OVERNIGHT DEFENSE: GOP national security officials back Biden | Trump says troops in Iraq will come home 'shortly'

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THE TOPLINE: More than 70 former national security officials who served under Republican administrations have endorsed Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden, joining a wave of GOP voices throwing their support behind the former vice president.

The officials have served under President Trump and former Republican Presidents George W. Bush, George H.W. Bush and Ronald Reagan.

Who signed it: The group includes former Department of Homeland Security chief of staff Miles Taylor, who has gained attention in recent days for going public with his accounts of his interactions with Trump, as well as former CIA Director Michael Hayden and former Director of National Intelligence John Negroponte.

What they said: “While we – like all Americans – had hoped that Donald Trump would govern wisely, he has disappointed millions of voters who put their faith in him and has demonstrated that he is dangerously unfit to serve another term,” the officials said in a statement.

Among numerous reasons why the group is backing Biden, they said Trump “undermined the rule of law” and “has disparaged our armed forces, intelligence agencies, and diplomats.”

The group said they “believe Joe BidenJoe BidenFive takeaways from the Democratic National Convention What we’ll remember from the 2020 Biden convention Chris Wallace labels Biden’s acceptance speech ‘enormously effective’ MORE has the character, experience, and temperament to lead this nation.”

“While some of us hold policy positions that differ from those of Joe Biden and his party, the time to debate those policy differences will come later. For now, it is imperative that we stop Trump’s assault on our nation’s values and institutions and reinstate the moral foundations of our democracy,” they added.

Context: Their letter comes as the Democratic National Convention this week has sought to highlight Republican support for Biden.

On Monday, the group Republican Voters Against Trump released an advertisement in which Taylor called Trump’s presidency “terrifying” and said that he felt compelled to vote for Biden this November “given what I experienced in the administration.”

Trump’s response: The president lashed out, calling Taylor a “former DISGRUNTLED EMPLOYEE … who I do not know.” The former official responded by posting a picture of himself with Trump in the Oval Office.

TRUMP VOWS TO BRING ALL US TROOPS HOME FROM IRAQ ‘SHORTLY’: Trump on Thursday repeated his plan to withdraw all U.S. troops from Iraq “shortly” during a meeting with the county’s new prime minister.

“We were there, and now we’re getting out. We’ll be leaving shortly,” Trump told reporters at the White House.

“We have been taking our troops out of Iraq fairly rapidly, and we look forward to the day when we don’t have to be there.”

When would this happen?: Trump — who met with Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi as part of a larger discussion on paths to staunch pro-Iran militias in the nation and counter threats from Islamic State fighters — would not give a timeline for a full withdrawal.

Pressed, Trump deferred to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who said U.S. forces would leave “as soon as we can complete the mission.”

“The president has made very clear he wants to get our forces down to the lowest level as quickly as we possibly can. That’s the mission he’s given us, and we’re working with Iraqis to achieve that,” Pompeo said.

How many troops are there now: The U.S. first invaded Iraq in 2003, leaving in 2011 but returning in 2014 to help quell the rise of the Islamic State. Today, there are roughly 5,200 U.S. troops in the country to train Iraqi forces and carry out counterterrorism missions.

At odds with his generals: Trump’s comments seem at odds with those of the the top U.S. general in the Middle East, who last month predicted that a small number of U.S. troops will remain in Iraq for the foreseeable future.

“I believe that going forward, they’re going to want us to be with them,” Marine Gen. Kenneth McKenzie, head of U.S. Central Command, said last month after meeting with al-Kadhimi.

McKenzie reiterated that sentiment last week, telling attendees at a U.S. Institute of Peace event that while the United States wants to shrink its troop footprint, “I just don’t know when that’s going to be.”

Unresolved: The topic is unlikely to be put to bed on al-Kadhimi’s first trip to Washington this week, as senior Trump administration officials on Wednesday told reporters that troop withdrawal timelines would not be discussed in talks with the president.

ON TAP FOR TOMORROW

National Defense Industrial Association will host a virtual “Space Warfighting Industry” forum, with Army Lt. Gen. James Dickinson, deputy commander of U.S. Space Command at 9:30 a.m.

ICYMI

— The Hill: Obama calls out Trump for using military against protesters

— The Hill: Negroponte endorses Biden: He beats Trump on ‘character, compassion and life experience’

— The Hill: Opinion: Competing for influence in post-explosion Beirut could lead to conflicts

— Defense News: To get more female pilots, the Air Force is changing the way it designs weapons

— The Washington Post: The new Air Force chief wasn’t sure how to address George Floyd’s killing. Then he talked to his son.

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