DOD OFFICIAL EXPRESSES CONFIDENCE IN AFGHAN SECURITY FORCES

FROM:  U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT 
Kirby Confident Afghans Can Take Full Security Control Next Month
By Nick Simeone
DoD News, Defense Media Activity

WASHINGTON, Dec. 2, 2014 – With less than a month to go before the U.S-led NATO combat mission ends in Afghanistan, a senior Defense Department official said today Afghan security forces will be ready to take over the job of securing their country come January first.

“We believe that we have achieved the mission of getting Afghan national security forces to that level,” Pentagon Press Secretary Navy Rear Adm. John Kirby told reporters. “They are in the lead right now and by the end of this month they will have full responsibility.”

Some 9,800 U.S. troops are set to remain in Afghanistan next year, as part of Operation Resolute Support. That NATO mission follows 13 years of NATO’s International Security Assistance Force, and will no longer include a combat role but will instead focus on training, advising and assisting Afghan forces.
“There’s still some enabling capabilities that they may need going forward and we’re talking about that. That’s part of the Resolute Support NATO mission,” Kirby added.

In recent days, there has been an increase in attacks claimed by the Taliban on key sites around the country, including in the capital, Kabul. Kirby said the attacks did not signal a Taliban resurgence but were to be expected during periods of transition.

“Those attacks have had no strategic effect and I might add that the Afghan national security forces and police reacted bravely and quickly to each one,” he said.

DRONES OVER IRAQ

FROM:  U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT 

Armed, Remotely Piloted Aircraft Patrolling Skies Over Iraq

By Jim Garamone

American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, June 27, 2014 – Some of the manned and unmanned aircraft that the United States is flying over Iraq are armed to protect newly arrived American military advisers on the ground, Pentagon press secretary Navy Rear Adm. John Kirby said today.

The aircraft are being flown with the Iraqi government’s permission, the admiral said during a regular Pentagon briefing.

“The reason that some of those aircraft are armed is primarily for force protection reasons now that we have introduced into the country some military advisers whose objective will be to operate outside the confines of the embassy."
There are 90 U.S. service members on six teams assessing conditions in and around Baghdad. Another 90 Americans are setting up the joint operations center in Baghdad.

All told, there are around 500 American service members in the country sent by President Barack Obama to help the Iraqi military as it faces advances by Sunni militants from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant who have overrun much of the country’s northern and western provinces.

The aircraft are flying between 30 and 40 missions a day in and around Baghdad, Kirby said. The information gathered will feed into the team assessments and the information is being shared with Iraqi forces.

The president has made no decisions about the use of kinetic force, Kirby said, “but it would be irresponsible for us not to be planning, preparing and thinking and to be ready in case he should make that decision.”

Obama has however, decided to ask Congress for $500 million for fiscal year 2015 to help train and equip moderate elements of the opposition battling the Assad regime in neighboring Syria, where the civil war is being blamed for sending Sunni extremists across the border and destabilizing Iraq.
“That opposition, mind you, still has to be vetted,” Kirby said.

Defense officials say it’s imperative that such aid does not end up arming extremists. “But that doesn't mean that you stop the effort to try to enable and build the capacity of partners in a very tough part of the world,” Kirby said. “You don’t just turn it off because there’s a risk that … some of it may fall into the wrong hands.”

DEFENSE SECRETARY HAGEL RECEIVES UPDATES FROM ISRAELI DEFENSE MINISTER YAALON

FROM:  U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT 

Israeli Defense Minister Updates Hagel on Recent Developments

American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, June 24, 2014 – Israeli Defense Minister Moshe “Boogie” Yaalon yesterday updated Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel on recent developments, including the kidnapping of Israeli teenagers in the West Bank and a June 22 cross-border incident that killed an Israeli teenager and wounded two other Israelis, Pentagon Press Secretary Navy Rear Adm. John Kirby said.
In a statement summarizing the phone call between the two defense leaders, Kirby said Hagel offered his sympathies for those affected by the violence in the Golan Heights, pledged continued U.S. support, and expressed his shared concern over the violence in Syria and Iraq.

The secretary also updated Yaalon on U.S. views on the events unfolding in the Middle East, the press secretary added.

“The two leaders agreed to continue working closely with one another on the broad range of security issues facing the United States and Israel,” Kirby said.

DOJ REPORTS 5 SERVICE MEMBERS DEAD IN POSSIBLE FRIENDLY FIRE INCIDENT

FROM:  U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT 

Possible Friendly Fire Leaves 5 U.S. Service Members Dead

American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, June 10, 2014 – Five American troops were killed yesterday during a security operation in southern Afghanistan, Pentagon Press Secretary Navy Rear Adm. John Kirby said today.

In a statement, Kirby said investigators are looking into the likelihood that friendly fire was the cause.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of these fallen," he added.
The incident occurred during a security operation when the U.S. service members’ unit came into contact with enemy forces, International Security Assistance Force officials said in a statement issued from the command’s headquarters in Kabul, Afghanistan.

“Tragically, there is the possibility that fratricide may have been involved,” the statement said. “The incident is under investigation. Our thoughts are with the families of those killed during this difficult time.”

U.S. HAS WARNING FOR RELEASED DETAINEES

FROM:  U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT  
DOD Spokesman: Released Detainees Rejoin Fight at Own Peril
By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Feb. 14, 2014 – If the detainees the Afghan government released over NATO objections rejoin the fight, “they do so at their own peril,” Pentagon Press Secretary Navy Rear Adm. John Kirby said at a news conference today.
The press secretary said the 65 detainees released in Afghanistan yesterday are dangerous, and that releasing them was a bad decision for the Afghan people.
Some of those released have American blood on their hands, the admiral said, but he added that he is “not sure that that’s the only metric that matters here.”
The men should not be free, Kirby said. “We had strong evidence on all of them, evidence that has been ignored. And that's unsatisfactory to us,” he told reporters. “It’s not just United States forces in Afghanistan who are now victims of this, but so are the Afghan people, because many of these individuals killed innocent Afghans. They’re criminals, terrorists. They need to be detained, and they are not now, and obviously, that’s a decision that the Afghan government made.”
U.S. forces are not mobilizing to go after these individuals, Kirby said, but will continue to go after enemies targeting NATO forces and the Afghan people. “Should one of these detainees rejoin the fight, they need to know that they do it at their own peril,” he said.

Thursday, the U.S-led International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan said some of the individuals previously released by the Afghan government have already returned to the fight and that additional released detainees may continue to fill the ranks of the insurgency.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai made the unilateral decision to release these individuals, Kirby noted. “They are still very dangerous individuals who should have remained locked up,” he added. “Now they are not. There’s not going to be an active targeting campaign … to go after them. That said, if they choose to return to the fight, they become legitimate enemies and legitimate targets.”