Russian, US Military Talks: Concerned Over Syria - AP - NYT
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WASHINGTON — American and Russian military chiefs began talks Friday over Moscow's buildup in Syria, signaling the U.S. is resigned to Russia's emerging plans but anxious to avoid dangerous misunderstandings on the battlefield.
A 50-minute phone call between U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter and Russia Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu marked the first military-to-military conversation between the two countries in more than a year. And it came as Russia continued to send aircraft, troops and military equipment into Syria and the U.S.-led coalition kept up its assault against Islamic State militants.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov broached the idea of direct talks earlier this week in a phone call with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, and Shoigu initiated the call to Carter on Friday.
U.S. officials are increasingly worried that Russia's plan to defend and support the government of Syrian President Bashar Assad could conflict with coalition airstrikes and other military operations against the Islamic State. The main focus of the phone call, according to a senior defense official, was to talk about how the fight against IS will go forward without miscalculations.
Russia has called for a broad coalition to fight the Islamic State group and has indicated that helping Assad's military is the best way to do that. However, U.S. policy has centered for the duration of the civil war in Syria on the idea that Assad must step down to make way for a new government. Until recently, Russia had seemed to agree with that policy.
The U.S. has been concerned about how to respond to Russia's increased support for Assad and how to interpret the intent behind the delivery of tanks, helicopters and other military equipment to a base in the coastal province of Latakia.
A senior U.S. official said Shoigu told Carter that Russia's increased military activities are defensive in nature, and designed to honor Moscow's commitments to the Assad government.
A U.S. intelligence official said that while Moscow's ultimate intentions are unclear, initial signs suggest a focus on providing air support to Syrian forces and to humanitarian relief operations. The official said the U.S. expects Russia to send ground forces to protect and support these operations.
The officials were not authorized to discuss the issue publicly and spoke only on the condition of anonymity.
On Friday, a spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin said Russia would consider sending troops to fight in Syria if Damascus requested them.
Kerry, meanwhile, in comments to a London television station, said the U.S. campaign against the Islamic State will continue unabated, "and we need to make sure those don't conflict with Russia's efforts against ISIL."
"We welcome their help to get rid of ISIL and to have a legitimate political transition," Kerry said. "But you will not end the crisis of Syria as long as Assad remains this magnet for people to come in and fight. We have to find a way forward on a political transition."
In the Carter-Shoigu phone conversation, Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook said, the U.S. defense secretary "emphasized the importance of pursuing such consultations in parallel with diplomatic talks that would ensure a political transition in Syria."
U.S.-Russian talks about the need for a peaceful political resolution in Syria have been occurring intermittently since 2012. Recent efforts have also included Saudi Arabia.
The U.S. suspended military relations with Russia last year over the Russian invasion and annexation of Ukraine's Crimea region. It's not clear if Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, or other U.S. military leaders will also reach out to their counterparts.
Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov issued a statement noting that "the course of the conversation has shown that the sides' opinions on the majority of issues under consideration are close or coincide. The ministers noted the restoration of contacts between the countries' defense ministries and agreed to continue consultations. "
"This (Syria) crisis has got to be solved," Kerry said before meeting with the United Arab Emirates Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed in London.
After his third phone call with Lavrov since Labor Day weekend, Kerry said the Russian proposed talks among the countries' military leaders "to discuss the issue of precisely what will be done to de-conflict with respect to any potential risks that might be run and have a complete and clear understanding as to the road ahead and what the intentions are."
"It is vital to avoid misunderstandings, miscalculations (and) not to put ourselves in a predicament where we are supposing something and the supposition is wrong," Kerry said.
He said Lavrov had told him Russia was interested only in confronting the threat posed by the Islamic State group in Syria but "I am not taking that at face value."
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Dilanian reported from London.
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Eric Fanning greets Col. Dan Dant, 460th Space Wing commander at Buckley Air Force Base, Colo., in 2013. (Senior Airman Marcy Glass/U.S. Air Force)
President Obama, in a historic first for the Pentagon, has chosen to nominate Eric Fanning to lead the Army, a move that would make him the first openly gay civilian secretary of one of the military services.
Fanning’s nomination is the latest in a series of actions taken by the administration to advance the rights of gays and lesbians throughout the federal government. The Obama administration has overhauled internal policies to provide benefits to same-sex partners, appointed gay men and lesbians to the executive branch and the federal bench and ended the 18-year ban on gays serving openly in the military.
Fanning, who must still be confirmed by the Senate, has been a specialist on defense and national security issues for more than 25 years in Congress and the Pentagon. As Army secretary, he would be partnered with Gen. Mark Milley, who took over as the Army’s top general in August. Together the two men would assume responsibility for the Pentagon’s largest and most troubled service.
“Eric brings many years of proven experience and exceptional leadership to this new role,” Obama said in a statement. “I look forward to working with Eric to keep our Army the very best in the world.”
The Army, which swelled to about 570,000 active duty troops, has shed about 80,0000 soldiers from its ranks in recent years and plans to cut 40,000 more over the next few years. Those planned cuts would shrink the service to its smallest size of the post-World War II era.
Eric Fanning tours Air Force bases
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Eric Fanning visited several Air Force bases in 2013. At the time, Fanning was the acting secretary of the Air Force. (DVIDS)
Battered by the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Army has had to deal with a spike in suicides as the wars drew to an end and has struggled at times to provide the war wounded with the care they need to heal.
Recently, the Army’s outgoing top officer, Gen. Ray Odierno, said that tight budgets and the ongoing strain of 14 years of war had badly degraded the Army’s readiness to fight and that only one-third of its brigades were prepared to deploy to a war zone, the lowest readiness rate in decades.
Fanning’s role as Army secretary would give him influence over the generals the Army selects to rebuild the service after a long stretch of counterinsurgency wars in which soldiers dismounted from their tanks and armored vehicles and found themselves leading foot patrols through remote villages.
Much of Fanning’s time in the Pentagon has been overseeing massive ship and aircraft programs. Defense Secretary Ashton Carter tapped Fanning last year to oversee his transition team as he moved into the Pentagon’s top job.
Fanning served briefly as acting Air Force secretary and has been acting undersecretary of the Army since June 2015.
“He understands how the Pentagon works and how to get things done in the Pentagon,” said Rudy de Leon, who was deputy defense secretary in the Clinton administration. “He knows what works and what doesn’t work” inside the federal government’s largest bureaucracy.
Fanning would play a key role in helping the Army, which has struggled to field new combat systems amid the strain of fighting two wars, to upgrade aging tanks, armored personnel carriers and helicopters. Since 2000, the Army has been forced to cancel virtually all of its major new weapons programs because they ran over budget or didn’t perform as expected.
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21 of the most influential openly gay and lesbian Washingtonians
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LGBT issues are advancing by the day in the United States, and with it, there’s a growing class of Washington power players. Here is 21 of the most influential openly gay, lesbian and bisexual people working in the capital, part of a list as compiled by the National Journal.
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LGBT issues are advancing by the day in the United States, and with it, there’s a growing class of Washington power players. Here is 21 of the most influential openly gay, lesbian and bisexual people working in the capital, part of a list as compiled by the National Journal.
Hilary Rosen The managing director of SKDKnickerbocker strategic communications came out in the 1970s while studying at George Washington University. Being out “allows you to focus on doing what you want to do, as opposed to worrying about it,” the frequent CNN commentator told National Journal. Paul Morigi/Getty Images for Fortune
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New equipment for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, like special armored vehicles designed to resist blasts from roadside bombs, had to be developed outside of the traditional procurement channels.
“Eric is taking over at a critical time for the Army,” de Leon said “The Army is still living off equipment from the Reagan years.”
Greg Jaffe covers the White House for The Washington Post, where he has been since March 2009.
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Obama to nominate first openly gay service secretary to lead the Army
Washington Post President Obama, in a historic first for the Pentagon, has chosen to nominate Eric Fanning to lead the Army, a move that would make him the first openly gay civilian secretary of one of the military services. Fanning's nomination is the latest in a ... and more » |
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