Manchester concert attack kills 22; USSOF raid in Yemen; What really matters in that Saudi arms deal; Today’s busy day on the Hill; and just a bit more...
ISIS claims Manchester concert attack, but the group’s portrayal of what happened appears to contradict reported facts at this early stage of the investigation.
“A suicide bomber killed at least 22 people and wounded 59 at a packed concert hall in the English city of Manchester” shortly after a concert by American pop singer Ariana Grande, Reuters reports. "It was literally just a minute after it ended, the lights came on and the bomb went off,” one concert-goer said after describing a chaotic scene of stairwells and stampedes and widespread panic.
Reuters calls it “the deadliest in Britain since four British Muslims killed 52 people in suicide bombings on London's transport system in 2005. But it will have reverberations far beyond British shores.”
Where the investigation stands: “We believe at this stage the attack last night was conducted by one man,” said Greater Manchester Police Chief Constable Ian Hopkins at a televised news conference, according to the Washington Post. “We believe the attacker was carrying an improvised explosive device, which he detonated, causing this atrocity.”
A 23-year-old male from the south of the city has been arrested in connection with the attack, according to British Prime Minister Theresa May, Reuters writes.
And WaPo notes “Monday’s blast comes with just over two weeks to go before Britain holds a national election.” The attack Monday evening has now led to a suspension of campaigning in Britain, which had “not featured [security] as a prominent part of the debate, although that may change when campaigning resumes.”
The global security effect: “Countries from the United States to Japan and Singapore are considering tightening security ahead of major theater and sports events,” Reuters writes of the bigger picture in the wake of the attack. More from the global business and political event world, here.
Other reactions included U.S. President Donald Trump saying the attack was carried out by “evil losers,” while German Chancellor Angela Merkel said it “will only strengthen our resolve to...work with our British friends against those who plan and carry out such inhumane deeds.”
Keep up with the latest live updates out of Manchester, via Reuters, here.
ISIS claimed two other bombings this morning, in Homs, Syria. Those two, both reportedly using car bombs, killed at least five people—including an elderly woman and a 16-year-old girl. For a little context there, Reuters reports, “On Sunday, hundreds of Syrian rebels and their families left Homs's last opposition-held district, al-Waer, which has been under siege by the army and allied forces for more than a year. The evacuation completed a deal that brought Homs back under the control of President Bashar al-Assad's government for the first time since the start of the conflict.” More here.
From Defense One
The Trump Effect: One Path To A New NATO // Alexander Vershbow and Fabrice Pothier: The alliance must overcome three hurdles to revitalize trust and the transatlantic relationship, former senior NATO officials write.
And So It Begins: Trump, Syria, and The Lessons of Iraq // Gayle Tzemach Lemmon: With recent 'warning shot' at Assad, the US is trying to avoid escalation in Syria, not stoke it, sources say.
What Really Matters in Trump's $110B Saudi Arms Package // Marcus Weisgerber: It's still a lot of talk and no final sales, but long-stalled deals worth billions just got moving again.
There's Less than Meets the Eye in Trump's Saudi Arms Deal // William D. Hartung: It takes a lot of existing offers and future promises to add up to $110 billion.
Pentagon Mapmakers Want To Tap Mobile Ad Technology. Here's Why. // Mohana Ravindranath: NGA is scoping private-sector technology at incubators in Boston, Austin and New York.
Welcome to Tuesday’s edition of The D Brief by Ben Watson and Bradley Peniston. #OTD1915: First flight of the Fokker Eindecker, the first aircraft equipped to fire a machine gun between its propellor blades. Got tips? Email us at the-d-brief@defenseone.com. (And if you’re reading this on our website, consider subscribing. It’s free.)
Another USSOF raid in Yemen is said to have killed seven members of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula “through a combination of small arms fire and precision airstrikes,” according to a U.S. Central Command statement released late Monday evening.
Not a kill/capture mission: “The raid, in Marib about 100 miles northeast of Sanaa, the capital, wasn't a mission to take out ‘high value’ targets associated with al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), a U.S. defense official told NBC News. Instead, the official said, U.S. forces were seeking ‘laptops, cellphones’ and similar materials that could help the United States learn more about the terrorist group.”
Battle-damage assessment still ongoing: “Col. John Thomas, a Central Command spokesman, said in a telephone interview afterward...it was too early to tell if the early-morning raid on Tuesday was successful. He said there were no indications of American casualties,” The New York Times adds.
Interestingly, the CENTCOM statement cites “the support of the Royal Government of Yemen” during the operation—a curious claim (and very possibly an oversight) considering Yemen, in the best of circumstances, has a president and not a monarch. That’s the best of circumstances; the current circumstances have former President of Yemen, Ali Abdullah Saleh, largely in charge in the capital of Sana’a. But his efforts to keep ties between the Houthi rebels and what remains of his General People's Congress party have been on the ropes, as this report from two weeks ago reveals. For a bit more on those dynamics, read on here.
It’s Budget Day. Today, the White House is expected to send its proposed 2018 spending proposal to Congress. (Back in February, you will recall, the Trump administration released an anticipated Defense Department topline of $608 billion, about 10 percent over the legal limit set by the Budget Control Act.) The budgetary war of words has already begun, with some Congressional appropriators declaring the budget dead on arrival, experts noting that it hardly lives up to campaign promises of “historic increases for the military,” and HASC Chair Rep. Mac Thornberry, R-Texas, decrying it as “basically the Obama approach” and trying to rally lawmakers to boost defense spending. Defense News has more, here and here.
Also happening today: former CIA Director John Brennan testifies on the Hill “about the intelligence underpinning the Obama administration’s conclusion that Russia interfered in the 2016 election,” AP reports in a preview. His audience: the House Intelligence Committee.
The latest context: his testimony “comes one day after Flynn invoked his constitutional right against self-incrimination in response to a subpoena from the Senate intelligence committee. The panel had sought a wide range of information and documents about his and the Trump campaign’s contacts with Russians dating back to June 2015.”
Also testifying before lawmakers today: Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats before the Senate Armed Services Committee. AP reminds readers that “The Washington Post reported Monday that Trump asked Coats and the head of the National Security Agency to publicly deny that there had been collusion between the Russians and the Trump campaign...The Post, citing current and former officials, said Coats and NSA Director Mike Rogers refused Trump’s request. Trump fired FBI Director James Comey earlier this month, prompting reports that the president tried to steer Comey away from Flynn and the Russia investigation.” Read the rest of AP’s preview, here.
As well: “A full day conference on civil-military relations in policy, politics and public,” via the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C. Active duty and former uniformed personnel alike are slated to speak on a series of panels, with the final keynote from former CJCS Adm. Mike Mullen at 4 p.m. EDT. Details and livestream can be found here.
And former CIA Director Robert Gates keynotes the Foundation for the Defense of Democracy’s half-day event focused on “Qatar and the Muslim Brotherhood’s Global Affiliates: New U.S. Administration Considers New Policies.” Other speakers include chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee Rep. Ed Royce, R-California. Read more about it, or catch the livestream, here.
NATO, shaken by Trump’s various statements, needs to use its upcoming summit to rebuild trust. That’s from a new report from the Atlantic Council, penned by former NATO deputy secretary general Alexander Vershbow, and Fabrice Pothier, a former head of policy planning. Read their Defense One op-ed, here, and the full report, here.
The Philippine military is in the midst of a fierce battle with ISIS-linked militants on the southern island of Mindanao, Reuters reports. “The focus of the raid was about 15 militants belonging to the Maute group, which has pledged allegiance to Islamic State in the Middle East. The fighting was still going on by nightfall. Lieutenant Colonel Jo-ar Herrera, an army spokesman, said the military was acting on information that Isnilon Hapilon, a leader of the Abu Sayyaf rebel group, was among the militants hiding in the apartment in Marawi City.” More here.
Lastly today: DPRK drones on the Korean peninsula? Maybe. “South Korea's military fired warning shots at a suspected drone from North Korea on Tuesday,” Reuters reports this morning from Seoul. “A defense source said the military fired more than 90 K-3 machine gun rounds, adding it may have been a drone,” South Korea’s Yonhap News reports, adding, “In January last year, a North Korean drone flew over the MDL into the western section of the demilitarized zone. The South opened machine gun fire on it.” A tiny bit more on that from Yonhap over here.