Excerpts: Arab States tell Kerry. US deeper 'involvement' in Syria.
Jordan,Kenya military cooperation August 04, 2015

+++SOURCE: Saudi Gazette 3 Aug.’15:”We want Iranian cooperation, not
meddling, Arabs tell Kerry”, by Agencies
SUBJECT:Gulf Arab States tell Kerry



QUOTE:”Iran’s nuclear deal should bring stability and ‘good neighborliness’
rather than interference, Gulf Arab states told US Secretary of State Kerry”



DOHA — Iran's nuclear deal should bring stability and “good neighborliness”
rather than interference, Gulf Arab states told US Secretary of State John
Kerry on Monday[3 Aug] as they began talks on the merits of its historic
accord with world powers.



Qatari Foreign Minister Khalid Al-Attiyah, welcoming US Secretary of State
John Kerry to Qatar for the talks with the six countries of the Gulf
Cooperation Council (GCC), said the alliance wanted to spare the region
“from any dangers and threats from nuclear weapons”.



This should be done by authorizing the use of nuclear technology for
peaceful purposes in line with international rules, he said, speaking for
the GCC as host of the meeting.



“We look forward with hope to the nuclear agreement ... leading to the
preservation of security and stability in the region, and we emphasize the
importance of cooperation with Iran based on principles of good
neighborliness, non-interference in internal affairs and solving disputes
peacefully.”



Al-Attiyah spoke of the urgency of resolving the crises in Syria, Yemen and
Iraq, but also complained that “the Middle East is suffering from the
failures of the peace process due to the Israeli occupation” of Palestinian
land. He accused Israel of “intransigence” in dealing with the Palestinians
and said it must end its “illegal blockade of Gaza.”



“We call on the United States of America to exert more efforts to go back to
the peace process,” he said before journalists were ushered out of the room.



Kerry, who did not speak while reporters were present, is not traveling to
Israel on this trip and US leverage with the current Israeli government is
limited, given Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's vehement and vocal
opposition to the Iran deal.



US officials rejected suggestions that Kerry was not visiting Israel this
week because the administration has given up hope on convincing Netanyahu of
the merits of the agreement. Kerry's main goal, however, is to follow up on
a May meeting that President Barack Obama hosted for Arab leaders at Camp
David. At that meeting, Obama promised Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi
Arabia and the United Arab Emirates enhanced security cooperation and
expedited defense sales to guard against a potential Iranian threat.



Kerry has acknowledged concerns about Iran's behavior in the Middle East but
says it would be easier to deal with if Iran does not develop a nuclear
weapon. He said the agreement struck by world powers with Iran in Vienna
last month is the best way to do that.



“Iran is engaged in destabilizing activities in the region — and that is why
it is so important to ensure that Iran's nuclear program remains wholly
peaceful,” he said on Sunday in Egypt before flying to Qatar. “There can be
absolutely no question that the Vienna plan, if implemented, will make Egypt
and all the countries of this region safer than they otherwise would be.”



Kerry's visit to Qatar follows one last week by Iranian Foreign Minister
Mohammad Javad Zarif, who also stopped in Kuwait and Iraq to present
Tehran's side of the nuclear deal. — Agencies


+++SOURCE: Naharnet (Lebanon)4 Aug.’15:”U.S.Uses Air Power to Su pport
Beleaguered Syrian Allies”Agence France Presse
SUBJECT:US ‘deeper involvement’ in Syria

QUOTE:”The US said…it has used airpower in Syria in defense of allied rebel
groups”

FULL TEXT:The United States on Monday[3 Aug] said it has used air power in
Syria in defense of allied rebel groups, signaling deeper involvement in the
country's brutal four-year civil war.

The Pentagon confirmed that an air strike was carried out Friday[31 July] in
support of the New Syria Force, a U.S.-allied group.

"We'll take action to defend the New Syria Force that we've trained and
equipped," Pentagon spokesman Commander Bill Urban told Agence France
Presse.

He said "last Friday[31July] was the first one," referring to the air
strike.

Earlier, a senior administration official said the United States had hit
al-Qaida's Syrian affiliate the Al-Nusra Front in response to attack on U.S.
trained rebels.

President Barack Obama's administration said Monday[3 Aug] it was prepared
to take "additional steps" to defend U.S.-trained and equipped forces,
warning Bashar al-Assad's regime "not to interfere."

"The president approved this recently upon the recommendation of his senior
military advisers," a senior administration official told AFP.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest said Assad's regime had not so far
hampered U.S.-backed forces, but he nonetheless raised the possibility of
strikes against it should the need arise.

The United States, Earnest said, was "committed to using military force
where necessary to protect the coalition-trained and equipped Syrian
opposition fighters."

The decision was taken under a 2001 rule authorizing the use of military
force against terror groups, which critics say has already been stretched
too far.

Officials argue that authority includes the ability to provide "defensive
fire support."

The United States has trained and equipped a number of fighters -- screened
and determined to be "moderate" -- to operate against the jihadist Islamic
State organization.

But U.S.-backed forces have yet to play a major role in turning the war and
its fledgling local ground force has already suffered a series of reversals.

A 54-strong unit inserted into the rebels' Division 30 has come under
withering attack from the Al-Nusra Front, with several members reportedly
killed or captured.

Micah Zenko of the Council on Foreign Relations said the "truly significant
decision" could potentially extend well beyond that small force.

U.S. forces are "interspersed among large coherent units of several hundred
fighters," he said, explaining that: "You can't give air cover just to
individual rebels."

- Turkey cooperation -

The United States recently agreed with Turkey to create what has been termed
an "Islamic State-free zone" in northern Syria.

Details of the zone "remain to be worked out", according to a senior
administration official, who asked not to be named.

It would, however, entail Turkey, NATO'S only mainly Muslim member,
supporting U.S. "partners on the ground" already fighting the jihadists.

Ankara has also granted the United States permission to use one of its bases
to carry out air raids against the group.

Washington has long pushed for the use of the Incirlik base due to its
location relatively close to Syria just outside the Turkish city of Adana,
but Turkey had hesitated for months.

Monday's[3 Aug] announcement comes as diplomatic efforts to halt the carnage
in Syria resume.

An estimated 140,000 people have died in the conflict, which began as an
uprising against the Assad regime but has morphed into a multipronged
religious and ethnic civil war.

A UN envoy recently presented his plan to resuscitate failed talks and
foreign ministers from the United States, Russia and Saudi Arabia held talks
in Qatar on Monday.[3 Aug.]

The trio agreed to the "need for a meaningful political transition"
according to State Department spokesman Mark Toner.

But Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov later condemned Washington's move
toward a more robust involvement in Syria.

"We believe it's counterproductive to announce publicly that some
U.S.-trained armed groups... will be under the protection of the coalition's
air forces," Lavrov said.

Separately on Monday[3 Aug], the U.S. Treasury Department imposed sanctions
on seven entities and four individuals its says are providing energy
products to Assad's regime, and named seven vessels as blocked property.


+++SOURCE:Jordan Times 4 Aug.’15:”King meets Kenya’s army chief over
military cooperation”, by JTA

SUBJECT:Jordan, Kenya military cooperation

QUOTE:”A military cooperation agreement was signed… stipulating expertise
exchange in the areas of defense, training and anti-terrorism”

FULL TEXT:AMMAN — His Majesty King Abdullah on Monday[3 Aug.] received
Kenya's Chief of Defence Forces Gen. Samson Mwathethe and his accompanying
delegation, currently visiting the Kingdom, according to a Royal Court
statement.

At the meeting, which was attended by King’s Military Adviser and Chairman
of the Joint Chiefs-of-Staff Gen. Mashal Al Zaben, the two sides discussed
ways to boost cooperation between the two countries, especially in military
and defence areas, as well as in combating terrorism.

A military cooperation agreement was signed between the Jordan Armed
Forces-Arab Army and the Kenyan armed forces on Sunday[2 Aug], stipulating
expertise exchange in the areas of defence, training and anti-terrorism.
================
Sue Lerner - Associate, IMRA