AUMF’d: Senators turn war powers hearing into Tehran tussle

With help from Andrew Desiderio and Connor O’Brien

Welcome to National Security Daily, POLITICO’s newsletter on the global events roiling Washington and keeping the administration up at night. I’m Alex Ward, back from my undercover mission visiting the in-laws and ready to serve once again as your guide to what’s happening inside the Pentagon, the NSC and D.C.’s foreign policy machine. My thanks to Nahal and Quint for running the show in my absence. Now, let’s get back to our regularly scheduled programming. National Security Daily arrives in your inbox Monday through Friday by 4 p.m.; subscribe here.

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Democrats and Republicans on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee seemed to be at two different hearings on Tuesday.

Democrats and administration officials were more concerned about what the 2002 Authorization for the Use of Military Force — which President JOE BIDEN wants repealed — says about America’s tense relationship with Iraq.

“Getting rid of the 2002 AUMF is important to send a message to the Iraqi people and the Iraqi government that we are partners and not adversaries — as we were with the government that was there under SADDAM HUSSEIN at the time that authorization was passed,” Sen. CHRIS VAN HOLLEN (D-Md.) said at the hearing.

That’s not what troubled Republican minds. GOP senators were more worried about what taking the law off the books would mean for Iran.

Some are subtle about their worries: “I remain concerned that a full repeal of the 2002 AUMF, without a tailored replacement, will limit our ability to combat the malign influence of Iran in the Middle East,” Sen. MIKE ROUNDS (R-S.D.) told NatSec Daily after the hearing. Others were far more blunt during the session: “The repeal of the AUMF will be used as justification for continuing to go soft on Iran,” Sen. TED CRUZ (R-Texas) insisted.

Sen. TIM KAINE (D-Va.), a driving force behind the 2002 AUMF repeal effort, told NatSec Daily in a post-hearing interview that the focus on Iran and Iraq was really senators testing out what the repeal might or might not mean for the region. In his mind, “what Iran doesn’t want is for the U.S. and Iraq to have a more strategic partnership.” Getting rid of the 2002 AUMF would lead to such a relationship, he contends, and “Iran won’t like that.”

Still, the much ballyhooed hearing was billed as a potential moment of comity, where lawmakers from both parties would agree the green light authorizing the Iraq War should finally turn red. But because this is Congress and we can’t have nice things, the session instead turned into yet another expression of partisan passions.

The three witnesses — Deputy Secretary of State WENDY SHERMAN, acting State legal adviser RICHARD VISEK and DOD General Counsel CAROLINE KESS — did their best to state the administration’s case. They said the 2002 AUMF, which former President DONALD TRUMP used to justify the killing of QASSEM SOLEIMANI, is now superfluous to requirements — since the 2001 version allows for counterterrorism strikes, and the president has Article II powers to use military force when he deems necessary.

That latter provision has some Democrats fuming. “The idea that once we get troops into a place, Article II can cover any action taken in their ‘defense’ is the definition of elastic,” a senior Senate Democratic aide told NatSec Daily. “A great way to defend the troops would be not leaving them in a place where they’re just bait for militia attacks.”

Either way, the administration is also open to discussing the repeal or making the 2001 AUMF more tightly focused on specific groups. But officials didn’t firmly commit to a broader, larger overhaul of current authorizations.

While Democrats thought the Senate session went well, the most noteworthy aspect was how it quickly turned into another partisan slugfest. “This was just a result of Republicans trying to slow walk us,” said another senior Democratic Senate staffer. The hearing “just gave them the opportunity to complain on a public platform.”

“When you are running out of arguments, you need to throw as much shit as possible to see what sticks,” the aide continued.

The committee does have actual work to do. It votes tomorrow on the repeal measure after the House moved to repeal it in June, and Democrats are confident it will pass. Whether it will make it through the full Senate, though, is the biggest question.

“We have a really good shot,” Kaine told NatSec Daily. “I feel good about getting over 60 on this,” but he made sure to note that there are “no guarantees.”

Read our friend ANDREW DESIDERIO’s deep-dive on the AUMF debate and vote when it publishes Wednesday morning.

The Inbox

BREAKING — SEIZURE OF GULF TANKER BY IRAN: The British Navy, multiple outlets and some friends of NatSec Daily report that Iranian-backed forces seized a tanker off the coast of the United Arab Emirates. This comes just one day after the U.S. and U.K. joined Israel in blaming Tehran for the fatal drone attack on the Mercer Street vessel off the coast of Oman, a charge Iran denies.

Secretary of State ANTONY BLINKEN confirmed and condemned Iran’s strike against the commercial ship — called the Mercer Street — in a State Department briefing Monday. “There is no justification for this attack on a peaceful vessel on a commercial mission in international waters. Iran’s action is a direct threat to freedom of navigation and commerce,” Blinken told reporters. But it remains unclear whether the United States and its allies will respond with more than words at this time.

SHOOTING OUTSIDE DOD: A shooting near the Pentagon’s Metrobus platform resulted in a nearly two-hour lockdown this morning. A DOD spokesperson confirmed to our own LARA SELIGMAN that all personnel were told to stay inside the building due to police activity.

Lara reported: “The gunman was shot by a Pentagon police officer and did not get inside the Pentagon building,” a Pentagon Force Protection Agency official told POLITICO. One other officer was injured and is being transported to seek medical attention. There are no additional suspects at this time and the scene is secure, the official said, stressing that the situation is still ‘fluid’ and that information is still coming in.”

WOODROW KUSSE, chief of the Pentagon Police, gave this update to reporters at a news briefing: “This morning, at about 10:37 a.m., a Pentagon Police officer was attacked on the Metro bus platform. Gunfire was exchanged, and there were several casualties. The incident is over. The scene is secure. And most importantly, there’s no continuing threat to our community. The FBI is on the scene, leading the investigation. And again, the Pentagon and the Pentagon reservation are safe and secure.” Kusse neither confirmed nor denied reports that an officer had died and that the assailant was killed. He also declined to elaborate on the whereabouts of the suspect and would not say whether the officer who was attacked had been shot or stabbed.

LASHKAR LOSSES: The Taliban captured nine out of 10 districts today in Lashkar Gah, the capital of Afghanistan’s Helmand province. TAMEEM AKHGARand RAHIM FAIEZ of The Associated Press spoke with residents of the southern city who feel held captive by the skirmishes.

“Residents of the city … said the fighting has them trapped, hunkered down inside their homes and unable to step out for basic supplies. They said Taliban fighters were out openly in the streets, and that all but one Lashkar Gah district was under Taliban control.” The militants even took over a local TV station, so nothing is being broadcast over the airwaves.

Kabul sent elite commandos to assist Afghan forces in Lashkar Gah, and the United States has bombed Taliban positions across the city over the past three days. But there’s no indication that those efforts will prevent the likely fall of the provincial capital.

Monday, Afghan President ASHRAF GHANI blamed the Taliban’s swift rise on his American counterpart. “The reason for our current situation is that the decision was taken abruptly” by President JOE BIDEN, Ghani told Parliament.

If there’s an upside to the latest chaos, it’s that Afghan forces have had some success in repelling Taliban advances. In Herat, Afghanistan’s third-largest city, local troops pushed the insurgents back to the outskirts of town, and the civilian airport reopened. Ghani believes such events are a sign of things to come.

“I want to tell you that a clear plan is prepared for reaching stability in six months and the implementation of the plan has started,” he also told members of Parliament, without going into specifics. But any nascent optimism was surely tempered by a large blast in the center of Kabul on Tuesday night.

KIM’S WISHLIST: North Korea is ready to come in from the cold (war), but Pyongyang is demanding quite the price for renewed nuclear talks.

“As a precondition to reopen talks, North Korea argues that the United States should allow mineral exports and imports of refined oil and necessities,” HA TAE-KEUNG, a member of South Korea’s parliamentary intelligence committee, told reporters, citing details of a private briefing by the country’s spy chief, PARK JIE-WON. “I asked which necessities they want the most, and they said high-class liquors and suits were included, not just for KIM JONG UN’s own consumption but to distribute to Pyongyang’s elite.”

Those remarks come just a week after the North and South reestablished a hotline, which Seoul says Kim requested.

A senior administration official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive matter, reacted to the news in a conversation with NatSec Daily. “Our offer remains to meet anywhere, anytime without preconditions,” the official said — adding that the United States and other nations will continue to enforce U.N. sanctions “in the absence of any type of engagements.”

CALL ME MAYBE?: Pakistani National Security Adviser MOEED YUSUF is upset Biden hasn’t called his boss, Prime Minister IMRAN KHAN even as the U.S. war in Afghanistan comes to a close.

“The president of the United States hasn’t spoken to the prime minister of such an important country who the US itself says is make-or-break in some cases, in some ways, in Afghanistan — we struggle to understand the signal, right?” he told the Financial Times’ KATRINA MANSON. “We’ve been told every time that … [the phone call] will happen, it’s technical reasons or whatever. But frankly, people don’t believe it.”

Khan has long complained about not speaking with Biden. If the phone doesn’t ring soon, Pakistan may look elsewhere — namely, China — for a new bestie. “If a phone call is a concession, if a security relationship is a concession, Pakistan has options,” Yusuf said.

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Blowing Up

“PROBABLY” MORE IRAN-TO-VENEZUELA ARMS: Our own CONNOR O’BRIEN sends in this missive from another hearing on the Hill: The nominee to lead U.S. forces in Central and South America warned senators today that more attempts by Iran to deliver weapons to Venezuela could be on the horizon.

“Obviously they’re the largest state sponsor of terror. They will continue their malign influence in the region, and certainly they exchange with Venezuela petroleum for arms to avoid sanctions,” Army Lt. Gen. LAURA RICHARDSON, the administration’s pick to head U.S. Southern Command, told SASC during a confirmation hearing. “And so I expect this would probably continue, and certainly, it’s very concerning in the region.”

Her comments, made in an exchange with Sen. RICHARD BLUMENTHAL (D-Conn.), came after a June dust-up that saw two Iranian navy ships steamed for Venezuela to conduct what U.S. officials believed to be an arms transfer. The ships eventually changed course, but the incident was illustrative of the inroads the U.S. adversary is seeking in the Western Hemisphere alongside China and Russia.

MISSING BELARUSIAN FOUND DEAD: A leading Belarusian anti-regime activist, VITALY SHISHOV, was found dead today at a park near his home in Kyiv, Ukraine — and it’s unclear if he was murdered or died by suicide. “The full picture of events will be confirmed after the questioning of witnesses, the analysis of video recordings” and other investigative steps, the Ukrainian capital’s police said.

Shishov, 26, ran the Balrusian House in Ukraine, which provides refuge for protesters escaping repression back home. His death comes as Belarusian President ALEKSANDER LUKASHENKA is repressing a large protest movement in his country following a fraudulent election last year. He has recently expanded his crackdown against anti-government activists abroad, notably targeting Olympic sprinter KRYSTINA TIMANOVSKAYA, who opposes the regime.

The United States has shown support for Belarus’ opposition, with Biden meeting the movement’s leader at the White House last week. But a senior administration official wouldn’t preview any potential moves in response for NatSec Daily, but did say “you can expect the United States, alongside our partners and allies, will continue to hold the Lukashenka regime accountable for its actions, including through sanctions.”

Keystrokes

CHINA-LINKED HACKERS TARGET RUSSIA FOR FIRST TIME: APT31, the criminal group with suspected ties to the Chinese government that’s known for preying on global agencies, has targeted Russia for the first time. The Positive Technologies Expert Security Center released that stunning assessment in a news release about the group’s phishing campaign.

“More than a dozen malicious emails were sent around the world between January and July this year, and traces of the group were found in the U.S., Canada, Mongolia, the Republic of Belarus, and — for the first time — Russia,” the release reads. “These attacks leveraged previously unseen malicious content: The group’s new tool is a piece of malware that allows criminals to control a victim’s computer or network by using remote access, and steal any file from an infected machine.”

The main takeaway? “The phishing emails sent to Russia suggest APT31 is expanding the geography of its interests. Positive Technologies believes more attacks are coming from this group, including against Russia,” DANIIL KOLOSKOV, a senior threat analysis specialist at Positive Technologies, told NatSec Daily.

CYBER SHORTFALLS ACROSS FEDERAL AGENCIES: A new bipartisan staff report from the Senate Homeland Security Committee slams the cybersecurity weaknesses of eight major federal agencies, concluding that they’ve made little progress in strengthening their systems in the last two years, our own ERIC GELLER reports.

Of the eight agencies — which include the Social Security Administration and the departments of Homeland Security, Education, State, Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, Transportation and Agriculture — seven still fail to adequately protect Americans’ data, seven still use obsolete IT systems and six still struggle to fix vulnerabilities in a timely manner, according to the report.

The Complex

C-130 360°: The Air Force wants to retire 13 older C-130Hs and bring in five new C-130Js. But members of the House Armed Services Committee are seeking a minimum of 287 C-130s in the fleet — that is, the same number of planes in service right now. It’s not a big difference, of course, but the disagreement is the latest example of how lawmakers and the services differ on their procurement priorities and needs.

SECDEF WINS OVER WSJ: Defense Secretary LLOYD AUSTIN is earning rare plaudits from the Wall Street Journal’s editorial board for his trip last week to Southeast Asia — specifically, his stop in Manila, where Philippine officials agreed to restore the country’s Visiting Forces Agreement with the United States. The editorial board dubbed that announcement a “concrete strategic success” that would deal “a blow to China’s strategic ambition to push America’s military out of the Western Pacific.”

On the Hill

WHITE HOUSE ‘HAVANA SYNDROME’ SUPERVISOR: Sens. JEANNE SHAHEEN (D-N.H.) and SUSAN COLLINS (R-Maine) rolled out a bill today to establish a new National Security Council position that would take point on the federal response to incidents of so-called Havana syndrome, per our own ANDREW DESIDERIO.

Dubbed the Anomalous Health Incidents Interagency Coordinator, this NSC staffer would be responsible for organizing the U.S. investigations of and responses to the suspected directed-energy attacks against American diplomats and spies. The individual would also oversee efforts to ensure that victims are afforded sufficient medical care.

Broadsides

DON’T TRUST THE PROCESS: Hours before the AUMF hearing, Senate Foreign Relations Chair ROBERT MENENDEZ (D-N.J.) sent a letter to Blinken demanding the administration fix Foggy Bottom’s growing backlog of passport applications.

“I urge the Department of State to redouble efforts to surge resources to reduce current processing times and to assure that American citizens do not face similar occurrences in the future,” Menendez wrote. “As the volume of applications rise, it is imperative that the Department promptly prioritizes solving the backlog of applications and enabling passport services to resume operating efficiently.”

Transitions

THINK TANK SWAP: MICHAEL HOROWITZ, a leading expert on military innovation, will join the Council on Foreign Relations as a senior fellow for defense technology and innovation. He leaves the Center for a New American Security but will continue his work as the director of Perry World House and a professor at the University of Pennsylvania.

What to Read

The Economist: “What an attack on an oil tanker says about Iran”

Foreign Policy: “Taiwan Showed How to Prosecute an Ex-President”

War on the Rocks: “Getting Outside Information Past Big Brother in North Korea”

Tomorrow Today

— The Lowy Institute, 3 a.m.: “In Conversation with RICHARD HAASS”

— The Atlantic Council, 10 a.m.: “Enhancing security in the Black Sea: The future of security cooperation; with ALTON BULAND”

— Senate Appropriations Committee, 10 a.m.: “Full Committee Markup: Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2022”

— The Center for Strategic and International Studies, 11:30 a.m.: “A New Transatlantic Policy Approach Towards the Western Balkans”

— The Center for a New American Security, 12 p.m.: “Special Event: Independent Review Commission on Sexual Assault in the Military; with KYLEANNE HUNTER and KAYLA WILLIAMS”

— Senate Intelligence Committee, 2:45 p.m.: “Full Committee Hearing: Beijing’s Long Arm: Threats to U.S. National Security”

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