Subject: POLITICO's Morning Defense, presented by BAE Systems: U.S. sails warship in disputed South China Sea — U.S., Russia agree to restore Syrian cease-fire — Kendall talks acquisition today
From: Morning Defense <[email-masked]>
To: <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 10 May 2016 06:32:08 -0600

By Jeremy Herb | 05/10/2016 08:30 AM EDT

With Louis Nelson and Connor O'Brien

BREAKING OVERNIGHT - U.S. SAILS WARSHIP NEAR DISPUTED REEF IN SOUTH CHINA SEA, reports Reuters: "A U.S. navy warship sailed close to a disputed reef in the South China Sea on Tuesday, a U.S. Department of Defense official said, prompting anger in Beijing which denounced the patrol as illegal and a threat to peace and stability.

"Guided missile destroyer the USS William P. Lawrence traveled within 12 nautical miles of Chinese-occupied Fiery Cross Reef, Defense Department spokesman Bill Urban said. The so-called freedom of navigation operation was undertaken to 'challenge excessive maritime claims' by China, Taiwan, and Vietnam which were seeking to restrict navigation rights in the South China Sea, he said."

IF AT FIRST YOU DON'T SUCCEED ... U.S., RUSSIA AGREE TO RESTORE SYRIAN CEASE-FIRE, The Wall Street Journal's Felicia Schwartz writes from Paris: "Secretary of State John Kerry said Monday that the U.S. and Russia have agreed to work to restore a nationwide cease-fire in Syria but cautioned it would be up to actors on the ground to ensure it holds. Mr. Kerry spoke to reporters after meeting in Paris with a top Syrian opposition official and with foreign ministers from Saudi Arabia, France, Turkey, Germany, Jordan, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.

"He said the proof of Monday's agreement, the latest in a flurry of diplomacy between Russia and the U.S. to calm the violence in Syria, 'will be in the eating of the pudding, not the making.' Mr. Kerry spoke by phone Monday with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov before issuing a joint statement saying the powers would intensify efforts to implement the nationwide cease-fire."

- BUT ALEPPO FIGHTING STILL RAGES, reports Reuters: "Syrian government forces and their allies fought insurgents near Aleppo on Monday and jets conducted raids around a nearby town seized by Islamist rebels, a monitoring group said, as Syria's military said a ceasefire in Aleppo would be extended by 48 hours starting on Tuesday. A recent surge in bloodshed in Aleppo, Syria's largest city before the war, wrecked the 10-week-old, partial truce sponsored by Washington and Moscow that had allowed U.N.-brokered peace talks to convene in Geneva.

"Syria's military high command was quoted by state news agency SANA as saying the Aleppo ceasefire would be extended by 48 hours in the northern city beginning at 1 a.m. local time on Tuesday. A number of short-term local truces have been in place since April 29, first around Damascus and northern Latakia and then in Aleppo, but there has still been fighting between rebels and government forces."

DEFENSE BILLS TODAY - SASC SUBCOMMITTEE MARKUPS, HOUSE APPROPRIATIONS RELEASES DEFENSE BILL TEXT: The Senate Armed Services Committee holds its five remaining subcommittee markups for the National Defense Authorization Act, a legislative appetizer ahead of the main event, the full committee markup that begins Wednesday. Only three of the five subcommittee markups today will be open. The full committee debate - where anything controversial is discussed - will be closed.

The House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee also releases its bill text today, likely around 5:30 p.m., the time of Wednesday's closed subcommittee markup. The bill will include boosted base funding from the Overseas Operations Contingency budget, a congressional aide tells Morning D, as the House Armed Services Committee did in the defense authorization measure. Worth noting: The bill text will include legislative policies for the committee, but the funding tables won't be released until the day before the full committee markup, which won't be until next week at the earliest.

HAPPY TUESDAY AND WELCOME TO MORNING DEFENSE, where we've had enough playoff overtimes. Keep the tips, pitches and feedback coming at [email-masked], and follow on Twitter @jeremyherb, @morningdefense and @politicopro.

HAPPENING TODAY - OBAMA CONVENES ISIL MEETING: President Barack Obama convenes his National Security Council this morning at the White House for an update on the campaign against the Islamic State.

ALSO TODAY - KENDALL TALKS ACQUISITION: Chief Pentagon weapons buyer Frank Kendall talks about the state of defense acquisition this morning at a discussion hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

2016 WATCH - SURVEY SAYS TROOPS PREFER TRUMP TO HILLARY, via Military Times: "In a new survey of American military personnel, Donald Trump emerged as active-duty service members' preference to become the next U.S. president, topping Hillary Clinton by more than a 2-to-1 margin. However, in the latest Military Times election survey, more than one in five troops said they'd rather not vote in November if they have to choose between just those two candidates.

"But given only those choices, 21 percent of the service members surveyed said they would abstain from voting. More than 54 percent of the 951 troops Military Times surveyed said they would vote for Trump, the presumed Republican presidential nominee, over Clinton, the Democratic front-runner. Only about 25 percent said they would vote for Clinton in that matchup. The results, while not a scientific sampling of military voting patterns, show strong support for Trump among troops despite critics' attacks that he lacks foreign policy or national security experience.

BUT, BUT, BUT ... THE CAVEATS: "The sample is not a perfect representation of the military as a whole; it over-represents officers and noncommissioned officers, and under-represents junior enlisted personnel. However, it is representative of the more senior and career-oriented members of the force who run the military's day-to-day operations and carry out its policies. The voluntary nature of this survey, the dependence on email and the characteristics of Military Times readers may affect the results."

** A message from BAE Systems: At BAE Systems, our amphibious combat vehicles are designed from the ground up to meet the amphibious mission with demonstrated ship-to-objective maneuver capability. With our proven systems, we help get Marines to the mission and bring them back. Learn more at www.baesystems.com/SAS. **

SPACE WARS - RISE OF SPACEX FUELS PENTAGON SECOND GUESSING, our colleague Matthew Nussbaum takes the long view on the SpaceX-United Launch Alliance feud: "Ten years ago, when the Pentagon went looking for a reliable means of getting spy satellites and other hardware into space, it had a choice between Lockheed Martin and Boeing. But instead of making the bitterly competitive engineering giants compete for the lucrative contracts, it gave the deal to both of them, creating a hybrid called the United Launch Alliance.

"The unusual joint venture sounded alarm bells at the FTC, which warned of the risks of such a monopoly: costs would rise without competition and innovation would be stifled. The Pentagon steamrolled that criticism. "Assured access to space," as defense officials put it, was a matter of national security. Now, 10 years after ULA was born, the FTC's direst warnings have come true, along with outcomes even the skeptics did not predict.

"ULA has conducted 106 space launches, all but flawlessly, but the per launch cost is more than $350 million, according to the Government Accountability Office, even as cheaper alternatives have become available. Meanwhile, ULA - which has received roughly $15 billion national security dollars since 2006, which includes an approximately $800 million annual retainer - is under investigation by the Pentagon for possible corrupt bidding practices and is preparing to lay off 25 percent of its workforce. Its long-term viability is in doubt."

FOR YOUR RADAR - NDAA AMENDMENT WOULD REMOVE PROVISION REQUIRING WOMEN REGISTER FOR DRAFT: The House Rules Committee chairman has filed an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act that would remove a provision requiring women register for the draft. The amendment from Republican Rep. Pete Sessions of Texas would strike a provision from the bill added by Rep. Duncan Hunter during the House Armed Services Committee markup, which required that women to register for the Selective Service.

But Sessions' amendment, likely to be considered when the bill goes to the floor next week, was not added to push back against Hunter. In fact, the amendment has the California Republican's blessing, said Hunter Chief of Staff Joe Kasper. That's because Hunter opposes his own amendment. 

WAR REPORT - SENIOR ISLAMIC STATE OFFICIAL KILLED IN AIRSTRIKE IN IRAQ, via The Washington Post: "One of the Islamic State's top leaders in Iraq's Anbar province was killed in a U.S. airstrike last week, the Pentagon said Monday. Abu Wahib, the 'military emir' of Anbar, and three other Islamic State members were killed May 6 while traveling in a vehicle near the town of Rutbah in western Iraq, Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook said."

THE YOUNGEST KIM GETS A NEW TITLE: CHAIRMAN, writes the Los Angeles Times: "To cheers of 'long life!' North Korean ruler Kim Jong Un received the new title of chairman of the Workers' Party of Korea on Monday, formally bolstering his status 4&frac12; years after he came to power following the death of his father, Kim Jong Il. Kim Jong Un previously held several top titles, including general in the Korean People's Army, member of the Party Central Committee and vice chairman of the Party Central Military Commission."

DOCUMENT DRAWER - U.S. EFFORT IN SYRIA: The Center for a New American Security is releasing a new report this morning on the U.S. role to de-escalate the civil war in Syria. The report argues the U.S. primary effort there should focus on a "bottom-up strategy for building cohesive, moderate armed opposition institutions with a regional focus that is tailored for each individual region within Syria."

SPEED READ

- At a parade celebrating Russia's victory in World War II, President Vladimir Putin launches veiled criticism at the U.S. and its stance in Syria: The New York Times

- A Shiite cleric who first made his name fighting U.S. forces in 2003 is again roiling Iraq's political order: The Associated Press

- A former North Korean military chief, who South Korea said had been executed, is actually alive and now has several new senior posts: AP

- A suicide bombing near Baghdad kills at least 13: AP

- Jordan's strong intelligence and security forces have allowed it to launch particularly successful operations, both covert and overt, against the Islamic State: Defense News

- The team of U.S. troops currently deployed in Yemen will remain there without a firm end date, but a Pentagon spokesman says their stay there remains short-term: Military Times

- The Pentagon is developing ways to protect its exposed national security satellites in space from potential hostile action: The Washington Post

** A message from BAE Systems: At BAE Systems, we work relentlessly to stay ahead of any challenge our customers may face. Our passion and dedication shows in everything we do-from advanced electronic systems to cyber operations and intelligence analysis, from combat vehicles and naval weapons, and from ship maintenance and modernization to vehicle upgrades and services. Knowing that our work makes a difference inspires us to push ourselves and the technologies we create to new levels. That's BAE Systems. That's Inspired Work. Learn more about our technologies, systems and services at www.baesystems.com/US. **

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