US Army General Joseph L. Votel,Commander,US Central Command,continued to brief the House Armed Services Committee on 27 February 2018 on the challenges CENTCOM faces in its massive Area of Responsibility:
We do maintain a constant presence in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden,into the Arabian Gulf and Gulf of Oman as well,and through our very close partnership with our partners.We have three combined maritime task forces that are led out of our naval headquarters in Bahrain,that include a variety of different nations.I think that this is a very key way for us to maintain our influence and pursue our interests in the CENTCOM maritime environment.*
In the Bab el Mandeb Strait,60-70 ships a day go through it.Mining is a very real threat that we have to pay attention to,using our intelligence and experience to help our partners Saudi Arabia and the UAE to optimise their capabilities.We absolutely do have intelligence assets on the Bab el Mandeb,and I would be very glad to go into the details with you in a different setting.*
In Afghanistan this season,our intention is to grab the initiative,break the stalemate and begin to expand population control in this year and next (the Taliban currently have 12% of the population under their control,while the Afghan government has 64% of the population,and the rest is contested),and then ensure that we create an environment for credible elections to take place.It's one of the most important things that the Afghan people need to see from their government.
It's very clear that the majority of the ISR (Intelligence,Surveillance and Reconnaissance) in the region is being provided by the United States.We have the largest concentration of MQ-9s (drones) down at Kandahar Airfield to support General Nicholson and his forces,and that's adequate for what he needs right now;but,given his druthers,I'm sure that he would want more,and so we would want more in all these areas.The faster that we can continue to provide those capabilities,the better.*
I am concerned that these areas in the Southwest of Syria are becoming collection zones of
unsavoury elements,and eventually they will have to be dealt with.I am concerned that these will become bigger problems.In places like Idlib,these groups that have come together do potentially pose long-term challenges for the security of the region,above and beyond Syria,General Votel told the Members of Congress on Capitol Hill last month.
Showing posts with label intelligence. Show all posts
Showing posts with label intelligence. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 14, 2018
Wednesday, April 27, 2016
The US,Germany and NATO - the bilateral piece of the security puzzle
On 24 April,President Barack Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel held a news conference in Hannover,Germany.The President gave a readout of their bilateral talks on the occasion of the first visit of an American president to Hannover:
Most of our discussions,as Chancellor Merkel indicated,focused on urgent security challenges,Mr.Obama said.Germany is a valued member of the coalition to destroy ISIL.German aircraft support the campaign and German personnel in Iraq are training local forces.German assistance is helping Iraq stabilise and rebuild the areas it liberates from ISIL and our coalition continues to make progress.
Today we discussed additional steps that NATO could take to support the campaign,as well as economic assistance to Iraq that the G7 could pledge at next month's summit in Japan.Germany is obviously a very strong partner in the effort to provide humanitarian relief to the people of Syria and Iraq.We remain deeply concerned about the upsurge of fighting in Syria in recent days,and we continue to agree that the only real solution is a political solution that moves Syria toward an inclusive government that represents all Syrians.
Given the horrific attacks that we've seen around the world,including Paris,Brussels,Istanbul and San Bernardino,California-and on a much more frequent basis we've seen violence and attacks that's taking place in the Middle East-we discussed the importance of maintaining our strong security cooperation.In Afghanistan,we'll continue to help strengthen Afghan forces as they continue to push back against al-Qaida,the Taliban and ISIL.We'll continue to support the Libyan people and the new Libyan government as it seeks to extend security across its country.We agreed that the US and Germany are going to remain very strong counterintelligence and intelligence partners,and we're committed to using all the tools at our disposal to prevent terrorists from traveling and plotting attacks-and that includes improved information-sharing between our countries and within Europe-and,as always,we'll do so while upholding our values and civil liberties,inculding the privacy of citizens here and in the US.
I want to once again commend Angela for her courageous leadership in the response to migrants who are fleeing the Syrian conflict and conflicts elsewhere in the region.Perhaps because she once lived behind a wall herself,Angela understands the aspirations of those who've been denied their freedom and who seek a better life.And I know the politics around this issue can be difficult in all of our countries.We did discuss the EU's recent agreement with Turkey and Angela and I agreed that our nations can respond to that challenge in a way thatmis both humane and ensures our security.
And finally,as we look ahead to this summer's NATO summit in Warsaw,we discussed the importance of keeping the alliance strong with the investments that's needed for or collective defence.We continue to augment,on a rotational basis,NATO forces in Eastern Europe,including the Baltic States.As I've said since the very beginning of my presidency,we have a treaty obligation to defend every NATO member-and we will.Beyond the alliance,we welcome the formation of a new government in Ukraine,which we encourage to continue the political,economic and energy reforms that can deliver progress for the Ukrainian people.Chancellor Merkel,along with President Hollande,have been tireless in their pursuit of a peaceful anddurable solution to the conflict in Eastern Ukraine,and we agreed that all sides need to uphold the commitments they have made,and that sanctions against Russia can and should be lifted only when Russia fully complies with its commitments under the Minsk agreement,the President said.*
For her part,Chancellor Merkel said that Germany has become a more active partner,I think one can safely say,because we are also threatened.Our own security is threatened and we realise that we cannot ensure this on our own.We have to do this in our alliance,and in certain areas we have shouldered a long-term mission that we're going to continue-if we look at Afghansitan,for example.In a way, we've had a change of paradigm in the sense that we see this challenge of IS as something that is very acute,so we send weapons into a conflict area;we gave them to the Peshmerga-a completely new step compared to our past policies.
Looking at the terrorist threat-against France,for example-we've shouldered responsibility for a mission in Northern Africa,which is also a new thing as well,leaving the Congo mission aside where we spent some time;but if we meet in Germany,if we meet at the G7,or,again,in Warsaw-we shall have other opportunities to meet,the President and I-we shall address all of these issues,so,let me say for me,the future with this president is much more important than the past right now.We know that we obviously have to make additional efforts as regards our possibilities to defend ourselves;we have to put in more equipment,more personnel;we know the targets NATO has submitted to us;we think that the whole positioning of our Federal Armed Forces reflects fully the sense that we need to shoulder this national responsibility also as regards,for example,cyber threats-something that we've neglected to do over the past years.And I think that it helps-it helps us to tackle the challenges and to master them,and the cooperation with the US is indispensable.Looking at the larger neighbourhood of Europe,the transatlantic cooperation within NATO,but also other fora,is also highly essential for maintaining or own security and safety,Mrs.Merkel noted.
Most of our discussions,as Chancellor Merkel indicated,focused on urgent security challenges,Mr.Obama said.Germany is a valued member of the coalition to destroy ISIL.German aircraft support the campaign and German personnel in Iraq are training local forces.German assistance is helping Iraq stabilise and rebuild the areas it liberates from ISIL and our coalition continues to make progress.
Today we discussed additional steps that NATO could take to support the campaign,as well as economic assistance to Iraq that the G7 could pledge at next month's summit in Japan.Germany is obviously a very strong partner in the effort to provide humanitarian relief to the people of Syria and Iraq.We remain deeply concerned about the upsurge of fighting in Syria in recent days,and we continue to agree that the only real solution is a political solution that moves Syria toward an inclusive government that represents all Syrians.
Given the horrific attacks that we've seen around the world,including Paris,Brussels,Istanbul and San Bernardino,California-and on a much more frequent basis we've seen violence and attacks that's taking place in the Middle East-we discussed the importance of maintaining our strong security cooperation.In Afghanistan,we'll continue to help strengthen Afghan forces as they continue to push back against al-Qaida,the Taliban and ISIL.We'll continue to support the Libyan people and the new Libyan government as it seeks to extend security across its country.We agreed that the US and Germany are going to remain very strong counterintelligence and intelligence partners,and we're committed to using all the tools at our disposal to prevent terrorists from traveling and plotting attacks-and that includes improved information-sharing between our countries and within Europe-and,as always,we'll do so while upholding our values and civil liberties,inculding the privacy of citizens here and in the US.
I want to once again commend Angela for her courageous leadership in the response to migrants who are fleeing the Syrian conflict and conflicts elsewhere in the region.Perhaps because she once lived behind a wall herself,Angela understands the aspirations of those who've been denied their freedom and who seek a better life.And I know the politics around this issue can be difficult in all of our countries.We did discuss the EU's recent agreement with Turkey and Angela and I agreed that our nations can respond to that challenge in a way thatmis both humane and ensures our security.
And finally,as we look ahead to this summer's NATO summit in Warsaw,we discussed the importance of keeping the alliance strong with the investments that's needed for or collective defence.We continue to augment,on a rotational basis,NATO forces in Eastern Europe,including the Baltic States.As I've said since the very beginning of my presidency,we have a treaty obligation to defend every NATO member-and we will.Beyond the alliance,we welcome the formation of a new government in Ukraine,which we encourage to continue the political,economic and energy reforms that can deliver progress for the Ukrainian people.Chancellor Merkel,along with President Hollande,have been tireless in their pursuit of a peaceful anddurable solution to the conflict in Eastern Ukraine,and we agreed that all sides need to uphold the commitments they have made,and that sanctions against Russia can and should be lifted only when Russia fully complies with its commitments under the Minsk agreement,the President said.*
For her part,Chancellor Merkel said that Germany has become a more active partner,I think one can safely say,because we are also threatened.Our own security is threatened and we realise that we cannot ensure this on our own.We have to do this in our alliance,and in certain areas we have shouldered a long-term mission that we're going to continue-if we look at Afghansitan,for example.In a way, we've had a change of paradigm in the sense that we see this challenge of IS as something that is very acute,so we send weapons into a conflict area;we gave them to the Peshmerga-a completely new step compared to our past policies.
Looking at the terrorist threat-against France,for example-we've shouldered responsibility for a mission in Northern Africa,which is also a new thing as well,leaving the Congo mission aside where we spent some time;but if we meet in Germany,if we meet at the G7,or,again,in Warsaw-we shall have other opportunities to meet,the President and I-we shall address all of these issues,so,let me say for me,the future with this president is much more important than the past right now.We know that we obviously have to make additional efforts as regards our possibilities to defend ourselves;we have to put in more equipment,more personnel;we know the targets NATO has submitted to us;we think that the whole positioning of our Federal Armed Forces reflects fully the sense that we need to shoulder this national responsibility also as regards,for example,cyber threats-something that we've neglected to do over the past years.And I think that it helps-it helps us to tackle the challenges and to master them,and the cooperation with the US is indispensable.Looking at the larger neighbourhood of Europe,the transatlantic cooperation within NATO,but also other fora,is also highly essential for maintaining or own security and safety,Mrs.Merkel noted.
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