ZELENSKYY’S TRUMP TOWER TRIP: Ukrainian President VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY met with former President DONALD TRUMP in New York on Friday, after Trump denigrated Zelenskyy on the campaign trail and Vice President KAMALA HARRIS bashed Trump on his track record on Russia and Ukraine. Trump, speaking alongside Zelenskyy, vowed to negotiate a deal that was good for “both sides” if he wins in November, as our own MERIDITH McGRAW reports. Those comments could anger Ukraine’s allies in Washington, who want negotiations that won’t benefit Russia for its full-scale invasion. “I think the fact that we’re even together today is a good sign, and hopefully we’ll have a good victory because if the other side wins, I don’t think we’re going to have victories with anything, to be honest with you,” Trump said. Zelenskyy was conciliatory in his statement after the meeting. “We understand after November we have to decide and we hope with the strength of the United States we will be very strong, and we count on it,” he said. “That’s why I have decided to meet with both candidates.” THE WITHDRAWAL THAT WASN’T: There are some changes coming to the 21-year old U.S. mission in Iraq, though Biden administration officials aren’t willing to fully explain what they actually are, as our own PAUL MCLEARY writes in. What we do know is that the Combined Joint Task Force-Inherent Resolve, the international coalition in Iraq, will wind down over the next year, which means “ending the presence of coalition forces in certain locations in Iraq” by September 2025, an administration official told reporters Friday. But for the 2,500 U.S. troops in Iraq, the future is less clear. Talks are ongoing with the Iraqis about a longer bilateral relationship between Washington and Baghdad, but U.S. forces will continue the counterterrorism mission in Iraq for the foreseeable future. “To be clear, the United States is not withdrawing from Iraq,” the administration official said. “We are moving towards the type of productive, long term security relationship the United States has with partners around the world.” (Ah yes, that trademark administration clarity.) What that means, according to the official, is continued Special Operations Forces-led operations with the Iraqis against ISIS leadership, and some sort of training and advising mission with the Iraqi army, which uses U.S.-made arms including Abrams tanks and F-16 jets. Much of what the American forces are doing in Iraq is to support operations in Syria, which also will not see much of a change. There are roughly 900 U.S. troops in Syria, where they train local Kurdish forces and target ISIS cells there. JONATHAN LORD of the Center for a New American Security said that U.S. troops in Iraq are largely the “logistical tail that supports what we're doing in Syria,” and “the old train and equip mission of just a few years ago and from early on in the ISIS fight, that's largely a vestige of the past, we have not been doing that for some time.” The announcement of a timeline for the U.S. taking on a new role in Iraq — but not pulling out troops as some Iraqi officials have suggested in recent weeks — will still likely help the Iraqi government of Prime Minister MOHAMMED SHIA AL-SUDANI domestically. Iranian-backed militias in Iraq “have used the conflict in Gaza as a way … to try and push for U.S. expulsion from Iraq,” Lord said. “There's a benefit politically to having a degree of ambiguity about what that future holds for the U.S. presence” there. SUBMARINE SABOTAGE? A top U.S. Navy shipbuilder in Virginia informed the Justice Department that faulty welding on U.S. submarines and aircraft carriers may have been the result of intentional errors. As U.S. Naval Institute News' SAM LAGRONE reports, the Navy said it was investigating the matter at the Newport News shipbuilding facilities, which is one of just two nuclear shipyards in the United States. DRINKS WITH NATSEC DAILY: At the end of every long, hard week, we like to highlight how a prominent member of the national security scene prefers to unwind with a drink. Today, in honor of the maelstrom of summitry that is UNGA, we’re featuring MARK LEON GOLDBERG, editor-in-chief of the U.N.’s Global Dispatches newsletter and podcast (and in NatSec Daily’s humble opinion, the uncrowned king of U.N. nerdom.) “This was my 18th UNGA in 19 years,” Mark told NatSec Daily. “Something unique about the vibe around the U.N. this week was the prominence of small island developing states. These countries typically speak with a lot of moral clarity about climate change — after all, it's existential for them in the here and now.” So naturally, Mark’s go-to drink of choice this UNGA week is the Banks Caribbean Lager, all the way from Barbados. Mark said it was in honor of Barbados Prime Minister MIA MOTTLEY, who at the Global Citizen Now conference on the sidelines of UNGA “delivered the single best speech I saw all week” on the high-stakes challenges that island nations like hers face as climate change-fueled disasters accelerate around the world. And when it’s not UNGA week, Mark can be found drinking the classic vodka soda, to either mourn the lack of global progress on tackling climate change or toast any breakthroughs on it. Cheers to that, Mark! 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 rgramer@politico.com and ebazail@politico.com, and follow Robbie and Eric on X @RobbieGramer and @ebazaileimil. While you’re at it, follow the rest of POLITICO’s national security team: @nahaltoosi, @PhelimKine, @connorobrienNH, @paulmcleary, @magmill95, @johnnysaks130, @ErinBanco, @reporterjoe, and @JGedeon1
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