The D Brief: The Post-Karzai government seeks a slower drawdown in Afg; What will Ash do on cyber?; Bush 43 challenges torture report; The Navy won’t let go of a recruiting lead; And a bit more.

The new Afghan government, which has been highly praised by the U.S. government, wants a solid: President Ghani would like President Barack Obama to slow down the drawdown of U.S. troops. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, the brass, and the Obama Administration have given high praise to the new government in Afghanistan led by President Ashraf Ghani, who has quickly become the Anti-Karzai, praising U.S. troops and the support he gets from Washington. Now he would like President Barack Obama to revise the Pentagon’s plans to drawdown U.S. troops from Afghanistan, and as the WSJ reports, has made his desires known to Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, who just visited Kabul. A senior defense official tells The D Brief that no formal request has been made, but it seems clear the Ghani government is lobbying the Obama Administration to become un-wedded to its drawdown plans which leaves only about 5,000 troops in the country by the end of 2015.

The WSJ’s Julian Barnes and Adam Entous: “President Ashraf Ghani is pushing the U.S. to slow its drawdown of forces in the next two years, an effort that threatens to put the Obama administration in a bind as it seeks to end large-scale military involvement in Afghanistan. Mr. Ghani in a Saturday meeting with Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel hinted that he would like to see a slower withdrawal, according to U.S. officials.

“In other conversations with U.S. officials, the Afghan president has made plain his hope that the U.S. will alter its plans and keep a higher number of troops in the country through 2016.

Mr. Ghani didn’t make a formal request on Saturday, U.S. defense officials said. He could do so when he visits Washington, a trip expected to take place early next year.

“The Pentagon is hoping to head off a formal request from the new leader by emphasizing the flexibility commanders have over when to withdraw forces, according to U.S. officials.” Read the rest here.

Officially speaking: A senior defense official tells The D Brief that “no formal request” has been made by the Ghani government of the U.S. government re: troops.

Chuck Hagel, who was in Kabul over the weekend, was asked if the Ghani government was pushing for a slowdown of the drawdown. Hagel said the Afghan government “helped write the plan,” and that “they understand it better than anybody else.” But of course, the plan was drawn up before Ghani was in office, and now it seems there is a newer operating environment than there was when the Obama Administration drew up these plans.

Hagel’s response to a question from The D Brief at a “press gaggle” in Afghanistan: “I think there's really no change in any of the commitments of where we want to go and the objective of the mission.”

Yesterday we ran ISAF commander Gen. John Campbell’s response to The D Brief’s question on this very matter. We asked Campbell during a briefing in Kabul on Sunday if he would ask President Obama to revise the drawdown plan if he wasn’t able to accomplish the mission as it’s been given to him. His response is worth running again today, ICYMI: “I absolutely owe it to the president, I owe it to [Central Command Commander Gen. Lloyd Austin] I owe it to Chairman Dempsey that if I don’t think we can do our mission because of resources or because of something else, then I have to go tell them… that’s what they expect. I’m not there yet.”

He’s no Karzai: Read below about how Ghani praises U.S. troops – the opposite of what you heard in the Karzai Era.

We’re traveling with Hagel in Afghanistan and now Kuwait. This morning here in Kuwait City, Hagel is meeting with Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah, the Emir of Kuwait. Then Hagel will hop in a helo and visit the Udari Army Airfield, a U.S. Army motorpool there, and speak with troops. The D Brief, along with other reporters, will accompany Hagel to Udari, now known as Camp Buehring, where security, we’re told is “super high.” Tomorrow, we’ll have more to report on what U.S. troops are doing in Kuwait in The D Brief.

With Hagel on the visit with the Kuwaiti Emir: U.S. Amb. Doug Silliman, Hagel’s Senior Military Assistant Lt. Gen. Abe Abrams and Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs Derek Chollet.

Here’s the readout just this morning of Hagel’s visit with the Kuwaiti Emir and Minister of Defense Khalid al-Jarrah al-Sabah,  from Pentagon Pressec Rear Adm. John Kirby:  “The Secretary expressed appreciation for the strategic partnership between the United States and Kuwait and thanked the Amir for his nation's support in the fight against the ISIL, specifically Kuwait's willingness to host US and coalition forces in support of military operations. They also discussed the accomplishments of Kuwait's chairmanship of the [Gulf Cooperation Council], as well as the common desire to support the Iraqi government in its effort to achieve greater stability.”

Who Hagel is expected to see at Udari later today: Brig. Gen. Tom Graves, the deputy commanding general of 1st Infantry Division; Col. John Reynolds, commander of 1/1 ABCT; Col. Greg Thingvold, commander of 34th CAB, and Lt. Col. Jennifer Hicks-McGowan, commander of Camp Beuhring.

Also happening today: Army Secretary John McHugh is set to speak at Fort Drum, N.Y., for the 10th Mountain Division’s redeployment ceremony. Ceremony begins at 4 p.m. EST and will be live streamed at DVIDS, here.

Welcome to Monday’s international edition of The D Brief, Defense One's new, first-read national security newsletter, coming to you from Kuwait City after Hagel’s first stop in Kabul, Afghanistan.

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The report on the CIA’s use of torture is not yet out, but Bush 43 and his people are already challenging its conclusions. The NYT’s Peter Baker: “…The report is said to assert that the C.I.A. misled Mr. Bush and his White House about the nature, extent and results of brutal techniques like waterboarding, and some of his former administration officials privately suggested seizing on that to distance themselves from the controversial program, according to people involved in the discussion. But Mr. Bush and his closest advisers decided that ‘we’re going to want to stand behind these guys,’ as one former official put it. Mr. Bush made that clear in an interview broadcast on Sunday [with CNN’s Candy Crowley].”

“…Former intelligence officials, seeking allies against the potentially damaging report, have privately reassured the Bush team in recent days that they did not deceive them and have lobbied the former president’s advisers to speak out publicly on their behalf. The defense of the program has been organized by former C.I.A. leaders like George J. Tenet and Gen. Michael V. Hayden, two former directors, and John E. McLaughlin, a former deputy C.I.A. director who also served as acting director.” More here.

Also in The Times, from the editorial board: how the Pentagon’s sexual assault problem remains “unresolved,” here.

In the wake of the failed hostage rescue mission in Yemen, there’s been less attention on the fact that the second hostage, a South African, was reportedly about to be freed. U.S. officials have said they were not aware necessarily of just who the other hostage was – though they suspected there was one, in addition to American Luke Somers – let alone that a group had been negotiating for his release. The NYT’s Rukmini Callimachi in Istanbul: “For 18 months, a group of civilians in South Africa worked to accomplish what their government had been unable to do: negotiate the release of a South African couple held by Al Qaeda in the lawless desert of southern Yemen.

“In January, the civilian negotiators succeeded in securing the release of the woman, Yolande Korkie. And in recent weeks, they received confirmation that the terrorist group had agreed to free her husband, Pierre Korkie, in return for a $200,000 ransom. On Saturday morning, a convoy of cars was set to leave the southern Yemeni city of Aden to pick up the 54-year-old hostage from the remote outpost where he was being held.

“At 6 a.m. in Johannesburg, Imtiaz Sooliman, the director of the aid group that had led the long effort, sent a text message to Mrs. Korkie: “The waiting is almost over.”

At 8:03 a.m. his phone rang with incomprehensible news: Mr. Korkie was dead.” More here.

The death of Luke Somers has triggered questions about what went wrong in the raid in Yemen. McClatchy’s Nancy Youssef (soon to be the Daily Beast!) and Adam Baron, here.


Meantime, Ash Carter was picked. But now what? More from McClatchy’s Nancy Youssef, and Anita Kumar on that story, here.

And on cyber security, what can we expect of Ash Carter? Inside Cybersecurity’s Chris Castelli with this:  “The improvement of cyber defenses is among the challenges awaiting Ashton Carter, President Obama's nominee to be the next defense secretary, Obama said today at the White House. At a ceremony announcing the nomination, Obama praised Carter – a physicist who stepped down last year as deputy defense secretary – as an innovator and a reformer who knows the Defense Department inside and out. The challenge of reducing the U.S. military's size while maintaining its superiority means "we're going to have to bolster some new capabilities, our cyber defenses, how we deal with our satellites and how we're adapting our military and investing new capabilities to meet long-term threats," Obama said.

Former Pentagon Policy Chief Jim Miller: "On cyber, Ash is deeply knowledgeable… As deputy, he pressed for both more funding and more innovation for cyber." Carter also led the DOD transition team's work on cyber issues in 2008 and 2009, a former Pentagon official said.” More, behind a paywall, here.

More on Afghanistan –

A tight timeline in Afghanistan, by the WaPo’s Missy Ryan, traveling with us, here.

Hagel: Afghan training is key in final act of war, by the AP’s Bob Burns, traveling with us, here. 

In the “Valley of Death,” there are hints of Afghanistan’s security woes. The WaPo’s Sudarsan Raghavan, here.

Noted: Ghani is no Karzai: President Ashraf Ghani, Afghanistan’s new president, has sent a number of strong signals that he thinks much differently about the U.S. military than his predecessor, Hamid Karzai. One senior official called the change in the working environment between Karzai and Ghani the difference between “night and day.”

All the more reason why Ghani, who volunteered this bit during the big presser at the Presidential Palace in Kabul, is talking about U.S. troops: “…Let me also take this opportunity to thank the families of all servicemen and women, those who paid the ultimate sacrifice by losing their lives.

“Over 3,400 NATO personnel during the last 10 years as NATO paid the ultimate price. Over 30,000 were wounded. Hundreds of thousands of veterans have shared our lives, and I know that their lives are marked by our deserts, valleys and mountains. We pray for all the fallen, and thank you for noticing the sacrifices of the Afghans.

Ghani: “We have come a very long way together. And we want to make sure that at this season the families of American servicemen and women understand that their sons and daughters are doing something to protect their homeland with stability, as well as help us. We do understand their sacrifices and we hope that Christmas will be peaceful. And thank you again for coming.” Full transcript with him and Hagel, here.

A funny one: The Navy just can’t let go of a good lead. We got this from Defense One’s own Kedar Pavgi based on an email he got from a friend. Here’s a portion of the email: “I received a call from an 800 number, and after a few seconds of silence someone on the other end asked if I had signed up for information regarding an Officer career in the U.S. Navy. I was confused since I haven't indicated anything of the sort lately. I asked the recruiter what information they had for me.

“As they read off my info, I realized they had my home address and biographical information from when I was in 9th grade--ten years ago (high-school-freshman-me was mainly interested in 'the excitement of naval aviation'). I was interested in the Naval Academy at the time and signed a form at a school career fair. The Navy's recruiters seem to have just gotten around to calling me a decade later, or dug up an old box.” BAM. The Navy just won’t give up on a lead.

The newest U.S.-China security agreement contains some glaring omissions, writes former intel analyst Gabriel Alvarado at the online intelligence and natsec blog Overt Action: “This U.S.-China agreement could and ideally will set the tone for a larger code of conduct in the region. In addition to concluding the [crucial but so far incomplete] annex on air-to-air encounters, American policymakers must push for a discussion on larger issues, including differences over activities that are permissible in China’s EEZ and its enforcement of its ADIZ. Of course, this may prove to be a non-starter for China—and may even risk a suspension of subsequent negotiations…” More here.

A Military Times survey found “morale indicators on the decline in nearly every aspect of military life.” Hope Hodge Seck in this sobering interactive on the “drift” going on among active duty troops after 13 years of war: “Troops report significantly lower overall job satisfaction, diminished respect for their superiors, and a declining interest in re-enlistment now compared to just five years ago. Today's service members say they feel underpaid, under-equipped and under-appreciated, the survey data show. After 13 years of war, the all-volunteer military is entering an era fraught with uncertainty and a growing sense that the force has been left adrift.

“One trend to emerge from the annual Military Times survey is ‘that the mission mattered more to the military than to the civilian,’ said Peter Feaver, a political science professor at Duke University who studies the military. ‘For the civilian world, it might have been easier to psychologically move on and say, “Well, we are cutting our losses.” But the military feels very differently. Those losses have names and faces attached to [them].’” Read the rest here.

Fighters from Syria’s AQ branch, the Al Nusra Front, claim to have stolen a UN personnel carrier and outfitted it as a VBIED. Caleb Weiss for Long War Journal, here.

Saudi Arabia rounded up 135 on terrorism charges yesterday, al Jazeera reports, here.

Debating an AUMF against the Islamic State: State Secretary John Kerry will testify before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Tuesday, the committee said yesterday. More from The Hill, here.

Catch this breezy farewell interview with Army Gen. Charles Jacoby, who stepped down Friday as head of NORTHCOM and NORAD, in the pages of Colorado Springs’ The Gazette, by way of Stars and Stripes here.