NATO aware of reports about U.S. troop cuts in Afghanistan
The NATO military alliance said Dec. 21 that it has seen media reports that the United States could be readying to pull thousands of troops out of Afghanistan, and it paid tribute to Defense Secretary Jim Mattis after he resigned.
The Associated Press and others reported Dec. 20 that U.S. officials said that the Pentagon is developing plans to possibly withdraw up to 7,000 troops serving in the conflict-torn country, marking a sharp change with a policy that had aimed to force the Taliban to the peace table after more than 17 years of war.
Almost 17,000 troops from 39 nations take part in NATO’s Resolute Support mission helping to train and mentor Afghan security forces, often in a dangerous combat environment. About half of those troops are American. The U.S. is by far the biggest and most influential member of NATO. A separate U.S. force also conducts strikes on the Islamic State group and the Taliban.
It was unclear which American troops might leave or whether NATO has been informed.
Asked whether NATO was aware of any change of U.S. troop posture in Afghanistan and what impact it might have on the mission, spokeswoman Oana Lungescu said only that “we have seen the reports.” She referred all questions to U.S. authorities.
But Lungescu underlined that “our engagement is important to ensure that Afghanistan never again becomes a safe haven for international terrorists who could threaten us at home.”
She noted that the Afghan police and army have been in charge of security efforts for over four years.
“They are a brave, committed and increasingly capable force, who have ensured the security of the parliamentary elections earlier this year,” she said in an statement.
NATO leaders agreed in July to extend funding to the Afghan security forces until 2024 and earlier this month foreign ministers from the 29-nation alliance reaffirmed their commitment to the country.
Mattis, who has a deep understanding of NATO having worked with the alliance in a number of capacities, resigned Dec. 20 after clashing with President Donald Trump over the abrupt withdrawal of U.S. troops from Syria and after two years of deep disagreements over America’s role in the world.
Lungescu praised his “key contribution to keeping NATO strong and ready to deal with the significant security challenges we face, while ensuring a fairer share of the burden across our alliance. He is widely respected as a soldier and a diplomat.”
She said that NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg will continue to work closely with Mattis until he leaves office in February and expects to do the same with his successor. AP
UK defense chief takes Black Sea ride on Ukrainian gunboat
Britain’s defense minister has taken a ride aboard a Ukrainian naval vessel in the Black Sea in a gesture of support after last month’s naval clash between Russia and Ukraine.
On Nov. 26, Russian coast guard vessels fired upon and seized three Ukrainian naval ships in the Black Sea as they tried to sail to Ukrainian ports on the nearby Sea of Azov. Russia also detained the ships’ 24 crewmen.
U.K. Defense Minister Gavin Williamson went to sea Dec. 21 on a vessel similar to one of the seized Ukrainian gunboats with Ukrainian Defense Minister Stepan Poltorak.
Williamson’s visit followed the arrival earlier this week of a British warship at the Ukrainian port of Odessa, located on the Black Sea. Poltorak was given a tour of the British vessel. AP
U.S. aircraft carrier enters Persian Gulf after long absence
A U.S. aircraft carrier sailed into the Persian Gulf on Dec. 21, becoming the first since America’s withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal and breaking the longest carrier absence in the volatile region since at least the Sept. 11 terror attacks.
The arrival of the USS John C. Stennis comes as Iranian officials have returned to repeatedly threatening to close off the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf through which a third of all oil traded by sea passes. Iranian Revolutionary Guard vessels shadowed the Stennis and its strike group, at one point launching rockets away from it and flying a drone nearby.
The long absence of a carrier, however, could become a standard practice here as now-outgoing Defense Secretary Jim Mattis sought to shake up naval operations and American air bases spanning the region that can scramble fighter jets and drones.
“We are trying to be more operationally unpredictable,” said Lt. Chloe Morgan, a spokeswoman for U.S.’ Bahrain-based 5th Fleet. “Now we’re switching it up because our adversaries are watching closely. We want to be operationally unpredictable to our enemies, but strategically predictable to our partners.”
Throughout its trip, some 30 Iranian Revolution Guard vessels trailed the Stennis and its strike group. One small vessel launched what appeared to be a commercial-grade drone to film the American ships. Photographers and videographers on the Iranian boats could clearly be seen also filming the Stennis while journalists on board the aircraft carrier filmed them.
“The Iranian craft drove in front of our ship and stopped and tried to capture their own sort of picture of what was going on,” said Capt. Randy Peck, the commanding officer of the Stennis.
There was no immediate mention of the Stennis’ arrival to the Persian Gulf in Iranian state media. AP
Iraq says it could deploy military into Syria
Iraqi troops could deploy into neighboring Syria, Iraq’s prime minister said Dec. 24, in the latest fallout from the U.S. decision to withdraw from the war-torn country.
Adel Abdul-Mahdi said his government was “considering all the options” to protect Iraq from threats across its borders, days after President Donald Trump announced the U.S. would leave Syria.
Iraq is keeping reinforcements along its frontier to guard against infiltration by Islamic State militants, who hold a pocket of territory along the Euphrates River.
With the U.S. pulling out of Syria, it leaves its allies, the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, to fight the IS group alone.
It also leaves the SDF exposed to military action by Turkey, which says the group is linked to a Kurdish separatist organization operating within Turkish borders.
SDF officials warned they would divert resources away from the battle against IS to defend against Turkey, which is amassing forces along its frontier.
And the Syrian government could also step into the fray, analysts warned, if it sees the opportunity to bring the SDF-controlled northeast back under its rule.
Abdul-Mahdi, in a press conference Dec. 24, said Iraq was concerned that IS could expand its footprint in the warzone. He also expressed concerns that a wave of Syrian refugees is being displaced to Iraq.
The prime minister spoke with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo about the U.S. withdrawal on Saturday. Abdul-Mahdi said his government did not receive a U.S. request to deploy inside Syria. But he said the possibility was “circulating.”
“Iraq will take its decisions in consultation with its friends and neighbors,” he said.
Iraq does not have any army forces inside Syria. But various Iranian-funded and trained militias, part of the Popular Mobilization Forces, are fighting inside Syria on behalf of the government. The PMF are part of Iraq’s national security apparatus, but have some autonomy in their operations. AP