Video: Defense Secretary and Centcom Commander Conduct Joint Briefing

Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and Army Gen. Joseph Votel, Commander, U.S. Central Command, conduct a joint briefing from the Pentagon Briefing Room, April 11, 2017.

Secretary: U.S. Missile Strike on Syrian Air Base Was Measured Response

The April 6 U.S. military missile strike that targeted Shayrat airfield in Syria was a measured response to Syrian President Bashar Assad regime’s April 4 chemical weapons attack in Khan Sheikhoun, Syria, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said in a statement issued today.

President Donald J. Trump directed the strike to deter future use of chemical weapons and to show the United States will not passively stand by while Assad murders innocent people with chemical weapons, which are prohibited by international law and which were declared destroyed, Mattis added. The Defense Department’s assessment is that the strike resulted in the damage or destruction of fuel and ammunition sites, air defense capabilities and 20 percent of Syria’s operational aircraft, the secretary said.

The Syrian government, he added, has lost the ability to refuel or rearm aircraft at Shayrat airfield and at this point, use of the runway is of idle military interest. The Syrian government would be ill-advised ever again to use chemical weapons, Mattis said.

EU, NATO Countries Open Center to Counter 'Hybrid' Threats - Reuters

Several EU and NATO countries on Tuesday signed up to establish a center in Helsinki to research how to tackle tactics such as cyber attacks, propaganda and disinformation.

The United States, Britain, France, Germany, Sweden, Poland, Finland, Latvia and Lithuania signed the Memorandum of Understanding for the membership, and more countries are due to come on board in July.

Host Finland - a militarily non-aligned EU member - has a 1,300-km (800-mile) border with Russia, which has been accused of mounting so-called hybrid campaigns in the Ukraine conflict as well as of interfering in the U.S. presidential election.

Russia has denied interfering in the vote.

The center will be based in Helsinki and will form a network of experts for the participating countries. A steering group is due to hold its first meeting on Wednesday. It is expected to have a team of 10 people working there by later this year…

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