CHAIR JOINT CHIEFS SUMMARIZES NATO LITHUANIA MEETINGS

FROM:  U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT 

Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, center, talks with Army Gen. John Campbell, commander of the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan, right, between sessions of the NATO Military Committee conference in Vilnius, Lithuania, held Sept. 20-21, 2014. DoD photo by D. Myles Cullen.  
Dempsey Recaps NATO Meetings in Lithuania
DoD News, Defense Media Activity

WASHINGTON, Sept. 21, 2014 – Russia’s continuing aggression in Ukraine, vulnerabilities posed by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant and other threats along NATO’s southern borders, and the alliance’s continuing commitments in Afghanistan were the chief topics in meetings with NATO’s chiefs of defense in Vilnius, Lithuania, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said today.
In a statement summarizing the meetings, Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey added that today’s agreement between Afghanistan’s presidential candidates to form a new national unity government “puts us in a much better place than we were a week ago.”

“Now we need a signed security agreement and a NATO [status of forces agreement], both of which should be accomplished fairly quickly,” Dempsey said. The agreements are necessary for U.S. and NATO forces to have a role in Afghanistan beyond the current mission, which ends Dec. 31, and both candidates said during the election process that they would sign the agreements.
The chiefs of defense also elected Gen. Petr Pavel, the chief of staff of the Czech Republic's armed forces, to be the next chairman of the NATO Military Committee, the chairman said. “His appointment is significant, because he will be the first Eastern European military leader to take the job,” he added.
Pavel will take the post in July, succeeding Danish Gen. Knud Bartels, whom Dempsey called “a trusted friend.”

DOD STATEMENT ON ATTEMPTED RESCUE OF HOSTAGES HELD BY ISIL

FROM:  U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT 

Pentagon Provides Statement on Rescue Operation

DoD News, Defense Media Activity

WASHINGTON, Aug. 20, 2014 – The United States attempted a rescue operation recently to free a number of American hostages held in Syria by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, Pentagon Press Secretary Navy Rear Adm. John Kirby said in a statement released today.

The mission was not successful because the hostages were not present at the targeted location, Kirby said in the statement. He added that the U.S. government will not tolerate the abduction of its people and will work tirelessly to secure the safety of its citizens and to hold their captors accountable.

Kirby’s statement reads as follows:

“The United States attempted a rescue operation recently to free a number of American hostages held in Syria by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). This operation involved air and ground components and was focused on a particular captor network within ISIL. Unfortunately, the mission was not successful because the hostages were not present at the targeted location.

“As we have said repeatedly, the United States government is committed to the safety and well-being of its citizens, particularly those suffering in captivity. In this case, we put the best of the United States military in harms' way to try and bring our citizens home.

“The United States government uses the full breadth of our military, intelligence and diplomatic capabilities to bring people home whenever we can. The United States will not tolerate the abduction of our people, and will work tirelessly to secure the safety of our citizens and to hold their captors accountable.”

READOUT: PRESIDENT OBAMA'S CALL WITH KING ABDULLAH II OF JORDAN

FROM:  THE WHITE HOUSE 

Readout of the President’s Call with His Majesty King Abdullah II of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan

President Obama spoke with His Majesty King Abdullah II of Jordan today.  They discussed the urgency of providing humanitarian assistance to the people of Iraq, the risks to the region from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant and other extremist groups, and the importance of supporting an inclusive Iraqi political process.  The two leaders discussed the need for an immediate cessation of hostilities and a durable cease-fire in Gaza, as well as increased support to civilians in Gaza who have suffered tremendously during the conflict.  The President and King Abdullah II reaffirmed the strong friendship and strategic partnership between the United States and Jordan. 

U.S. DOD OFFICIAL TELLS CONGRESS IRAQ MUST DEAL WITH EXTREMIST THREAT

FROM:  U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT 

Iraq Must Do Its Heavy Lifting, Pentagon Official Says

By Terri Moon Cronk

DoD News, Defense Media Activity

WASHINGTON, July 23, 2014 – Though the United States must protect its people and is helping Iraq to face the threat posed by the extremist group Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, it is up to Iraq to do the heavy lifting, a senior Defense Department official said today.

Elissa Slotkin, performing the duties of the principal deputy undersecretary of defense for policy, told the House Foreign Affairs Committee that the United States has a vital national security interest to ensure Iraq and other countries don’t become safe havens for terrorists who could threaten the U.S. homeland, its citizens or interests abroad, or its partners and allies.

The immediate goals are to protect American people and property in Iraq, gain a better understanding of how the United States might train, advise and assist Iraqi security forces as necessary, and expand the nation’s understanding of ISIL intelligence, Slotkin said.

All three factors are critical, she said, to any future U.S. strategy involving Iraq, and the nation has three measures in the strategy:

-- The United States added forces to protect its people in Iraq. “The safety of U.S. citizens and personnel throughout Iraq is our highest priority,” Slotkin said, adding that DoD is meeting all requests from the State Department for extra security for the U.S. Embassy and the airport.

-- Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel ordered the amphibious transport ship USS Mesa Verde into the Arabian Gulf. “Its presence adds to the other naval ships there, such as the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush and provides the president with additional options to protect American citizens and interests,” she said.

-- Intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance assets are part of the U.S. ramping-up effort. “We’ve significantly surged ISR capabilities into Iraq, [to] over 50 sorties a day, compared to one a month in previous months,” Slotkin added.

“We are now capable of around-the-clock coverage of Iraq, and have been focusing particularly on ISIL-controlled territory and around Baghdad,” she said.
The small teams of 300 U.S. military advisors in Iraq are assessing and evaluating how the United States might potentially help Iraqi security forces, Slotkin said.
Hagel and Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman, received the draft assessment from U.S. Central Command last week, she told the panel.
“Department leaders are taking a deliberate approach and reviewing this lengthy assessment,” Slotkin said, adding that the assessments will be used to make recommendations to the president.

“Additional assessment work continues in and around Baghdad with respect to the developing situation on the ground,” she added.

ISIL CLAIMS IT MASSACRED 1700 IRAQI AIR FORCE RECRUITS

FROM:  U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT 

ISIL Claims Massacre in Tikrit

Press Statement

Jen Psaki

Department Spokesperson

Washington, DC

June 15, 2014

The claim by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) that it has massacred 1700 Iraqi Shia air force recruits in Tikrit is horrifying and a true depiction of the bloodlust that these terrorists represent. While we cannot confirm these reports, one of the primary goals of ISIL is to set fear into the hearts of all Iraqis and drive sectarian division among its people. We condemn these tactics in the strongest possible terms and stand in solidarity with the Iraqi people against these horrendous and senseless acts of violence. Terrorists who can commit such heinous acts are a shared enemy of the United States, Iraq, and the international community. This underscores the need for Iraqi leaders from across the political spectrum to take steps that will unify the country in the face of this threat. The United States will do its part to help Iraq move beyond this crisis and we urge all Iraqis to unite against this violence and continue to reject the path of hatred that ISIL represents.