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Trump to visit Centcom, with sights on battling Islamic State
By Andrew BEATTY
Palm Beach, United States (AFP) Feb 6, 2017


Trump to meet NATO leaders in May: White House
Palm Beach, United States (AFP) Feb 6, 2017 - Donald Trump will meet fellow NATO leaders in May, the White House said Sunday after the president's call with the alliance's Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.

Trump expressed "strong support for NATO" but called on European members to pitch in more, the White House said in a statement, adding that Trump "agreed to join in a meeting of NATO leaders in Europe in late May."

"The parties agreed to continue close coordination and cooperation to address the full range of security challenges facing NATO," the White House statement said.

The United States provides significant funding to NATO, and Trump has previously urged other member nations to step up their contributions.

"The leaders discussed how to encourage all NATO allies to meet their defense spending commitments," Sunday's statement added.

European leaders are concerned about Trump's virulent criticism of NATO -- he has dubbed the transatlantic military alliance "obsolete" -- at a time when it stands as the main defense against Russia's President Vladimir Putin.

According to the White House statement the parties also discussed "the potential for a peaceful resolution of the conflict along the Ukrainian border."

Kiev and the West have accused Russia of supporting eastern Ukrainian rebels and deploying troops across the border, claims that Moscow refutes.

Trump's friendly stance toward Putin has been under scrutiny since he won the US election in November.

Trump took office with US-Russian ties at new lows amid accusations by American intelligence agencies that the Kremlin hacked Democratic Party emails as part of a pro-Trump campaign to influence the election.

President Donald Trump travels to US Central Command on Monday, meeting officers who will form the tip of the spear in implementing his new strategy to defeat the Islamic State group.

After a three-day break in southern Florida, Trump will stop off at Centcom headquarters in Tampa on his way back to Washington.

The military command is responsible for an area that includes the Middle East and Central Asia.

It plays a key role in Operation Inherent Resolve -- the US-led mission to "degrade and defeat" the Islamic State group -- which has resulted in 17,861 strikes across northern Syria and Iraq since August 2016.

Apart from seizing territory and declaring a caliphate, the Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for attacks in Africa, Europe, the United States, Southeast Asia and across the Middle East.

It's seen as influencing attackers in San Bernardino, California, who killed 14 people in December 2015, and the attacker of an Orlando nightclub, who left 49 dead in June last year.

In late January, Trump ordered generals to begin a 30-day review of the US strategy to defeat the Syria and Iraq-based militant group.

Trump had made fighting "radical Islamic terrorism" a central plank of his election campaign and the issue is emerging as the organizing principle of his foreign and domestic policies.

He used potential cooperation in the fight against the Islamic State group as a reason to embrace Russia and has tried to implement an order banning refugees and nationals of seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the United States.

The ban has spurred an unprecedented battle with the courts. On Sunday, Trump tried to pin the blame for future attacks on the federal judge who blocked his executive order.

"Just cannot believe a judge would put our country in such peril. If something happens blame him and court system. People pouring in. Bad!" Trump said.

He did not offer evidence for the suggestion that would-be terrorists are flocking to the country.

Most experts express more concern about Americans becoming radicalized and carrying out IS-inspired attacks, rather than the group dispatching clandestine agents around the world.

Hundreds of Trump's own diplomats have voiced their opposition to the ban.

- Taking the fight to ISIS -

The contours of Trump's policy to fight the Islamic State group abroad are still coming into focus.

On January 28, he signed a presidential memorandum that called for a review including any "recommended changes to any United States rules of engagement."

That could foreshadow a tougher approach, but it is one that some experts believe could fuel radicalization.

During Trump's first days in office, US special forces carried out a raid against Al-Qaeda in Yemen which resulted in the deaths of one US soldier, 14 jihadists and as many as 16 civilians.

Trump also called for the "identification of new coalition partners" -- a likely nod toward Russia.

Moscow has deployed aircraft, naval assets and troops to Syria, but has so far trained its fire on rebels with the aim of propping up Bashar al-Assad's regime.

After substantial territorial gains, IS is now on the back foot, struggling to hold onto the Iraqi city of Mosul and with its "capital" in Raqa under threat.

But the battle is approaching a fork in the road.

Trump has reportedly shelved his predecessor Barack Obama's plans for taking Raqa with the help of Kurdish forces and must soon decide how to proceed.


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Tunisia gets 6 US combat helicopters to fight 'terror'
Tunis (AFP) Feb 4, 2017
Tunisia's armed forces have taken delivery of six US-made military helicopters from a total order of 24 for use in its fight against "terror", the government announced Saturday. Prime Minister Youssef Chahed was present at the southern military base of Gabes for the delivery of the aircraft, said a government statement. The helicopters would reinforce the army's reconnaissance and attack ... read more


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