Overnight Defense: US attempted hostage rescue in Afghanistan | Defense hawks brace for spending fight | Trump slams ‘lies’ about Iraq war stance

by Kristina Wong - 09/08/16 6:47 PM ET

THE TOPLINE: The Pentagon confirmed Thursday afternoon that U.S. forces conducted an unsuccessful rescue attempt of two hostages last month in Afghanistan.

The two hostages were the American University of Afghanistan professors who were kidnapped last month, according to Fox News.

{mosads}”Unfortunately, the hostages were not at the location we suspected. During the mission, U.S. forces engaged and killed a number of hostile forces. No U.S. personnel or civilians were harmed. We will not provide further information on this mission in order to protect the safety of hostages and operational security,” Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook said.

The mission, conducted by U.S. special operations forces, took place a day after an earlier mission was scuttled, according to Fox News.

An official told the outlet the first mission was not approved due to conflicting intelligence by different U.S. government agencies.

Read more about the operation here.

DEFENSE HAWKS V. FISCAL HAWKS: Defense hawks are girding for a fight as the House readies a short-term funding measure to prevent a government shutdown on Oct. 1.

Some members of the House Freedom Caucus are pushing to have the stopgap measure, known as a continuing resolution (CR), last into the next administration to avoid taking it up during the lame-duck session of Congress.

Members of the caucus are wary of a last-minute omnibus bill after the election, fearing it will be used to raise spending. They are hopeful that Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump will bring a budget-slashing approach if he wins the White House.

But a CR that bypasses the lame-duck session would be bad news for House defense hawks, who have spent all year pushing for increased defense spending in 2017.

The Hill’s Kristina Wong has more here.

TRUMP SLAMS ‘LIES’ ABOUT HIM SUPPORTING IRAQ WAR: Donald Trump on Thursday delivered an extended defense of his opposition to the war in Iraq, charging that rival Hillary Clinton is lying about him initially backing the invasion, reports The Hill’s Jonathan Easley

The Republican nominee has hammered Clinton for voting in 2002 to authorize the war, citing it as evidence that she lacks the judgment to lead the nation’s armed forces.

Clinton has acknowledged her Iraq vote was a mistake and says that as president she will only use military force as a last resort.

But at a veterans forum on Wednesday night, Clinton said Trump’s position on the war, at the time, was no different from hers. She said that Trump initially supported the invasion but has since flip-flopped.

Trump has been a fierce critic of the war for years, but Democrats are raising questions about when his opposition began.

Click here for more from Jonathan on the controversy.

SENATORS WANT TO BLOCK ARMS SALES TO SAUDI ARABIA: A group of senators is planning to force a vote this month to block a $1.15 billion arms sale to Saudi Arabia.

Sens. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Al Franken (D-Minn.) and Mike Lee (R-Utah) introduced a joint resolution of disapproval on Thursday that, if passed, would undercut a planned sale of tanks and related equipment.

Paul said in a statement that selling the military equipment to Saudi Arabia “is a recipe for disaster and an escalation of an ongoing arms race in the region.”

The Hill’s Jordain Carney has the story here.

SENATORS WANT UPDATED TROOP SEPARATION POLICY: A bipartisan group of nine senators is urging Defense Secretary Ash Carter to update the military’s separation policy to address behavior that results from trauma, such as sexual assault or post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD.

“Clear guidance will ensure that all service members who are impacted by combat or military sexual assault-related trauma receive fair consideration of their medical conditions prior to their separation from the military and will ensure that fair, consistent and transparent standards are applied across the services,” the senators wrote in a letter to Carter on Thursday.

The letter was signed by Sens. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Susan Collins (R-Maine), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Al Franken (D-Minn.) and Gary Peters (D-Mich.).

The Hill’s Rebecca Kheel has more here.

ON TAP FOR TOMORROW:

The U.S. House of Representatives will hold a ceremony on the House steps of the Capitol to mark the 15th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks at 10:30 a.m. House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) and Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) will speak at the event.

Families of 9/11 victims will attend the ceremony, to demand passage of legislation that would allow them to sue foreign sponsors of the attack.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:

— Marine lawmaker asks feds to clarify rules on donating cigars to troops

— GOP senator to Obama: Explain Iran payment

— House GOP: White House paid Iran ransom for prisoners

— Stars and Stripes: GAO: DOD’s recovery from war ops, budget cuts might take another 10 years

— The Washington Post: Trump policy staffers quit after not being paid

Please send tips and comments to Kristina Wong, kwong@digital-staging.thehill.com, and Rebecca Kheel, rkheel@digital-staging.thehill.com