Subject: POLITICO's Morning Defense: U.S. to send 250 more troops to Syria — NDAA, Carter, Trump this week — Acquisition reform talk at CSIS today
From: Morning Defense <[email-masked]>
To: <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 25 Apr 2016 06:33:44 -0600

By Jeremy Herb | 04/25/2016 08:30 AM EDT

With Louis Nelson, Connor O'Brien, Austin Wright and Ellen Mitchell

THE WAR AGAINST ISIL EXPANDS - U.S. TO SEND 250 MORE TROOPS TO SYRIA: Our colleague Nick Gass writes on the president's announcement this morning, which comes on the heels of last week's boost of 217 troops in Iraq: "President Barack Obama on Monday announced that he has authorized the deployment of an additional 250 troops to Syria in order to 'keep up this momentum' in the fight against the Islamic State. 

"'Just as I've approved additional support for Iraqi forces against ISIL, I've decided to increase U.S. support for local forces fighting ISIL in Syria, a small number of American operations forces are already on the ground in Syria, and their expertise has been critical as local forces have driven ISIL out of key areas,' Obama said, speaking from Hanover, Germany. "'So given the success, I've approved the deployment of up to 250 additional U.S. personnel in Syria, including special forces, to keep up this momentum.' 

"The 250 troops come in addition to the 50 special operations forces authorized last October to "train, advise and assist" local troops. The new troops, likewise, are not "going to be leading the fight on the ground,' Obama said, adding that 'they will be essential in providing the training and assisting local forces as they continue to drive ISIL back.'"

BUCKLE UP - WE'VE GOT AN ACTION-PACKED WEEK AHEAD: From the defense secretary to the Republican presidential front-runner and a marathon committee markup, there'll be plenty of news:

- NDAA COMMITTEE MARKUP IN THE HOUSE: The House Armed Services Committee marks up its massive defense authorization bill Wednesday, beginning at 10 a.m. and likely running past midnight into the very early morning (Keep an eye out Wednesday for Morning D's NDAA prediction contest.). But first, House Armed Services Chairman Mac Thornberry officially releases his mark of the National Defense Authorization Act today. Pros had a copy of the bill, obtained by POLITICO, on Friday, which is here and here.

The chairman's mark would boost base defense funding by $18 billion above the Pentagon's request, through only authorizing war funding through the end of April. If adopted, that would require a supplemental spending measure to fund the Overseas Contingency Operations account through the end of the new 2017 year. With the extra funds, the HASC NDAA would boost procurement funding by more than $9 billion, with more ships, helicopters and fighter jets. The bill would nearly defund the Army's surveillance blimp program, leaving $2.5 million out of $45.5 million requested. And the measure would place conditions on retiring the A-10 in 2018, elevate U.S. Cyber Command and begin health-care
 enrollment fees for new service members in 2018.

- CARTER, DUNFORD SET FOR BACK-TO-BACK SENATE HEARINGS: As the NDAA markup gets underway Wednesday, Defense Secretary Ash Carter and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Joe Dunford will be on the other side of the Capitol testifying before the Senate Defense Appropriations Subcommittee. The Pentagon leaders are back on Capitol Hill the next day, with a hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee on operations against the Islamic State and Middle East strategy - which is sure to be a contentious one with Armed Services Chairman John McCain (R-Ariz.), one of the administration's most vocal foreign policy critics.

- TRUMP TO GIVE FOREIGN POLICY ADDRESS WEDNESDAY, POLITICO's Gass has more on what's being billed as a policy address: "Donald Trump will deliver a speech focused on foreign policy issues next Wednesday at the National Press Club in Washington, the Republican presidential front-runner's campaign announced Friday, in its latest effort to enunciate policy positions as it looks to position itself in a general election fight. Trump's campaign said the candidate accepted an invitation from The National Interest magazine and its Center for the National Interest, which was established by former President Richard Nixon."

HAPPY MONDAY AND WELCOME TO MORNING DEFENSE, where we're feeling like the only ones who don't watch "Game of Thrones" these days, at least if you're on Twitter on Sunday nights. Keep the tips, pitches and spoiler-free recaps coming at [email-masked], and follow on Twitter @jeremyherb, @morningdefense and @politicopro.

HAPPENING TODAY - CSIS TALKS ACQUISITION REFORM: Former Air Force acquisition reform chief William LaPlante speaks this morning at a forum on the outlook for acquisition reform at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. LaPlante, now at MITRE, will be joined by Kate Blakeley from the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, John Luddy from the Aerospace Industries Association and Matthew Chandler of Palantir.

NUCLEAR DIPLOMACY - OBAMA SKEPTICAL OF NORTH KOREAN NUCLEAR OFFER, via the WSJ: "President Barack Obama said the U.S. is analyzing North Korea's most recent actions following the reclusive state's latest missile test, but gave little credence to a new overture from Pyongyang. North Korea appeared to have test-launched a ballistic missile from a submarine on Saturday, the latest of several recent provocations that have heightened tensions on the peninsula.

"Mr. Obama said North Korea fails more often than it succeeds in such tests, but the country gains knowledge each time in its quest to develop weapons. 'We take it very seriously, and so do our allies, and so does the entire world,' the president said during a news conference in Germany, where he held talks with Chancellor Angela Merkel."

- PYONGYANG'S FLOATED PROPOSAL FOR HALTING NUCLEAR TESTS, via The Associated Press: "North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Su Yong, interviewed Saturday by the AP, also defended his country's right to maintain a nuclear deterrent and warned that Pyongyang won't be cowed by international sanctions. And for those waiting for the North's regime to collapse, he had this to say: Don't hold your breath.

"'Stop the nuclear war exercises in the Korean Peninsula, then we should also cease our nuclear tests,' he said in his first interview Saturday with a Western news organization."

- NORTH KOREA TOUTS SUBMARINE MISSILE TEST, via Reuters: "North Korea said on Sunday a submarine-launched ballistic missile test it conducted under the supervision of leader Kim Jong Un had been a 'great success' that provided 'one more means for powerful nuclear attack.' The launch is the latest in a recent string of North Korean demonstrations of military might that began in January with its fourth nuclear test and included the launch of a long-range rocket the next month."

THE 9/11 REPORT - WHITE HOUSE POISED TO RELEASE CLASSIFIED PAGES, reports the AP's Deb Riechmann: "The Obama administration will likely soon release at least part of a 28-page secret chapter from a congressional inquiry into 9/11 that may shed light on possible Saudi connections to the attackers. The documents, kept in a secure room in the basement of the Capitol, contain information from the joint congressional inquiry into "specific sources of foreign support for some of the Sept. 11 hijackers while they were in the United States."

"Bob Graham, who was co-chairman of that bipartisan panel, and others say the documents point suspicion at the Saudis. The former Democratic senator from Florida says an administration official told him that intelligence officials will decide in the next several weeks whether to release at least parts of the documents. The disclosure would come at a time of strained U.S. relations with Saudi Arabia, a long-time American ally."

FRIDAY NEWS DUMP RECAP - MILITARY ACKNOWLEDGES 20 CIVILIAN DEATHS: The U.S. military said on Friday its recent airstrikes in Iraq and Syria have likely killed 20 civilians and injured another 11. In announcing the results of its civilian casualty assessments, the U.S. Central Command said the "the preponderance of evidence" indicates there had been civilian casualties in nine U.S airstrikes from Sept. 10, 2015, to Feb. 2, 2016.

2016 WATCH - MATTIS SAYS HE'S GIVEN NO THOUGHT TO A PRESIDENTIAL RUN, writes our colleague Austin Wright: "Retired Marine Corps Gen. James Mattis says he's never considered running for president in 2016, despite a movement to draft him. 'No, I haven't given any thought to it,' he said at an event Friday hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. Asked by a reporter whether there was any truth to the rumors he might run, Mattis responded: 'I think people like you know that better than I do.'" 

MAKING MOVES 

- PENTAGON POLICY CHIEF TO STEP DOWN: "Pentagon policy chief Christine Wormuth is stepping down in June "to spend more time with her family," Defense Secretary Ash Carter said in a statement Friday. Her principal deputy, Brian McKeon, will take over the policy shop on an acting basis, Carter said, and Assistant Secretary of Defense for Asian and Pacific Security Affairs David Shear will move over to become McKeon's new deputy.

- PETRAEUS JOINS ADVISORY GROUP: Former CIA Director retired Gen. David Petraeus has joined the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition's "brasstops" advisory group.

MORNING D TRIVIA: Thomas Brady was the first to correctly answer that Gen. John Pershing won the Pulitzer Prize for History in 1932, for his memoir, "My Experiences in the World War." Stay tuned Friday for the next trivia question!

SPEED READ

- The U.S. Cyber Command has been directed to open a new line of combat against the Islamic State by attacking computer-networks: The New York Times

- The slaying of a prominent Syrian critic of the Islamic State in southern Turkey shows the long, lethal reach of ISIL: The Washington Post

- The Joint Chiefs chairman visits Egypt for a second time in two months, underscoring concern about ISIL militants there: The Washington Post 

- POLITICO Pro Q&A: Rep. Martha McSally: POLITICO Pro

- Kurdish and Shiite forces clash in Iraq, killing nine people: Agence France-Presse 

- Afghanistan's president calls on Pakistan to battle the Taliban rather than trying to conduct peace talks: AP

- Rockets pound a Turkish town near the Syrian border after the government promised to protect the area against Islamic State: Reuters

- The Saudi-led coalition backing the Yemeni government begins attacks against Al Qaeda-affiliated militant groups in Yemen: The Washington Post

- Former U.S. Special Operations Command chief retired Adm. William McRaven criticizes lawmakers who blocked the promotion of Rear Adm. Brian Losey for retaliating against whistleblowers: Military Times

- The rise and deadly fall of an Islamic State oil tycoon: WSJ

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