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Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas). | Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images | Welcome to National Security Daily, your guide to the global events roiling Washington and keeping the administration up at night. Send tips | Subscribe here | Email Alex | Email Quint House Republicans for months have pushed for a "resolution of inquiry" into the administration's handling of Afghanistan, which would entitle them to review sensitive documents from the executive branch about the withdrawal. But many House Republican members and staffers have told NatSec Daily that Democrats keep thwarting their investigative inquiries at every turn. This is something GOPers complained about to CNN's MELANIE ZANONA and MANU RAJU in September, but so far Democrats haven't budged. To put pressure on them, the top Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee — Rep. MICHAEL MCCAUL (R-Texas) — and 39 of his colleagues introduced a ROI last week. The measure, which is unlikely to pass in a Democratically controlled Congress, permits "[r]equesting the President, and directing the Secretary of State, to transmit to the House of Representatives copies of all documents in their possession referring or relating to certain aspects of the United States withdrawal from Afghanistan." "The American people deserve answers about the Biden Administration's disastrous Afghanistan withdrawal. Congress must not be denied basic information, which is why we have introduced our resolution of inquiry. If House Leadership will not push to get to the bottom of things, they should at least allow us to do our jobs," McCaul told NatSec Daily. "Instead, they have actively turned off a 200-year-old oversight privilege to shield the administration from having to answer factual questions from Congress." Republicans aren't exactly sure who's behind the effort to stymie official inquiries, though they say it's House Democratic leadership and/or foreign-policy minded lawmakers. Democrats, however, insist that this isn't a policy issue, but a rules issue. Simply put, Democrats in May 2020 (during the Trump administration) passed new rules that among other things limited the use of ROIs due to the pandemic, as such measures can eat up valuable floor and voting time. Those rules remain in place, even though lawmakers are back to work in nearly regular ways, and there's no movement to change them right now — especially as the pandemic still rages. "Committees of jurisdictions are fulfilling their constitutional responsibility to provide oversight of the situation in Afghanistan and there are regular bipartisan briefings. The House also recently voted on a series of bipartisan amendments to the National Defense Authorization Act regarding Afghanistan," said a Democratic House aide. "Republicans have consistently tried to disrupt the House floor, demanding votes even on noncontroversial bills that they support. Now, they are demanding even more tools to derail the work of congressional committees." All this means the investigative tool once available to the minority party — which Democrats enjoyed as they probed into former President DONALD TRUMP's affairs — isn't going to be available for Republicans to wield any time soon. All Democrats (and a few Republicans) NatSec Daily spoke with suspect the House GOP's oversight effort here isn't genuine. The left fears the right just wants another tool to stymie President JOE BIDEN's agenda in Congress. And while some lawmakers want insight into (and belated oversight of) Biden's Afghanistan decision, the minority want to keep the withdrawal as a salient issue heading into the 2022 midterms. One Democratic aide said such an inquiry would be "another Benghazi-like witch hunt." Still, there's worry among House Democrats that if Republicans don't get their ROIs seriously considered, then Republicans might return the favor if and when they take over the chamber.
| | | NEW ADMIN AFGHAN RELOCATION LEAD: The State Department as soon as this week will announce ELIZABETH JONES as the new coordinator for Afghan relocation efforts, our own LARA SELIGMAN, ANDREW DESIDERIO and NAHAL TOOSI scooped. JOHN BASS , the current coordinator and former U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan, will leave his post as he awaits confirmation as undersecretary of state for management. Jones served as the ambassador to Kazakhstan from 1995 to 1998 and the U.S. assistant secretary of state for Europe and Eurasia from 2001 to 2005, according to the State Department website. She returned to the State Department as deputy special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan in 2011, before being appointed acting assistant secretary of state for the Near East in 2012. KIM SHOWS OFF HIS WEAPONS, BLASTS U.S.: North Korean leader KIM JONG UN put some of his most provocative weapons on display yesterday, substituting the pomp and circumstance of a parade with an exhibition and fiery speech denouncing the United States. "The United States has frequently sent signals that it is not hostile to our state, but its behaviors provide us with no reason why we should believe in them," Kim said in his address per the state-run Korean Central News Agency. "Under the prevailing unstable situation on the Korean peninsula, steadily strengthening our military might to cope with it is the demand of the times of our revolution and the supreme duty which we have assumed for the revolution and the future." Kim hoped to build an "invincible" military capability to ward off America, but not necessarily reengage in war with South Korea. "I want to reiterate that South Korea is not the target of our armed forces," the despot said. "Undoubtedly, we are not strengthening our defence capability targeting at South Korea." Kim didn't debut any new weaponry, but he did once again show off the 11-axle transport-erector launcher, which allows North Korea to launch an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) from almost anywhere. Between the language and the imagery, some experts told NatSec Daily that Kim might be preparing for an ICBM test soon. "At least one, maybe two," said JEFFREY LEWIS , an expert on North Korea's nuclear program at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey. "He also said they'll show us a nuclear powered submarine and launch a military satellite." EU PLEDGES $1.2B TO AFGHANISTAN: Ahead of the G20 special meeting on Afghanistan today, European Union chief URSULA VON DER LEYEN pledged to send around $1.2 million in aid to the country. The announcement comes as Afghanistan's economy is in freefall since the Taliban's takeover. "We must do all we can to avert a major humanitarian and socio-economic collapse in Afghanistan. We need to do it fast. We have been clear about our conditions for any engagement with the Afghan authorities, including on the respect of human rights. So far, the reports speak for themselves," von der Leyen said in a statement. "But the Afghan people should not pay the price of the Taliban's actions. This is why the Afghan support package is for the Afghan people and the country's neighbors who have been the first in providing them with help." Much of the money will go "directly" to the millions of Afghans in dire need of humanitarian assistance. But some of it will also go to Afghanistan's neighbors for support "in migration management, as well as in cooperation on terrorism prevention, fight against organised crime and migrant smuggling," the Commission outlined in the news release. The question for the EU, the U.S. and other nations is how to give Afghanistan money without enriching the Taliban. That has led to some delays in providing the assistance, despite warnings from humanitarian groups that the situation in Afghanistan grows more dire by the day. 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 qforgey@politico.com, and follow us on Twitter at @alexbward and @QuintForgey. While you're at it, follow the rest of POLITICO's national security team: @nahaltoosi, @woodruffbets, @politicoryan, @PhelimKine, @BryanDBender, @laraseligman, @connorobrienNH, @paulmccleary, @leehudson, @AndrewDesiderio and @JonnyCustodio. | | A message from Lockheed Martin: Delivered. Deployed. Defending. THAAD offers highly mobile and interoperable missile defense.
Using proven Lockheed Martin technology, the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system can intercept threats outside and inside the atmosphere. Its unique layered defense capabilities defend against advanced, evolving threats. Learn More | | | | | | ETHIOPIA'S NEW TIGRAY OFFENSIVE: GETACHEW REDA, spokesperson for the Tigray People's Liberation Front, told the Washington Post's RACHEL CHASON that Ethiopia has launched a new offensive against Tigray's forces — kicking off another deadly cycle in the civil war. Per Reda, "there was active fighting Monday on at least three fronts in the Amhara region against the troops of the Ethiopian army and Amhara regional militias, involving a combination of soldiers, drones, tanks and airstrikes," Chason reported. A spokesperson for Ethiopian Prime Minister ABIY AHMED , BILLENE SEYOUM, confirmed the offensive was underway but didn't address specific questions about it. "The government of Ethiopia will continue to counter the TPLF's destruction, violence and killings in the Amhara region and elsewhere," she said, adding the government wants to push the Tigrayans out of Amhara. It's unclear exactly how many thousands of people have died throughout the whole conflict, and the U.S. has so far failed in efforts to bring the fighting to a close. EU AND CHINA TO TALK: In a phone call scheduled for Friday, European Council President CHARLES MICHEL and Chinese President XI JINPING are expected to touch on trade issues and human rights, including Beijing's persecution of ethnic Uyghur Muslims in the Xinjiang region, per POLITICO's STUART LAU. "An EU diplomat said Michel would urge Xi to reconsider sanctions Beijing imposed on EU politicians after the bloc itself slapped sanctions on Chinese officials linked to forced labor in Xinjiang," Lau wrote, and "[a]nother diplomat said the call shows the EU's need to formulate its own China policies 'from the point of strategic autonomy.'" The call comes as Biden is still seeking his own face-to-face conversation with Xi, after national security adviser JAKE SULLIVAN and China's top diplomat YANG JIECHI agreed in principle to have both leaders meet in a virtual bilateral by the end of the year.
| | | FORMER DOD SOFTWARE CHIEF SAYS U.S. HAS LOST A.I. RACE WITH CHINA: NICOLAS CHAILLAN, the Pentagon's first chief software officer, told The Financial Times' KATRINA MANSON in a new interview that the United States military has "no competing fighting chance against China in 15 to 20 years" to overcome Beijing's cyber dominance and artificial intelligence capabilities. "Right now, it's already a done deal; it is already over in my opinion," Chaillan said, revealing that he resigned in protest from the Defense Department last month because of his frustration with the Pentagon's slow pace of technological innovation. Chaillan also said "he plans to testify to Congress about the Chinese cyber threat to [U.S.] supremacy, including in classified briefings, over the coming weeks," Manson reported. | | | | THE MILKEN INSTITUTE GLOBAL CONFERENCE 2021 IS HERE: POLITICO is excited to partner with the Milken Institute to produce a special edition "Global Insider" newsletter featuring exclusive coverage and insights from one of the largest and most influential gatherings of experts reinventing finance, health, technology, philanthropy, industry and media. Don't miss a thing from the 24th annual Milken Institute Global Conference in Los Angeles, from Oct. 17 to 20. Can't make it? We've got you covered. Planning to attend? Enhance your #MIGlobal experience and subscribe today. | | | | | | | | AUSA ROUNDUP: Our own LEE HUDSON provided Morning Defense (for Pros!) a rundown of the main themes bubbling up during the Association of the United States Army's annual meeting taking place this week. Here's her list: Foreign lift? The Army is working with "several allied partners" that are interested in participating in the service's Future Vertical Lift program, says spokesperson LISA FERGUSON, citing yet-to-be-disclosed project agreements involving the plan for a family of helicopters. The replacements: The Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft is envisioned to replace Apaches performing the armed reconnaissance role. The Future Long-Range Assault Aircraft would replace the UH-60 Black Hawk and Marine Corps H-1 Huey utility helicopters. The unpiloted Future Tactical UAS would replace the RQ-7 Shadow. But the R&D effort is one of the service's six modernization priorities, so it will have to compete with other big-dollar investments. On display at AUSA: Dynetics, a subsidiary of Leidos, will showcase the first commercially manufactured Common-Hypersonic Glide Body, which uses an expendable rocket motor to reach speeds of Mach 5 and beyond. The glide body is being used in the Army's Long-Range Hypersonic Weapon prototype. Dynetics plans to produce 20 glide body assemblies for the Army, Navy and Missile Defense Agency. The U.S. fears it's already falling behind in the hypersonic arms race. For example, Russia this month announced the maiden launch of the Zircon cruise missile from a nuclear submarine.
| | | HOUSE DEM WANTS FREER POTUS ON TAIWAN: In a Washington Post op-ed Monday afternoon, Rep. ELAINE LURIA (D-Va.) urged her colleagues to loosen restrictions on Biden's ability to repel a Chinese invasion of Taiwan. "The legal limitations on a president's ability to respond quickly could all but ensure a Chinese fait accompli. Simply put: The president has no legal authority to react in the time necessary to repel a Chinese invasion of Taiwan and deter an all-out war," wrote the 20-year Navy veteran, House Armed Services Committee member and representative of the naval hub of Norfolk, Va. Current law requires the president to seek Congressional authorization for a deployment to Taiwan, she contends, making it easier for China to win a quick fight before the U.S. fully mobilizes. Asked about the op-ed, and whether Biden supports fewer restrictions on his deployment of troops in such a situation, a senior administration official said "U.S. support for Taiwan remains strong, principled and bipartisan and we will continue to engage with Congress on these important matters." This is yet another indicator of the debate on Taiwan moving in a hawkish direction. Lawmakers from both parties want the U.S. to more clearly say it would defend Taiwan if attacked. "I think that removing the ambiguity would be good," Sen. THOM TILLIS (R-N.C.), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, told POLITICO during its first-ever defense forum last week. Still, a progressive congressional aide who focuses on foreign policy said Luria's thinking is what helped lead to the U.S. invasion of Iraq. "When facing criticism from their base and voters in the presidential primaries over their fateful votes supporting the 2002 [authorization] against Iraq, Democratic politicians rationalized their decision as simply untying Bush's hands to improve diplomatic leverage on weapons inspections, rather than authorizing a war," the staffer said. "Handing the executive branch the preemptive authority to start a potentially far more catastrophic conflict with China would disregard everything we should have learned as a country from the past 20 years of wars and military occupations." | | | |   | | | | | | FORMER MOSSAD CHIEF RIPS NETANYAHU ON IRAN: The former head of Mossad, EFRAIM HALEVY, criticized his old boss — then-Prime Minister BENJAMIN NETANYAHU — for the "big mistake" he made trying to stop the 2015 Iran nuclear deal from happening. "I have always thought that it was a grave mistake to pressure the previous president of the United States, Donald Trump, to leave the agreement, to more or less cancel the United States' involvement in this aspect of the relationship with Iran," he said on the Haaretz Weekly podcast. "I thought it was a big mistake and the fact of the matter is if we look at the events which took place [since Trump exited] the agreement on behalf of the United States, the situation versus Iran has become all that much worse." That "Israel says that Iran has never before been as close to a breakthrough into a nuclear mode is testament to the fact that the entire policy of the former government was a dismal failure," Halevy said. It was an unfortunate failure, and it might be an historic failure." Today, current Israeli Prime Minister NAFTALI BENNETT noted there are non-peaceful ways for Jerusalem and its allies to deal with Iran's advancing program. "We're not going to wait. I expect the global powers to hold them accountable," he said during a Jerusalem Post conference today. "That would be the peaceful route. There are other routes."
| | | — FIRST IN NATSEC DAILY: GABRIEL KOHAN is now senior counselor to the undersecretary for strategy, policy, and plans at the Department of Homeland Security. He most recently was an associate at Kellogg, Hansen, Todd, Figel & Frederick, PLLC. — CORY SIMPSON , former managing director for cybersecurity and privacy at Ankura and senior director at the Cyberspace Solarium Commission, has joined Resolute Strategic Services as an executive vice president. — U.S. nominee TODD BUCHWALD has been elected to serve as an independent expert on the United Nations Committee Against Torture for the 2022-2025 term, per the State Department . He previously served as the U.S. ambassador-at-large for global criminal justice, with a focus on justice and accountability for atrocities. | | | | BECOME A GLOBAL INSIDER: The world is more connected than ever. It has never been more essential to identify, unpack and analyze important news, trends and decisions shaping our future — and we've got you covered! Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, Global Insider author Ryan Heath navigates the global news maze and connects you to power players and events changing our world. Don't miss out on this influential global community. Subscribe now. | | | | | | | | — BONNY LIN and DAVID SACKS, Foreign Affairs: "How to Prevent an Accidental War Over Taiwan" — KELLEY CURRIE, Foreign Policy: " It's Not Too Late to Save America's Afghan Allies" — JAN EGELAND, The New York Times: "Opinion: Afghanistan Is Facing a Total Economic Meltdown"
| | | — Arab Center Washington DC, 10 a.m.: "Unpacking Iraq's Parliamentary Elections: Significance, Outcomes, and Implications — with ZEIDON ALKINANI, MARIA FANTAPPIE, KHALIL E. JAHSHAN, ABBAS KADHIM and NUSSAIBAH YOUNIS" — The Center for Strategic and International Studies, 10 a.m.: "21st Century Warfare: A Conversation with JIM TAICLET — with JOHN J. HAMRE" — House Veterans' Affairs Committee, 10 a.m.: "Violent Domestic Extremist Groups and the Recruitment of Veterans — with JEREMY BUTLER, SAM JACKSON, SETH JONES, CYNTHIA MILLER-IDRISS, JOE PLENZLER and more" — The Heritage Foundation, 12 p.m.: "Immigration Federalism: What Can States Do to Secure Their Borders? — with KEN CUCCINELLI, AARON REITZ, HANS A. VON SPAKOVSKY and CHAD WOLF" — The McCain Institute, 12 p.m.: "Conversations With Sec. MARK ESPER: LINDA REYNOLDS on Indo-Pacific Relations" — The American Bar Association's Standing Committee on Law and National Security, 3 p.m.: "A Conversation with AVRIL HAINES, Director of National Intelligence — with MARY DEROSA and JENNIFER O'CONNOR" — Politics and Prose, 7 p.m.: "Book Discussion: 'State of Terror' — with HILLARY CLINTON and LOUISE PENNY" Have a natsec-centric event coming up? Transitioning to a new defense-adjacent or foreign policy-focused gig? Shoot us an email at award@politico.com or qforgey@politico.com to be featured in the next edition of the newsletter. | | A message from Lockheed Martin: How Experimentation Can Speed Joint All-Domain Operations (JADO)
By partnering with every branch of the U.S. military and allies in experiments like Northern Edge, Lockheed Martin is helping warfighters make better, faster decisions in the battlespace. Learn More | | | And thanks to our editor, Ben Pauker, who almost never stifles our investigations. | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Follow us | | | | |
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