What HFAC’s McCaul wants from State

From the SitRoom to the E-Ring, the inside scoop on defense, national security and foreign policy.

Mar 10, 2023 View in browser   By Alexander Ward and Matt Berg Mike McCaul wants the administration to detail why and how 13 U.S. troops were killed during the evacuation and hundreds of Afghans who served alongside American service members didn’t get on flights. | Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images Subscribe here | Email Alex | Email Matt Rep. MICHAEL McCAUL (R-Texas) says he looks forward to discussing all kinds of matters — including the Biden administration’s withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan — with Secretary of State ANTONY BLINKEN during a March 23 budget hearing. The date of the event, which hasn’t been previously reported (though State wouldn’t confirm), will be the new House Foreign Affairs Committee chair’s next public chance to make senior Biden officials answer his Afghanistan questions. Alongside budgetary concerns, he wants the administration to detail why and how 13 U.S. troops were killed during the evacuation and hundreds of Afghans who served alongside American service members didn’t get on flights. The six-hour hearing he organized this week –– which featured a Marine injured in the terrorist bombing at Kabul’s airport –– was just a start. “The president made the decision to evacuate and he’s responsible for a completely incompetent evacuation that led to so many Americans and Afghan partners being left behind,” McCaul told NatSec Daily in an interview. Speaking of the veterans that testified at Wednesday’s hearing, the chair said “these people are really angry…they feel completely disrespected by the administration.” McCaul pointed to the fact that President JOE BIDEN didn’t even mention Afghanistan once in his February State of the Union address. Critics say that McCaul is just using his perch to bash Biden. The Afghanistan evacuation was undoubtedly this administration’s lowest point, and holding hearing after hearing chips away at the president’s standing heading into a (likely) reelection fight. Plus, they insist, McCaul and his fellow Republicans conveniently miss that it was President DONALD TRUMP who forced Biden’s hand to withdraw troops and decimated the system that would’ve allowed for Afghan allies to emigrate to the U.S. McCaul rejects that charge, saying he’s earned enough “street cred” whereby D.C. types know “I'm going to do this legitimately and it's not going to be a lot of theater. It's just serious oversight of what happened in the evacuation.” He complains that State has been slow to respond to his queries, including why it took nine months for the agency to send him unclassified opening statements from a classified briefing last June. McCaul has threatened to use his subpoena power to force the handover of documents and official testimony if it comes to that –– though he’s not ready to go that far just yet. “If they resist, we will exercise that power. But I'm going to do it very methodically, like I would a prosecution and not jump the gun on subpoenas,” he said.   STEP INSIDE THE WEST WING: What's really happening in West Wing offices? Find out who's up, who's down, and who really has the president’s ear in our West Wing Playbook newsletter, the insider's guide to the Biden White House and Cabinet. For buzzy nuggets and details that you won't find anywhere else, subscribe today.     The Inbox FIRST IN NATSEC DAILY –– U.S. HASN’T STOPPED START: The U.S. is still sending New START notifications to Russia even though Moscow stopped sending theirs to Washington on Feb. 28, the State Department confirmed after NatSecDaily asked for comment following a tip. The treaty requires each side to notify the other of the movements of strategic delivery vehicles and launchers, new variants of systems and more. It’s designed to build confidence between the U.S. and Russia and avoid miscalculations. But Putin signed a bill on Feb. 28 suspending Russia’s participation in the pact, the last remaining major arms-control deal between the world’s foremost nuclear powers. That ended the Russian notifications, though the American ones continue. In a statement, State Department spokesperson NED PRICE said “Russia has not provided any New START notifications since it notified the United States that its purported suspension has taken effect. As the United States explores next steps, we remain in full compliance with the treaty.” A Republican congressional aide, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive diplomatic issue, said the GOP is perturbed by the news: “Allowing Russia to receive the benefits of New START notifications while the U.S is denied them proves one of two things –– either the notifications have no value, or you’re unwilling to be tough with Russia. You can’t have it both ways.” CHINA-RUSSIA-IRAN MILITARY TIES: Chinese state-owned defense companies have maintained their ties to Russia’s military even after Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, CNN’s SIMONE McCARTHY reports. “Records show that throughout 2022, through at least mid-November, Beijing-based defense contractor Poly Technologies sent at least a dozen shipments — including helicopter parts and air-to-ground radio equipment — to a state-backed Russian firm sanctioned by the U.S.,” McCarthy writes. Most of those parts were for a Mi-171E helicopter transport and search and rescue helicopter. But some were for the Mi-171SH, a military transport helicopter. Meanwhile, Russia has been sending U.S. and NATO weapons captured in Ukraine to Iran, per CNN’s NATASHA BERTRAND. There have been “several instances of Russian forces seizing smaller, shoulder-fired weapons equipment including Javelin anti-tank and Stinger anti-aircraft systems that Ukrainian forces have at times been forced to leave behind on the battlefield,” she reports. “In many of those cases, Russia has then flown the equipment to Iran to dismantle and analyze, likely so the Iranian military can attempt to make their own version of the weapons.” For now, it doesn’t appear that this is a systematic problem, just an occasional one — though the news remains troubling. Speaking of “troubling,” a senior DoD official seemed to confirm Wednesday that Russia is helping China with its nuclear weapons program. "It's very troubling to see Russia and China cooperating on this," JOHN PLUMB, assistant secretary of defense for space policy, said in response to a question from Rep. DOUG LAMBORN (D-Colo.). "They may have talking points around it, but there's no getting around the fact that breeder reactors are plutonium, and plutonium is for weapons…It matches our concerns about China's increased expansion of its nuclear forces as well, because you need more plutonium for more weapons.” SUBMARINE SCRAMBLE: Ahead of their Monday meeting, AUKUS leaders have agreed to a highly complex three-part deal to stagger the massive industrial muscle movements necessary to carry it through, two people close to the talks told our own PAUL McLEARY and CRISTINA GALLARDO. Most immediately, Australia is expected to serve as a forward base for a small number of U.S. submarines by the end of this decade. Then, Canberra will purchase at least three U.S.-made Virginia-class attack subs in the 2030s. Australia will also fund the construction of joint U.K.-Australia nuclear-powered submarines based on the British Astute-class boats. It’ll be a difficult undertaking, with complex changes needed in export control rules and growing concerns that overstretched U.S. and U.K. shipyards can handle the workload. That’s not to mention that, at the same time, Beijing continues to churn out ships and submarines at rates the allies — even working together — are unable to match. SAUDI-IRAN DEAL: Saudi Arabia and Iran agreed to reestablish diplomatic ties with China’s help to broker the deal, the Associated Press’ JON GAMBRELL reports. The talks, held in Beijing over the last four days, show China’s increased influence in the Middle East and the shifting diplomatic landscape of the region. The joint statement signed by Tehran and Riyadh calls for the reopening of embassies within two months. Thus ends the Saudi freezeout of Iran after the kingdom cut ties to Tehran following demonstrators breaking into Riyadh’s posts there. VDL TAKES CHARGE: As URSULA VON DER LEYEN meets today with Biden, our own SUZANNE LYNCH writes in on why Americans need to pay attention about the European Comission president. Basically: As the U.S. and Europe wrestle over Ukraine and how to rein in China, she’s the one Biden calls to deal with the entire 27-country bloc. DRINKS WITH NATSEC DAILY: At the end of every long, hard week, we like to highlight how a prominent member of the global national security and foreign policy scene prefers to unwind with a drink. Today, we’re featuring NIKKI HALEY, the former U.N. ambassador, South Carolina governor and 2024 presidential hopeful. She told NatSec Daily that when she’s not campaigning, she enjoys “anything with bubbles.” And when’s the best time to have such a treat? While “watching a South Carolina sunset with my family.”Cheers, ambassador! IT’S FRIDAY. WELCOME TO THE WEEKEND: 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 Twitter at @alexbward and @mattberg33. While you’re at it, follow the rest of POLITICO’s national security team: @nahaltoosi, @woodruffbets, @politicoryan, @PhelimKine, @laraseligman, @connorobrienNH, @paulmcleary, @leehudson, @magmill95, @johnnysaks130, @ErinBanco and @Lawrence_Ukenye. A message from Lockheed Martin: Our mission is to prepare you for the future by engineering advanced capabilities today. Many of today’s military systems and platforms were designed to operate independently. Through our 21st Century Security vision, Lockheed Martin is accelerating innovation, connecting defense and digital to enhance the performance of major platforms, to equip customers to stay ahead of emerging threats. Learn more.   2024 U.S. MILITARY TO MEXICO?: Former Arkansas Gov. ASA HUTCHINSON and entrepreneur VIVEK RAMASWAMY have very different thoughts on how to deal with Mexican drug cartels. While Hutchinson, a potential GOP presidential candidate, doesn’t oppose using the military in some capacity, he shied away from calling for direct military action at the southern border to combat cartels, following the killing of two kidnapped Americans. "We ought to use them for intelligence purposes. We need to work with Mexico on it. But if you use your military to go in without authority, that becomes an invasion," Hutchinson said on CNN on Friday. The day before, Ramaswamy, who has already thrown his hat in the ring, took an alternative stance: Use the military to “decimate” the cartels, and “build the wall and arm the wall,” he said in a video on Twitter. Scroll down to Broadsides for more on the topic. HE’S RONNING?: Florida Gov. RON DeSANTIS privately told two people what we’ve all been thinking: He intends to run for president, The Washington Post’s HANNAH KNOWLES and ISAAC STANLEY-BECKER report. That tracks, as the conservative governor heads to Iowa on Friday to promote his new book… and possibly lay the groundwork for his campaign. Elsewhere in Iowa, Amb. Haley outlined her stance on helping Ukraine: a less involved approach than the U.S. is currently taking. "I don't think we need to put money in Ukraine. I don't think we need to put troops on the ground. But I think we need to get with our allies and make sure that they have the equipment they need," Haley told Sen. JONI ERNST (R-Iowa). "We have to win." Keystrokes CLOUD CONTROL: The White House is working to regulate the security practices of major tech companies amid worries that the cloud is becoming a huge security vulnerability, our own JOHN SAKELLARIADIS reports. It’s the government’s first comprehensive plan to security aspects of Amazon, Microsoft, Google and Oracle, whose servers provide data storage and computing power for customers ranging from mom-and-pop businesses to the Pentagon and CIA. Among other steps, the Biden administration recently said it will require cloud providers to verify the identity of their users to prevent foreign hackers from renting space on U.S. cloud servers. The cloud has “become essential to our daily lives,” said KEMBA WALDEN, the acting national cyber director. “If it's disrupted, it could create large potentially catastrophic disruptions to our economy and to our government.” In essence, she said, the cloud is now “too big to fail.” The Complex ANIMAL TESTING: The Pentagon is funding experiments on animals — in one case, ferrets — to determine if radio frequency waves could be the source of the mysterious ailment referred to as Havana Syndrome, our own LARA SELIGMAN reported Thursday evening. In September, the Army awarded Wayne State University in Michigan a $750,000 grant to study the effects of radio frequency waves on ferrets, which have brains similar to humans. Their goal: Determine whether the exposure induces similar symptoms to those experienced by U.S. government personnel in Havana, Cuba and China, according to public documents. The health issue has afflicted hundreds of U.S. government personnel in recent years, but U.S. intelligence officials have said there’s no credible evidence that a foreign adversary wielding a weapon caused the health incidents. Despite the assessment, the Pentagon is continuing to examine that possibility. NEW X-PLANE: The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency is launching a new X-plane demonstrator project that can take off and land without a runway, our friends over at Morning Defense (for Pros!) report. The SPRINT demonstrator will have the ability to cruise at speeds of up to 450 knots and will likely be transferred to U.S. Special Operations Command once the project concludes, according to a new notice.     On the Hill LAB LEAK BILL: The House unanimously sent a bill to Biden’s desk on Friday requiring the administration to declassify all intel held by the U.S. about the potential Covid-19 lab leak in Wuhan, our own CARMEN PAUN reports. The legislation requires the Office of the Director of National Intelligence to submit an unclassified report to Congress “with redactions only as necessary to protect sources and methods.” Biden has not said whether he will sign the bill. If he doesn’t, it will be his first veto as president. Broadsides WATCH YOUR WORDS, GOP: Mexican President ANDRÉS MANUEL LÓPEZ OBRADOR shot back at Republican lawmakers who proposed taking military action against drug cartels at the Mexican border. “We are not going to allow any foreign government to intervene and much less foreign armed forces to intervene in our territory,” López Obrador said at a news conference on Thursday. If the “aggression” continues, the president added, he’ll ask Mexican and Hispanic Americans not to vote for Republicans. He also said that fentanyl was an American-only problem, ignoring the fact that Mexico is a “primary source” of the substance that’s trafficked into the U.S.   DOWNLOAD THE POLITICO MOBILE APP: Stay up to speed with the newly updated POLITICO mobile app, featuring timely political news, insights and analysis from the best journalists in the business. The sleek and navigable design offers a convenient way to access POLITICO's scoops and groundbreaking reporting. Don’t miss out on the app you can rely on for the news you need, reimagined. DOWNLOAD FOR iOS– DOWNLOAD FOR ANDROID.     Transitions — Chinese leader XI JINPING was officially awarded a third five-year term as the nation’s president on Friday. — House Democrats have tapped new Virginia Rep. JENNIFER MCCLELLAN for a spot on HASC. McClellan won a special election last month to succeed the late Rep. DONALD MCEACHIN, Morning Defense reports. — New Dems have announced Rep. MARILYN STRICKLAND (D-Wash.) as their national security task force chair. What to Read — DANIEL LIPPMAN, POLITICO: What it’s like to negotiate with Putin — MONIQUE CLESCA, Foreign Affairs: Haiti’s Rule of Lawlessness — DOV ZAKHEIM, The Hill: China and U.S. defense spending are heading in opposite directions Monday Today — The Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies, 1 p.m.: The Camp Lejeune Justice Act: What Happens Next? — Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, 2 p.m.: Unpacking the Ukrainian Battlefield with MICHAEL KOFMAN — Wilson Center, 4 p.m.: Confronting SADDAM HUSSEIN: GEORGE W. BUSH and the Invasion of Iraq — The Brookings Institution, 7 p.m.: Myanmar's Civil War: Military, Political, and Crime Dynamics CORRECTION: Yesterday’s edition misspelled Rep. Rosa DeLauro’s first name. Thanks to our editor, Heidi Vogt, who doesn't consider us “very smart” or “very streetwise.” We also thank our producer, Kierra Frazier, who was excellent in this role and will be a wonderful breaking news reporter for POLITICO. Go get ‘em! A message from Lockheed Martin: Our mission is to prepare you for the future by engineering advanced capabilities today. Many of today’s military systems and platforms were designed to operate independently. Through our 21st Century Security vision, Lockheed Martin is accelerating innovation, connecting defense and digital to enhance the performance of major platforms, to equip customers to stay ahead of emerging threats. Learn more.     Follow us on Twitter Alex Ward @alexbward   Follow us

To change your alert settings, please log in at https://www.politico.com/_login?base=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.politico.com/settings This email was sent to edwardlorilla1986.paxforex@blogger.com by: POLITICO, LLC 1000 Wilson Blvd. Arlington, VA, 22209, USA Please click here and follow the steps to unsubscribe.