OVERNIGHT DEFENSE: Paul filibusters Brennan

by Jeremy Herb and Carlo Muñoz - 03/06/13 11:08 PM ET

Prior to Wednesday’s filibuster, Reid hoped to have a vote
on Brennan’s nomination so that lawmakers could leave town before a forecast snowstorm
prevented members from heading home for the weekend. In response, Paul
said: “I will speak for as long as it takes.”

{mosads}Congressional opposition to the drone program began in
February, when leaked Justice Department documents claim CIA and DOD have the
legal right to take out terror suspects via drone strikes, even if those
suspects happen to be U.S. citizens.

Paul said he wants Obama to define what standards would be
used to justify a drone strike against an American on U.S. soil. Paul pointed
to Vietnam War protesters who vocally sympathized with the enemy. He questioned
whether sympathizing was justification enough for the warrantless killing.

“There are a lot of questions that are not being asked …
I think there is a difference between sympathizing and taking up arms,”
Paul said.

Sens. Marco Rubio (R-Fla), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Saxby
Chambliss (R-Ga.) joined Paul and their Senate colleagues in questioning
the administration’s transparency on the use of armed drones.

As members of the Senate Intelligence panel, Wyden and Rubio
approved Brennan’s confirmation during Tuesday’s committee vote, with Wyden
saying Wednesday he planned to approve the nomination when it comes to the full
Senate.

Brennan cleared the Senate Intelligence Committee by a vote
of 12 to 3, with no Democrats opposing. Despite Paul’s efforts to delay
the Brennan vote, Reid’s office planned to file for cloture by Wednesday
night, according to a Senate aide.

However, Senate Democrats would need an additional two
days to get through the cloture process if senators objected, possibly pushing
a confirmation vote into next week.

Benghazi no longer a
Brennan issue: As Sen. Rand Paul’s (R-Ky.) on-the-floor filibuster stole the spotlight
Wednesday, Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) dropped a
potential hold of their own on John Brennan.

The pair had said they wanted their questions on last year’s
attack in Benghazi, Libya, answered before the Brennan nomination went forward.

On Tuesday, they did not say they would filibuster Brennan —
McCain made a point of saying that he wasn’t threatening a filibuster — but that they were continuing to press forward to get their questions answered.

They didn’t get everything they wanted, but apparently it
was enough, as Graham said Thursday there wouldn’t be a hold over Benghazi.

He said that he would continue to press for the release of
FBI interviews with witnesses through the Judiciary Committee, but those weren’t
tied to Brennan.

Of course, Graham had also threatened to block Defense
Secretary Chuck Hagel’s confirmation over Benghazi, and Hagel wasn’t in the
government at the time.

Graham said that when Brennan’s nomination is up for a vote,
he is leaning toward supporting him.

House passes CR with
Defense bill: The House passed its bill to fund the government through the
end of the fiscal year Wednesday, which included an appropriations bill for the
Pentagon.

The bill providing $518 billion for the base Pentagon budget
is key to help the Defense Department deal with its budget issues, military
leaders say, as they face $46 billion in across-the-board sequester cuts.

The bill provides an additional $10.4 billion in operations
and maintenance funding, which would allow for key ship repairs and training
that might not be possible under a continuing resolution.

The bill passed the House in a 267-151 vote, and the Senate
looks to do its bill next week.

Senate leaders have accepted the topline number from the
House, but they could try to do additional appropriations bills beyond Defense, Military Construction and Veterans Affairs.

While Pentagon leaders supported the bill, Democrats on the
House Armed Services Committee did not. Armed Services ranking member Adam
Smith (D-Wash.) and the senior-most Democrats either voted against the bill or
did not vote.

In all, 53 Democrats voted for the CR, while 14 Republicans
were opposed.

Smith said that he voted “no” because he did not want to lock
in spending levels that take sequestration into account.

“While this bill does allow the Department of Defense some
discretion in implementing the across-the-board spending cuts through
sequestration, it is a missed opportunity to remove these cuts altogether and
address our budget in a balanced way.”

Hunter slams new
drone medal: While the modern-day wars in Iraq and Afghanistan arguably
bear little resemblance to those in Vietnam, Korea and World War II, the
actions of the soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines who fought in those wars
has not changed.

At least, not to one congressman and retired Marine.

In an editorial
published Wednesday, Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.) slammed the Pentagon’s new
combat medal for drone pilots and cyber warriors.

The Distinguished Warfare Medal, awarded solely to U.S.
service members involved in unmanned aerial drone and cyber warfare operations,
falls between the Silver Star and Bronze Star, the third- and fourth-highest
U.S. military honors available to American service personnel, and above the
Purple Heart.

Hunter acknowledged the merits of the award as a recognition
“that the battlefield has changed from what previous generations saw in Vietnam,
Korea and World War II.”

“Unmanned platforms are a common element in combat
operations today, providing ground support and other advantages. Cyber warfare
is also a new frontier where American national security is challenged regularly
and often out of sight,” Hunter wrote.

That said, “it was an error in judgment” by DOD to
put the medal on par with the Silver Star and Purple Heart — commendations
earned by service personnel serving on the front lines, as opposed to drone
pilots and cyber operators who often serve in the rear.

As a former Marine and a veteran of Afghanistan and Iraq,
Hunter served during the Battle of Fallujah, which saw some of the most intense
fighting of the entire Iraq war.

The new medal, according to Hunter, dismisses the sacrifices
made by those frontline troops by acquiescing to “the Pentagon’s
unrelenting attempt to redefine the nature of war and the dangers commonplace
on the field of battle.”

“Ask any surviving Silver Star, Navy Cross,
Distinguished Service Cross, Bronze Star or Purple Heart recipient from the
wars in Iraq and Afghanistan about the risks and dangers of combat. Many if not
all are sure to disagree with the Pentagon’s assessment,” he said.

On Monday, nearly four dozen other House members sent a
letter to Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, requesting the new drone medal be
degraded within the hierarchy of DOD combat commendations.

The Pentagon has defended the new medal.

“We are not
diminishing at all the importance of the Bronze Star — that remains an
important award for our combat troops and will remain so,” Pentagon press
secretary George Little said last month.