Matters of Highest Concern:North Korea,Russia and Afghanistan-SecDef Mattis

On his first visit to the UK as US Secretary of Defense,Jim Mattis gave a press conference alongside his British counterpart,Minister of Defence Sir Michael Fallon,on 31 March 2017 in London.Mr.Mattis responded to reporters' interest in North Korea,Russia and Afghanistan:
In the larger scheme of things,in the global situation,which is dynamic,you've highlighted-I think correctly-the North Korean threat.This is a growing threat.This is a threat of both rhetoric and capability.Right now,North Korea appears to be going in a very reckless manner in what its conduct is portraying for the future-and that has got to be stopped.*
Russia's violations of international law are now a matter of record.From what happened with Crimea to other aspects of their behaviour in mucking around in other people's elections and that sort of thing,so I think that the point I would like to make is that NATO stands united;the trans-Atlantic bond is united.We are going to maintain Article V-an attack on one is an attack on all-as absolute bedrock of the NATO Alliance,and we will,as you see with the European Reassurance Initiative,act accordingly if Russia chooses to be a strategic competitor.On the Intermediate Nuclear Forces issue-as to whether Russia has violated the INF treaty with the US-we are in consultation with our Allies and we are still formulating the way ahead.In fact,it'll be addressed,I think,very,very soon as a matter of highest level concern.
We have seen Russian activity in Afghanistan vis a vis the Taliban.I'm not willing to say at this point if that has been manifested into weapons and that sort of thing;but certainly what they're up to there,in light of their other activities,gives us concern.I would just say that we look forward to engaging with Russia on a political or diplomatic level;but right now,Russia is choosing to be a strategic competitor,and we're finding that we can only have very modest expectations at this point of areas that we can cooperate with Russia,contrary to how we were just ten years ago,five years ago.It's no longer a cooperative engagement with them.Right now,it's gotten to where we're diplomatically going to have to carve out some manoeuvring room here,assuming Russia can change its behaviour and act in accordance with international norms and international law.*
On the question about more forces for Afghanistan,the suggestions and recommendations coming into us from the NATO commander in the field,General John Nicholson,have been received and we are reviewing those right now.Our Chairman of the Joint Chiefs,General Joseph Dunford,is reviewing them.Obviously,in light of our close relations with the UK,we always engage with them on issues like this,simply because we consider them an equal partner.Their advice is always solicited.It doesn't come to the number of troops in the field,so we'll be working with our Allies on that issue.We have not made a recommendation yet.I've not yet put a recommendation forward to our President at this time.
With regard to Daesh being in Afghanistan,you're all aware that Daesh-aka ISIL-has every intention of striking externally from the region,and that immediate threat goes to Europe;and we're going to have to keep Daesh on their back foot,and that's where we're concentrating at this point,US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis told journalists in London following his talks with UK Defence Minister Sir Michael Fallon.

Pentagon Official:Fighting Will Intensify as Battle of Mosul Progresses Inward

Iraq's elite counterterrorism troops,the Iraqi Special Operations Forces (ISOF),have entered the eastern side of the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant northern stronghold of Mosul,said press operations director Captain Jeff Davis,US Navy,on 15 November to reporters at the Pentagon.ISOF has 18,000 troops in three brigades,and is part of the Iraqi Counterterrorism Service.They're clearing those eastern neighbourhoods of Mosul city,doing this in a deliberate and incremental manner so as to safeguard the civilian population as much as possible.It may be one-third cleared in terms of acreage,but it's not one-third clear in terms of challenge and task ahead,because as they get closer to the center of the city,it's going to get dense and more fierce in the fighting,Captain Davis warned.*
According to a 16 November press conference by US Air Force Colonel John Dorrian,spokesman for Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve in Baghdad,the Iraqi Security Forces continue to make progress in clearing Daesh (the Arab term for ISIL) from Mosul and have seen the fierce resistance they have planned for and we have been talking about for months.This is neighbourhood to neighbourhood fighting,particularly in the East,and the ISF have moved deliberately and have exercised a lot of restraint to protect civilian life.Daesh has done the opposite,taking human shields and dressing as ISF,then arresting civilians who respond positively to them.*
Iraqi Major General Maan al-Saadi said Wednesday that his counterterrorism forces are making headway in the Aden district of the city,400 kilometers north of Baghdad.He also warned of the presence of Daesh booby-traps and hidden IEDs there,al Sumaria TV reported in Arabic.*
ISIL has banned the use of cell phones and confiscated satellite TV dishes to hinder civilian comprehension of the liberation campaign.It has also been executing suspected civilian collaborators with the ISF and putting their bodies on display.Some 5-6,000 ISIL fighters are facing about 100,000 ISF,Kurdish and Shiite paramilitary fighters.OIR coaltion airpower and artillery strikes have been particularly helpful in clearing the ISIL Islamist extremist militants from the outlying areas of greater Mosul and the roads into the city.

General Campbell:Too Soon To Depart Afghanistan

General John F. Campbell,US Army,commander of US and NATO forces in Afghanistan,provided one of his periodic updates on the Afghan War to the Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday.If the current plan to cut US troop levels there down to 1,000 by the end of 2016 goes ahead,our ability to provide train,advise and assist would be very limited,General Campbell said.Just from Kabul,I couldn't do a counterterror mission.
1.We need to continue to build the Afghan capacity for their CT element.It's going to take time to be able to raise it.
2.To have a CT capability to keep pressure on some of the ungoverned spaces.Our CT forces are the best in the world.They welcome us there.Their Par One Prison is the gold standard for terrorist prisons.*
We're seeing a switch of Taliban in Pakistan to ISIL.Pakistani General Raheel Sharif and I spoke as late as last week.He said ISIL has no place in Pakistan.I believe he is genuine and is pushing his army and intel to fight Daesh (the Arab term for ISIL).We put Daesh in the category of operationally emergent in Afghanistan,with them putting in a base in Nangarhar Province.Afghan President Ghani is concerned,and Daesh is a priority information requirement for me.We're trying to partner Pakistan and Afghanistan to look at it.The open press estimates there are anywhere between 1,000-3,000 Daesh in Afghanistan.*
The Afghan National Defence and Security Forces have really impacted the Taliban this year,based on the casualties we've seen.For the police element,the number one issue is to get the right leadership.There are many police without training that have been hired.I believe that training is the key.In many cases,they're doing the same thing as the Army,without being manned and equipped like the Army.*
The Allies that I've engaged with,for the most part,are very supportive.Once the US makes the decision to keep more troops in Afghanistan,we'll see NATO come into that-absolutely.
It becomes a matter of physics.Every single day,we continue to de-scope our bases out there.I've also made sure it's not irreversible.This is a very critical year for 2016.The NATO Warsaw conference will decide their troop commitments for 2016-20.*
I provided my senior leadership with courses of action based on the changes that have happened the last few years:the growth of Daesh;the actions by Pakistan;the new Afghan leadership of President Ashraf Ghani and Chief Executive Dr.Abdullah Abdullah.We've built the Afghans an Army and police they cannot afford.They're going to need the help of the international community.We need a year and a half to train,advise and assist the ANDSF.
In all of our courses of action,my senior leadership would have an irreversible decision point.We are overwhelmingly welcomed by the Afghan leadership and civilians.Presence equals influence.They will continue to want a coalition presence.They understand that we've provided a lot of blood,sweat and tears,and don't want to let us down.Based on what's happened since 2014,I believe we still have to do TAA for aviation,logistics,intel and special operations.The conditions on the ground have changed,and we need to look at the pros and cons of that.
I think everyone's looking at Daesh to make sure it doesn't grow to the lengths it has in Iraq and Syria.Upwards of 20-30% of Taliban are irreconcilable;Daesh is irreconcilable at this point in time.We've got to continue to move toward a peace process with the Taliban.Coalition presence has a great impact on President Ghani,the ANDSF,the people.Deciding on a larger coalition force would have a huge impact there.Afghanistan will continue to be a very dangerous place,and the ANDSF will continue to be challenged.You absolutely need to operate from a position of strength to pursue the reconciliation process there.*
Their close air support is just starting to grow.Starting at the end of the year,they will start to have a fixed wing capability,but it will be 2017-18 before it is fully online.Whenever you put a time on something,you always give somebody a chance to manipulate that.To get down to 1,000 US troops by the end of 2016,you would have to start in January,General Campbell advised the Senate Armed Services Committee.

Partnership Reaffirmed:Afghan President Ashraf Ghani Visits Washington

President Ashraf Ghani of Afghanistan,accompanied by his colleague Chief Executive Dr.Abdullah Abdullah,has spent the last three days in the Washington area,solidifying a continued US commitment to his country following the cessation of combat operations by US troops at the end of 2014.Monday,he met with Secretary of State John Kerry and Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter at the presidential retreat,Camp David,in Maryland's Catoctin Mountains.On Tuesday,Mr.Ghani met with President Barack Obama,who extended the mission of the 9800 US troops currently serving in Afghanistan through the end of 2015 at Mr.Ghani's request.Wednesday,President Ghani addressed a joint session of Congress and was repeatedly given standing ovations by the American legislators.*
At a joint press conference with Mr.Ghani,President Obama said we agreed to keep in place our close security cooperation.As part of the NATO mission,we will continue to train,advise and assist the Afghan Security Forces,and will continue to conduct targeted counter-terror operations.We will maintain the 9800 troop level through the end of this year.The final drawdown to an embassy-centered presence of 1,000 troops will be decided on later this year.We will continue to support the national unity government of Afghanistan and support the development of the country.*
For his part,President Ghani said your national security team has gone out of its way for the most intensive discussion.The TAA mission is a vital part of our collective interest.We look at partnership with the US as foundational-not just for Afghan security,but for regional security.The departure of 120,000 international troops has not brought about the security gap that was predicted.The extremists do not speak for Islam;we do.We are speaking truth to terror.The threats that exist,the changing ecology of terror,these are destructive,nihilistic movements.Our commitment to peace is clear;we will not have peace with those who use our territory as a launching ground for global terrorism.*
It's been 90 days since two Americans were killed in Afghanistan,President Obama added.Afghans are fighting with courage and tenacity,and it gets better month by month.We want to make sure we do everything we can to make sure the Afghan Security Forces succeed,so we won't have to go back for a terrorism emergency.Our troops are not on the front lines,and force protection is a priority.It is my judgement and General Campbell's that our remaining is well worth it.*
The 2315 Americans who died in Afghanistan must not have died in vain,President Ghani continued.Their exposure,their number of casualties is way down.Afghanistan is the front lines.Because of American engagement in Afghanistan,the US mainland has not been attacked since 9-11.Our expectations for this visit were our cooperation would be enhanced,and a clear vision for our continued cooperation.The 4.1 billion dollar support for Afghanistan is a significant issue.Most importantly is the flexibility that has been shown in our security cooperation.*
We expect to be working with the Afghan government,for the Afghan people,for a long time,President Obama insisted.There's going to be intelligence and counter-terror cooperation,logistical and training support.The good news is,the Afghan Security Forces have stood up.They're better equipped than the Taliban or Haqqani Network.They're proving that,when they fight,they can be successful.*
Speaking before Congress on Wednesday,President Ghani noted that there is a another,darker cloud that is making its way to our country.The promise of the Arab Spring was followed by the Daesh (ISIL) terror.It is critical that the West understand the threat to the countries of Central Asia.Extremism is becoming a self-financing system.Today Afghanistan's people have rejected extremist violence.We are willing to speak truth to terror.That hatred must be challenged from within the religion of Islam.Silence is not acceptable;but silence is not what the world will hear from us.Islam must reengage with the world openly and without paranoid fear of encirclement,Mr.Ghani told the joint session of Congress at the Capitol.

Defeating ISIL:Strategic Leadership and the Coalition

ISIL is really operating as a criminal gang and death cult,sending naieve and gullible recruits to die by the hundreds,General John R. Allen,US Marine Corps Retired,Special Presidential Envoy for the Global Coalition to Counter ISIL,told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on 25 February.ISIL has lost one half of its Iraq-based leadership.We actually do have pretty good intelligence in this matter.
The number of ISIL recruits is up because we're tracking them better,and because of the Caliphate's appeal.Defeating ISIL is when they are not an existential threat to Iraq or other states in the region.We want them to have no operational capability,break them up into small organisations that can't mass to be operationally significant.
I have met with many of the sheikhs,and I've been very pleased with their willingness to accept the leadership of Prime Minister Abadi and the Defence Minister.We're training and equipping 12 Iraqi brigades,three of them Kurdish.There will be a clearing force and a holding force,plus immediate humanitarian assistance.It's very important that the effort have an Arab face and a Muslim voice.
The Syrian recruitment numbers (for training to fight ISIL in Syria) are much higher than we thought.We have an old friendship with Turkey,and think there has been much progress toward providing protection for the moderate Syrian forces.The real issue is,how do we protect our allies?
ISIL is an evil that we haven't seen in a very long time.As long as we're at the front of it,we can prevent another 9-11.The interpretation that they apply has permitted them to do the things they have done to certain groups such as Christians and Yazidis.The infusion of a large conventional,maneuverable force would change the nature of the conversation.The US brings to bear:
1.The capacity of our strategic leadership of the 62 countries and five Arab air forces in first strike.
2.Technical,intelligence support,special operations strke capabilities,training and the aggregation of these.
3.The capacity for Arab partners to be the defeat mechanism for Daesh,the Arabic word for ISIL.
There have been about 2500 air strikes since the campaign began on 8 August 2014.The combination of US and coalition airpower,together with the training and equipping of regional forces will enable us to achieve our strategic goals.
We are not cooperating with Iran.We are not accommodating Iran.
The President's proposed Authorization for the Use of Military Force has limitations about offensive maneuver forces.We may find that locations or allies may need to be defended.Each of those circumstances would have to be judged independently.There's a prohibition in the AUMF against the use of large,enduring ground forces such as those we used in Iraq and Afghanistan."Enduring" might be only two weeks-or it might be two years.It's all about matching the contingency,explained General Allen,who was the Afghan War commander from 2011-13.