Pentagon wants another base in Turkey; Odierno’s last week; Drone operators behaving badly; Russia wants nuclear aircraft carrier; and a bit more.
The Pentagon has a new Syrian proxy force, and it’s not the moderate fighters expensively trained by the U.S. military. Instead, the Pentagon is supporting Syrian Kurdish militia fighters, known as the Popular Protection Units or YPG. The Daily Beast’s Nancy Youssef with the scoop: “The Obama administration publicly is still counting on a $500 million rebel army to beat ISIS in Syria. But privately, the Pentagon brass long ago moved past its own proxy force.”
And the YPG can fight: “According to one group, the YPG has so far reclaimed at least 11 villages from ISIS, including in the Syrian city of Kobani, one of the biggest victories in the year-long campaign. And in June, the YPG regained control of the Syrian border town of Tal Abyad, cutting off a key ISIS conduit to weapons and supplies. Like the New Syrian Force, the YPG can call in coalition airstrikes as needed.” More here.
Stuffing Turkey with aircraft. Nearly three weeks since Ankara said the U.S. could use Incirlik Air Base to attack Islamic State militants in Iraq and Syria, the Pentagon wants access to another base, to stage personnel recovery aircraft. Stars and Stripes’ Corey Dickstein: “It was unclear Monday whether the U.S. would be able to use the second base to launch offensive strikes against the Islamic State.” Pentagon spokesman Navy Capt. Jeff Davis said which base and what kind of aircraft would be used have not been determined.
U.S. Air Force HH-60 combat search-and-rescue helicopters are the likely candidates. The units specialize in recovering downed pilots from high-threat areas, including ones with surface-to-air missiles, like Syria. These helicopters are already in the region, as are V-22 Ospreys. More here.
But there appears to be tension between U.S. military officials and their Turkish counterparts. Just hours after the Incirlik deal went through, report Fox News’ Lucas Tomlinson and Jennifer Griffin, Turkey surprised and outraged American leaders: “With only 10 minutes’ notice to their American partners, Turkey launched a massive air strike of its own July 24 against a Kurdish militant group in the northern mountains of Iraq. The U.S. had barely enough warning to make sure its own forces were out of the way.”
Of note: An unnamed military source told Fox that U.S. Special Forces were “not far from where the Turks were bombing, training Kurdish Peshmerga fighters.” More here.
Breaking: Iraq’s parliament has approved Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi's government reform package, Reuters reports. “Emboldened by widespread anti-government protests and a call by a leading Shi’ite Muslim cleric for tougher action, Abadi announced measures over the weekend aimed at reforming a system critics say hands high office to unqualified candidates and encourages corruption.” More here.
One of Iraq’s three deputy prime ministers has resigned, Radio Free Europe reports. Baha al-Araji, deputy prime minister for energy affairs, will be investigated for corruption, the publication reports.
Meanwhile, in Syria: Authorities have reportedly arrested a cousin of President Bashar al-Assad. Suleiman al-Assad is suspected of murdering a military officer in a road-rage incident. More here.
Another setback for closing the Guantanamo prison: The Justice Department says it will not support moving prisoners to a facility in Illinois, write the Washington Post’s Adam Goldman and Missy Ryan, just one day after reports that tensions between the White House and Defense Secretary Ashton Carter were rising over releasing detainees.
The Pentagon is still working on a Gitmo closure plan, but don’t expect to see it until after Congress comes back from its August recess, The Hill’s Kristina Wong reports. And if you haven’t already, make sure you read Molly O’Toole’s comprehensive look at the legal thicket around the prison.
From Defense One
Don’t be led astray by the legend of the Surge, writes The Atlantic’s Peter Beinart at Defense One. Having misunderstood the lessons of the Iraq War, Republicans are taking a dangerously hawkish turn, he says.
Uber could help change spycraft. The U.S. intelligence community wants the innovative car-sharing company, and other commercial startups, to give feedback on its 5-year data-analysis roadmap. NextGov’s Aliya Sternstein has the story.
A drone that hacks computers. It’s designed to help good guys spot vulnerabilities in their networks. But you can buy it for $2,500, and if you have the programming chops, turn it into a flying malware injector, Defense One’s Tech Editor Patrick Tucker reports from the Las Vegas hacker conference.
Welcome to Tuesday’s edition of The D Brief, from Marcus Weisgerber and Brad Peniston. Ben Watson is off this week, but we’re still here for you. Want to share The D Brief with a friend? Here’s our subscribe link. And please tell us what you like, don’t like, or want to drop on our radar right here at the-d-brief@defenseone.com.
Farewell, chief. Gen. Raymond Odierno will hand the Army’s reins to Gen. Mark Milley on Friday during a ceremony at Fort Meyer. He is scheduled to brief the Pentagon press corps one more time on Wednesday, but he has already had an exit interview with Army Times’ Michelle Tan. In it, he repeated his warning that the Army might be shrinking too much.
Odierno: “If we get small enough where some of these [world] leaders don't believe the Army can respond or deter them, if you can’t ... deter them from believing they can accomplish something ... that increases the threats and danger to the United States. And I don’t know what that level is, but I think we’re getting dangerously close to that level now.” More here.
In case you missed it, the Army held a massive, live-fire exercise in the Mojave Desert last week to show it could deploy anywhere in the world on short notice. “We’re making sure that everybody understands that we have a capability, if we have to, to force our way into an area, if it’s in our nation’s best interest,” Odierno said.
Russia is designing a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, according to the country’s United Shipbuilding Corporation via the state-run Tass news agency. “Research conducted by the Nevskoye Design Bureau indicates that the sole way of meeting the Navy’s requirements, such as power generation, sea endurance and voyage range is to equip the ship with a nuclear power plant,” the spokesman said. It would replace the two helicopter carriers from France, whose deal was canceled after Russia annexed Crimea. More here.
While we’re on the subject of Russia, the U.S. embassy in Lithuania is offering a $500,000 grant to an organization that could train Russian-speaking journalists. More here.
And how’s that ceasefire in eastern Ukraine? Not good, Ukrainian officials say. Reuters: “Ukraine accused pro-Russian rebels on Monday of carrying out the heaviest artillery attacks on government positions in six months and warned of signs the conflict was escalating despite a ceasefire deal.” The Ukrainian military said tanks are supporting 400 rebel fighters near Starohnativka, which is about 30 miles north of Mariupol. “Control of Mariupol could help the rebels form a corridor to the Crimea peninsula, which Russia annexed from Ukraine last year.” The rebels denied the attacks.
Drone operators are behaving badly, and government regulators are “largely powerless to stop them,” the Washington Post’s Craig Whitlock reports. “In recent days, drones have smuggled drugs into an Ohio prison, smashed against a Cincinnati skyscraper, impeded efforts to fight wildfires in California and nearly collided with three airliners over New York City. Earlier this summer, a runaway two-pound drone struck a woman at a gay pride parade in Seattle, knocking her unconscious. In Albuquerque, a drone buzzed into a crowd at an outdoor festival, injuring a bystander. In Tampa, a drone reportedly stalked a woman outside a downtown bar before crashing into her car.”
FAA Administrator Michael Huerta: “I’m definitely getting much more concerned about it.”
Whitlock: “Under a law passed in 2012 that was designed in part to protect model-airplane enthusiasts, the FAA cannot impose new restrictions on recreational drone owners. As a result, they are not required to obtain licenses, register their aircraft or undergo training.” More here.
A Post reporter in held in Iran on espionage charges could have his fate determined within the week, more than a year after being detained. Jason Rezaian, the paper’s correspondent in Tehran “has strongly denied the allegations against him, and the State Department, international media watchdog groups and others have pressed for his release.” More here.
Two women could soon become the first to wear Army Ranger tabs if they complete swamp training in Florida. The Christian Science Monitor’s Anna Mulrine with a feature on their journey through the “swamp phase” here. (ICYMI: the Ranger Association says the women, if they graduate, will be welcome as members.)
Can a supercomputer fix Air Force acquisition? Air Force Times’ Phillip Swarts: “The service is hoping to develop a supercomputer, a ‘cognitive thinking machine,’ that can analyze vast quantities of data, track cost and benefits, and easily navigate the library of U.S. government codes and regulations, all in an effort to improve the acquisitions process.” More here.