BIDEN TO IRAN: ‘WE WILL RESPOND’: As the Pentagon released new details about the U.S. troops injured in drone and rocket strikes in Iraq and Syria, President Joe Biden issued another warning to Iran’s supreme leader that the U.S.’s patience is wearing thin with the Iranian-backed proxy forces believed to be behind the attacks.
“We have had troops in the region since 9/11 to go after ISIS and prevent its reemergence in the region, having nothing to do with Israel at all,” Biden said at a joint news conference with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. “My warning to the ayatollah was that if they continued to move against those troops, we will respond, and he should be prepared. That has nothing to do with Israel.”
Yesterday, Pentagon press secretary Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder confirmed in an email to reporters that on Oct. 17 and 18, 21 U.S. personnel received “minor injuries” due to drone attacks at al-Asad Air Base, Iraq, and al-Tanf garrison, Syria. “All members returned to duty,” Ryder said. “It is important to note, in some cases, service members may report injuries such as TBI several days after attacks occur, so numbers may change. We will continue to work closely with U.S. Central Command to provide updates as appropriate.”
BIDEN FACES DUELING PRESSURE TO GO TOUGH ON IRAN BUT SOFT ON WAR IN GAZA
BIDEN TO WEST BANK SETTLERS: ‘IT HAS TO STOP’: In the wake of reports that Israeli settlers in the West Bank have torched cars and attacked Palestinians in retaliation for the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks on Israel, Biden called for an end to the violence which has resulted in a number of Palestinian deaths.
“I continue to be alarmed about extremist settlers attacking Palestinians in the West Bank that — pouring gasoline on fire, is what it’s like,” Biden said. “This was a deal. The deal was made, and they’re attacking Palestinians in places that they’re entitled to be, and it has to stop. They have to be held accountable, and it has to stop now.”
Biden repeated his condemnation of the horrific Hamas terrorist attack that killed 1,400 Israelis and said he believes it was a deliberate effort to derail efforts to normalize Israeli relations with Saudi Arabia.
“I’m convinced one of the reasons Hamas attacked when they did — and I have no proof of this; this is [what] my instinct tells me — is because of the progress we were making towards regional integration for Israel and regional integration overall,” Biden said. “We can’t leave that work behind.”
“Israelis and Palestinians equally deserve to live side-by-side in safety, dignity, and peace. There’s no going back to the status quo as it stood on October the 6th,” Biden said. “That means ensuring Hamas can no longer terrorize Israel and use Palestinian civilians as human shields. It also means that when this crisis is over, there has to be a vision of what comes next, and in our view, it has to be a two-state solution.”
ISRAEL WAR: BIDEN HAS ‘NO CONFIDENCE’ IN GAZA DEATH NUMBERS
AMB HERZOG: ‘NO ONE TELLS US WHAT TO DO’: In an appearance on Fox News’s Special Report with Bret Baier, Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Michael Herzog said the ground invasion of Gaza is coming, but Israel is well aware the U.S. wants every effort made to secure the release of hostages first.
“We are preparing the ground operation, and we will launch the ground operation. We have no other choice because if you want to defeat Hamas, you cannot just do it from the air; you have to go in and defeat them,” Herzog told Baier. “If there is an opportunity to release more hostages, then we give that opportunity … The U.S. does not tell us whether to go in or not to go in. Israel is a sovereign state and takes its own sovereign decisions.”
Biden discussed the plight of the hostages, including as many as ten Americans, in a phone call with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu yesterday. “What I have indicated to him is that if that’s possible to get these folks out safely, that’s what he should do. It’s their decision, but I did not demand it. I pointed out to him: If it’s real, it should be done.”
“We have very close discussions with the U.S. administration,” Herzog said. “They raise questions and concerns, but no one tells us what to do. And as I said, we are preparing the ground operation, and we are about to launch it.”
ISRAEL TO REFUSE VISAS FOR UN OFFICIALS AS ‘BLOOD LIBEL’ OUTRAGE GROWS
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HAPPENING TODAY: Secretary of State Antony Blinken meets with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, director of the Chinese Communist Party Central Foreign Affairs Commission, at the State Department at 5 p.m., as Blinken tries to smooth over the fraught relationship with China and pave the way for a future summit between presidents Joe Biden and Xi Jinping. Wang is also scheduled to meet with national security adviser Jake Sullivan tomorrow.
“This meeting is consistent with commitments by both sides to maintain this strategic channel of communication as part of ongoing efforts to responsibly manage the relationship,” the White House said in a statement. “It follows recent high-level diplomatic interactions between national security adviser Sullivan and Director Wang Yi in Malta in September and in Vienna in May.”
SPEAKER JOHNSON: ‘THE PEOPLE’S HOUSE IS BACK IN BUSINESS’: It looked a little dicey in the morning, but by the afternoon, House Republicans, weary of the prolonged dysfunction, united to unanimously elect Rep. Mike Johnson (R-LA) as their new speaker on a House vote of 220-209, replacing embattled Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), whose name was quickly removed from above the door to the speaker’s office.
“The people’s House is back in business,” Johnson exulted after taking the gavel.
There were two kingmakers involved, former President Donald Trump, who endorsed Johnson, and Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), leader of the effort to oust McCarthy. “This speaker election means that the House Republican Conference is united really for the first time this Congress,” Gaetz said on MSNBC. “We are united behind a man of deep faith who obeys almighty God and the Constitution before all else.”
Gaetz said there were no side deals like the ones imposed on McCarthy, so Johnson won’t have to look over his shoulder like McCarthy did. “This isn’t a guy that we’re going to chase around with a motion to vacate. This is a guy we’re going to do everything we can to pour into and make successful,” Gaetz said. “I’m very enthusiastic about him being an honest man, a true conservative. I think others that might not hold his perspective on some of those policy questions really like his leadership style.”
“It’s OK to work with Democrats in divided government. It’s actually necessary and required if you want to do the essential functions of government. What’s not OK is for Kevin McCarthy to blow through the guardrails we set,” Gaetz said. “If Kevin McCarthy had maintained his commitments to pursue single-subject spending bills, if he had released the January 6 tapes, if he had called for the votes on a balanced budget amendment and term limits, as he had promised, then he would likely still be speaker today.”
MIKE JOHNSON LAYS OUT APPROPRIATIONS TIMELINE TO AVOID NOVEMBER SHUTDOWN
DEMOCRATS WARY: After the vote, House Minority Leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) pledged that House Democrats seek to find “common ground” to work with Republicans whenever possible for the “good of the country.”
But Johnson’s hard-right positions and close ties to Trump have many Democrats skeptical. “Well, you cannot get to the right of Mike Johnson in the MAGA caucus,” Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) said on MSNBC. “I mean, there are people who are definitely more lunatic than he is, and he’s got very good manners, and he’s an able lawyer. But when we say he opposed democracy, we know that from his giving a legal gloss and finish to all of Donald Trump’s arguments about electoral fraud and making the independent state legislature doctrine argument which the Supreme Court fortunately did not bite on.”
“But if he’s not for democracy, what’s he for? He’s for theocracy,” Raskin said. “He wants a nationwide ban on abortion with no exceptions for rape or incest. He voted against affirming women’s right to travel across state lines for the purposes of obtaining health care. He’s also voted against reaffirming women’s contraceptive rights.”
“Donald Trump cemented his hold over the Republican Party today, and he is in control of the House of Representatives right now,” Raskin concluded.
His bottom line on the deeply religious Johnson: “He’s a decent guy, and he’s a nice guy, but nobody should be fooled by it.”
BIDEN CONGRATULATES JOHNSON ON SPEAKERSHIP AND VOWS TO ‘GOVERN ACROSS THE AISLE’
The Rundown
Washington Examiner: After speaker fight, Gaetz eyes his next takedown: Ukraine aid
Washington Examiner: Biden faces dueling pressure to go tough on Iran but soft on war in Gaza
Washington Examiner: Israel war: Biden has ‘no confidence’ in Gaza death numbers
Washington Examiner: Israel to refuse visas for UN officials as ‘blood libel’ outrage grows
Washington Examiner: House elects Mike Johnson as speaker after three weeks at an impasse
Washington Examiner: Mike Johnson lays out appropriations timeline to avoid November shutdown
Washington Examiner: Biden congratulates Johnson on speakership and vows to ‘govern across the aisle’
Washington Examiner: House passes resolution affirming support for Israel in first vote since speaker election
Washington Examiner: Biden’s attempted border pivot has yet to pay political dividends
Washington Examiner: Senate clears key hurdles on stalled spending measure with flurry of amendments
AP: Israeli Troops Launch Brief Ground Raid Into Gaza Ahead Of Expected Wider Incursion
Wall Street Journal: Israel Agrees To US Request To Delay Invasion Of Gaza
Washington Post: Fearing War And Unrest, Arab Leaders Demand End To Israeli Assault On Gaza
New York Times: Turkey’s Leader, Lashing Out At Israel, Defends Hamas
Wall Street Journal: Hamas Fighters Trained In Iran Before Oct 7 Attacks
Bloomberg: Late US Submarine Delivery Shows Pitfalls for Partnership With Australia
DefenseScoop: US, Australia Eyeing Deeper Drone Technology Cooperation with Japan
Reuters: Biden Set To Speak With China’s Top Diplomat Wang Yi On Friday, Sources Say
AP: Loyalty Above All; Removal Of Top Chinese Officials Seen As Enforcing Xi’s Demand For Obedience
Reuters: Russia Says It Rehearsed Delivering A Massive Retaliatory Nuclear Strike
Defense One: US Wants to Build More Arms with Pacific Allies
C4ISRNET: Atlas, Other ‘Troubled’ Space Force Programs to Miss 2023 Deliveries
Air & Space Forces Magazine: B-21 Begins Taxi Tests in Last Step Before First Flight
Air & Space Forces Magazine: Ukrainian Pilots Start Training on the F-16 in Arizona
Air & Space Forces Magazine: New Charge Pushes Boeing’s Air Force One Losses to $1.3 Billion
SpaceNews: Space Force Planning $8 Billion Satellite Architecture for Nuclear Command and Control
Air Force Times: US Air Force Activates Units Dedicated to Electronic Warfare
Air & Space Forces Magazine: PACAF Leaders Visit South Korea Bases and Talk Readiness
Military.com: Give Guardsmen and Reservists the Same Parental Leave as Active-Duty Troops, Lawmakers Tell Defense Bill Negotiators
Breaking Defense: 1s and Many 0s: RTX to Sell Cybersecurity Unit for $1.3 Billion
Air & Space Forces Magazine: How Air Force Generals Avoid ‘Awkward First Dates’ With Foreign Leaders
Space.com: US Space Force’s 1st Official Painting Shows Military Space Plane Intercepting Adversary Satellite
The Cipher Brief: What Happens if Hezbollah Makes Good on its Vow to Escalate Violence in the Middle East?
The Cipher Brief: Why Did Hamas Conduct a Terrorist Attack on Israel and Why Now?
Calendar
THURSDAY | OCTOBER 26
10 a.m. 2301 Constitution Ave. NW — National Endowment for Democracy, International Foundation for Electoral Systems, and the U.S. Institute of Peace discussion: “Expanding Ukraine’s Democratic and Electoral Progress During War,” with Ukrainian Ambassador to the U.S. Oksana Markarova; former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine William Taylor, vice president of the USIP’s Russia and Europe Center; Olga Aivazovska, board chairwoman at OPORA; Peter Erben, IFES global principal adviser and senior country director for Ukraine; and Damon Wilson, NED president and CEO https://www.usip.org/events/expanding-ukraines-democratic-and-electoral-progress
10:30 a.m. S-116 — “Pen and pad” briefing for reporters by Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Ben Cardin (D-MD) to discuss the recent Senate delegation travel to the Middle East and other foreign policy and national security priorities. Media can RSVP to Eric Harris at [email protected]
12 p.m. — Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft virtual discussion: “The Gaza War and U.S. Middle East Policy: Appraising the Biden Administration,” with Dennis Ross, fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy; Emma Ashford, senior fellow at the Stimson Center; Aaron David Miller, senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace; and Steven Simon, senior research analyst at the Quincy Institute https://quincyinst.org/event/the-gaza-war-and-u-s-middle-east-policy
5 p.m. — Common Good virtual discussion: “Solving the Riddle: Transferring Russia’s Assets to Ukraine Without Cutting Funds to Defend Israel,” with Richard Salomon, founder and CEO of Vantage Point Consultants; and Laurence Tribe, professor of constitutional law emeritus at Harvard University https://www.thecommongoodus.org/upcoming-events
7 p.m. — New America discussion: “The Future of Irregular Warfare,” with Ken Gleiman, professor of practice at Arizona State University’s Future Security Initiative https://www.newamerica.org/future-security
FRIDAY | OCTOBER 27
9 a.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave. NW — Center for Strategic and International Studies in-person and virtual conference: “Transatlantic Defense in an Era of Strategic Competition,” with Daniel Fiott, head of the defense and statecraft programme, Center for Security, Diplomacy and Strategy of the Brussels School of Governance; Robert Bell, distinguished fellow, CSDS, Brussels School of Governance-VUB; Kristine Berzina, managing director, Geostrategy North, German Marshall Fund of the U.S.; Jessica Cox, director, Nuclear Policy Directorate at NATO; Katherine Kjellström Elgin, fellow, Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments; Justyna Gotkowska, deputy director, Centre for Eastern Studies, OSW; Alexander Mattelaer, professor, CSDS, Brussels School of Governance-VUB and senior research fellow, Egmont-Royal Institute for International Relations; Gesine Weber, research analyst and fellow, German Marshall Fund of the U.S.; Max Bergmann, director, Europe, Russia, and Eurasia Program and Stuart Center, CSIS; and Sissy Martinez, program coordinator and research assistant, Europe, Russia, and Eurasia Program, CSIS https://www.csis.org/events/transatlantic-defense-era-strategic-competition
10 a.m. — Fort Gordon, Georgia, will be officially renamed Fort Eisenhower at a ceremony attended by Army Secretary Christine Wormuth; retired Navy Adm. Michelle Howard, chairwoman, Congressional Naming Commission; and granddaughters of Army Gen. and President Dwight D. Eisenhower, Susan and Mary Jean Eisenhower https://www.facebook.com/ArmyCyberCoE
12 p.m. 1201 Pennsylvania Ave. NW — Hudson Institute in-person book discussion on Conflict: The Evolution of Warfare from 1945 to Ukraine, with authors retired Army Gen. David Petraeus and historian Andrew Roberts; moderated by Walter Russell Mead, Hudson distinguished fellow https://www.eventbrite.com/e/conflict-the-evolution-of-warfare
2:45 p.m. 1030 15th St. NW — Atlantic Council discussion: “Indo-Pacific Strategy,” with Camille Dawson, deputy assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/event/a-discussion
MONDAY | OCTOBER 30
10 a.m. — Air & Space Forces Association virtual fireside chat with Minot wing commanders, Col. Daniel Hoadley, commander of the 5th Bomb Wing; and Col. Kenneth McGhee, commander of the 91st Missile Wing https://afa-org.zoom.us/webinar/register
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“The people’s House is back in business.”
Rep. Mike Johnson (R-LA), after being elected speaker of the House with 220 Republican votes Wednesday.
