty,’” Esper replied.
It wasn’t until near the end of the two-hour hearing that Massachusetts Democratic Rep. William Keating asked the question a different way: “You can acknowledge, since you acknowledge there was no bounties, that indeed there were reports that mentioned payments, is that correct?”
“That’s correct. I was responding to the specific question of, do I recall use of the word ‘bounties,’” Esper replied.
“I didn’t want a sound bite at the end of this hearing coming out that said that you said that you never saw a report on bounties,” Keating said, to which Esper responded, “Congressman, I always — I always try to avoid politics.”
Good Friday morning and welcome to Jamie McIntyre’s Daily on Defense, written and compiled by Washington Examiner National Security Senior Writer Jamie McIntyre (@jamiejmcintyre) and edited by David Sivak and Tyler Van Dyke. Email here with tips, suggestions, calendar items, and anything else. Sign up or read current and back issues at DailyonDefense.com. If signing up doesn’t work, shoot us an email and we’ll add you to our list. And be sure to follow us on Twitter: @dailyondefense.
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HAPPENING TODAY: Army Maj. Gen. Lonnie Hibbard, commander, Army Center for Initial Military Training, Fort Eustis, Virginia; and Air Force Maj. Gen. Andrea Tullos, commander, Second Air Force, Keesler Air Force Base, Mississippi, brief reporters by phone on training efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic. The briefing will be streamed live at 1 p.m. on Defense.gov.
IT WASN’T THE GUARD: Yesterday’s House Armed Services Committee hearing was called to discuss the role of the military in support of the civil law enforcement authorities responding to public protests, and Esper testified that despite media reports and pronouncements by President Trump, National Guard troops did not engage in crowd control in Lafayette Park on June 1.
“I want to make clear the following: that the Guard did not advance on the crowd, that the Guard did not shoot rubber bullets, that the Guard did not employ chemical agents of any type. Rather, the Guard remained in a static role as backup to law enforcement if needed,” Esper said.
Milley said some of the confusion over who was clearing protesters was the result of some police units wearing military-style camouflage. “Our guys are wearing camouflage uniforms, et cetera. Some of these police were in blue uniforms, others in camouflage, others in solid green,” Milley said. “In terms of the lessons learned, that would be something I’d put in there, as far as distinguishing character, because you want a clear definition between that which is military and that which is police, in my view.”
Another problem was that some police units were using shields borrowed from the National Guard that were emblazoned with the words “military police.”
“That’s a lesson learned,” said Esper. “If you’re going to do that, then we’ve got to figure out a way to mask the name ‘military police’ so we don’t confuse who is actually doing the crowd control.”
‘HARD LOOK’ AT RENAMING BASES: When the subject turned to the renaming of Army bases that honor heroes of the Confederacy, Milley left no doubt where he stood.
“The Confederacy, the American Civil War was fought, and — and it was an act of rebellion, it was an act of treason at the time against the Union, against the stars and stripes, against the U.S. Constitution, and those officers turned their back on their oath,” he testified.
“Young soldiers that go onto a base, a Fort Hood or a Fort Bragg or a fort wherever, named after a Confederate general, they can be reminded that that general fought for an institution of slavery that may have enslaved one of their ancestors,” he said. “I had a staff sergeant when I was a young officer who actually told me that at Fort Bragg. And he said he went to work every day on a base that represented a guy who enslaved his grandparents.”
“I personally think that the original decisions to name those bases after Confederate generals, the 10 bases you’re talking about in the Army, those were political decisions back in the 1910s and ’20s and ’30s, in the World War I, World War II time frame, 100 years ago, and there are going to be political decisions today,” he added.
THE KILLING OF SOLEIMANI: In his testimony, Esper rejected outright the conclusion of a U.N. human rights investigator who called the killing of Iranian Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani in January “unlawful” because there was no evidence he was planning an imminent attack.
“You had the head of the IRGC, which is designated by the United States as a foreign terrorist organization, he was the foreign terrorist leader of that foreign terrorist organization. He had the blood of hundreds of Americans going back many, many years on his hands, he had orchestrated the rocket attacks that … had occurred in that December, and we had clear, credible information that he was planning additional attacks on American personnel in the region,” Esper said. “It was the clear consensus of the president’s national security team that he was a legitimate target.”
A THREE-WAY ARMS DEAL? The State Department says after months of rebuffing U.S. overtures to engage in negotiations over limiting nuclear weapons, China is now indicating it’s willing to discuss the issue.
“The United States welcomes China’s commitment to engage in arms control negotiations. As such, prudent next steps will need to include face-to-face meetings between the United States and China,” said spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus in a statement.
“The Special Presidential Envoy for Arms Control, Ambassador Marshall Billingslea, will invite the Chinese government to join in good faith negotiations in Vienna, Austria,” Ortagus said.
“The United States also recommends that China meet with Russia at an early date to consider next steps for trilateral arms control negotiations. We will all bring different perspectives and objectives to the negotiating table and will surely have disagreements. But it is time for dialogue and diplomacy between the three biggest nuclear weapons powers on how to prevent a new arms race,” the statement said.
HISTORY-MAKING GREEN BERET: The U.S. Army Special Operations Command confirmed the first female soldier successfully completed the Special Forces Qualification Course and has become the first woman to earn the title of Green Beret.
The first female soldier received her Special Forces Tab and donned her green beret during a COVID-compliant graduation ceremony alongside her classmates at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, according to a news release.
“It is our policy to not release the names of service members in training or assigned to U.S. Army Special Operations Command due to unique missions assigned upon graduation,” the release said. “Please respect the decision of these soldiers who enter into this profession by helping us protect their identity to the fullest extent.”
INDUSTRY WATCH: The State Department has approved the sale of 105 Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter aircraft to Japan. The potential sale of planes and related equipment is valued at $23 billion.
The government of Japan is buying a mix of models, including 63 F-35A Conventional Takeoff and Landing aircraft, 42 F-35B Short Takeoff and Vertical Landing aircraft, and 110 Pratt and Whitney F135 engines, according to the Defense Security Cooperation Agency.
PATRIOT UPGRADE FOR TAIWAN: The State Department also approved an upgrade package for Taiwan’s Patriot surface-to-air missiles, also made by Lockheed Martin.
The Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office requested the $620 million upgrade package “in order to support an operational life of 30 years,” said the Defense Security Cooperation Agency.
The Rundown
Washington Examiner: ‘Not engaged in clearing protesters’: Esper and Milley say military did not clear Lafayette Park
Washington Examiner: Europe promises to spend more on its own defense
Washington Examiner: Allies should ‘merge’ military and police intelligence to counter China: Pentagon
Washington Examiner: Flynn judge seeks rehearing by full appeals court after being ordered to dismiss case
Washington Examiner: New head of US Global Media wants to refocus VOA
AP: S. Korea Asks Senior U.S. Envoy To Try To Revive Talks With North
VOA: Trump Says He’d Meet with Kim Jong Un Again
Reuters: North Korean Leader’s Sister Says Another Summit Unlikely But “A Surprise Thing May Still Happen”
Washington Post: Voice of America faces loss of international journalists as new overseer lets visas expire
Marine Corps Times: 2 Marine Installations In Japan Lock Down As COVID-19 Returns To Okinawa
Stars and Stripes: Navy Changes Course, Allows Service Members To Attend Off-Base Religious Services
Bloomberg: IBM Settles With Pentagon on Long-Disputed Hacking Allegation
AP: Iran-Backed Militia Threatens Escalation After Iraqi Security Raids Group Suspected Of Rocket Attacks Against U.S. Forces
Navy Times: Navy, Air Force Troops Train With UAE Pilots To Thwart Fast-Boat Attacks In The Persian Gulf
Talk Media News: Confederate and controversial names on Navy ships have a powerful protector: the Sea Gods
Real Clear Defense: Practicing What We Preach: Committing to the Women, Peace, and Security Strategy Here at Home
New York Times: Opinion: Tammy Duckworth: Tucker Carlson Doesn’t Know What Patriotism Is
Defense News: Opinion: DoD must modernize infrastructure to support cutting-edge technology research
Calendar
FRIDAY | JULY 10
10 a.m. — East-West Center in Washington webinar: “Full Circle: Duterte’s South China Sea Policy Four Years Later,” with Jay Batongbacal, director of the University of the Philippines College of Law’s Institute for Maritime Affairs and Law of the Sea. https://eastwestcenter.zoom.us/webinar
12 p.m. — Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies webcast, with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on American foreign policy priorities during and after COVID-19. https://fedsoc.org/events/capital-conversations
12 p.m. — Hudson Institute webcast on the evolving relationship between Venezuela and Iran, with Elliott Abrams, State Department special representative for Venezuela; Brian Hook, special representative for Iran and senior policy adviser to the secretary of state; and Nadia Schadlow, senior fellow at the Hudson Institute. https://www.hudson.org/events
1 p.m. Pentagon Briefing Room 2D972 — Army Maj. Gen. Lonnie Hibbard, commander, Army Center for Initial Military Training, Fort Eustis, Virginia; and Air Force Maj. Gen. Andrea Tullos, commander, Second Air Force, Keesler Air Force Base, Mississippi, brief reporters by phone on training efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic. Streamed live on Defense.gov.
4:30 p.m. — Intelligence and National Security Alliance symposium: “The New IC (Intelligence Community): Empowering Women and Engaging Men,” with Assistant Secretary of State for Intelligence and Research Ellen McCarthy; and Stacey Dixon, deputy director of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. https://www.insaonline.org/event
TUESDAY | JULY 14
No time given — Air Force Association Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies Aerospace Nation conversation with Uzi Rubin, former director of the Israel Missile Defense Organization. https://www.mitchellaerospacepower.org/aerospace-nation
1 p.m. — Heritage Foundation virtual event: “The U.S. Withdraws from Open Skies: The Right Call?” with Tim Morrison, senior fellow, Hudson Institute; Peter Brookes, senior research fellow; Pranay Vaddi, fellow, Carnegie Endowment of International Peace; and moderated by Patty-Jane Geller, policy analyst, nuclear deterrence and missile defense, Heritage Foundation. https://www.heritage.org/arms-control/event
WEDNESDAY | JULY 15
10:30 a.m. — Heritage Foundation virtual event: “How to Make the Pentagon Work Better and Cost Less,” with Peter Levine, senior research fellow, Institute for Defense Analyses and former undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness; and Thomas Spoehr, director, Heritage Center for National Defense. https://www.heritage.org/defense/event
No time given — Air Force Association Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies Aerospace Nation conversation with Lt. Gen. Timothy Haugh, commander, Sixteenth Air Force (Air Forces Cyber). https://www.mitchellaerospacepower.org/aerospace-nation
TUESDAY | JULY 21
3:30 p.m. — Johns Hopkins SAIS Merrill Center for Strategic Studies webinar: “The State of the U.S. Air Force,” with Gen. David Goldfein, chief of staff; and Prof. Mara Karlin, director, Strategic Studies Program and Merrill Center for Strategic Studies. Register at https://jh.zoom.us/webinar/register.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“The United States military comes from the people of our nation, and we remain dedicated to the Constitution. We will never turn our back on that document. We swore an oath of allegiance at the cost of our lives to an idea embedded within that document, and we will always protect it.”
Army Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, in testimony before the House Armed Services Committee Thursday.
