Overnight Defense: Obama likens ISIS to the Joker; Combat jobs will soon open to women

THE TOPLINE: President Obama has repeatedly ruled out requests by Secretary of State John Kerry to launch missiles at regime targets in Syria, according to an interview with the president published Thursday.

Over the past year, Kerry has argued the strikes are not intended to overthrow President Bashar Assad but instead “send a message” with the goal of bringing him to the negotiating table to broker a peace deal, according to The Atlantic’s Jeffrey Goldberg.

But Obama was not convinced and has grown frustrated with the requests. 

{mosads}”Oh, another proposal?” Obama said when Kerry recently dropped off a new outline of ways to pressure Assad.  

The president’s reluctance to get more involved in Syria has frustrated members of his administration and lawmakers in both parties, who have argued for a more aggressive response to defeat Assad, whom Obama said must leave power.

The piece also said Samantha Power, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, has frequently lobbied the president to adopt her point of view, laid out in her 2002 book, that America should intervene when a country massacres its own citizens. 

Power has sometimes argued with Obama in front of his National Security Council. In one instance, Obama shot back, “Samantha, enough, I’ve already read your book.”

Obama also compared ISIS to the Joker, the villain from the movie Batman, and compared the Middle East to Gotham City.

The president famously referred to the group as a “JV team” in an interview published in 2014. 

Obama admitted that he did not properly convey to the public that he understood the threat posed by terrorist groups and what he was doing to fight them.

“Every president has strengths and weaknesses,” he said. “And there is no doubt that there are times where I have not been attentive enough to feelings and emotions and politics in communicating what we’re doing and how we’re doing it.”

Read The Atlantic article here. 

Also, The Hill’s Jordan Fabian on Obama’s Joker comment and on Obama denying Kerry’s request for strikes.

 

CARTER APPROVES PLANS TO OPEN COMBAT JOBS TO WOMEN: Defense Secretary Ash Carter has approved final plans to integrate women into all military positions.

With his approval, the services and U.S. special operations forces can now execute their plans to open all previously closed positions, occupations, specialties, career fields and branches to women right away. 

“When I announced my decision back in December to open all career fields to qualified women, I emphasized that the implementation of this change must be handled the right way, because the combat effectiveness of the world’s finest fighting force is paramount,” Carter said in a statement. 

“Having reviewed their exceptionally thorough work, I am pleased all of the services developed plans that will effectively carry out this change and make us even better in the future,” he said. 

In a post on Medium published Thursday, Carter added that it was important to keep opening up all jobs to women “in perspective.” 

“Even as we proceed with implementation going forward, it won’t all happen overnight, and while at the end of the day this will make us a better and stronger force, there will still be problems to fix and challenges to overcome. We shouldn’t diminish that,” he said. 

“At the same time, we should also remember that the military has long prided itself on being a meritocracy, where those who serve are judged not based on who they are or where they come from, but rather what they have to offer to help defend this country,” he said.

Click here to read more.

 

SENATE PANEL APPROVES ARMY NOMINEE: The Senate Armed Services Committee approved the nomination of Eric Fanning as secretary of the Army on Thursday by voice vote.

If confirmed, Fanning would be the first openly gay secretary of a U.S. military branch

Despite the committee’s approval, Sen. Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) has a hold on Fanning’s nomination that prevents the full Senate from voting on it.

Roberts has said the hold has nothing to do with Fanning in particular. He wants assurances from President Obama that no detainees from the Guantanamo Bay prison will be sent to his home state.

The American Military Partner Association (AMPA), the nation’s largest organization of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender military spouses and their families, praised the committee’s approval and urged the Senate to confirm Fanning.

“We are thrilled to see Eric Fanning confirmed by the Senate Armed Services Committee,” AMPA President Ashley Broadway-Mack said in a written statement Thursday.

Click here to read more.

 

ON TAP FOR TOMORROW: 

Col. Steve Warren, the spokesman for Operation Inherent Resolve, briefs the media Friday from Baghdad. Watch his briefing at www.dod.gov or follow along at @OIRSpox. 

 

ICYMI:

— The Hill: House Veterans’ Affairs chairman to retire

— The Hill: Top commander defends blimp program

— The Hill: Top commander knocks Trump’s border wall

— The Hill: Senate kills Rand Paul’s attempted block on aircraft sale to Pakistan

— The Daily Signal: Commentary: House Budget Proposal Falls Short on Defense, by The Heritage Foundation’s Justin Johnson

 

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