Biden administration seeks international coalition before responding to Houthi attacks on commercial shipping in Red Sea
Jamie McIntyre
DELAYED RESPONSE: Despite the fact that U.S. warships have had to shoot down both drones and missiles fired from Yemen by Iranian-backed Houthi rebels that were judged to pose a threat to American naval assets, the White House said it’s waiting to build an international coalition before responding.
“These ships were not U.S. commercial ships. They were from a variety of nations. This is an issue for the entire world, for every country that relies upon maritime commerce to sustain their economy,” national security adviser Jake Sullivan said at a White House briefing yesterday. “Attacks on commercial shipping in international waters are totally unacceptable and have to stop, and what we are doing now is engaging in intensive consultations with partners and allies to determine the appropriate next steps. “
The U.S. Central Command reported Sunday that while responding to distress calls from commercial ships in the southern Red Sea, the destroyer USS Carney detected three drones at three different times heading in its direction and shot all three down. “We cannot assess at this time whether the Carney was a target, but the Carney took prudent action in taking down those three UAVs,” Sullivan said.
Sullivan did not rule out a military response against Houthi forces in Yemen but pointed the finger of blame at Iran. “We are talking about the Houthis here. They’re the ones with their finger on the trigger. But that gun — the weapons here are being supplied by Iran. And Iran, we believe, is the ultimate party responsible for this.”
Other options under discussion include an international maritime force to escort and protect commercial shipping in the busy Red Sea region. “We are in talks with other countries,” Sullivan said. “Those talks are ongoing as we speak. I don’t have anything formal to announce.”
WHITE HOUSE WEIGHING MARITIME CONVOYS FOR COMMERCIAL SHIPS IN RED SEA AFTER HOUTHI ATTACKS
MCCAUL: ‘WE MUST END THIS POLICY OF APPEASEMENT’: Among the members of Congress frustrated by the cautious approach by the Biden administration is House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul (R-TX).
“By prioritizing politics over security, this administration emboldened the Houthis, enabling them to develop more advanced weapons, deepen ties with Iran, and further entrench their control over millions of innocent Yemenis,” McCaul said in a statement. “It is clear that the Houthis are a threat to Yemen, our partners across the Middle East, U.S. servicemembers and citizens in the region, and freedom of navigation and global commerce.”
“We must end this policy of appeasement and get serious about actually responding to, rather than enabling, the Houthi threat,” McCaul said, “including through [a Foreign Terrorist Organization] designation.”
‘THERE’S NO RED LINE’: “Deterrence is strategic. It’s not something that you flip a switch. It’s not a visceral response to something that the enemy does,” retired Army Maj. Mike Lyons said on CNN, where he’s a military analyst. “The problem right now is, the country really hasn’t communicated that deterrence. There’s no red line, where everybody’s waiting for something to kind of happen.”
“What the Houthis have done already, for example, would have been an act of war back during the Cold War. If another nation or pretend nation-state fired at a U.S. warship … it would be well known that we would go after them and the response would not necessarily even be reciprocal,” Lyons said. “Part of this administration just can’t figure out strategically what’s the red line.”
“They don’t want to communicate it because, frankly, it all goes back to Iran, and they don’t want to — for whatever reason, they don’t want to seem to be on the side that they’re going to make them more angry.”
US DRONE STRIKE KILLS FIVE PROXY FORCES: The U.S. Central Command announced yesterday that in a Sunday drone strike in Iraq, five militants were killed before they could launch a one-way attack drone against U.S. forces.
“Iraqi Security Forces were notified of the strike and responded to the location, where they confirmed the death of the militants and the destruction of the drone,” CENTCOM said in a post on X, formerly Twitter.
“We have the inherent right to self-defense,” Sabrina Singh told reporters at the Pentagon. “When we saw what these five militants were doing and were preparing to do, to take action against our forces, we took action so that they would not harm or damage any infrastructure. That is inherently our right to self-defense.”
IRAN: ISRAEL KILLING OF IRGC GENERALS WON’T ‘GO UNANSWERED’
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HAPPENING TODAY: ZELENSKY APPEALS TO SENATORS: With Ukraine running low on ammunition and the future of U.S. military assistance in serious doubt in Congress, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has been invited to make a personal appeal to lawmakers in a classified video briefing to members of the Senate.
“In the coming days, I urge my colleagues to do the right thing and support moving forward on the supplemental package,” Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said on the Senate floor. “We can’t ever put a price on defending democracy in its hour of need because if Ukraine falls, [Russian President Vladimir] Putin will keep on going. Autocrats around the world will be emboldened. Democracy, this grand and noble experiment, will enter an era of decline. History will render harsh judgment on those who abandoned democracy.”
WHY UKRAINE’S COUNTEROFFENSIVE FLOPPED: Zelensky’s appeal comes as an exhaustive Washington Post report details the numerous failings of Ukraine’s unsuccessful summer counteroffensive, which took too long to start and dismissed U.S. advice to concentrate forces on one main effort to break through Russian defenses.
In an Associated Press interview, Zelensky conceded the offensive “did not achieve the desired results” and blamed in part the lack of adequate firepower. “But this does not mean that we should give up, that we have to surrender.”
The Washington Post said its account “illuminates the brutal and often futile attempts to breach Russian lines, as well as the widening rift between Ukrainian and U.S. commanders over tactics and strategy.”
Based on interviews with more than 30 senior Ukrainian and U.S. military officials, as well as over two dozen officers and troops on the front line, the report concluded that each side blamed the other for mistakes or miscalculations.
“U.S. military officials concluded that Ukraine had fallen short in basic military tactics, including the use of ground reconnaissance to understand the density of minefields,” it said. “Ukrainian officials said the Americans didn’t seem to comprehend how attack drones and other technology had transformed the battlefield.”
THE MONEY’S GONE: In a letter to Congress, Shalanda Young, director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, warned that without emergency funding, the U.S. military will be unable to continue arming Ukraine without affecting its own military readiness.
“I want to be clear: without congressional action, by the end of the year we will run out of resources to procure more weapons and equipment for Ukraine and to provide equipment from U.S. military stocks. There is no magical pot of funding available to meet this moment. We are out of money — and nearly out of time,” Young said.
“Now it’s up to Congress,” Jake Sullivan said during the White House briefing. “Congress has to decide whether to continue to support the fight for freedom in Ukraine as part of the 50-nation coalition that President Biden has built or whether Congress will ignore the lessons we’ve learned from history and let Putin prevail. It is that simple. It is that stark a choice.”
WHITE HOUSE FRANTICALLY SOUNDS THE ALARM ON UKRAINE AID: ‘WE ARE OUT OF MONEY
IT’S NOT THAT SIMPLE: Aid for Ukraine is being used as a bargaining chip by Republicans who argue that before the U.S. sends any more money to Kyiv, it first has to secure its own border.
“The majority leader has said he plans to schedule a vote on President Biden’s $106 billion request as soon as this week. He knows as well as I do that, as written, this proposal stands zero chance of becoming law,” Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) said on the Senate floor yesterday. “The supplemental’s supposed to be all about national security, but it fails to deliver anything on one of the most urgent national security priorities, and that is the crisis at the southern border.”
“Democrats agree that immigration should be debated and addressed. But if Republicans want to raise the issue of immigration right now, the onus is on them to present us with bipartisan ideas,” Schumer said in response. “But instead of meeting us in the middle, Republicans have tripled down on extremist policies that seem dictated by Donald Trump and Stephen Miller, like indefinite detention of asylum-seekers, sweeping powers to shut down the immigration system. Democrats want to be reasonable on immigration, and we are willing to make concessions. But we will not keep going in circles if Republicans aren’t interested in even meeting us halfway.”
“Our security cannot come second to that of other countries around the world, our allies, even those like Ukraine and Israel,” Cornyn said. “There’s a misunderstanding on the part of Sen. Schumer and some of our Democratic friends. This is not a traditional negotiation, where we expect to come up with a bipartisan compromise on the border. This is a price that has to be paid in order to get the supplemental.”
SENATE BORDER TALKS COME DOWN TO THE WIRE AMID SCHUMER DEADLINE
The Rundown
Washington Examiner: White House frantically sounds the alarm on Ukraine aid: ‘We are out of money
Washington Examiner: Senate border talks come down to the wire amid Schumer deadline
Washington Examiner: Outgoing GOP lawmakers express frustration with House chaos: ‘We lack credibility’
Washington Examiner: White House weighing maritime convoys for commercial ships in Red Sea after Houthi attacks
Washington Examiner: Hamas hostage seen fighting back against captors in video from Oct. 7
Washington Examiner: Pro-Palestinian protest is counterprotested by pro-Israel marchers in New York City
Washington Examiner: Iran: Israel killing of IRGC generals won’t ‘go unanswered’
Washington Examiner: Arizona border crossing closes in response to surge of thousands of illegal immigrants
Washington Examiner: Senators threaten to tank ‘alarming’ Biden rule for vetting sponsors of immigrant children
Wall Street Journal: Close-Quarter Fighting’ Rages in Strip
Wall Street Journal: Plan to Flood Gaza Tunnels With Seawater Considered
DefenseScoop: Adm. Grady: Escalating Houthi-Led Maritime Drone And Missile Assaults Are ‘Not Just A U.S. Problem’
Politico: US officials frustrated by Biden administration’s response to attacks in Red Sea
Washington Post: Miscalculations, divisions marked offensive planning by U.S., Ukraine
Defense One: Deadly But Tricky to Fly, Suicide Drones Have Ukraine Putting Thousands of Soldiers through Pilot Training
Reuters: Deputy Russian Army Corps Commander Is Killed In Ukraine
Washington Times: Some 70,000 Russian Soldiers And Wagner Group Mercenaries Killed In Ukraine Fighting: Report
Breaking Defense: Why Russia Now Has to Use Its A-50U Closer to the Fight in Ukraine
Bloomberg: US to Deploy Anti-Ship Missiles on Subs in 2024 to Counter China
Time: The Philippines Accuses China Of ‘Swarming’ Reef Off Its Coast. H
Reuters: Boeing Eliminated from US Air Force’s ‘Doomsday Plane’ Competition
Air & Space Forces Magazine: Osprey Crash Wreckage, Remains of 5 Airmen Located
USNI News: Navy, Marine Team Recover P-8A from Hawaiian Bay
The War Zone: World’s Largest Plane Is One Step Closer to Launching a Hypersonic Vehicle
Air & Space Forces Magazine: Vice Chairman Says JROC Shifting to Top-Down, Portfolio Requirements Approach
Defense News: Pentagon’s Commercial Tech Arm to Ramp Up Role in Military Innovation
Space News: Industry Report: Demand for Satellites Is Rising But Not Skyrocketing
DefenseScoop: Space Development Agency Issues First Solicitation for Experimental ‘Fire-Control’ Satellites
Military Times: Ditching promotion file photos may have helped minorities, report says
Military.com: Thousands of Troops May Be Caught in Medical Debt. Sen. Elizabeth Warren Wants the Pentagon to Find Out How Many.
Air & Space Forces Magazine: Air Force Missile Cancer Study Plans to Expand Testing to Vandenberg
Foreign Policy: Opinion: America Is a Heartbeat Away From a War It Could Lose
The Messenger: Opinion: Congress’s ‘Groundhog Day’ Budgeting Puts National Defense in Danger
Defense News: Opinion: The Pentagon Needs Fresh Ideas for Evading Taiwan Logistics Pitfalls
Forbes: Opinion: Why The Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft Remains Army Aviation’s Top Modernization Priority
Calendar
TUESDAY | DECEMBER 5
8 a.m. — Center for Strategic and International Studies virtual discussion: “Previewing Taiwan’s 2024 Presidential Election,” with Nathan Batto, associate research fellow at the Institute of Political Science at Academia Sinica and jointly appointed associate research fellow at the National Chengchi University Election Study Center; Brian Hioe, journalist and co-founder of New Bloom Magazine; and Kathrin Hille, greater China correspondent at the Financial Times https://www.csis.org/events/previewing-taiwans-2024-presidential-election
9 a.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave. NW — Center for Strategic and International Studies Project on Nuclear Issues Fall Conference, with Air Force Gen. Anthony Cotton, commander of the U.S. Strategic Command. RSVP to [email protected]
9 a.m. 1300 Pennsylvania Ave. NW — Wilson Center discussion: “U.S.-ROK (Republic of Korea/South Korea)-Japan Trilateral Relations,” with Mark Green, president and CEO of the Wilson Center; former Director of National Intelligence John Negroponte, chairman emeritus of the Council of the Americas/Americas Society; Kenichiro Sasae, president of the Japan Institute of International Affairs; former South Korean Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister Sung-Hwan Kim, chairman of the East Asia Foundation; and former Japanese Ambassador to the United Kingdom Koji Tsuruoka, president of the International Affairs Research Institute https://www.wilsoncenter.org/event/us-rok-japan-trilateral-relations
9:30 a.m. 2401 M St., NW — George Washington University Project for Media and National Security Defense Writers Group breakfast conversation with Ely Ratner, assistant secretary of defense for Indo-Pacific Security affairs. RSVP: Thom Shanker at [email protected]
10 a.m. 226 Dirksen — Senate Judiciary Committee hearing: “Oversight of the Federal Bureau of Investigation,” with testimony from FBI Director Christopher Wray http://judiciary.senate.gov
10 a.m. — GDIT Emerge Quantum event: “Defense Against Emerging Cyber Threats,” with Wanda Jones-Heath, principal cyber adviser, U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force; Adele Merritt, intelligence community chief information officer, Office of the Director of National Intelligence; and others https://www.gdit.com/perspectives/emerge-quantum/
10 a.m. 2301 Constitution Ave. NW — U.S. Institute of Peace discussion: “Ukraine’s Peace Formula for a Just and Lasting Peace,” with Andriy Yermak, head of the Office of the President of Ukraine; Lise Grande, president and CEO of the U.S. Institute of Peace; and William Taylor, vice president of the U.S. Institute of Peace’s Russia and Europe Center https://www.usip.org/events/ukraines-peace-formula
11 a.m. — Center for Strategic and International Studies/Stanford University Big Data China project second annual virtual conference: “Prospects for China’s Growth and Foreign Relations in an Era of Competition.” https://www.csis.org/events/prospects-chinas-growth-and-foreign-relations-era-competition
11 a.m. 1030 15th St. NW — Atlantic Council Scowcroft Center Transatlantic Security Initiative and Atlantic Council’s Europe Center in-person and virtual discussion: “Sweden’s future in NATO and Europe’s evolving security architecture,” with Swedish Defense Minister H.E. Pai Jonson https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/event/a-conversation
12 p.m. 2301 Constitution Ave. NW — U.S. Institute of Peace discussion: “Russia’s Malign Influence in Moldova,” with Moldovan Ambassador to the U.S. Viorel Ursu; Mihai Popsoi, deputy speaker of the Parliament of Moldova and chairman of the Moldova-U.S. Parliamentary Friendship Group; William Hill, global fellow at the Wilson Center and former head of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe Mission to Moldova ambassador; and William Taylor, vice president of the USIP Russia and Europe Center https://www.usip.org/events/russias-malign-influence-moldova
2 p.m. HVC-210, U.S. Capitol — House Foreign Affairs Africa Subcommittee hearing: “The Sahel in Crisis: Examining U.S. Policy Options,” with testimony from Molly Phee, assistant secretary of state for African affairs; Celeste Wallander, assistant secretary of defense for international security affairs; and Robert Jenkins, assistant to the administrator in the U.S. Agency for International Development’s Bureau for Conflict Prevention and Stabilization http://foreignaffairs.house.gov
WEDNESDAY | DECEMBER 6
11 a.m. Pentagon River Entrance — Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin welcomes Singapore Defense Minister Ng Eng to the Pentagon
2 p.m. — GovExec webcast “Enhancing Cloud Security: Partnering for Success,” with David McKeown, senior information security officer and deputy chief information officer for cybersecurity, Department of Defense; and others https://events.govexec.com/enhancing-cloud-security/
2 p.m. 2118 Rayburn — House Armed Services Cyber, Information Technology, and Innovation Subcommittee hearing: “Back to the Future” https://armedservices.house.gov/hearings/citi-hearing-back-future
3 p.m. 222 Russell — Senate Armed Services Personnel Subcommittee hearing: “The status of Defense Department recruiting efforts and plans for FY2024” https://www.armed-services.senate.gov/hearings/
12 p.m. — Association of the U.S. Army “Noon Report” webinar: “U.S. Army’s role in 1980s U.N. peacekeeping operations in the Middle East, with retired Col. L. Scott Lingamfelter, author of Yanks in Blue Berets: American UN Peacekeepers in the Middle East https://www.ausa.org/events/noon-report-yanks-blue-berets
8 p.m. Tuscaloosa, Alabama — Fourth Republican presidential primary debate, moderated by SiriusXM’s Megyn Kelly, NewsNation’s Elizabeth Vargas, and the Washington Free Beacon’s Eliana Johnson. Broadcast on NewsNation and The CW network and livestream at https://rumble.com/gop-debate
THURSDAY | DECEMBER 7
8 a.m. 2401 M St., NW — George Washington University Project for Media and National Security Defense Writers Group breakfast conversation with Benedetta Berti, head of NATO policy planning in the office of the NATO Secretary-General. RSVP: Thom Shanker at [email protected]
8:30 a.m. 700 L’Enfant Plaza SW — U.S. Naval Institute: Defense Forum Washington 2023, with Marine Gen. Christopher Mahoney, assistant Marine Corps commandant; Ronald O’Rouke, specialist in naval affairs, Congressional Research Service; and others https://www.usni.org/events/defense-forum-washington-2023
8:30 a.m. 1201 Pennsylvania Ave. — Hudson Institute discussion: “The B-21 Bomber and Its Deterrence Mission,” with Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD) and Rebeccah Heinrichs, senior fellow and director of the Hudson Institute’s Keystone Defense Initiative https://www.hudson.org/events/senator-mike-rounds-b-21-bomber
9 a.m. 2212 Rayburn — House Armed Services Strategic Forces Subcommittee hearing: “Regional Missile Defense Assets — Assessing COCOM and Allied Demand for Capabilities,” with testimony from John Hill, deputy assistant secretary of defense for space and missile defense policy; Army Maj. Gen. Sean Gainey, director of the Department of the Army’s Management Office (DAMO)-Fires and Joint Capabilities (G-3/5/7); Navy Rear Adm. Douglas Williams, acting director of the Missile Defense Agency; and Army Brig. Gen. Clair Gill, deputy director for regional operations and force management for the Joint Staff J-3 https://armedservices.house.gov/hearings/str-hearing-regional-missile-defense
11 a.m. — National Security Space Association “SpaceTime Series,” with Derek Tournear, director, Space Development Agency, and Chris Williams, chairman of NSSA’s Moorman Center for Space Studies https://nssaspace.org/event/tournear-2023
1:30 p.m. 600 New Hampshire Ave. NW — Defense One forum: “The Future of Defense Acquisition,” with Douglas Bush, assistant secretary of the Army; Dave Tremper, deputy assistant defense secretary for acquisition integration and interoperability; and Will Roper, CEO of Istari Digital and former assistant secretary of the Air Force for acquisition, technology, and logistics https://events.defenseone.com/do-the-future-of-defense
5:30 p.m. New York, New York — Common Good discussion: “Ukraine, Russia, and the Future of Putin,” with William Browder, CEO of Hermitage Capital Management and head of the Global Magnitsky Justice Campaign, and Richard Salomon, founder and CEO of Vantage Point Consultants https://www.thecommongoodus.org/upcoming-events/ukraine-russia-and-the-future-of-putin
6:30 p.m. 2301 Constitution Ave. NW — Washington Film Institute and the U.S. Institute of Peace screening and discussion of the documentary, “Ukraine’s Fight for Freedom,” with director Evgeny Afineevsky and Marie Yovanovitch, former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine https://www.usip.org/events/screening-freedom-fire-ukraines-fight-freedom
FRIDAY | DECEMBER 8
9 a.m. 801 N. Glebe Rd. — The Intelligence and National Security Alliance “Leadership Breakfast,” Army Gen. Paul Nakasone, commander, U.S. Cyber Command, and director, NSA/Chief, CSS. https://www.insaonline.org/detail-pages/event
11 a.m. 789 Massachusetts Ave., NW— American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research in-person and virtual discussion: “American Democracy and a Fragile World Order,” with John M. Owen IV, author of The Ecology of Nations: American Democracy in a Fragile World Order; and Colin Dueck, nonresident senior fellow, American Enterprise Institute https://www.aei.org/events/discussing-american-democracy
SATURDAY | DECEMBER 9
3 p.m. and 7 p.m. — The U.S. Air Force Band, the U.S. Air Force Concert Band, and Singing Sergeants present a free-to-the-public holiday concert series, “Season of Hope” at DAR Constitution Hall, with the Washington Performing Arts Children of the Gospel Choir, the Alexandria School of Highland Dance, and a special visitor from the North Pole. Tickets: https://usafband.ticketleap.com
SUNDAY | DECEMBER 10
3 p.m. — The U.S. Air Force Band, the U.S. Air Force Concert Band, and Singing Sergeants present a free-to-the-public holiday concert series, “Season of Hope” at DAR Constitution Hall, with the Washington Performing Arts Children of the Gospel Choir, the Alexandria School of Highland Dance, and a special visitor from the North Pole. Tickets: https://usafband.ticketleap.com
QUOTE OF THE DAY “I want to be clear: without congressional action, by the end of the year we will run out of resources to procure more weapons and equipment for Ukraine and to provide equipment from U.S. military stocks. There is no magical pot of funding available to meet this moment. We are out of money — and nearly out of time.” Shalanda Young, director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, in a letter to Congress on Monday