BY jamie mcintyre

SILENCE SPEAKS VOLUMES: So far, there has been no public comment from Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Mark Milley in response to a book by two Washington Post reporters detailing Milley’s fear that in his final days in office, President Donald Trump would issue unconstitutional orders to the military in an attempt to stay in power.

Milley, who appeared at a ceremony in Norfolk, Virginia, yesterday marking the standup of a new NATO command, has issued no denials of the bombshell account, leading many to conclude they are true. And this morning, Susan Glasser, a staff writer at the New Yorker, has added to the description of Milley’s frantic efforts to keep Trump in check until the peaceful transfer of power was complete.

Glasser, who is writing a book with her husband, Peter Baker, on the Trump presidency, to be published next year, says reports about Milley’s actions in two new books by Michael Bender of the Wall Street Journal, and Philip Rucker and Carol Leonnig, of the Washington Post, have been independently confirmed by her.

‘LAND THE PLANE’: Milley had two big concerns as it became clear that President Donald Trump would not accept the results of the 2020 election, according to Glasser, who says her account is based on nearly 200 interviews with “a variety of sources.” Milley feared Trump would try to use the military on the streets to prevent the transfer of power and that he might “in motion a full-scale conflict” against Iran that was not justified.

“Trump had a circle of Iran hawks around him and was close with the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, who was also urging the administration to act against Iran after it was clear that Trump had lost the election,” Glaser writes. “‘If you do this, you’re gonna have a fucking war,’ Milley would say.”

Milley is said to have enlisted White House chief of staff Mark Meadows and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in regular 8 a.m. conference calls to avert a crisis.

“The chairman ... referred to these meetings with his staff as the ‘land the plane’ calls — as in, ‘both engines are out, the landing gear are stuck, we’re in an emergency situation. Our job is to land this plane safely and to do a peaceful transfer of power the 20th of January,’” Glaser writes.

TRUMP DENIES COUP, DENIGRATES MILLEY: In a four-paragraph statement, Trump dismissed the coup talk as “so ridiculous,” and he said Milley is just “trying to curry favor with the radical left.”

“I never threatened, or spoke about, to anyone, a coup of our government. So ridiculous!” Trump wrote. “Sorry to inform you, but an election is my form of ‘coup,’ and if I was going to do a coup, one of the last people I would want to do it with is General Mark Milley.”

In his statement, Trump confirmed that he rejected former Defense Secretary Jim Mattis’s preferred choice for chairman, Air Force Chief Gen. David Goldfein, and instead picked Milley to spite Mattis, who by 2019 was falling out of favor with Trump.

“He [Milley] got his job only because the world’s most overrated general, James Mattis, could not stand him, had no respect for him, and would not recommend him,” Trump wrote. “To me the fact that Mattis didn’t like him, just like Obama didn’t like him and actually fired Milley, was a good thing, not a bad thing. I often act counter to people's advice who I don’t respect.”

For the record, President Barack Obama nominated Mllley to be Army chief of staff in 2015 and never fired him.

TRUMP BLASTS MILLEY AFTER BOOK SUGGESTED FORMER PRESIDENT SOUGHT POST-ELECTION COUP

Good Friday morning and welcome to Jamie McIntyre’s Daily on Defense, written and compiled by Washington Examiner National Security Senior Writer Jamie McIntyre (@jamiejmcintyre) and edited by Victor I. Nava. Email here with tips, suggestions, calendar items, and anything else. Sign up or read current and back issues at DailyonDefense.com. If signing up doesn’t work, shoot us an email and we’ll add you to our list. And be sure to follow us on Twitter: @dailyondefense.

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‘NOT ON THE AGENDA’: While not completely ruling it out, President Joe Biden appeared to close the door on any dispatch of U.S. troops to help restore order in Haiti in the wake of the assassination of President Jovenel Moise last week.

“With regard to the circumstances in which we would send military troops to Haiti: We’re only sending American Marines to our embassy to make sure that they are secure and nothing is out of whack at all,” Biden said at a joint news conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. “But the idea of sending American forces into Haiti is not on the agenda at this moment.”

The U.S. has a long history of intervention in Haiti dating back to 1915, when Woodrow Wilson dispatched U.S. Marines to the island, an occupation that lasted 19 years. More recently, President Bill Clinton, under United Nations authorization, ordered Operation Uphold Democracy in 1994 to restore Haiti's first democratically elected president, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, to power.

LESSONS OF THE PAST SHOULD DRIVE MILITARY DECISIONS ABOUT HAITI

FREE WI-FI FOR CUBA: One of the options Republicans have been pushing to help Cubans protesting their government is to provide free internet access so Cuban citizens can communicate with each other and the outside world. The Cuban government routinely shuts off internet access as a way to shut down protests.

“In recent years, American firms have made significant strides in telecommunications technologies, including fiber-less solutions that can be deployed to remote regions at relatively short notice,” Florida Sen. Marco Rubio wrote in a letter to President Joe Biden. “American technical capacity, coupled with the physical proximity of Cuba to the United States and its interests, make providing unrestricted access to the island an attainable and morally imperative goal. Today, U.S. companies stand ready and willing to support this effort with the support of the federal government.”

Biden yesterday said the idea is under active consideration. “We’re considering whether we have the technological ability to reinstate that access.”

GOP WANTS BIDEN TO BEAM INTERNET DOWN TO CUBANS: 'IT’S COMMUNISM VERSUS CAPITALISM'

GILLIBRAND PREDICTS NDDA DELAY, FLOOR VOTE ON HER MILITARY JUSTICE BILL: In a conference call with reporters yesterday, New York Democrat Kirsten Gillibrand, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, predicted Congress will be unable to pass the National Defense Authorization Act in time to avert a continuing resolution.

In the Defense Writers Group call, Gillibrand also predicted her Military Justice Reform bill to remove all major crimes from the chain of command will get a floor vote, despite opposition from committee chairman Sen. Jack Reed and ranking member Sen. Jim Inhofe.

Gillibrand says Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has promised her a vote on the bill, which goes beyond the recommendations of the Pentagon by including serious crimes, such as murder.

“He supports the measure, has voted for it in the past, and he has told me that he will give me a vote,” Gillibrand said.

“These cases deserve the same professionalization and unbiased determination as to the sexual assault or rape cases,” Gillibrand told MSNBC. “They're serious crimes. And from the defendants' perspective, if you could go to jail for more than a year of your life, you deserve an unbiased reform.”

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The Rundown

Washington Examiner: White House rejects Bush criticism of Afghanistan withdrawal

Washington Examiner: Taliban offer three-month ceasefire in exchange for release of 7,000 prisoners

Washington Examiner: Trump blasts Milley after book suggested former president sought post-election coup

Washington Examiner: US military trained Colombian soldiers arrested in assassination of Haitian president, Pentagon says

Washington Examiner: Israelis plan military buildup to counter 'Iran arming itself with a nuclear weapon'

Washington Examiner: GOP wants Biden to beam internet down to Cubans: 'It’s communism versus capitalism'

Washington Examiner: Lessons of the past should drive military decisions about Haiti

Washington Examiner: Sailor becomes first woman to complete Naval Special Warfare training

New York Times: China Is Wary Of U.S. Pullout In Afghanistan

AP: U.S., Afghan’s Neighbors Scramble To Address Taliban Surge

Agence France Presse: Russia Races To Build Giant Icebreakers In Bid For Arctic Dominance

AP: WHO chief says it was ‘premature’ to rule out COVID lab leak

CBS News: Facebook Says Iranian Hackers Targeted U.S. Military Personnel

Air Force Magazine: Progress on B-21 Means Current Bombers Need a Fast Retirement

Naval News: U.S. Navy’s Virginia Class Submarines To Get 76% More Firepower

Air Force Magazine: Minot B-52s Head to Guam for Bomber Task Force Deployment

Defense One: Nat'l Guard Clawing Back State Funds After Congress Refuses to Reimburse Jan. 6 Expenses

Task & Purpose: ‘Failure Of Leadership’ — What One Marine’s Discharge Reveals About The Military Justice System

Breaking Defense: NORTHCOM Head To Press DoD Leaders For AI Tools

19fortyfive.com: 320 New Weapons Tested: Russia's Military Went to War in Syria With a Clear Plan

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Washington Examiner: Opinion: Be wary of the Russian national security council 'leak'

19fortyfive.com: Opinion: A Toxic Brew of Careerism and Fear: Why the Navy Could Lose a War To China

19fortyfive.com: Opinion: The Smaller, Older—But Busier—U.S. Air Force (Mackenzie Eaglen AEI)

Calendar

FRIDAY | JULY 16

12 p.m. — Hudson Institute virtual discussion: “Religious Freedom and a Free and Open Indo-Pacific,” with Yahya Cholil Staquf, general secretary of Indonesia's Nahdlatul Ulama; former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, fellow at Hudson; and Kenneth Weinstein, fellow at Hudson. https://www.hudson.org/events

On Friday July 16, President Joseph R. Biden Jr. will participate in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Leaders’ Virtual Retreat, where Leaders will discuss ending the COVID-19 pandemic and supporting the global economic recovery, hosted by Prime Minister Ardern of New Zealand.

MONDAY | JULY 19

5:30 p.m. 232A Russell — Senate Armed Services Subcommittees begin markups of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022, beginning with closed hearings by the subcommittee on strategic forces and cybersecurity. https://www.armed-services.senate.gov/hearings

TUESDAY | JULY 20

9:30 p.m. 106 Russell — Senate Armed Services Subcommittees continue markups of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022, with open hearings by the subcommittees on readiness and management support, and at 11 a.m. on personnel; followed by closed hearings by the subcommittees on airland, emerging threats and capabilities, and seapower. https://www.armed-services.senate.gov/hearings

10 a.m. 2118 Rayburn — House Armed Services Committee hearing: “Non-Governmental Views on the Fiscal Year 2022 Department of Defense Budget,” with Stacie Pettyjohn, senior fellow and director, Defense Program, Center for a New American Security; Mandy Smithberger, director of the Center for Defense Information, Project on Government Oversight; Roger Zakheim, director, Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute. https://armedservices.house.gov/hearings

1:30 p.m. — Air Force Association's Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies releases new policy paper, “Speed is Life: Accelerating the Air Force’s Ability to Adapt and Win,” with Tim Grayson, director of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency's Strategic Technology Office. https://events.r20.constantcontact.com/register

2 p.m. 2118 Rayburn — House Armed Services Subcommittee on Military Personnel hearing: “The Findings and Recommendations of the Independent Review Commission on Sexual Assault in the Military,” with Kathleen Hicks, deputy secretary of defense; Lynn Rosenthal, chair, Independent Review Commission on Sexual Assault in the Military; Meghan Tokash, member, Independent Review Commission on Sexual Assault in the Military; retired Maj. Gen. James Johnson, member, Independent Review Commission on Sexual Assault in the Military; and Kyleanne Hunter, member, Independent Review Commission on Sexual Assault in the Military. https://armedservices.house.gov/hearings

WEDNESDAY | JULY 21

3 p.m. 2118 Rayburn — Subcommittee on Intelligence and Special Operations hearing: “Review of the Fiscal Year 2022 Budget Request for U.S. Special Operations Forces and Command,” with Joseph McMenamin, PTDO assistant secretary of defense for special operations/low-intensity conflict; and Gen Richard Clarke, commander, U.S. Special Operations Command.https://armedservices.house.gov/hearings

8 p.m. Cincinnati, Ohio — President Joe Biden takes part in a town hall event moderated by CNN anchor Don Lemon. Live on CNN and CNN.com

THURSDAY | JULY 22

12 p.m. — McCain Institute virtual conversation with former U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper and former British Prime Minister Theresa May. https://asu.zoom.us

1 p.m. — Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments webinar on it new report: “Implementing Deterrence by Detection: Innovative Capabilities, Processes, and Organizations for Situational Awareness in the Indo-Pacific Region,” with authors Thomas Mahnken, Travis Sharp, Christopher Bassler, Bryan Durkee; and CSBA Council member Chris Brose. https://csbaonline.org/about/events

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