Panetta: Syria Situation “Spinning Out of Control”

By Cheryl Pellerin

American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, July 18, 2012 – As Syrian violence escalates and concerns grow about that nation’s chemical weapon stores, Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta said today the international community must place maximum pressure on President Bashar Assad to accept a peaceful transition from power.

“What is happening in Syria represents a real escalation in the fighting, and … by ignoring appeals by the international community [for Assad to step down], the violence there has only gotten worse and the loss of lives has only increased,” Panetta said, “which tells us that this is a situation that is rapidly spinning out of control.”

Panetta and British Secretary of State for Defense Philip Hammond briefed the press this morning after a bilateral breakfast meeting.

Both responded to questions about the reported assassinations in Damascus today of Syrian Defense Minister Dawoud Rajha and deputy defense minister Gen. Assef Shawkat, who was married to one of Assad’s sisters. Both were said to have been killed in a suicide bombing.

Syria’s state-run television said Interior Minister Mohammed Shaar was wounded in the blast, which reports said targeted a high-level security meeting.

“We're all horrified by the level of loss of life, the atrocities against civilian populations being carried out in Syria,” Hammond said, adding, “ … There is a sense that the situation is deteriorating and is becoming more and more unpredictable.”

Panetta and Hammond also addressed concerns about Syria’s stockpile of chemical weapons and the regime’s potential use of the munitions against its own citizens. The possibility has been raised by Nawaf al-Fares, Syria's ambassador to Iraq, who defected from the Assad regime July 11.

The secretary said the United States has made very clear to Assad and his regime “that they have a responsibility to safeguard their chemical sites and that we will hold them responsible should anything happen with regards to those sites.”

Panetta added, “This is something that we and our allies are working very closely together [on] to ensure that they are fulfilling their responsibility to effectively secure these chemical sites.”

Hammond said the international community is “watching very carefully how the Syrians discharge their obligations with regard to these chemical weapon sites that they're sitting on.”

It is in everyone’s interest, he said, “that despite the chaos in the country, these sites remain under tight control and that there is no proliferation of materials out of those sites, and certainly no use of them against the civilian population.”

Hammond added, “We have differences with other international players on some issues but I think this is an area where all the major international players share a desire, a necessity to see these weapons kept under tight control and not used in any way, shape or form.”

Panetta said it’s more essential than ever that the United States and the international community “continue to work together through the United Nations, through whatever possible vehicles we have, to bring additional pressure on Assad to step down and to allow for a peaceful transition of government there in Syria.”

Combined Afghan, Coalition Force Detains Taliban Facilitator

Compiled from International Security Assistance Force Joint Command News Releases

WASHINGTON, May 21, 2012 – A combined Afghan and coalition security force detained a Taliban facilitator in the Zharay district of Afghanistan’s Kandahar province today, military officials reported.

The facilitator supplied insurgents in the district with weapons, ammunition and equipment for attacks against Afghan and coalition troops and coordinated suicide bombings and indirect-fire attacks against Afghan police compounds and checkpoints throughout Zharay, officials said.

The security force also detained two other insurgents and found 11 pounds of illegal narcotics.

In Kandahar’s Panjwai district yesterday, a combined security force found and destroyed about 1,500 pounds of hashish.

An Afghan-led security force supported by coalition troops captured a senior Taliban leader and two other insurgents in Kandahar’s Dand district May 19. The leader, who operates in Helmand province’s Lashkar Gah district, tried to control the local population through murder and intimidation and is suspected in coordinating the assassination of a government official in the Afghan capital of Kabul.

In May 18 operations:

-- A combined security force detained several insurgents, seized and destroyed explosives and weapons and destroyed an opium field in Baghlan province’s Baghlan-e-Jidid district.

-- An Afghan-led, coalition-supported security force detained several insurgents while searching for a senior Taliban leader in Helmand’s Nad-e Ali district. The leader, an explosives expert, directs attacks in the Nad-e Ali and Lashkar Gah districts and coordinates with other Taliban leaders to supply weapons, ammunition, equipment and explosives to subordinates.

-- In Kandahar’s Panjwai district, a combined security force found and destroyed about 300 pounds of hashish, and a combined security force in Kandahar’s Zharay district found and destroyed 220 pounds of hashish.

In other news, a combined security force captured a senior Taliban leader and two other insurgents in Kunduz province’s Aliabad district May 16. The leader was the Taliban liaison for the Peshawar Shura, a group responsible for insurgent activity in eastern and northern Afghanistan. He also served as a facilitator for the Nuristan Taliban shadow governor and organized the transportation of weapons, foreign fighters and suicide bombers for attacks throughout the region.

ISAF: Murdered Afghan Official Rejected Insurgents’ Agenda

From an International Security Assistance Force Joint Command News Release

KABUL, Afghanistan, May 13, 2012 – An influential member of Afghanistan’s High Peace Council and Islamic Council member, Moulavi Arsala Rahmani, was murdered while reportedly riding in a vehicle on his way to work today, International Security Assistance Force officials reported.

The ISAF offers its condolences and prayers to Rahmani’s family and loved ones, officials said.

Rahmani, a former Taliban member, chose to make a positive contribution to his nation by turning his back on an insurgent movement that continues to be wholly detrimental to the future of Afghanistan, officials said.

Rahmani’s decision to help make the future brighter for Afghans serves as an inspiration to all, and his contributions will be missed, officials said.

The only possible aim of this attack is to intimidate those, who like Rahmani, want to help make Afghanistan a better place for its citizens and the region, officials said. This attack is clear evidence that those who oppose the legitimate government of Afghanistan have absolutely no interest in supporting the peace process on any level but through murder, thuggery, and intimidation.

No one is underestimating the challenges in Afghanistan, or the desires of the enemies of peace to continue threatening the Afghan people and their government, officials said. The entire coalition is steadfast in its resolve, officials added, and remains ever-more confident that the government of Afghanistan is up to the tasks that lie ahead.

The ISAF and Afghan National Security Forces remain committed to stop acts of terror in order to build a secure environment that promotes lasting peace and prosperity for the Afghan people, officials said.

Afghan-led Force Detains Insurgent Leader

Compiled from International Security Assistance Force Joint Command News Releases

WASHINGTON  – An Afghan-led, coalition-supported security force detained an Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan terrorist group leader in the Iman Sahib district of Afghanistan’s Kunduz province today, military officials reported.

Officials said the insurgent leader planned and conducted suicide attacks against Afghan and coalition troops and is suspected in a plot to assassinate a senior Afghan government official.

The security force also detained two other insurgents and seized an assault rifle and ammunition.

In other Afghanistan operations today:

-- A combined force detained a Taliban leader and one additional insurgent in the Nad-e Ali district of Helmand province. The leader coordinated roadside bombings, suicide attacks and other operations against Afghan and coalition forces. He also supplied weapons and ammunition to insurgents.

-- A combined force detained a Haqqani network facilitator as well as several additional insurgents and destroyed weapons and explosive materials in the Nerkh district of Wardak province. The facilitator provides weapons, explosive devices and funds to insurgents.

In operations yesterday:

-- After receiving enemy small-arms fire, Afghan National Police killed three insurgents in Logar province’s Pul-e Alam district.

-- A coalition airstrike killed two insurgents in the Ghaziabad district of Kunar province after Afghan soldiers and coalition troops received enemy small-arms fire.

-- Afghan soldiers killed an insurgent in response to enemy small-arms fire in Wardak province’s Chak district.

Combined Force Captures 2 Haqqani Leaders

From an International Security Assistance Force Joint Command News Release

KABUL, Afghanistan, March 12, 2012 – An Afghan and coalition security force captured two Haqqani network leaders and five additional suspected insurgents during a March 10 operation in the Pul-e Alam district of Afghanistan’s Logar province, military officials reported.

One leader oversaw the construction of roadside bombs and the other directed the emplacement of those bombs for attacks against Afghan and coalition forces, officials said.

The two Haqqani leaders also are suspected in plotting the assassination of an Afghan army division commander.

The security force also seized a suicide vest, bomb-making materials and mortar rounds during the operation.

In other March 10 Afghanistan operations:

-- A combined force captured a Taliban facilitator and detained two suspects in the Kunduz district of Kunduz province. The Taliban facilitator provided weapons and supplies to insurgents operating in Khanabad district. The captured facilitator also is suspected in a plot to conduct a prison break to free an Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan terrorist.

-- In a separate operation in the same district, a combined force captured a Taliban leader and detained another suspect. The leader coordinated roadside-bomb attacks against Afghan and coalition troops and is suspected in planning suicide attacks.

-- A combined force captured a Taliban leader and detained another suspect in the Nad-e Ali district of Helmand province. The leader directed attacks against Afghan and coalition security forces.

-- A combined patrol found an assault rifle, 800 rounds of small-arms ammunition, 132 pounds of homemade explosives and bomb-making components in the Tarin Kot district of Uruzgan province.

-- A combined force detained five suspects while searching for a Taliban leader in the Gelan district of Ghazni province. The leader directs roadside bombings and other attacks against Afghan and coalition security forces along Highway 1.

In a March 9 operation, a combined force found 10,890 pounds of explosive materials in Ghazni’s Ghazni district.