| COMMISSION: US STRATEGY PERILOUSLY INADEQUATE: The congressionally mandated Commission on the National Defense Strategy has released its review of the 2022 National Defense Strategy and unanimously concluded that the U.S. is dangerously unprepared to meet the very real prospect of future war and that "the trends are getting worse, not better." "We share the belief that we face threats greater than any time since World War II and more complex than the Cold War," former Rep. Jane Harman (D-CA), chairwoman of the eight-member commission, said in a preview of the report at the Aspen Security Conference two weeks ago. "We believe there needs to be fundamental change in the way the Pentagon and government agencies do business, plus a robust incorporation of technology and the tech sector, and full embrace of the capabilities of our partners and allies." The report is replete with alarming assessments of the state of the U.S. military, which it describes as being "at the breaking point," facing "recruiting failures" that have left it too small to meet "today's needs and tomorrow's challenges," and suffering from industrial production "grossly inadequate to provide the equipment, technology, and munitions needed today, let alone given the demands of great power conflict." "We decry the broken budgeting process in Congress and the broken Congress and stressed the need for leaders to explain to the public this has not happened, how dire the situation is and to fully resource how to pay for the fixes," Harman said. Harman and Commission Vice Chairman Eric Edelman, the former undersecretary of defense for policy, will testify this morning at 10 a.m. before the Senate Armed Services Committee. REPEAL THE FRA: One of the commission’s key recommendations will be music to the ears of defense hawks in Congress, such as Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS), the ranking Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee. Wicker has been calling for scrapping the cap on defense spending negotiated for former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) as part of last year’s debt ceiling deal to boost this year’s Pentagon budget by $25 billion. "Congress should revoke the 2023 Fiscal Responsibility Act spending caps and provide real growth for fiscal year 2025 defense and nondefense national security spending," the report recommends. "The United States must spend more effectively and more efficiently to build the future force, not perpetuate the existing one. Additional resources will be necessary. Congress should pass a supplemental appropriation to begin a multiyear investment in the national security innovation and industrial base." "We were alarmed by what we were facing in terms of our threats and just how seriously the United States military had lost its decisive edge," said retired Gen. Jack Keane, former Army vice chief of staff and a member of not just the current commission, but a previous one that reviewed the strategy in 2018. “Here we are five years later. The threats are more serious and more dangerous and we have absolutely failed to keep up with it,” Keane said at the Aspen forum. “We haven’t seen anything quite like this since World War II. And it includes the potential for near-term war. The partnership of Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea is a major strategic threat that we have yet to account for.” 'FUNDAMENTAL SHIFT' TO 'WARTIME URGENCY' NEEDED: The bipartisan commission is hoping to send a wake-up call to the nation and its lawmakers that its work should not be dismissed as just another Washington Blue Ribbon panel whose report can be read and then ignored. "Changes in the nature of warfare, including drone technology, artificial intelligence, hypersonic weapons are outpacing U.S. efforts to keep up, the report warns. "DOD is operating at the speed of bureaucracy when the threat is approaching wartime urgency … Fundamental shifts in threats and technology require fundamental change." “China is outpacing the United States and has largely negated the United States’s military advantage in the Western Pacific after two decades of China’s very focused investment,” Keane said. “We are already involved in two wars, and we’re struggling right now to keep up providing munitions and equipment to our allies. If we got involved in a global war, we would be significantly challenged to deal with our adversaries and the capabilities that they have.” "If we truly want to deter aggression, and I submit we do, we need to realize how serious and how dangerous the challenges that we’re facing. We’ve got to move with a sense of urgency and determination, now, to confront these threats that we’re facing," Keane said. OPINION: BRING THE NATIONAL DEFENSE BILL TO THE SENATE FLOOR Good Tuesday 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 Christopher Tremoglie. 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 HAPPENING TODAY: Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin met with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. in Manila today, followed by a 2+2 Security Consultative Committee meeting with their counterparts, Foreign Secretary Enrique Manalo and Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro. "I think today is genuinely historic," Blnken said before the meeting. "This is the first time that the Philippines has hosted our 2+2. It's, I think, really evidence of a steady drumbeat of very high-level engagements between our countries that are covering the full range of issues and opportunities that bring us together." Blinken and Austin came bearing gifts, announcing $500 million in funding to boost Philippine defenses and discussing progress in a proposed military pact. "Austin and Secretary Teodoro welcomed the historic announcements from the 2024 U.S.-Philippines 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue on Foreign Military Financing for the Philippines and the conclusion of a Security Sector Assistance Roadmap," the Pentagon said in a readout of the meeting. "Austin reaffirmed U.S. support for the Philippines in defending its sovereign rights, and the two officials discussed the importance of preserving the rights of all nations to fly, sail, and operate — safely and responsibly — wherever international law allows." MORE AID FOR UKRAINE: The Pentagon is sending another $200 million of U.S. equipment drawn from current inventories to Ukraine, including air defense interceptors, munitions for U.S.-provided HIMARS, artillery and mortar rounds, Javelin anti-tank missiles and other anti-tank weapons. Since Congress passed a supplemental funding measure in late April, which included just over $60 billion for Ukraine, the Biden administration has authorized nine security assistance packages, "and the men and women of our Armed Forces have been working around the clock to get those weapons and that equipment into Ukraine as quickly as possible," John Kirby, White House national security communications adviser said on a conference call yesterday. While Russia continues to make incremental advances on the battlefield, and Ukraine is facing a shortage of manpower, the White House argues the aid has come just in time to prevent a major breakthrough by Russian forces. “President Biden made the case strongly that if we got the supplemental over the finish line, we would be able to shore up Ukraine’s position and prevent these types of worst-case scenarios from taking place, and that’s exactly what has happened,” Kirby told reporters. “Since the supplemental passed, Ukraine’s defensive lines have been fortified, and Ukrainian forces have continued to fight bravely and to repel Russia’s advances. Over the past few months, Russia has suffered extraordinary costs, sacrificing thousands of Russian soldiers for very little gain.” UKRAINE WAR MAY BE HEADED TO DREADED 'FROZEN CONFLICT' ZONE SECRET SERVICE FACES ANOTHER GRILLING: With the resignation of Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle last week, it will be acting Director Ronald Rowe and FBI Deputy Director Paul Abbate in the hot seat today as a joint hearing of the Senate committees on the Judiciary and Homeland Security examine the agency's failure to prevent the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump more than two weeks ago. The hearing comes one day after the FBI released new details about its investigation into the possible motives of the would-be assassin Thomas Matthew Crooks. Through more than 450 interviews, the FBI has fleshed out a portrait of Crooks, finding him to have been a "highly intelligent" but reclusive 20-year-old whose primary social circle was his family and who maintained few friends and acquaintances throughout his life, according to Kevin Rojek, the special agent in charge of the FBI's Pittsburgh field office. Crooks’ interactions with peers in online gaming platforms appeared to have been minimal, the FBI said, revealing he had looked online for information about mass shootings, power plants, improvised explosive devices, and the May assassination attempt of the Slovakian prime minister, according to the Associated Press. TRUMP AGREES TO INTERVIEW WITH FBI ON ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT TRUMP: 'SHOULD HAVE BEEN SOMEBODY ON THE ROOF': In an interview that aired last night on Fox, Trump praised the bravery of the Secret Service agents who rushed to shield him from a would-be assassin’s bullets while at the same time faulting the agency for failing to secure the outer perimeter of the venue. "One thing about Secret Service. They were very brave, because they were coming, and bullets were flying over me, because I went down. Bullets were flying. And they were — they were on top of me. I had a lot of people on top of me, a lot of very big, strong people on top of me, I want to tell you. And they were very brave. I have to say that," Trump recalled. “With that being said, should have been somebody on the roof. They should have been in communication with the local police, which there wasn’t. So that’s a bad thing,” Trump told host Laura Ingraham. “And they were seeing this guy, who’s a very disturbed person. And they were seeing him around. I mean, it’s like, how about the people, the Trump fans, the Trumpsters, the woman in the red shirt that was screaming, he’s got a gun, that guy’s got a gun!” “There was no communication. Actually, worse, there was no communication. So they didn’t speak to each other. They actually didn’t speak. That just came out,” Trump said. “Look, it’s a terrible thing.” FBI AND PRIVACY HAWKS CLASH OVER ENCRYPTION AFTER TRUMP ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT THE RUNDOWN: Washington Examiner: Mob storms IDF base over investigation into soldiers' alleged abuse Washington Examiner: Iran is meddling in election against Trump, but Russia is for him: Intelligence community Washington Examiner: Netanyahu warns of 'severe' response to Hezbollah Golan Heights children attack Washington Examiner: GOP senators move to block migrants who pose security threat from being paroled into US Washington Examiner: Endorsing Venezuela election theft, China proves lie of 'win-win' narrative Washington Examiner: Trump agrees to interview with FBI on assassination attempt Washington Examiner: State Department funds could enrich terrorist groups operating out of Afghanistan Washington Post: Region Braces As Netanyahu Weighs Response To Strike Reuters: Ukraine’s Zelenskiy Visits Frontline Area In Kharkiv Region AP: Russia's Wagner Has Deadliest Loss In Africa's Sahel, Highlighting The Region's Instability Reuters: China Rebukes U.S., Japan For ‘False Accusations’ On Maritime Issues, Military Expansion DefenseScoop: Pentagon IG Moves To Assess High-Stakes Replicator Initiative Air & Space Forces Magazine: Small Drones Force New Thinking on Air Superiority, Slife Says War on the Rocks: The Maintenance Workforce Dilemma Threatening the Future of Airpower Breaking Defense: US Air Force Awards Contracts for Drone Wingman's AI Brains, but Keeps Details Secret Inside Defense: Pentagon Plans at Least $45 Billion in Offensive Hypersonic Strike Acquisition Air & Space Forces Magazine: Slife: Shorter Training Pipelines Help Shore Up Pilot Shortage Air & Space Forces Magazine: Japan to Start Making AMRAAMs and Export PAC-3 Missiles Aviation Week: US Air Force Weighing Engine Options For Future Mobility Fleet Air & Space Forces Magazine: Two Selected CCA Contractors May Not Get Equal Share of Work, USAF Official Says SpaceNews: ULA Prepares for Final Military Launch of Atlas 5 Rocket Task & Purpose: Here Are the Four Military Veterans Kamala Harris Might Pick For VP Washington Post: William Calley, Army Officer And Face Of My Lai Massacre, Is Dead At 80 THE CALENDAR: TUESDAY | JULY 30 9:30 a.m. 216 Hart Senate — Senate Armed Services Committee hearing: "Findings and recommendations of the Commission on the National Defense Strategy," with testimony from former Rep. Jane Harman (D-CA), chairwoman, Commission on the National Defense Strategy; and Eric Edelman, former undersecretary of defense for policy, vice chairman, Commission on the National Defense Strategy http://www.armed-services.senate.gov 10 a.m. G-50 Dirksen — Senate Judiciary Committee and Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee joint hearing: “Examination of the Security Failures Leading to the Assassination Attempt on Former President Trump,” with testimony from Ronald Rowe, acting director of the U.S. Secret Service; and Deputy FBI Director Paul Abbate http://www.hsgac.senate.gov 10 a.m. 419 Dirksen — Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing: “Strategic Competition with the PRC: Assessing U.S. Competitiveness Beyond the Indo-Pacific,” with testimony from Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell http://foreign.senate.gov 10 a.m. — Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies virtual discussion: "The crucial role of airpower in Europe and Africa," with Air Force Gen. James Hecker, commander of U.S. Air Forces in Europe, U.S. Air Forces Africa and the Allied Air Command https://mitchellaerospacepower.org/event/an-gen-james-b-hecker 11 a.m. — Heritage Foundation virtual discussion: “Nuclear Posture Review: Building Our Strength in 2025,” with Sen. Deb Fischer (R-NB); Matthew Kroenig, professor of government and foreign service at Georgetown University; and Robert Peters, Heritage research fellow on nuclear deterrence and missile defense https://www.heritage.org/missile-defense/event 12 p.m. — Association of the U.S. Army "Noon Report" webinar with Dr. Lester Martinez-Lopez, assistant secretary of defense for health affairs https://www.ausa.org/events/noon-report 2 p.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave. NW — Center for Strategic and International Studies and the Association of the U.S. Army virtual and in-person Strategic Landpower Dialogue: "The Defense of Guam," with Lt. Gen. Robert Rasch, director, Rapid Capabilities and Critical Technologies Office and executive officer, Joint Program Office for the Guam Defense System; and Brig. Gen. Frank Lozano, program executive officer, Missiles and Space https://www.csis.org/events/defense-guam 2:30 p.m. 419 Dirksen — Senate Foreign Relations Europe and Regional Security Cooperation Subcommittee hearing: “The Future of Europe,” with testimony from Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs James O’Brien http://foreign.senate.gov 5:30 p.m. 920 Jones Branch Dr., McLean, Virginia — Intelligence and National Security Alliance discussion of "Issues including election security, great power competition, cyber threats to critical infrastructure, U.S. Cyber Command 2.0, AI/ML and defense industrial base defense,” with Air Force Gen. Timothy Haugh, commander of the U.S. Cyber Command, director of the National Security Agency and chief of the Central Security Service https://www.insaonline.org/detail-pages/event WEDNESDAY | JULY 31 8:30 a.m. 1201 15th St. NW — Defense Strategies Institute DOD Energy and Power Summit, with Navy Operational Energy Director James Caley; and Puesh Kumar, director of the Energy Department Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response https://power.dsigroup.org/register/ 8:45 a.m. 137 National Plaza, Oxon Hill, Maryland — Defense Strategies Institute 2024 Joint Air Survivability Summit, with Rear Adm. Michael Donnelly, director of air warfare in the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations https://airsurvivability.dsigroup.org/ 9:30 a.m. — Center for Strategic and International Studies virtual discussion: “Rebuilding America’s Maritime Strength,” with Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) and Rep. Michael Waltz (R-FL). https://www.csis.org/events/rebuilding-americas-maritime-strength 11 a.m. 1775 Massachusetts Ave. NW — Brookings Institution discussion: “The Future of Ukraine’s Economic Recovery,” with former Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker, special representative for Ukraine’s economic recovery, State Department; Ukrainian Ambassador to the U.S. Oksana Markarova; Constanze Stelzenmuller, director, Brookings Center on the U.S. and Europe; and Ben Harris, Brookings vice president and director of economic studies https://www.brookings.edu/events/the-future-of-ukraines-economic-recovery/ THURSDAY | AUGUST 1 7:45 a.m. 1700 Army Navy Dr., Arlington, Virginia — National Defense Industrial Association Senior Defense Leaders Forum, with Defense Undersecretary for Research and Engineering Heidi Shyu; and former Deputy Defense Secretary David Norquist, NDIA president and CEO https://www.eventbrite.com/e/2024-aug-1-ndia 8:30 a.m. 1201 15th St. NW — Defense Strategies Institute DOD Energy and Power Summit, with Paul Farnan, principal deputy assistant Army secretary for installations, energy and environment https://power.dsigroup.org/register/ 8:45 a.m. 137 National Plaza Oxon Hill, Maryland — Defense Strategies Institute Joint Air Survivability Summit, with Arthur Huber, executive director of the Air Force Test Center https://airsurvivability.dsigroup.org/ 10 a.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave. NW — Center for Strategic and International Studies discussion: “Nuclear Threats and the Role of Allies,” with Acting Secretary of Defense for Space Policy Vipin Narang https://www.csis.org/events/nuclear-threats-and-role-allies 4 p.m. — Center for Strategic and International Studies media conference call briefing: “Previewing the Australia-U.S. Ministerial Consultations,” with Charles Edel, CSIS Australia chair; Kathryn Paik, CSIS Australia chair; Cynthia Cook, director of the CSIS Defense-Industrial Initiatives Group; and Rory Medcalf, CSIS nonresident adjunct fellow RSVP: Sam Cestari at [email protected]. MONDAY | AUGUST 511 a.m. 2401 M St., NW — George Washington University Project for Media and National Security Defense Writers Group coffee-conversation with Elizabeth Allen, the undersecretary of state for public diplomacy RSVP: [email protected] | | | | "But I said to the Christians in the room, thousands of them, I said, typically, Christians do not vote. Why it is, I don't know. You're rebellious. Something's going on. Don't worry about the future. Vote on — you have to vote on November 5. After that, you don't have to worry about voting anymore. I don't care, because we're going to fix it. The country will be fixed. And we won't even need your vote anymore because, frankly, we will have such love. If you don't want to vote anymore, that's OK." | | Former President Donald Trump, in response to a question from Fox host Laura Ingraham about whether he was suggesting he would end future elections. |
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