OVERNIGHT DEFENSE: White House sequestration report heads to Congress

Republicans
criticized the Obama administration for missing the deadline last week,
as they have attacked the president for not having a plan to reverse
sequestration.

{mosads}They picked up the criticism once again Thursday
during debate on Rep. Allen West’s (R-Fla.) bill to require Obama to
submit a sequester alternative. When asked about the criticism, Carney
said it was “remarkable” that Republicans in Congress would complain
about the White House not doing its job “when in fact Congress has
failed to do its job and that is why the sequester still looms out
there.”

“So Congress needs to act, and it can act,” Carney said.

Petraeus comes to Capitol Hill:
The CIA director made the rounds on Capitol Hill on Thursday, briefing
lawmakers on ongoing efforts by the U.S. intelligence community in the
aftermath of Wednesday’s deadly consulate attack in Libya. 

David
Petraeus briefed the Senate Intelligence Committee in a closed-door,
90-minute meeting that had been previously scheduled but took on a new
significance in the wake of the attacks Tuesday night that left U.S.
Ambassador to Libya Chris Stevens and three others dead.

Sen. John
McCain (R-Ariz.), who sits in on Intelligence Committee briefings as
ranking member of the Armed Services Committee, didn’t discuss the
situation in Libya, but reiterated that he thought it would be
“incredibly foolish” to cut aid to Libya or Egypt as a result of the
violence. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) emphasized after the meeting the
importance of keeping a careful eye on the rest of the region and making
sure things don’t escalate further.

“One thing we know for sure
is we should expect all the leaders in that region to condemn in the
strongest possible terms this violence, and do everything within their
capabilities to prevent it from spreading,” Rubio said.

Arrests made:
A day after the brutal assault on the American consulate in Libya ended
with the death of U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens, Libyan authorities
arrested four people accused of helping to coordinate the attack. 

“Four
men are in custody and we are interrogating them because they are
suspected of helping instigate the events at the U.S. consulate,” Libyan
Deputy Interior Minister Wanis Sharif told Reuters on Thursday. It
remains unclear as to what role the four accused individuals played in
the attack, but the quick arrest of the suspects indicates a willingness
by Tripoli to assist the U.S. investigation into the strike. 

Stevens
and three other American citizens were killed after Libyan militants
stormed the consulate as part of an anti-American protest that sprung up
in the town of Benghazi. During the four-hour gun battle between
consulate security and the Libyan attackers, the gunmen lobbed
rocket-propelled grenades at the U.S. diplomatic outpost and raked the
facility with automatic rifle fire. 

The level of violence and
coordination displayed during the attack led many on Capitol Hill to
believe the strike was orchestrated by al Qaeda elements inside Libya.
Benghazi is home to the al Qaeda-affiliated Libyan Islamic Fighting
Group. Senior administration officials told reporters on Thursday the
attack was carried out by unknown Libyan militants, but would not
confirm the raid was the work of the terror group or its affiliates. 

GOP lawmakers tell Obama to meet with Netanyahu:
Rep. Jack Kingston (R-Ga.) has a letter signed by 128 House Republicans
telling President Obama to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu, after reports surfaced that the White House denied a request
to meet with Netanyahu. “We are astounded by your refusal to grant this
request to one of our closest allies at such a critical time for that
region,” the letter states.

The White House denies there was any
snub, saying that scheduling differences would prevent any meeting
between the two leaders, who spoke Tuesday evening for an hour by phone.
Tensions between the leaders have been on the rise after Netanyahu
complained the United States refused to set red lines for Iran.

Valor preserved, temporarily:
The House passed two defense-related bills Thursday: one to update the
Stolen Valor Act and another to require President Obama to submit an
alternative to replace sequestration. The two bills are likely to face
different fates in the Senate, however.

The Stolen Valor bill,
sponsored by Rep. Joe Heck (R-Nev.), would make it illegal to lie about
military awards for financial gain — a change from a 2006 law that was
struck down by the Supreme Court this year. There are two versions of
the legislation in the Senate from Sens. Jim Webb (D-Va.) and Scott
Brown (R-Mass.), and it’s likely one of the bills will pass this year,
although it may not be until after the election.

The sequester
bill, however, is dead on arrival in the Senate, as Democrats say it’s a
partisan bill, and the real roadblock on sequestration is GOP refusal
to give on tax increases. House Budget Committee ranking member Chris
Van Hollen (D-Md.) called the bill “a charade.”

Anchors aweigh:
The Navy is making final preparations for a large-scale maritime combat
exercise next week, scheduled to take place in Iran’s backyard. 

American
carrier strike groups, led by the USS Stennis and USS Eisenhower, will
lead the American naval contingent during the multinational naval
wargame, which is designed to hone the Navy’s mine-hunting skills in the
waters of the Persian Gulf and the Straits of Hormuz. Naval forces from
other U.S. allies, including the United Kingdom, France, Saudi Arabia
and United Arab Emirates, are expected to have a sizable presence during
the multilateral exercise. 

The exercise is scheduled to wrap up
on Sept. 27, to coincide with President Obama’s visit with Israeli Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Washington. 

In March, Iranian
military leaders announced the country would begin arming its warships
patrolling thestraits with short-range missiles. With an effective range
of between 200 to 300km, those missiles would be able to strike targets
from Straits of Hormuz to the Sea of Oman from the Iranian coastline,
Tehran claimed at the time. 

In response, Navy commanders have
also beefed up their Persian Gulf fleet, to defend against any potential
Iranian attack. Those upgrades included doubling the number of its
mine-hunting ships patrolling the region and outfitting U.S. warships
powerful Gatling guns. The additional armaments are ideal for taking out
the sea mines and small, fast-moving patrol boats the Iranian navy
commonly uses to patrol the strait. 

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:

— Air Force makes case for F-22 fix 

— GOP take aim at Obama foreign policy after Libya

— Ex-SEAL among dead in Benghazi raid 

— Iran strike would lead to all-out war

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