(Nov 4, 2023)
President Biden has been deeply involved in the U.S. response to the Israel-Hamas war — one of the thorniest challenges of his presidency so far — receiving briefings at least once per day and speaking with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu several times a week.
The big picture: Biden is leaning on a tight circle of trusted aides and officials. Here‘s a look at who‘s in the room when major decisions are being made.
(January 2, 2024)
The deal, which has not been announced publicly, highlights Washington’s reliance on the tiny Gulf country that has recently played a central role in mediating the release of Americans from captivity in Gaza and Venezuela.
The Al Udeid Air Base, located in the desert southwest of Doha, is the biggest US military installation in the Middle East and can house more than 10,000 American troops.
Gen. Erik Kurilla, commander of the U.S. Central Command, is expected to meet Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and senior Israel Defense Forces officials.
Israeli officials say they are preparing for a possible unprecedented direct attack from Iranian soil using ballistic missiles, drones and cruise missiles against Israeli targets.
In such a scenario, Israel will retaliate with a direct attack against Iran, the officials said.
U.S. military officials said Wednesday’s strike was carried out about 9:30 p.m. “in response to the attacks on U.S. service members” and resulted in the death of a militia commander “responsible for directly planning and participating” in those attacks. The statement, which does not identify the individual who was killed, said there were no initial indications of civilian casualties.
Nach Angaben des Sprechers der irakischen Streitkräfte, Jahja Rasul, ereignete sich der Angriff in einer Wohngegend. Der US-Angriff habe stattgefunden „ohne Rücksicht auf das Leben von Zivilisten oder internationales Recht“. Es bereite noch mehr Sorge, dass die Koalition ständig von den eigentlichen „Gründen und Zielen ihrer Präsenz“ im Irak abweiche.
Rasul bezeichnete die Präsenz der US-geführten Koalition als „Faktor für Instabilität“: „Dieser Kurs zwingt die irakische Regierung mehr als jemals zuvor, den Einsatz dieser Koalition zu beenden.“
(28.01.2024)
According to officials, the Jan. 11 raid targeted an unflagged ship carrying illicit Iranian-made weapons to the Houthi rebels in Yemen. Officials have said that as the team was boarding the ship, one of the SEALs went under in the heavy seas, and a teammate went in to try and save him.
(…)
The U.S. Navy ultimately sunk the ship carrying the weapons after deeming it unsafe, Central Command said. The ship’s 14 crew were detained.
The attack against the Gibraltar Eagle appears to be the first time the Houthis have successfully struck a US-owned or operated ship, raising the stakes in the Red Sea after the US vowed that further Houthi launches would be met with a response.
It came just days after a US-led coalition carried out strikes against the Iranian-backed rebel group in Yemen and warned more strikes were possible if the Houthi attacks continue.
(Today, 6:48 pm)
Asking a question at Secretary of State Blinken’s press conference earlier today, AFP’s Leon Bruneau described the incident as “apparently a missile strike.”
(Today, 5:25 pm)
“In support of hostage recovery efforts, the US is conducting unarmed UAV flights over Gaza, as well as providing advice and assistance to support our Israeli partner as they work on their hostage recovery efforts,” Pentagon spokesman Brigadier General Pat Ryder says in a statement.
Gen. Michael E. Kurilla, who oversees U.S. Central Command, ordered the additional interviews “to ensure we do our due diligence” with information that came to light after the military closed its investigation of the incident, Michael Lawhorn, a Central Command spokesman, said in a statement. By itself, the move does not formally reopen the investigation, completed in November 2021, but the general could determine that doing so is necessary once the additional interviews are complete.
(…)
The attack’s suspected mastermind was killed by the Taliban earlier this year, U.S. officials disclosed in April.
The US-led anti-ISIS coalition is building a new military base in Syria’s northern province of Raqqa, The New Arab reported, citing a source close to the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
The US backs the SDF and keeps about 900 troops (officially at least) in eastern Syria, allowing the US to control about one-third of Syria’s territory. The report said there are currently about 24 US-led military sites spread throughout eastern Syria.
(8. Juli 2019)
Wie gefährlich und für die Allermeisten unübersichtlich die Situation in diesem von allen Großmächten mit Ansage gezüchteten Hexenkessel in Syrien ist, mag man daran erkennen, dass die Staatsführungen von Russland, Iran und Syrien im August 2016 dem von der Türkei aus erfolgten Einmarsch der Internationalen Kriegskoalition in Syrien tatenlos zusahen und hofften, dass das nicht weiter auffiel.
Alle Kriegsparteien lügen um die Wette. (…)
Was die Verräterpartei “S.P.D.” und ihre Hunderttausenden von Parteileichen wollen oder nicht wollen, ist dabei bedeutungslos. Die (internationale) Hierarchie befiehlt, sie folgen.
Wer jetzt allen Ernstes mit anderen Verräterparteien wie “die Linke” oder “Bündnis 90/Die Grünen” ankommt, hat sich offensichtlich zum wiederholten Male blitzdingsen lassen.
Das erste Bundestagsmandat für den Einsatz von Spezialkräften, Luftwaffe und (im Zuge von “Aufklärung”) natürlich auch des Bundesnachrichtendienstes, in einem willkürlich und praktisch weltweit ausdehnbaren Einsatzgebiet (auf jedem Territorium jedes Staates in der Kriegskoalition), erfolgte am 4. Dezember 2015.
(24 May, 2023)
There are currently at least 24 US-led coalition military sites spread throughout Syria’s northeast.
The US says its military is stationed in the country to fight against the remnants of IS.
(May 23, 2023)
The senior general in charge of US forces in the Middle East ordered that his command announce on Twitter that a senior al Qaeda leader had been targeted by an American drone strike in Syria earlier this month – despite not yet having confirmation of who was actually killed in the strike, according to multiple defense officials.
Nearly three weeks later, US Central Command still does not know whether a civilian died instead, officials said. CENTCOM did not open a review of the incident, officially known as a civilian-casualty credibility assessment report, until May 15 – twelve days after the strike. That review is ongoing.
(May 18, 2023)
Lotfi Hassan Misto, 56, whose family identified him as the victim of a Hellfire missile attack on May 3, was a former bricklayer who lived quietly in this town in northwest Syria, according to interviews with his brother, son and six others who knew him. They described a kind, hard-working man whose “whole life was spent poor.”
(November 28, 2022)
The NIS 58 billion defense budget set for the IDF in the coming year is expected to allow the Israeli military to focus on the threats posed by Iran across the region, with some NIS 3.5b. designated specifically for this.
(December 23, 2022)
The strategy documents, which have not yet been publicly confirmed by Saudi officials, will codify “the kingdom’s strategic vision for national security and regional security,” the general said. Kurilla called the decision “a critical step” in Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s military modernization plans.
Why it matters: The Biden administration is leveraging the Pentagon’s know-how to help the kingdom meet its security goals in a bid to rebuild trust, even as the White House says it is reevaluating US relations with Riyadh.
Deir Ezzor,SANA- 10 workers were killed and 2 others injured in a terrorist attack that targeted 3 buses carrying workers in the al-Taym oil field in Deir Ezzor, SANA reporter reported .
Minister of Oil and Mineral Resources, Bassam Tohme, said in a telephone conversation with the Syrian channel that the Syrian people are suffering from an oil crisis, and the American occupation, through its mercenaries and terrorist groups, wants to cut off the available oil part that secures the minimum needs of the Syrian people, and therefore they carried out this blatant attack on cars Shifts of workers of al-Tayyem field at al-Furat Company.
(December 20, 2022)
U.S. forces conducted three helicopter raids in eastern Syria that resulted in the detention of six Islamic State operatives, according to a Tuesday statement from U.S. Central Command.
The three raids occurred “over the last 48 hours,” and one of the ISIS fighters detained was identified as al Zubaydi, whom CENTCOM described as “an Islamic State Syria Province Senior Official involved in the planning and facilitation of ISIS attacks in Syria.”
(December 16, 2022)
The two allied forces resumed operations on Dec. 8, and since then, they „have conducted six partnered operations, resulting in the detention of five ISIS operatives involved in planning attacks on detention facilities holding ISIS fighters and on the Al Hol camp,“ Col. Joe Buccino, a spokesman for CENTCOM, said in a statement referring to the Syrian refugee camp.
(…)
The Syrian Democratic Forces thwarted a suicide bombing attempt at the camp in late September, though four ISIS fighters were killed in the incident. Weeks earlier, the SDF arrested “dozens of ISIS operatives” while conducting security operations at the refugee camp, and a CENTCOM spokesperson said at the time that the arrests led to the “dissolution of a major ISIS facilitation network both within the camp and throughout Syria.”
(27.08.2022)
President Biden’s order to strike targets belonging to Iranian-backed groups reflects a decision to act — “to protect and defend the safety of our personnel, to degrade and disrupt the ongoing series of attacks against the United States and our partners, and to deter the Islamic Republic of Iran and Iran-backed militia groups from conducting or supporting further attacks on United States personnel and facilities,” the president said in a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.).
Since Army Gen. Michael Erik Kurilla took over U.S. Central Command in April, there has been a push to ensure that Iran cannot carry out attacks against U.S. forces and assets with impunity, according to a person familiar with planning, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations.
(23.05.2022)
According to Buccino, the fuel tankers simulated refueling two US F-15s and four Israeli F-16s. The timing of the refueling exercise was coincidental, Buccino said.
“There is no direct US military involvement in that exercise,” Buccino said, referring to “Chariots of Fire.”
Pentagon spokesman Maj. Rob Lodewick also denied that the Department of Defense was “directly participating” in the exercise, according to the report.
“A small number of personnel from across US Central Command are observing portions of the exercise,” Lodewick added.
(17.05.2022)
According to the unsourced report, the US Air Force will serve as a complementary force, with refueling planes drilling with Israeli fighter jets as they simulate entering Iranian territory and carrying out repeated strikes.
The unprecedented Israel- US aerial collaboration in a drill simulating a strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities is seen as a potential message to Iran amid long-stalled negotiations in Vienna over a return to the 2015 nuclear deal, a possibility Israel has repeatedly voiced its objection to, warning it would lead to “a more violent, more volatile Middle East.”
(17.05.2022)
Gantz is slated to meet with his American counterpart, Lloyd Austin, on Thursday at the Pentagon in Washington. Meanwhile, Michael Kurilla, head of the United States Central Command (CENTCOM), arrived in Israel on Tuesday for his first official visit.