Dempsey: Leaders Wait to Hear From Iraq Assessment Teams

By Jim Garamone

DoD News, Defense Media Activity

HONOLULU, July 2, 2014 – U.S. officials are waiting to hear the assessment that U.S. special operations troops are making of Iraqi security forces before making a decision on further support, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said here yesterday.

Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey told reporters following a speech at the Pacific Club here that U.S. officials could not decide what kind of assistance to provide when Iraq first asked for help.

“We didn’t have enough information to understand what kind of assistance we could provide,” he said.

The six assessment teams -- each led by a senior officer -- have started fanning out of Baghdad to visit Iraqi brigades and larger units. Reports out of Iraq when the extremists from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant first crossed into western Iraq had the Iraqi army breaking and running. ISIL militants took Iraq’s third-largest city, Mosul, and were moving south toward Baghdad.

Dempsey said it is important to note that the assessment is being conducted concurrently with Iraq’s political leaders seeking to form a new government. “As I’ve said repeatedly, their ability to find political reconciliation among groups and to present an inclusive face to the people of Iraq -- who are counting on them to lead -- will be an important factor in determining what we do going forward,” he said.

The assessment teams are part of the second group of Americans ordered to Iraq. The first was a security team to protect the U.S. personnel and the U.S. Embassy. Also part of the second group were service members who set up a joint operations center with Iraqi forces.

The third group, with helicopters and remotely piloted aircraft, will hold a critical piece of infrastructure at Baghdad International Airport.

Pentagon Spokesman Provides Update on Iraq Missions

By Amaani Lyle

DoD News, Defense Media Activity

WASHINGTON, July 1, 2014 – U.S. military personnel who have been sent to Iraq in recent weeks are performing two distinct mission sets, Pentagon Press Secretary Navy Rear Adm. John Kirby said today.

Kirby said during a Pentagon news briefing that military orders since June 16 now total 770 authorized personnel, with 650 now in the country. Some are providing security assistance, and the rest are serving with assessment and advisory teams at the joint operations center in Baghdad.

“We obviously are watching the situation very closely, … given the limits of information that we have,” Kirby said. Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant militants remain a legitimate threat to Baghdad and its vicinity, he added.

Kirby said Defense Department officials still believe the Iraqi government takes the threat seriously and that Iraqi security forces in and around the Iraqi capital are continuing to reinforce themselves and even go on the offensive in some areas. But large swaths of the country either are still controlled by ISIL or contested between ISIL and the Iraqi security forces, he acknowledged.

As the assessment teams continue to provide information to Pentagon officials, Kirby said, President Barack Obama “needs the freedom” to adjust troop numbers accordingly to carry out the security assistance mission.

On June 16, DoD ordered 270 troops to Iraq with a War Powers Resolution authorization of 275, and 170 were in country that same day. A second order on June 26 authorized up to 300 advise and assess troops for assessment teams and the joint operations center, he added. By June 27, 180 of those service members were in Iraq, he said.

“So you have 90 supporting the joint operations center in Baghdad and another 90 that comprised our assessment and advise teams,” Kirby said. “That brought the total to 570 authorized, but 350 actually on the ground.”

The most recent order on June 30, Kirby noted, was for an additional 200 troops in the security assistance mission, separate and distinct from the assessment mission, and all 200 of them are now in and around Baghdad.

“That is what they're there to do -- to help provide extra security for our facilities, our people, our property, and to … help allow the State Department and the embassy to continue to function as it is,” he said.

U.S. Continues Military Aid to Iraqi Government

By Army Sgt. 1st Class Tyrone C. Marshall Jr.

American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, June 30, 2014 – The United States continues to supply military equipment to Iraq as part of the effort to help Baghdad counter advances by Sunni militants, but the solution to the country’s political issues will not be firepower, but an inclusive government, Defense Department spokesman Army Col. Steven Warren said today.

Warren told reporters DOD continues to deliver munitions, small-arms weapons and other equipment the Iraqis can use immediately in the battle against militants from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant or ISIL, such as Hellfire missiles.

“I know we’re down to having delivered all but 100 of the recent purchase of 500 [Hellfire missiles] that the Iraqis made.

“There were shipments within the last week,” the colonel continued. “We expect that purchase of a total of 500 Hellfires to be closed out within the coming two or three weeks.”

While the department hasn’t placed any restrictions on the F-16 aircraft delivery process in Iraq, Warren said, the relocation of contractors from Balad will cause some impact. Advances by ISIL militants triggered the evacuation of contractors from the air base.

“I don’t have a specific timeline for how the relocation of contractors from Balad will affect the delivery of the F-16. It certainly will,” he said. “These contractors were part of the process; they’re no longer operating in Balad.”

Warren said the Defense Department has responded as quickly as possible to assist Iraq with requested military sales.

“We are very aware of the critical need that Iraq has for advanced weapons. We are working as quickly as possible to ensure that they receive all of the foreign military sales that they have requested and that they’ve paid for.”

Warren also addressed questions of Iraq pursuing weapons sales with other nations, including Russia.

“The Iraqi purchase of Russian military equipment does not affect the Iraqi purchase of American military equipment,” he said. “We know the Iraqis have pursued several avenues over the years for the purchasing of military equipment, to include the Czech Republic, South Korea and others,” he said.

Baghdad Joint Operations Center at Full Capacity

By Army Sgt. 1st Class Tyrone C. Marshall Jr.

American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, June 30, 2014 – The joint operations center opened by U.S. forces in Baghdad to help the Iraqi government combat Sunni insurgents is fully operational and assessments of Iraqi units have begun, Defense Department spokesman Army Col. Steven Warren said today.

Warren provided Pentagon reporters with an update on the 180 personnel who arrived in Baghdad to establish the operations center.

“The six teams of advisers are on the ground beginning their assessment of Iraqi units in and around Baghdad,” Warren said.

President Barack Obama ordered the teams to Iraq earlier this month following gains made by Sunni militants of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant who have overrun towns and cities across Iraq’s northern and western provinces as they move closer to Baghdad.

The JOC team provides synthesis of information provided from the six assessment teams and conducts liaison coordination, the colonel explained.

“These are very well-trained personnel that are used to operating in these types of environments,” Warren said of the six assessment teams. “They are very skilled at protecting themselves.”

Additionally, the colonel said, the JOC is sharing information with the Iraqis as assessments are made.

“We’ve long had an information-sharing arrangement with the Iraqis,” Warren said. “That arrangement continues.”

There is a tentative plan for a second operations center to be positioned in the north, he added. But that, he said, hasn’t happened yet.

“Right now, the JOC is collecting the information being provided by the six assessment teams [and] collating it, so we’re still in the assessment phase now,” Warren said.

“To be clear, we’re providing the Iraqis information that will be useful to them in their fight against ISIL,” he added

Additional Troops Sent to Bolster Security at U.S. Embassy in Baghdad

American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, June 30, 2014 – President Barack Obama has directed the U.S. military to deploy an additional 200 personnel to reinforce security at the American Embassy in Baghdad and other U.S. facilities as well as at the city's international airport. 

Pentagon Press Secretary Navy Rear Adm. John Kirby described the stepped-up security as a prudent measure to protect U.S. citizens and property.

In a written statement, Kirby said the additional personnel arrived in Iraq over the past two days from locations within the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility. Capabilities provided include a detachment of helicopters and unmanned aerial vehicles, which will bolster airfield and travel route security. Similar to the U.S. security personnel who arrived in Baghdad earlier this month to provide support and security for U.S. personnel and the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, they will integrate with existing embassy security teams.

The presence of these additional forces will help enable the embassy to continue its critical diplomatic mission and work with Iraq on challenges they are facing as they confront Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant militants, Kirby said. 

In addition, the approximately 100 personnel already pre-positioned in the U.S. Central Command region -- previously announced by the Defense Department in mid-June -- also will move forward to Baghdad to provide security and logistics support.

Kirby said these forces are separate from the up to 300 personnel the president authorized to establish two joint operations centers and conduct an assessment of how the U.S. can provide additional support to Iraq's security forces as they confront the threat posed by ISIL.