Trump seeks to preserve US-Saudi alliance as CIA links Crown Prince to Khashoggi murder

WHO CAN REALLY KNOW? In a “Fox News Sunday” interview President Trump indicated he’s not ready to blame Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for the murder of Jamal Khashoggi last month. Trump said he’s waiting for a report outlining the intelligence community’s assessment of the evidence that suggests the crown prince personally ordered the killing of the Saudi journalist, a U.S. resident. But Trump noted he puts some stock in the crown prince’s denials. “He told me that he had nothing to do with it, he told me that — I would say maybe five times at different points, as recently as a few days ago,” Trump told Fox’s Chris Wallace. “But what if he's lying?” Wallace asked. “Well, will anybody really know?” Trump responded, even as he acknowledged the possibility the prince was involved. “He did have certain people that were reasonably close to him and close to him that were probably involved,” Trump said. A ‘VERY GOOD’ ALLY: Trump again suggested the U.S. relationship with Saudi Arabia, which he considers key to countering Iran, should not be scuttled over the murder. “At the same time, we do have an ally and I want to stick with an ally that in many ways has been very good,” Trump said. NO NEED TO HEAR THE TAPE: Trump confirmed that the U.S, has been given an audio recording of the murder by Turkey, but that he has no plans to listen to it. “We have the tape, I don't want to hear the tape, no reason for me to hear the tape.” “It's a suffering tape, it's a terrible tape. I've been fully briefed on it. There's no reason for me to hear it,” Trump said, “I know everything that went on in the tape without having to hear it.” CONGRESS MORE SKEPTICAL: On NBC yesterday, Sen. Lindsey Graham said the idea that the crown prince didn’t know about and sanction the plan to murder Khashoggi “is impossible for me to believe.” The South Carolina Republican says he wants to wait for the CIA report, but that he has no intention of working with the crown prince again. “He's irrational. He's unhinged, and I think he's done a lot of damage to the relationship between the United States and Saudi Arabia,” Graham said on “Meet the Press”. On CBS Sen. Rand Paul said he believed the evidence is “overwhelming” that the crown prince was involved and that President Trump's sanctions on individual Saudis is just an effort to “sweep this under the rug.” “The thing about sanctions is that I think sanctions are pretending to do something without really doing anything, said Paul, R-Ky. “Most of these people are in prison, other than the crown prince. But the crown prince runs the country. And we deal with him. If we put sanctions on people who are in prison, are we really doing anything to punish them? They're already in prison.” THE COMING CABINET SHAKE-UP: Trump also confirmed that changes are coming to his cabinet, all the while insisting the White House is running “like a well-oiled machine” and that he has “great people.” “I'm very happy with my cabinet, other than, you know a couple of exceptions, and even then, I'm not unhappy,” Trump said, “I will make some changes, but not very many.” Those exceptions include DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, who has disappointed Trump by not taking a harder line on illegal immigration. “I like her very much. I respect her very much. I'd like her to be much tougher on the border — much tougher, period,” he said. And then there’s Chief of Staff John Kelly, who Trump once said would continue in the White House through 2020. “He's doing an excellent job in many ways. There are a couple of things where it's just not his strength. It's not his fault it's not his strength.” Trump said he has “three or four or five positions” that he’s thinking about changing. He then added, “Maybe it's going to end up being two.” TRASHING MCRAVEN: One thing you can be sure of with Trump is that if you attack him, he will punch back harder. At one point Wallace challenged Trump for calling what the president terms the “fake news media the enemy of the people.” Wallace cited the comments of retired Adm. William McRaven, who commanded the raid that killed Osama bin Laden. Last year McRaven called Trump’s attack on the news media “the greatest threat to democracy in his lifetime.” On Fox, Trump dismissed the criticism as coming from a “Hillary Clinton fan” and an “Obama backer.” Trump then suggested McRaven was slow to act while bin Laden was living it up in Pakistan. “Would it have been nicer if we got Osama bin Laden a lot sooner than that, wouldn't it have been nice?” Trump said. “Living — think of this, living in Pakistan, beautifully in Pakistan and what I guess in what they considered a nice mansion — I don't know, I've seen nicer.” MCRAVEN RESPONDS: "I stand by my comment that the president's attack on the media is the greatest threat to our democracy in my lifetime," McRaven said, according to CNN. "I did not back Hillary Clinton or anyone else," McRaven told CNN. "I am a fan of President Obama and President George W. Bush, both of whom I worked for. I admire all presidents, regardless of their political party, who uphold the dignity of the office and who use that office to bring the nation together in challenging times." When President Trump revoked the security clearance of former CIA Director John Brennan in response to criticism, McRaven wrote a Washington Post op-ed saying he would consider it an honor for Trump to revoke his security clearance, too. Good Monday morning and welcome to Jamie McIntyre’s Daily on Defense, compiled by Washington Examiner National Security Senior Writer Jamie McIntyre (@jamiejmcintyre) and National Security Writer Travis J. Tritten (@travis_tritten). Email us here for tips, suggestions, calendar items and anything else. If a friend sent this to you and you’d like to sign up, click here. 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.

HAPPENING TODAY, ANOTHER SPACE FORCE ESTIMATE: Last week Deputy Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan indicated the cost of standing up a separate military service, known as the Space Force, could be as little as $5 billion. This afternoon, we’ll get an independent estimate from Todd Harrison over at Center for Strategic and International Studies. Harrison, director of the Aerospace Security Project and Defense Budget Analysis at CSIS, has been busy crunching Space Force-related numbers. At 2 p.m. Harrison will present his cost calculations for several different possible configurations of national security space reorganization, including a Space Corps and two different organizations of the Space Force. MATTIS DELIVERS TURKEY REPORT: Congress has its Pentagon report on Turkey buying F-35 jets, and now lawmakers much decide whether to lift a freeze on transfers of the jets. Mattis submitted the review of the U.S. relationship with the NATO ally just before the deadline today, which was mandated by the National Defense Authorization Act. "The department provided the NDAA-required Secretary of Defense F-35 report to Congress for their decision on the way forward. Department leadership will continue to work closely with Congress to answer any of their questions,” Pentagon spokesman Lt. Col. Mike Andrews said on Friday. Sens. Thom Tillis and Jeanne Shaheen spearheaded the freeze on the high-tech jets. "It appears that DoD has determined that Turkey has met its obligations to purchase F-35s pursuant to the provision in the NDAA," Tillis' office told the Washington Examiner. "The release of Pastor [Andrew] Brunson was a positive step that opens up the opportunity for improved relations between the U.S. and Turkey. There are still some outstanding issues that must be addressed moving forward, including Turkey’s purchase of the S-400 from Russia and Turkey’s detention of other American citizens." SHOULD THE AUDIT BE AUDITED? The Pentagon was pretty proud of itself last week for completing its first-ever audit of the Defense Department, which it claimed was the largest audit ever, covering $2.7 trillion in assets and $2.6 trillion in liabilities. But “some aspects of the financial audit are a waste of money,” argues retired Lt. Gen. Tom Spoehr over at the Heritage Foundation, who notes the massive effort cost more than $400 million. “A financial audit primarily validates the accuracy of an organization’s financial statements, in the DOD’s case its statement of budgetary resources, its balance sheet, its statement of net cost, and statement of changes in net position. Frankly, nobody looks at those statements in the Pentagon. They are not used to manage. That’s not to say that the Pentagon should be given a free pass, but the audit needs to change so that DOD and the U.S. get the best value from it.” “The standards should be modified to acknowledge the uniqueness of the DOD so that the audit can focus on areas where it can be of the greatest value,” Spoehr said. SLAIN TROOPS ECHO KHASHOGGI MURDER: Jordan rolled out false claims and gave shifting explanations after one of its soldiers killed three U.S. Green Beret trainers outside one of its bases in 2016, according to a new lawsuit brought by their families. Fathers of the three slain soldiers who sued the kingdom this week said its handling of the deaths is reminiscent of Saudi Arabia’s changing explanations for the murder of Virginia resident and Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi at one its consulates last month. “For life to work, we all have to be willing to hold the powerful accountable whoever the powerful are for whatever they’ve done,” James Moriarty, father of Army Staff Sgt. James Moriarty who was among those shot to death, said Friday. “The Jamal Khashoggi case is virtually identical to this because you have lie after lie after lie after lie, where people refuse to accept responsibility for what they've done.” Moriarty and the two other fathers, Chuck Lewellen, and Brian McEnroe are seeking monetary damages from Jordan for what they say was an attempted cover-up in the shooting, which drew international attention and sparked a damning investigation by the Pentagon that cleared the soldiers. The civil lawsuit filed in Washington, D.C. district court is not seeking a particular dollar amount. COULDA, SHOULDA, WOULDA: President Trump, in his Fox News interview, again blamed the Secret Service for preventing him from attending Armistice Day services at the U.S. cemetery outside Paris last weekend. But Trump admitted he blew it by not making the short trek across the Potomac to attend Veterans Day observances at Arlington National Cemetery last Monday. “I should have done that, I was extremely busy on calls for the country. We did a lot of calling as you know,” Trump said in his Fox News interview. “In retrospect, I should have, and I did last year, and I will virtually every year.” Trump noted that after his helicopter was grounded by fog on Saturday, he did make a speech in the rain Sunday at another gravesite and thought that would suffice. “We had come in very late at night and I had just left, literally, the American Cemetery in Paris and I really probably assumed that was fine and I was extremely busy because of affairs of state — doing other things.” Trump also said he will be making time in his busy schedule to visit U.S. troops in war zones, something he has yet to do as president. “Well, I think you will see that happen. There are things that are being planned. We don't want to talk about it obviously because of security reasons and everything else.” “I don't think anybody's been more with the military than I have, as a president. In terms of funding, in terms of all of the things I've been able to get them, including the vets. I don't think anybody's done more than me,” he added. “I've had an unbelievable busy schedule and I will be doing it.” SOUTHERN BORDER HEADCOUNT: There are now 5,800 troops deployed to the southern border, spread across California, Arizona, and Texas. That total includes 1,500 troops in Southern California, as members of a caravan traveling from Central America to the U.S. have begun arriving in the Mexican city of Tijuana with the hope of gaining entry into the country, three Defense officials told the Washington Examiner. KNIFE FIGHT MURDER CHARGES: Navy SEAL Edward Gallagher is being charged by the Navy for allegedly murdering a wounded Islamic State fighter with a knife in Iraq, CNN reports. The charges include multiple violations of the Uniform Code of Military Justice during his 2017 deployment in Mosul, and he is also being accused of shooting at noncombatants, performing his re-enlistment ceremony next to a dead body, obstruction of justice, and drug possession for painkiller tramadol hydrochloride. BLACK KNIGHTS MAKE THE LIST: Army’s football team has made the Associated Press top 25 for the first time since 1996, moving into AP college football poll at No. 23 on Sunday as it begins preparations to face rival Navy. The Black Knights (9-2) have been edging toward the Top 25 in recent weeks, and they finally broke through. Army being ranked has been a rarity since the early 1960s. From 1963-2017, there have been only two seasons in which the Black Knights appeared in the AP Top 25. In 1985, Army was No. 19 for one week on its way to a 9-3 season. In 1996, Army went 10-2 and was ranked in four of the final five polls of the season. THE RUNDOWN AP: Taliban Hold Talks With U.S. Envoy In Qatar New York Times: Why Trump Is Sticking With the Saudi Crown Prince Defense News: US, Ukraine in ‘close discussion’ for new lethal arms CNN: Trump vows to visit US troops in war zones Reuters: Trump does not want to hear tape of 'vicious' Khashoggi murder Defense One: General Dunford's Border Politics Come Down to This Washington Post: US military chief says tech giants should work with Pentagon Breaking Defense: China Has Built ‘Great Wall of SAMs’ In Pacific: US Adm. Davidson The Drive: Did This A400M Just Upstage The Marines By Tracing A Giant 'Dick In A Box' In The Sky? Defense News: Will Looming Budget Cuts Bust Up The Navy’s Plans For An Enormous Fleet? Navy Times: Shrinking Navy Submarine Fleet Threatens National Security, Defense Report Says New York Times: Top White House Official Involved in Saudi Sanctions Resigns Defense News: Will looming budget cuts bust up the Navy’s plans for an enormous fleet? USA Today: Mike Pence challenges China at Asia-Pacific economic summit AP: Video: 2 dead in vintage World War II fighter crash

MONDAY | NOV. 19 11 a.m. 2301 Constitution Ave. Questions from CENTCOM on Achieving Peace in Afghanistan. usip.org 2 p.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave. NW. Press Briefing: Cost of the Space Force. csis.org TUESDAY | NOV. 20 10 a.m. 1775 Massachusetts Ave. NW. The Future of the Defense Budget. brookings.edu MONDAY | NOV. 26 10:30 a.m. 1030 15th St. NW. Implementing Defense-Industrial Policy with Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Eric Chewning. atlanticcouncil.org

QUOTE OF THE DAY “I have a hard time with [tech] companies that are working very hard to engage in the market inside China ... and then don’t want to work with the U.S. military. I just have a simple expression, ‘We are the good guys.’ The people in this room who stand for democracy, we are the good guys.” Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Joseph Dunford, speaking Saturday at the Halifax International Security Forum.

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