Overnight Defense: Trump officials push China to get tough on North Korea | Watchdog finds Pentagon wasted $28M on wrong camouflage | ISIS destroys historic mosque

by Rebecca Kheel - 06/21/17 6:12 PM ET

THE TOPLINE: Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Defense Secretary James Mattis met with Chinese officials Wednesday, where they pushed the country to get tougher on North Korea.

The Hill’s Ellen Mitchell has the story:

Tillerson said the United States “reiterated to China that they have a diplomatic responsibility to exert much greater economic and diplomatic pressure on the regime if they want to prevent further escalation in the region.”

Both also highlighted the danger posed by North Korea, which Tillerson said was the “most acute threat in the region today.”

The comments come days after the death of 22-year-old Otto Warmbier, a U.S. citizen released last week after more than a year of imprisonment in North Korea. Warmbier returned to the U.S. in a coma.

Read more here.

TILLERSON CAUTIONS ARAB ALLIES ON QATAR DEMANDS: Tillerson on Wednesday also cautioned that Arab countries’ demands in exchange for ending a blockade against Qatar need to be “reasonable.”

{mosads}”In regards to the continuing dispute within the [Gulf Cooperation Council], we understand a list of demands has been prepared and coordinated by the Saudis, Emiratis, Egyptians and Bahrainis,” Tillerson said in a brief statement. “We hope the list of demands will soon be presented to Qatar and will be reasonable and actionable.

“We support the Kuwaiti mediation effort and look forward to this matter moving toward a resolution.”

Read the rest here.

ISIS DESTROYS HISTORIC MOSQUE: The Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) has blown up the iconic mosque where its leader declared the caliphate almost three years ago, the Iraqi Defense Ministry and U.S. military said Wednesday.

“The Daesh terror gangs committed another historical crime by blowing up the al-Nuri mosque and its historical al-Hadba minaret,” the ministry said in a statement, using an alternative name for ISIS, according to Reuters.

The U.S. military, too, called the destruction of the mosque a “crime.”

“This is a crime against the people of Mosul and all of Iraq, and is an example of why this brutal organization must be annihilated,” Maj. Gen. Joseph Martin, U.S. commander of ground forces in the coalition, said in a statement. “The responsibility of this devastation is laid firmly at the doorstep of ISIS, and we continue to support our Iraqi partners as they bring these terrorists to justice.”

Read more here.

DEM VETS SOUND ALARM ON AFGHANISTAN: Four House Democrats, all veterans, expressed “grave concern” Wednesday about the future of U.S. involvement in Afghanistan.

“We write to express our grave concerns regarding the future direction of the war in Afghanistan, a conflict which is the longest in the history of our nation,” the representatives wrote in a letter to Defense Secretary James Mattis. “We agree with your assessment that ‘we are not winning,’ but with this in mind, it is disconcerting that nearly five months into the new administration, a plan for how to achieve our national security objectives in Afghanistan remains unfinished.”

The letter was signed by Democratic Reps. Ruben Gallego (Ariz.), Ted Lieu (Calif.), John Conyers (Mich.) and Jimmy Panetta (Calif.).

Last week, President Trump gave Mattis the authority to set troop levels in Afghanistan. The decision came hours after Mattis told senators that “we are not winning” in Afghanistan.

Read more here.

WATCHDOG: PENTAGON WASTED $28M ON WRONG CAMO: The Pentagon bought forest-colored camouflage uniforms for the Afghan army despite the country’s dearth of forests after a former defense minister “liked what he saw” online, according to an inspector general report released Wednesday.

In choosing those uniforms, which were a company’s proprietary pattern, the Pentagon spent up to $28 million more than it otherwise would have had it bought the Afghan National Army (ANA) uniforms with a nonproprietary pattern, the report said.

“DOD procured ANA uniforms using a proprietary camouflage pattern without determining the pattern’s effectiveness in Afghanistan compared to other available patterns,” the special inspector general for Afghanistan reconstruction said in the report. “As a result, neither DOD nor the Afghan government knows whether the ANA uniform is appropriate to the Afghan environment, or whether it actually hinders their operations by providing a more clearly visible target to the enemy.”

The uniform was chosen after U.S. forces in Afghanistan found HyperStealth’s website and showed then-Minister of Defense Abdul Rahim Wardak.

The Afghan defense ministry then chose the forest pattern despite the fact that just 2.1 percent of Afghanistan is forest, according to the report.

Read more here.

ON TAP FOR TOMORROW:

The House Armed Services Committee has four subcommittee mark ups for the National Defense Authorization Act:

— Readiness at 8:45 a.m. at the Rayburn House Office Building, room 2212. http://bit.ly/2sSPOjw

— Strategic Forces at 10:30 a.m. at Rayburn 2118. http://bit.ly/2tp5b0p

— Military Personnel at 11:30 a.m. at Rayburn 2212. http://bit.ly/2smztlS

— Seapower and Projection Forces at 12:30 p.m. at Rayburn 2118. http://bit.ly/2sPuX0R

The Senate Armed Services Committee will hold a confirmation hearing for Richard V. Spencer, nominee for Navy secretary, at 9:30 a.m. at the Dirksen Senate Office Building, room G-50. http://bit.ly/2sAoGWG

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee will have a closed briefing on North Korea at 11 a.m. http://bit.ly/2siMjQq

ICYMI:

— The Hill: Bipartisan House leaders unveil resolution endorsing NATO’s Article 5

— The Hill: F-16 catches fire, crashes during takeoff in Houston

— The Hill: North Korea willing to halt missile tests, with conditions: report

— Stars and Stripes: Bergdahl lawyers want to ask potential jurors if they voted for Trump

— Associated Press: US Navy destroyer collision site in Japan known for congested nighttime traffic

Please send tips and comments to Rebecca Kheel, rkheel@digital-staging.thehill.com, and Ellen Mitchell, emitchell@digital-staging.thehill.com