| 'WE WILL RISE ABOVE OUR DIFFERENCES': Leaders of the House and Senate Armed Services committees began the work of crafting a bipartisan version of the 2024 National Defense Authorization Act that both chambers can support. The annual must-pass bill dictates how the Pentagon can spend the $886 billion expected to be approved for defense under a budget agreement brokered by former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) earlier this year. And in the current deeply divided government, it requires both parties to settle for less. "Enacting legislation as critical as the NDAA will require compromise, but compromise means we both have to swallow some things that we may not like," said Mike Rogers (R-AL), chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, at yesterday's "Pass the Gavel" session. "I am sure the Senate feels equally as passionate about provisions in their bill that we don't like, but I am optimistic we will find a reasonable compromise that both chambers can support because what everyone here needs to understand is we will enact an NDAA this year," Rogers said. "We will rise above our differences." "I join with the distinguished House chairman in saying that Republican members on this side are not at all satisfied with how this administration has carried out the national defense responsibilities of the federal government," said Roger Wicker (R-MS), ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee. "We are also concerned about the wokeness that seems to pervade the Department of Defense and military at this time, taking effort and attention away from most of what we need to be doing." "This has been a bipartisan effort, though clearly there have been differences we have had to accommodate. Chairman Rogers is correct: I am not at all satisfied about some of the things we had to agree to, and neither are our Democratic friends," Wicker said, noting that the Senate version of the bill passed the committee 24-1 and by the full Senate 86-11. MISSION IMPROBABLE: There is no such spirit of bipartisanship when it comes to the thorny issue of conditioning aid to Ukraine on immigration reform, specifically Republican demands that U.S. asylum laws be tightened to make it much harder for migrants to claim asylum. The task of finding some sort of compromise that can pass the House has fallen to a bipartisan group of seven senators: Chris Murphy (D-CT), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ), Thom Tillis (R-NC), James Lankford (R-OK), Tom Cotton (R-AR) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC). Graham plans to take to the Senate floor early this afternoon to push for proposals advocated by the Senate Republican Working Group, which are drawn from a bill passed by the House earlier this year. The proposals would require the Department of Homeland Security to resume construction of the border wall and deny asylum to anyone who traveled through a third country to reach the United States. "The rush on our southern border is because of the terrible policy choices the Biden Administration and Democrats wholeheartedly embraced that entice illegal immigration," Graham said earlier this month. "I will not vote for any supplemental package for Ukraine and Israel that does not have real border security reform. We can't help other countries unless we also help ourselves!" "I wish Republicans weren't demanding that we solve a really complicated domestic political issue in order to keep [Russian President Vladimir Putin] from marching through Europe, but that's where we are," said Sen. Chris Murphy. JOHNSON DECLINES TO COMMIT TO SENATE GOP HE'D BUNDLE UKRAINE AND ISRAEL AID NOMINATIONS SENT TO FLOOR: The Senate Armed Services Committee has voted to send to the full Senate a list of 679 military nominations in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, and Space Force, which includes 81 generals and admirals that are subject to the hold placed by Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL). Despite the indications Tuberville might be looking for a way to end his blockade to avert an embarrassing vote by his Republican colleagues that would override his objections, his hold remains in place. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) is still planning to bring a vote of a standing order that would allow military nominations to be approved in large batches by voice vote for the remainder of the current session of Congress. "This is not a rules change, this is a standing order," Schumer said this week. "We're pursuing this route to prevent Senator Tuberville from further harming the United States military at a time of global conflict. This resolution offers every member of the Senate a chance to vote to either support Senator Tuberville's ploy or overcome his reckless blockade, and I have confidence that senators from both parties will support this resolution." CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER Good Thursday morning and welcome to Jamie McIntyre's Daily on Defense, written and compiled by Washington Examiner National Security Senior Writer Jamie McIntyre (@jamiejmcintyre) and edited by Conrad Hoyt. Email here with tips, suggestions, calendar items, and anything else. Sign up or read current and back issues at DailyonDefense.com. If signing up doesn't work, shoot us an email and we'll add you to our list. And be sure to follow me on Threads and/or on X @jamiejmcintyre CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP OR READ BACK ISSUES OF DAILY ON DEFENSE Subscribe today to the Washington Examiner magazine and get Washington Briefing: politics and policy stories that will keep you up to date with what's going on in Washington. SUBSCRIBE NOW: Just $1.00 an issue! HAPPENING TODAY: CEASEFIRE EXTENDED: At the very last minute this morning, the truce between Israel and Hamas was extended for one more day to allow for another exchange of Palestinian prisoners for Israeli hostages. Israel has said all along it's willing to extend the ceasefire by one day for every ten hostages that Hamas will release. "According to our numbers, there's something like 25 women and children still on the list. That's the deal, for women and children," Mark Regev, a senior adviser to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, told CNN. "So we don't need to make a new deal. All we have to do is extend the existing one for another day, another two days." "We'd like to see the pause extended because what it has enabled first and foremost is hostages being released, coming home, being reunited with their families," Secretary of State Antony Blinken said yesterday at a press availability in Brussels. "It's also enabled us to surge humanitarian assistance into the people of Gaza who so desperately need it. So its continuation, by definition, means that more hostages would be coming home, more assistance would be getting in." "So clearly, that's something we want, and I believe it's also something that Israel wants. They're also intensely focused on bringing their people home," Blinken said. "So we're working on that." Blinken is in Israel today, meeting with members of the Israeli government. For his part, Netanyahu insists the campaign to wipe out Hamas will resume once the hostage releases end. "After this phase of returning our abductees is exhausted, will Israel return to fighting? So my answer is an unequivocal yes," he said. "There is no way we are not going back to fighting until the end." ISRAEL PLANS RESUMPTION OF WAR DESPITE PRESSURE FROM CHINA CARDIN: 'AN ALARMING RISE IN TRANSNATIONAL REPRESSION': Federal prosecutors have indicted a government employee of India and charged him with recruiting an Indian national named to hire a hitman to carry out the assassination of a Sikh separatist in New York City in May. The assassination plot was foiled, and the indictment describes the intended victim as a "vocal critic of the Indian government" who "leads a U.S.-based organization that advocates for the secession of Punjab," a state in India that is home to a large population of Sikhs. The charges come two months after Canadian officials announced allegations linking Indian agents to the June murder of a Sikh separatist leader in Vancouver. "We are witnessing an alarming rise in transnational repression globally, where governments are dispatching assassins and kidnappers or using international criminal networks to abduct, harass, intimidate, and harm dissidents, journalists, and other individuals – far beyond their borders," said Ben Cardin (D-MD), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. "The disturbing news of a foiled assassination plot against a U.S. citizen involving Indian government officials further underscores the importance of shedding light on efforts by governments to silence dissenters living abroad," Cardin said. "Next week, I will be chairing a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing that will examine the scope of global transnational repression and how the United States government can more effectively counter this pernicious threat." OSPREY CREW STILL MISSING: Hopes are fading for the crew of a U.S. Air Force V-22 Osprey that crashed off the southern coast of Japan yesterday after an apparent fire in one of its engines. "The crew's conditions are unknown at this time," the Air Force Special Operations Command said in a brief press release. "Emergency personnel are on scene conducting search and rescue operations. The cause of the mishap is currently unknown." There were eight people on the tiltrotor aircraft when it went down. One body was recovered at the scene, according to the Japanese coast guard. The Air Force CV-22B Osprey was based at Yokota Air Base, Japan, and assigned to the 353rd Special Operations Wing, according to the release. The crash occurred during a routine training mission off the shore of Yakushima Island, near the southern tip of Japan. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER The Rundown Washington Examiner: Israel plans resumption of war despite pressure from China Washington Examiner: Israel assessing Hamas claim that youngest hostage and family members were killed Washington Examiner: Israeli hostage, 85, confronted Hamas chief and told him he should be 'ashamed of himself' Washington Examiner: Henry Kissinger dead at 100: Nixon secretary of state and giant of US diplomacy dies Washington Examiner: Henry Kissinger death: Prominent figures and social media react Washington Examiner: NATO backs Ukraine as Western leaders argue war going better than realized Washington Examiner: Paul Whelan assaulted in Russian prison, brother says Washington Examiner: US destroyer shoots down drone launched from Yemen over Red Sea Washington Examiner: Utah State quarterback gives up final year of eligibility, plans to become Navy SEAL Washington Examiner: One American woman freed, but one still remains held in Gaza as expiration of truce nears Washington Examiner: Johnson declines to commit to Senate GOP he'd bundle Ukraine and Israel aid Washington Examiner: Opinion: Iran's hand shown by suspended militia attacks on US forces Washington Examiner: Opinion: Hamas must go, but an eventual two-state solution is in America's interest AP: Truce in Gaza extended at last minute as talks over remaining Hamas captives get tougher AP: Ukraine insists it sees no sign of NATO war fatigue even as fighting and weapons supplies stall Defense News: Poll Finds Strong Support For Arming Ukraine, Israel And Taiwan AP: Somali maritime police intensify patrols as fears grow of resurgence of piracy in the Gulf of Aden Bloomberg: Saudi Arabia Offers Iran Investment To Blunt Gaza War Defense News: Air Force Awards Boeing $2.3B Contract for 15 More KC-46s Air & Space Forces Magazine: USSF to Start Production on New Missile Warning Satellites for Medium-Earth Orbit Space News: Defense Innovation Unit Solicits New Round of Proposals for Space Network Project Forbes: The First B-21 Takes to the Air: What That Means Air & Space Forces Magazine: Airpower Experts: US Needs More than 100 B-21s to Meet Future High Demand Breaking Defense: As Adversaries Advance, US Air Force Increasingly Reliant on Synthetic Training Air & Space Forces Magazine: How the Air Force Is Getting a Head Start on Training MH-139 Helicopter Maintainers Defense News: Top Air Force Officials Ponder New Leadership Styles as AI Takes Root DefenseScoop: Lawmakers Want to Keep a Closer Eye on Pentagon's JADC2 Pursuits Military.com: VA Has Already Exceeded Its Annual Goal for Housing Homeless Veterans with 2 Months Left in the Year Calendar THURSDAY | NOVEMBER 30 8 a.m. 2401 M St., NW. — George Washington University Project for Media and National Security Defense Writers Group in-person discussion: "Final Report of the Congressional Commission on the Strategic Posture of the U.S.," with Madelyn Creedon, commission chairwoman; and Rebeccah Heinrichs, commission member https://nationalsecuritymedia.gwu.edu/events. RSVP: Thom Shanker at tshanker@email.gwu.edu 9:30 a.m. — Brookings Institution virtual discussion: "Israel and Gaza: Where Do We Go From Here?" with Natan Sachs, director of the Brookings Center for Middle East Policy; Itamar Rabinovich, Brookings fellow; and Salam Fayyad, Brookings fellow https://www.brookings.edu/events/israel-and-gaza-where-do-we-go-from-here/ 10 a.m. — Arab Center virtual discussion: "Assessing America's Response to the Gaza Crisis: The White House, Congress and the American Public," with Lara Friedman, president of the Foundation for Middle East Peace; Aaron David Miller, senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace; and Shibley Telhami, professor at the University of Maryland https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register 12 p.m. 7805 Regents Dr., College Park, Maryland — University of Maryland's Center for International and Security Studies at Maryland discussion: "Russia's Nuclear Weapons and the War in Ukraine," with Anya Loukianova Fink, research analyst at the Center for Naval Analyses https://cissm.umd.edu/events/cissm-global-forum-russias-nuclear-weapons 12 p.m. — SETA Foundation in Washington, D.C., virtual discussion: "Israel's War in Gaza: The Humanitarian Crisis and Prospects for Peace," with Khaled Elgindy, director, Program on Palestine and Palestinian-Israeli Affairs, Middle East Institute; Trita Parsi, executive vice president, Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft; Randa Slim, director, Conflict Resolution and Track II Dialogues Program, Middle East Institute; Kadir Ustun, executive director, SETA Foundation; and Kilic Kanat, research director, SETA Foundation https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register 2 p.m. HVC-210, U.S. Capitol — House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing: "The U.S. Border Crisis and the American Solution to an International Problem," with testimony from Gene Hamilton, vice president and general counsel at America First Legal, and former acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf, executive director, chief strategy officer and chairman of the America First Policy Institute http://foreignaffairs.house.gov 2 p.m. 214 Massachusetts Ave. NE — Heritage Foundation discussion: "The Strategic Posture Commission: Defending America in a Modern World," with Madelyn Creedon, chairwoman of the U.S. Strategic Posture Commission; former Assistant Treasury Secretary for Terrorist Financing Marshall Billingslea, senior fellow at the Hudson Institute; Rebeccah Heinrichs, senior fellow and director of Keystone Defense Initiative; and Robert Peters, research fellow for nuclear defense and missile defense at the Heritage Foundation's Center for National Defense https://www.heritage.org/defense/event/the-strategic-posture-commission 2 p.m. 1763 N St. NW — Middle East Institute discussion: "Shabiha Forever: The Syrian Regime's Creation, Control, and Use of Militias Since 2011," with Hari Prasad, research associate at Critica Research and Analysis; Karam Shaar, nonresident senior fellow at the Newlines Institute; Kayla Koontz, researcher at the Syrian Archive; Gregory Waters, MEI nonresident scholar; and Charles Lister, director of the MEI Syria and Counterterrorism Programs https://www.mei.edu/events/shabiha-forever-syrian-regimes 3 p.m. 1957 E St. NW — George Washington University Elliott School of International Affairs discussion: "Transatlantic relations, the role of Germany in the EU, Germany's aid to Ukraine, and the impact on Germany of the war between Israel and Hamas," with German Ambassador to the U.S. Andreas Michaelis https://calendar.gwu.edu/event/a_conversation_with_german_ambassador 7:15 p.m. 390 Cannon — House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party hearing: "Discourse Power: The CCP's Strategy to Shape the Global Information Space," with testimony from John Garnaut, Garnaut Global; Miles Yu, Hudson Institute; Yaqiu Wang, Freedom House https://selectcommitteeontheccp.house.gov/committee-activity/live FRIDAY | DECEMBER 1 9 a.m. 1201 Pennsylvania Ave. NW — Hudson Institute discussion: "U.S. National Security and Ukraine," with Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE); Rep. Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA); Tamar Jacoby, director of the Progressive Policy Institute's New Ukraine Project; John Walters, president and CEO of the Hudson Institute; and Luke Coffey, senior fellow at the Hudson Institute https://www.hudson.org/events/us-national-security-ukraine 10:15 a.m. EST Simi Valley, California — Reagan National Defense Forum with members of Congress, senior leadership of the Department of Defense, former officials, scholars, defense industry leaders, and members of the press https://rndf2023virtual.rsvpify.com 11 a.m. — Washington Post Live virtual book discussion: Conflict: The Evolution of Warfare from 1945 to the Present with co-author and former CIA Director retired Army Gen. David Petraeus https://www.washingtonpost.com/washington-post-live SATURDAY | DECEMBER 2 10:15 a.m. EST Simi Valley, California — Reagan National Defense Forum with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin; Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr.; and Shannon Bream of Fox News Sunday https://rndf2023virtual.rsvpify.com TUESDAY | DECEMBER 5 9:30 a.m. 2401 M St., NW — George Washington University Project for Media and National Security Defense Writers Group breakfast conversation with Ely Ratner, assistant secretary of defense for Indo-Pacific Security affairs. RSVP: Thom Shanker at tshanker@email.gwu.edu 12 p.m. — Association of the U.S. Army "Noon Report" webinar: "U.S. Army's role in 1980s U.N. peacekeeping operations in the Middle East, with retired Col. L. Scott Lingamfelter, author of Yanks in Blue Berets: American UN Peacekeepers in the Middle East https://www.ausa.org/events/noon-report-yanks-blue-berets THURSDAY | DECEMBER 7 8 a.m. 2401 M St., NW — George Washington University Project for Media and National Security Defense Writers Group breakfast conversation with Benedetta Berti, head of NATO policy planning in the office of the NATO Secretary-General. RSVP: Thom Shanker at tshanker@email.gwu.edu FRIDAY | DECEMBER 8 11 a.m. 789 Massachusetts Ave., NW— American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research in-person and virtual discussion: "American Democracy and a Fragile World Order," with John M. Owen IV, author of The Ecology of Nations: American Democracy in a Fragile World Order; and Colin Dueck, Nonresident Senior Fellow, American Enterprise Institute https://www.aei.org/events/discussing-american-democracy SATURDAY | DECEMBER 9 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. — The U.S. Air Force Band, The U.S. Air Force Concert Band, and Singing Sergeants present a free-to-the-public holiday concert series, "Season of Hope" at DAR Constitution Hall, with the Washington Performing Arts Children of the Gospel Choir, the Alexandria School of Highland Dance, and a special visitor from the North Pole. Tickets: https://usafband.ticketleap.com SUNDAY | DECEMBER 10 3 p.m. — The U.S. Air Force Band, The U.S. Air Force Concert Band, and Singing Sergeants present a free-to-the-public holiday concert series, "Season of Hope" at DAR Constitution Hall, with the Washington Performing Arts Children of the Gospel Choir, the Alexandria School of Highland Dance, and a special visitor from the North Pole. Tickets: https://usafband.ticketleap.com TUESDAY | DECEMBER 12 9 a.m. Orlando, Florida — Day one of the Space Force Association's inaugural Spacepower Conference, with Gen. Chance Saltzman, chief of space operations; Gen. James Dickinson, commander, U.S. Space Command; Lt. Gen. Stephen Whiting, commander, Space Operations Command, Peterson Space Force Base, Colorado; Lt. Gen. DeAnna Burt, deputy chief of space operations for operations, cyber, and nuclear, U.S. Space Force; Lt. Gen. Philip Garrant, deputy chief of space operations, strategy, plans, programs, and requirements, U.S. Space Force; Lt. Gen. Michael Guetlein, commander, Space Systems Command; Maj. Gen. Stephen Purdy, military deputy, Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Space Acquisition and Integration; and others https://attendspacepower.com 9:30 a.m. 14th and F Sts. NW — Arms Control Association and Embassy of Kazakhstan in Washington discussion: "Reinforcing the Beleaguered Nuclear Nonproliferation and Arms Control System," with Yerzhan Ashikbayev, Kazakhstan ambassador to the U.S.; Thomas Countryman, chairman of the board of directors of the Arms Control Association; Amb. Elayne White Gomez, president of the negotiating conference for the 2017 Treaty on the Nonproliferation of Nuclear Weapons; Nomsa Ndongwe, research fellow, James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies; and Daryl Kimball, executive director, Arms Control Association https://www.armscontrol.org/events 2 p.m. — Defense Priorities Foundation virtual discussion: "What: Rocks, reefs, and resolve? Examining the purpose of U.S. policy in the South China Sea," with Lyle Goldstein, director, Asia Engagement, Defense Priorities; Shuxian Luo, assistant professor, Asian Studies, University of Hawaii at Manoa; Lisa Curtis, senior fellow and director, Indo-Pacific Security Program, Center for a New American Security; and moderator Benjamin Friedman, policy director, Defense Priorities https://southchinasea.splashthat.com WEDNESDAY | DECEMBER 13 9 a.m. Orlando, Florida — Day two of the Space Force Association inaugural Spacepower Conference, with Gen. Chance Saltzman, chief of space operations; Gen. James Dickinson, commander, U.S. Space Command; Lt. Gen. Stephen Whiting, commander, Space Operations Command, Peterson Space Force Base, Colorado; Lt. Gen. DeAnna Burt, deputy chief of space operations for operations, cyber, and nuclear, U.S. Space Force; Lt. Gen. Philip Garrant, deputy Chief of Space Operations, Strategy, Plans, Programs, and Requirements, U.S. Space Force; Lt. Gen. Michael Guetlein, commander, Space Systems Command; Maj. Gen. Stephen Purdy, military deputy, office of the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Space Acquisition and Integration; and others https://attendspacepower.com/ 9 a.m. — Counter Extremism Project webinar: "Houthi Procurement and Terror Finance — The Yemeni Arm of Iran's Proxy Forces," with Ari Heistein, author, CEP report series, Yemen specialist and defense technology professional; Raz Zimmt, research fellow, Israel's Institute for National Security Studies; and moderator Hans-Jakob Schindler, CEP senior director https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register | | | | "Secretary Kissinger really set the standard for everyone who followed in this job. I was very privileged to get his counsel many times, including as recently as about a month ago. He was extraordinarily generous with his wisdom, with his advice. Few people were better students of history – even fewer people did more to shape history – than Henry Kissinger." | | Secretary of State Antony Blinken, speaking in Israel on the death of Kissinger at age 100. |
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