Overnight Defense: Trump sparks new debate over Gitmo releases | Trump adviser to keep military rank | Top Marine scolds troops over nude photo scandal

THE TOPLINE: Guantanamo Bay is back on President Trump’s radar after the Pentagon said Monday that a former detainee was killed in a recent airstrike in Yemen.

On Tuesday, Trump issued one of his signature early morning tweets about the number of former Guantanamo detainees who have returned to terrorism. But he incorrectly blamed former President Obama for the entire number.

“122 vicious prisoners, released by the Obama Administration from Gitmo, have returned to the battlefield. Just another terrible decision!” Trump wrote.

Trump appeared to be responding to a “Fox and Friends” report about the former detainee killed by a U.S. airstrike against al Qaeda’s Yemeni branch.

{mosads}The morning show cited a September report from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) that said 122 former detainees have been confirmed to be re-engaging in terrorism. But that number breaks down to 113 released by former President George W. Bush and nine released by Obama.

The Hill’s Mallory Shelbourne has more on the tweet here.

WHITE HOUSE CORRECTS TRUMP TWEET: White House press secretary Sean Spicer acknowledged Tuesday that Trump was incorrect when he said all the former Guantanamo detainees confirmed to be re-engaging in terrorism were released by Obama.

“Obviously the president meant in totality, the number that had been released on the battlefield — that have been released from Gitmo since individuals have been released,” Spicer told reporters on Tuesday.

The Hill’s Jonathan Easley has Spicer’s comments here.

INTEL OFFICE RELEASES NEW GITMO REPORT: But even the 122 figure is now outdated, as the Office of the Director of National Intelligence released updated numbers later Tuesday.

According to the new report, 121 former detainees have been confirmed to be re-engaging in terrorism.

The decrease comes from detainees released by Obama. ODNI now says the number released by Obama and confirmed to have returned to terrorism is eight.

Additionally, two more detainees transferred by Obama are suspected of re-engaging in terrorism, bringing the total number of suspected terrorists to 87.

Read more on the stats in the new report here.

PANEL APPROVES THREE-STARS FOR MCMASTER: The Senate Armed Services Committee voted to reconfirm National Security Advisor H.R. McMaster as a lieutenant general after meeting with him behind closed doors Tuesday, setting him up for a full Senate vote.

The Hill’s Jordain Carney has the story:

The committee vote was 23-2, with two senators abstaining.

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) told reporters that the committee, which he oversees, had an “overwhelming” vote for McMaster to keep his current rank.

“The vote was very overwhelming in favor of approving his status as a three-star general,” he said after the committee’s closed-door meeting.

President Trump last month named McMaster his national security adviser. McMaster does not need confirmation for that position, but the law requires the Senate to reconfirm the ranks of three- and four-star generals when they are assigned new jobs.

Read more here.

TOP MARINE: TROOPS ACCUSED OF SHARING NUDE PHOTOS ACTED ‘SELFISHLY AND UNPROFESSIONALLY’: The country’s top Marine issued a video statement Tuesday saying that the Marines accused of sharing nude photos of female service members “acted selfishly and unprofessionally,” his first public comments on the issue since the scandal began over the weekend.

“Let me cut to the chase. When I hear allegations of Marines denigrating their fellow Marines, I don’t think such behavior is that of true warriors or warfighters,” Gen. Robert Neller, commandant of the Marine Corps, said in the nearly four-minute video.

On Saturday, nonprofit military news organization The War Horse first reported that the Naval Criminal Investigative Service was investigating hundreds of Marines after allegations they shared nude photos and personal information of female Marines and veterans on a private Facebook page.

Click here for more on the story.

ON TAP FOR TOMORROW:

The House Armed Services Committee will hear about nuclear deterrents from the commander of U.S Strategic Command, the vice chief of naval operations, the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the vice chief of staff of the Air Force at 10 a.m. at the Rayburn House Office Building, room 2118. http://bit.ly/2mOsSMp

A House Armed Services subcommittee will have a hearing on Army readiness at 2 p.m. at Rayburn 2212. http://bit.ly/2mV19c7

Another House Armed Services subcommittee will hold a hearing on an independent fleet assessment of the Navy at 3:30 p.m. at Rayburn 2118. http://bit.ly/2m4eOjk

A Senate Armed Services Committee subpanel will have a hearing on nuclear weapons at 2:30 p.m. at the Russell Senate Office Building, room 222. http://bit.ly/2kxi8nW

ICYMI:

— The Hill: Senate Dems introduce bill to block Trump’s revised travel order

— The Hill: WikiLeaks releases massive CIA hacking document archive

— The Hill: DOJ nominee declines to back special prosecutor on Russia

— Associated Press: Iraqi forces storm Mosul government complex, hoist flag

— Washington Post: The Pentagon’s top officer meets with generals from Turkey and Russia to discuss Syria operations

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