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☆ U.S. to Withdraw Troops From Chad, Dealing Another Blow to Africa Policy
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-25 | by ( Eric Schmitt | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The Pentagon will withdraw dozens of Special Operations forces from Chad in the next few days, the second major blow in a week to American security and counterterrorism policy in a volatile swath of West and Central Africa, U.S. officials said on Thursday. The decision to pull out about 75 Army Special Forces personnel working in Ndjamena, Chad’s capital, comes days after the Biden administration said it would withdraw more than 1,000 U.S. military personnel from Niger in the coming months. The Pentagon is being forced to draw down troops in response to the African governments’ demands to renegotiate the rules and conditions under which U.S. military personnel can operate. Both countries want terms that better favor their interests, analysts say. The decision to withdraw from Niger is final, but U.S. officials said they hoped to resume talks on security cooperation after elections in Chad on May 6.

Persons: Biden Organizations: Pentagon, Operations, Special Forces Locations: Chad, West, Central Africa, U.S, Ndjamena, Niger, Mali, Burkina Faso, United States, Russia, Moscow

☆ U.S. Secretly Shipped New Long-Range Missiles to Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-24 | by ( Eric Schmitt | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The United States last week secretly shipped a new long-range missile system to Ukraine, and Ukrainian forces immediately used the weapons to attack a Russian military airfield in Crimea last Wednesday and Russian troops in the country’s southeast overnight on Tuesday, according to a senior U.S. official. The United States had previously supplied Ukraine with a version of the Army Tactical Missile Systems — known as ATACMS — armed with wide-spreading cluster munitions that can travel 100 miles. But Ukraine has long coveted the system’s longer-range version, with a range of about 190 miles, which can reach deeper into occupied Ukraine, including Crimea, a hub of Russian air and ground forces, and supply nodes for Moscow’s forces in the country’s southeast. Overnight Tuesday, Ukraine used the longer-range missiles to strike Russian troops in the port city of Berdiansk on the Sea of Azov, the senior U.S. official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss operational matters.

Organizations: United, Army Tactical Missile Systems, U.S Locations: States, Ukraine, Ukrainian, Russian, Crimea, U.S, United States, Berdiansk, Azov

Ukraine’s Race to Hold the Line The days of lightning battlefield breakthroughs may be over. N Anti-tank ditch 1 2 Dragon’s teeth 1 mile 3 Trenches This defensive line in southern Ukraine runs a staggering 27 miles. 25 miles KHERSON N Anti-tank ditch 1 Dragon’s teeth 2 1 mile 3 Trenches This defensive line in southern Ukraine runs a staggering 27 miles. 10 miles Anti-tank ditch 1 Dragon’s teeth 2 3 Trenches 15 miles Ditches. 25 miles N 1 Anti-tank ditch 2 Dragon’s teeth 1 mile 3 Trenches This defensive line in southern Ukraine runs a staggering 27 miles.

Persons: Copernicus, Vyacheslav Madiyevskyy, Christopher G, Cavoli, Chasiv Yar, James Rands, Janes, Rands, ” Organizations: U.S . House, Analysts, Infantry, Reuters, LUHANSK UKRAINE New, Institute for, American, Pentagon, Kurakhove, Defenses, “ Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Ukrainian, KHERSON, Wiesbaden, Germany, Kherson, Zaporizhia, LUHANSK UKRAINE, DONETSK ZAPORIZHIA, Russia KHERSON CRIMEA, ZAPORIZHIA, Russia KHERSON, CRIMEA, Avdiivka, Europe, Marinka, UKRAINE, London, “ Ukraine

Israel’s military operations in Gaza have weakened Hamas. Thousands of its members have been killed, and at least one senior military leader has been eliminated. Yet Israel has not achieved its primary goals of the war: freeing hostages and fully destroying Hamas. The war and the tactics of the Israel Defense Forces have come at a great cost. Vast numbers of Palestinian civilians have been killed in the Israeli campaign; hunger is widespread in Gaza; and deaths around relief efforts have generated condemnation.

Persons: Israel Organizations: Hamas, Israel Defense Forces, Israel Locations: Gaza, Israel

☆ U.S. Military Aid for Ukraine Could Soon Flow Again
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-20 | by ( John Ismay | Eric Schmitt | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Shipments of American weapons could begin flowing to Ukraine again soon after House approval of a long-stalled aid package, U.S. officials say, with goods from the Pentagon’s stockpiles in Germany shipped quickly by rail to the Ukrainian border. The measure would provide the Ukraine war effort with about $60 billion. A sizable amount is set aside to replenish U.S. defense stockpiles, and billions more would be used to purchase U.S. defense systems, which Ukrainian officials say are badly needed. For months, Ukrainian military officials have complained that political paralysis in the U.S. Congress had created critical munitions shortages in the war against Russia. Ukrainian troops on the front lines have had to ration shells, and morale has suffered.

Persons: Biden Organizations: U.S . Congress Locations: Ukraine, Germany, Ukrainian, Russia

An Israeli airstrike on Iran on Friday damaged an air defense system, according to Western and Iranian officials, in an attack calculated to deliver a message that Israel could bypass Iran’s defensive systems undetected and paralyze them. The strike damaged a defensive battery near Natanz, a city in central Iran that is critical to the country’s nuclear weapons program, according to two Western officials and two Iranian officials. The attack — and the revelation on Saturday of its target — was in retaliation for Iran’s strike in Israel last week after Israel bombed its embassy compound in Damascus. But it used a fraction of the firepower Tehran deployed in launching hundreds of drones and missiles at Israel. But the relatively limited scope of Israel’s strike and the muted response from Iranian officials seem to have eased tensions.

Organizations: Israel Locations: Iran, Israel, Damascus, Tehran, Syria

☆ Israel’s Strike on Iran: A Limited Attack but a Potentially Big Signal
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-19 | by ( David E. Sanger | Eric Schmitt | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

For more than a decade, Israel has rehearsed, time and again, bombing and missile campaigns that would take out Iran’s nuclear production capability, much of it based around the city of Isfahan and the Natanz nuclear enrichment complex 75 miles to the north. That is not what Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s war cabinet chose to do in the predawn hours of Friday, and in interviews, analysts and nuclear experts said the decision was telling. Israel said almost nothing about the limited strike, which appeared to do little damage in Iran. U.S. officials noted that the Iranian decision to downplay the explosions in Isfahan — and the suggestions by Iranian officials that Israel may not have been responsible — was a clear effort by the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps to avoid another round of escalation. Inside the White House, officials asked the Pentagon, State Department and intelligence agencies to stay quiet about the operation, hoping to ease Iran’s efforts to calm the tensions in the region.

Persons: Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu’s, — Organizations: Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, Pentagon, State Department Locations: Isfahan, Iran, U.S, Isfahan —, Israel

☆ An ISIS Terror Group Draws Half Its Recruits From Tiny Tajikistan
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-18 | by ( Neil Macfarquhar | Eric Schmitt | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Even though he spent five years in Tajik prisons as a teenager, she said he never exhibited signs of violent extremism. “We need to understand — who is recruiting young Tajiks, why do they want to highlight us as a nation of terrorists?” said the mother, Muyassar Zargarova. Many governments and terrorism experts are asking the same question. Tajik adherents of the Islamic State — especially within its affiliate in Afghanistan known as the Islamic State Khorasan Province (I.S.K.P. ISIS-K is believed to have several thousand soldiers, with Tajiks constituting more than half, experts said.

Persons: ”, Muyassar Organizations: Islamic Locations: Moscow, Tajikistan, Central Asia, Afghanistan, Khorasan Province, Russia, Iran, Turkey, Europe

Israel was mere moments away from an airstrike on April 1 that killed several senior Iranian commanders at Iran’s embassy complex in Syria when it told the United States what was about to happen. Aides quickly alerted Jake Sullivan, President Biden’s national security adviser; Jon Finer, the deputy national security adviser; Brett McGurk, Mr. Biden’s Middle East coordinator; and others, who saw that the strike could have serious consequences, a U.S. official said. Publicly, U.S. officials voiced support for Israel, but privately, they expressed anger that it would take such aggressive action against Iran without consulting Washington. On Saturday, Iran launched a retaliatory barrage of more than 300 drones and missiles at Israel, an unexpectedly large-scale response, if one that did minimal damage. The events made clear that the unwritten rules of engagement in the long-simmering conflict between Israel and Iran have changed drastically in recent months, making it harder than ever for each side to gauge the other’s intentions and reactions.

Persons: Israel, Jake Sullivan, Jon, Brett McGurk Organizations: U.S, Publicly, Israel, Washington Locations: Syria, United States, Biden’s, Iran, Israel

☆ Senate dismisses two articles of impeachment against Homeland Security secretary, ends trial
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-17 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas testifies before the House Homeland Security Committee about the Biden Administration's FY2025 budget request in the Cannon House Office Building on Capitol Hill on April 16, 2024 in Washington, DC. Senators voted to dismiss both articles of impeachment and end the trial, with Democrats arguing that the articles were unconstitutional. Still, Republicans similarly moved to dismiss former President Donald Trump's second impeachment trial in 2021, weeks after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. Johnson had said he would send them to the Senate last week, but he punted again after Senate Republicans said they wanted more time to prepare. The impeachment trial is the third in five years.

Persons: Alejandro Mayorkas, Joe Biden, impeaching Mayorkas, Mike Johnson, Mayorkas, Schumer, Chuck Schumer, William McFarland, Kevin F, Mark Green, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Michael McCaul, Clay Higgins, Ben Cline, Andy Biggs, Michael Guest, Laurel Lee, Harriet Hageman, Andrew Garbarino, Pfluger, Democratic Sen, Patty Murray, Murray, Missouri Sen, Eric Schmitt, Mitch McConnell, McConnell, Donald Trump's, McConnell —, Trump, Johnson, he's, I'm, Joe Biden's, Donald Trump Organizations: Homeland, House Homeland Security, Biden, Cannon, Republicans, House Republicans, Democrats, —, Republican, of Homeland, Democratic, National Archives, Capitol, Senate, Democrat, Tennessee Rep, Congress Locations: Washington , DC, Mexico, U.S, WASHINGTON, Texas, Washington, Missouri, Ky, New York, New York City, Ukraine, Mayorkas

☆ Senate Democrats unceremoniously kill Mayorkas impeachment trial
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-17 | by ( Brent D. Griffiths | Bryan Metzger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

On Wednesday, Senate Democrats voted to declare as unconstitutional both articles of impeachment against Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas — effectively ending the trial. It put a swift end to what had been a monthslong process by House Republicans, championed originally by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia. Democrats agreed with Schumer's move, effectively rendering the articles moot and the trial over before House Republicans could present their case. Senate Republicans were also unsuccessful in their effort to pressure vulnerable Democrats to back their push for a longer trial. Greene forced her colleagues to vote on moving forward with Mayorkas' impeachment last November.

Persons: —, Alejandro Mayorkas —, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Sen, Lisa Murkowski, Mitt Romney, he's, Chuck Schumer, Schumer's, Schumer, Eric Schmitt, Ted Cruz, Mitch McConnell, Jon Tester, Montana, Mayorkas, Mike Gallagher, Wisconsin —, Joe Biden's, Donald Trump, Greene, Mark Green of Organizations: Service, of Homeland, House Republicans, Business, Senators, Missouri Republican, Republicans, Texas Republican, Senate, GOP, White House, Homeland, Democrats, House Homeland Security, Homeland Security Locations: Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, Alaska, Utah, Missouri, Texas, Wisconsin, Southern, Mark Green of Tennessee

Persons: Israel, Jake Sullivan, Jon, Brett McGurk Organizations: U.S, Publicly, Israel, Washington Locations: Syria, United States, Biden’s, Iran, Israel

☆ Pentagon Reviews Events Before Attack That Killed 13 U.S. Troops in Kabul
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-15 | by ( Eric Schmitt | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A new Pentagon review of the events leading up to the bombing that killed 13 American service members at the airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, in August 2021, has reaffirmed earlier findings that U.S. troops could not have prevented the deadly violence. The review’s conclusions focus on the final days and hours at Abbey Gate before the attack, which also killed as many as 170 civilians. Some Marines who were at the gate have said they identified the suspected bomber — who became known to investigators as “Bald Man in Black” — in the crowds hours before the attack but were twice denied permission by their superiors to shoot him. But the review, building on a previous investigation made public in February 2022, rejected those accusations. The narrative of missed opportunities to avert tragedy has gained momentum over the past year among conservatives and has contributed to broader Republican criticisms of the Biden administration’s troop withdrawal and evacuation from Kabul in August 2021.

Organizations: Islamic State, Marines, Biden Locations: Kabul, Afghanistan

Listen and follow The DailyApple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon MusicOvernight on Saturday, Iran launched its first direct attack on Israeli soil, shooting hundreds of missiles and drones at multiple targets. Eric Schmitt, a national security correspondent for The Times, explains what happened and considers whether a broader war is brewing in the Middle East.

Persons: Eric Schmitt Organizations: Spotify, The Times Locations: Iran

Iran’s much-anticipated retaliation for Israel’s killing of senior military leaders produced a fiery aerial display in the skies over Israel and the West Bank. But in important ways, military analysts say, it was just that: a highly choreographed spectacle. Just as they did back in 2020 when retaliating for the U.S. killing of Gen. Qassim Suleimani, Iranian leaders this weekend gave plenty of warning that they were launching strikes. The result: a lot of bang, but relatively little destruction on the ground. Few of Iran’s drones and missiles found their intended targets, an inaccuracy level that military experts and defense officials say was probably by design.

Persons: retaliating, Qassim Suleimani Organizations: West Bank, Jordanian, Iranian Embassy Locations: Israel, Gen, Iran, Iranian, Syria

American intelligence analysts and officials said on Friday that they expected Iran to strike multiple targets inside Israel within the next few days in retaliation for an Israeli bombing in the Syrian capital on April 1 that killed several senior Iranian commanders. The United States, Israel’s pre-eminent ally, has military forces in several places across the Middle East. Any Iranian strike inside Israel would be a watershed moment in the decades of hostilities between the two nations that would most likely open a volatile new chapter in the region. And an Iranian attack would heighten the risk of a wider conflict that could drag in multiple countries, including the United States. In remarks to reporters on Friday, President Biden said that he expected a military attack against Israel “sooner rather than later,” and that his message to Iran was “don’t.”

Persons: Israel’s, Biden, Israel “, “, ” Locations: Iran, Israel, United States

☆ U.S. Sends a Top General to Israel Amid Fears of Iranian Strikes
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-11 | by ( Cassandra Vinograd | Eric Schmitt | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The United States dispatched its top military commander for the Middle East to Israel on Thursday, after President Biden stated that, despite recent friction, American support for Israel “is ironclad” in the event of an attack by Iran. Iran’s leaders have repeatedly vowed to punish Israel for an April 1 strike in Syria that killed several senior Iranian commanders. Israel has put its military on alert, and Mr. Biden said on Wednesday that Iran was threatening a “significant” attack. Gen. Michael E. Kurilla, the American commander, will coordinate with Israel on what is widely expected to be imminent retaliatory action by Iran and will also discuss the war against Hamas in Gaza and humanitarian aid operations there, according to officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel acknowledged on Thursday that Israel was facing “challenging times,” noting that “in the midst of the war in Gaza” his country was “also prepared for scenarios involving challenges in other sectors.”

Persons: Biden, Israel “, Israel, Michael E, Benjamin Netanyahu, “ Organizations: United, Israel Locations: United States, East, Israel, Iran, Syria, American, Gaza

☆ Without More Aid, Ukraine Could Lose the War, U.S. General Says
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-10 | by ( Eric Schmitt | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The top American military commander in Europe warned on Wednesday that Ukraine could lose the war with Russia if the United States did not send more ammunition to Ukrainian forces, and fast. General Cavoli, who is also NATO’s top military commander, said Ukraine’s allies had provided much of the equipment and arms that Kyiv needed to combat the larger Russian military, including all donated fuel and 90 percent of its tanks. But the United States gives Ukraine most of the two critical munitions that are in shortest supply: artillery shells and air-defense interceptors. “If we do not continue to support Ukraine, Ukraine will run out of artillery shells and will run out of air defense interceptors in fairly short order,” General Cavoli said. “Based on my experience in 37-plus years in the U.S. military, if one side can shoot and the other side can’t shoot back, the side that can’t shoot back loses.”

Persons: Gen, Christopher G, General Cavoli, Ukraine’s, Cavoli, ” Organizations: Command, House Armed Services Committee, U.S . Locations: Europe, Ukraine, Russia, United States, U.S

Iran is operating a clandestine smuggling route across the Middle East, employing intelligence operatives, militants and criminal gangs, to deliver weapons to Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, according to officials from the United States, Israel and Iran. The goal, as described by three Iranian officials, is to foment unrest against Israel by flooding the enclave with as many weapons as it can. The covert operation is now heightening concerns that Tehran is seeking to turn the West Bank into the next flashpoint in the long-simmering shadow war between Israel and Iran. Many weapons smuggled to the West Bank largely travel along two paths from Iran through Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and Israel, the officials said. A key group in the operation, the Iranian officials and analysts said, are Bedouin smugglers who carry the weapons across the border from Jordan into Israel.

Organizations: West Bank Locations: Iran, United States, Israel, Tehran, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan

U.S. officials in Washington and the Middle East said on Friday that they were bracing for possible Iranian retaliation for the Israeli airstrike on Monday in Damascus, Syria. U.S. military forces in the region have been placed on heightened alert. Israel has also placed its military on high alert, according to an Israeli official, canceled leave for combat units, recalled some reservists to air defense units and blocked GPS signals. Two Iranian officials who asked not to be named because they were not authorized to speak publicly said that Iran had placed all its armed forces on full high alert and that a decision had been made that Iran must respond directly to the Damascus attack to create deterrence. “We warn that no act by any enemy against our holy system will go unanswered and the art of the Iranian nation is to break the power of empires.”

Persons: Israel’s, Gen, Hossein Organizations: Quds Force, Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps Locations: Iran, Washington, Damascus, Syria, U.S, Israel, Tehran

☆ Fears Grow That Syria Strikes Could Spur Retaliatory Attacks on Israel and U.S.
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-02 | by ( Eric Schmitt | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Current and former U.S. officials expressed fears on Tuesday that Israel’s airstrikes on an Iranian embassy compound in Syria could escalate hostilities in the region, and prompt retaliatory strikes against Israel and its American ally. Indeed, after the Israeli strike in Damascus, Syria’s capital, on Monday, American troops based in southeastern Syria knocked down an attack drone, a Defense Department official said. It was unclear if the drone was aimed at the U.S. forces, the official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss operational details. If it were, it would be the first attack by Iran-backed militias against American troops in Iraq or Syria in nearly two months. The official said there had been no further attacks overnight, but that Pentagon officials were monitoring the situation closely.

Persons: Ralph Goff, Goff Organizations: Israel, Iran’s Quds Force, Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, Defense Department, U.S ., Pentagon Locations: Syria, Iran’s Quds, Iran, Damascus, Syria’s, U.S, Iraq

A day before the U.S. embassy in Moscow put out a rare public alert this month about a possible extremist attack at a Russian concert venue, the local C.I.A. station delivered a private warning to Russian officials that included at least one additional detail: The plot in question involved an offshoot of the Islamic State known as ISIS-K.American intelligence had been tracking the group closely and believed the threat credible. Within days, however, President Vladimir V. Putin was disparaging the warnings, calling them “outright blackmail” and attempts to “intimidate and destabilize our society.”Three days after he spoke, gunmen stormed Crocus City Hall outside Moscow last Friday night and killed at least 143 people in the deadliest attack in Russia in nearly two decades. ISIS quickly claimed responsibility for the massacre with statements, a photo and a propaganda video. What made the security lapse seemingly even more notable was that in the days before the massacre Russia’s own security establishment had also acknowledged the domestic threat posed by the Islamic State affiliate in Afghanistan, called Islamic State Khorasan Province, or ISIS-K.

Persons: Vladimir V, Putin, ” Organizations: Crocus City Hall, Moscow, ISIS, Islamic State Locations: U.S, Moscow, Russian, Islamic, Crocus, Russia, Afghanistan, State Khorasan Province

☆ Middle East Crisis Israeli and U.S. Defense Ministers to Meet in Washington With Tensions High
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-26 | by ( Victoria Kim | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +5 min

For the increasingly tense U.S.-Israel relationship, the fallout from passage of the U.N. cease-fire resolution was immediate, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday that he would not send a planned high-level delegation to Washington for meetings with U.S. officials. But on Monday, when the Security Council took up a less strongly worded resolution, calling for a cease-fire for the holy month of Ramadan, the U.S. representative abstained, allowing the measure to pass. Mr. Gallant, before meeting with Mr. Sullivan, gave no sign Israel would agree to a cease-fire. He reiterated the administration’s position that before going into Rafah, Israel must have a detailed plan to protect, shelter and feed the civilians there. The U.N. resolution and the American role in it drew angry responses from far-right elements of Israel’s government.

Persons: Benjamin Netanyahu, Biden, Netanyahu, “, Mr, Israel’s, John F, Kirby, ”, ” Mr, Yoav Gallant, Jake Sullivan, Antony J, Blinken, Lloyd J, Austin III, Gallant, Sullivan, Austin, Patrick Ryder, General Ryder, Itamar Ben, Gvir, Eric Schmitt, David E, Sanger, Cassandra Vinograd Organizations: United, Security, U.S, White, National Security Council, Pentagon, . Security, Palestinian, Security Council Locations: Israel, Washington, Rafah, Gaza, United States, ”

☆ ISIS Affiliate Linked to Moscow Attack Has Global Ambitions
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-25 | by ( Eric Schmitt | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Five years ago this month, an American-backed Kurdish and Arab militia ousted Islamic State fighters from a village in eastern Syria, the group’s last sliver of territory. Since then, the organization that once staked out a self-proclaimed caliphate across Iraq and Syria has metastasized into a more traditional terrorist group — a clandestine network of cells from West Africa to Southeast Asia engaged in guerrilla attacks, bombings and targeted assassinations. None of the group’s affiliates have been as relentless as the Islamic State in Khorasan, which is active in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iran and has set its sights on attacking Europe and beyond. U.S. officials say the group carried out the attack near Moscow on Friday, killing scores of people and wounding many others. In January, Islamic State Khorasan, or ISIS-K, carried out twin bombings in Iran that killed scores and wounded hundreds of others at a memorial service for Iran’s former top general, Qassim Suleimani, who was targeted in a U.S. drone strike four years earlier.

Persons: Qassim Suleimani Organizations: Islamic Locations: American, Syria, Iraq, West Africa, Southeast Asia, Khorasan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran, Europe, U.S, Moscow, State Khorasan

is a national security correspondent for The Times, focusing on U.S. military affairs and counterterrorism issues overseas, topics he has reported on for more than three decades.

Organizations: The Times

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