person:joseph votel

Iran, Syria and Saudi Arabia: Top three stunning admissions from the top U.S. general in the Middle East

Assad has won, Iran deal should stand and Saudis use American weapons without accountability in Yemen: head of U.S. military’s Central Command’s stunning Congressional testimony

►https://www.haaretz.com/middle-east-news/top-three-stunning-admissions-from-the-top-u-s-general-in-the-region-1.5910

Haaretz and Reuters Mar 16, 2018

The top U.S. general in the Middle East testified before Congress on Tuesday and dropped several bombshells: from signaled support for the Iran nuclear deal, admitting the U.S. does not know what Saudi Arabia does with its bombs in Yemen and that Assad has won the Syrian Civil War.
U.S. Army General Joseph Votel said the Iran agreement, which President Donald Trump has threatened to withdraw from, has played an important role in addressing Iran’s nuclear program.
“The JCPOA addresses one of the principle threats that we deal with from Iran, so if the JCPOA goes away, then we will have to have another way to deal with their nuclear weapons program,” said U.S. Army General Joseph Votel. JCPOA, or Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, is the formal name of the accord reached with Iran in July 2015 in Vienna.
Trump has threatened to withdraw the United States from the accord between Tehran and six world powers unless Congress and European allies help “fix” it with a follow-up pact. Trump does not like the deal’s limited duration, among other things.
Votel is head of the U.S. military’s Central Command, which is responsible for the Middle East and Central Asia, including Iran. He was speaking to a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on the same day that Trump fired Secretary of State Rex Tillerson after a series of public rifts over policy, including Iran.
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Tillerson had joined Defense Secretary Jim Mattis in pressing a skeptical Trump to stick with the agreement with Iran.
“There would be some concern (in the region), I think, about how we intended to address that particular threat if it was not being addressed through the JCPOA. ... Right now, I think it is in our interest” to stay in the deal, Votel said.

When a lawmaker asked whether he agreed with Mattis and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Joseph Dunford’s position on the deal,Votel said: “Yes, I share their position.”
Mattis said late last year that the United States should consider staying in the Iran nuclear deal unless it was proven Tehran was not complying or that the agreement was not in the U.S. national interest.
A collapse of the Iran nuclear deal would be a “great loss,” the United Nations atomic watchdog’s chief warned Trump recently, giving a wide-ranging defense of the accord.
Iran has stayed within the deal’s restrictions since Trump took office but has fired diplomatic warning shots at Washington in recent weeks. It said on Monday that it could rapidly enrich uranium to a higher degree of purity if the deal collapsed.
Syria
Votel also discussed the situation in Syria at the hearing.
During the Syrian army’s offensive in eastern Ghouta, more than 1,100 civilians have died. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s forces, backed by Russia and Iran, say they are targeting “terrorist” groups shelling the capital.
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley warned on Monday that Washington “remains prepared to act if we must,” if the U.N. Security Council failed to act on Syria.
Votel said the best way to deter Russia, which backs Assad, was through political and diplomatic channels.
“Certainly if there are other things that are considered, you know, we will do what we are told. ... (But) I don’t recommend that at this particular point,” Votel said, in an apparent to reference to military options.
Republican Senator Lindsey Graham asked whether it was too strong to say that with Russia and Iran’s help, Assad had “won” the civil war in Syria.
“I do not think that is too strong of a statement,” Votel said.
Graham also asked if the United States’ policy on Syria was still to seek the removal of Assad from power.
“I don’t know that that’s our particular policy at this particular point. Our focus remains on the defeat of ISIS,” Votel said, using an acronym for Islamic State. 
Saudi Arabia
In a stunning exchange with Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren, Votel admitted that Centcom doesn’t know when U.S. fuel and munitions are used in Yemen. 
“General Votel, does CENTCOM track the purpose of the missions it is refueling? In other words, where a U.S.-refueled aircraft is going, what targets it strikes, and the result of the mission?” Warren asked.
“Senator, we do not,” Votel replied.
The Senator followed up, citing reports that U.S. munitions have been used against civilians in Yemen, she asked, “General Votel, when you receive reports like this from credible media organizations or outside observers, is CENTCOM able to tell if U.S. fuel or U.S. munitions were used in that strike?”
“No, senator, I don’t believe we are,” he replied.
Showing surprise at the general’s response, Warren concluded, “We need to be clear about this: Saudi Arabia’s the one receiving American weapons and American support. And that means we bear some responsibility here. And that means we need to hold our partners and our allies accountable for how those resources are used,” she said.

Notes sur CentCom et l’“effet-S400”
▻http://www.dedefensa.org/article/notes-sur-centcomet-leffet-s400

Notes sur CentCom et l’“effet-S400”

5 mars 2018 – Le général de l’US Army Votel, actuel chef à quatre étoiles du Central Command (CentCom), nous paraît être un personnage qui correspond parfaitement à l’esprit de son temps ; c’est-à-dire un temps où CentCom en prend parfaitement à son aise pour conduire sa propre politique dont il vient présenter l’habillage de convention correspondant aux normes de la soi-disant “chaîne de commandement“ de l’administration, au Congrès qui ne demande qu’à gober les couleuvres qu’on lui présente. Votel est fortement “soupçonné”, dans les hypothèses diverses, d’activer une politique militaire d’agression à peine dissimulée contre des forces gouvernementales et para-russes, au cours de récentes attaques dites “de légitime défense”, – cela conduisant à reconnaître, par exemple selon (...)

Tomahawk Launches Practiced by U.S. Before Trump Gave Go-Ahead - Bloomberg
▻https://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2017-04-07/tomahawk-launches-practiced-by-u-s-before-trump-gave-go-ahead

The U.S. used the latest-model Tactical Tomahawks, which can be redirected in mid-flight, transmit images to commanders and loiter over a potential target area, according to accounts by U.S. military officials who briefed reporters or spoke in interviews. They asked not to be identified discussing operational details.
[…]
The fusillade of Tomahawks aimed at the Shayrat airfield was one of the options prepared by U.S. Central Command in about a day after Trump condemned the April 4 gas attack, on the assumption the White House might want to act fast to back up the president’s implied threat, one of the officials said. That proved correct when the administration formally requested that the Pentagon ready alternatives.

Once Trump gave the go-ahead order for the Tomahawk strike, the operation moved at a rapid pace. Shortly after 4:35 p.m. New York time on Thursday, Army General Joseph Votel, the head of Central Command, received a call from Marine Corps General Joe Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, telling him to execute the attack. Votel, who was at an event on the U.S. East Coast, passed the order on via a secure video link even before the White House’s written authorization, according to one of the officials.

The 59 missiles launched — a 60th malfunctioned — hit an equal number of targets at the Shayrat air field, which one of the military officials said had been associated with Syrian government chemical attacks since 2013.
[…]
The Navy says it’s buying the last 100 Tomahawks this year before ending production in favor of upgrades to the inventory and starting development on a successor “Next Generation Land Attack Weapon.”

Bon, c’est le tout dernier modèle (avec les options…) mais c’est quand même du déstockage avant remplacement.

CENTCOM : ils ont gaulé mes sonovobitches !
▻http://www.dedefensa.org/article/centcom-ils-ont-gaulemes-sonovobitches

CENTCOM : ils ont gaulé mes sonovobitches !

On connaît la phrase fameuse d’un officiel US haut placé de l’époque Eisenhower, un ambassadeur peut-être bien ou bien même Harriman soi-même, ou l’un et l’autre frères Dulles (département d’État et CIA à cette époque), à propos d’un obscur dictateur sud-américain qui faisait des siennes mais qui était sur la fiche de paie de la CIA : “C’est certainement un fils de pute, mais c’est notre fils de pute”. (En anglo-US type-Patton, avec son of a bitch comprimé et machouillé à mesure, cela donne : « He’s a sonovobitche but he’s our sononovobitche »). C’est dans cet esprit qu’il faut entendre le compte-rendu désolé que le général Joseph Votel, US Army et commandant en chef de Central Command (CinCCENTCOM), a fait devant les éminences réunies au fameux séminaire d’Aspen, dans le (...)

CENTCOM : ils ont neutralisé mes sonovobitches !
▻http://www.dedefensa.org/article/centcom-ils-ont-neutralisemes-sonovobitches

CENTCOM : ils ont neutralisé mes sonovobitches !

On connaît la phrase fameuse d’un officiel US haut placé de l’époque Eisenhower, un ambassadeur peut-être bien ou bien même Harriman soi-même, ou l’un et l’autre frères Dulles (département d’État et CIA à cette époque), à propos d’un obscur dictateur sud-américain qui faisait des siennes mais qui était sur la fiche de paie de la CIA : “C’est certainement un fils de pute, mais c’est notre fils de pute”. (En anglo-US type-Patton, avec son of a bitch comprimé et machouillé à mesure, cela donne : « He’s a sonovobitche but he’s our sononovobitche »). C’est dans cet esprit qu’il faut entendre le compte-rendu désolé que le général Joseph Votel, US Army et commandant en chef de Central Command (CinCCENTCOM), a fait devant les éminences réunies au fameux séminaire d’Aspen, dans (...)

Un article du Los Angeles Times évoque les combats entre rebelles syriens soutenus par le Pentagone et intégrés aux SDF (Syrian Democratic Forces) et ceux soutenus par la CIA.
Il a été plusieurs fois question ici de ces affrontements entre groupes soutenus par l’Etat américain et qui continuent :
▻http://seenthis.net/messages/462463
▻http://seenthis.net/messages/460835
►http://seenthis.net/messages/435727

L’article clarifie la question en soulignant les 2 acteurs divergents au sein de l’appareil militaire américain. La CIA organisant la chute d’Assad. Le Pentagone essayant de créer une force anti-Da’ich. Et parfois ces deux projets entrant en collision au nord de la Syrie (poche d’Azaz et cheikh Maqsoud à Alep) quand les Russes ayant affaiblis les rebelles de la CIA, ceux au sein des SDF/YPG ont progressé (coupant avec le régime le corridor d’Azaz) :
▻http://www.latimes.com/world/middleeast/la-fg-cia-pentagon-isis-20160327-story.html

While the Pentagon’s actions are part of an overt effort by the U.S. and its allies against Islamic State, the CIA’s backing of militias is part of a separate covert U.S. effort aimed at keeping pressure on the Assad government in hopes of prodding the Syrian leader to the negotiating table. [...]
At first, the two different sets of fighters were primarily operating in widely separated areas of Syria — the Pentagon-backed Syrian Democratic Forces in the northeastern part of the country and the CIA-backed groups farther west. But over the last several months, Russian airstrikes against anti-Assad fighters in northwestern Syria have weakened them. That created an opening which allowed the Kurdish-led groups to expand their zone of control to the outskirts of Aleppo, bringing them into more frequent conflict with the CIA-backed outfits.

Suivent des précisions sur certains de ces combats dont ceux ayant eu lieu à Marea (poche d’Azaz).
Au détour de l’article une précision : les déclarations du général américain commandant des troupes américaines au Moyen-Orient (Centcom) selon lesquelles 80% des combattants des SDF sont kurdes :

The group is dominated by Kurdish outfits known as People’s Protection Units or YPG. A few Arab units have joined the force in order to prevent it from looking like an invading Kurdish army, and it has received air-drops of weapons and supplies and assistance from U.S. Special Forces.
The group is dominated by Kurdish outfits known as People’s Protection Units or YPG. A few Arab units have joined the force in order to prevent it from looking like an invading Kurdish army, and it has received air-drops of weapons and supplies and assistance from U.S. Special Forces.Gen. Joseph Votel, now commander of U.S. Special Operations Command and the incoming head of Central Command, said this month that about 80% of the fighters in the Syrian Democratic Forces were Kurdish.