THE NEW YORK TIMES
"ISIS Is Regaining Strength in Iraq and Syria"
Eric Schmitt, Alissa J. Rubin and Thomas Gibbons-Neff
20 AUGUST 2019
WASHINGTON — Five months after American-backed forces ousted the Islamic State from its last shard of territory in Syria, the terrorist group is gathering new strength, conducting guerrilla attacks across Iraq and Syria, retooling its financial networks and targeting new recruits at an allied-run tent camp, American and Iraqi military and intelligence officers said.
Though President Trump hailed a total defeat of the Islamic State this year, defense officials in the region see things differently, acknowledging that what remains of the terrorist group is here to stay.
A recent inspector general’s report warned that a drawdown this year from 2,000 American forces in Syria to less than half of that, ordered by Mr. Trump, has meant the American military has had to cut back support for Syrian partner forces fighting ISIS.
For now, American and international forces can only try to ensure that ISIS remains contained and away from urban areas.
Although there is little concern that the Islamic State will reclaim its former physical territory, a caliphate that was once the size of Britain and controlled the lives of up to 12 million people, the terrorist group has still mobilized as many as 18,000 remaining fighters in Iraq and Syria.
These sleeper cells and strike teams have carried out sniper attacks, ambushes, kidnappings and assassinations against security forces and community leaders.
The Islamic State can still tap a large war chest of as much as $400 million, which has been hidden in either Iraq and Syria or smuggled into neighboring countries for safekeeping.
It is also believed to have invested in businesses, including fish farming, car dealing and cannabis growing.
And ISIS uses extortion to finance clandestine operations: Farmers in northern Iraq who refuse to pay have had their crops burned to the ground.
Over the past several months, ISIS has made inroads into a sprawling tent camp in northeast Syria, and there is no ready plan to deal with the 70,000 people there, including thousands of family members of ISIS fighters.
American intelligence officials say the Al Hol camp, managed by Syrian Kurdish allies with little aid or security, is evolving into a hotbed of ISIS ideology and a huge breeding ground for future terrorists.
The American-backed Syrian Kurdish force also holds more than 10,000 ISIS fighters, including 2,000 foreigners, in separate makeshift prisons.
At Al Hol, the Syrian Kurds’ “inability to provide more than ‘minimal security’ at the camp has allowed the ‘uncontested conditions to spread of ISIS ideology’ there,” said the inspector general’s report, which was prepared for the Pentagon, the State Department and the United States Agency for International Development.
The military’s Central Command told the report’s authors that “ISIS is likely exploiting the lack of security to enlist new members and re-engage members who have left the battlefield.”
A recent United Nations assessment reached the same conclusion, saying that family members living at Al Hol “may come to pose a threat if they are not dealt with appropriately.”
These trends, described by Iraqi, American and other Western intelligence and military officials, and documented in a recent series of government and United Nations assessments, portray an Islamic State on the rise again, not only in Iraq and Syria, but in branches from West Africa to Sinai.
This resurgence poses threats to American interests and allies, as the Trump administration draws down American troops in Syria and shifts its focus in the Middle East to a looming confrontation with Iran.
“However weakened ISIS may now be, they are still a truly global movement, and we are globally vulnerable,” Suzanne Raine, a former head of Britain’s Joint Terrorism Analysis Center, said in an interview this month with West Point’s Combating Terrorism Center.
“Nothing should surprise us about what happens next.”
One significant indicator that points to the Islamic State’s resurgence is the amount of ordnance dropped by American aircraft in Iraq and Syria in recent months.
In June, American warplanes dropped 135 bombs and missiles, more than double what they had in May, according to Air Force data.
Defense officials in the region say the Islamic State is now entrenched in mostly rural territory, fighting in small elements of roughly a dozen fighters and taking advantage of the porous border between Iraq and Syria, along with the informal border between Iraqi Kurdistan and the rest of the country, where security forces are spread thin and responsibilities for public safety are sometimes disputed.
For Iraqis in northern and western provinces where the Islamic State was active in the past, the sense of threat never disappeared, as the attacks slowed but never halted.
In just the first six months of this year, there were 139 attacks in those provinces — Nineveh, Salahuddin, Kirkuk, Diyala and Anbar — and 274 people were killed.
The majority of the dead were civilians but also included Iraqi security forces and popular mobilization forces, according to reports by Iraqi security forces and civilians gathered by The New York Times.
A particularly brutal episode of the kind not seen since the Islamic State was in control of territory in northern Iraq occurred in early August when armed men claiming ISIS allegiance held a public beheading of a policeman in a rural village south of the city of Samarra in Salahuddin Province, about two hours north of Baghdad.
The area has seen repeated attacks over the past two years, and the police who lived in the village had received warnings to leave their job.
Most, like Alaa Ameen Mohammad Al-Majmai, the beheaded officer, worked for the security forces because there are few jobs other than farming, which is seasonal, and occasional construction work.
He was kidnapped at night when he and his brother Sajid went to check on their uncle’s land after work, according to accounts from Sajid and other family members.
Five armed men — some masked — grabbed the brothers, took them to an empty farmhouse and questioned them until the dawn prayer.
Then they said they would let Sajid go, but instructed him “to tell the people to quit their jobs working for the police force,” he recalled.
They beheaded Alaa Ameen, leaving his body on his uncle’s land.
He became the 170th member of the force to be killed by Islamic State attackers in the area, said Major Zowba Al-Majmay, the director of an Iraqi emergency battalion for the area south of Samarra.
This month, a United States Marine Raider, Gunnery Sgt. Scott A. Koppenhafer, 35, was killed in northern Iraq during an operation with local forces.
Marine Raiders, who are special forces, often fight alongside Kurdish Peshmerga, or the Iraqi Special Operations forces, when deployed to Iraq.
His death marked the first American killed in combat in Iraq this year.
In January, four Americans were killed in a suicide bombing in Manbij, Syria.
Reports like these fill several new, sobering assessments of the Islamic State’s resilience and potency.
A July report by United Nations analysts on the Security Council Counter-Terrorism Committee said that Islamic State leaders, despite their military defeat in Syria and Iraq, are “adapting, consolidating and creating conditions for an eventual resurgence” in those countries.
A new inspector general’s report assessing ISIS activities from April through June concluded the group was “resurging in Syria” and had “solidified its insurgent capabilities in Iraq.”
Despite these reports, Mr. Trump has continued to claim credit for completely defeating the Islamic State, contradicting repeated warnings from his own intelligence and counterterrorism officials that ISIS remains a lethal force.
“We did a great job,” Mr. Trump said last month.
“We have 100 percent of the caliphate, and we’re rapidly pulling out of Syria."
"We’ll be out of there pretty soon."
"And let them handle their own problems."
"Syria can handle their own problems — along with Iran, along with Russia, along with Iraq, along with Turkey."
"We’re 7,000 miles away.”
With 5,200 troops in Iraq and just under 1,000 in Syria, the American military’s role in both countries has changed little despite the territorial defeat of the Islamic State in both countries.
After the fall of Baghuz, the Islamic State’s last holdout in Syria near the Iraqi border, what remained of the group’s fighters dispersed throughout the region, starting what American officials now say will be an enduring insurgency.
The Islamic State is well equipped, the officials said, though its leadership is mostly fractured, leaving most cells without guidance from higher-ranking commanders.
Also gone is the Islamic State’s heyday, when the group could mass produce roadside bombs, munitions and homemade weapons.
The Islamic State’s change in tactics has forced the Americans and other international troops to change theirs, ensuring they can fight a guerilla-style campaign against insurgents who fight among and disappear into local populations.
The Iraqi Army and its counterterrorism forces have run multiple campaigns against the Islamic State, focusing primarily on the triangle where Kirkuk, Nineveh and Salahuddin Provinces come together in a rocky and hilly area known as the Makhoul mountains.
Though Islamic State fighters are present, the pace of operations in Syria has dropped significantly.
Army Special Forces soldiers, alongside conventional troops, often sit on their outposts for long stretches of time and only occasionally go after the low-ranking Islamic State fighters hiding in nearby villages, according to one defense official who recently returned from the country.
One of the greatest challenges, the official said, was the constant ferrying of American troops to and from Syria in an effort to keep the overall troop presence at the military’s official deployment of just under 1,000.
Sometimes, the official said, troops are brought into the country for specific missions and then sent out.
“Coupled with a U.S. drawdown, it’s setting the conditions for ISIS to retake pockets of territory while coercing local populations,” said Colin P. Clarke, a senior fellow at the Soufan Center, a research organization for global security issues and an author of a new study by the RAND Corporation on the Islamic State’s financing.
Eric Schmitt reported from Washington, and Alissa J. Rubin and Thomas Gibbons-Neff from Baghdad.
http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/isi ... id=HPDHP17
THE DOD
Re: THE DOD
CNN
"Green Beret killed in Afghanistan identified"
By Zachary Cohen and Karl de Vries, CNN
Updated 6:02 PM ET, Sat August 31, 2019
Washington (CNN) — Sgt. 1st Class Dustin Ard, a Green Beret from 1st Special Forces Group, died from wounds sustained during combat operations in Zabul province, Afghanistan, on Thursday, the Department of Defense said Saturday.
Ard, 31, was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 1st Special Forces Group at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington, the DOD said in a statement.
He was born in Idaho Falls, Idaho, and enlisted in Hyde Park, Utah.
"We received news that we lost our son Dustin in Afghanistan," said his father, Bruce Ard, according to a Facebook post Friday by Idaho State Rep. Rod Furniss.
"My heart has a hole so big I can hardly stand it."
"He was the finest young man I have ever known."
"Not because he was my son but because (of) the person he is."
"A great son, brother, father, and husband."
Bruce Ard went on to say that his son "loved his country and was the kind of person we should all be."
"Son, I Love you and know we will see each other again."
"I will miss you every day I live without you."
"Love Dad."
The news comes after two American service members, Master Sgt. Louis DeLeon-Figueroa, 31, and Master Sgt. Jose Gonzalez, 35, were killed in action in Afghanistan last week.
They died as a result of "wounds sustained from small arms fire while engaged in combat operations," in Faryab province, Afghanistan, the Department of Defense said in a statement.
Both men, who were posthumously promoted to master sergeant, were assigned to the 1st Battalion, 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne), based at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida.
News of another American casualty in Afghanistan comes one day after President Donald Trump said he is planning to withdraw thousands of US forces from the country but will keep 8,600 troops there, at least for the time being.
"We're going down to 8,600 and then we make a determination from there as to what happens ... we're bringing it down," Trump told Fox News Radio Thursday, again repeating that the US "could win that war so fast if I wanted to kill ten million people there ... which I don't."
Trump met with top national security advisers earlier this month at his golf course in Bedminster, New Jersey, to review a US-Taliban peace plan.
The US currently has about 14,000 service members in Afghanistan, alongside NATO troops, helping to train and advise Afghan troops and conducting counterterrorism operations.
The peace plan is expected to formalize a significant withdrawal of US forces after nearly 18 years of war.
But Trump stressed that the US will maintain a troop presence in Afghanistan despite the withdrawal.
"You have to keep a presence," he said Thursday, adding that the US would be reducing troops "very substantially."
Trump also repeated a previous talking point, calling Afghanistan the "Harvard University of Terrorism" given its "rough, mountainous terrain."
On Wednesday, the top US general said he is "not using the 'withdraw' word right now" in regards to Afghanistan, as US and Taliban negotiators reportedly near a deal.
Gen. Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said any agreement with the Taliban must ensure that Afghanistan does not become a "sanctuary" for extremists.
"I think it's premature, I'm not using the 'withdraw' word right now," he said.
"We're going to make sure our, that Afghanistan's not a sanctuary."
This story has been updated to include additional details on Dustin Ard's background from the Department of Defense.
https://www.cnn.com/2019/08/30/politics ... index.html
"Green Beret killed in Afghanistan identified"
By Zachary Cohen and Karl de Vries, CNN
Updated 6:02 PM ET, Sat August 31, 2019
Washington (CNN) — Sgt. 1st Class Dustin Ard, a Green Beret from 1st Special Forces Group, died from wounds sustained during combat operations in Zabul province, Afghanistan, on Thursday, the Department of Defense said Saturday.
Ard, 31, was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 1st Special Forces Group at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington, the DOD said in a statement.
He was born in Idaho Falls, Idaho, and enlisted in Hyde Park, Utah.
"We received news that we lost our son Dustin in Afghanistan," said his father, Bruce Ard, according to a Facebook post Friday by Idaho State Rep. Rod Furniss.
"My heart has a hole so big I can hardly stand it."
"He was the finest young man I have ever known."
"Not because he was my son but because (of) the person he is."
"A great son, brother, father, and husband."
Bruce Ard went on to say that his son "loved his country and was the kind of person we should all be."
"Son, I Love you and know we will see each other again."
"I will miss you every day I live without you."
"Love Dad."
The news comes after two American service members, Master Sgt. Louis DeLeon-Figueroa, 31, and Master Sgt. Jose Gonzalez, 35, were killed in action in Afghanistan last week.
They died as a result of "wounds sustained from small arms fire while engaged in combat operations," in Faryab province, Afghanistan, the Department of Defense said in a statement.
Both men, who were posthumously promoted to master sergeant, were assigned to the 1st Battalion, 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne), based at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida.
News of another American casualty in Afghanistan comes one day after President Donald Trump said he is planning to withdraw thousands of US forces from the country but will keep 8,600 troops there, at least for the time being.
"We're going down to 8,600 and then we make a determination from there as to what happens ... we're bringing it down," Trump told Fox News Radio Thursday, again repeating that the US "could win that war so fast if I wanted to kill ten million people there ... which I don't."
Trump met with top national security advisers earlier this month at his golf course in Bedminster, New Jersey, to review a US-Taliban peace plan.
The US currently has about 14,000 service members in Afghanistan, alongside NATO troops, helping to train and advise Afghan troops and conducting counterterrorism operations.
The peace plan is expected to formalize a significant withdrawal of US forces after nearly 18 years of war.
But Trump stressed that the US will maintain a troop presence in Afghanistan despite the withdrawal.
"You have to keep a presence," he said Thursday, adding that the US would be reducing troops "very substantially."
Trump also repeated a previous talking point, calling Afghanistan the "Harvard University of Terrorism" given its "rough, mountainous terrain."
On Wednesday, the top US general said he is "not using the 'withdraw' word right now" in regards to Afghanistan, as US and Taliban negotiators reportedly near a deal.
Gen. Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said any agreement with the Taliban must ensure that Afghanistan does not become a "sanctuary" for extremists.
"I think it's premature, I'm not using the 'withdraw' word right now," he said.
"We're going to make sure our, that Afghanistan's not a sanctuary."
This story has been updated to include additional details on Dustin Ard's background from the Department of Defense.
https://www.cnn.com/2019/08/30/politics ... index.html
Re: THE DOD
SOUNDS LIKE THE TROOPS ARE TAKING AFTER THE COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF ...
BUSINESS INSIDER
"The Navy is the US military's fattest service branch, new Pentagon report reveals"
Ryan Pickrell
5 SEPTEMBER 2019
The US Navy is the fattest branch of the US armed forces, with an obesity rate of 22 percent, a new Department of Defense report revealed.
While the Navy has a problem, it isn't the only service getting fat.
Obesity is on the rise across all the services.
The Air Force came in at 18.1 percent, the Army at 17.4 (the DoD average), and the Marines at 8.3 percent.
Rising obesity rates in the military come amid rising rates in civilian society, where roughly 40 percent of all American adults are obese.
Almost one in five US Navy sailors is obese, making the service the fattest branch of the US armed forces, a new Pentagon report revealed.
The obesity rate for the Navy was 22 percent - higher than the average for the four main service branches - the recently-released 2018 Health of the DoD Force report revealed, explaining that obesity is a "growing health concern among Sailors."
The report stressed that obesity impacts Navy readiness, but this branch of the military isn't the only one that's facing higher obesity rates.
The Army came in at 17.4 percent, the Department of Defense average, while the Air Force came in slightly higher at 18.1 percent.
The Marines were by far the leanest with an obesity rate of only 8.3 percent.
Among the services, obesity rates were higher among males than females.
They were also higher among individuals 35 and over as opposed to those in their 20s.
"The overall prevalence of obesity has increased steadily since 2014," the Pentagon report said.
Obesity is on the rise across the services, The New York Times notes, explaining that the Navy's obesity rate has increased sixfold since 2011, while the rates for the other services have more than doubled.
This trend appears linked to one prevalent in civilian society, where 30.8 percent of all adult Americans are considered obese, according to information provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Roughly 30 percent of Americans between the ages of 17 and 24 are ineligible for recruitment, Army Times reported last year, noting that a third of that group are disqualified for their weight.
"Out of all the reasons that we have future soldiers disqualify, the largest - 31 percent - is obesity," Maj. Gen. Frank Muth, head of Army Recruiting Command said last October.
"The high prevalence of obesity in the US poses a serious challenge to recruiting and retaining healthy Soldiers," the Army's 2018 Health of the Force report explained.
"Obesity negatively impacts physical performance and military readiness and is associated with long-term health problems such as hypertension, diabetes, coronary heart disease, stroke, cancer, and risk for all-cause mortality," the new DoD report read.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/other/ ... ar-AAGOEHb
BUSINESS INSIDER
"The Navy is the US military's fattest service branch, new Pentagon report reveals"
Ryan Pickrell
5 SEPTEMBER 2019
The US Navy is the fattest branch of the US armed forces, with an obesity rate of 22 percent, a new Department of Defense report revealed.
While the Navy has a problem, it isn't the only service getting fat.
Obesity is on the rise across all the services.
The Air Force came in at 18.1 percent, the Army at 17.4 (the DoD average), and the Marines at 8.3 percent.
Rising obesity rates in the military come amid rising rates in civilian society, where roughly 40 percent of all American adults are obese.
Almost one in five US Navy sailors is obese, making the service the fattest branch of the US armed forces, a new Pentagon report revealed.
The obesity rate for the Navy was 22 percent - higher than the average for the four main service branches - the recently-released 2018 Health of the DoD Force report revealed, explaining that obesity is a "growing health concern among Sailors."
The report stressed that obesity impacts Navy readiness, but this branch of the military isn't the only one that's facing higher obesity rates.
The Army came in at 17.4 percent, the Department of Defense average, while the Air Force came in slightly higher at 18.1 percent.
The Marines were by far the leanest with an obesity rate of only 8.3 percent.
Among the services, obesity rates were higher among males than females.
They were also higher among individuals 35 and over as opposed to those in their 20s.
"The overall prevalence of obesity has increased steadily since 2014," the Pentagon report said.
Obesity is on the rise across the services, The New York Times notes, explaining that the Navy's obesity rate has increased sixfold since 2011, while the rates for the other services have more than doubled.
This trend appears linked to one prevalent in civilian society, where 30.8 percent of all adult Americans are considered obese, according to information provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Roughly 30 percent of Americans between the ages of 17 and 24 are ineligible for recruitment, Army Times reported last year, noting that a third of that group are disqualified for their weight.
"Out of all the reasons that we have future soldiers disqualify, the largest - 31 percent - is obesity," Maj. Gen. Frank Muth, head of Army Recruiting Command said last October.
"The high prevalence of obesity in the US poses a serious challenge to recruiting and retaining healthy Soldiers," the Army's 2018 Health of the Force report explained.
"Obesity negatively impacts physical performance and military readiness and is associated with long-term health problems such as hypertension, diabetes, coronary heart disease, stroke, cancer, and risk for all-cause mortality," the new DoD report read.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/other/ ... ar-AAGOEHb
Re: THE DOD
THE ARMY TIMES
"Green Beret killed in action in Afghanistan"
By: Kyle Rempfer
16 SEPTEMBER 2019
Another U.S. service member has been killed in action in Afghanistan, officials announced Monday.
The death was announced by NATO’s Resolute Support mission to the country in a press release.
A defense official told Army Times on background that the fallen soldier was a Green Beret, but did not specify the operator’s unit.
"In accordance with U.S. Department of Defense policy, the name of the service member is being withheld until 24 hours after family notification is complete,” the release reads.
The death comes after peace talks between U.S. diplomats and the Taliban broke down earlier this month, and amid warnings from the top U.S. general for NATO that he expects increased violence in Afghanistan as that country’s elections draw nearer.
The peace talks collapsed after a round of deadly attacks by insurgents in Kabul that killed 12 people, including an American soldier and a Romanian soldier.
The latest death adds to the 16 U.S. troops killed in action in Afghanistan this year, according to Defense Department figures.
More than 80 other American personnel have been wounded in combat.
The last U.S. soldier killed was a paratrooper with the 82nd Airborne Division on Sept. 5.
Sgt. 1st Class Elis A. Barreto Ortiz, 34, was killed when a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle in Kabul.
Prior to the peace talks being called off, President Donald Trump was mulling a potential reduction in U.S. troop levels in Afghanistan down to 8,600.
There are currently about 14,000 American service members in the country, alongside international troops, to advise and assist Afghan defense forces and to fight extremist groups like the Islamic State and al-Qaida.
The president has said that the end of the peace talks is being coupled with an increase in kinetic operations.
Trump told reporters at the White House last week that the peace talks are “dead, as far as I’m concerned," and added that American troops have "hit the Taliban harder in the last four days than they’ve been hit in over 10 years.”
This year has been the deadliest for U.S. forces in Afghanistan since the mission to the country scaled down at the start of 2015 and changed names from Operation Enduring Freedom to Operation Freedom’s Sentinel.
https://www.armytimes.com/news/your-arm ... ghanistan/
"Green Beret killed in action in Afghanistan"
By: Kyle Rempfer
16 SEPTEMBER 2019
Another U.S. service member has been killed in action in Afghanistan, officials announced Monday.
The death was announced by NATO’s Resolute Support mission to the country in a press release.
A defense official told Army Times on background that the fallen soldier was a Green Beret, but did not specify the operator’s unit.
"In accordance with U.S. Department of Defense policy, the name of the service member is being withheld until 24 hours after family notification is complete,” the release reads.
The death comes after peace talks between U.S. diplomats and the Taliban broke down earlier this month, and amid warnings from the top U.S. general for NATO that he expects increased violence in Afghanistan as that country’s elections draw nearer.
The peace talks collapsed after a round of deadly attacks by insurgents in Kabul that killed 12 people, including an American soldier and a Romanian soldier.
The latest death adds to the 16 U.S. troops killed in action in Afghanistan this year, according to Defense Department figures.
More than 80 other American personnel have been wounded in combat.
The last U.S. soldier killed was a paratrooper with the 82nd Airborne Division on Sept. 5.
Sgt. 1st Class Elis A. Barreto Ortiz, 34, was killed when a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle in Kabul.
Prior to the peace talks being called off, President Donald Trump was mulling a potential reduction in U.S. troop levels in Afghanistan down to 8,600.
There are currently about 14,000 American service members in the country, alongside international troops, to advise and assist Afghan defense forces and to fight extremist groups like the Islamic State and al-Qaida.
The president has said that the end of the peace talks is being coupled with an increase in kinetic operations.
Trump told reporters at the White House last week that the peace talks are “dead, as far as I’m concerned," and added that American troops have "hit the Taliban harder in the last four days than they’ve been hit in over 10 years.”
This year has been the deadliest for U.S. forces in Afghanistan since the mission to the country scaled down at the start of 2015 and changed names from Operation Enduring Freedom to Operation Freedom’s Sentinel.
https://www.armytimes.com/news/your-arm ... ghanistan/
Re: THE DOD
CNN
"Double attack hits Baledogle US military base and Italian convoy in Somalia"
By Omar Nor, Michael Callahan and Ivana Kottasová, CNN
30 SEPTEMBER 2019
A US base and an Italian military convoy were targeted in separate attacks in Somalia on Monday.
Al-Shabaab militants staged a simultaneous car bomb and gun attack on the Baledogle US facility, while the Italian vehicles were hit by an explosion in the country's capital of Mogadishu, according to officials.
The US base is located in the south of the East African nation, about 100 kilometers (62 miles) northwest of Mogadishu.
American forces use the base to train Somali commando units.
Abdifitah Haji Abdulle, deputy governor of the Lower Shabelle region, said fighters detonated explosives at the entrance of the base before attempting to storm the premises.
He added that fighting took place outside the camp, which houses US and Somali soldiers.
There was no immediate report of casualties.
Somali National Army Radio reported that Somali forces and their US partners had "repelled" the coordinated terrorist assault.
Separately, the Italian Defense Ministry said two of its light armored vehicles were hit by a blast in the capital on Monday morning, after returning from training with Somali security forces.
"At the moment, there are no consequences for the Italian personnel," the ministry said.
Reuters also reported seeing a seriously damaged armored vehicle displaying a small Italian flag sticker.
Al-Shabaab militants claimed responsibility for the attack on the US base, according to the group's affiliated website, Somalia Memo.
The militants justified the assault by saying the facility was often used to launch drone attacks against Al-Shabaab in the region.
US Africa Command is investigating the attack, it said in a statement.
"We are working to confirm details on the incident and will have more information as soon as we can confirm facts on the ground," it said.
The attack comes as Al-Shabaab faces increasing pressure in the region after losing control of several key areas including Bariire, where US Navy SEAL Kyle Milliken was killed in May 2017.
At the same time, Somali, African Union and US troops have recently stepped up operations against the group.
http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/dou ... P17#page=2
"Double attack hits Baledogle US military base and Italian convoy in Somalia"
By Omar Nor, Michael Callahan and Ivana Kottasová, CNN
30 SEPTEMBER 2019
A US base and an Italian military convoy were targeted in separate attacks in Somalia on Monday.
Al-Shabaab militants staged a simultaneous car bomb and gun attack on the Baledogle US facility, while the Italian vehicles were hit by an explosion in the country's capital of Mogadishu, according to officials.
The US base is located in the south of the East African nation, about 100 kilometers (62 miles) northwest of Mogadishu.
American forces use the base to train Somali commando units.
Abdifitah Haji Abdulle, deputy governor of the Lower Shabelle region, said fighters detonated explosives at the entrance of the base before attempting to storm the premises.
He added that fighting took place outside the camp, which houses US and Somali soldiers.
There was no immediate report of casualties.
Somali National Army Radio reported that Somali forces and their US partners had "repelled" the coordinated terrorist assault.
Separately, the Italian Defense Ministry said two of its light armored vehicles were hit by a blast in the capital on Monday morning, after returning from training with Somali security forces.
"At the moment, there are no consequences for the Italian personnel," the ministry said.
Reuters also reported seeing a seriously damaged armored vehicle displaying a small Italian flag sticker.
Al-Shabaab militants claimed responsibility for the attack on the US base, according to the group's affiliated website, Somalia Memo.
The militants justified the assault by saying the facility was often used to launch drone attacks against Al-Shabaab in the region.
US Africa Command is investigating the attack, it said in a statement.
"We are working to confirm details on the incident and will have more information as soon as we can confirm facts on the ground," it said.
The attack comes as Al-Shabaab faces increasing pressure in the region after losing control of several key areas including Bariire, where US Navy SEAL Kyle Milliken was killed in May 2017.
At the same time, Somali, African Union and US troops have recently stepped up operations against the group.
http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/dou ... P17#page=2
Re: THE DOD
ABC NEWS
"3 US Army soldiers killed during training at Fort Stewart, officials say"
20 OCTOBER 2019
Three U.S. Army soldiers were killed during training at Fort Stewart in Georgia, according to officials.
The soldiers, part of the 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, were pronounced dead on the scene after the Bradley Fighting Vehicle they were riding in was involved in an accident early Sunday morning, Patrick Husted, division public affairs officer, said in a news release.
Another three soldiers were injured and evacuated to the Winn Army Community Hospital for treatment.
The extent of their injuries was not disclosed.
"Today is a heartbreaking day for the 3rd Infantry Division, and the entire Fort Stewart-Hunter Army Airfield community, as we are all devastated after a training accident this morning on the Fort Stewart Training Area," said Maj. Gen. Tony Aguto, commanding general of the 3rd Infantry Division.
"We are extremely saddened by the loss of three Dogface Soldiers, and injuries to three more."
"Our hearts and prayers go out to all the families affected by this tragedy."
The incident is under investigation, Husted said.
The circumstances surrounding the accident were not immediately clear.
The identities of the deceased soldiers will be released pending next of kin notification.
ABC News' Ben Stein contributed to this report.
http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/3-us-a ... P17#page=2
"3 US Army soldiers killed during training at Fort Stewart, officials say"
20 OCTOBER 2019
Three U.S. Army soldiers were killed during training at Fort Stewart in Georgia, according to officials.
The soldiers, part of the 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, were pronounced dead on the scene after the Bradley Fighting Vehicle they were riding in was involved in an accident early Sunday morning, Patrick Husted, division public affairs officer, said in a news release.
Another three soldiers were injured and evacuated to the Winn Army Community Hospital for treatment.
The extent of their injuries was not disclosed.
"Today is a heartbreaking day for the 3rd Infantry Division, and the entire Fort Stewart-Hunter Army Airfield community, as we are all devastated after a training accident this morning on the Fort Stewart Training Area," said Maj. Gen. Tony Aguto, commanding general of the 3rd Infantry Division.
"We are extremely saddened by the loss of three Dogface Soldiers, and injuries to three more."
"Our hearts and prayers go out to all the families affected by this tragedy."
The incident is under investigation, Husted said.
The circumstances surrounding the accident were not immediately clear.
The identities of the deceased soldiers will be released pending next of kin notification.
ABC News' Ben Stein contributed to this report.
http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/3-us-a ... P17#page=2
Re: THE DOD
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
"U.S. Weighs Leaving More Troops, Sending Battle Tanks to Syria"
Gordon Lubold, Nancy A. Youssef
25 OCTOBER 2019
WASHINGTON—The White House is considering options for leaving about 500 U.S. troops in northeast Syria and for sending dozens of battle tanks and other equipment, officials said Thursday, the latest in an array of scenarios following President Trump’s decision this month to remove all troops there.
The options, presented by military officials, would represent a reversal from the American withdrawal Mr. Trump wanted.
It also would modify U.S. objectives — from countering Islamic State extremists to also safeguarding oil fields in eastern Syria with additional troops and new military capability.
Washington sees the fields as potential leverage in future negotiations over Syria.
“We will NEVER let a reconstituted ISIS have those fields!” Mr. Trump said Thursday in a Twitter message, referring to Islamic State.
The options for tanks and troops, which hasn’t been decided, were being discussed in Washington as Defense Secretary Mark Esper, in Brussels, urged U.S. allies at a North Atlantic Treaty Organization meeting to respond to Turkey’s incursion into Syria earlier this month.
Mr. Esper’s request came amid fissures in the security bloc’s approach to the crisis and over the Trump administration’s policy shifts.
Mr. Trump earlier this month ordered all U.S. troops out of northern Syria, a move that was criticized by Kurdish fighters allied with the U.S. as an abandonment.
Critics say Turkey launched the mission because it believed Mr. Trump greenlighted the move during an Oct. 6 call with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Mr. Trump said he didn’t give a go-ahead for the assault.
The U.S. leader then imposed sanctions on Turkey and threatened to destroy the NATO ally’s economy before lifting the sanctions when Turkey announced a cease-fire.
Mr. Esper said he supported a proposal this week by German Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer to create an international security zone in northern Syria with Russia and Turkey, which have already made their own deal to secure the region.
Ms. Kramp-Karrenbauer outlined her proposal at the NATO meeting, noting that the Russia-Turkey deal was insufficient to bring long-term peace.
“There are different views,” NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told reporters Thursday evening.
“This was an open and frank discussion among friends and allies."
"There is strong support for a political solution.”
Mr. Trump, after ordering all U.S. forces out of northeastern Syria in early October, said later that he would agree to leave about 200 troops in northeast Syria to safeguard oil fields.
The move came after Sen. Lindsey Graham (R., S.C.) outlined the potential importance of the oil.
Mr. Graham suggested in remarks to reporters at the Capitol on Thursday that American troops would end up securing the oil fields.
He was among eight to 10 senators briefed by the White House on Thursday.
“There are some plans coming together from the Joint Chiefs that I think may work, that may give us what we need to prevent ISIS from coming back, Iran taking the oil, ISIS from taking the oil,” he said.
“I am somewhat encouraged that a plan is coming about that will meet our core objectives in Syria.”
The top U.S. envoy for Syria, James Jeffrey, said in testimony Wednesday before the House Foreign Affairs Committee that the U.S. also may hang onto a Syrian airfield.
“We do contemplate, I believe, maintaining one of our two airfields that are there,” Mr. Jeffrey said.
The option of sending tanks was earlier reported by Newsweek.
While the Trump administration’s plans for U.S. troops in Syria shifts, so do the plans for what to do with the approximately 1,000 U.S. troops, most of them special operations forces, following Mr. Trump’s order to withdraw.
Mr. Esper said over the weekend that most of the troops would go to neighboring Iraq, triggering a pointed reaction from Baghdad, where officials said those troops would only be able to remain for a period of four weeks.
Meeting at NATO headquarters, Mr. Esper criticized Ankara for its assault.
“Turkey’s unwarranted incursion into northern Syria jeopardizes the gains made there in recent years,” Mr. Esper said.
“Turkey put us all in a terrible situation,” he added later.
For NATO, disagreement over how to address Turkey’s actions strikes another blow to the unity of an alliance already rocked by Mr. Trump’s frequent broadsides over what he says is insufficient military spending by allies.
French President Emmanuel Macron — whose country has special forces in northern Syria — has responded with anger over the abrupt U.S. move to withdraw troops from Syria, which he said he learned about on Twitter.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has further exasperated NATO allies by deepening his relationship with President Vladimir Putin, including through the purchase of an air-defense system from Russia.
“The direction of Turkey with regard to the alliance is heading in the wrong direction,” Mr. Esper said.
Write to Gordon Lubold at Gordon.Lubold@wsj.com and Nancy A. Youssef at nancy.youssef@wsj.com
http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/u-s ... li=BBnb7Kz
"U.S. Weighs Leaving More Troops, Sending Battle Tanks to Syria"
Gordon Lubold, Nancy A. Youssef
25 OCTOBER 2019
WASHINGTON—The White House is considering options for leaving about 500 U.S. troops in northeast Syria and for sending dozens of battle tanks and other equipment, officials said Thursday, the latest in an array of scenarios following President Trump’s decision this month to remove all troops there.
The options, presented by military officials, would represent a reversal from the American withdrawal Mr. Trump wanted.
It also would modify U.S. objectives — from countering Islamic State extremists to also safeguarding oil fields in eastern Syria with additional troops and new military capability.
Washington sees the fields as potential leverage in future negotiations over Syria.
“We will NEVER let a reconstituted ISIS have those fields!” Mr. Trump said Thursday in a Twitter message, referring to Islamic State.
The options for tanks and troops, which hasn’t been decided, were being discussed in Washington as Defense Secretary Mark Esper, in Brussels, urged U.S. allies at a North Atlantic Treaty Organization meeting to respond to Turkey’s incursion into Syria earlier this month.
Mr. Esper’s request came amid fissures in the security bloc’s approach to the crisis and over the Trump administration’s policy shifts.
Mr. Trump earlier this month ordered all U.S. troops out of northern Syria, a move that was criticized by Kurdish fighters allied with the U.S. as an abandonment.
Critics say Turkey launched the mission because it believed Mr. Trump greenlighted the move during an Oct. 6 call with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Mr. Trump said he didn’t give a go-ahead for the assault.
The U.S. leader then imposed sanctions on Turkey and threatened to destroy the NATO ally’s economy before lifting the sanctions when Turkey announced a cease-fire.
Mr. Esper said he supported a proposal this week by German Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer to create an international security zone in northern Syria with Russia and Turkey, which have already made their own deal to secure the region.
Ms. Kramp-Karrenbauer outlined her proposal at the NATO meeting, noting that the Russia-Turkey deal was insufficient to bring long-term peace.
“There are different views,” NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told reporters Thursday evening.
“This was an open and frank discussion among friends and allies."
"There is strong support for a political solution.”
Mr. Trump, after ordering all U.S. forces out of northeastern Syria in early October, said later that he would agree to leave about 200 troops in northeast Syria to safeguard oil fields.
The move came after Sen. Lindsey Graham (R., S.C.) outlined the potential importance of the oil.
Mr. Graham suggested in remarks to reporters at the Capitol on Thursday that American troops would end up securing the oil fields.
He was among eight to 10 senators briefed by the White House on Thursday.
“There are some plans coming together from the Joint Chiefs that I think may work, that may give us what we need to prevent ISIS from coming back, Iran taking the oil, ISIS from taking the oil,” he said.
“I am somewhat encouraged that a plan is coming about that will meet our core objectives in Syria.”
The top U.S. envoy for Syria, James Jeffrey, said in testimony Wednesday before the House Foreign Affairs Committee that the U.S. also may hang onto a Syrian airfield.
“We do contemplate, I believe, maintaining one of our two airfields that are there,” Mr. Jeffrey said.
The option of sending tanks was earlier reported by Newsweek.
While the Trump administration’s plans for U.S. troops in Syria shifts, so do the plans for what to do with the approximately 1,000 U.S. troops, most of them special operations forces, following Mr. Trump’s order to withdraw.
Mr. Esper said over the weekend that most of the troops would go to neighboring Iraq, triggering a pointed reaction from Baghdad, where officials said those troops would only be able to remain for a period of four weeks.
Meeting at NATO headquarters, Mr. Esper criticized Ankara for its assault.
“Turkey’s unwarranted incursion into northern Syria jeopardizes the gains made there in recent years,” Mr. Esper said.
“Turkey put us all in a terrible situation,” he added later.
For NATO, disagreement over how to address Turkey’s actions strikes another blow to the unity of an alliance already rocked by Mr. Trump’s frequent broadsides over what he says is insufficient military spending by allies.
French President Emmanuel Macron — whose country has special forces in northern Syria — has responded with anger over the abrupt U.S. move to withdraw troops from Syria, which he said he learned about on Twitter.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has further exasperated NATO allies by deepening his relationship with President Vladimir Putin, including through the purchase of an air-defense system from Russia.
“The direction of Turkey with regard to the alliance is heading in the wrong direction,” Mr. Esper said.
Write to Gordon Lubold at Gordon.Lubold@wsj.com and Nancy A. Youssef at nancy.youssef@wsj.com
http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/u-s ... li=BBnb7Kz
Re: THE DOD
ABC NEWS
"Syrian Kurdish leader says Turkish attacks continue, contradicting US claims"
1 NOVEMBER 2019
The leader of the Syrian Kurds' civilian government accused Turkey and its forces of continuing its offensive into northern Syria using armed drones and heavy artillery, and conducting ethnic cleansing against the Syrian Kurds, despite ceasefire agreements.
The charge flies in the face of the Trump administration's characterization that its ceasefire with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has halted his operation and allowed U.S. and Syrian Kurdish forces to again focus on fighting the remnants of the Islamic State.
"If the U.S. is really serious about sustaining the operation against terrorism, they should stop the Turkish incursion," said Ilham Ehmed, president of the Syrian Democratic Council, the political wing of the Syrian Democratic Forces, which controls the territory in northeast Syria that they won back from ISIS with the U.S. and a global coalition.
While President Donald Trump has, for now, reversed his withdrawal and will now keep up to 900 troops in Syria, Ehmed said the administration's plans are unclear.
"The American map on Syria is not clear yet."
"We've just heard from our meetings here that they have the will to stay, but until when, why and for what, we have no clear answer yet," she said Thursday through a translator.
After fighting together, the SDF and SDC have accused the Trump administration of abandoning them when Trump moved U.S. forces back from the Turkish-Syrian border, effectively allowing Turkey to launch its offensive against the Syrian Kurds, which Ankara considers a terrorist organization because of its ties to Kurdish separatists in Turkey.
A U.S.-Turkish ceasefire halted that operation in return for the SDF departing the areas Turkey controlled.
U.S. officials said that will allow the fight against ISIS to resume, as U.S. forces remain behind to conduct joint operations against the terror group and protect oil fields from being exploited by it for revenue.
A senior State Department official told ABC News on Wednesday that there were "conflicting claims of who's where, whether people are still in the zone," but could not offer an update.
But Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Wednesday that he was "pleased" with how the ceasefire has held.
Ehmed said that was not true, however, describing daily attacks by armed drones and heavy shelling by Turkish forces and their allied Syrian opposition forces.
"No, it did not stop at all."
"There was a media announcement."
"... But practically speaking, the military attacks have been carried out a daily basis, they did not stop at all," she said.
Turkey has accused Syrian Kurdish forces of not exiting the full buffer zone that Erdogan negotiated with Russian President Vladimir Putin, days after reaching the deal with Vice President Mike Pence.
Turkey and Russia began joint patrols on Wednesday to inspect the area and ensure its cleared of Syrian Kurdish forces.
Instead of those joint patrols, Ehmed called for a no-fly zone and an international force to monitor security in the Turkish-Syrian border area.
"We call on the Pentagon to not allow Turkey to use the Syrian airspace, and we hold the Pentagon responsible for all the crimes committed by Turkey if they block the airspace," Ehmed said.
Ehmed and others testified last week before the House that Turkey and its opposition forces committed war crimes, including the use of white phosphorus as a weapon, attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure, and executing captured SDF fighters.
U.S. special envoy for Syria James Jeffrey said Wednesday that the U.S. had noted "several incidents which we consider war crimes" and was investigating how the white phosphorus was deployed.
Ehmed said the SDC had provided evidence and documentation to the U.S., but there were still American diplomatic and military personnel in the area who are "seeing the massacres in their naked eyes."
Since the Turkish operation began, Ehmed said that over 400,000 people were displaced, including 18,000 children; 412 SDF fighters had been killed and 419 injured; and 509 civilians had been killed and 2,733 injured.
ABC News could not independently verify those statistics.
Despite the anger and feelings of abandonment among Syrian Kurds, Ehmed said the SDF remains open to working with the U.S., but both sides need to rebuild "mutual trust."
"... We still hope that they are going to keep their promises and re-evaluate all the bad decisions that they're taking."
http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/syr ... 7Kz#page=2
"Syrian Kurdish leader says Turkish attacks continue, contradicting US claims"
1 NOVEMBER 2019
The leader of the Syrian Kurds' civilian government accused Turkey and its forces of continuing its offensive into northern Syria using armed drones and heavy artillery, and conducting ethnic cleansing against the Syrian Kurds, despite ceasefire agreements.
The charge flies in the face of the Trump administration's characterization that its ceasefire with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has halted his operation and allowed U.S. and Syrian Kurdish forces to again focus on fighting the remnants of the Islamic State.
"If the U.S. is really serious about sustaining the operation against terrorism, they should stop the Turkish incursion," said Ilham Ehmed, president of the Syrian Democratic Council, the political wing of the Syrian Democratic Forces, which controls the territory in northeast Syria that they won back from ISIS with the U.S. and a global coalition.
While President Donald Trump has, for now, reversed his withdrawal and will now keep up to 900 troops in Syria, Ehmed said the administration's plans are unclear.
"The American map on Syria is not clear yet."
"We've just heard from our meetings here that they have the will to stay, but until when, why and for what, we have no clear answer yet," she said Thursday through a translator.
After fighting together, the SDF and SDC have accused the Trump administration of abandoning them when Trump moved U.S. forces back from the Turkish-Syrian border, effectively allowing Turkey to launch its offensive against the Syrian Kurds, which Ankara considers a terrorist organization because of its ties to Kurdish separatists in Turkey.
A U.S.-Turkish ceasefire halted that operation in return for the SDF departing the areas Turkey controlled.
U.S. officials said that will allow the fight against ISIS to resume, as U.S. forces remain behind to conduct joint operations against the terror group and protect oil fields from being exploited by it for revenue.
A senior State Department official told ABC News on Wednesday that there were "conflicting claims of who's where, whether people are still in the zone," but could not offer an update.
But Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Wednesday that he was "pleased" with how the ceasefire has held.
Ehmed said that was not true, however, describing daily attacks by armed drones and heavy shelling by Turkish forces and their allied Syrian opposition forces.
"No, it did not stop at all."
"There was a media announcement."
"... But practically speaking, the military attacks have been carried out a daily basis, they did not stop at all," she said.
Turkey has accused Syrian Kurdish forces of not exiting the full buffer zone that Erdogan negotiated with Russian President Vladimir Putin, days after reaching the deal with Vice President Mike Pence.
Turkey and Russia began joint patrols on Wednesday to inspect the area and ensure its cleared of Syrian Kurdish forces.
Instead of those joint patrols, Ehmed called for a no-fly zone and an international force to monitor security in the Turkish-Syrian border area.
"We call on the Pentagon to not allow Turkey to use the Syrian airspace, and we hold the Pentagon responsible for all the crimes committed by Turkey if they block the airspace," Ehmed said.
Ehmed and others testified last week before the House that Turkey and its opposition forces committed war crimes, including the use of white phosphorus as a weapon, attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure, and executing captured SDF fighters.
U.S. special envoy for Syria James Jeffrey said Wednesday that the U.S. had noted "several incidents which we consider war crimes" and was investigating how the white phosphorus was deployed.
Ehmed said the SDC had provided evidence and documentation to the U.S., but there were still American diplomatic and military personnel in the area who are "seeing the massacres in their naked eyes."
Since the Turkish operation began, Ehmed said that over 400,000 people were displaced, including 18,000 children; 412 SDF fighters had been killed and 419 injured; and 509 civilians had been killed and 2,733 injured.
ABC News could not independently verify those statistics.
Despite the anger and feelings of abandonment among Syrian Kurds, Ehmed said the SDF remains open to working with the U.S., but both sides need to rebuild "mutual trust."
"... We still hope that they are going to keep their promises and re-evaluate all the bad decisions that they're taking."
http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/syr ... 7Kz#page=2
Re: THE DOD
THE WASHINGTON POST
"Pentagon chief asks for Navy secretary’s resignation over private proposal in Navy SEAL’s case"
Ashley Parker, Dan Lamothe
24 NOVEMBER 2019
Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper asked for the resignation of Navy Secretary Richard V. Spencer on Sunday after losing confidence in him over his handling of the case of a Navy SEAL accused of war crimes in Iraq, the Pentagon said.
Spencer’s resignation came in the wake of the controversial case of Chief Petty Officer Edward Gallagher, a Navy SEAL who was accused of war crimes on a 2017 deployment.
He was acquitted of murder but convicted in July of posing with the corpse of a captive.
Esper asked for Spencer’s resignation after learning that he had privately proposed to White House officials that if they did not interfere with proceedings against Gallagher, then Spencer would ensure that Gallagher was able to retire as a Navy SEAL, with his Trident insignia.
Spencer’s private proposal to the White House — which he did not share with Esper over the course of several conversations about the matter — contradicted his public position on the Gallagher case, chief Pentagon spokesman Jonathan Hoffman said in a statement.
Esper said in the statement that he was “deeply troubled by this conduct.”
“Unfortunately, as a result I have determined that Secretary Spencer no longer has my confidence to continue in his position," Esper said.
"I wish Richard well.”
Spencer’s spokeswoman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Esper and Army Gen. Mark A. Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, learned of Spencer’s private offer to the White House when they spoke with President Trump on Friday, Hoffman said.
Spencer’s proposal to the White House came after Trump intervened in the cases of Gallagher and two soldiers on Nov. 15.
Countering Pentagon recommendations, the president issued pardons to Army Maj. Mathew Golsteyn, who faced a murder trial next year, and former 1st Lt. Clint Lorance, who was convicted in 2013 in the murder of two unarmed men in Afghanistan.
Trump reinstated Gallagher’s rank after the SEAL was demoted as punishment for posing for the photograph with the corpse.
As a result of the actions over the last few days, Hoffman said, Esper has decided to let Gallagher keep it.
Spencer made his private pitch to the White House in conversations before a Thursday tweet by Trump, in which the president publicly pushed back against the Navy launching a review that could have stripped Gallagher of his Navy SEAL status.
“The Navy will NOT be taking away Warfighter and Navy Seal Eddie Gallagher’s Trident Pin,” Trump wrote.
“This case was handled very badly from the beginning."
"Get back to business!”
Hoffman said that Esper has suggested to Trump that Kenneth Braithwaite, a retired Navy rear admiral who is currently the U.S. ambassador to Norway, be considered as the next Navy secretary.
http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/pentag ... li=BBnb7Kz
"Pentagon chief asks for Navy secretary’s resignation over private proposal in Navy SEAL’s case"
Ashley Parker, Dan Lamothe
24 NOVEMBER 2019
Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper asked for the resignation of Navy Secretary Richard V. Spencer on Sunday after losing confidence in him over his handling of the case of a Navy SEAL accused of war crimes in Iraq, the Pentagon said.
Spencer’s resignation came in the wake of the controversial case of Chief Petty Officer Edward Gallagher, a Navy SEAL who was accused of war crimes on a 2017 deployment.
He was acquitted of murder but convicted in July of posing with the corpse of a captive.
Esper asked for Spencer’s resignation after learning that he had privately proposed to White House officials that if they did not interfere with proceedings against Gallagher, then Spencer would ensure that Gallagher was able to retire as a Navy SEAL, with his Trident insignia.
Spencer’s private proposal to the White House — which he did not share with Esper over the course of several conversations about the matter — contradicted his public position on the Gallagher case, chief Pentagon spokesman Jonathan Hoffman said in a statement.
Esper said in the statement that he was “deeply troubled by this conduct.”
“Unfortunately, as a result I have determined that Secretary Spencer no longer has my confidence to continue in his position," Esper said.
"I wish Richard well.”
Spencer’s spokeswoman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Esper and Army Gen. Mark A. Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, learned of Spencer’s private offer to the White House when they spoke with President Trump on Friday, Hoffman said.
Spencer’s proposal to the White House came after Trump intervened in the cases of Gallagher and two soldiers on Nov. 15.
Countering Pentagon recommendations, the president issued pardons to Army Maj. Mathew Golsteyn, who faced a murder trial next year, and former 1st Lt. Clint Lorance, who was convicted in 2013 in the murder of two unarmed men in Afghanistan.
Trump reinstated Gallagher’s rank after the SEAL was demoted as punishment for posing for the photograph with the corpse.
As a result of the actions over the last few days, Hoffman said, Esper has decided to let Gallagher keep it.
Spencer made his private pitch to the White House in conversations before a Thursday tweet by Trump, in which the president publicly pushed back against the Navy launching a review that could have stripped Gallagher of his Navy SEAL status.
“The Navy will NOT be taking away Warfighter and Navy Seal Eddie Gallagher’s Trident Pin,” Trump wrote.
“This case was handled very badly from the beginning."
"Get back to business!”
Hoffman said that Esper has suggested to Trump that Kenneth Braithwaite, a retired Navy rear admiral who is currently the U.S. ambassador to Norway, be considered as the next Navy secretary.
http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/pentag ... li=BBnb7Kz
Re: THE DOD
The Wall Street Journal
"Newly released U.S. government documents reveal military doubts about Afghan conflict"
By Michael R. Gordon and Gordon Lubold
Published: Dec 9, 2019 5:28 p.m. ET
A newly disclosed cache of government documents has revealed that U.S. and allied officials harbored doubts for years over the management and direction of the conflict in Afghanistan, America’s longest-running war.
The documents, released by a government office set up to monitor the U.S.-led effort to rebuild the country, includes notes from previously unpublished interviews involving key decision makers, including civilian and military leaders.
Many of the documents reflect views consistent with previously published accounts of the conflict, including the regular reports by the Pentagon’s Special Inspector General for Afghan Reconstruction, which compiled them and conducted the interviews.
But the blunt assessments of important decision makers are likely to lead to new scrutiny of the Afghan conflict and provide ammunition to critics of the U.S. effort.
“We were devoid of a fundamental understanding of Afghanistan — we didn’t know what we were doing,” said Douglas Lute, who as a three-star Army general oversaw White House policy in Afghanistan between 2007 and 2013, speaking in one of the most hard-hitting interviews, conducted in 2015.
“What are we trying to do here?” Lute added.
“We didn’t have the foggiest notion of what we were undertaking.”
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/newly ... latestnews
"Newly released U.S. government documents reveal military doubts about Afghan conflict"
By Michael R. Gordon and Gordon Lubold
Published: Dec 9, 2019 5:28 p.m. ET
A newly disclosed cache of government documents has revealed that U.S. and allied officials harbored doubts for years over the management and direction of the conflict in Afghanistan, America’s longest-running war.
The documents, released by a government office set up to monitor the U.S.-led effort to rebuild the country, includes notes from previously unpublished interviews involving key decision makers, including civilian and military leaders.
Many of the documents reflect views consistent with previously published accounts of the conflict, including the regular reports by the Pentagon’s Special Inspector General for Afghan Reconstruction, which compiled them and conducted the interviews.
But the blunt assessments of important decision makers are likely to lead to new scrutiny of the Afghan conflict and provide ammunition to critics of the U.S. effort.
“We were devoid of a fundamental understanding of Afghanistan — we didn’t know what we were doing,” said Douglas Lute, who as a three-star Army general oversaw White House policy in Afghanistan between 2007 and 2013, speaking in one of the most hard-hitting interviews, conducted in 2015.
“What are we trying to do here?” Lute added.
“We didn’t have the foggiest notion of what we were undertaking.”
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/newly ... latestnews