Chief of U.S. Commandos Warns Loose Lips Could Risk American Lives by Dan De Luce, Foreign Policy

The general overseeing U.S. special operations forces has written a memo to Defense Secretary Ash Carter demanding the Pentagon stop talking about what his elite troops are up to in Iraq or elsewhere, saying the commandos require a veil of secrecy to do their job, Foreign Policy has learned.

Gen. Joseph Votel, the chief of U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM) who has been nominated to take over U.S. Central Command, issued the complaint in a Dec. 8 memo — days after Carter and White House officials announced that a force of about 200 special operations forces (SOF) would be deployed to Iraq to target Islamic State militants.

“I am concerned with increased public exposure of SOF activities and operations, and I assess that it is time to get our forces back into the shadows,” Votel wrote, according to an excerpt newly provided to FP by a defense official…

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Pentagon: U.S. Forces in Libya, Looking for ‘Worthy’ Partners

Jeff Seldin, Voice of America

U.S. military forces are on the ground in Libya looking for potential partners in what could soon be an expanded campaign against the Islamic State (IS) terror group.

"There have been some U.S. forces in Libya trying to establish contact with forces on the ground," Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook told reporters Wednesday. “Get a better sense of who the players are, who might be worthy of U.S. support and support from some of our partners going forward.”

Cook described the U.S. contingent as a small group, adding they were in Libya "at the concurrence of Libyan officials.”

While not the biggest fighting force in Libya, IS has been growing stronger there in recent months, cementing its hold on the city of Sirte and surrounding areas.

Growing Threat in Libya

A U.S. official familiar with the intelligence recently told VOA about 500 key IS officials and fighters who left Syria and Iraq during the last several weeks of 2015 and moved to Libya in what appeared to be a calculated move.

Western officials estimate IS may now have upwards of 5,000 fighters in Libya.

“This is a situation that does cause us concern, and we’re considering what our options might be going forward should that threat, ISIL, become an even bigger threat,” Cook said, using an acronym for the terror group.

Cook’s comments come just days after the top U.S. military officer warned the Islamic State in Libya posed a pressing regional threat.

“You want to take decisive military action to check ISIL's expansion and at the same time you want to do it in such a way that's supportive of a long-term political process," Marine General Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told a small group of reporters Friday.

"My perspective is we need to do more," Dunford added, saying key decisions about U.S. involvement in Libya could come within a matter of weeks.

The U.S. has already shown a willingness to strike IS in Libya, killing Abu Nabil, believed to have been the top IS leader in Libya, in an airstrike this past November.

Training Ground

Islamic State has long used Libya as a training ground for fighters destined for Syria and Iraq, but increasingly it has become part of the terror group’s expansion plans.

“It now is a destination,” Levantine Group security analyst Michael Horowitz said. “The local branches of ISIS have spared no efforts to promote Libya as a land for jihad.”

Like in Syria and Iraq, the terror group has taken advantage of large tracts of ungoverned spaces as well as political turmoil.

“The current fragmentation between and within rival Libyan political camps is also helping ISIS to grow by eroding trust and legitimacy in Libyan politics and politicians as a whole amongst a large swath of the Libyan population, especially the youth,” according to Jason Pack, a researcher of Middle Eastern History at Cambridge University and president of Libya-Analysis.com.

Despite the presence of U.S. special forces on the ground in Libya, the Pentagon rejected the notion of sending traditional U.S. forces, or “boots on the ground,” to Libya.

"Right now, that's not something that's under consideration," said spokesman Cook.

NATO Land Forces Commander to Succeed Campbell in Afghanistan

Lisa Ferdinando, DoD News

The U.S. Army commander of NATO land forces has been selected to succeed Army Gen. John F. Campbell as the commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, the Pentagon press secretary said today.

Army Lt. Gen. John W. "Mick" Nicholson Jr. is an accomplished soldier with extensive command experience in Afghanistan and around the world, Peter Cook said at a news briefing, reading a statement from Defense Secretary Ash Carter.

Carter is "absolutely confident" in the man President Barack Obama intends to nominate to succeed Campbell, Cook said. The nomination and Nicholson’s accompanying promotion to four-star rank require Senate confirmation.

The defense secretary believes Nicholson will build upon Campbell’s hard work to "secure a bright future for the Afghan people, and help the government of Afghanistan strengthen a professional and capable security partner to the American people," Cook said, adding that the secretary thanks Campbell for his extraordinary leadership and dedication to the mission in Afghanistan.

Carter credits Campbell with taking the fight to al-Qaida and making clear the resolve to deny it safe haven, and with consistently identifying ways to increase the capability and capacity of the Afghan forces, Cook said.

"While many challenges remain, we have made gains over the past year that will put Afghanistan on a better path, and much of the credit for that progress rests with General Campbell," he said.

Extraordinary Career, Personal Sacrifice

For nearly 18 months, Campbell has given his all to the mission as the top commander in Afghanistan, Cook said. "His personal sacrifices on behalf of his troops and the Afghan people will be remembered by us all," he added.

Carter personally thanks Campbell as his tour comes to a close for "everything he has done to bring us to this moment in Afghanistan and for all that he has done throughout his extraordinary career," Cook said.

Understands Complexity of Mission

Nicholson has led soldiers at all levels, the press secretary said, from platoon to division in Airborne, Ranger, mechanized, Stryker and light infantry units in five infantry divisions and the 75th Ranger Regiment.

He commanded the 82nd Airborne Division, re-establishing Global Response Force capabilities, and commands NATO’s Allied Land Command in his current assignment, the spokesman added.

"He knows what it means to lead a responsive and nimble force, and how to build the capacity of our partners to respond to immediate and long-term threats, and remain adaptable to confront evolving challenges," Cook said.

Carter believes Nicholson understands the importance and complexity of the mission in Afghanistan, Cook said. He noted that the general has served in multiple related capacities, including as chief of staff of operations for the International Security Assistance Force and U.S. Forces Afghanistan, as director of the Pakistan/Afghanistan coordination cell for the Joint Staff, and as deputy commander for stability in ISAF Regional Command South.

Change of U.S. Command Set in Afghanistan by Michael S. Schmitt, New York Times

President Obama will nominate Lt. Gen. John W. Nicholson Jr. to lead American military operations in Afghanistan, where the United States is at a critical juncture in the fight against the Taliban, the Pentagon said on Wednesday.

If confirmed by the Senate, General Nicholson would replace Maj. Gen. John F. Campbell, who has held the position since 2014. It was not clear what General Campbell would do next.

The Taliban now control significant parts of Afghanistan, and American Special Operations forces and Afghan troops have been battling the group’s fighters in the southern part of the country. Those developments are a sign of how the conflict has continued even after Mr. Obama announced the end of the United States’ combat mission in Afghanistan in late 2014...

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Navy Intelligence Chief Long Barred from Seeing Military Secrets by Craig Whitlock, Washington Post

For more than two years, the Navy’s intelligence chief has been stuck with a major handicap: He’s not allowed to know any secrets.

Vice Adm. Ted “Twig” Branch has been barred from reading, seeing or hearing classified information since November 2013, when the Navy learned from the Justice Department that his name had surfaced in a giant corruption investigation involving a foreign defense contractor and scores of Navy personnel.

Worried that Branch was on the verge of being indicted, Navy leaders suspended his access to classified materials. They did the same to one of his deputies, Rear Adm. Bruce F. Loveless, the Navy’s director of intelligence operations.

More than 800 days later, neither Branch nor Loveless has been charged. But neither has been cleared, either. Their access to classified information remains blocked…

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