Evidence mounts Houthis fired on Navy ships, U.S. says Presented by Northrop Grumman

With Zach Montellaro, Connor O’Brien and Ellen Mitchell

U.S. SEES EVIDENCE HOUTHIS FIRED ON NAVY SHIP AS DoD MULLS RESPONSE, reports Reuters’ Phil Stewart: “The United States is seeing growing indications that Iran-allied Houthi rebels, despite denials, were responsible for Sunday's attack on a Navy destroyer off the Yemen coast, U.S. officials told Reuters. The rebels appeared to use small skiffs as spotters to help direct a missile attack on the warship, said U.S. officials, who are not authorized to speak publicly because the investigation is ongoing.


“The United States is also investigating the possibility that a radar station under Houthi control in Yemen might have also ‘painted’ the USS Mason, something that would have helped the Iran-aligned fighters pass along coordinates for a strike, said the officials. Neither of the two missiles fired from Houthi-controlled territory on Sunday hit the USS Mason or the nearby USS Ponce, an amphibious transport dock. But the incident threatens to trigger the first direct U.S. military action against Houthis in Yemen's conflict, even if it is limited to one-off retaliation. The Houthis have publicly denied any role in the strike.”

— DoD ISN’T RULING OUT IRAN AS THE SOURCE OF THE MISSILES, via Stars and Stripes’ Tara Copp: “The Pentagon won’t rule out that Iranian missiles provided to rebels in Yemen were used to fire upon two U.S. warships in the Red Sea on Sunday, spokesman Capt. Jeff Davis said Tuesday. … Davis said Tuesday that while the Houthis may have obtained advanced weaponry through the facilities they now control in Yemen, the U.S. was not ruling out that the missiles might have come from Iran. ‘It’s no secret that Iran has been actively supplying them and giving them the tools of war,’ Davis said.”

U.S. ALSO WEIGHS A RESPONSE TO RUSSIAN HACKS, reports our colleague Louis Nelson: “White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest promised on Tuesday that the U.S. would deliver a ‘proportional’ response to Russia’s alleged hacking of American computer systems. In addition to pledging that the U.S. ‘will ensure that our response is proportional,’ Earnest told reporters flying on Air Force One that ‘it is unlikely that our response would be announced in advance.’

“‘The president has talked before about the significant capabilities that the U.S. government has to both defend our systems in the United States but also carry out offensive operations in other countries,’ he said as the press corps traveled with the president to a Hillary Clinton campaign event in North Carolina. … After months of speculation to that end, President Barack Obama’s administration officially pointed the finger last week at Russia, blaming it for cyberattacks against political targets in the U.S.”

HAPPY WEDNESDAY AND WELCOME TO MORNING DEFENSE, where we’re still stinging from the Giants spectacular collapse Tuesday night. Good luck, Cubs and Nats fans. Keep the tips, pitches and feedback coming at [email protected], and follow on Twitter @jeremyherb, @morningdefense and @politicopro.

HAPPENING TODAY — MABUS AT THE PRESS CLUB: Navy Secretary Ray Mabus speaks at the National Press Club this afternoon on his tenure as the longest-serving Navy secretary since World War I and what might be next with the new administration. In an interview with POLITICO last month, Mabus wouldn’t say what his plans are next, but perhaps he’ll shed some light today.

ALSO TODAY: Deputy Defense Secretary Bob Work meets with the Hungarian Defense Minister István Simicskó at the Pentagon this afternoon. Afterward, the Pentagon is holding a ceremony to commemorate Hungary’s 60th anniversary of the 1956 uprising against the former Soviet-backed government.

NOT HAPPENING ANYMORE — PUTIN SCRAPS NEXT WEEK’S VISIT TO FRANCE, reports The Washington Post’s Andrew Roth: “ Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday canceled a visit to Paris after the French leader called the recent bombings of the Syrian city of Aleppo a ‘war crime’ and questioned publicly whether it made sense to meet with Putin at all.

“The decision to call off next week’s trip underscores the increasing divides between the West and Russia over Moscow’s military aid to Syria’s government in the country’s more than five-year conflict. French officials have said that they want the International Criminal Court’s prosecutor to open a war crimes investigation of Russia and Syria’s airstrikes in Aleppo, which have become a byword for the grave humanitarian crisis unleashed by the Syrian civil war.”

2016 WATCH — TURKEY UNHAPPY WITH CLINTON’S KURDS COMMENT, via The Associated Press: “Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim on Tuesday criticized U.S. presidential candidate Hillary Clinton for comments suggesting that she would consider providing arms to support to Kurdish fighters in Syria. For the United States, the Syrian Kurdish militia the most effective force against the Islamic State group in Syria, but Turkey considers the force a terror organization because of its affiliation to Turkey's outlawed Kurdish rebels. … Clinton's comments prompted an angry response from Yildirim who questioned the ‘morality’ of ‘fighting a terrorist organization with another terrorist organization.’”

— ‘FOUL-MOUTHED’ McCAIN AMONG TRUMP’S TARGETS IN NEW GOP BROADSIDE, via POLITICO’s Brent Griffiths: “Donald Trump attacked John McCain on Tuesday, calling him ‘foul-mouthed’ and claiming credit for the Arizona senator's primary win. ‘The very foul mouthed Sen. John McCain begged for my support during his primary (I gave, he won), then dropped me over locker room remarks!,’ Trump tweeted, part of his rage-against-the-GOP tweet spree on Tuesday.”

— FISCHER BACK TO BACKING TRUMP, reports our colleague Kyle Cheney: “Nebraska Sen. Deb Fischer on Tuesday reversed her call for Donald Trump to resign from the GOP ticket, telling a local radio station that it's "not a tough choice" to back him just three days after she urged him to quit. ‘I plan to vote for Mr. Trump and Mr. Pence on November 8,’ she said on Nebraska's KLIN.”

THE EVOLUTION OF WAR — THE ISLAMIC STATE IS USING ARMED DRONES, writes The New York Times’ Michael S. Schmidt and Eric Schmitt: “Kurdish forces fighting the Islamic State in northern Iraq last week shot down a small drone the size of a model airplane. They believed it was like the dozens of drones the terrorist organization had been flying for reconnaissance in the area, and they transported it back to their outpost to examine it.

“But as they were taking it apart, it blew up, killing two Kurdish fighters in what is believed to be one of the first times the Islamic State has successfully used a drone with explosives to kill troops on the battlefield. In the last month, the Islamic State has tried to use small drones to launch attacks at least two other times, prompting American commanders in Iraq to issue a warning to forces fighting the group to treat any type of small flying aircraft as a potential explosive device.”

EXIT INTERVIEW — POLITICO PRO Q&A WITH KATRINA MCFARLAND, via our colleague Ellen Mitchell : “Katrina McFarland took over as the Army’s top acquisition official in February when the service struggled to balance troop levels and fund badly needed new equipment. Eight months later, the issue persists — and she's leaving. McFarland, who is retiring Nov. 1 for medical reasons, is now racing to ensure major acquisition programs don't hit the back burner should Congress increase troop levels but fail to adequately fund them.

“‘It will disrupt our ability to modernize the Army next and that is something that’s unforgiving,’ she said of the pending defense policy legislation to provide 480,000 active-duty troops, 30,000 more than budgeted. … McFarland — who is being replaced by the principal deputy acquisition official, Steffanie Easter — discussed with POLITICO the budgetary challenges with new programs and where the Army needs to invest for possible conflicts in Europe and the Middle East, among other issues.” The full Q&A is here, for Pros.

MAKING MOVES

— CARSON JOINS BCG CONSULTING FIRM: Brad Carson, who left his post as Pentagon personnel chief last spring, has been hired by the Boston Consulting Group as a senior adviser in its public sector practice, the group announced Tuesday. A former Democratic congressman from Oklahoma who deployed to Iraq as a Navy intelligence officer, Carson joined the Pentagon in 2012.

He was Army undersecretary before Defense Secretary Ash Carter tapped him as acting undersecretary for personnel and readiness in 2015. Carson spearheaded the “Force of the Future” initiative, Carter’s controversial effort to improve the military’s recruiting and retention that ran afoul of some Republicans in Congress, who threatened to hold up his confirmation as personnel chief. Instead, Carson opted to withdraw his nomination and left the Pentagon in April.

— SASC AIDE JOINING PACIFIC COMMAND: Eric Sayers is leaving the Senate Armed Services Committee to take a job with U.S. Pacific Command Chief Adm. Harry Harris. Sayers, who works on Asia-Pacific issues for the committee, is heading to Hawaii to be a policy adviser for Harris’ Commander’s Action Group, starting on Oct. 24.

SPEED READ

— The Iraqi offensive to retake Mosul from the Islamic State risks turning into a mess: The Washington Post

— Gunmen attack Shiite worshipers in Kabul, killing at least 14 people on one of the holiest days for Shiite Muslims: The Washington Post

— A Pakistani journalist who reported on civilian officials confronting the military over inaction against Islamist groups in Pakistan says he’s barred from leaving the country: NYT

— Russian jets resume the heavy bombing of eastern Aleppo in Syria: Reuters

— A new weapon in Russia’s arsenal, and it’s inflatable: NYT

— The Supreme Court is taking up a case to decide whether immigrants imprisoned after 9/11 can sue: The Wall Street Journal

— The president says work has begun on habitats to support a manned mission to Mars by the 2030s: Reuters

— “Increased activity” is detected at a North Korean satellite-launching station: Stars and Stripes

— Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte asks “do you really think we need it?” of the U.S.-Philippine defense relationship, but he’ll not abrogate a defense treaty with the U.S.: AP

— The U.S. military ramps up bombing against the Islamic State in Libya: Stars and Stripes

— More than 1,000 Chinese veterans protest for better benefits: WSJ

— The Pentagon delays the rollout of a new electronic health record system until 2017: Military Times

— The president's “insider-threat” order fails to stop big federal leaks: POLITICO

— How U.S. torture left a legacy of damaged minds: NYT

— A military doctor is fighting to practice again after his conviction is tossed out: Seattle Times

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