US Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis met with NATO Secretary Jens Stoltenberg at the Pentagon on 21 March 2017.In his welcoming remarks,Mr.Mattis said:
We have a very strong trans-Atlantic bond.It's getting stronger.Relationships don't stay the same.They're always changing.In this case,the bond is getting stronger.It's built on a legacy of common commitments and common defence,and we never forget that in this building.*
In his reply,Secretary General Stoltenberg responded by saying:
It's great to be here in Washington and to meet with you.And I also commend you for your strong personal support and leadership when it comes to NATO and the trans-Atlantic bond.I think we really saw that when you met with all the defence Allies during the Defence Ministerial meeting in Brussels.Then you expressed a strong support for the trans-Atlantic unity,the trans-Atlantic bond,and the NATO Alliance.And we are very grateful for that.
I think that in times of turmoil,in times of uncertainty,the need for strong international institutions such as NATO is even greater.So therefore we need to adapt.We need to strengthen NATO in response to the challenges and the unpredictability we see surrounding us today.*
Following their talks,Pentagon spokesman Captain Jeff Davis,US Navy,shared a readout of the meeting.The two leaders discussed the key role the Alliance plays in trans-Atlantic security and to review preparations for the upcoming special meeting of NATO heads of state and government,Captain Davis noted.They also discussed ways to encourage Allies to assume a more equitable share of Alliance security and defence responsibilities.Mr.Mattis thanked Mr.Stoltenberg for his leadership on this issue,and applauded those Allies already meeting the benchmark of spending two percent of their countrys' GDP on defence.
The two leaders also discussed NATO's role in fighting terrorism and defeating ISIL,as well as NATO's missions in Afghanistan and Kosovo.Both pledged to consult in the coming months and said they look forward to meeting again at the next NATO Defence Ministerial conference,Captain Davis added.
Showing posts with label Pentagon. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Pentagon. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 22, 2017
Wednesday, November 16, 2016
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.
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.
Wednesday, May 13, 2015
Pentagon Announces Training of Moderate Syrian Forces To Fight ISIL
US Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter spoke to reporters at the Pentagon last Tuesday,5 May,along with outgoing Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Martin Dempsey,US Army.Mr.Carter highlighted a number of important issues on the Pentagon's agenda,but especially the new program to train a force of ultimately 15,000 moderate Syrian rebels to engage ISIL in ground combat.
1.Earlier today we met with Iraqi Kurdistan Region President Masoud Barzani about the fight with ISIL.We reaffirmed our commitment to working together by,with and through the Iraqi government to deliver a lasting defeat to ISIL.We believe a unified Iraq is critical to this.
2.We have begun training a company-size group from moderate Syrian forces,to be followed by a second group in the next few weeks.
3.Given that the current defence budget is a road to nowhere,we need Congress to agree to a multi-year budget.We are eroding our tech edge and our military readiness is declining.Our adversaries are paying attention,too;they are watching us lurch from continuing resolution to continuing resolution,and they are adapting.
4.We commend the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade negotiations and the Trade Promotion Authority bill as strengthening the US and the Asia-Pacific region.
5.We have a lot of work to do in the months ahead.I want to thank General Dempsey for his stong leadership and thoughtful advice.He has made our world safer.I'll really miss him and Vice Chairman Admiral James Winnefeld,US Navy.I have absolute and complete confidence in their sucessors,General Joseph Dunford,US Marine Corps,as Chaiman,and General Paul Selva,US Air Force,as Vice Chairman.*
On the topic of the struggle with ISIL for control of Iraq's Beiji oil refinery,General Dempsey said it's a part of Iraq's critical infrastructure.It's geographically significant.The Iraqis have lost some of the perimeter and some of the road network that leads to it,but just recently the Iraqis configured 18 of the 18 pallets needed to resupply their troops in the refinery by air.*
As to the training of the moderate Syrian rebel forces,Mr.Carter explained that there are about 90 of the trainees in a company-sized tranche.It takes place in a secure location.Our people are very experienced in this type of training.There are several locations,and we'd rather not talk about them.The first disposition of those forces will be decided on by them and us in a few months.Of course we would have some responsibility to protect those forces.We definitely would work to protect them with intelligence,search and rescue,and potentially with air help.We definitely would have some responsibility for their safety as well as their training.
This is a complex program that will have to evolve over time.We're figuring out what the best training is and disposition of the forces is;but you have to start somewhere,and this is where we're starting.There's a limit to the kind of arms this type of force will get.The training is starting now.These trainees are recruited and vetted,and only then are they put into training.These forces are being trained and equipped to fight ISIL.It's not part of our program to have them engage with Assad's forces.ISIL would be their principal mission.We have not determined yet all the rules of engagement.
These Syrian rebel forces do receive some compensation.An explicit part of their training is how to conduct themselves in accordance with international law.ISIL has taken over and mistreated the places from which they came.They have a commitment to the country of Syria as a whole and the place from which they came.
I think we have to take the domestic ISIL threat seriously.It's concerning;it's yet another reason why the defeat of ISIL is so important in Syria and Iraq-that they have the capability to inspire such individuals,Defense Secretary Ashton Carter pointed out to reporters at the Pentagon briefing.
1.Earlier today we met with Iraqi Kurdistan Region President Masoud Barzani about the fight with ISIL.We reaffirmed our commitment to working together by,with and through the Iraqi government to deliver a lasting defeat to ISIL.We believe a unified Iraq is critical to this.
2.We have begun training a company-size group from moderate Syrian forces,to be followed by a second group in the next few weeks.
3.Given that the current defence budget is a road to nowhere,we need Congress to agree to a multi-year budget.We are eroding our tech edge and our military readiness is declining.Our adversaries are paying attention,too;they are watching us lurch from continuing resolution to continuing resolution,and they are adapting.
4.We commend the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade negotiations and the Trade Promotion Authority bill as strengthening the US and the Asia-Pacific region.
5.We have a lot of work to do in the months ahead.I want to thank General Dempsey for his stong leadership and thoughtful advice.He has made our world safer.I'll really miss him and Vice Chairman Admiral James Winnefeld,US Navy.I have absolute and complete confidence in their sucessors,General Joseph Dunford,US Marine Corps,as Chaiman,and General Paul Selva,US Air Force,as Vice Chairman.*
On the topic of the struggle with ISIL for control of Iraq's Beiji oil refinery,General Dempsey said it's a part of Iraq's critical infrastructure.It's geographically significant.The Iraqis have lost some of the perimeter and some of the road network that leads to it,but just recently the Iraqis configured 18 of the 18 pallets needed to resupply their troops in the refinery by air.*
As to the training of the moderate Syrian rebel forces,Mr.Carter explained that there are about 90 of the trainees in a company-sized tranche.It takes place in a secure location.Our people are very experienced in this type of training.There are several locations,and we'd rather not talk about them.The first disposition of those forces will be decided on by them and us in a few months.Of course we would have some responsibility to protect those forces.We definitely would work to protect them with intelligence,search and rescue,and potentially with air help.We definitely would have some responsibility for their safety as well as their training.
This is a complex program that will have to evolve over time.We're figuring out what the best training is and disposition of the forces is;but you have to start somewhere,and this is where we're starting.There's a limit to the kind of arms this type of force will get.The training is starting now.These trainees are recruited and vetted,and only then are they put into training.These forces are being trained and equipped to fight ISIL.It's not part of our program to have them engage with Assad's forces.ISIL would be their principal mission.We have not determined yet all the rules of engagement.
These Syrian rebel forces do receive some compensation.An explicit part of their training is how to conduct themselves in accordance with international law.ISIL has taken over and mistreated the places from which they came.They have a commitment to the country of Syria as a whole and the place from which they came.
I think we have to take the domestic ISIL threat seriously.It's concerning;it's yet another reason why the defeat of ISIL is so important in Syria and Iraq-that they have the capability to inspire such individuals,Defense Secretary Ashton Carter pointed out to reporters at the Pentagon briefing.
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