Biden says US troops ‘off the table’ in showdown with Russia over Ukraine

“The idea the United States is going to unilaterally use force to confront Russia from invading Ukraine is not in the cards right now. But what will happen is, there will be severe consequences,” Biden said. “I am absolutely confident he [Putin] got the message.”

The U.S. does have troops in Ukraine in a strictly training role. Since 2015, the Pentagon has been rotating units to provide “train and advise activities” through what’s called the Joint Multinational Training Group-Ukraine.

Currently, a Brigade Combat Team from the Florida National Guard is in Ukraine, according to a Pentagon statement. “In addition, Special Operations Command Europe plays a large role in the development of Ukrainian Special Operations Forces through regular validation training exercises,” the statement said.

BIDEN’S NEXT MOVE: Biden is scheduled to talk by phone at 12:30 p.m. this afternoon with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to discuss strategies to lower the threat of Russian intervention.

Zelensky has been urging NATO to accelerate its promise of future membership in the 30-nation alliances, but Biden is expected to tell Zelensky that won’t happen anytime soon. Instead, Biden will discuss additional military assistance to help Ukraine shore up its defenses, beyond a $60 million package of small arms and ammunition that is scheduled to arrive this week.

“For Biden, the challenge will be encouraging Kyiv to accept some of the facts on the ground in eastern Ukraine, without appearing to cave to Putin,” according to the Associated Press, which quoted a former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, Steven Pifer, as suggesting Zelensky might be asked to make some small concessions to Putin, “such as allowing the Russia-allied Donbas region to control its own health care, police and schools.”

CONSULTING WITH ALLIES: When Biden gets off the phone with Zelensky, his next call will be with leaders of the Bucharest Nine group, allies who are on NATO’s eastern flank, closest to Russia.

Biden will “brief them on his call with President Vladimir Putin of Russia, hear their perspectives on the current security situation, and underscore the United States’ commitment to Transatlantic security,” according to a White House statement.

PUTIN CLIENT IN BELARUS FLOATS UKRAINE CONFLICT DESPITE BIDEN CALL

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HAPPENING TODAY: At 8 a.m. President Joe Biden will address the opening session of the two-day Summit for Democracy, a virtual meeting of leaders and officials from 110 countries to discuss the threat to democracy around the world by rising authoritarianism.

The goal of the two-day event, hosted by the U.S. State Department, is to “set forth an affirmative agenda for democratic renewal and to tackle the greatest threats faced by democracies today through collective action.”

Biden’s remarks and the public session will be livestreamed on the State Department’s web page.

Today’s schedule:

• 8 a.m.: President Joe Biden delivers opening remarks
• 8:15 a.m.: Biden hosts a Leaders’ Plenary Session (closed)
• 9:15 a.m.: European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen hosts a Leaders’ Plenary Session (closed)
• 10:30 a.m.: New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern; and Service Employees International Union International President Mary Kay Henry deliver remarks
• 10:45 a.m.: Secretary of State Antony Blinken hosts a panel discussion on “Bolstering Democratic Resilience: Building Back Better Together from COVID-19”
• 12:15 p.m.: Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen hosts a panel discussion on “Preventing and Countering Corruption”
• 1:15 p.m.: Republican Vermont Gov. Phil Scott and Democratic Maine Gov. Janet Mills deliver remarks
• 1:25 p.m.: Vice President Kamala Harris delivers closing remarks

GRADY’S SASC HEARING: The atmosphere was largely convivial at yesterday’s Senate confirmation hearing for Adm. Christopher Grady, nominee to fill the post vacated by the retirement last month of Joint Chiefs Vice Chairman Gen. John Hyten.

Grady appears headed for easy confirmation, despite a few contentious moments under questioning from Republican Sens. Dan Sullivan of Alaska and Josh Hawley of Missouri.

Sullivan tried to get Grady to say publicly that Biden’s proposed defense budget, which Congress increased by $25 billion, was inadequate, and Hawley grilled Grady on whether he supported the force-planning construct that was the basis for the 2018 National Defense Strategy.

South Dakota Republican Mike Rounds raised the issue earlier in the briefing. “Two major planning assumptions have been overtaken by events, and now, they seem to be critically flawed,” Rounds said, referring to the idea the U.S. would likely fight short, intense wars one at a time. “In my view, this probably does not make strategic sense now, given the activity, investments, and behavior of China and Russia,” he said.

Grady avoided giving Hawley a direct answer, and Hawley, frustrated, said if Grady was confirmed, it would be without his vote.

BOB DOLE TO LIE IN STATE: Former Kansas Sen. Bob Dole, who died of lung cancer Sunday at the age of 98, will lie in state in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda today. Dole, who was gravely wounded in World War II, served 36 years in Congress in the House and Senate and was the Republican candidate for president in 1996.

“With Bob Dole, what you saw was what you got. And from his comrades in the 10th Mountain Division, to his constituents in Kansas, to the whole Senate and the entire country, what we got was extraordinary,” said Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell this week.

“I cannot summarize in one speech the full life or legacy of our friend Bob. There are the battlefield heroics, the hospital-bed friendship with fellow future Sens. Phil Hart and ‘the best bridge player at Percy Jones Hospital,’ Dan Inouye. There’s the policy legacy that endures to this day,” McConnell said. “These remembrances will take Congress this whole week. And they’ll occupy historians for decades to come.”

NOMINEES OF NOTE: Among the latest batch of nominations sent to the Senate by the White House are Agnes Schaefer, to be assistant secretary of the Army for manpower and reserve affairs, and Alina Romanowski, to be U.S. ambassador to Iraq.

Romanowski is a career diplomat with 40 years of experience, who is currently U.S. ambassador to Kuwait.

Schaefer is a senior political scientist at the RAND Corporation, with an expertise in U.S. military personnel policy, reserve component issues, national security strategy, emerging threats, and homeland defense/homeland security issues.

INDUSTRY WATCH: Every year the Army’s XVIII Airborne Corps sponsors a “Shark Tank”-style competition dubbed “Dragon’s Lair,” in which service members from across the military pitch their innovations to a panel of civilian tech experts and military leaders.

This year’s competition, the sixth iteration of the event, produced five winners who created three innovations.

Air Force 1st Lt. Justin O’Brien designed a battery-operated, water-cooled plate carrier system, designed to keep service members up to 30 degrees cooler in hot and humid conditions.

Army 2nd Lt. Christian Lance Relleve leveraged artificial intelligence and machine learning to predict interior floor plans based on a building’s external architecture.

A team of three soldiers, Sgt.1st Class Keenan Millay, Staff Sgt. Carter Casey, and Spc. Johnathan King designed a gunner harness system for the M88 Recovery Vehicle to prevent injury or death to a gunner in a vehicle accident or rollover.

And what do we have for our winners? An Army Meritorious Service Medal, four-day liberty pass, and attendance at an army school of their choice.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

The Rundown

Washington Examiner: US military preparing for potential conflict with China over Taiwan

Washington Examiner: UK: Iran faces ‘last chance’ to restore nuclear deal as Vienna talks resume

Washington Examiner: What concessions Republicans did, and didn’t, get in major defense bill

Washington Examiner: NDAA guarantees troops booted for refusing COVID-19 vaccine get no worse than general discharge

Washington Examiner: Military sexual assault reform pared back in defense spending bill

Washington Examiner: Putin client in Belarus floats Ukraine conflict despite Biden call

Washington Examiner: SEAL Team 8 commander killed in training accident

Washington Examiner: Opinion: Biden to ‘accommodate’ Russian pressure as Germany says Nord Stream 2 certification ‘perfectly orderly’

New York Times: Ally, Member or Partner? NATO’s Long Dilemma Over Ukraine.

Reuters: U.S. Defense Official Says Boosting Taiwan’s Defenses An ‘Urgent Task’

Stars and Stripes: Vice Chairman Nominee Says U.S. Military Must Adapt New Tech Faster To Compete With China, Russia

Air Force Magazine: Congress Wants AETP Engines to be Installed in All F-35As Starting in 2027

Washington Post: Biden to award three Medals of Honor for combat actions in Iraq, Afghanistan

Washington Post: Army awards more Purple Hearts for troops hurt in Iranian attack that Trump downplayed

Washington Post: India’s military chief dies in helicopter crash that kills 13

19fortyfive.com: Does South Korea Really Need Aircraft Carriers?

19fortyfive.com: Why the Great Ammo Shortage Is Here to Stay

19fortyfive.com: How the US Army’s Bradley Fighting Vehicle Could Go Green

Calendar

THURSDAY | DECEMBER 9

9:30 a.m. — Center for Strategic and International Studies virtual discussion on the Korean Peninsula and Asia, with former Acting CIA Director Michael Morell; and Sue Mi Terry, director of the Wilson Center’s Hyundai Motor-Korea Foundation Center for Korean History and Public Policy https://www.csis.org/events/capital-cable-38-michael-morell

9:45 a.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave. N.W. — Center for Strategic and International Studies 2021 Project on Nuclear Issues Winter Conference panel discussion on “Emerging Threats and Technologies in the Nuclear Sphere” https://www.csis.org/events/poni-2021-hybrid-winter-conference

10 a.m. — Center for a New American Security virtual discussion: “Lessons of the Syrian Conflict,” former U.S. Ambassador to Syria Robert Ford; Nicholas Danforth, visiting scholar at George Washington University; Mona Yacoubian, senior vice president at the U.S. Institute of Peace; and Elisa Ewers, adjunct senior fellow at the CNAS Middle East Security Program https://www.cnas.org/events/virtual-event-lessons-of-the-syrian-conflict

2 p.m. — Center for a New American Security virtual discussion: “ The Next National Defense Strategy,” with Mara Karlin, performing the duties of deputy defense undersecretary for policy https://www.cnas.org/events/mission-brief-the-next-national-defense-strategy

2 p.m. — Atlantic Council virtual discussion: “Is there a ‘Plan B’ for Iran?” with Kelsey Davenport, director for nonproliferation policy at the Arms Control Association; Mahsa Rouhi, research fellow at National Defense University; Sima Shine, head of the Institute for National Security Studies’ Iran Program; Barbara Slavin, director of the Atlantic Council’s Future of Iran Initiative; and Sina Azodi, nonresident fellow at the Atlantic Council https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/event/is-there-a-plan-b-for-iran/

2 p.m. — Association of the United States Army virtual book discussion on “Thought Leaders: Special Operations Forces,” with N.W. Collins, author of Grey Wars: A Contemporary History of U.S. Special Operations; Jessica Donati, author of Eagle Down: The Last Special Forces Fighting the Forever War; and Tony Brooks, author of Leave No Man Behind: The Untold Story of the Rangers’ Unrelenting Search for Marcus Luttrell, the Navy SEAL Lone Survivor in Afghanistan https://www.ausa.org/events/thought-leaders-special-operations-forces

FRIDAY | DECEMBER 10 

8:30 a.m. — Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies virtual Spacepower Forum, with Lt. Gen. John Shaw, deputy commander of the U.S. Space Command; and retired Gen. Kevin Chilton, explorer chair for space warfighting studies at Mitchell Institute’s Spacepower Advantage Research Center https://mitchellaerospacepower.org/event

11 a.m. — Heritage Foundation virtual discussion: “The Crisis in Belarus,” with U.S. Ambassador to Belarus Julie Fisher https://www.heritage.org/europe/event

11 a.m. — Cato Institute virtual discussion: “The Meaning of European Defense,” with French Ambassador to the United States Philippe Etienne; Joshua Shifrinson, associate professor of international relations at Boston University; Rachel Rizzo, senior fellow at the Atlantic Council; Justin Logan, senior fellow at Cato; and Peter Goettler, president and CEO of Cato https://www.cato.org/events/meaning-european-defense

12 p.m. — Woodrow Wilson Center Kennan Institute for Advanced Russian Studies virtual book discussion on Weak Strongman: The Limits of Power in Putin’s Russia, with author Timothy Frye, professor at Columbia University https://www.wilsoncenter.org/event

MONDAY | DECEMBER 13

9 a.m. — Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies Aerospace Nation event with Gen. Jeffrey  Harrigian, commander, U.S. Air Forces, Europe, Africa, Allied Air Command, and director, Joint Air Power Competence Center. Moderated by retired Lt. Gen. David Deptula, dean, Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies. https://mitchellaerospacepower.org/event/aerospace-nation-gen-jeffrey-l-harrigian

12 p.m. — Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies and the Advanced Nuclear Weapons Alliance Deterrence Center forum: ‘National Nuclear Security Administration, the Cornerstone of U.S. Strategic Nuclear Deterrence,” with Mark Anderson, assistant deputy administrator research, development, test and evaluation, National Nuclear Security Administration; E. Michael Campbell, director, Laboratory for Laser Energetics, University of Rochester; Mark Herrmann, deputy program director, fundamental weapons physics, program director for NIF/WCI Integration, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory; Kimberly Scott, program director, Office of Experimental Sciences,Los Alamos National Laboratory; and Daniel Sinars, director, Pulsed Power Sciences Center, Sandia National Laboratories https://www.eventbrite.com/e/nnsa-nuclear-weapons-stockpile-stewardship

12 p.m. — Association of the U.S. Army “Noon Report” webinar “Growing the Force for Tomorrow’s Army Reserve,” with Command Sgt. Maj. Andrew Lombardo, senior enlisted leader for the Army Reserve. https://www.bigmarker.com/ausaorg/AUSA-s-Noon-Report-CSM-Lombardo

2 p.m. — Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress virtual book discussion on “Building a Defense Strategy to Confront China,” with The Strategy of Denial author Elbridge Colby co-founder and principal, The Marathon Initiative; former deputy assistant secretary of defense for strategy and force development. https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register

2 p.m. — CSIS International Security Program online event “Detect and Understand: Modernizing Intelligence for the Gray Zone,” with Michael Vickers, former undersecretary of defense for intelligence; and Jake Harrington, intelligence fellow in the CSIS International Security Program https://www.csis.org/events/conversation

TUESDAY | DECEMBER 14 

1 p.m. — Center for a New American Security conversation with Marine Corps Commandant Gen. David Berger; and Stacie Pettyjohn, senior fellow and director of the CNAS Defense Program. https://www.cnas.org/events/fireside-chat

THURSDAY | DECEMBER 16

1:30 p.m. — CSIS Stephenson Ocean Security Project livestream event: “Ocean Security Forum 2021,” with Carlos Del Toro, secretary of the Navy; Adm. Karl Schultz, commandant, U.S. Coast Guard; Monica Medina, assistant secretary of state for oceans and international; Beth Lowell, vice president for U.S. campaigns, Oceana; Paul Woods, chief innovation officer, Global Fishing Watch; Duncan Copeland, executive director, Trygg Mat Tracking; Jared Dunnmon, technical director for AI and machine learning, DOD Defense Innovation Unit; Ian Ralby, CEO, I.R. Consilium; and Whit Saumweber, director, Stephenson Ocean Security Project https://www.csis.org/events/ocean-security-forum-2021