NATO Secretary General with the 🇺🇸 US Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken,29 JAN 2024

Foreign Ministerial:Iran,Iraq and Jordan Concern NATO - plus keeping the Alliance's door open

The NATO Foreign Ministerial has just drawn to a close after two days of meetings at the Alliance headquarters in Brussels.NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg summed the conference up for journalists gathered in Belgium:
We have just concluded a very good and productive meeting of the Foreign Ministers of NATO.We discussed NATO's role in projecting stability and fighting terrorism,because instability abroad threatens stability at home.From the Balkans to Afghanistan,NATO has great experience in training local forces and strengthening local institutions.These are the best tools to make our Partners better able to defend themselves and to combat international terrorism.This year,we started training local forces in Iraq in areas such as countering Improvised Explosive Devices;military medicine;equipment maintenance;and reform of the country's security intstitutions.In particular,I welcome the contributions that our Partners such as Serbia and Jordan are making to these efforts.
Today,Allies looked to the future of NATO's training activity in Iraq and expressed their full commitment to it.And a number of Allies announced that they will contribute to the new Crisis Management Centre in Jordan as part of NATO's new capacity-building package for Jordan,and I really welcome this contribution by several Allies.*
As we look ahead to the Brussels Summit in July,we discussed how to engage further with our Partners to the South and the East.We need to devote sufficient resources to these efforts to make the best of the skills and capabilities we have.We also discussed how our role within the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS should evolve as the Coalition moves from combat operations to stabilisation efforts.This is something that both the Coalition and the Iraqi government want.The Coalition has recovered over 95% of the territory claimed by ISIS and liberated seven million people;but we must consolidate these gains.We know that projecting stability and fighting terrorism are generational challenges.There are no quick fixes and no overnight solutions.We have made progress and we are determined to do more.*
Over lunch,we discussed NATO's Open Door Policy.We agreed that this is an historic success,which remains a key contributor to Euro-Atlantic Security.Successive rounds have secured peace and stability in Europe and paved the way for Euro-Atlantic integration.Montenegro's accession to the Alliance this year is the latest example.We also agreed that accession is a decision for aspirant countries and the 29 Allies.Nobody else has the right to veto.In preparation for our Summit next July,we will review the progress of each aspirant country by our next meeting of our Foreign Ministers in April.*
Additionally,Mr.Stoltenberg made a number of interesting comments in response to reporters' questions:
We are,of course,concerned by what we see as an effort by Iran to destabilise countries in the region.This is something many Allies in NATO have raised several times,and,of course,that's just adding arguments for us to continue to support and provide increased support to the Iraqi government.
We have just agreed a new defence capacity-building package with Jordan.Jordan is a highly valued Partner.Jordan is a kind of island of stability in a sea of instability in the region.NATO has been working with Jordan for many,many,many years,and a part of the defence capacity-building package we just agreed is this Crisis Management Centre in Jordan,where several Allies have announced that they are going to provide personnel support to use this Centre as a new tool in helping and supporting Jordan.We also have had different training activities at the King Abdullah Training Centre,and we also do capacity-building with Jordan when it comes to Women,Peace and Security to make sure that we recognise that women have a role to play in the Armed Forces of Jordan.Let me add that Jordan has also helped us in providing support for Iraq:we have also trained some Iraqi officers at the King Abdullah Training Centre.*
We are focused on infrastructure because we want to be able to move more troops more quickly,and that's exactly why we are working with the EU to make sure the infrastructure meets the requirements which are needed to move heavy equipment across Europe.This is about roads,railroads,ports,airports and that kind of infrastructure;but it's also about making sure that we have the means of transportation,that we have the trucks and the rail cars and all the other means of transportation that we need to move.And again,we have that today;but we need to scale up,we need to have more to make sure that we have all the assets available if we need to move heavy equipment very fast across Europe.We have started this process:we have started staff-to-staff talks with the EU to analyse gaps,to have a mapping exercise,and then,based on that,we will move forward together,NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told the journalists in Brussels.

Air and Artillery Strikes Hit ISIL Targets in Syria,Iraq

Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve continued to strike the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant on 3 January in both Syria and Iraq,a news release said.In Syria,among the 21 strikes by attack,bomber,fighter and remotely piloted aircraft on the Islamist extremists were:
Near Shedaddi,three strikes destroyed a vehicle bomb;a vehicle bomb storage facility and a fighting position;and damaged a repeater box and a communications tower.
Near Raqqah,seven strikes destroyed a vehicle bomb;a vehicle bomb storage facility;a weapons cache and 11 fighting positions;and suppressed a tactical unit.*
In Iraq,among the six strikes by attack,bomber,fighter and remotely piloted aircraft and rocket artillery conducted with and in support of Iraq's government on the ISIL militants were:
Near Hawayjah,two strikes destroyed a pickup truck and vehicle bomb storage facility.
Near Mosul,three strikes destroyed two mortars;a tactical vehicle and two command and control nodes;damaged two supply routes and suppressed nine mortar teams and a tactical unit.*
Those who have conducted strikes in Iraq include the US;Australia;Belgium;Canada;Denmark;France;Jordan;the Netherlands;and the UK.
Those who have conducted strikes in Syria include the US;Australia;Bahrain;Canada;France;Jordan;the Netherlands;Saudi Arabia;Turkey;the UAE;and the UK.

Patriarch John X of Antioch to the Middle East Council of Churches-excerpts from his address

On 6 September 2016,His Beatitude Patriarch John X of Antioch and All the East spoke to the general assembly of the Middle East Council of Churches in Amman,Jordan.The MECC is,in turn,a member of the World Council of Churches.At the general assembly,Patriarch John was elected President of the Orthodox Churches which belong to the Council.There are others who serve as Presidents of the Oriental Orthodox;Catholics;and Evangelicals in the Council.For example,His Holiness Patriarch Aphrem II of the Syriac Orthodox Church is President of the Oriental Orthodox.Patriarch John spoke eloquently of their deeply troubled region and of the Middle East Council of Churches' role within it:
We are here to raise our voices against everything done against Christians-and against others,too-in every spot of the East.We are fully aware of what happened to them in Iraq.And we understand the situation in Syria.
We are here to make our cry reach far of our people in Aleppo,Mhardeh and others.What is going on will not make us neglect our land;but it will rather urge us to defend it.We are here to address the whole world in regard to the existence of Christians in the East.We say:we do not appeal to protection;we demand peace.*
The Council is a pattern of open minds through which Eastern Christianity confronts every endeavour to close minds with the protection and sustenance of the Church-civilised heritage of each of its components.We are called to activate the voice of the Council and strengthen it to be continuously the voice for Eastern Christianity at the present time.*
May the Lord bless this East and its countries and give it with the rest of the world a flow of His light and fill the hearts of the participants in this meeting with His abundant and divine mercy,Patriarch John prayed.

US,Jordan Prepare for Regional Crisis with Desert Drills

As part of the annual US Central Command-Jordanian Exercise Eager Lion,US and Jordanian Marines,as well as Italian soldiers,trained in the Jordanian desert last week.Jordan has been the most active Middle Eastern member of the anti-ISIL Operation Inherent Resolve.Last year,its pilots flew more missions against ISIL in Iraq and Syria than all the other Middle Eastern members combined,so it is evident why these bilateral military drills are so critical to both countries.They believe they must be able to respond effectively to a regional security crisis together.*
Every other year,Eager Lion is open to substantial multilateral participation.In 2015,19 countries participated;and even more are anticipated next year.*
On 18 May,the troops,who are Joint Tactical Air Controllers and Joint Forward Observers,assembled on a desert hilltop under the scenario of gathering data to provide to aircraft and artillery,so that 30,000 pounds of explosives could be dropped on an enemy column of armoured vehicles preparatory to an infantry assault.*
The US Marine JTACs from Kilo Company,Battalion Landing Team,3rd Battalion 6th Marine Regiment,24th Marine Expeditionary Unit,trained with their allies for two weeks to gain familiarity with each others' tactics and procedures.These Fire Support Teams,or FiSTs,mitigate the enemy advantages by directing fire from artillery,naval guns and aircraft.They shape the battlefield,destroying and neutralising targets so the ground unit can move,said 1st Lieutenant Bryan C. McDonald,Fire Support Officer with Kilo Company.He praised his Jordanian and Italian allies as being efficient.*
In this case,the fire support came from 2 US Air Force B-52H Stratofortress strategic bombers and AH-64 Apache helicopters,along with 2 sections of Royal Jordanian F-16s and AH-1 Cobras,besides mortars.The mortars were used first.
The FiST marks targets with ground-based lasers,infrared lasers or smoke rounds so aircraft can identify them easily.*
Exercise Eager Lion 2016 ran from 15-24 May.The scenarios simulated a coordinated,partnered military response to conventional and unconventional threats,including chemical,biological and nuclear.Six thousand troops-three thousand each from the US and Jordan-participated this year.Eager Lion is the largest exercise US Central Command participates in.
General Joseph L. Votel,US Army,is US CENTCOM Commander.Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve,under the command of Lieutenant General Sean McFarland,US Army,is a subordinate command under US CENTCOM.*
The 24th MEU is currently embarked on ships of the Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group,which has been deployed to maintain regional security in the US 5th Fleet Area of Responsibility.

Counterattacks Seek To Reverse ISIL's Recent Gains

ISIL has executed 20 Syrian men it accused of being Assad regime soldiers in the ancient Roman theatre ruins of Palmyra,Syria.After ISIL had assembled a crowd in the theatre,the men were shot,according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.The Islamist extremist group had seized the city on 21 May,and has executed at least 217 people so far,the SOHR says,67 of them civilians.There are fears they will also demolish the priceless Roman colonnades and sell off any movable antiquities,as they have done at Iraqi historic sites.
Elsewhere in Syria,the SOHR reports that ISIL has lost ground in Hasakah Province of Northeast Syria.In a 10-day offensive,Kurdish forces early this week liberated 14 Assyrian Christian villages ISIL had seized in February.This was enabled by a major series of air strikes carried out as part of Operation Inherent Resolve by the US and its allies.In the raids from 24-25 May,4 ISIL fighting positions were destroyed,as well as a checkpoint,an excavator,a vehicle borne IED and another vehicle.No civilian casualties were reported from the air strikes.Those participating in the OIR air campaign in Syria include the US,Canada,Bahrain,Jordan,Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
Just over the border in Iraq,thousands of Iraqi security forces and allies,including the Hashed al-Shaabi Shiite militias and volunteers,are converging on Ramadi,the capital of Anbar Province that was overrun by ISIL at the same time they seized Palmyra,Syria.The counterattack on Ramadi has already begun,with the ISF retaking the Taesh and Humeyrah districts of the city.They have also entered the Anbar University grounds,but have not yet liberated it from Daesh-the Arab word for ISIL.

Yahoo Embraces Arab World

Yahoo is moving into the Arab world in a big way.The company has purchased Maktoob,the Arabic version of Facebook.Maktoob is based in Jordan.Arab use of the Internet is up 1,000% since the year 2000.Maktoob reaches one out of three Arab users of the Internet.It is available in 22 Arabic countries with a total population of over 300 million people.
The acquisition of Maktoob is part of Yahoo's emerging markets strategy.Maktoob's vision is to be at the center of people's online lives.Less than 1% of Internet content is currently in Arabic.
Saudi Arabia is one of Maktoob's top two countries.Over five million Saudi women alone are active on Maktoob.