NATO’s Rasmussen Discusses Afghanistan, Syria, 9/11 Attacks

By Cheryl Pellerin

American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON – NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen discussed progress in Afghanistan, the brutal civil war in Syria and the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks during his monthly news conference.

Rasmussen called the 11th anniversary of the attacks “a moment to remember the citizens of 25 NATO and partner countries who died that day, and all the victims of terrorist atrocities around the alliance and around the world, from Madrid and London to Istanbul, Bali and beyond.”

Speaking from NATO headquarters in Brussels, Rasmussen said terrorism never can be justified or tolerated, and that NATO is determined to play its full role in the fight against it. “It is vital to our own security, and it is vital for the values and principles of international law that we uphold,” he added.

Allies and partners work tirelessly to detect and prevent terrorist acts, the secretary general said, “and that is why we have more than 120,000 soldiers in Afghanistan -- to ensure that country can never again serve as a sanctuary [from which] terrorists can plan and launch attacks against our countries.”

On the months-long civil war being waged between the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad and Syrian rebels, Rasmussen said NATO has no intention of intervening militarily in the conflict.

“We do believe the right way forward is to find a political solution,” he said, “and we urge the international community to send a strong and unified message to the Syrian leadership to accommodate the legitimate aspirations of the Syrian people. So our position remains unchanged.”

Regarding Afghanistan, Rasmussen said the alliance views insider attacks on the coalition by Afghan security forces with great concern.

“We are looking very carefully into each one, and we are doing everything we can, together with our Afghan partners, to reduce the risks as much as we can,” the secretary general said, outlining some of the steps being taken.

“The vetting and screening of recruits is getting stronger. We are seeing better counterintelligence efforts. [International Security Assistance Force] and Afghan forces are getting more training to understand cultural differences. And we are constantly adapting the measures to protect our forces to the situation on the ground,” he explained.

Last week, Rasmussen said, he discussed the attacks with Afghan President Hamid Karzai and they agreed to do everything they can to tackle the problem.

“We will simply not allow the enemies of Afghanistan to change our strategy,” Rasmussen said, “and we will not allow them to drive a wedge between us and our Afghan partners.”

Every day, he noted, tens of thousands of ISAF and Afghan troops fight together against the same threat and for the same goal.

“We know that despite these tragic incidents, the vast majority of our forces have a bond of trust with their Afghan comrades and many Afghans have sacrificed their lives for ours.”

Challenges and setbacks should not overshadow the significant progress made so far, Rasmussen added.

“Afghan forces are getting more professional, more confident and better equipped,” he said. “Within weeks, they will reach their full strength of 352,000.”

The Afghan forces are genuinely moving into the lead, assuming more responsibility in the campaign and taking the lead in providing security for three quarters of the population, the secretary general said, and every Afghan province is part of this process.

“The insurgents are being pushed further back from the population,” he said, adding that 80 percent of their attacks take place in areas where just 20 percent of the population lives.

In what Rasmussen called an “unstoppable” process of transition, ISAF will continue to train and support the Afghan forces over the next 28 months so they can assume full responsibility for security.

“It makes a big difference that the face of the defense of Afghanistan in the future will be a very visible Afghan face,” the secretary-general said. “The enemies of Afghanistan will now be faced with their compatriots in the fighting. This will also make it more difficult for the Taliban and others to claim that this is a fight against foreign invaders, which is one of their most popular propaganda claims.

“Already now it’s clear that the Taliban can’t prevail on the battlefield,” he continued, “and that’s the reason why the Taliban and others resort to cowardly attacks against civilians, including children, as we have seen recently.”

As Afghans step forward, ISAF is moving into a supporting role, he said. “Planning for our new mission -- to train, advise and assist Afghan security forces -- is already under way, and I expect the initial guidance to be completed in the next few weeks,” he added.

Rasmussen said he will discuss the NATO mission in Afghanistan and other global security challenges in New York when the United Nations General Assembly meets later this month.

“We all know the cost of our mission in Afghanistan, and the investment we have made over the years,” he said. “So let me say this: we have an important goal and a mandate from the United Nations. Our strategy is set, our timeline is clear. And we will stay the course.”

DOD Official: Assad Regime Must End ‘Wanton Murder’

By Karen Parrish

American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON – Defense Department officials are closely monitoring events in Syria, including the military exercises that began yesterday, Pentagon Press Secretary George Little said today.

Media reports characterize the exercises as large-scale and simulating responses to external attacks on the nation’s forces.

“I don’t know that this military exercise suggests anything new about the conflict, or if it may simply be visual bravado on the part of the [Bashar] Assad regime,” Little said, responding to reporters’ questions during a regularly scheduled media briefing. Assad has ruled Syria since his father, Hafez al-Assad, died in 2000. The elder Assad had ruled for 29 years.

Little strongly repeated the department’s position on Syria, where the military has used lethal force in an effort to crush popular uprisings that began in January 2011. United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon estimates that as many as 17,000 people have been killed in the violence.

“This regime continues to mount despicable attacks against Syrian civilians, and the violence that the regime is perpetrating must end,” Little said. Defense officials have not yet classed the exercise as “provocative,” he noted, but he added that judgment could change based on events.

“What we view as much more serious, at this stage, is the continued wanton murder of Syrian civilians,” he said.

Little responded to a question on reports that Russia will halt arms sales to Syria, saying he can’t confirm that information. “We welcome any move by any nation to stop supplying the Assad regime,” he said.

The press secretary noted defense officials also are closely monitoring events on the Turkish-Syrian border. Tensions between the two countries have escalated following Turkey’s June 22 report that Syrian forces shot down a Turkish F-4 fighter jet and its two-member crew.

“We hope that this terrible violence in Syria doesn’t spread,” Little said. “We understand Turkey’s concerns, and we’ll continue to work closely with our Turkish allies.”

DOD Officials Call Syrian General’s Defection, ‘Significant’

By Jim Garamone

American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, July 6, 2012 – Pentagon officials called the defection of Syrian Army Brig. Gen. Manaf Tlass “significant,” saying this could be the first crack in the inner circle around Syrian dictator Bashar Assad.

Tlass sought asylum in Turkey, said Pentagon spokesman Navy Capt. John Kirby.

“He is a former friend of Assad, so we don’t believe this defection should be taken lightly,” Kirby said. “It’s another example of a senior member in the Syrian army that has decided to turn against the Syrian regime and to stop committing violent acts against its people.”

Tlass is the son of former Syrian defense minister Mustafa Tlass, according to U.S. officials. The elder Tlass served in the position from 1972 to 2004 and helped the Assad family set up the repressive regime in Syria.

This defection is considered different from those that have occurred previously, U.S. officials said, noting Tlass is a general officer who had a long, personal, close association with the Assad family.

U.S. officials hope this latest defection will lead to more from the regime’s inner circle. “I’d be hard-pressed to say that the regime is about to crack under the weight of defections,” Kirby said.

The Syrian regime is murdering its own people and Bashar Assad has not indicated any desire to relinquish power, officials said.

“He has loyalists still around him and certainly the vast majority of the Syrian military is still following his orders,” Kirby said. “The international community remains firm about the need for him to step down and stop killing his people.”

The United States, officials said, is concerned about reports that al-Qaida is taking advantage of the chaos in Syria to launch attacks and establish a presence in the country. Iraqi officials, they said, claim al-Qaida terrorists are moving from Iraq to Syria to launch attacks.

Kirby said Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta is concerned about such reports.

“The secretary has been on the record expressing concern about the potential for al-Qaida migrating in to Syria, and we have seen indications that they have wanted to do that,” Kirby said. “This obviously won’t do anything to stabilize the situation in Syria.”

Turkish Fighter Shootdown Concerns Panetta, Press Secretary Says

By Cheryl Pellerin

American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, June 25, 2012 – Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta shares the State Department’s deep concern over the June 22 shootdown by Syrian forces of a Turkish F-4 fighter and two Turkish pilots, Pentagon Press Secretary George Little said today.

After speaking with Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu on June 24, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton condemned what she called a “brazen and unacceptable act.”

“It is yet another reflection of the Syrian authorities' callous disregard for international norms, human life, and peace and security,” Clinton said.

“The [Syrian] action speaks for itself,” Little told reporters, “and we believe that it was, to use Secretary Clinton’s words, a ‘brazen act’ … and the Syrian regime needs to answer for it.”

Pentagon spokesman Navy Capt. John Kirby said the Defense Department has seen nothing to indicate the shootdown wasn’t deliberate.

After the shootdown, Little said, Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, spoke by phone with his Turkish counterpart, Chief of General Staff Gen. Necdet Ozelto, to express concern over the loss of the Turkish pilots.

Navy Adm. Jonathan Greenert, chief of naval operations, also spoke with one of his Turkish counterparts, Little said, adding that Greenert traveled to Turkey June 19-22 to foster the relationship between U.S. and Turkish naval forces.

Turkey has called for a consultation of the North Atlantic Council under Article 4 of the NATO treaty. The meeting will take place tomorrow in Brussels. Under Article 4, any ally can request consultations whenever they believe their territorial integrity, political independence or security is threatened.

The council includes ambassadors of all 28 NATO allies, and Little said the discussion will be led by the State Department, represented by Ambassador Ivo Daalder.

“We will be present at the discussions in Brussels with our NATO allies,” the press secretary added, “and beyond that, it’s really for our counterparts to discuss what may or may not happen.”

The Defense Department maintains a very strong military relationship with its Turkish allies, Little said, and department officials will “continue to have discussions with them about the equipment they need to defend themselves.”

The press secretary said Defense Department officials stand ready to assist the Turkish government in the rescue and recovery effort for the missing pilots “if they request such help.”

U.S. to Maintain Pressure on Assad Regime, Press Secretary Says

By Amaani Lyle

American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, June 21, 2012 – The U.S. will continue to apply economic and diplomatic pressure on Syrian dictator Bashar Assad’s regime and it encourages Syrians to resist, Pentagon Press Secretary George Little told reporters during a press briefing today.

“I think you have some complex dynamics at work in Syria,” Little said. “Day by day by day, in the eyes of the Syrian people, and certainly in the eyes of the international community, the Assad regime is losing its legitimacy.”

Citing the latest instance of eroding faith in the regime, Little expressed U.S. support for the Syrian fighter pilot who sought and gained political asylum in Jordan following his decision to defect by flying a MIG-21 fighter jet across the border on Thursday.

“We have long called for members of the Syrian armed forces and members of the Syrian regime to defect and to abandon their positions rather than be complicit in the regime’s atrocities,” Little said. “This is just one of countless instances where Syrians, including members of the security forces, have rejected the abysmal actions of the Assad regime, and it certainly will not be the last.”

Soldiers who defected from the Syrian army in the past 15 months indicate hostile groups are losing their strongholds in the region, Little said. He also addressed what might enable opposition groups to effectively organize themselves amidst violence and hostility.

“One way to explain this is to look at the physics of a brutal authoritarian regime,” Little said. “Brutal authoritarian regimes, like the Assad regime, can be quite rigid … and rigidity often breeds brittleness. So at a certain point, we may be looking at a very brittle Assad regime, and that helps the opposition.”

Little said the resolve of opposition groups seems to be strengthening over time, even in the wake of “despicable acts” perpetuated by the Assad regime.

“They are standing up in the face of coercion and in the face of profound violence,” he said.

Little said the U.S. is not providing lethal assistance to the Syrian opposition, but it does remain focused on State Department-led humanitarian assistance programs to aid “the right people inside that country.”

“The eye on the prize here is allowing the Syrian people to determine their own future,” Little said.