Potential Shifts on US Strategy in Syria

 

The Chairman of the Joint Chief of Staffs is denying a Wall Street Journal report that claimed at least 1,000 US troops would remain in Syria. Gen. Joseph Dunford released a statement calling the claims “factually inaccurate” and assured the public of the Pentagon’s commitment to a steady withdrawal: “We continue to implement the president’s direction to draw down U.S. forces to a residual presence.” President Trump made waves across the national security community when he announced his original plan in December of the complete withdrawal of all 2,000 US troops from Syria. Later, the administration announced that 400 troops would most likely stay in southern Syria to monitor possible Iranian arms shipments to Lebanese-based terror groups such as Hezbollah. No specific estimates have been made as to the number of troops, although Pentagon officials have confirmed that any new amount will almost certainly will be lower. Although the President initially supported shifting troops from Syria to Iraq, concerns from Iraqi politicians about the US using its regional presence to spy on Iran have negated any support for such an initiative.

China developing battlefield AI for high-technology warfare

FILE – In this April 12, 2018, file photo released by Xinhua News Agency, Chinese President Xi Jinping speaks after reviewing the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy fleet in the South China Sea. A new Pentagon report lays out U.S. concerns about China’s growing military might, underscoring worries about a possible attack against Taiwan. The report’s release on Jan. 15, 2019 came just a week after Chinese President Xi Jinping called on his People’s Liberation Army to better prepare for combat. (Li Gang/Xinhua via AP, File)

 

A Chinese military newspaper has outlined how the People’s Liberation Army plans to deploy artificial intelligence (AI) for its forces in future high-technology warfare.

The PLA Daily reported Jan. 19 that warfare is shifting from conventional destruction to artificial-intelligence-powered high-speed and extreme destruction operations.

Li Minghai of the PLA’s National Defense University wrote that AI will be a key “war-winning mechanism” for China.

America’s Withdrawal From Syria—and the Middle East

U.S. forces, accompanied by Kurdish People’s Protection Units fighters, drive their armoured vehicles near the northern Syrian village of Darbasiyah, on the border with Turkey on April 28, 2017. (DELIL SOULEIMAN/AFP/Getty Images)

 

Breaking with advisers and generals, President Trump decides to pull troops out of Syria. Is this the beginning of the end of American power in the Middle East?

United States President Donald Trump announced Wednesday that all American forces will soon be withdrawn from Syria. In a video released on Twitter, Mr. Trump declared victory over the Islamic State and, as a result, has determined to withdraw the 2,000 troops currently inside Syrian territory.

“We have defeated isis in Syria, my only reason for being there during the Trump presidency,” Mr. Trump tweeted, which was quickly followed by the video.

U.S. Aircraft Carrier Heads To Persian Gulf In “Show Of Force” After Iran Ballistic Missile Test

USS John C. Stennis nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, via Defence Blog

 

Days after Iran unveiled its first stealth destroyer in a televised ceremony on Saturday which saw the warship launched into operation in the Persian Gulf, and after the US condemned Iran’s test firing a medium-range nuclear capable ballistic missile on Sunday, Pentagon officials have announced the U.S. is sending an aircraft carrier strike group to the Persian Gulf in a show of force against Iran.

Russian special forces land in S. Syria. US Raptors “deter” Syrian, Iranian, Russian combat aircraft

 

Unfolding Russian, US and Israeli military steps are raising the big power stakes in Syria on the eve of a Trump-Putin summit, DEBKAfile’s military sources report. Russian special forces have arrived and been attached to the Syrian military command in the southern Al-Safa region east of the Druze town of Sweida – officially as “advisers” to the Syrian offensive against ISIS, and markers of Islamist targets for Russian air strikes. Russia pulled those units out in June after helping Bashar Assad’s army capture rebel-held territory on Israel’s Golan and Jordan’s borders. Now, the Russians are attached to the Syrian Army’s elite 42^nd Brigade-Ghiath Forces of the 4^th Division.

What Happens to the World When America Stops Standing for What’s Right?

A security personnel looks out from the entrance of the Saudi Arabia’s consulate in Istanbul, Sunday, Oct. 14, 2018. (AP PHOTO/PETRAS GIANNAKOURIS)

 

The disappearance of Jamal Khashoggi drives home the consequences of the Trump administration’s refusal to champion democratic values around the globe.

The disappearance of Jamal Khashoggi has shocked many in the United States, but it should not come as a surprise. Indeed, it is a logical outgrowth of the policies that the Saudi leadership has been pursuing for the past two years, and the support that it has found for its approach in the Trump White House and parts of the American establishment.

Is President Trump Building an Arab Army to Go to War with Iran?

(Photo Credit: U.S. State Department)

 

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met with Arab foreign ministers to discuss creating MESA.

…

According to the State Department, Pompeo met Friday with the foreign ministers of the Gulf Cooperation Council+2 group of nations. The department’s readout, provided by Undersecretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs Heath Nauert stated:

In message to Russia, U.S. Marines carry out live fire exercise in Syrian desert

 

U.S. Marines conducted a live fire exercise in the southern Syrian desert after Russia said it intended to enter the deconfliction zone near an American base in the area.

More than 100 U.S. Marines, backed by artillery fire, took part in the exercise to send a “strong message” to Russia, two U.S. defense officials told Fox News.

Forget Trump: The Military-Industrial Complex is Still Running the Show With Russia

Katz/Shutterstock

 

As the media fulminates, they fail to see how Trump has kept the usual machinery running.

President Donald Trump has strengthened, not weakened, American military and economic opposition to Russian President Vladimir Putin. That fact has been mostly unreported and it is of the utmost importance. Irrespective of what Trump harrumphs about NATO or Vladimir Putin, the multi-trillion-dollar military-industrial-counterterrorism complex (MICC) rules American-Russian relations as it has for seven decades. And the nightmare of the MICC is not to lose a friend, but to lose an enemy.

Fake news is fixated on personalities. Authentic news understands that nations have no permanent friends or enemies, only permanent interests. The executive branch in particular has a permanent interest in exaggerating threats to augment its own power and to order up more superfluous military spending.

Russia Gaining Influence in Mediterranean

 

Russians have a history of cooperation with many African countries, however, since the fall of the Soviet Union involvement in Africa has effectively ended. Recent years have seen the Russians engaging more with Africa, especially in northern countries around the Mediterranean Sea, where the Russians are using military operations against various rebel or terror groups as leverage against the United States.

Obama Aide Admits U.S. Armed ISIS

(Photo Credit: Peter Souza/The White House)

 

Ben Rhodes, while promoting his new book, said the situation led to a schizophrenic U.S. policy in Syria.

In a recent interview with The Intercept, former Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes finally admitted the Obama administration armed jihadists that became the foundation of ISIS in Syria.

A Canadian U-Turn on Iran?

Pictured: U.S. President Donald Trump and Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau converse at the G7 Summit, on June 8, 2018 in La Malbaie, Canada. (Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images)

 

• Most alarming to the U.S. has been Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s position on Iran, where the regime seems to want to increase its influence in Canada due to its proximity to the U.S. Trudeau has been enabling this penetration.
• The discord between Canada and the U.S. was evident on a series of matters related to the North American Free Trade Agreement, but what went on behind the scenes was far more critical.
• As long as leaders in the West who hold such views remain in power, Canada will be on the watchlist of those who oppose the spread of Islamic extremism and theocratic dictatorships. Canada may well be living through its highest-risk moment since World War II.

On June 12, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau led the Liberal Party in supporting a Conservative Party motion condemning “the current regime in Iran for its ongoing sponsorship of terrorism around the world, including instigating violent attacks on the Gaza border.” It also called for designating the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organization.

Canadian Government Welcomes Back Islamic State Jihadists

Still image from a video produced by The Islamic State featuring John Maguire, an Ottawa man who converted to Islam, and joined Islamic State.

 

Trudeau administration wages an aggressive campaign to ‘support’ and ‘open up dialogue’ with returning terrorists.

Around 190 Canadians have left their country to fight for the Islamic State and other Islamic terrorist groups. And they might receive a warm welcome if they get homesick. According to documents obtained by Global News in May, the administration of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau believes these terrorists have a “right to return” to Canada.

Pentagon Puts Cyberwarriors on the Offensive, Increasing the Risk of Conflict

WASHINGTON — The Pentagon has quietly empowered the United States Cyber Command to take a far more aggressive approach to defending the nation against cyberattacks, a shift in strategy that could increase the risk of conflict with the foreign states that sponsor malicious hacking groups.

Until now, the Cyber Command has assumed a largely defensive posture, trying to counter attackers as they enter American networks. In the relatively few instances when it has gone on the offensive, particularly in trying to disrupt the online activities of the Islamic State and its recruiters in the past several years, the results have been mixed at best.

Saudi-Led Coalition Begins Attack on Yemeni Port Held by Houthis

Getty Images

 

Pro-government forces in Yemen began an assault Wednesday on the Yemeni port city of Hudaydah, which is held by Houthi rebels.

Strikes from a Saudi-led coalition began after Iranian-backed Houthi rebels ignored a deadline to withdraw by midnight local time Tuesday, BBC News reports.