| | | | |  | | By Nahal Toosi, Robbie Gramer and Eric Bazail-Eimil | | 
Some Democratic voting blocs are growing increasingly incensed at President Joe Biden’s support for Israel as it carries out its war in Gaza and southern Lebanon. This could affect voter turnout in key swing states. | Jose Luis Magana/AP | With help from Daniel Lippman, Maggie Miller and Phelim Kine Subscribe here | Email Robbie | Email Eric The Biden administration looks to be ramping up pressure on Israel in ways that could have major ramifications both in the Middle East and back at home during the campaign cycle. In recent days, President JOE BIDEN's team has warned Israel that it must resume humanitarian aid to Gaza or face a cutoff in weapons shipments; wrested an apparent commitment from Israel not to strike Iranian nuclear and oil facilities; marked the anniversary of the killing of a Palestinian-American boy; and publicized the steps it is taking to fight Islamophobia in the United States. These moves taken together appear aimed at preventing the Middle East crisis from spiraling further, as NAHAL TOOSI and your lead NatSec Daily author report today. But they also could have an effect on Vice President KAMALA HARRIS’ campaign for president with election day just three weeks away. Some Democratic voting blocs are growing increasingly incensed at Biden’s support for Israel as it carries out its war in Gaza and southern Lebanon. This could affect voter turnout in key swing states. That’s especially the case in Michigan, where a sizable number of Arab- and Muslim-Americans live. Many of those voters — but also other younger, more progressive voters in Michigan and beyond — are unwilling to cast ballots for Harris because she has not broken with Biden’s strong commitment to Israel amid the widening conflict in the Middle East. At the same time, being too tough on Israel risks upsetting many pro-Israel voters in the Jewish community and beyond, whom Trump has been all too eager to court by burnishing his pro-Israel credentials and support of Israeli Prime Minister BENJAMIN NETANYAHU. In Michigan, around 1 percent of the state’s population of 10 million is Jewish and around 3 percent have Middle Eastern or North African ancestry — both potentially crucial voting blocs in a state where Harris and Trump are neck and neck. Particularly with that second group, Biden has been dogged by accusations that he is not exerting as much influence as he could over Netanyahu and how Israel conducts itself in war. “They’re working to fight this narrative that Bibi is in the driver’s seat escalating and Biden is just sitting in the passenger seat watching this escalate, while offering lukewarm criticisms on the side,” said one former administration official who regularly speaks to current officials on Middle East policy. “It’s a tough narrative to fight.” Like others, the former official was granted anonymity to discuss sensitive issues. But Biden administration spokespersons denied that the moves this week had anything to do with the election. The race was “not a factor at all,” State Department spokesperson MATTHEW MILLER said Tuesday. "The president has been very consistent in expressing our concerns to the Israelis about humanitarian assistance getting into Gaza, and certainly he's mindful of our efforts to communicate those concerns to the Israelis," White House National Security Council spokesperson JOHN KIRBY said. A spokesperson for the Harris campaign declined to comment, as did a spokesperson for the Israeli embassy in Washington.
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Lockheed Martin’s PAC-3® Missile Segment Enhancement (MSE) is increasing production to help our partners address evolving threats around the globe. PAC-3 MSE defends in a multi-domain environment as the most advanced air defense missile. Learn more. | | | | | HABEMUS UKRAINE VICTORY PLAN-AM: Ukrainian President VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY unveiled his victory plan to the Ukrainian Parliament today, and our own VERONIKA MELKOZEROVA has the details of what’s inside. As Veronika writes, Zelenskyy’s plan consists of five main proposals and three secret annexes. Among the publicly known proposals are requests for an invitation to join the NATO alliance, faster deliveries of weapons (with no restrictions on their usage), the deployment of a comprehensive non-nuclear strategic deterrence package on Ukrainian soil and increased post-war security and economic cooperation with Europe. Ukrainian lawmakers say the plan is ambitious, but they’re holding out hope that allies will increasingly come around to Kyiv’s thinking on victory, as they have on previous questions of how to support Ukraine as it repels a now two-year Russian invasion. For now, though, NATO Secretary-General MARK RUTTE has pledged more aid, but no invitation to join the alliance. NORTH KOREANS IN UKRAINE: The growing alignments between Russia and other U.S. adversaries are getting new attention today as Ukrainian officials warn that North Korean troops are fighting alongside Russia in Ukraine As Veronika also reports , at least 3,000 North Koreans are fighting under Russian direction, per a Ukrainian official who spoke to POLITICO on condition of anonymity. And North Korea has sent factory workers to man Russian weapons plants. If true, it represents a major expansion in Pyongyang and Moscow’s collaborations amid the war in Ukraine. ANGOLA TRIP BACK ON: Biden will indeed go to Angola before the end of his term — it just won’t be before the election. White House Press Secretary KARINE JEAN-PIERRE said in a statement today that Biden will travel to the southwest African country the first week of December where among other things, “he will celebrate the transformation of the U.S.-Angola relationship, recognize Angola’s role as a strategic partner and regional leader, and discuss increased collaboration.” Biden’s visit to Angola was initially scheduled for last week and would have dovetailed his visit to the meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group. But Hurricane Milton forced Biden to forego his plans and stay stateside. The cancellation of the trip briefly raised questions about whether Biden would fulfill a promise made in 2022 to visit Africa during his first term. IT’S WEDNESDAY. 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
| | | TEHRAN’S THREATS: Iranian hackers are using “brute force” to compromise networks of organizations across critical infrastructure sectors in multiple countries, federal agencies from the U.S., Australia and Canada warned in a joint adversary Wednesday, our own MAGGIE MILLER writes in. The efforts, which have intensified since October last year, involve the hackers using tactics such as password spraying to compromise accounts at organizations in the health care, government, IT, engineering and energy sectors. The advisory noted that the goal was likely to “obtain credentials and information describing the victim’s network that can then be sold to enable access to cybercriminals.” EASTERLY’S CONGRESSIONAL CRUNCH: Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee are losing patience with Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency chief JEN EASTERLY. As our friends at Morning Cybersecurity report (for Pros!) , Easterly did not comply with a subpoena to appear before committee staff last week. The CISA director was to be deposed as part of the committee’s look into how tech companies are treating conservatives online. And a spokesperson for the House Judiciary Committee told our own JOSEPH GEDEON that “everything is on the table as to what happens next.” It’s unlikely that Easterly will actually be held in contempt of Congress for defying the subpoena — floor time for the 118th Congress is already sparse, and a similar effort didn’t work out against Attorney General MERRICK GARLAND. But the snub could fuel Republican accusations that CISA, and by extension the Biden administration, is pressuring Silicon Valley tech companies to act against conservative-leaning political content circulating online. CISA did not respond to Morning Cyber’s request for comment.
| | | |   | | | | | MANAGING TRUMP’S MILITARY REMARKS: A prominent Senate Democrat says that Congress might consider new restrictions on DONALD TRUMP’s ability to use the military against “radical left lunatics” following controversial remarks on Fox News over the weekend. As our own JOE GOULD reports, Sen. RICHARD BLUMENTHAL (D-Conn.), who serves on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said in an interview that “there is bound to be increased momentum as a result of this prevalent pattern of threats from Trump and his extremist followers.” Congress has previously considered legislation that would restrain the ability of a president to deploy the military to address insurrections under the 1792 Insurrection Act. In a Fox News interview Sunday , Trump said when asked if he is expecting chaos on Election Day, that “if really necessary,” the military should be called for “some sick people, radical-left lunatics.” The comments prompted rare pushback from Republicans — Rep. BYRON DONALDS (R-Fla.), a rising GOP star who was considered as a potential running mate to Trump, said on Tuesday that the military won’t be deployed in the U.S. , though said the National Guard could be deployed.
| | BLACKBURN’S SMASHING SENATE ADS: Here at NatSec Daily, we pay attention to corny political ads as much as any chronically online newsletter writer. It’s a quadrennial treat during election season. And let’s just say Sen. MARSHA BLACKBURN (R-Tenn.) understood the assignment. Blackburn, who’s running for re-election in ruby-red Tennessee, unveiled an ad this morning titled “Breaking China.” In the thirty-second spot, Blackburn smashes plates decorated either with the Chinese flag or with the word “China” written in English and Mandarin characters, and accuses China of stealing U.S. jobs, buying U.S. farmland, spying on the U.S. allowing the Covid-19 virus to enter the U.S. in 2020. “We’re going to have to break a lot more China to save America,” she quips. It’s not the first time Blackburn, a China hawk, has issued sharp barbs at Beijing. And Blackburn is far from the only Republican candidate pledging tough action against the U.S. adversary. But she may very well be the first to leave porcelain shards in her wake. In a statement, Chinese Embassy spokesperson LIU PENGYU called Blackburn’s comments “malicious smear attacks” and said it urges “some U.S. politicians to abandon the Cold War mentality and ideological prejudice and stop smears and attacks against China.”
| | WHITMER GETS SELECT COMMITTEE TREATMENT: Easterly isn’t the only figure frustrating House Republicans — Michigan Gov. GRETCHEN WHITMER received sharp barbs from the chair of the House China select committee today over her purported inaction against Chinese threats in the state. In a release, Rep. JOHN MOOLENAAR (R-Mich.) slammed Whitmer for not taking enough action against alleged Chinese influence in Michigan. He highlighted ongoing Chinese contracts for electric vehicle battery plants and cases of Chinese nationals spying on the University of Michigan and a large military base in the state. A spokesperson for Whitmer did not immediately respond to NatSec Daily’s request for comment.
| | | | — DOUG HICKEY has departed Helsinki where he was the U.S. Ambassador to Finland. — MASON CLUTTER is now a partner at Frost Brown Todd. She previously was the chief privacy officer and chief Freedom of Information Act officer for the Department of Homeland Security. — DIEGO ORTEGA has joined law firm Faegre Drinker’s international trade and customs team. He was previously a senior sanctions regulations adviser at the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control. — WILL SHIH has been promoted to executive secretary for the U.S. Trade Representative. He most recently was deputy executive secretary. — ALEXANDER SLATER has recently joined Capstone LLC as a managing director. He returns to Washington after five years in New Delhi where he was managing director of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s US-India Business Council, leading and growing its India team and business.
| | | | — CRISTIANO LIMA-STRONG, The Washington Post: In a huge year for global elections, internet freedom took another hit — MONIKA SUS and DOMINIK JANKOWSKI, War on the Rocks: Harnessing the power of the E.U.-NATO partnership — MARY TRINY ZEA, Americas Quarterly: Panama’s JOSÉ RAÚL MULINO says he’s “nobody’s puppet”
| | — Hudson Institute, 9 a.m.: Strengthening the allied industrial base — Center for Strategic and International Studies, 9:30 a.m.: Completing the allied circuit on semiconductors: Cooperation to enhance economic security — Middle East Institute, 10 a.m.: Iran's foreign policy agenda — what do Iranians really think? — Wilson Center's Middle East Program, 11 a.m.: The future of Euro-Middle East and North Africa relations — Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, 1 p.m.: U.S.-China science and technology exclusion: Pressures building toward conflict — George Washington University's Institute for Korean Studies, 2 p.m.: Changing geopolitics in Northeast Asia and Inter-Korean relations — Center for Strategic and International Studies, 3 p.m.: Navigating geopolitics and security in Latin America's ports — Council for a Livable World, J Street and Foreign Policy for America, 5 p.m.: Election 2024: The future of progressive foreign policy — McCain Institute, 7:30 p.m.: Artificial intelligence and the 2024 elections: Navigating a messy information space Thanks to our editor, Rosie Perper, who is escalating our already spiraling regional crisis. Thanks to our producer, Gregory Svirnovskiy, who is exerting as much influence over Rosie’s policies as he can.
| | A message from Lockheed Martin: PAC-3® MSE: World's Most Advanced Air Defense Missile
Lockheed Martin’s PAC-3® Missile Segment Enhancement (MSE) is increasing production to help our partners address evolving threats around the globe. PAC-3 MSE defends in a multi-domain environment as the most advanced air defense missile. Learn more. | | | | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Follow us | | | | |
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