Taliban targets Kabul; US sends F-16s to Turkey; Arms sales resume to Bahrain; How to email DoD Silicon Valley; and a bit more.
Four Kabul attacks in as many days: A Taliban suicide car bomb killed five people and injured at least 16 injured at the entrance to Kabul International Airport on Monday. Four civilian and a police officer were among those dead and the airport was closed for several hours, the BBC reports.
The airport attack follows three on Friday that killed at least 50 people elsewhere in Afghanistan’s capital. More than a dozen civilians were killed by a truck bomb that destroyed cars and buildings and left a 33-foot crater in the street. A separate attack on a NATO facility killed a U.S. Army Green Beret and eight Afghan security guards. And a third killed at least 18 Afghan police cadets.
Breaking: Shots fired at U.S. consulate in Istanbul. Two assailants opened fire on the building on Monday, leading to a gun battle with police, according to Turkish media reports. AP: “Police later caught one person in connection with the attack, but provided no details, the state-run Anadolu Agency said. One of the assailants — a woman — was injured in the crossfire and was captured inside a nearby building where she hid, the private Dogan news agency reported. No one else was injured in the onslaught.” More here.
Also in Turkey, the U.S. has sent F-16s to fight ISIS: The Air Force has deployed six of the jets and 300 airmen to Incirlik Air Base, just two weeks after Ankara opened the base for U.S. airstrikes against Islamic State militants. The deployment signals an expansion of U.S. military ops at Incirlik, which is much closer to ISIS-controlled areas in Northern Iraq and Syria than other coalition bases in the region, and it follows word than a U.S. drone launched from Turkey struck an ISIS target in Syria last week. Military Times’ Jeff Schogol has a bit more, here.
Remember that Pentagon law-of-war manual that caused a stir earlier this summer when it declared journalists could be deemed “unprivileged belligerents?” The New York Times editorial board is now calling for an immediate repeal of the language. “Allowing this document to stand as guidance for commanders, government lawyers and officials of other nations would do severe damage to press freedoms. Authoritarian leaders around the world could point to it to show that their despotic treatment of journalists — including Americans — is broadly in line with the standards set by the United States government.” More here.
From Defense One
In swamp phase, women Ranger candidates blend right in. Everyone in the last phase of the Army’s elite school looks the same: sweat-soaked and exhausted. Two women are vying to complete the course and become the first female graduates. Gayle Tzemmach Lemmon reports from Eglin Air Force Base, Fla.
Welcome to the club. And if they make it through, the Ranger Association says they can be members, just like thousands of men before them.
Hackers to military: replace us with robots? Ha! Next year’s Cyber Grand Challenge event will pit humans against machines in a hacking battle. DEF CON’s war gamers like their chances. Tech editor Patrick Tucker reports from the Las Vegas hacking conference, here.
Welcome to Monday’s edition of The D Brief, from Marcus Weisgerber and Brad Peniston. Ben Watson is off this week, but we’ve got you covered with two turntables and a microphone. 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.
Pentagon to improve Bahrain’s F-16s: The State Department has OKed maintenance and other support work worth $150 million, the first foreign sale announced since Washington restored military aid to Bahrain in June. The Gulf ally has been using its jets to strike ISIS.
Pentagon: “The proposed sale will contribute to the foreign policy and national security of the United States by helping improve the security of a Major Non-North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Ally, which has been and continues to be a key security partner in the region.” The support deal, which includes ammunition, communications gear and spare parts, is
Not all members of Congress are happy that military aid is resuming to a kingdom known for violent crackdowns on protestors. Sens. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., and Ron Wyden, D-Ore., introduced legislation last week that aims to block the sale of certain arms to Bahrain unless it improves its human rights record. Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass, said Friday, that he would introduce similar legislation in the House next month when lawmakers return from the August recess.
“The recent renewal of U.S. military aid to Bahrain – a country that continues to repress its own people – is extremely concerning,” McGovern said. “If the U.S. is truly committed to regional stability, we must push allies like Bahrain to embrace policies that will strengthen free societies, not silence entire segments of their population. This is the only way to combat extremism.
Elsewhere in foreign weapon sales: State also said Japan could buy powerful AEGIS missile defense systems for two new destroyers. “The addition of two new AEGIS [destroyers] to Japan’s fleet will afford more flexibility and capability to counter regional threats and continue to enhance stability in the region,” the Pentagon said. The U.S. has been helping Japan beef up its missile defenses to defense against missiles launched by North Korea. Reuters’ Andrea Shalal has more, here.
And this news from an un-sale: France will pay Russia $978 million for two warships it refuses to deliver following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. Russia made an advance payment of nearly $1 billion for the helicopter carriers. Egypt is now apparently interested in the Mistral ships, Defense News’ Pierre Tran reports.
In F-35 news: An Italian Air Force KC-767 tanker recently became the first foreign aircraft to refuel a Joint Strike Fighter in flight. Here’s a picture.
Carter slow-rolling Gitmo releases: The White House has been quick to blame Congress for making it harder to close the military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. But as the Daily Beast’s Nancy Youssef and Tim Mak point out in a helpful rundown of the state of play, lawmakers aren’t the only ones: 52 of the 116 remaining detainees have been cleared for transfer, and while the moves must be unanimously approved by six national security agencies, it is Defense Secretary Ash Carter’s name on the bottom line. Carter “is definitely under pressure,” a defense official told the Daily Beast. The Beast cites speculation that if Obama makes good on his threat to veto the annual defense authorization bill over detention restrictions, he’ll ask the law to be changed so it’s his name instead. But lawmakers — many of whom support Carter’s caution on transfers — would have to change that law, and they’re still awaiting the closure plan the White House was in the “final stages” of several weeks ago. As time ticks on, the tension between the White House and the Pentagon over Guantanamo is only likely to increase — as is the pressure to answer looming questions over indefinite detention in the United States. Read Defense One’s deep dive here.
Some advice for lawmakers negotiating the NDAA: The Heritage Foundation’s Justin Johnson, who spent more than a decade working on Capitol Hill, has a new analysis on the compensation and retirement reform issues that have brought the lawmakers’ conference on the 2016 National Defense Authorization Act to a halt. Find that here.
Got innovation? D Brief readers recall that the Pentagon has put an engineer and Navy SEAL in charge of its new Silicon Valley outreach office. And we’ve received an outpouring of emails from readers at companies and within the Defense Department looking to get in touch with the Defense Innovation Unit-Experimental office. Turns out, they (sort of) have a website, and you could email them at osd.diux@mail.mil.