| | | | |  | | By Matt Berg and Eric Bazail-Eimil | |  Attendees hold up signs with the names of people who died in the Israel-Hamas war on the second day of the Democratic National Convention at the United Center in Chicago on August 20, 2024. | Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images | With help from Isabella Ramírez Subscribe here | Email Matt | Email Eric It’s the last day of the Democratic National Convention, and Vice President KAMALA HARRIS almost got through it without angering pro-Palestinian activists. Almost. The drama started when the Uncommitted National Movement announced Wednesday night — after the parents of an Israeli-American hostage being held by Hamas took the stage — that the DNC had rejected its request to allow a Palestinian speaker to address the audience on the main stage today. The group has risen to prominence after calling for people to vote “uncommitted” in Democratic primaries earlier this year to protest Biden’s handling of the Israel-Gaza war. Multiple potential speakers had drafted remarks that were being submitted to the DNC. Georgia State Rep. RUWA ROMMAN said the speech she prepared wouldn’t have caused concern among the event’s organizers, as she planned to call on activists to unite behind Harris and denounce former President DONALD TRUMP (here is her speech). Palestinian activist AZIZ ABU SARAH, who had also put in a bid to speak, blasted the DNC on social media for blocking the “uncommitted” request. “This has been an embarrassment for those of us who have had faith in the Democratic Party that we still had voices here,” Uncommitted National Movement co-founder LAYLA ELABED told reporters today. TARIQ HABASH, a Palestinian-American who was the first Biden administration political appointee to publicly resign because of concerns about U.S. Israel policy, said activists wanted an acknowledgment from the Democratic establishment that the party welcomes Palestinian voices. “What the Harris-Walz campaign is saying by not allowing a Palestinian to speak is that they will perpetuate President JOE BIDEN’s policies that have dehumanized and erased Palestinians,” Habash told NatSec Daily. “We need VP Harris to show Americans how she will enforce U.S. laws and bring an end the genocide of Palestinians. But what voters will believe this is her goal if she won’t even let an elected Palestinian-American give a vetted speech?” Asked why the requests to speak were rejected, Harris campaign spokesperson MICHAEL TYLER told reporters this morning the DNC has worked to engage with the activists and pointed to a Palestinian rights panel hosted at the convention earlier this week. “What folks who continue to demonstrate in protest will see is a vice president … who is committed to ending the violence, ending the conflict,” Tyler said, adding that Harris supports maintaining Israeli security and making sure that Gazans “are able to peacefully live and prosper.” But the DNC still hasn’t said directly why it decided not to put won't allow a Palestinian speaker put forth by the “uncommitted” movement on stage. The DNC and Harris campaign didn’t respond to NatSec Daily’s requests for comment. The fallout is spreading beyond activists at the convention — and has the potential to undo inroads made by the Harris campaign among voters who believed she would take a harder line against Israel if elected president. The United Auto Workers, one of the most influential labor unions in the country, wrote this morning that “we can’t put our heads in the sand or ignore the voices of the Palestinian Americans in the Democratic Party,” and called for the Harris campaign to put a Palestinian speaker on stage. Muslim Women for Harris-Walz, a group that launched earlier this month, said that it will disband if a Palestinian speaker isn’t allowed on stage. Some activists argue the Harris campaign made a calculation that, because of its momentum in recent weeks, the campaign won’t need to appease progressives who are against U.S. Israel policy to win the election. “Perhaps they'll be right in the end that they don't need these votes, but they also may be catastrophically wrong,” YOUSEF MUNAYYER, head of Palestine/Israel Program at Arab Center Washington D.C., told NatSec Daily.
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We’re transforming the way the U.S. Navy deploys combat system capability to 'defend against sophisticated threats. Learn more. | | | | | CEASE-FIRE HAIL MARYS: Officials are working to rescue floundering cease-fire negotiations, as Israel and Hamas both voice their doubts that talks in Cairo this week will get both sides closer to a deal, The New York Times’ ISABEL KERSHNER and AARON BOXERMAN report. Biden spoke with Israeli Prime Minister BENJAMIN NETANYAHU on Wednesday, and a White House readout highlighted that Biden emphasized the “urgency” of a deal and the importance of using talks in Cairo “to remove any remaining obstacles.” And Israel is sending a delegation to the talks, beginning today. But The Times reports that Secretary of State ANTONY BLINKEN’s jaunt to the region has seemingly done little to get Israel and Hamas more on board with a deal. The administration is also trying to reassure its fellow mediators that the bridging proposal is the best path forward. On Wednesday, Blinken spoke with Qatari Emir SHEIKH TAMIM BIN HAMAD AL THANI over the phone and “underscored that the bridging proposal presented by negotiators addresses the remaining gaps in a manner that allows for swift implementation of the deal,” per a State Department statement issued this morning. All the while, Israeli tanks are pushing deeper into the Gaza Strip and airstrikes today killed 22 people, per Reuters’ NIDAL AL-MUGHRABI. The Israeli military says it is expanding operations in the city of Deir Al-Balah in central Gaza and the southern Gazan city of Khan Younis. COMING TO YOU LIVE FROM RUSSIA: Russian authorities said they’re investigating a CNN reporter and two Ukrainian journalists for “illegally” crossing the border, our own SEB STARCEVIC reports. The Kremlin opened criminal cases against CNN journalist NICK PATON WALSH and Ukrainian correspondents OLESYA BOROVIK and DIANA BUTSKO, saying in a statement that they crossed the border to film in the Kursk region. “In the near future, they will be put on the international wanted list,” the authorities added. Fighting in Kursk is still intense two weeks after Ukraine’s surprise incursion. During a visit to the region today, Ukrainian President VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY announced that Ukrainian forces captured another Russian village. Russia, meanwhile, took a village in eastern Ukraine, per Reuters’ TOM BALMFORTH and OLENA HARMASH. Kyiv is now looking to deal a major blow to Moscow by encircling thousands of Russian troops who are pushed up against a river in the region. But Ukraine is having personnel problems, The Associated Press’ SAMYA KULLAB reports. Some new recruits don’t want to fire at the enemy troops, and others struggle to put together weapons and perform basic combat movements: “That is why our men are dying,” a Ukrainian battalion commander told AP. Indian Prime Minister NARENDRA MODI urged diplomacy “as soon as possible” to bring about peace during a visit to Poland today to meet Prime Minister DONALD TUSK, The AP’s MONIKA SCISLOWSKA reports. Tusk stressed that India — which is friendly with both Russia and Ukraine — could play an instrumental role in facilitating the talks. Modi will head to Ukraine on Friday following an invitation from Zelenskyy. IT’S THURSDAY: Thanks for tuning in to NatSec Daily! This space is reserved for the top U.S. and foreign officials, the lawmakers, the lobbyists, the experts and the people like you who care about how the natsec sausage gets made. Aim your tips and comments at mberg@politico.com and ebazail@politico.com, and follow us on X at @mattberg33 and @ebazaileimil. While you’re at it, follow the rest of POLITICO’s national security team: @nahaltoosi, @PhelimKine, @connorobrienNH, @paulmcleary, @magmill95, @johnnysaks130, @ErinBanco, @reporterjoe, and @JGedeon1
| | HARRIS’ CABINET CONTENDERS: Washington’s favorite quadrennial parlor game is getting new zest with the prospect of a Harris administration, and The Wall Street Journal’s ANDREW RESTUCCIA, TARINI PARTI, ALEX WARD and ANNIE LINSKEY have some new insights into who is being considered for potential national security roles if Harris wins in November. PHIL GORDON, her current national security adviser, is a favorite to retain that role if Harris becomes president. Current and former officials told the Journal that Gordon “has served the vice president well, helping her office stay closely aligned with Biden’s team.” And TOM NIDES, a former top State Department official and U.S. ambassador to Israel, is in the mix for a top national security job as well. On the radar for her secretary of State are Sens. CHRIS MURPHY (D-Conn.) and CHRIS COONS (D-Del.) and current CIA Director BILL BURNS. For secretary of Defense, previous top contenders like Sens. JACK REED (D-R.I.) and former undersecretary of Defense MICHÈLE FLOURNOY could be options. Army Secretary CHRISTINE WORMUTH is also a candidate. Two other names to watch for: Transportation Secretary PETE BUTTIGIEG could get tapped as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and Sen. MARK WARNER (D-Va.) could get picked to be the next director of national intelligence. TRUMP PLAYS THE HITS: Former President DONALD TRUMP slammed Harris for her role in some of the Biden administration’s biggest foreign policy challenges. Speaking on Fox and Friends this morning, Trump focused his attention on Afghanistan, arguing that “she was the last one” in the room with Biden when he made decisions about the 2021 U.S. withdrawal from the country, and called the process by which the U.S. withdrew from Afghanistan “one of the most embarrassing decisions.” His comments make him the most prominent Republican to use the Afghanistan withdrawal as an attack against Harris, who before August 2021 had trumpeted her role in advising Biden. Trump also falsely claimed that Harris visited Russia ahead of its February 2022 invasion of Ukraine and met with Putin, saying “Biden sent … Kamala to see Putin in Russia three days before the attack, she went, she said, she gave her case, he attacked three days later.” Harris has never met with Putin, and her visit to Europe ahead of the invasion was to the Munich Security Conference, where she led the U.S. delegation and met with Zelenskyy. The Harris campaign did not immediately respond to NatSec Daily’s request for comment.
| | | |   | | | | | DN-CYBER OPERATIONS: All eyes will be on Harris’ speech at the convention tonight, but plenty are also watching how law enforcement and tech platforms are keeping cybercriminals from interfering with Democrats’ festivities in Chicago, our friends at Morning Cybersecurity report (for Pros!). An event like the DNC is ripe for cyber mischief and disruption from malign actors, explained ZeroFox vice president of intelligence ADAM DARRAH, a former CIA analyst. Party conventions are a "target-rich environment" where everyone from party bigwigs to rank-and-file attendees could find themselves in the crosshairs of human intelligence gathering, technical intelligence gathering, or hack-and-dump operations. There are no indications that any cybersecurity events have occurred thus far as the convention winds down, indicating that law enforcement’s efforts may be working. The Secret Service has its own cyber team on site and it has been working alongside a joint information center with more than 20 local, state and federal law enforcement agencies. The idea is that if there is a hack or cybersecurity incident, the agencies can respond to emergencies or distribute accurate information to quash any circulating rumors.
| | EUROPE’S DEFENSE WINDFALLS: Anxiety over a Trump win in November is driving investment in European defense start-ups, per Reuters’ MARTIN COULTER. Executives at European defense companies say that an influx of capital from government and venture funds has juiced new investments and partnerships for firms across the continent. Industry analysts say that defense and security spending across Europe has risen 16 percent since 2023, and that growth is expected to continue as European countries reduce red tape for defense sector investments and improve procurement processes. The growth comes as worries swirl that the Trump administration could scale back U.S. support for European defense partnerships.
| | AWC IS ON TRACK: The Afghanistan War Commission is confident that it will meet the congressionally mandated timeline of three years to put together a report that outlines the entirety of U.S. military operations in Afghanistan over the past two decades, co-chair SHAMILA CHAUDHARY told NatSec Daily. But Chaudhary sees the project as a starting point for future research: “If we don't have enough time to get to everything, we hope that the research that we do and the details that we've collected … will be made available to the public so that other research can continue,” Chaudary said. This afternoon, the commission released its first interim report highlighting its one-year in operation. According to the report, the commission has held more than 30 plenary meetings and research sessions, hired more than 35 full time professional staff, established liaisons with relevant agencies including the State Department and DOD, hosted work plan briefings with members of Congress, and held its first public hearing. In its second year, the commission plans to conduct formal interviews of current and former government officials and experts, hold more public hearings and private roundtables, and write staff papers for the final report. The first year was focused on creating “unity and purpose,” Chaudary said. The final report won’t be “a very straightforward policy analysis. There's gonna be a lot of nuance and emotion, and it's gonna be more comprehensive, and more people will read it for that reason.” BIPARTISAN VENEZUELA BILL: A bipartisan group of lawmakers introduced a bill that would set out a new U.S. policy towards the Venezuelan government amid an ongoing dispute over the results of its July 28 election. The bill, introduced by Reps. DEBBIE WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (D-Fla.) and MARÍA ELVIRA SALAZAR (R-Fla.) and Sens. MICHAEL BENNET (D-Colo.) and JIM RISCH (R-Idaho), would block “U.S. foreign assistance to any country providing assistance, including financial assistance (except humanitarian aid), to the Maduro regime or any non-democratic successor.” It would also require the administration to outline a plan to support Venezuela’s economy if the opposition is allowed to take power. The support for the bill from Risch, the top Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, indicates it could pass in both chambers if put to a vote. It comes as Venezuela’s Supreme Court declared President NICOLÁS MADURO the winner of the country’s elections following a Maduro-requested audit. The opposition has rejected the ruling from the court, composed mostly of allies of the government.
| | CHINA’S DRAMA LAMA: China is making its displeasure known after U.S. officials met with the DALAI LAMA in New York this week, The Wall Street Journal’s AUSTIN RAMZY reports. At a Chinese Foreign Ministry press conference this morning, spokesperson MAO NING said Beijing had made “serious protests” over the meeting with the 89-year-old Tibetan spiritual leader, who is in New York for medical treatment. She also reiterated Beijing’s position that “China firmly opposes any country allowing the Dalai Lama to make visits under any pretext and opposes government officials of any country meeting with the Dalai Lama in any form.” On Wednesday, several senior U.S. officials, including KELLY RAZZOUK, the National Security Council’s senior director for democracy and human rights and UZRA ZEYA, undersecretary of State for civilian security, democracy and human rights, met with the Dalai Lama. Zeya said she delivered greetings from Biden and a message of “the United States’ unwavering support for the Tibetan community.” The aging Dalai Lama, the 14th top spiritual leader for Tibetans, has lived in exile in India since 1959 and has long been a thorn in Beijing’s side. The matter of his succession has also proven polemical, as China arrested the Dalai Lama’s hand-picked successor and his family in the 1990s and recognized its own heir. TRUMP’S ROYAL RIDICULE: A new book is claiming that the late Queen ELIZABETH II was, to borrow the words often misattributed to her great-grandmother, not amused by Trump. As our own ANDREW McDONALD reports, excerpts of a biography of the late monarch published in the Daily Mail argue that the Queen found Trump to be “very rude” during his 2018 visit to the United Kingdom. Author CRAIG BROWN added that “she particularly disliked the way he couldn’t stop looking over her shoulder, as though in search of others more interesting.” Trump, unsurprisingly, fired back at the claims in Brown’s book, telling the Daily Mail that, among other things, “I heard I was her favorite president, and you’ve heard that too. She would say it to a lot of people.”
| | | | — Former Rep. MIKE GALLAGHER (R-Wisc.), who chaired a top panel overseeing military cyber and innovation efforts before resigning from Congress in April, is joining software and data analytics company Palantir Technologies. — The Taliban-led foreign ministry in Afghanistan said it appointed MAWLAWI BADREDDIN HAQQAN as its first accredited ambassador to the United Arab Emirates, Reuters’ CHARLOTTE GREENFIELD reports. China is the only other country to have accepted an envoy at that level from the foreign ministry. — Ukraine ratified the Rome Statute and joined the International Criminal Court, according to the Associated Press’ ILLIA NOVIKOV. The move comes as the international tribunal probes alleged Russian war crimes amid its invasion of Ukraine.
| | — VIVIAN YEE AND BILAL SHBAIR, The New York Times: The war in Gaza is making thousands of orphans — ANAÍS MEDEIROS PASSOS, Americas Quarterly: Latin America’s armed groups are expanding their empires — WILLIAM GREENWALT and TOM CORBEN, United States Studies Centre: AUKUS enablers? Assessing defense trade control reforms in Australia and the United States
| | — House Veterans’ Affairs Economic Opportunity Subcommittee, 11 a.m.: Field hearing on examining transitioning servicemembers experience Thanks to our editor, Heidi Vogt, who makes us angry every day. Thanks to our producer, Greg Svirnovskiy, who lowers our blood pressure.
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