MICHAEL HAYDEN: Syria civil war grows worse with each Obama 'policy' decision - by Michael Hayden - Special to the Washington Times: The results of three years of American “policy” have been so disastrous and reluctance to adopt a more activist course so strong that the White House has not reflexively rejected the Russian-Iranian-Hezbollah lifeline. Mr. Obama agreed to suspend Russian President Vladimir Putin’s isolation over Ukraine and meet with him at the United Nations in New York, and Secretary of State John F. Kerry has publicly conceded that, although Mr. Assad still has to go, he doesn’t have to go on “Day One, Month One or whatever.”
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MICHAEL HAYDEN: Syria civil war grows worse with each Obama 'policy' decisionby Michael Hayden - Special to the Washington Times
ANALYSIS/OPINION:
A few years ago, I told a group at a counterterrorism conference that I thought the best possible outcome of the civil war in Syria was that President Bashar Assad's regime would win and keep control of the country.
It wasn't that I wanted him to win. Far from ...
Targeting the Islamic State's leaders will not defeat the expanding terrorist group because of a "deep bench" of trained operators who can quickly replace the dead, says a new report by a Pentagon-supported research group.
Released Monday, the report comes as the U.S. top brass has declared a "stalemate" in ...
WASHINGTON (AP) - The U.S. government announced sanctions Tuesday against 25 people and five groups connected to the Islamic State, disclosing intelligence that depicts a sprawling international organization with tentacles across Europe, Asia and the Middle East.
The moves by the Treasury and State departments are aimed at disrupting the ...
Iran has purchased $21 billion worth of satellite equipment and aircraft from Russia, according to Iranian officials.
An Iranian delegation signed contracts for the technology after visiting Russia's MAKS-2015 international air show, Iranian officials told Sputnik.
"There is a large share of contracts for the purchase of this ...
China and the U.S. have reached a cybersecurity agreement intended to put a pause on hack attacks being waged between the two nations, but American officials said Tuesday they aren't certain the pact will last.
Speaking before the Senate Armed Service Committee in Washington, leading military and intelligence community officials ...
Russia flight-tested a new ground-launched cruise missile this month that U.S. intelligence agencies say further violates the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty, according to Obama administration defense and security officials.
The missile launch Sept. 2 was the latest flight test for what the Pentagon is calling the SSC-X-8 cruise missile. The cruise missile did not fly beyond the 300-mile range limit for an INF-banned missile, said officials familiar with reports of the test.
However, intelligence analysts reported that the missile’s assessed range is between 300 miles and 3,400 miles—the distance covered under the landmark INF treaty that banned an entire class of intermediate-range missiles.
The SSC-X-8 test also involved what officials called a “nuclear profile,” meaning that the weapon is part of Russia’s strategic nuclear forces.
An earlier flight test of the missile prompted the administration, backed by U.S. intelligence agencies, to declare the system a breach of the INF treaty.
Disclosure of the SSC-X-8—the first unofficial identification of the suspect missile—comes as President Obama is set to meet in New York with Vladimir Putin.
Talks between the two presidents on Monday are expected to focus on increasing Russian military operations in Syria and Ukraine.
White House officials would not say whether the president would raise the SSC-X-8 flight test and other INF noncompliance issues with Putin on the sidelines of the annual U.N. General Assembly meeting.
The cruise missile test is the latest sign from Moscow that it has no plans to return to compliance with the INF treaty despite U.S. efforts in talks held since May 2013.
The administration is under growing pressure from Republicans in Congress to respond to the INF violation, which has rattled nerves among NATO allies concerned by a major buildup of Russian nuclear forces and public threats by senior Russian officials to use nuclear weapons.
Rep. Mike Rogers (R., Ala.), chairman of the House Armed Services subcommittee on strategic forces, has been pressing the Pentagon to respond to the INF breach. He said that continued Russian missile tests that violate INF treaty provisions would be unsurprising because there has been no pressure on Putin to change course.
“It is time for the White House to get out of the way of the [Defense Department] so that it can field military responses to this treaty violation,” Rogers said. “We must make sure the Russian Federation cannot obtain a military advantage from this or any of its other arms control violations.”
“What’s more, the mullahs in Tehran are watching: when Putin gets away with cheating on INF, the IRGC gets ideas about what it will do under President Obama’s misbegotten nuclear deal,” he added.
“We do not comment on intelligence matters,” said Alexandra Bell, a spokeswoman for the State Department’s arms control bureau, when asked about the missile test.
Yuri Y. Melnik, a Russian Embassy spokesman, said that his government is unaware of any new U.S. allegations regarding a cruise missile test this month in violation of the INF treaty.
“As to the ‘old’ allegations, we can confirm again that they are groundless,” Melnik said in an email. “The U.S. administration did not give us explanations [of] what these violations exactly were. Russia is not in violation of the INF Treaty.”
Russia repeatedly has denied violating the INF treaty and countered U.S. charges with assertions that U.S. drones and target missiles, which are not covered by the 1987 accord, have violated the treaty.
In a related matter, a Russian official announced last week that Russia would withdraw from the INF treaty if the United States goes ahead with reported plans to deploy additional nuclear bombs to Germany.
Victor Ozerov, Russian Federation Council defense and security committee chairman, told RIA Novosti last week that Moscow could withdraw from the INF treaty if B61-12 aircraft-carried guided nuclear bombs are sent to Germany. Der Spiegel reported the U.S. nuclear deployment plans.
Ozerov was sanctioned by the Treasury Department last year along with 15 other Russian officials in Putin’s inner circle who were targeted by the administration for their role in the military annexation of Ukraine’s Crimea.
Rep. Mike Pompeo (R., Kan.), a member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, said that if the reports are accurate, it would not be the first time that Russia has violated the agreement.
“The Russians have repeatedly violated this agreement,” Pompeo said. “These violations have been met with mild responses from the Obama administration. The President has agreed to meet with Putin after the sacking of Crimea, the invasion of Syria, violations of agreements related to missile testing. The weak response is dangerous for America.”
Michaela Dodge, a defense policy analyst at the Heritage Foundation, said that as Moscow is continuing to violate almost all arms control obligations, the most recent INF treaty violation is unsurprising.
“Despite congressional pressure, the administration is way overdue with a meaningful response to previous Russian violations of the INF Treaty—and Russia is quick to take advantage,” she said.
“The treaty has outlived its strategic utility,” Dodge added. “As long as the treaty remains in force, the United States and its European allies will not devote meaningful resources into thinking through implications of Russia’s violations for the military balance in Europe, which is why the United States should withdraw from the treaty.”
Arms control experts said the Russian cruise missile flight test highlights the need for a U.S. response to the INF violation.
“Like most arms control aficionados, Obama never seems able to say the word ‘violation,’” said John Bolton, former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and former undersecretary of state for arms control. “Now would be a good time to learn.”
Mark Schneider, a former Pentagon strategic nuclear forces policymaker, warned that the new missile is part of a large-scale buildup of Russian forces that is dangerous.
“The number of strategic and intermediate-range nuclear armed and nuclear capable missile systems announced by the Russian Defense Ministry and reported in the Russian and Western press is staggering,” said Schneider with the National Institute for Public Policy.
“Yet if one reads the congressional testimony of senior administration officials almost nothing specific is being said about this.”
Schneider said the administration so far has refused to identify the cruise missile system that it says is an INF treaty violation.
“To its credit, the Obama administration now says that nuclear deterrence is its highest priority and Russia is the biggest threat,” he added. “Yet the allocation of dollars in the defense budget does not match this.”
U.S. nuclear modernization efforts are over a decade from completion and pale in comparison to Russian strategic modernization, which includes new missiles, submarines, and bombers.
“We are now making unilateral reductions in our nuclear capability to comply with the seriously flawed New START Treaty and pretending the even more seriously flawed Iran deal is going to prevent Iran from enhancing its nuclear weapons capability,” Schneider said. “This is dangerous.”
Sen. Ted Cruz, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said the latest test of a Russian INF missile “is only the most recent indicator of their long history of cheating on such agreements.”
Cruz said he wrote to the president 38 days ago seeking the release of a Pentagon report on the INF missile violation and the threat it poses to U.S. and allied security.
“Despite my request, the report is still being withheld,” said Cruz (R., Tex.).
Obama’s scheduled meeting with Putin on Monday is “no doubt in a last-ditch attempt to salvage the disastrous ‘reset’ initiated by Secretary Clinton,” Cruz said.
“We have to let go of this dangerous delusion,” he said. “It is now more important than ever that President Obama prioritize the safety and security of the American people over his political legacy and release this pivotal document so we can see Russia for what it is, not what President Obama wants it to be.”
A State Department official said that talks with the Russians are continuing and that “we have made it abundantly clear that we are also consulting with allies and reviewing a range of appropriate options—diplomatic, economic, and military—to respond to Russia’s continuing violation of its treaty obligations.”
While the United States remains committed to seeing Russia return to INF limits, “we do not want to see another action-reaction cycle, like the one we saw during the Cold War,” the official said.
“However, while it is our desire to seek a diplomatic resolution, our patience is not unlimited,” the official said. “We have made clear that we will protect our allies and ourselves and deny Russia any significant military advantage, if it persists in its violation.
The White House has been holding up a report produced by the Pentagon assessing the risk to U.S. security posed by the new Russian cruise missile.
The Free Beacon reported in August that Russia is close to deploying a new supersonic naval cruise missile that is not covered by the treaty. Defense officials have said that a ground-launched version of the naval missile, the SSN-30A, may be the illegal INF missile.
It could not be learned whether the SSC-X-8 is a ground-launched variant of the SSN-30A, dubbed “Kalibr” by the Pentagon.
Gen. Joseph Dunford, the new chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said during a Senate hearing last month that Russia was “the greatest threat to our national security.”
And NATO commander Gen. Philip Breedlove has said that Russia in recent years has become a greater danger than the Islamic State terrorist group because of its large and growing nuclear forces.
Rose Gottemoeller, undersecretary of state for arms control and international security, said in June that the R-500 cruise missile and the RS-26 ballistic missile are not the missile in question.
“At issue is a ground-launched cruise missile with a range capability of 500 to 5,500 kilometers,” Gottemoeller told Russia’s Interfax in June. “We are confident that the Russian government is aware of the missile to which we are referring.”
Gottemoeller declined to comment on the recent Russian cruise missile test.
She told Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty two weeks after the SSC-X-8 test that Russian government requests to the United States for information about the INF missile were a part of a “fishing expedition” aimed at learning U.S. intelligence information about the missile and how it was obtained.
“We don’t make determinations on arms control violations lightly,” Gottemoeller told RFE/RL. “So I want to make clear that this violation is not a technicality or a mistake as some have suggested. We are talking about a missile that has been flight-tested as a ground-launched cruise-missile system to these ranges that are banned under this treaty.”
Gottemoeller said the United States has provided extensive information that would allow the Russian government to pinpoint the missile at the center of the violation charges.
The violation was officially confirmed last year in the State Department’s annual arms compliance report. The report said Moscow had violated the treaty provision banning possession, production and flight-testing of a ground-launched cruise missile with a range between 300 miles and 3,400 miles. The 2015 report contains the same language and also did not further identify the missiles.
Among the options being considered by the Pentagon in response to the missile are new missile defenses and building and deploying new U.S. INF missiles.
All Pershing II ballistic and ground-launched cruise missiles were eliminated after the 1987 treaty.
The post Russia Again Flight Tests Illegal INF Cruise Missile appeared first on Washington Free Beacon.
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U.S. defense officials have confirmed that military equipment issued by the United States to Syrian rebel fighters has been funneled to an al Qaeda offshoot, raising new questions about the ways in which the Obama administration is safeguarding U.S. arms in the war-torn Middle Eastern country.
A commander in the New Syrian Forces (NSF), a group being trained and equipped by the United States, was found to have distributed at least 25 percent of the force’s U.S.-provided hardware to the Nusra Front, a terrorist organization affiliated with al Qaeda.
The equipment, which included U.S.-issued ammunition and pick-up trucks, was “surrendered” to a Nusra Front affiliate in order to ensure that the rebel fighters could pass freely through territories controlled by the terrorist group, the Pentagon said.
A Syrian opposition commander who was leading a group of NSF recruits “self-reported to coalition forces that under threat from al Nusra, they surrendered six trucks and ammunition to a suspected al Nusra Front intermediary to secure safe passage after being told that unless he surrendered some of his NSF equipment, his unit would be ambushed en route to their new location,” according to Col. Patrick Ryder, a spokesman for U.S. Central Command, who provided the Washington Free Beaconon Monday with a timeline of what took place.
“We will look at what we can do to prevent such a situation in the future, but given the complexity of the battlefield it is not possible to eliminate all risk,” Ryder added. “We are using all means at our disposal to look into what exactly happened and determine the appropriate response.”
The arms exchange occurred after a group of around 70 NSF graduates crossed into Syria on the morning of Sept. 20, according to the Pentagon.
The following day, the Syrian commander relocated the NSF fighters to a new location inside Syria.
“The [Syrian] commander began to relocate his NSF fighters to a different town,” the Pentagon said. “According to information provided by the [Syrian] commander to the Coalition, he had been contacted by a suspected al Nusra Front intermediary and told that unless he surrendered some of his NSF equipment, his unit would be ambushed en route to the new location.”
At that point, six vehicles were transferred to a Nusra Front intermediary. This commander later “provided a portion of the ammunition that had been issued to his NSF fighters to the suspected [Nusra Front] intermediary,” the Pentagon said.
Ryder said that while U.S. and other collation forces do all they can to prevent this type of incident, they cannot “control every situation.”
“The coalition’s train and equip program does everything possible to carefully screen participants in the program and to monitor their equipment,” he said. “These standards are one of the reasons that we have only trained a small number of fighters to date.”
However, “even with this screening and other precautions, we can’t control every situation that these fighters encounter once they return to Syria,” he added. “Syria is a very complicated battlefield with [the Islamic State], al Nusra, and the moderate and vetted opposition’s area of control frequently and sometimes quickly shifting. This is a battlefield situation in which the moderate and vetted opposition continues to face threats on multiple fronts, including from various extremist groups.”
The United States remains “committed to strengthening and growing” opposition forces who can fight the Islamic State and other terror groups, Ryder said.
Rumors that U.S. equipment had fallen into the arms of the Nusra Front first emerged last week when the terrorist group tweeted what appeared to be a picture of U.S.-issued rifles that had previously been given to the NSF.
At the time, the Pentagon called the reports false. However, upon further investigation, officials determined that the NSF has in fact traded U.S. military hardware to the Nusra Front.
“In light of this new information, we wanted to ensure the public was informed as quickly as possible about the facts as we know them at this time,” Ryder said in a separate statement issued over the weekend. ”We are using all means at our disposal to look into what exactly happened and determine the appropriate response.”
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House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R., Calif.) criticized President Obama’s foreign policy on Monday, claiming it has made America and the world “less safe.”
The Republican lawmaker said the president has exhibited “weakness” that has incited President Vladimir Putin of Russia to unlawfully seize territory in Ukraine and bolster military activity in Syria to aid Bashar al-Assad’s regime.
“We rolled out the red carpet for Putin’s regional ambitions,” McCarthy said during an address on foreign policy at a book launch for the John Hay Initiative in Washington, D.C., Monday.
“This administration has seesawed from an ill-advised courtship of Putin’s Russia to scrambling to respond to Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea and a ground war in eastern Ukraine that continues today that’s virtually unacknowledged by this White House,” McCarthy said. “The challenge within Ukraine is the greatest threat to European security since World War II.”
McCarthy skewered Obama for allowing Putin to “set the agenda” and “turning a blind eye” to his aggression in Ukraine. The majority leader, who on Monday announced he will run to replace John Boehner as Speaker of the House, also called on the administration to arm the Ukrainians.
“It’s time for America to step up, not back down. And that starts with providing Ukrainian fighting forces with lethal aid,” McCarthy said.
“The Obama administration has argued that providing defense weapons will only encourage additional Russian aggression; I disagree,” the California congressman added. “It is weakness that fuels Russian aggression, not western action.”
He also dealt a veiled jab to Obama’s decision to meet with Putin regarding Moscow’s military buildup in Syria following the Russian president’s remarks to the United Nations General Assembly in New York Monday.
Ignoring warnings from the administration, Russia has flown troops and military equipment to an airfield south of the Syrian port city of Latakia where it appears to be constructing a military base.
“The president’s response to Putin’s aggression should not be to sit down and talk, but to consider serious sanctions that target him personally,” McCarthy said, suggesting the administration consider sanctions against the Russian gas company Gazprom.
“It’s time to make it much tougher for them to do their dirty business,” McCarthy added.
The Republican leader likewise slammed the Obama administration’s approach to the Iran nuclear deal, the Islamic State’s expansion in the Middle East, and the Syrian refugee crisis.
He called on the United States to adopt an “entirely new policy” in both Iraq and Syria, which would include putting limited boots on the ground in Iraq to combat the Islamic State.
“The U.S. and our allies should … consider putting a limited number of U.S. special forces personnel on the ground and outside the wire to help call in truly effective airstrikes and provide more effective support to the Iraqi army, the Sunni, and the Kurdish units directly engaged in the fight,” McCarthy explained.
“When we ask our brave men and women to risk their lives everyday, we must fight to win and empower them to fight and win.”
He also suggested the United States create a no-fly zone in Syria to allow refugees to escape Assad’s reign and Syrian rebels to strengthen their capabilities to fight the Islamic State.
“I think we should work with our allies to establish a no-fly zone over northern Syria,” McCarthy stated. “This safe zone would create a stable flow of refugees and allow sanctuary for rebooted Syrian rebels to take on ISIS and al Qaeda affiliated groups and prevent Assad’s future attacks on his own people,” he said, using another name for the Islamic State.
McCarthy criticized Obama for not acting when Assad crossed his red line by using chemical weapons against Syrian civilians, a move he said “caused insurmountable harm to America’s credibility.”
The civil war in Syria has caused about 4.1 million refugees to flee the country. Obama, in response, has ordered the U.S. government to accept 10,000 more Syrian refugees in the next fiscal year despite concerns from political and intelligence leaders that IS terrorists may infiltrate crowds of Syrian refugees flooding the West.
“We have lost the respect of our allies and adversaries alike,” McCarthy said. “Wherever you look, the world is less safe and less secure because America is less engaged. The America we need and deserve is strong, respected, appreciated, and feared.”
The post Kevin McCarthy: Obama Has ‘Rolled Out the Red Carpet’ for Putin appeared first onWashington Free Beacon.
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Russian president Vladimir Putin has baffled the Obama Administration and his most recent maneuvers have caught the White House “with their pants down” Andrea Mitchell said Monday afternoon.
“This is blunt, this is angry, and they say the president is not going to be shy at this hour. What he is going to say to him, ‘Look what you’ve done in Ukraine. Look what you’ve supported in Syria,’” Mitchell said. “But frankly, the Putin maneuvers, going on 60 Minutes reaching a large audience, announcing new initiatives, has really caught the White House with their pants down.”
At the very same time President Obama and Putin began a meeting to discuss important geopolitical issues such as Russia’s annexation of Crimea and military involvement in Syria, Mitchell and Chuck Todd trashed Obama’s response handling of the Middle East.
“I want to run through President Obama’s scenarios and frankly they probably look more like errors than anything else when it comes to Syria,” Todd said.
Todd slammed Obama’s inability to act after drawing a red line, allowing Putin to interfere with whatever plans the president had set. He also mocked the Pentagon’s efforts to train moderate Syrian rebels to fight the Assad regime.
“That report was unbelievable, the amount of people that we’ve been able to train,” Todd said. “Not 400 or 500, which would have been a pitiful, four or five.”
Mitchell cited a bipartisan report by Congress that will be released tomorrow as more bad news.
“They (ISIS) have recruited more fighters than we have killed,” Mitchell said. “So our air war is not succeeding and more Americans are being brought in, 250. They’ve more than doubled the number of American jihadists.”
Promising blunt talk and a confrontational tone, the Obama Administration seeks to put an end to Russia’s antagonizing actions. The president has not ruled out working with Russia and Iran to solve the crisis in Syria.
The post Mitchell: Putin’s Maneuvers Have Caught White House ‘With Their Pants Down’ appeared first on Washington Free Beacon.
Iran has purchased $21 billion worth of Russian satellite technology and aircraft, according to Iranian officials.
An Iranian delegation reportedly visited Russia’s MAKS-2015 air show and signed an agreement to purchase the equipment, according to Sputnik, which quoted Iranian officials.
“There is a large share of contracts for the purchase of this type of aircraft,” Manouchehr Mantegh, an Iranian technology and aviation official, reportedly disclosed, according to Sputnik.
This includes “satellite-related equipment” and the Sukhoi Superjet, a twin-engine passenger plane, according to the report.
The official did not reveal the total number of jets to be purchased.
Tehran has expressed interest in the past in purchasing this type of hardware from the Russians.
Meanwhile, a senior Iranian official on Tuesday emphasized the country’s commitment to destroying its enemies.
Iran will deliver a “crushing response” to any country that attempts to wage war against it, General Seyed Ali Mehrabi, lieutenant commander of Iran’s Army Ground Force for Operations, was quotedas saying by the country’s state-controlled Fars News Agency.
“The enemy is aware that Iran is an important place for all Muslims and an influential country in the region and even the world, given its great capacities,” Mehrabi was quoted as saying.
“Our Armed Forces have proved that if the enemy makes a mistake, they will give a strong and crushing response to them with all their power,” he said.
The post Iran Buys $21 Billion in Aircraft, Satellites from Russia appeared first on Washington Free Beacon.
Putin ‘Worried’ About Israeli Activity in Syriaby Abraham Rabinovich
JERUSALEM – The mechanism worked out last week in Moscow between Israeli and Russian heads of state for avoiding clashes with each other in Syria underwent its first strain today when President Vladimir Putin said he was “worried” about an Israeli artillery strike at Syrian army positions opposite the Golan Heights over the weekend.
Putin attempted to balance his statement at a press conference in New York by saying that “Russia must respect Israeli interests.” Nevertheless, his expression of concern at the Israeli strike appeared to hint that Moscow will be closely monitoring Israeli activities in Syria and will, at the least, speak out when it deems that the interests of its Syrian ally, President Bashar Assad, are challenged.
Israel retaliated Saturday night for two mortar shells fired into the Golan from territory controlled by the Syrian army opposite the Golan Heights. Israeli army officers said the shells, which apparently caused no casualties or damage, were likely errant rounds fired during an exchange between the Syrian army and rebel forces close to the Golan border. Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon said the shelling “crossed a red line.” “We see the Syrian regime and its military as responsible for what occurs on their territory,” he said. The Israeli counter-fire hit two artillery positions.
Such tit-for-tats have become fairly routine during the four-year-long Syrian civil war which, from time to time, rubs up against the Golan border. The Syrian territory opposite the Golan is in easy view from the Israeli-held heights and the retaliatory fire is generally precise. The absence of reports of Syrian casualties suggests that the Israeli fire was intended to serve as a warning, not to draw blood.
The area in question, around the former regional capital of Kuneitra, is only a mile from the Golan border. A year ago, the al-Qaida affiliated Nusra Front drove Syrian forces from the Kuneitra’s environs but Assad’s army has recently renewed its campaign in the area.
Putin’s expression of concern over the Israeli shelling is of considerable interest in Jerusalem since Israel’s involvement in Syria goes far beyond minor retaliation for errant shells. Israel has several times in recent years launched devastating air strikes on convoys said to be bearing advanced weaponry from Syria to Hezbollah in Lebanon and on warehouses storing rockets similarly destined. The Israeli air force also conducts numerous reconnaissance flights in the area. However, it has not hit targets of the Assad regime in an attempt to weaken it, which is Putin’s major concern.
The establishment in recent weeks of a Russian military enclave on the northern Syrian coast, including warplanes and anti-aircraft missile batteries poses a serious, if meanwhile hypothetical, threat to Israeli planes in the area. The Russians, it is presumed, have no interest in opening a front against Israel but there is always the danger of unexpected moves triggering an unintended confrontation.
Meanwhile, Syria is handing over to Hezbollah 75 Syria-era tanks for use in battling al Qaeda-affiliated militants, according to a Kuwaiti newspaper, Al-Rai. The tanks are Soviet era T-55s and T-72s, apparently left over from the Yom Kippur War in which Syria and Egypt, armed with Soviet weaponry, fought Israel. The newspaper said the tanks were a gift from Damascus to the Lebanese militia which has fought alongside the regime’s army in the civil war. Hezbollah recently declared an end to offensive combat in Syria, which has cost it heavy casualties. Theoretically the tanks could be used against Israel, though it is assumed that Israel’s advanced anti-tank arsenal could cope with any such threat.
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Evelyn Farkas, the top official at the Pentagon overseeing military relations with Russia and Ukraine, will resign at the end of October, according to a senior defense official.
Politico reported that Farkas will leave her position as deputy assistant secretary of defense for Russia, Ukraine, and Eurasia after working in the Department of Defense for five years. The move comes just a day after President Obama met with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the United Nations General Assembly to discuss Moscow’s recent military buildup in Syria.
“She has advised three secretaries of defense on Russia policy, providing steady counsel on how the U.S. should respond to Russia’s aggressive actions and has been deeply involved in securing $244 million in support for Ukraine,” the senior official said of Farkas’ forthcoming resignation.
“In addition, Evelyn has brought fresh thinking to Southeast Europe policies–supporting Montenegro’s interest in joining NATO, expanding defense cooperation with Georgia, and increasing multilateral cooperation with the three Caucasus nations.”
A separate senior official at the Defense Department said that the Pentagon will be left “weaker” when Farkas resigns.
“There are not a lot of Europe experts in this administration who have a long record of accomplishment. There’s no doubt this leaves the Pentagon weaker in terms of its policy-making on European issues,” the official said.
There has been consistent debate within the Obama administration on whether to provide Ukraine lethal aid to combat Russian aggression. While the president opposes such action, some officials, including Defense Secretary Ash Carter, have indicated they would consider it.
Farkas’ resignation comes less than a year after Obama pushed former secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel to resign after he called for a stronger U.S. response to Russian action in Ukraine.
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Fifteen years ago I authored a piece for Cryptologic Quarterly, the National Security Agency’s in-house classified journal, about how close the world actually came to World War III in the early 1950s. Although this was little understood at the time, the North Korean invasion of South Korea in June 1950 was a dry-run for the Kremlin, which was obsessed with silencing Tito’s renegade Communist regime in Yugoslavia. Had the United States not strongly resisted Pyongyang’s aggression, a Soviet bloc invasion of Yugoslavia would have followed soon after.
Of course, President Harry Truman did send U.S. forces to defend South Korea in the summer 1950, resulting in a conflict that has never formally ended. More importantly, he saved the world from nuclear Armageddon, as my CQ piece laid out in detail. Lacking much Western conventional defenses in Europe, any Soviet move on Yugoslavia would have resulted in rapid nuclear release by a hard-pressed NATO. I cited numerous still-secret files and as a result my article was classified TOPSECRET//SCI.
However, NSA has seen fit to declassify and release my article, minus some redactions, and even post it on the Agency’s open website. They have omitted my name, perhaps out of fear
UDBAassassins will track me down decades after Tito’s death, but I’ll take my chances.
UDBAassassins will track me down decades after Tito’s death, but I’ll take my chances.
You can read the article here — enjoy!
Filed under: Espionage, History, Strategy, USG
Washington In The Lead
Posted 9/28/2015
PACIFIC OCEAN (Sept. 23, 2015) The aircraft carrier USS George Washington (CVN 73) leads a formation during a passing exercise with Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Forces ships. George Washington is preparing to deploy around South America as a part of Southern Seas 2015. The eighth deployment of its kind, Southern Seas seeks to enhance interoperability, increase regional stability, and build and maintain regional relationships with countries throughout the region through joint, multinational and interagency exchanges and cooperation. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Paul Archer)
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With Russia and the United States sparring over how to fight Islamic State and end Syria's bloody civil war, European nations besieged by refugees are trying to bridge the gap.
While Russia's stated goal in moving into Syria is to fight the Islamic State, NATO's top commander believes Russia's new presence includes the first pieces of an intricate layer of defensive systems deployed to hinder U.S. and coalition operations in the region.
Efforts to build an effective air force began late, and, in the view of some Afghan officials, have gone nowhere, even as the Afghans fight the Taliban mostly alone.
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Mrs. Clinton said that the inability of the U.S. military to train Syrian rebels to fight against the Islamic State on the ground had exacerbated the crises in the region.
The speech delivered by President Obama at the United Nations General Assembly as transcribed and released by the White House.
West Point says the sport instills the courage needed for combat, but some parents and neurologists are calling for alternatives.
The Iraqi military said in a statement that the new agreement was necessary because thousands of volunteers who have joined the Islamic State have come from Russia.Putin and Obama Have Profound Differences on Syriaby By THE EDITORIAL BOARD
Both leaders affirmed the need for international cooperation but provided little hope for a solution.
The judge said that if no agreement was reached, he wanted the federal case against the former speaker of the House to go to trial in March or April.
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Before the start of business, Just Securityprovides a curated summary of up-to-the-minute developments at home and abroad. Here’s today’s news.
IRAQ and SYRIA
President Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin “presented starkly different views” on the Syrian crisis and how to bring about stability in the Middle East during their respective addresses before the UN General Assembly yesterday. [New York Times’ Michael R. Gordon and Gardiner Harris] President Obama’s full remarks can be read here.
President Obama reiterated the core demand that Bashar al-Assad step down from power in Syria, while President Putin defended his government’s support of the Assad regime. The clear differences between the two spell out “the likelihood of a marked shift in the race for influence,” report Carol E. Lee and Farnaz Fassihi. [Wall Street Journal]
During a 90-minute meeting between Obama and Putin yesterday, the leaders agreed that their militaries should coordinate to avoid coming into conflict in Syria. Following the meeting, Putin said that there “is [an] opportunity to work on joint problems together.” [Reuters]
Russia is considering launching airstrikes against the Islamic State in Syria, the leader commenting after his meeting with President Obama. [BBC]
French President François Hollande strongly voiced opposition to the inclusion of Assad in any solution to the Syrian conflict, adding that his country would “shoulder its responsibilities” in international efforts to end the war, during his address. [France 24; New York Times’ Russell Goldman] French public opinion has been polled to show wide support for the use of French ground troops to battle ISIS in Syria, reports John Vinocur. [Wall Street Journal]
Obama’s strategy is becoming clear, “[w]e’ll leave Syria and Iraq to the Russians and the Iranians,”opines David Rothkopf, highlighting that there is “no political will in the United States to get more involved,” at Foreign Policy.
The Washington Post editorial boardargues that both President Obama and President Putin are wrong on the Syria situation, concluding that while Obama’s vision was “morally preferable” and “more realistic” than Putin’s, he nonetheless fails to back it up with any strategy.
Four UK citizens are to be subjected to UN sanctions, for their roles fighting or recruiting for Islamic State militants in Syria. The four will face a travel ban and a freeze of their assets. [BBC]
“Inside the ISIS blueprint for winning.” William McCants at The Daily Beast provides the details.
CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC
Intercommunal clashes in Bangui, Central African Republic, have left around 30 people dead and over 100 injured over three days. The country’s interim president, Catherine Samba-Panza, left the UN General Assembly early yesterday, returning to deal with the security situation.
[Reuters]
[Reuters]
Protesters reportedly “tangle[d]” with UN peacekeepers in the city yesterday; it is unclear whether anyone was killed during the demonstrations which took place to protest the peacekeepers’ presence in the country. [Wall Street Journal’s Emmanuel Tumanjong]
The clashes were sparked by the murder of a Muslim man, leading to reprisals by Muslims on a Christian community, and attacks by armed gangs on the civilian population. [The Guardian]
Over 500 inmates escaped from the city’s prison yesterday, officials said, including at least 60 high-level convicts. [AP]
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the Security Council called for an immediate end to the violence, reiterating the importance of the political process in the country. [UN News Centre]
UN GENERAL ASSEMBLY
President Obama rallied global support from over 50 nations at the UN, announcing that the US would bolster its contributions to UN peacekeeping forces internationally along with increased support amounting to around 40,000 new soldiers and police officers from member states. [New York Times’ Somini Sengupta; Wall Street Journal’s Joe Lauria]
Speaking on the summit, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said that the “demand for peacekeeping has never been greater.” [UN News Centre]
“UN peacekeeping, by its very nature, is always in crisis.” James Traub considers whether the latest round of contributions to the UN’s blue helmets is enough to “tamp the flames of war,” at Foreign Policy.
Russian President Vladimir Putin decried “a world in which egotism reigns supreme,” during his speech before the UN General Assembly yesterday, calling on western states to recognize the hand they have played in international crises, adopting the tone of a “wise elder,” suggests Shaun Walker. [The Guardian]
“The greatest political show on earth.” Julian Borger looks at the upcoming week at the international forum in New York, concluding that the “drama will be greater than ever this year,” as the General Assembly celebrates its 70th birthday. [The Guardian]
AFGHANISTAN
Taliban insurgents have seized the Afghan city of Kunduz; the city is a strategically important transport hub and the capture signifies the largest Taliban victory since the 2001 US-led invasion ousted them from power. [BBC]
The Afghan military has launched a counteroffensive to reclaim the city. [Al Jazeera]
US and NATO forces carried out an airstrike on Kunduz today, “in order to eliminate a threat to the force,” according to US Army Col Brian Tribus, spokesman for the US and NATO missions in the country. [AP]
IRAN
Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani gave his address to the UN General Assembly yesterday. The speech was largely optimistic, expressing hope that the nuclear agreement is “not the final objective” but the “basis for further achievements to come,” reports Rick Gladstone. [New York Times]
Rouhani’s “conciliatory” tone conflicts with recent statements from Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has refused to engage in talks with the US outside of the nuclear deal, writes John Hudson. [Foreign Policy]
Negotiating parties to the Iran nuclear agreement met yesterday to discuss the implementation of the deal; EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini expressed hope that the process could be completed by early 2016. [Wall Street Journal’s Laurence Norman]
The IAEA should be open about side deals with Tehran over the inspection of its nuclear sites, Sen Tom Cotton and Rep Mike Pompeo wrote in a letter to head of the nuclear watchdog, Yukiya Amano. [The Hill’s Jordain Carney]
OTHER DEVELOPMENTS
Saudi-led coalition airstrikes targeted a wedding party in Wahija, Yemen yesterday, killing over 130 people. The incident, which is one of the deadliest attacks on civilians in Yemen’s civil war, wascondemned by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. [Reuters]
A federal appeals court will reconsider the conspiracy case against Ali Hamza al Bahlul; the decision set aside the only remaining conviction against the Guantánamo Bay detainee, ruling that it was legally flawed on the basis that conspiracy is not a war crime. [AP]
Plotters behind a recent coup in Burkina Faso have refused to give up their weapons, threatening a political deal negotiated by West African leaders last week. [New York Times’ Hervé Taoko]
A senior Saudi prince is calling for a change to the country’s leadership, an unprecedented move sparked by mounting challenges facing the kingdom including war, plummeting oil prices and international censure over its management of Mecca. [The Guardian’s Hugh Miles]
The House Select Committee on Benghazi is taking testimony yesterday and today from two ex-defense and intelligence officials over the 2012 Libya attack, reports Rachael Bade. [Politico]
NATO has “not yet fully communicated to the Kremlin that it should back off,” opine Radek Sikorski and Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga, arguing that the Warsaw summit is an opportunity for the bloc to increase its efforts and send a clear message to Moscow. [Wall Street Journal]
An Italian national was shot dead in Dhaka, Bangladesh yesterday. The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack. If verified, the attack is the first by the militant group in the south Asian nation. [The Guardian’s Jason Burke]
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