The D Brief: Yemen struggles; Thornberry: things gotta change; Canada has TIC; Dunford chooses an SMMC; The fleecing of the Army; And a bit more.

Houthi rebels in Yemen, considered the most powerful opposition group in Yemen, are demanding more say on the Constitution as they took over the Presidential Palace and other sites.

The NYT’s Shuaib Almosawa and Kareem Fahim: “…The mayhem that has convulsed Yemen, which left at least eight people dead on Monday in Sana, has also left citizens facing a leadership vacuum as the country is seized by crises, including spreading armed conflict and widespread hunger. The turmoil has been increasingly worrisome to American officials because Yemen is the base of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, which has asserted responsibility for a number of attacks, most notably the deadly assault on the Charlie Hebdo newspaper in Paris this month.

“While the Houthis oppose Al Qaeda, they have vowed to curb American influence on Yemen’s government, which has cooperated for years with United States drone strikes against Qaeda leaders and their subordinates. The deterioration in Yemen preoccupied diplomats at the United Nations Security Council, which released a statement emphasizing that President Hadi was still the recognized authority. The statement ‘condemned the recourse to violence’ and urged dialogue.” More here.

As the situation in Sana’a grows worse, the U.S. military positions itself. ABC’s Luis Martinez: “With the worsening security situation in Yemen’s capital of Sanaa, the U.S. military has moved two Navy amphibious ships into the Red Sea to assist with any potential evacuation of U.S. embassy personnel should the State Depatment order its personnel to leave the country, Pentagon officials said today. The U.S. embassy there remains open as of now.

“…The amphibious ships USS Iwo Jima and USS Fort McHenry moved on Monday night from the Gulf of Aden to the southern Red Sea, placing them closer to Sanaa should they be needed, the defense official said.” Read more here.

Houthi rebels faced “no resistance” as they captured the country’s largest military base overlooking Yemen’s capital of Sanaa. It also happens to house ballistic missiles. AP’s Ahmed Al-Haj from Sanaa: “The developments further erode the powers of U.S.-backed President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi, who was unharmed during the shelling Tuesday but remained inside the house. The embattled Hadi appears to have run out of options [while] the rebels' leader, Abdel-Malek al-Houthi, described the dramatic escalation in an address to the nation broadcast late Tuesday as a ‘revolutionary’ move aimed at forcing Hadi to implement a U.N.-brokered deal that effectively grants the Houthis a bigger share of power.

“Also Wednesday, authorities in Aden, the regional capital of southern Yemen, closed the airport there, the country's second-largest, in protest to what their local authorities described as Houthi ‘coup’ against ‘national sovereignty.’” More here.

Two Yemeni men were found guilty in a New York court on charges they attacked U.S. troops in a battle that claimed the life of an Army Ranger in Afghanistan. The Hill’s Kristina Wong, here.

Meantime: Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe returned home from his Middle East trip slightly early as he mulls his options for freeing the two Japanese workers ISIS has threatened to kill if not paid $200 million. AP’s Elaine Kurtenbach from Tokyo: “Abe has limited choices, among them to openly pay the extremists or ask an ally like the United States to attempt a risky rescue inside Syria... Abe and other government officials have not said directly whether Japan was considering paying the ransom. But they remain adamant that Japan will continue to provide non-military aid to the region. ‘We will never give in to terrorism,’ Abe said.” More here.

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Before Congress and the nation last night, President Obama said the country can finally “turn the page” on 15 years of “fighting two long and costly wars.” But the list of reasons why America is still squarely on that page—and then some—is a long one, Defense One politics editor Molly O’Toole writes.

There was a modest military presence at the SOTU last night, writes Military Times’ Leo Shane III: “This year's military representatives are Army Staff Sgt. Jason Gibson, who lost both legs fighting in Afghanistan, and Navy Capt. Scott Kelly, an astronaut headed to the International Space Station for a yearlong mission… Individuals seated in the presidential guest box for the event are often reflective of the themes of the president's speech. This year's guests include[d] immigration advocates, families who have benefited from recent health care changes and an Ebola aid worker.” More on that, here.

Military matters largely took a back seat to domestic politics in President Obama’s address last night to Congress. But one issue that won him broad bipartisan support: Obama’s desire for new war powers to fight ISIS. Again, Military Times’ Leo Shane: “Obama repeated his request that Congress pass a new authorization of military force for U.S. military operations against Islamic militants in Iraq and Syria, and reiterated promises to snuff out terrorists like the ones responsible for the recent attacks in France and Pakistan... Obama vowed new action on cyber threats in the wake of recent headline-grabbing attacks, calling it a security and economic threat to the country…

“Several lawmakers blasted Obama for failing to discuss the military budget and oncoming spending cuts. Rep. Mike Turner, R-Ohio, said that sequestration threatens the possibility ‘our military will come to a grinding halt’ but the president never broached the issue.” More here.

David Ignatius this morning: Obama owns forpol for the next two years: “…And the Middle East, which has haunted every State of the Union address for as long as I can remember, presents new opportunities for either breakthrough diplomacy or disastrous conflict. How Obama handles the Iranian nuclear issue, in particular, may define his presidency.” More here.

Two responses to the SOTU, one from the right (The Center for a New American Security’s Elbridge Colby) and one from the left (CNAS’ Shawn Brimley) on War on the Rocks. Colby’s, here. Brimley’s here.

A New HASC Sheriff in town: “Things have to change” at the Pentagon, said Texas Republican and new House Armed Services chair Rep. Mack Thornberry at an AEI speech yesterday. The Hill’s Martin Matishak: “Sometimes the Pentagon is penny-wise, pound-foolish. Sometimes there is parochialism within the Pentagon… Sometimes their priorities are just plain wrong…

If Boeing can field a new commercial airliner in five years…then there's absolutely no reason it should take the Pentagon two decades to put a new fighter into service,’ Thornberry said. ‘Things have to change.’” More here.

The Littoral Combat ship’s mine-clearing equipment is flawed, the DoD tester says. Bloomberg’s Tony Capaccio, here.

Today, McCain hosts Brent Scowcroft and Zbigniew Brzezinski at the Senate Armed Services Committee, part of a series of hearings the new Chairman is having to look at U.S. national security policy. McCain will say this morning: “…despite the growing array of complex threats to our security, we are on track to cut $1 trillion out of America’s defense budget by 2021… This state of affairs is dangerous and unacceptable, and represents a failure to meet our most basic constitutional responsibility to provide for the common defense. We must have a strategy-driven budget, not budget-driven strategy. We must have a strategy based on a clear-eyed assessment of the threats we face, and a budget that provides the resources necessary to confront them. But crafting a reality-based national security strategy is simply impossible under the mindless mechanism of sequestration.”

Who’s doing what today: The full Senate Armed Services Committee is set to meet today with Brent Scowcroft and Dr. Zbigniew Brzezinski testifying on “global challenges and U.S. national security strategy.” That gets under way at 9:30 a.m.; catch a livestream here… The Senate Veterans Affairs Committee will consider the Clay Hunt Suicide Prevention Act at 10 a.m. … Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence Mike Vickers hits up the Atlantic Council to talk “Intelligence in a Dynamic World” at 10:15 a.m. … the House Committee on Homeland Security marks up Chairman Rep. Michael McCaul’s border security bill H.R. 399, the "Secure Our Borders First Act of 2015" … and the Atlantic Council returns with a 3 p.m. discussion on past and future cybersecurity trends with CrowdStrike cofounder Dmitri Alperovitch and the Daily Beasts’ Shane Harris. That streams here.

Also this week: Air Force Secretary Debbie Lee James is off to New Zealand for bilateral talks with her counterpart along with New Zealand's Air Force chief and defense minister.

TIC: Ground troops are in contact with Islamic fighters, but they’re Canadian. Canada has nearly 70 special operations forces in Iraq—some for training, some calling in airstrikes from the ground, and some firing their weapons at ISIS mortar men. Canada’s special operations commander, Brig. Gen. Michael Rouleau, explained the situation Monday in an uncharacteristically revealing military briefing by Washington’s standards.

“Let me provide Canadians with an example of the risks by explaining something that happened to [Canadian special operations forces] in Iraq for the first time within the past seven days. My troops had completed a planning session with senior Iraqi leaders several kilometers behind the front lines. When they moved forward to confirm the planning at the front lines in order to visualize what they had discussed over a map, they came under immediate and effective mortar and machine gun fire. CANSOFT operators responded with Iraqi security forces placing effective sniper fire on the enemy positions, neutralizing the mortar and the machine gun position.

“This is the first time this has happened since our arrival and our reaction is wholly consistent with the inherent right of self-defense.” But don’t call it combat, he said: "I think the situation is a lot more nuanced than just saying if you exchange fire with a belligerent force all of a sudden it's a combat mission. This is an advise-and-assist mission. In the context of that, our ability to bring air power is one of the things that we can add value to the Iraqi forces with. Moreover, we always deploy with the inherent right to self-defense. We have the right to be able to defend ourselves if we're fired upon." The AFP report from Ottawa, here.

On American troops’ role in the advise-and-assist mission in Iraq—versus Canadian air controllers on the front lines calling in strikes: "As far as we know, we do not have that capability," Army Maj. Neysa Williams, a Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve spokeswoman told Army Times’ Andrew Tilghman. That, here.

Marines realign their special operations forces for the Middle East. The WaPo’s Dan Lamothe: “The Marine Corps is close to completing a realignment of its elite Special Operations troops, sending some of them to the Middle East this month as part of a broader effort to refocus after years of fighting in Afghanistan, according to a top general.

“Maj. Gen. Joseph L. Osterman, the new commander of the Marine Corps’ Special Operations force, declined to disclose which country or countries the troops will deploy to, but said they will be spread across the Middle East and focused on training and coordinating with friendly governments to guard against insurgencies. Others already have been deployed to Africa and the Pacific.” More here.

Gen. Joe Dunford just named the next top enlisted Marine: Sgt. Maj. Ronald L. Green, the current sergeant major of Camp Pendleton’s I Marine Expeditionary Force. Stars and Stripes’ Jennifer Hlad: “Green served as a drill instructor at Parris Island from 1990 to 1992, and was selected to the rank of sergeant major in December 2004. He has deployed to South America and Iraq, and previously served as force sergeant major for Marine Corps Forces Europe and Marine Corps Forces Africa.” More here.

What’s it like inside Gitmo? This prisoner-turned-author can tell you. The NYT’s Helene Cooper: “…That scene and many more like it take place in “Guantánamo Diary,” the first and, so far, the only account of life at the American military prison written by someone still detained. On Tuesday, the family of Mr. Slahi, 44, used the publication of his book to start a campaign for his release.” More here.

The Committee called, they want their report back: A CIA report from 2009 known as the “Panetta Review” finds that the value of interrogation was inflated. Also from the NYT, Mark Mazzetti: “…The contents of the Panetta Review, which remain classified, are now central to simmering battles over the Intelligence Committee’s conclusions about the efficacy of torture and the C.I.A.’s allegations that committee staffers improperly took the review from an agency facility. The C.I.A. has publicly distanced itself from the report’s findings, saying that it was an incomplete and cursory review of documents, and has blocked its release under the Freedom of Information Act.”

“New details of the Panetta Review, presented last month by the C.I.A. inspector general in a briefing to the committee, came as Senator Richard M. Burr of North Carolina, the new chairman of the Intelligence Committee, wrote to President Obama with an odd request: He wants the committee’s report back.” More here.

A Qatari man and terror convict is quietly released to Qatar. The WaPo’s Missy Ryan, here.

American Sniper feeds hero worship and promotes lies to a public gullible enough to believe them, writes Alex Horton in The Guardian: “…These films have the potential to distort how the United States views its own history and its troops. The everyday stories of war are background noise. We rarely see intel soldiers piecing together insurgent networks, or low-ranking officers meting out local grievances in rural Afghanistan. But Hollywood has found its formula, and it is zero-sum. For every film or bestseller or PlayStation blockbuster about that tiny minority of commandos, the public misses another shot at the larger experience of soldiering in Iraq and Afghanistan. People under 40 no longer ask what war is like; they ask if it’s like Call of Duty.” More here.

And, how Sniper reflects concerns about who serves and who doesn’t. From the WaPo’s Page One this morning by Cecilia Kang and Terrence McCoy: “…But the movie — which shattered January box-office records over the holiday weekend with $105 million in sales — has also inflamed the debate over America’s controversial wars, with one side decrying it as jingoistic propaganda and another defending it just as fiercely as a paean to the country’s underappreciated veterans.”

But also interestingly: “…The debate also hints at another gulf in U.S. politics: the plummeting number of Americans who serve in the armed services. Military analysts said that has given rise to a widening cultural divide between civilians and combat veterans. Today, about 0.5 percent of Americans serve in the military, a smaller share than at any other time since World War II.” More here.

Catch last night’s MUOS 3 satellite launch from Cape Canaveral via ULA’s Atlas V rocket, here.

More on the five-satellite MUOS constellation from Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command, here.

So nearly every U.S. arms program is vulnerable to cyber attack. Reuters’ Andrea Shalal: “…Nearly every U.S. weapons program tested in fiscal 2014 showed ‘significant vulnerabilities’ to cyber attacks, including misconfigured, unpatched and outdated software, the Pentagon's chief weapons tester said in his annual report released Tuesday. Michael Gilmore, director of operational test and evaluation (DOT&E), said program managers had worked to resolve problems discovered in previous years and security was improving, but this year's testing had revealed new vulnerabilities.” More here.

Another hack, and this time it’s not CENTCOM. Also Reuters: French newspaper "Le Monde" said its twitter account and publishing tool were hacked by a group called the "Syrian Electronic Army", an amorphous hacker collective that supports Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. ‘The hackers managed to infiltrate our publishing tool before launching a denial of service,’ the newspaper said on its website. Le Monde sent out a tweet saying it has taken back control of its computers. "We apologize for any fraudulent posts on our behalf." More here.

ICYMI: A Texas couple fleeced the Army’s Referral Bonus Program to the tune of $4 million, USA Today’s Tom Vanden Brook reports: “Rene Agosto, a former Army sergeant currently working as a civilian in Texas for the Air Force, developed a website called OfficialArmy.com to collect names of potential recruits. The site, designed to look like the government-run Army online portal, attracted potential recruits and encouraged them to fill out a form with personal information. Agosto and his wife Vanessa submitted those names — as many as 12 at a time — to Army recruiters and collected $3,845,000, according to the Army and [Sen. Claire McCaskill of Missouri, the ranking Democrat on the financial and contracting oversight subcommittee]… The Army's Referral Bonus Program — hatched in 2006 during the darkest days of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and buried in 2009 — paid as much as $2,000 per recruit. It mirrored a National Guard program so plagued with kickbacks that more than 800 soldiers have fallen under criminal investigations in the last few years," according to McCaskill. More here.