Oh wow, the pilot who steered Southwest 1380 to safety after a harrowing engine failure today was was one of the first female fighter pilots in the Navy’s history, and the first woman to fly the F/A-18.
SCOOP: U.S. officials gave the Taliban a list of names of U.S. citizens, green card holders & Afghan allies to grant entry into the outer perimeter of the city’s airport, prompting outrage behind the scenes from lawmakers and military officials.
BREAKING: James Mattis, Trump’s first Secdef, blames POTUS for today’s events:
“Today’s violent assault on our Capitol, an effort to subjugate American democracy by mob rule, was fomented by Mr. Trump. His use of the Presidency to destroy trust in our election and to poison...”
BREAKING: DOD is cancelling all construction projects for Trump’s border wall paid for with funds originally intended for other military missions such as schools, Guard equipment, etc, according to DOD spox Jamal Brown.
SCOOP: DOD has suspended the processing of a number of Trump’s last-minute appointees to defense advisory boards.
The move effectively prevents a number of Trump allies, including Corey Lewandoski and David Bossie, from actually serving on the panels.
“Basically, they just put all those Afghans on a kill list,” said one defense official, who like others spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive topic. “It’s just appalling and shocking and makes you feel unclean.”
W/
@AndrewDesiderio
@alexbward
Just in:
@SecArmy
Ryan McCarthy and
@ArmyChiefStaff
Gen. McConville respond to former Gen. Flynn's remarks urging Trump to declare martial law to overturn the election results: “There is no role for the U.S. military in determining the outcome of an American election.”
BREAKING: The Navy's top officer has directed his staff to begin crafting an order that would prohibit the Confederate battle flag from all public spaces and work areas aboard Navy installations, ships, aircraft and submarines.
BREAKING: Pentagon will now mandate all troops be vaccinated against Covid-19, following the FDA's full approval of the Pfizer shot, says
@PentagonPresSec
BREAKING: Army official says
@SecArmy
is open to re-naming Army bases (like Fort Bragg) named after confederate Generals. Wants to have a conversation with bipartisan support.
SCOOP: A U.S. count of Pakistan's F-16 fleet has found that all the jets are present and accounted for - a direct contradiction to India's claim that it shot down one of the fighter jets during a February clash. My latest
@ForeignPolicy
Two US officials with knowledge of the incident confirm to me that the Turkish attack on American forces near Kobani was not a mistake - they knew US troops were there.
“They are trying to push us out,” said one US official. We have now re-occupied the position.
Just in: Senior US official confirms what Kurdish sources have been telling me - that Turkey is advancing on the border town of Kobani, which Erdogan promised Trump he would not attack.
And then there were three…
Thanks to
@TTuberville
, three of the eight positions on the military’s storied joint chiefs of staff are now empty for the first time in history.
SCOOP: The Pentagon has decided to exempt Ukraine operations from a potential shutdown if lawmakers can’t agree on a deal by the end of the month, allowing key training and other activities in support of Kyiv’s forces to move ahead uninterrupted.
BREAKING:
@PentagonPresSec
announces a new $125M package for Ukraine security, including training, equipment and advisory efforts to help Ukraine secure its borders, defend against Russian, and improve interoperability with NATO.
BREAKING: Guard source tells me a propane tank exploded at a homeless camp near the Capitol. Several other propane tanks have been spotted laying around and are being investigated by police.
As Trump leaves office,
@BryanDBender
and I got new details about just how ugly the transition was at the Pentagon. DoD blocked the Biden team from gaining access to critical info about current ops, including the Afghanistan drawdown and Warp Speed.
JUST IN: FBI Director Christopher Wray will meet with members of the House Intelligence Committee in the SCIF this evening at 5:15pm, POLITICO has learned.
BREAKING: Milley just now acknowledges reporting that on Nov 11 he received an unclassified signed order from Trump directly the military to withdraw from Afghanistan by Jan. 15.
"After further discussions... the order was rescinded."
SCOOP: The Biden administration is preparing a larger-than-normal package of military aid for Ukraine that will include armored vehicles, in addition to urgently needed artillery and air defenses, according to two U.S. officials.
DOD expects to move the package quickly as soon…
BREAKING: Senior administration official says the withdrawal from Afghanistan by Sept. 11 is NOT conditions based. Biden has judged that "a conditions based approach, which has been the approach of the past two decades, is a recipe for staying in Afghanistan forever."
EXCLUSIVE: Sen. Tammy Duckworth urged Biden's administration to declassify and release intelligence regarding Russia's alleged offer of bounties to the Taliban to target U.S. troops in Afghanistan, in a March 1 letter to DNI Haines.
Biden officials defended the move during a classified briefing on Capitol Hill earlier this week, which turned contentious.
Biden team contended this was the best way to keep Americans & Afghans safe & prevent a shooting war between Taliban fighters and US troops
BREAKING: Gen. Hokanson, chief of the National Guard Bureau, says DOD has been authorized to provide up to 15,000 guardsmen to support the inauguration.
89 out of 90 Howitzers are now in Ukrainian possession, says a senior defense official.
Of the 184,000 rounds of ammunition committed, the US has delivered 65 percent so almost 120,000 rounds
DOD confirms that Tata is withdrawing from consideration to be undersecretary of defense for policy; instead being installed as "performing the duties of" deputy USDP
Trump is skirting the Senate to install another loyalist at DOD - one who lawmakers have resoundingly rejected.
BREAKING: This morning, a Russian Su-27 aircraft struck the propeller of a U.S. MQ-9 drone, causing U.S. forces to have to bring the MQ-9 down in international waters, according to
@US_EUCOM
.
A few new nuggets in this:
-Russia has not been able to destroy a single HIMARS launchers to date, according to a senior defense official
-However, Ukraine still needs a significant amount of artillery for the coming fight
BREAKING: The USS Nimitz aircraft carrier is no longer leaving the Middle East. Due to Iran’s recent threats against President Trump and other U.S. gov officials, Acting SecDef Chris Miller has ordered the USS Nimitz to halt its routine redeployment.
SCOOP: The U.S. has assessed that Ukraine did not attack a prison in a Russian-occupied eastern region of Donetsk with American-made HIMARS rocket launchers last week, directly contradicting Russian claims, according to two U.S. officials.
NEW: I spoke with Trump's former four-star head of the Coast Guard about his decision to endorse Joe Biden. He told me it was due in part to an "insurgency" on Americans' constitutional rights that has occurred on the commander in chief's watch.
... our respect for fellow citizens has been enabled by pseudo political leaders whose names will live in infamy as profiles in cowardice. Our Constitution and our Republic will overcome this stain and We the People will come together again in our never-ending effort to form...
SCOOP: Sen. Tommy Tuberville’s national security adviser, Morgan Murphy, has resigned over a WaPo story suggesting he was instrumental in orchestrating the senator’s controversial blockade of hundreds of senior military nominations.
@LeeHudson_
@alexbward
This is not getting enough attention.
Germany will join the U.S. in sending a PATRIOT AIR DEFENSE BATTERY, the White House announced just now.
Talk about burying the lede!
BREAKING: The Biden administration last month secretly shipped long-range missiles to Ukraine for the first time in the two-year war — and Kyiv has already used the weapon twice to strike deep behind Russian lines. W
@alexbward
One defense official, who has been looking for a new job for 2 years, recalled being told they were considered part of the "Hitler Youth.”
“They are finding that staying silent had a cost: to their consciences and to their careers,” says one former.
BREAKING: For the first time, Gen. McKenzie acknowledges that he had a conversation with Taliban leaders in which they offered to let the US military take security for Kabul, first reported by
@washingtonpost
SCOOP: The Pentagon has successfully tested a new long-range precision bomb for Ukraine that is expected to arrive on the battlefield as soon as tomorrow, according to a U.S. official & 3 other people with knowledge of the talks.
@LeeHudson_
@paulmcleary
Getting a lot of qs on whether the US included the F-16s Pakistan bought from Jordan in its count. The answer is YES: even third-party transfers of US equipment must go through the US government.
To clear up the confusion, I've updated the story.
BREAKING: The U.S. and U.K, with support from Australia, the Netherlands, Bahrain, and Canada, conducted joint strikes tonight against Houthi targets in Yemen, per DOD official.
Strikes involved U.S. aircraft, ships and submarines.
SCOOP: The U.S. is considering sending additional military advisers to the embassy in Kyiv, the latest show of American commitment to Ukraine as Russia appears to be gaining momentum in the two-year conflict.
The advisers would not be in a combat role, but rather would advise…
Also, why is US not condemning the fact that a female Syrian politician was ambushed and killed while driving on the M4 (a major supply route) by Turkish-backed forces?
Wow -
@PentagonPresSec
says as of today just under 88 % of the active duty force now have received at least one dose of the Covid vaccine. That's an additional 11.5 % since the mandate went into effect.
Scoop: Trump is preparing to divert $3.8B in total from programs across DOD, including a controversial war account used to fund emergency requirements, as well as the procurement of ships, aircraft and Army vehicles, to build the wall. My latest
Just in: Steve Blank, a non-fired member of the Defense Business Board, had resigned.
In his resignation letter, he says Trump’s move to purge the board and replace the members with “political partisans” has “put the nation’s safety and security at risk.”
Full letter:
“They really should not be allowed to get away with this. It’s just completely irresponsible and indefensible,” said one transition official. “To play politics with the country’s national security is just really unacceptable.”
SCOOP: Pentagon's top policy official James Anderson resigns this morning after clashing with the White House. Also comes one day after Trump terminated Esper. W/
@dlippman
free link:
Senior U.S. administration official says there's no evidence the Kurds released ISIS prisoners.
"That has enraged our forces in Syria," the official says. "Incredibly reckless and dishonest thing to say."
SDC confirms: "We didn't release any prisoners and will never do that."
....Kurds may be releasing some to get us involved. Easily recaptured by Turkey or European Nations from where many came, but they should move quickly. Big sanctions on Turkey coming! Do people really think we should go to war with NATO Member Turkey? Never ending wars will end!
BREAKING: the U.S. military conducted an over-the-horizon unmanned airstrike today against an ISIS-K planner in the Nangahar Province of Afghanistan, according to
@CENTCOM
spox. Initial indications are that target was killed. No known civilian casualties.
Breaking: The latest $100M package of aid to Ukraine includes
-18 155mm Howitzers
-18 tactical vehicles to tow the Howitzers
-3 AN/TPQ-36 counter-artillery radars
-Field equipment and spare parts
via
@PentagonPresSec
EXCLU: A bipartisan group of lawmakers led by
@sethmoulton
is urging Biden to immediately evacuate thousands of Afghan interpreters and others, expressing concern in a new letter that the admin hasn't mobilized the Pentagon to help protect Afghan allies.
BREAKING: U.S. announces $1.85B in new aide for Ukraine through PDA, plus $850M under USAI. Includes first-ever transfer to Ukraine of the Patriot missile defense system and Joint Direct Attack Munitions guidance kits
I'm gonna knock this one down right now. DOD works on the presidential transition every four years no matter who wins the presidential election. DOD is a huge bureaucracy and needs people to help ensure the trains run on time as senior officials turn over.
Hearing rumors around Pentagon that
@EsperDoD
and
@DepSecDef
may not survive the day -- without any authorization, they have been assisting the Biden translation team even as votes are still being counted.
This is a coup people.
JUST IN:
@SecDef
announces Operation Prosperity Guardian, which brings together multiple countries including the UK, Bahrain, Canada, France, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Seychelles and Spain, "to jointly address security challenges in the southern Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden"
The effort to obstruct the Biden team, led by senior White House appointees at the Pentagon, is unprecedented in modern presidential transitions and will hobble the new administration on key national security matters as it takes over positions in the Defense Department today.
BREAKING: The White House is set to announce it will send an additional four HIMARS medium-range rocket launchers to Ukraine, according to a U.S. official.
Official confirms the weapons are part of a new $450M package of aid, as
@AP
first reported.
New tonight: An hours-long firefight involving U.S. commercial vessels in the Red Sea this weekend has left some U.S. officials frustrated by what they see as the Biden administration’s deliberate downplaying of a major threat to American forces.
BREAKING: Gen. McKenzie acknowledges reporting that he initially recommended to
@POTUS
that he maintain 2,500 troops in Afghanistan.
His advise was that withdrawal would lead inevitably to collapse of Afghan forces and ultimately the Afghan government
Justin in:
@POTUS
sends official letter to
@SpeakerPelosi
saying he has terminated the national emergency on the Southern border Trump first declared in February 2019. Notes that the declaration was "unwarranted" and says no more taxpayer dollars will go to the border wall
Scoop: Biden considering plucking Angus King from the Senate to serve as his director of national intelligence.
King as been an outspoken critic of what he calls Trump’s politicization of the intelligence community. W/
@NatashaBertrand
The Pentagon is preparing to quickly approve a weapons package for Ukraine that includes urgently needed artillery and air defenses as Congress lines up votes to pass additional funding for the country, according to two U.S. officials. W/
@connorobrienNH
NEW: A contingent of military officials is quietly pushing the Pentagon to approve sending F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine to help the country defend itself from Russian missile and drone attacks. W/
@ErinBanco
@paulmcleary
@connorobrienNH
@LeeHudson_
U.S. military officers who served w/ the SDF described a group of passionate, fearless fighters who share American values. Unanimously, they are all devastated by the latest news, and more than one expressed a deep sense of shame. My latest
@ForeignPolicy
Just in: Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy says the crew of the helo that flew low over protesters on Monday was immediately grounded following the incident. Officials are going to get an interim update on the investigation later today.
New: In the hours leading up to the U.S. drone strike that killed Suleimani, SecDef Esper kept Trump’s decision closely held, cutting out some senior Pentagon leaders who are typically consulted on decisions of such magnitude. My story
@ForeignPolicy
There's a lot of terrible news today. But here's some good news:
Ukrainian pilots are expected to begin training to fly the F-16 fighter jet at an Air National Guard base in Tuscon, Ariz., next week, according to four U.S. officials. My scoop:
"Several times before the collision, the Su-27s dumped
fuel on and flew in front of the MQ-9 in a reckless, environmentally unsound and unprofessional manner. This incident demonstrates a lack of competence
in addition to being unsafe and unprofessional."
The most controversial piece of this is that the White House is proposing moving money ($1.6B) from the Overseas Contingency Operations account, which is used to fund emergency requirements, even as DOD deploys tens of thousands more troops to the Middle East to counter Iran
BREAKING:
@SecDef
has ordered
@US_TRANSCOM
to activate Stage I of the Civil Reserve Air Fleet, providing 18 commercial airliners to support the evacuation of Americans, SIV applicants and other at-risk Afghans, says
@johnfkirby63
NEW: Nineteen nations have actually signed on to the new maritime task force focused on countering Houthi attacks on commercial shipping — Operation Prosperity Guardian — but most of them don’t want to put their names to the move, a senior administration official told me today.
BREAKING: 19 American service members stationed in Iraq and Syria have been diagnosed with traumatic brain injury after rocket and drone attacks from Iran-backed militants last week, according to a Defense Department official.
Believe this is the first time Trump has confirmed that he did indeed want to assassinate Bashar Assad and Mattis stopped him. He has previously denied that claim, which was revealed by Bob Woodward
SCOOP: The U.S. is considering sending Stryker armored combat vehicles to Ukraine in an upcoming aid package to help Kyiv fend off an expected Russian spring offensive, according to two people familiar with the discussion.
@LeeHudson_
@paulmcleary
Terrible news: The sailor assigned to the USS Theodore Roosevelt who was admitted to the ICU on April 9 died of COVID-related complications on April 13.
BREAKING: Thousands of Guardsmen were forced to vacate congressional grounds on Thursday and are now taking their rest breaks outside and in nearby parking garages. W/
@NatashaBertrand
@AndrewDesiderio
JUST IN: White House set to announce a total of $1B in military aid to Ukraine today, a person familiar tells
@paulmcleary
. Includes $650M from the Ukraine Initiative Fund and $350M from drawdown
-Two Harpoon systems
-36K rounds Howitzer ammo
-18 more Howitzers
SCOOP: Biden informed G7 leaders on Friday that the U.S. will support a joint international effort to train Ukrainian pilots on modern fighter aircraft, including F-16s, according to a senior administration official.
NEW: Top Western defense officials were informed in advance that Ukraine was planning a two-front counteroffensive, but they’ve been surprised by the blistering pace of Kyiv’s gains in the north, according to 4 officials. W/
@paulmcleary
When one transition official bumped into a “very high-ranking” military official a week after their meeting, the officer apologized for his clipped answers.
“We were alone, and he told me ‘I’m sorry I wasn’t able to tell you more, but I was given very strict instructions.'"
Even when the transition team did meet with DoD officials, they were often tight-lipped, as if they had been given explicit guidance about what they could discuss. In fact, "minders" from the general counsel's office were present in all the meetings, & RFI responses were scrubbed
Just in: The destroyer the USS Laboon has now entered the Red Sea, per DOD official. She joins the USS Mason and USS Carney, which have been shooting down Houthi drones left and right for weeks.
A Kurdish source tells me "there is no ceasefire at all." There was a Turkish airstrike today on a civilian convoy in Ras Al Ain that killed 5 people. Turks refuse to grant access to SDC officials trying to collect the bodies.
@ForeignPolicy