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PROGRAMMING NOTE: We’ll be off next week for the holidays but back to our normal schedule on Tuesday, Jan. 3.

Legislation to help Afghans evacuated from Kabul last year become permanent legal U.S. residents was excluded from the omnibus spending bill released early this morning — a blow to veterans’ groups that pushed for the measure, not to mention the Afghans whose future in America is hazy at best.

And that’s despite vocal support for the Afghan Adjustment Act from major veterans service organizations and several senators from both parties. Just days ago, more than 30 prominent retired military leaders, including former chairs of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, wrote to Congressional leaders urging that the act be added to the omnibus.

Advocates for the Afghans said that Sen. CHUCK GRASSLEY (R-Iowa) was the main person blocking the act’s inclusion. He’s believed to be worried that there isn’t enough security vetting of the tens of thousands of Afghans who could qualify for the act’s benefits, many of whom worked for the U.S. government when it had a presence in Afghanistan. Grassley aides did not respond to a request for comment.

But the act includes provisions that require very strict vetting, said KRISH O’MARA VIGNARAJAH, president of the Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service, one of the groups advocating for the Afghans. That’s on top of the screening that the Afghans already received as part of the evacuation process.

The decision to leave the measure out was a “jaw-droppingly disingenuous” move, argued SUSANNAH CUNNINGHAM, co-chair of the Evacuate Our Allies Legislative Working Group, a coalition of human rights, religious and refugee organizations working to resettle at-risk Afghans.

Cunningham noted to NatSec Daily, for instance, that Senate Minority Leader MITCH McCONNELL spent much of his floor speech talking about how he had prioritized military service members during negotiations. He then ended up “gutting the leading priority” of military commanders and veterans service organizations, Cunningham said.

“The exclusion shatters the hopes of so many Afghans, veterans, and community members who worked tirelessly to get Afghan allies to safety after America’s 20-year military engagement in Afghanistan,” she said.

Many of the more than 70,000 Afghans evacuated from Kabul in August 2021 are now legally in the United States on what’s known as “humanitarian parole.” But that status typically lasts two years. The Biden administration also has extended temporary protected status to Afghans in the United States, which also allows them to stay without fear of deportation.

But these measures are time-limited, and neither offers a path to permanent legal residency. That means the Afghans are uncertain about how long they can stay, not to mention what a future presidential administration will do about them.

“It’s just very difficult for them to put down roots and start a new life here,” Vignarajah said.

There was one bright spot for Afghans in the omnibus: In a last-minute deal, Sen. JEANNE SHAHEEN (D-N.H.) secured an extension of the Afghan Special Immigrant Visa program, which resettles Afghan interpreters who worked with U.S. forces, through 2024. She also got an additional 4,000 visas added to the program.

The immediate goal now, advocates for evacuees said, is to get the Afghan Adjustment Act added to the omnibus as a floor amendment. The odds are not great, but the advocates are issuing statements and making calls anyway.

BIDEN SAYS JCPOA IS ‘DEAD’: President JOE BIDEN said that talks on the Iranian nuclear deal are “dead” during a political rally in November, Axios’ BARAK RAVID and HANS NICHOLS report.

“It is dead, but we’re not gonna announce it,” he said in a video circulating on Twitter, responding to an attendee’s question. The Biden administration has previously said the JCPOA negotiations, which restarted after the Trump administration pulled the U.S. from the agreement, were paused.

When asked about the comments today, National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby explained that “there is no progress happening with respect to the Iran deal now. We don’t anticipate any progress, anytime in the near future. That’s just not our focus.”

U.S. FLIES BOMBERS BY KOREAN PENINSULA: U.S. nuclear-capable bombers and advanced stealth jets flew over the waters southwest of South Korea today in a show of force against the northern adversary, the Associated Press’ HYUNG-JIN KIM reports.

South Korean F-35 and F-15 fighter jets also took part in the drills, the country’s military said. It’s the first time in four years the U.S. has flown F-22 jets in South Korea, and they’re likely to remain there for drills throughout the week.

The drills came two days after North Korea tested two ballistic missiles that could potentially reach Japan, in a possible retaliation for Japan adopting its new military strategy. Both missiles landed in waters between the Korean Peninsula and Japan, per South Korean and Japanese military officials.

PUTIN ADMITS CONDITIONS ARE ‘COMPLICATED’: Russian President VLADIMIR PUTIN made a rare admission that conditions for his troops in the Donetsk region, home to the contested city of Bakhmut, are “extremely complicated,” The New York Times’ ANTON TROIANOVSKI and CARLY OLSON report.

Just hours after Putin’s remarks, Ukrainian President VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY made a bold visit to Bakhmut, which Russian troops have failed to capture despite months of bombarding the area.

In a video address, Putin referred to the “difficult tasks” facing Russia’s security agencies in Ukrainian areas illegally annexed by the country. He framed the issue as being critical to ensuring the security, rights and freedoms of “Russian citizens,” which he considers those in the area to be.

TALIBAN FREES TWO AMERICANS: The Taliban has released two Americans who had been detained in Afghanistan since August, following negotiations with U.S. and Qatari officials, CNN’s HALEY BRITZKY and KYLIE ATWOOD report.

American filmmaker IVOR SHEARER had been arrested in August for filming near the location where a U.S. drone strike killed al Qaeda leader AYMAN AL-ZAWAHIRI, along with Afghan producer FAIZULLAHFAIZBAKHSH. The status of Faizbakhsh was not immediately clear, CNN said.

CNN did not provide the name of the second American released, at the request of the person’s family.

The State Department confirmed the release of both Americans but has yet to release their names. The announcement comes after the U.S. successfully secured the release of MARK FRERICHS through a prisoner swap in August. Frerichs had been detained in Afghanistan for more than two years.

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CRITICAL ENERGY LEVELS: Regional officials in Ukraine assess that the state of Kyiv's electric supplies are increasingly dire as 80 percent of the region is without power following Russian drone attacks on Monday, Reuters’ OLENA HARMASH and PAVEL POLITYUK report.

"The situation with electricity supplies remains critical," regional governor OLEKSIY KULEBA said. "I want to stress that with every shelling by the enemy, the complexity and duration of the repairs increase."

The lack of power forced the region's subway system to suspend operations briefly and could further strain water supplies and phone networks. The White House has worked to shore up support from lawmakers for continued assistance for Kyiv in the winter months as progress on the battlefield has grinded to a halt.

RUSSIAN PIPELINE TO EUROPE EXPLODES: Three people were killed in a gas pipeline explosion in central Russia, which disrupted some of the limited amount of Russian gas still reaching Europe, Reuters’ VLADIMIR SOLDATKIN and OKSANA KOBZEVA report.

Gas that’s delivered through a part of the Urengoi-Pomary-Uzhhorod pipeline, which takes gas from the arctic to Europe via Ukraine, has been halted, local officials said. It was unclear what caused the explosion and when gas supplies through the pipeline would restart.

ENCRYPT THE DATA, PLEASE: Sens. RON WYDEN (D-Ore.) and ROB PORTMAN (R-Ohio) urged the National Science Foundation to require encryption to protect sensitive data shared through a new platform used by the U.S. government for collaboration across agencies, Cyberscoop’s TONYA RILEY reports.

In a letter to NSF Director SETHURAMAN PANCHANATHAN, the senators argued that the best way to ensure data shared via the new National Secure Data Service is by encrypting it. That way, it stays out of reach of foreign adversaries and hackers, they said.

Encryption should be applied to any data that could be used to potentially identify a person, the lawmakers wrote, so that “individuals who appear in that data are protected in the event of a hack or breach of the NSDS system.”

PACIFIC PRINTING: Guam could be a 3D printing hub for the U.S. military if the United States makes major investments in workforce development and provides incentives for companies to invest, Applied Science and Technology Research Organization of America President NEAL ORRINGER tells LEE HUDSON.

The idea is to build a resilient supply chain on Guam as the Pentagon continues investment in the island’s defense as part of a larger strategy to prepare for a potential conflict with China.

The Guam Economic Development Authority commissioned ASTRO America to conduct a feasibility on whether an industrial 3D printing industry is viable on the island. The next phase of the effort will begin in February to develop an implementation plan and see whether both the federal government and Guam will invest to set up the new industrial base.

MORE ON THE OMNIBUS: The $1.7 trillion full-year government funding package includes $858 billion for the Pentagon and other national defense programs, our own CAITLIN EMMA, JORDAIN CARNEY, MARIANNE LEVINE and SARAH FERRIS report.

That level amounts to a 10 percent increase from last year's defense funding levels and matches a $45 billion increase to Biden's budget lawmakers locked in with the NDAA.

The fiscal 2023 Pentagon funding bill includes $798 billion for the base budget. (Military construction projects, nuclear weapons and other national security programs are funded through other bills.)

The bill boosts Navy shipbuilding to nearly $32 billion to procure 12 warships, most notably funding three Arleigh Burke-class destroyers. Negotiators also agreed to fund the purchase of 80 F-35 fighters, adding 19 jets to the budget request — an increase of 11 Air Force F-35A variants, one F-35B jump jet and seven aircraft carrier-based F-35Cs for the Navy.

IRAN-RUSSIA WEAPONS SWAP: British defense minister BEN WALLACE accused Moscow of attempting to provide Iran with advanced military components in exchange for hundreds of drones, Reuters’ SACHIN RAVIKUMAR and WILLIAM JAMES report.

While Wallace didn’t provide details on the types of components Russia wants to give Tehran, his accusation is an effort to sound the alarm for the West to do more to expose the potential deal.

Iranian-supplied drones have crippled Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure, specifically energy systems that now play an even greater role during the winter months of the conflict. The U.S. and E.U. have already targeted Iran with a series of sanctions for providing Russia.

— SUSAN BUIKEMA-MILLER is now director of communications for Lockheed Martin Government Affairs. She was previously the CIA’s press secretary.

— ELINA NOOR will join Carnegie Endowment as a senior fellow for Southeast Asian studies. She is currently the deputy director and director of political-security affairs at the Asia Society Policy Institute.

— MATT POTTINGER, POLITICO: ‘When You Have No Credibility … You Are in Big Trouble’: A Chinese Dissident on XI JINPING and the Future of Protest in China

— AARON STEIN, War On The Rocks: Turkey’s Zero Sum Foreign Policy

— STACIE L. PETTYJOHN and HANNAH DENNIS, The Wall Street Journal: The ‘Arsenal of Democracy’ Is in Peril

— The Atlantic Council, 10 a.m.: More than war: Defining Ukraine while defying Russia

Have a natsec-centric event coming up? Transitioning to a new defense-adjacent or foreign policy-focused gig? Shoot me an email at [email protected] to be featured in the next edition of the newsletter.

Thanks to our editor, Heidi Vogt, who says this newsletter “is dead, but we’re not gonna announce it.”

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