REBRANDING AMERICA’S ROLE IN IRAQ: Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al Kadhimi is in Washington for talks at the White House this afternoon with President Joe Biden on shifting the U.S. mission in Iraq to a purely advisory role.
The meeting, set for 2 p.m. in the Oval Office, comes as the U.S. and Iraq are completing a fourth and final round of strategic talks aimed at eventually withdrawing most, if not all, of the remaining 2,500 U.S. troops from Iraq.
“What we want from the U.S. presence in Iraq is to support our forces in training and developing their efficiency and capabilities and in security cooperation,” al Kadhimi told the Associated Press before leaving Baghdad. “There is no need for any foreign combat forces on Iraqi soil.”
The move to declare the departure of “combat” troops is largely symbolic, given that U.S. troops no longer accompany Iraqi forces as they pursue remnants of ISIS, but al Kadhimi has been under pressure from Iraq’s Shiite political parties to end the U.S. mission in Iraq since the Jan. 3, 2020, drone strike that killed Iran’s top general Qassim Soleimani and an Iraqi militia commander, Abu Mahdi al Muhandis.
But al Kadhimi told the Associated Press that Iraq still needs U.S. training, intelligence, and technical support. “Iraq has a set of American weapons that need maintenance and training. We will ask the American side to continue to support our forces and develop our capabilities,” he said.
A DISTINCTION WITHOUT A DIFFERENCE: Technically speaking, the U.S. does not have “non-combat” troops. All U.S. armed forces are trained for combat, but as former President Donald Trump reduced the number of troops in Iraq, the mission also contracted.
“We task our combat troops, our troops that are capable of conducting combat operations, with training, advising, and assisting. So we’re capable of doing a number of things,” Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told reporters traveling with him to Singapore. “So I think trying to make that distinction is very difficult.”
Speaking during a stopover in Alaska, Austin said he doesn’t foresee an immediate end to the U.S. presence in Iraq. “We are there at the invitation of the Iraqis. And we’re there … to help train, advise, and equip them to do things such as countering ISIS,” he said. “You’ve heard Prime Minister Kadhimi say that he is very grateful for the support that we’ve given them in the past. And he certainly looks to benefit from that support going forward.”
COMMUNIQUE WILL TOUT END OF ‘COMBAT’ MISSION: The White House will issue a communique at the end of the day, which a senior administration official told reporters would effectively announce the end of the current mission.
“We’re talking about shifting to a new phase in the campaign in which we very much complete the combat mission against ISIS and shift to an advisory and training mission by the end of the year,” the official said on a background call for reporters.
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HAPPENING TOMORROW: Defense Secretary Austin is in Singapore, the first stop on a weeklong Asia trip that will also take him to Vietnam and the Philippines. Singapore is 12 hours ahead of Washington, and tomorrow night (6 a.m. Tuesday, Washington time), he delivers a major address on “The Imperative of Partnership,” as part of the International Institute for Strategic Studies Fullerton lecture series.
“I’ll also continue to make the case for a more fair, open, and inclusive regional order and for our shared values to ensure that all countries get a fair shake. We don’t believe that any one country should be able to dictate the rules, or worse yet, throw them over the transom, and in this regard, I’ll emphasize our commitment to the freedom of the seas. I’ll also make clear where we stand on some unhelpful and unfounded claims by China in the South China Sea,” Austin said in a preview of his remarks last week.
His primary message: “The United States remains a reliable partner, a friend who shows up when it counts.”
‘SLOW THE MOMENTUM’: Asked about recent Taliban gains in Afghanistan, Austin said the U.S.-backed Afghan government needs to begin to take back the initiative and blunt the Taliban’s offensive, which has seen it take control of roughly half the country’s 400 districts.
“What the Afghan leadership is doing right now, they are consolidating their forces around the key population centers,” Austin told reporters in Alaska. “In terms of whether or not it will stop the Taliban, I think the first thing to do is to make sure that they can slow the momentum and then be able to put themselves in a position where they can retake … some of the ground that they’ve lost.”
In a news conference in Kabul, U.S. Central Commander Gen. Frank McKenzie, who now has direct command over U.S. operations in Afghanistan, said a key is turning the tide of battle will be whether the Afghans can effectively use their fledgling Air Force to hit Taliban fighters.
“I believe that the singular advantage the government of Afghanistan has right now in the fight they’re in is their Air Force. So we will do everything in our power to keep that Air Force effective flying and in support of their forces,” McKenzie said. “We spent a lot of time training them. Now is their moment, now is the time for that very stern test that I noted earlier they’re going to face. I think they have the resources and the capability to actually conduct that fight and win it.”
While U.S. airstrikes in support of Afghan forces are expected to end when the U.S. withdrawal is completed at the end of next month, McKenzie would not rule out the possibility.
“I’m just not going to be able to comment about the future of U.S. airstrikes after Aug. 31,” he told reporters.
OUT OF PARTS, AMMO: Meanwhile, one-third of the Afghan Air Force’s 160 aircraft are inoperable, and it has run out of U.S.-made precision-guided rockets.
The fleet is hobbled by a spare parts shortage and the departure of Pentagon maintenance contractors, according to Haji Ajmal Rahmani, an Afghan parliament member.
“They’re completely out of stock for the laser munitions,” Rahmani told the State Department Correspondents’ Association in a virtual briefing from Kabul. “It’s not low — it’s actually out of stock.”
AFGHAN AIR FORCE RUNS OUT OF SMART BOMBS FOLLOWING BIDEN’S ‘HASTY WITHDRAWAL,’ LAWMAKER SAYS
ALSO TOMORROW, JAN. 6 COMMITTEE BEGINS WORK: Despite a Republican boycott, Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s House Select Committee on the January attack on the U.S. Capitol will begin with testimony from four police officers, two from the Capitol Police and two from the local D.C. police.
Yesterday, Pelosi appointed a second Republican to the committee, Rep. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois. He joins Wyoming’s Liz Cheney. Both Kinzinger and Cheney voted for the impeachment of former President Donald Trump and blamed him for inciting the violence of Jan. 6.
Republicans argue the committee is unnecessary because the facts of Jan 6 have already been established, and the Justice Department is prosecuting the individuals responsible. They accuse the Democrats of simply trying to score political points.
“Republicans will say what they will say. Our select committee will seek the truth. It’s our patriotic duty to do so,” said Pelosi on ABC yesterday. “Maybe the Republicans can’t handle the truth, but we have a responsibility to seek it, to find it and in a way that retains the confidence of the American people.”
ADAM KINZINGER ACCEPTS PELOSI’S INVITATION TO JOIN JAN. 6 COMMISSION
MANDATORY VACCINES JUST A MATTER OF TIME: The big thing holding many Americans back from getting the COVID-19 vaccine is the fact the FDA has yet to give final, full approval for the vaccine, according to Dr. Jerome Adams, the former surgeon general in the Trump administration.
“We still have no clear timetable on when we can expect FDA licensure of these vaccines for adults. And a lot of people say that that is still causing their hesitancy,” Adams told CBS. “I can tell you the quickest way to get people vaccinated is through mandates … you’re hearing this from the military and from other businesses.”
“So if you want to get a bunch of people vaccinated really quickly, get the vaccines licensed and then you’ll see the military make it mandatory. You’ll see businesses make it mandatory,” Adams said on Face the Nation.
“Right now, it remains voluntary,” said Defense Secretary Austin in his session with reporters. “Our focus is going to continue to be on making sure that our troops have the right information, factual information, that they can talk to their doctors, they have the ability to talk to their families about this vaccine.”
Austin says so far, at least 70% of the military has had at least one dose of vaccine. “I think the right thing to do is to make sure that we continue to encourage our troops to take it.”
FORMER SURGEON GENERAL ADAMS PREDICTS MANDATORY VACCINES IN MILITARY AFTER FULL FDA APPROVAL
The Rundown
Washington Examiner: Former Surgeon General Adams predicts mandatory vaccines in military after full FDA approval
Washington Examiner: Adam Kinzinger accepts Pelosi’s invitation to join Jan. 6 commission
Washington Examiner: CIA director says more than 95% of officers fully vaccinated
Washington Examiner: Air Force to halt use of body cameras
Washington Examiner: Afghan Air Force runs out of smart bombs following Biden’s ‘hasty withdrawal,’ lawmaker says
Washington Examiner: US investigates Qatar over claims that it finances Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps
Washington Examiner: Biden’s response to China hack seen as tepid due to US economic ties with Beijing
Washington Examiner: Top Biden official meets and praises Iranian-American journalist targeted by alleged kidnapping plot
Reuters: With Eye On China, Pentagon Chief Heads To Southeast Asia
Washington Post: China Says U.S. Relations Are In A Stalemate, As Senior Washington Official Visits
New York Times: In Stinging Rebuke, China Tells U.S. Diplomat That Its Rise Can’t Be Stopped
CNN: Beijing Accuses U.S. Of Treating China As ‘Imaginary Enemy’ In Meeting Between Top Diplomats
Reuters: U.S. hits one of two targets in missile defense test – agency
Bloomberg: Putin Touts Russia’s Hypersonic Nuclear Weapons At Naval Parade
Air Force Magazine: SpOC Commander Sees Spacefaring Guardians in Future
Reuters: U.S. seeks ‘reliable, predictable’ way forward with N. Korea
Business Insider: The Navy Sent Another Carrier On A Rare Trip To The High North. Here’s How Sailors Kept It Going In Harsh Conditions Around Alaska
USNI News: U.K. Carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth Now On The Edge Of The South China Sea
19fortyfive.com: Why Can’t the Air Force Build More F-22 Raptor Stealth Fighters?
19fortyfive.com: The U.S. Military’s Worst Fear: A Russia-China Military Alliance
19fortyfive.com: Russia’s Tu-160: The Missile-Carrying Bomber NATO Doesn’t Want to Fight
Calendar
MONDAY | JULY 26
10 a.m. — Middle East Institute virtual book discussion, beginning at 10 a.m., on Past as Prologue: Revisiting Bernard-Henri Levi’s 2002 Report on Afghanistan, with author Bernard-Henri Levy; former CIA Director retired Gen. David Petraeus; and Marvin Weinbaum, director of Afghanistan and Pakistan studies at MEI. https://www.mei.edu/events/past-prologue
12 p.m. — Hudson Institute virtual discussion: “The U.S. and Indo-Pacific,” with Rep. Young Kim, R-Calif.; Eric Brown, senior fellow at the Hudson Institute; and Nury Turkel, senior fellow at the Hudson Institute. https://www.hudson.org/events
TUESDAY | JULY 27
6 a.m. Fullerton Hotel, Singapore — International Institute for Strategic Studies virtual lecture: “The Imperative of Partnership,” as part of the 40th IISS Fullerton Lecture, with U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin. http://www.iiss.org/en/iiss-us/iiss-us-s-events and https://www.defense.gov/Watch/Live-Events/
8:30 a.m. — American Enterprise Institute web event; “Scoping the threat: Do African Salafi-jihadi groups threaten the West?” with Idriss Lallali, deputy director, African Centre for the Study and Research on Terrorism; Nathaniel Powell, associate researcher, Centre for War and Diplomacy, Lancaster University; Yan St-Pierre, CEO, Modern Security Consulting Group; Katherine Zimmerman, fellow, AEI; and moderator, Jason Warner, assistant professor, Department of Social Sciences, U.S.Military Academy at West Point. https://www.aei.org/events/scoping-the-threat
11:30 a.m. — Woodrow Wilson Center Polar Institute and Kissinger Institute on China and the United States virtual discussion: “Progress on the Department of the Air Force Arctic Strategy,” with Deputy Air Force Undersecretary of International Affairs Kelli Seybolt; Lt. Gen. S. Clinton Hinote, deputy chief of staff for strategy, integration and requirements at Air Force Headquarters; and Lt. Gen. William Liquori, deputy chief of space operations, strategy, plans, programs, requirements, and analysis at U.S. Space Force. https://www.wilsoncenter.org/event/arctic-security-dialogues
11:45 a.m. — McCrary Institute and Space Policy Institute event: “Securing Space,” with Gen. James Dickinson, Commander U.S. Space Command. https://www.youtube.com/watch
1 p.m. — Center for Strategic and International Studies virtual discussion: “ Food Security in the Military: What We Know and Why It Matters,” Deputy Assistant Defense Secretary for Military Community and Family Policy Patricia Montes Barron; Shelley Kimball, senior director of research and program evaluation at the Military Family Advisory Network; and Matthew Rabbitt, economist at the Agriculture Department’s Economic Research Service. https://www.csis.org/events/food-security-military
2 p.m. — German Marshall Fund of the United States virtual discussion: “Taiwan Peace and Stability Act,” with Rep. Ami Bera, D-Calif.; Rep. Steve Chabot, R-Ohio; and Bonnie Glaser, director of the GMFUS Asia Program. https://www.gmfus.org/events/discussing-taiwan
2 p.m. — Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress virtual discussion: “Building Over the Horizon Space Capabilities,” with Jeffrey Manber, CEO, Nanoracks; Payam Banazadeh, founder & CEO, Capella Space; and Brig. Gen. Steve “Bucky” Butow, director of the space portfolio, Defense Innovation Unit. https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register
WEDNESDAY | JULY 28
9 a.m. — House Armed Services Committee bipartisan staff members hold conference call briefings on background for Capitol Hill credentialed media only to discuss subcommittee markups for the FY2022 National Defense Authorization Act. 9 a.m., Tactical Air and Land Forces Subcommittee; 11 a.m., Readiness Subcommittee; 1 p.m., Intelligence and Special Operations Subcommittee. RSVP at https://docs.google.com/forms
10 a.m. — Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies virtual Spacepower Forum, with Gen. David “DT” Thompson, vice chief of space operations. Video posted afterward at https://mitchellaerospacepower.org/event/space-power-forum
11 a.m. — Institute for Defense and Government Advancement virtual Homeland Security Conference, with remarks on “Coordinating Responses to Emerging Homeland Security Threats,” by William Bratton, chairman of the Homeland Security Advisory Council. https://www.idga.org/events-homelandsecurityweek
12 p.m. — Center for the National Interest virtual forum, “How Stable is North Korea?” with Bruce Bennett, adjunct international/defense researcher, RAND Corporation; Jessica Lee, senior research fellow in the East Asia Program, Quincy Institute; Frank Aum senior expert on Northeast Asia, U.S. Institute of Peace; Harry Kazianis, senior director of Korean Studies at the Center for the National Interest. https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register
12 p.m. — Hudson Institute virtual discussion: “Iran’s Record of Smuggling, Kidnapping and Extortion,” with David Albright, founder and president of the Institute for Science and International Security; Olli Heinonen, fellow at the Stimson Center; Kenneth MacDonald, former special agent at the U.S. Customs Service; and Joshua Block, adjunct fellow at Hudson. https://www.hudson.org/events/1995-virtual-event
1:30 p.m. — United States Institute of Peace virtual discussion: “Nuclear Security Policy in an Era of Strategic Competition,” with Rep. Jeff Fortenberry, R-Neb.; Rep. Bill Foster, D-Ill.; and USIP President and CEO Lise Grande. https://www.usip.org/events/nuclear-security
3 p.m. — Center for Strategic and International Studies “Smart Women, Smart Power” event: “U.S. National Security Policy in the Indo-Pacific: A Conversation with Sen. Tammy Duckworth.” https://www.csis.org/events/us-national-security-policy
THURSDAY | JULY 29
9 a.m. — George Washington University Project for Media and National Security Defense Writers Group conversation with Mr. John Sopko, special inspector general for Afghanistan reconstruction (SIGAR). https://nationalsecuritymedia.gwu.edu/
10 a.m. 1789 Massachusetts Ave. N.W. — American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research in-person event: “America’s ever-shrinking fighting force,” with Mackenzie Eaglen, senior fellow, AEI; Arnold Punaro, former staff director of the Senate Armed Services Committee and CEO, Punaro Group; and former Sen. Jim Talent, senior fellow, Bipartisan Policy Center. https://www.aei.org/events/americas-ever-shrinking-fighting-force
3:30 p.m. — Washington Post Live virtual discussion: “Securing Cyberspace,” former Homeland Security Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Director Chris Krebs, partner at the Krebs Stamos Group. https://www.washingtonpost.com/washington-post-live
FRIDAY | JULY 30
8:30 a.m. — Center for Strategic and International Studies virtual 11th annual South China Sea Conference, with Rep. Elaine Luria, D-Va.; Zack Cooper, senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute; and Nguyen Nam Duong, deputy director-general of the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam’s East Sea Institute. https://www.csis.org/events
TUESDAY | AUGUST 3
8 a.m. — The virtual Aspen Security Forum, Day 1, with Michele Flournoy, former undersecretary of defense for policy; Zalmay Khalilzad, special representative for Afghanistan reconciliation; retired Gen. David Petraeus, former director, Central Intelligence Agency; Roya Rahmani, Afghan Ambassador to the U.S.; Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo.; and more. See full agenda and register at https://www.aspensecurityforum.org/2021-virtual-asf
WEDNESDAY | AUGUST 4
8 a.m. — The virtual Aspen Security Forum, Day 2, with Anne Neuberger, deputy national security adviser for cyber and emerging technologies; Victoria Nuland, undersecretary of state for political affairs; Adm. John Aquilino, commander, U.S. Indo-Pacific Command; Stephen Biegun, former deputy secretary of state; Matt Pottinger, former deputy national security adviser; Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska; and more. See full agenda and register at https://www.aspensecurityforum.org/2021-virtual-asf
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“We spent a lot of time training them. Now is their moment, now is the time for that very stern test that I noted earlier they’re going to face. I think they have the resources and the capability to actually conduct that fight and win it.”
Marine Gen. Frank McKenzie, speaking in Kabul Sunday, about the need of the Afghan air force to step up its attacks on the Taliban.
