Pence splits from Trump on Syria Presented by Northrop Grumman

With Zach Montellaro, Ellen Mitchell and Connor O’Brien

VP DEBATE NIGHT — SOME FOREIGN POLICY TALK FROM THE NUMBER TWOS: Democrat Tim Kaine and Republican Mike Pence waded a bit into the national security weeds Tuesday night, debating safe zones in Syria, a missile defense shield in Poland and the Czech Republic and the “reset” with Russia. Still, the focus for both candidates was on negatively painting their opponents’ running mate atop the ticket, which meant plenty of references to Donald Trump’s praise of Vladimir Putin and comments on nuclear weapons in the Pacific, and Hillary Clinton’s role in the Iran deal and the rise of the Islamic State in Iraq.

— PENCE BREAKS WITH TRUMP ON SYRIA, PUTIN: The Indiana governor also carved out new territory on the situation in Syria and diverged from Trump, reports our colleague Nahal Toosi: “Mike Pence broke sharply with his own running mate on Tuesday, calling Russian President Vladimir Putin a ‘small and bullying leader’ and saying the U.S. should consider striking the Syrian regime of Bashar Assad.

“‘I just have to tell you that provocations by Russia need to be met with American strength,’ said Pence, who noted that Russia is backing the Assad regime, and that both are bombing the northern Syrian city of Aleppo. ‘And if Russia chooses to be involved and continue, I should say, to be involved in this barbaric attack on Aleppo, the United States of America should use military force to strike the targets of the Assad regime, and prevent Aleppo,’ the Indiana governor added.”

— BOTH STRETCH THE TRUTH ON FOREIGN POLICY, our colleagues Darren Samuelsohn and Danny Vinik weigh in where the Indiana governor and Virginia senator veered from the truth: “Pence flubbed multiple foreign policy points. He said ‘Iraq has been overrun by ISIS’ when in fact the terrorist group is losing ground, including recent defeats in two major cities: Ramadi, at the end of 2015 and Fallujah, in June. The Republican also was wrong in stating two Syrian refugees were ‘involved in the attack of Paris’ from November 2015. While a Syrian passport was found at the scene, it was determined to be a fake.

“Kaine entered the debate prepped with his own polished line on foreign policy when he declared Trump ‘loves dictators’ and has a ‘personal Mount Rushmore’ that includes everyone from Putin to Kim Jong-Un, Muammar Gaddafi and Saddam Hussein. But while Trump has praised Putin, he’s hardly been positive on the other dictators. On the North Korean leader, for example, Trump called him a “maniac” and while he praised Hussein for killing terrorists, he’s also said the late Iraqi president also was a ‘really bad guy.’”

All of POLITICO’s debate coverage is here, including Glenn Thrush’s five takeaways from the debate he concludes didn’t matter here.

HAPPY WEDNESDAY AND WELCOME TO MORNING DEFENSE, where we’re always on the lookout for tips, pitches and feedback. Email us at [email protected], and follow on Twitter @jeremyherb, @morningdefense and @politicopro.

A message from Northrop Grumman: At 50,000 feet, the ocean seems empty. But if you know what to look for, vast intelligence can be gathered. That’s why we built Triton. With its powerful sensors and integrated comms, Triton can scan thousands of miles in a single flight and relay data back to base. Learn more

HAPPENING TODAY — AUSA WRAPS UP: Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson talks Army-DHS partnerships and U.S. Army Pacific chief Gen. Robert Brown discusses the Pacific Theater on the last day of the Association of the U.S. Army Annual Meeting and Exhibition at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center. The full schedule is here.

AUSA RUNDOWN, via our colleague Ellen Mitchell:

— ARMY'S REBOOTS ROBOT PLAN: NO 'ONE-TRICK PONIES': The Army is rethinking how to acquire robotic systems, focusing on a more modular fleet with a common base that can fulfill multiple missions instead of relying on "one-trick ponies," says Bryan McVeigh, the Army's project manager for force projection. "The Army has changed its approach on robotics," McVeigh said during a media briefing. "What we’re doing in the small and medium fleet is we are going to a common chassis and then focusing on research, development and production dollars on payloads."

— ARMY TO HUDDLE WITH BRITISH ABOUT POSSIBLE JLTV SALE: The Army this week will meet with British Ministry of Defense officials to discuss a possible foreign sale of the new Joint Light Tactical Vehicle. Scott Davis, the Army’s program executive officer for combat support, said the service has "been in discussions and had a number of engagements" with the MoD to share information on the vehicle's performance, requirements and protection levels.

— ARMY NAMES NEW ACQUISITION CHIEF: The Army has tapped Steffanie Easter, the principal deputy acquisition official, to replace Katrina McFarland in the top job. An Army spokesman confirmed to POLITICO Tuesday that Easter, the former executive director for the F-35 Lightning II Joint Program Office, will move up on Nov. 1 after McFarland's retirement as assistant secretary of the Army for acquisition, logistics and technology. Easter will fill the role until the new administration takes over next year, the spokesman said.

— CYBER WAR AGAINST ISIL MOVING 'FASTER': “The speed of the Pentagon’s cyber campaign against the Islamic State has improved in recent months, the Army general tasked with running the first-of-its-kind effort said on Tuesday,” writes our Pro Cyber colleague Martin Matishak.

ALSO TODAY — AUSTRALIAN DEFENSE MINISTER AT THE PENTAGON: Defense Secretary Ash Carter opens the Defense Innovation Board’s first quarterly meeting this morning at the Pentagon — and meets later with Australian Defense Minister Marise Payne and Minister for Defense Industry Christopher Pyne.

BUDGET BATTLES — THORNBERRY SAYS DoD HYPOCRITICAL ON WAR BUDGET, our story is here: “House Armed Services Chairman Mac Thornberry says the Pentagon should support the House Republican plan to shift $18 billion from the war budget to fund more troops and hardware because its own war request also includes significant funding not directly tied to overseas operations. In an interview with POLITICO, The Texas Republican seized on a Pentagon statement Friday explaining that about $30 billion of its $58.8 billion war budget is devoted to ‘enduring requirements’ that would continue if operations in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria ended.

“‘It’s becoming clearer with each passing day that DoD has been playing political games with the defense budget all along,’ Thornberry said. … The criticism … was set off by a statement from a Pentagon spokesman to Inside Defense that the Pentagon’s fiscal 2017 Overseas Contingency Operations account ‘includes requirements associated with a forward presence and readiness that will likely continue after current operations in Afghanistan and Iraq/Syria conclude.’”

2016 WATCH — ONE WAY NOT TO START A WAR: “Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson on Tuesday defended his lack of knowledge of world affairs, suggesting on MSNBC that foreign policy expertise, or even an understanding of where international leaders are from, is what leads to military conflict,” writes our colleague Louis Nelson. “‘You know what? The fact that somebody can dot the i’s and cross the t’s on a foreign leader’s geographic location then allows them to put our military in harm’s way,’ Johnson told MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell.”

WAR REPORT — U.S. CONSIDERING STRIKES AGAINST ASSAD, reports The Washington Post’s Josh Rogin: “U.S. military strikes against the Assad regime will be back on the table Wednesday at the White House, when top national security officials in the Obama administration are set to discuss options for the way forward in Syria. But there’s little prospect President Obama will ultimately approve them.

“Inside the national security agencies, meetings have been going on for weeks to consider new options to recommend to the president to address the ongoing crisis in Aleppo, where Syrian and Russian aircraft continue to perpetrate the deadliest bombing campaign the city has seen since the five-year-old civil war began. A meeting of the Principals Committee, which includes Cabinet-level officials, is scheduled for Wednesday. A meeting of the National Security Council, which could include the president, could come as early as this weekend.”

— RUSSIA ADDS MORE MISSILE DEFENSE CAPABILITY IN SYRIA, writes The Associated Press: “The Russian military said Tuesday it had beefed up its forces in Syria with state-of-the-art air defense missiles, an announcement that follows Washington's move to suspend contacts with Russia over Syria. The deployment immediately raised questions in the Pentagon, which wondered about its purpose.”

NEVER, EVER GETTING BACK TOGETHER? Philippine leader Rodrigo Duterte said Tuesday that President Barack Obama could "go to hell,” Reuters writes: “In his latest salvo, Duterte said he was realigning his foreign policy because the United States had failed the Philippines and added that at some point, ‘I will break up with America.’ It was not clear what he meant by ‘break up.’ During three tangential and fiercely worded speeches in Manila, Duterte said the United States did not want to sell missiles and other weapons, but Russia and China had told him they could provide them easily.”

U.S. TO DROP CHARGES AGAINST ALLEGED PROVIDER OF LIBYAN WEAPONS, reports POLITICO’s Ken Vogel and Josh Gerstein: “The Obama administration is moving to dismiss charges against an arms dealer it had accused of selling weapons that were destined for Libyan rebels. … The deal averts a trial that threatened to cast additional scrutiny on Hillary Clinton’s private emails as secretary of state and to expose reported Central Intelligence Agency attempts to arm rebels fighting Libyan leader Moammar Qadhafi.”

OOPS: We flipped two letters in the first name of the new House Armed Services Committee staffer Tuesday. He’s Brian Greer.

SPEED READ

— Yahoo secretly scanned its customers’ emails for specific information provided by U.S. intelligence officials: Reuters

— Afghan forces with U.S. air power remove most Taliban insurgents from Kunduz: The Washington Post

— A U.S. service member dies in Afghanistan while on a mission against the Islamic State: The New York Times

— Secretary of State John Kerry says the U.S. will keep pushing for peace in Syria: POLITICO Europe

— Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) says the media twisted Donald Trump’s words on PTSD and veterans: Arizona Daily Star

— Iraqi officers prepare in Jordan for the Mosul offensive: Defense News

— The carrier USS George Washington deploys to provide relief from Hurricane Matthew: Navy Times

— Kurdish forces preparing to join the attack on Mosul have asked Britain for equipment to protect themselves from chemical attacks: The Guardian

— Ira’s prime minister warns Turkey against keeping troops in northern Iraq: Reuters

— Syrian rebels say they repelled a government army offensive in southern Aleppo: Reuters

— A video emerges of former Islamic State recruit Harry Sarfo, who frequently appears in the media, firing at hostages: The Washington Post

— Boeing’s “unique” way of accounting allows the company to turn a on-the-books profit earlier: WSJ

— Libyan forces have reduced the Islamic State’s area of control in Sirte to less than 1 kilometer: Reuters

— The Islamic State is fleeing to Mali and other parts of Africa: The Daily Beast

— The Korean defense industry wants more co-development with the U.S.: Defense News

— The U.S. Navy moors ships at Cam Ranh Bay in Vietnam for the first time since the war, including the USS John S. McCain destroyer: Stars and Stripes

— One-on-one therapy is the most effective at treating post-concussion symptoms in service members, according to a new study: Stars and Stripes

Follow us on Twitter Dave Brown @dave_brown24



Bryan Bender @bryandbender



Connor O'Brien @connorobriennh



Jacqueline Feldscher @jacqklimas



Lara Seligman @laraseligman