By Matt Berg and Eric Bazail-Eimil

In 1968, the U.K. and U.S. began moving Olivier Bancoult's family and thousands of others from their homes in the Chagos Archipelago to Mauritius. They received no compensation and have been barred from returning to the islands. | Matt Dunham/AP Photo

With help from Joe Gould, Connor O’Brien, Daniel Lippman and Brittany Gibson

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The U.K. and U.S. forcibly deported thousands of Indigenous people from their islands in the Indian Ocean almost six decades ago. Now, advocates say they’re gaining allies in Congress in their push for a long-awaited apology and reparations from Washington.

In 1968, the United Kingdom and United States began moving OLIVIER BANCOULT’s family and thousands of others from their homes in the Chagos Archipelago to Mauritius, a small African island nation and former British colony some 1,000 miles to the south.

They received no compensation and have been barred from returning to the islands — renamed the British Indian Ocean Territory — with most removed inhabitants living in poverty and facing rampant discrimination, said Bancoult, leader of the Chagos Refugees Group.

But this week, Bancoult and other advocates scoured Capitol Hill, meeting with lawmakers — including senators on the Foreign Relations and Armed Services committees and in the Congressional Black Caucus — sympathetic to Chagossians’ cause. He and others declined to name the lawmakers they’ve met with.

With ongoing talks between leaders of Mauritius and the U.K. about the future of the archipelago, advocates argue there’s an opening for the Biden administration to show its investment in the region by formally apologizing for the United States' role in the forced removal.

“If you commit something wrong to other people, find a solution,” Bancoult, wearing a pin of the Chagossian flag with a Black Power fist depiction on his left lapel, told Natsec Daily over coffee on Capitol Hill.

In recent days, several lawmakers have expressed willingness to take action, said DAVID VINE, an American University professor and author of a book examining the history of the Diego Garcia base. He added that “support now is greater than it has ever been.” That could take the form of a letter, resolution or even legislation similar to that which returned inhabitants to the Ogasawara Islands after the U.S. Navy control in 1968.

It's a tricky maneuver for the Biden administration, which likely sees value in keeping the base as it is and appeasing the Chagossians.

The Diego Garcia military base is used for operations in the Middle East and resupplying troops in the region. Due to its location between Africa and India, the outpost is also highly valuable as the United States increases deterrence efforts in the Indo-Pacific to counter China.

But watchdog groups argue that Chagossians’ human rights were violated by London and Washington — and have cited racism as the driving factor for the pair turning a blind eye. Chagossians are an African ethnic group originating from French slaves brought to the islands in the late 18th century, consisting of just a few thousand living descendants. Activists also want monetary reparations for the group, which could be costly.

Bancoult points out that a cemetery for dogs on the U.S. military base located on Diego Garcia island is well-kept, while another for his ancestors nearby has been abandoned.

The State Department called the expulsion “regrettable” in a statement to NatSec Daily, the same wording used in the past when asked about the matter. State deferred the subject of negotiations to the United Kingdom, which maintains sovereignty over the islands.

So far, the White House has been silent, Vine said. The White House also didn’t respond to NatSec Daily’s request for comment.

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SAUDI WANTS US DEFENSE: Saudi Arabia is looking to secure a military pact that would require Washington to defend the Middle Eastern country in exchange for opening ties with Israel, three people familiar with the talks told Reuters.

Riyadh won’t hold up a potential deal, even if Israel doesn’t offer concessions to Palestinians in their request for statehood, the people added. Rather than looking like a NATO-style defense guarantee, the deal could resemble treaties like those the U.S. has with Asian nations, one of the people said.

That type of agreement would have to be approved by Congress. If U.S. lawmakers shot it down, however, an agreement like one with Bahrain, where the U.S. Navy Fifth Fleet is based, could be enacted without congressional backing, the person said. Washington could also make the deal more enticing by desigating Saudi Arabia as a Major Non-NATO Ally, which Israel already is, they added.

Saudi Arabia's biggest ask is for binding assurances that the U.S. would protect the kingdom in case of an attack, such as missile strikes on oil sites four years ago which the two countries blamed on Iran. Without that protection, all three people said, Riyadh won’t close the deal.

PUTIN’S PREPARATION: Russian President VLADIMIR PUTIN is planning out his next steps for the war in Ukraine, designating a former Wagner paramilitary group commander to oversee “volunteer units” fighting for Moscow, The Associated Press reports.

Putting ANDREI TROSHEV, a former top commander for the group, in the role is an indication that Putin wants to continue using the paramilitary forces for battle after their leader, YEVGENY PRIGOZHIN, was killed following his failed rebellion against the Kremlin.

Also today, Putin signed a military decree for the autumn, which calls 130,000 citizens into mandatory service, Sky News reports. Meanwhile, Ukraine’s allies are also making preparations for the long haul. Seven European Union countries ordered 155mm artillery rounds for the country under contracts negotiated by the European Defence Agency, Reuters’ ANDREW GRAY reports.

KOSOVO’S TROOPS: Kosovo Prime Minister ALBIN KURTI today applauded NATO’s decision to bolster troops in the Balkan region after four people were killed in a shootout with a Serb gunman last weekend, The AP’s ZANA CIMILI report.

The NATO decision comes amid escalating tensions between Serbia and Kosovo, and fears that violence may break out between the two regions. Kosovo, an ethnically Albanian region in the Balkans that was part of the former Yugoslavia, declared independence from Serbia in 2008, and has since operated with considerable autonomy. But Serbia and its allies do not recognize Kosovo’s independence.

“These people want to turn back time,” Kurti told The AP. “They are in search of a time machine. They want to turn the clock back by 30 years. But that is not going to happen.”

DRINKS WITH NATSEC DAILY: At the end of every long, hard week, we like to highlight how a prominent member of Washington’s National Security scene prefers to unwind with a drink.

Today, we’re reluctantly featuring our editor HEIDI VOGT, who we prefer to criticize publicly rather than highlight. But we’re feeling bad and a little generous, so here she is.

“I'd say a Negroni. While it's a summer drink, the long D.C. summers mean I'm still drinking it well into September. And let's face it, I will continue to enjoy them into the winter,” she told us. As to where she prefers to imbibe, Heidi likes how The Line bar in Adams Morgan mixes them.

Cheers, Heidi!

(And don’t worry, NatSec Daily fans, the insults resume in the credits.)

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IT’S FRIDAY. WELCOME TO THE WEEKEND: Thanks for tuning in to NatSec Daily. This space is reserved for the top U.S. and foreign officials, the lawmakers, the lobbyists, the experts and the people like you who care about how the natsec sausage gets made. Aim your tips and comments at [email protected] and [email protected], and follow us on X at @alexbward and @mattberg33.

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RKFJ BLASTS UKRAINE AID: Democratic presidential candidate ROBERT F. KENNEDY JR. criticized the United States’ continual military aid to Ukraine on Thursday night, suggesting that he’d cut assistance to the embattled country.

“Where do you think our resources are better spent? Building up Ukraine’s munitions industry? Or rebuilding our own industrial base to produce things people actually need?” Kennedy tweeted.

His post was in response to a Newsweek article about how American-provided M1 Abrams tanks, which have started arriving in Ukraine, could be easily destroyed, according to a Ukrainian general. That view of cutting aid is unpopular among the Democratic establishment and many GOP presidential candidates, with Kennedy’s take aligning with DONALD TRUMP, VIVEK RAMASWAMY and RON DeSANTIS.

Asked for clarity on his stance, Kennedy’s team didn’t provide much: “The question of cutting or continuing aid to Ukraine is too small a question. Mr. Kennedy will negotiate directly with the Russians to forge an agreement that makes continued aid of the kind we have been giving irrelevant,” his press team wrote in an email to NatSec Daily.

IRONNET POWERS OFF: IronNet, the cybersecurity company founded by retired Gen. KEITH ALEXANDER, and once valued at over $1 billion, has ceased operations and fired its employees, BankInfo Security’s MICHAEL NOVINSON reports.

The closure comes weeks after another regulatory filing unveiled the company was considering bankruptcy and furloughed almost all of its employees.

CLOSE ONE: The House version of the State Department appropriations bill, passed Thursday by a vote of 216-212, includes a massive injection of funding to counter malign influence from China, and also promotes cyber diplomacy efforts, our own MAGGIE MILLER reported (for Pros!).

The bill includes $4.4 billion for countering China, including cyber and disinformation efforts, $1 billion more than what the Biden administration requested. It also invests funds in military assistance for Taiwan, which has faced cyber threats from China over the past year.

Read: Political tussle hits privacy watchdog over report on spying tool by our own JOHN SAKELLARIADIS

MILLEY SLAMS ‘WANNABE DICTATOR’: Joint Chiefs Chair Gen. MARK MILLEY slammed a “wannabe” dictator during his retirement speech today, a thinly veiled jab at former President Trump a week after he suggested the general should face “death,” Eric reports.

“We don't take an oath to a king, or a queen, or to a tyrant or dictator, and we don't take an oath to a wannabe dictator,” Milley said at Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall in Arlington. “We don't take an oath to an individual. We take an oath to the Constitution, and we take an oath to the idea that is America, and we’re willing to die to protect it.”

Milley, who has feuded with Trump since the former president left office, is being succeeded as the military’s highest-ranking officer by Air Force Gen. C.Q. BROWN, as uncertainty dominates conversations about U.S. support for Ukraine and hundreds of military promotions remain in limbo amid Sen. TOMMY TUBERVILLE’s (R-Ala.) hold.

SHUTDOWN ROUNDUP: It feels like we’re headed toward a government shutdown, so here’s a look at how Washington’s national security could be impacted:

Military pay: Active duty troops will continue on duty but won't be paid during a shutdown unless lawmakers pass legislation to allow it, which they've approved in previous shutdowns, our own CONNOR O’BRIEN writes in.

Military personnel are slated to be paid Oct. 13, meaning an extended shutdown would see them miss a paycheck. And while previous shutdowns suggest lawmakers will exempt the military, legislation may not have the needed traction just yet.

"We are not going to solve this problem one by one, carve out by carve out. The best solution is to stop a shutdown in the first place,” said Senate Appropriations Chair PATTY MURRAY (D-Wash.), who blocked bills to pay troops, civilians and contractors.

Space: NASA Administrator BILL NELSON warned of “devastating consequences” for Washington’s space program, but the agency will make sure everything is still running necessary operations.

“We are deciding what actions are needed in the event of a congressional Republican-led government shutdown. NASA will maintain the people to protect life and property — operational missions, such as satellites, landers, and rovers, as well as the International Space Station and its crew,” Nelson said in a statement obtained by NatSec Daily.

Cybersecurity: If a deal to avert a government shutdown isn’t struck before the clock strikes midnight tomorrow, there could be serious cyber trouble for a country already a hot target for attack, Rep. ERIC SWALWELL (D-Calif.) told our friends at Morning Cybersecurity (for Pros!).

“We’re not going to be able to protect businesses and the government from looming cyberattacks,” said Swalwell, the ranking member on the House homeland security cyber subcommittee.

If Washington’s worst case scenario unfolds, you can expect reduced monitoring of government networks for cyber threats, delays in responding to cyberattacks, delays in deploying security patches and a reduced ability to share information with allies and the private sector. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency — charged with protecting critical networks from foreign and cybercrime attacks — expects to have to furlough more than 80 percent of its staff.

EGYPT AID ATTACK: House Foreign Affairs Committee ranking member GREGORY MEEKS (D-N.Y.) called on the administration to pause the aid over human rights concerns, telling our own JOE GOULD the move was unrelated to Sen. BOB MENENDEZ’s (D-N.J.) bribery indictment last week.

“We are seeking more information from the State Department and the administration on why they issued the waiver for the money, and how they are going to assure us that they will oversee what Egypt is doing in regards to the imprisonment of political prisoners and and other humanitarian concerns,” Meeks said.

Sen. BEN CARDIN (D-Md.), who replaced Menendez as SFRC chair Tuesday, has until the end of the fiscal year — which comes this weekend — to decide whether to levy his own hold. He said today that his talks with the administration and lawmakers are ongoing while he weighed his options.

“I'll make the decision,” Cardin told Joe, “but the briefings are continuing.”

IN MEMORIAM — DIANNE FEINSTEIN: Sen. DIANNE FEINSTEIN (D-Calif.) died at the age of 90, our own BURGESS EVERETT reports. The trailblazing senator was a key voice on several national security issues in her three decades in Congress.

As chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, she battled with the Obama administration to release an unprecedented report exposing abuses in the CIA’s torture program in the wake of the 9/11 terror attacks. She was also a hawk and the main Democratic co-sponsor of legislation extending the USA PATRIOT Act.

Read: A look at the legacy of Dianne Feinstein, by our own DAVID COHEN

BLINKEN TALKS SIKH MURDER: Secretary of State ANTONY BLINKEN urged Indian officials to cooperate with Canada in its investigation into the murder of a Sikh separatist leader in British Columbia earlier this month, a U.S. official told Reuters’ KANISHKA SINGH, DAVID LJUNGGREN and HUMEYRA PAMUK.

Blinken raised the issue Thursday during a meeting with Indian foreign minister SUBRAHMANYAM JAISHANKAR, the official said, without providing more details on discussion.

Canadian Prime Minister JUSTIN TRUDEAU had accused New Delhi of being behind the murder, causing relations to sour between the two countries. U.S. Ambassador DAVID COHEN later confirmed that intel from the "Five Eyes" group helped Ottawa come to the conclusion, but didn’t specify which nation provided the information.

GO INSIDE THE CAPITOL DOME: From the outset, POLITICO has been your eyes and ears on Capitol Hill, providing the most thorough Congress coverage — from political characters and emerging leaders to leadership squabbles and policy nuggets during committee markups and hearings. We're stepping up our game to ensure you’re fully informed on every key detail inside the Capitol Dome, all day, every day. Start your day with Playbook AM, refuel at midday with our Playbook PM halftime report and enrich your evening discussions with Huddle. Plus, stay updated with real-time buzz all day through our brand new Inside Congress Live feature. Learn more and subscribe here.

— ERIC BAZAIL-EIMIL, the pride and joy of NatSec Daily for the past couple months, is ending his formal rotation with your favorite newsletter to support other teams in the POLITICO newsroom. Never fear though! He’ll still be lending a hand from time to time, especially when news breaks in Nagorno-Karabakh. Best of luck, Eric!

— Biden announced his intent to nominate APRILLE JOY ERICSSON to be DOD’s assistant secretary for science and technology. Ericsson is the new business lead in the Instrument Systems and Technology Division at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center.

— ELVIR KLEMPIC is now an adviser in USAID’s Office of the Administrator. He previously was senior associate director in the White House’s Office of Presidential Personnel and is a Biden campaign alum.

— MEGAN STACK, The New York Times: Washington Feels a Chill as Adorable Diplomats Depart

— GIL BARNDOLLAR, The Atlantic: Have Republicans Learned Nothing From the War on Terror?

— TARA COPP, The Associated Press: Traveling with Milley: A reporter recalls how America’s top soldier was most at home with his troops

— Georgetown University's Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding, 12 p.m.: The Crisis of Autocracy in Tunisia and the Arab world

— The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, 2 p.m.: Internal Security in India: Violence, Order, and the State

Thanks to our editor, Heidi Vogt, who expresses regret about letting us write this newsletter.

We also thank our producer, Emily Lussier, who apologizes for our editor’s rudeness.

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