US DEPLOYS 2,500 TROOPERS TO KUWAIT FOR CONDUCTING MISSIONS IN SYRIA & IRAQ

US DEPLOYS 2,500 TROOPERS TO KUWAIT FOR CONDUCTING MISSIONS IN SYRIA & IRAQ – REPORT

Some 2,500 soldiers from the 2nd Brigade Combat Team of the 82nd Airborne Division is being dispatched to Kuwait by Pentagon in order to be sent to Syrian and Iraq to fight against the Islamic State terrorist group.

Photo: Reuters / Omar Sobhani

The Pentagon is dispatching 2,500 servicemen from the 2nd Brigade Combat Team of the 82nd Airborne Division, based at the Fort Bragg military base, to Kuwait, from where they will be sent to Syria and Iraq to fight against the Islamic State (IS) terrorist group, the Army Times newspaper reported on Friday. The newspaper also noted that 1,700 soldiers of the 2nd Brigade Combat Team have already been deployed to the region between Iraq and Kuwait.

According to the open sources, the 82nd Airborne Division’s 2nd Brigade Combat Team consists of more than 4,000 soldiers, who form cavalry, artillery, infantry and combat support battalions.

On Thursday, the Reuters news agency reported, citing an unnamed military official, that the US Defense Department intends to have rapidly deployable forces in Kuwait as part of the ongoing change in the US strategy to defeat the IS.

On Wednesday, deputy chief of staff for operations of the US Army, Lieutenant General Joseph Anderson, said that the additional troops will be “postured there to do all things Mosul, Raqqa, all in between.”

“So the whole brigade will now be forward,” Anderson noted.

However, the Army command refused to provide any details on the exact timeline of the new deployment.

On Thursday, commander of the US Central Command (CENTCOM), General Joseph Votel, said that more “conventional forces” would be sent to the Middle East in order to conduct so-called “stability operations.” Speaking at the Senate Armed Services Committee, he also noted that “as we move more towards the latter part of these operations into more of the stability and other aspects of the operations we will see more conventional forces requirements perhaps.”

“We have become very comfortable and capable of operating together,” Votel noted. “So, what I have pledged to our commanders and what I expect from them is for them to ask for the capabilities that they need and then for us to ensure we have the right command and control, the right force protection, the right resources in place to ensure that we can function properly together.”

According to the Army Times, there are about 6,000 US troops in Syria and Iraq at the moment.

Comments

Why States Still Use Barrel Bombs

Smoke ascends after a Syrian military helicopter allegedly dropped a barrel bomb over the city of Daraya on Jan. 31.(FADI DIRANI/AFP/Getty Images) Summary Barrel bombs are not especially effective weapons. They are often poorly constructed; they fail to detonate more often than other devices constructed for a similar purpose; and their lack of precision means they can have a disproportionate effect on civilian populations. However, combatants continue to use barrel bombs in conflicts, including in recent and ongoing conflicts in Africa and the Middle East, and they are ideally suited to the requirements of resource-poor states. Analysis Barrel bombs are improvised devices that contain explosive filling and shrapnel packed into a container, often in a cylindrical shape such as a barrel. The devices continue to be dropped on towns all over Syria . Indeed, there have been several documented cases of their use in Iraq over the past months, and residents of the city of Mosul, which was re

Russia Looks East for New Oil Markets

Click to Enlarge In the final years of the Soviet Union, Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev began orienting his foreign policy toward Asia in response to a rising Japan. Putin has also piloted a much-touted pivot to Asia, coinciding with renewed U.S. interest in the area. A good expression of intent was Russia's hosting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in 2012 in Vladivostok, near Russia's borders with China and North Korea. Although its efforts in Asia have been limited by more direct interests in Russia's periphery and in Europe, Moscow recently has been able to look more to the east. Part of this renewed interest involves finding new export markets for Russian hydrocarbons. Russia's economy relies on energy exports, particularly crude oil and natural gas exported via pipeline to the West. However, Western Europe is diversifying its energy sources as new supplies come online out of a desire to reduce its dependence on Russian energy supplies . This has

LONDON POLICE INDIRECTLY ENCOURAGE CRIMINALS TO ATTACK RUSSIAN DIPLOMATIC PROPERTY

ILLUSTRATIVE IMAGE A few days ago an unknown perpetrator trespassed on the territory of the Russian Trade Delegation in London, causing damage to the property and the vehicles belonging to the trade delegation , Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said during the September 12 press briefing. The diplomat revealed the response by the London police was discouraging. Police told that the case does not have any prospects and is likely to be closed. This was made despite the fact that the British law enforcement was provided with video surveillance tapes and detailed information shedding light on the incident. By this byehavior, British law inforcements indirectly encourage criminals to continue attacks on Russian diplomatic property in the UK. Zakharova’s statement on “Trespassing on the Russian Trade Mission premises in London” ( source ): During our briefings, we have repeatedly discussed compliance with the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, specif

ISDEI Instituto de Seguridad, Defensa y Estudios Internacionales

Search This Blog