SPECIAL OPS WEAKENING TERRORISTS SAYS ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF DEFENCE LUMPKIN

FROM:  U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT

Right:  Michael D. Lumpkin, assistant secretary of defense for special operations and low-intensity conflict, addresses the Defense Department's policy and programs to counter threats to the nation from terrorism and irregular warfare during a hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee's subcommittee on emerging threats and capabilities, April 21, 2015. DoD screen shot.
 
Special Ops Forces Weakening Terrorist Groups, DoD Official Says
By Terri Moon Cronk
DoD News, Defense Media Activity

WASHINGTON, April 21, 2015 – U.S. special operations forces are successfully taking direct action against multiple global terrorist organizations while building U.S. partner capacity, a top Defense Department official told a Senate panel today.

Michael D. Lumpkin, assistant secretary of defense for special operations and low-intensity conflict, addressed DoD’s policy and programs to counter threats to the nation from terrorism and irregular warfare during a hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee’s subcommittee on emerging threats and capabilities.
Special operations forces provide “a small but vital component of our comprehensive approach to counterterrorism,” Lumpkin said, taking steps to understand and address multiple global threats including terrorist networks, a flow of foreign fighters, the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and activities undertaken or sponsored by other states.

Deployed around the world, special operations forces work closely with U.S. allies and partners to leverage the nation’s respective strengths and capabilities against common threats, he added.

AUMF Critical to Special Forces

The nation’s special operations forces are a “unique asset,” Lumpkin said, an asset that can be effective only when DoD has authority to employ them properly through Authorized Use of Military Force legislation.

“I fully support our president’s AUMF to counter the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant,” the assistant secretary said, adding that the authorization would “provide appropriate flexibility to confront ISIL’s affiliates where conditions merit.”

The president’s proposed legislation also would signal to U.S. allies and enemies that the United States is serious about addressing future permutations of this expanding threat.

“I urge you to favorably consider it,” Lumpkin told the panel.
By making thousands of strikes against ISIL leadership and its forces, special operations forces weakened the enemy’s ability to exert external territorial control and challenged the foundation of its propaganda, he said.

Special Forces Expanding its Reach

Yet while U.S. special operations forces work to destroy ISIL in Syria and Iraq, they also are expanding their reach into Africa and Southeast Asia, Lumpkin said.

“The recent killings of civilians in Afghanistan, Libya, Yemen [and] Tunisia … highlight the expanding nature of the threat,” he pointed out. In West Africa, special operations forces are partnered with local and European allies to degrade the extremist Islamic group Boko Haram, which recently pledged allegiance to ISIL, Lumpkin said.

With what he described as a relatively modest investment of personnel and resources, he said, special operations forces and U.S. allies are exerting “significant pressure” on Boko Haram and its facilitation network.
Concern About Libya

“I’m deeply concerned that the lack of unity of government and the deteriorating situation in Libya has created a safe haven for militias and terrorist organizations,” Lumpkin said. “ISIL’s increased popularity and presence in Libya highlight the need to quickly achieve a lasting political solution.”

Across Africa, special operations forces are working with local and regional forces and European allies to degrade terrorist groups, Lumpkin noted. “These efforts have had significant disruptive effects on these organizations,” he said.
Special Ops Continue Work in Yemen

Lumpkin said he is troubled by the ongoing military aggression the Houthis are perpetuating in Yemen, and by the resulting unstable security conditions that are widespread in that country. But special operations forces will continue to contribute to the broader U.S. efforts to restore stability in Yemen, and degrade al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula,” he told the panel.

The U.S. special operations forces represent a relatively small slice of the U.S. government’s efforts against these threats, Lumpkin said. “However,” he added, “they are achieving meaningful and positive effects.”

DEFENSE SECRETARY CARTER TESTIFIES ON PRESIDENT'S PROPOSED AUTHORIZATION TU USE FORCE AGAINST ISIL

Above:  DOD video 
FROM:  U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT

Carter: Proposed Authorization Gives Flexibility to Fight ISIL
By Cheryl Pellerin
DoD News, Defense Media Activity

WASHINGTON, March 11, 2015 – President Barack Obama’s proposed authorization to use military force against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant is flexible enough to allow for the full range of military scenarios, Defense Secretary Ash Carter told a Senate panel this morning.
Carter testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee alongside Secretary of State John F. Kerry and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey.

In reviewing the president’s proposed AUMF as secretary of defense, Carter said he asked himself two questions.

“First, does it provide the necessary authority and flexibility to wage our campaign, allowing for a full range of likely military scenarios?” Carter said.
Sending a Message

Second, he added, “will it send a message to the people I’m responsible for -- our brave men and women in uniform and civilian personnel who will wage this campaign -- that the country is behind them?”

Carter said he believes the AUMF accomplishes both, and urged Congress to pass the proposal.

Left:  Defense Secretary Ash Carter testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee today alongside Secretary of State John Kerry and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey. The topic was President Barack Obama’s proposed authorization for the use of military force. DoD file photo by Glenn Fawcett.


The proposed AUMF takes into account the reality that ISIL as an organization is likely to evolve strategically, he said, morphing, rebranding and associating with other terrorist groups as it continues to threaten the United States and its allies.

The AUMF wisely does not include geographical restrictions, Carter said, “because ISIL already shows signs of metastasizing outside of Syria and Iraq.”
Military Flexibility

The proposed AUMF provides flexibility in military means to prevail against ISIL, with one exception, the secretary added.

“The proposed AUMF does not authorize long-term, large-scale offensive ground combat operations like those we conducted in Iraq and Afghanistan, because our strategy does not call for them,” he added. “Instead, local forces must provide the enduring presence needed for an enduring victory against ISIL.”

The proposed AUMF expires in three years, although no one knows if the campaign will be completed over that time, the secretary said, adding that he understands the reason for the proposed sunset provision.

“It derives from the important principle stemming from the Constitution that makes the grave matter of enacting an authorization for the use of military force a shared responsibility of the president and Congress,” Carter said.
A Chance to Assess Progress

The president’s proposed authorization gives the American people a chance to assess progress in three years’ time, he added, and gives the next president and the next Congress a chance, if they choose, to reauthorize the AUMF.

Carter said another key consideration for approving the AUMF is that it sends the right signals, most importantly to the troops, and also to partner nations.
“It will signal to our coalition partners and to our adversary that the United States government has come together to address a serious challenge,” he said.

Carter again urged Congress to pass the president’s AUMF because, he said, “it provides the necessary authority and flexibility to wage our current campaign. And because it will demonstrate to our men and women in uniform –- some of whom are in harm’s way right now –- that all of us stand unflinchingly behind them.”