Category Archives: NATO

Women for Afghan Women (WAW) fearfully responds to the US and NATO withdrawing troops from Afghanistan in September.

Women for Afghan Women (WAW), thelargest Afghan womens rights organization in the world,remains deeply concerned about the fate of women and girls in Afghanistan after afull withdrawal of United States (US) and NATO armed forces from Afghanistanin September of 2021.

WAW urges the US government and its NATO allies to employ the full weight of their diplomatic, economic, and political powerduring the months leading up to the withdrawalto ensure the establishment of an inclusive andcomprehensivepolitical settlement, which will fully protectthe Afghan constitution and the rights of all Afghan citizens enshrined therein.

The extraordinary progress of the past two decades was made possible by hundreds of thousands of lives lost and trillions of dollars invested in Afghanistan. To ensure these immeasurable gains and sacrifices are not lost to chaos and tyranny, the US and NATO must coordinate with one another and engage with Afghanistans neighbors to make sure that regional and international stakeholders are politically and financially committed to a peaceful and democratic political process in Afghanistan. This global and regional effort led by the US and NATO also must safeguard the government, civil society, and private sector in Afghanistan against a return to power by armed militias, whose only legacy has been terror and the dark ages of the 1990s, with the most heinous of human rights violations justified by obscene perversions of religious beliefs and cultural traditions.

While we welcome any effort to end military interventions and armed hostilities in Afghanistan, and whole-heartedly long for the day when all Afghans can finally live with peace and dignity, we firmly believe that a lastingpeace must protect the rights of all citizens, particularly those of the Afghan women and girls whobore the brunt oftheTalibans brutalityandthelast forty years of conflict in their homeland.

On behalf of the women and girls that we serve, we implore the US and its allies to ensure their troop disengagement from Afghanistan does notgrant unelected armed militias and warlords more leverage, and leave behind the triumph of tyranny instead of the democratic values of liberty, prosperity, and justice for allshared not only by our allies but by the overwhelming majority of Afghans.

Women for Afghan Women (WAW) is a grassroots, non-profit organization dedicated to securing and protecting the rights of disenfranchised Afghan women and girls in Afghanistan and New York, particularly their rights to develop their individual potential, to self-determination, and to be represented in all areas of life: political, social, cultural, and economic. WAW advocates for womens rights and challenges the norms that underpin gender-based violence wherever opportunities arise to influence attitudes and bring about change.

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As US and NATO Withdraw, WAW Fears Plummet in Women's Justice - Philanthropy Women

Greece has vowed to expand military cooperation with traditional NATO allies as well as Middle Eastern powers in a race to modernize its armed forces and face its militarily assertive neighbour Turkey.

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis visited an airbase in southern Greece to attend multinational military exercises joined by fighter jets from the United States, France, Israel, Spain and the United Arab Emirates.

"We cannot be naive. We are facing a new set of threats," Mitsotakis said, speaking in a hangar in front of aircraft taking part in the exercises. "Our world is extremely complex and our neighbourhood is, unfortunately, becoming more unstable. Greece will continue to strengthen its defense capabilities and upgrade its armed forces."

Greece spends more on defense than any other European Union country relative to the size of its economy.

But it announced a major re-armament program last year following a naval stand-off with Turkey over natural gas drilling rights in the eastern Mediterranean.

Under pressure from NATO allies, Greece and Turkey resumed diplomatic talks in January to try and ease the tension. Athens, however, is pressing ahead with an accelerated military upgrade program worth 11.5 billion euros over five years.

Greek officials at the weekend signed agreements worth 1.65 billion US dollars with Israel's military and defense contractor Elbit Systems to create a new flight academy near the southern Greek city of Kalamata.

The air force has already begun overhauling its fleet of U.S.-made F-16 fighters and has placed a 2.3 billion-euro order to buy 18 French-made Rafale fighter jets, some currently in service with the France's military, along with an upgrade of compatible missiles.

(Disclaimer: This story has not been edited by http://www.republicworld.com and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

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Greece to expand military cooperation with NATO allies - Republic World

opinion

James W. Pfister| The Monroe News

Back in the stable days of the Cold War, in August1983, I was on a comparative legal study (and vodka drinking) tour of the Soviet Union. (We were told by our charming tour guide that vodka was the only way to avoid bacterial illness; we didnt question her).

Traveling in the Soviet Union was an experience of empathy for those of us interested in international politics. Being on the other side of American power, seeing the United States from their eyes, was dramatic, with American power in NATO to the West, a mere 1,200 miles away.

The United States, not being content with being limited to the Western Hemisphere, also had power to the East in the Pacific region. And there, not limiting itself to an island ladder of defense, it asserted itself on the mainland of Asia in Thailand and South Korea, after having spent years in Vietnam.

Sitting in Kiev (Kyiv), Ukraine, we felt surrounded by American power. Today, American power is even closer, inside Ukraine itself! With American pushing, NATO expanded eastward toward the Russian border after the breakup of the Soviet Union. Some of the new states of Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union became NATO members. Some were promised future membership. Those not directly part of NATO could become partners.

Ukraine last year sealed deeper ties with the alliance, becoming an enhanced opportunities partner. Wall Street Journal, 4/14/21.

Indeed, America has been triumphant, exercising its power right up to the Russian border. Gen.Colin Powells pottery maxim comes to mind when he was advising President George W. Bush on Iraq II: You break it, you own it. Or, the old adage: Be careful what you wish for; you may actually get it. To wit: Russia, our Great Power adversary, has recently built up its military forces, including Iskander missiles, on the Russian border with Ukraine, the biggest buildup since 2014, when it took Crimea.

On March 24, 2021, our secretary of state, Antony Blinken, gave a speech to NATO members in which he reaffirmed the American commitment to NATO and to our partnerships. Recently, on "Meet the Press," the secretary threatened Russia: Speaking for our president, Mr. Blinken said, there will be consequences if Russia uses force against Ukraine. This is a line-drawing threat by one nuclear power to another, about as dangerous as it gets. A miscalculation could be catastrophic.

From a political science, sphere of influence perspective, Ukraine is within the Russian sphere. Lately, the United States has been intruding upon that sphere of influence, and also on the Chinese sphere, regarding Taiwan, potentially threatening world peace.

From a legal standpoint, Ukraine is a sovereign state in international law, which should not be threatened or attacked under Article 2(4) of the United Nations Charter, and it has under Article 51 the inherent right of individual and collective self-defense, under which NATO was organized. NATO and its members certainly have a legal and a moral right to organize with Ukraine for its defense.

Butis it prudent under the sphere of influence approach to use force to defend Ukraine? One is reminded that Khrushchev in 1962 had a legal right to put offensive weapons in Cuba with Cubas consent, a sovereign state under international law. President John Kennedy saw the situation in political science, sphere of influence termsand brought the world to the brink of nuclear war in the Cuban Missile Crisis to protect our interests regarding Cuba. (Kennedy tried to be legal; he had a legal authorization for the blockade under an Organization of American States authorization).

Butpolitical science trumps law, even morality, when it comes to security in the nuclear age, I believe. When we were sipping our prophylactic vodka cocktails in Kiev, Ukraine, that summer of 1983, we certainly could not have imagined that a nuclear-war threat could occur by an American defense of Ukraine, where we were, from a Russian attack. What dangerous irony.

My professor, Inis Claude, had a concept he called prudential pacifism peace based not on morality, or law, but on prudence between nuclear powers. Prudence should prevail over morality or law here in the case of defending Ukraine on the Russian border.

JamesW.Pfister, J.D. University of Toledo, Ph.D. University of Michigan (political science), retired after 46 years in the Political Science Department at Eastern Michigan University. He lives at Devils Lake and can be reached at jpfister@emich.edu.

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Eastward expansion of NATO and the Ukraine crisis - Monroe Evening News

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has said his country must be allowed to join Nato as he warned that Russias military build-up on its borders threatens the entire democratic order.

He made the comments amid growing international concern at Russian troop concentrations near the border.

Zelenskiy said: It is only Ukraines accession to Nato that can guarantee security and peace in the long run.

This is pressure on Europe and the West as a whole. It is a test of the strength of our ties and the weight of the words and decisions of Western nations, he added.

He backed US President Joe Bidens offer to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin at a summit in a neutral European venue this summer. The conflict was triggered by the Ukrainian Revolution in 2014 when an uprising overthrew the pro-Russian government of Viktor Yanukovych.

Putins forces reacted by annexing the region of Crimea from Ukraine.

Pro-Russian groups in eastern Ukraine then took up arms against the state and, with Russian backing, formed the breakaway republics of Donetsk and Luhansk.

Meanwhile, Russia has detained a Ukrainian diplomat for allegedly receiving classified information.

Alexander Sosonyuk, Ukraines consul in St Petersburg, was allegedly taken into custody while meeting a Russian.

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Ukraine's Nato plea as Russian troops gather on border - The Sunday Post

The United States and NATO are expressing strong support for Ukraine and warning Russia against pressing ahead with a major troop buildup along the former Soviet republic's eastern border

By MATTHEW LEE and RAF CASERT Associated Press

April 13, 2021, 2:16 PM

4 min read

BRUSSELS -- The United States and NATO on Tuesday expressed strong support for Ukraine and warned Russia against pressing ahead with a major troop buildup along the former Soviet republics eastern border.

In separate meetings with Ukraines foreign minister, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg expressed serious concern about Russia deploying the largest concentration of troops near the Ukraine border since 2014.

Blinken accused Russia of taking very provocative actions that have alarmed Ukraine and the West. Stoltenberg, meanwhile, called the Russian movements unjustified, unexplained and deeply concerning. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said Kyiv welcomed the support and urged Western countries to make clear to Moscow that it would pay a price for its aggression.

The comments came amid a surge of cease-fire violations in eastern Ukraine, where Russia-baked separatists and Ukrainian forces have been locked in a conflict since Moscows 2014 annexation of Ukraines Crimean Peninsula. NATO is holding a special meeting Tuesday on Ukraine.

The U.S. stands firmly behind the sovereignty and the territorial integrity of Ukraine, Blinken told Kuleba at the start of their meeting at the residence of the U.S. ambassador to Belgium, a post once held by Blinken's uncle. "Thats particularly important at a time when were seeing, unfortunately, Russia take very provocative actions when it comes to Ukraine.

Kuleba replied that Ukraine was grateful for the support of the U.S. and NATO, an alliance that Kyiv is looking to join over fierce Russian objections.

In this struggle, the support of the United States is absolutely crucial and deeply appreciated, Kuleba said. He called Russia's troop build-up aggressive and asked the U.S. and others to "make it very clear to Russia that the price of its aggression against Ukraine will be too heavy for it to bear.

Earlier, at news conference with Kuleba at NATO headquarters, Stoltenberg said the alliance was united in its unwavering support for Ukraine. NATO stands with Ukraine, he said. Russia must end this military buildup in and around Ukraine, stop its provocations and de-escalate immediately."

Stoltenberg called Moscow's recent troop deployment the biggest military buildup since the conflict in eastern Ukraine began.

Russia has moved thousands of combat troops to Ukraines borders, the largest massing of Russian troops since the illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014. Over the last days, several Ukrainian soldiers have been killed in eastern Ukraine, he said.

The Ukrainian foreign minister sounded defiant toward Moscow, and said Ukraine and its Western partners were better prepared than seven years ago.

Should Moscow take any reckless move or start a new spiral of violence, it will be costly in all senses, Kuleba said.

A special NATO meeting Tuesday on Ukraine would make sure the alliance is not caught unaware, he said.

"By gathering today, we try to avoid the mistake that was made in 2014 when Russia was ready to act swiftly and pursue its military goals," Kuleba said.

Ukraine has said Russia has accumulated 41,000 troops at its border with eastern Ukraine and 42,000 more in Crimea. The numbers are likely to grow as the troops keep arriving.

The Kremlin has maintained that Russia is free to deploy its troops wherever it wants on its territory and has repeatedly accused the Ukrainian military of provocative actions along the line of control and of planning to retake control of the rebel regions by force.

Kremlin officials charged that Kyivs actions have threatened Russias security, warning that Russia may intervene to protect Russian speakers in the east.

Underlying Tuesday's meeting is also Ukraine's wish to become a NATO member.

Stoltenberg insisted it was up to the alliance's 30 members to decide who could join the group, and no one else has any right to try to meddle or to interfere in that process. Its a sovereign right of every nation like Ukraine to apply for membership.

This is an important principle, because Russia is now trying to reestablish some kind of sphere of influence where they try to decide what neighbors can do. And that is a world we are really trying to leave behind, the NATO chief said.

The rest is here:
NATO, US vow support for Ukraine, warn Russia on troops ...

In 2001, Allies invoked Article 5 of the Washington Treaty for the only time in NATOs history and went to Afghanistan together with clear objectives: to confront al-Qaeda and those who attacked the United States on September 11, and to prevent terrorists from using Afghanistan as a safe haven to attack us. In the ensuing decades through the investment of blood and treasure, and in partnership with the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and its security forces, we have worked together to achieve these goals.

In light of this and recognising that there is no military solution to the challenges Afghanistan faces, Allies have determined that we will start the withdrawal of Resolute Support Mission forces by May 1. This drawdown will be orderly, coordinated, and deliberate. We plan to have the withdrawal of all US and Resolute Support Mission forces completed within a few months. Any Taliban attacks on Allied troops during this withdrawal will be met with a forceful response.

The conclusion of NATOs Resolute Support Mission takes place against the backdrop of renewed regional and international support for political progress toward peace. We will continue to support the ongoing Afghan-owned and Afghan-led peace process. We welcome the Istanbul Conference as an opportunity to move the peace process forward and to reinforce the progress made in Doha. We call on the Afghan government and the Taliban to adhere to their commitments to the peace process initiated by the US-Taliban agreement and the US-Afghanistan Joint Declaration.

NATO Allies and partners will continue to stand with Afghanistan, its people, and its institutions in promoting security and upholding the gains of the last 20 years. Withdrawing our troops does not mean ending our relationship with Afghanistan. Rather, this will be the start of a new chapter. A sustainable peace in Afghanistan will have at its foundation an enduring, comprehensive, and inclusive peace agreement that puts an end to violence, safeguards the human rights of all Afghans, particularly women, children, and minorities, upholds the rule of law, and ensures that Afghanistan never again serves as a safe haven for terrorists.

NATO assembled one of the largest coalitions in history to serve in Afghanistan. Our troops went into Afghanistan together, we have adjusted together, and now we are leaving together. We are grateful to all who served in and supported this mission, including Afghanistans security forces. We honour the sacrifices of those who paid the ultimate price in service to it.

Resolute Support Mission partner nations associate themselves with this statement

Excerpt from:
News: North Atlantic Council Ministerial Statement on Afghanistan, 14-Apr.-2021 - NATO HQ

MOSCOW (AP) Russias defense minister said Tuesday that the countrys massive military buildup in the west was part of readiness drills amid what he described as threats from NATO.

Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said the maneuvers in western Russia that have worried neighboring Ukraine and brought warnings from NATO would last for another two weeks.

Speaking at a meeting with the top military brass, Shoigu said the ongoing exercise was a response to what he claimed were continuous efforts by the United States and its NATO allies to beef up their forces near Russias borders.

In the past three weeks, the Russian military has deployed two armies and three airborne formations to western regions as a response to the alliances military activities threatening Russia, the defense minister said.

The troops have shown their full readiness to fulfill tasks to ensure the countrys security, he said.

The U.S. and its allies have sounded alarm about the concentration of Russian troops along the border with Ukraine and increasing violations of a cease-fire in eastern Ukraine, where Russia-baked separatists and Ukrainian forces have been locked in a conflict since Moscows 2014 annexation of Ukraines Crimean Peninsula.

More than 14,000 people have died in fighting in eastern Ukraine, and efforts to negotiate a political settlement have stalled. The chief of NATO on Tuesday called the recent Russian deployment the largest concentration of troops near the Ukraine border since 2014.

The White House said U.S. President Joe Biden voiced concern over the Russian buildup and called on Russia to de-escalate tensions, during a phone call Tuesday with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

In separate meetings with Ukraines foreign minister, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg strong support for Ukraine and warned Russia against pressing ahead with its troop buildup along the former Soviet republics eastern border.

Amid the recent tensions, the United States notified Turkey that two U.S. warships would sail to the Black Sea on April 14 and April 15 and stay there until May 4 and May 5. The U.S. Navy ships have made regular visits to the Black Sea in past years, vexing Moscow.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov denounced the latest deployment as openly provocative, adding that American ships have absolutely nothing to do near our shores.

They are testing our strength and playing on our nerves, Ryabkov said in remarks carried by Russian news agencies. Seeing itself as the Queen of the Seas, the U.S. should realize that the risks of various incidents are very high. We warn the U.S. that it should stay away from Crimea and our Black Sea coast for their own benefit.

NATO chief Stoltenberg expressed the Western military alliances unwavering support for Ukraine during a news conference on Tuesday with Ukraines foreign minister, calling the Russian movements unjustified, unexplained and deeply concerning.

The Kremlin has argued that Russia is free to deploy its troops wherever it wants on its territory and has repeatedly accused the Ukrainian military of provocative actions along the line of control in the east and of planning to retake control of the rebel regions by force.

Ryabkov reaffirmed Tuesday that if there is any escalation, we will do everything to ensure our own security and the security of our citizens whenever they are, adding that Kyiv and its Western curators will bear all the responsibility for the consequences of that hypothetical escalation.

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[AP] Russia says troop buildup near Ukraine is a response to NATO - The Associated Press

Generals provided testimony today regarding tensions on the Russia-Ukraine border and the ability of U.S. allies to move large numbers of forces quickly over great distances.

Air Force Gen. Tod D. Wolters, commander of the U.S. European Command, and Army Gen. Stephen R. Lyons, commander of the U.S. Transportation Command, testified at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing to review the fiscal 2022 defense authorization request and the Future Years Defense Program.

The current NATO security posture in Europe is strong, yet challenged by Russia's actions in the vicinity of Ukraine, said Wolters, adding that America's allies and partners in Europe remain a key strategic advantage.

"NATO remains the strategic center of gravity and the foundation of deterrence and assurance in Europe. Everything we do is about generating peace," said Wolters. "We compete to win. We deter, and, if deterrence fails, we're prepared to respond to aggression with the full weight of the transatlantic alliance."

Wolters noted that NATO has a robust exercise program. This summer, NATO will conduct Defender-series exercises composed of some 30,000 U.S. service members, allies and partners.

That exercise will demonstrate NATO's ability to move massive forces over large swaths of Europe at speed and at scale, he said.

Wolters also mentioned the addition of 500 soldiers to U.S. Army Garrison Wiesbaden in Germany.

These troops will be made up of field artillery; composite air and missile defense; intelligence, cyberspace, electronic warfare and space; aviation and a brigade support element. The Theater Fires Command will improve readiness and multi-national interoperability by integrating joint and multinational fires in exercises and operations, in support of U.S. Army Europe and Africa, said Army Col. Joe Scrocca, the spokesman for U.S. Army Europe and Africa, in a separate statement today.

"The Theater Fires Command and Multi-Domain Task Force in Europe will enable U.S. Army Europe and Africa to synchronize joint fires and effects, control future long-range fires across all domains, and will create more space, cyber and electronic warfare capabilities in Europe," Scrocca said.

Lyons told senators that Transcom's mission is to project forces globally on land, air and sea, including to support the upcoming NATO exercises.

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General Says NATO Prepared to Respond to Aggression Should Deterrence Fail - Department of Defense

COLOGNE, Germany Russias continued military investments in the Arctic may spur NATO to accord the region a more prominent focus in the alliances defense planning, according to Nordic officials and analysts.

The push comes amid a delicate dance by northern European governments to both deter and cooperate with Moscow simultaneous efforts that risk drowning in a pit of fresh geopolitical ambitions laid bare by climate change.

A warming Arctic is opening new fronts of competition in the resource-rich region even faraway China is getting involved that could spill over into a security problem for the alliance. If that happens, NATO should have a strategy in place to manage the conflict, the thinking goes.

You have so many components for a classic security dilemma increasing in the Arctic, Anna Wieslander, the Stockholm-based director of the Atlantic Councils Northern Europe program, said in an interview. Its not about immediately putting more surveillance up there, or more troops and military installations; its more about getting a joint understanding of how to deal with it and find ways forward, if its possible, with the Russians.

NATO member Norway, which shares a border with Russia, has long walked the line between alarm over Russias military buildup on the nearby Kola Peninsula, home to Russias Northern Fleet, and seeking good neighborly relations on fisheries management and coast guard cooperation.

The Norwegian military headquarters and the Northern Fleet headquarters near Murmansk have maintained a hotline even after Oslo cut all other defense ties following Russias annexation of Crimea from Ukraine in 2014.

We are working on an open dialogue with Russia, Norwegian Defence Minister Frank Bakke-Jensen said at a March 19 virtual conference organized by the Atlantic Council. The idea is to lift whatever successful instruments are still in place, he added, namely the joint search-and-rescue service and the crisis telecommunications channel.

But Norwegian officials are getting increasingly spooked by Russian long-range missiles, new underwater weaponry and naval exercises inching closer to the coastlines of NATO allies. They see Moscow returning to a version of the Cold War-era bastion concept, a kind of area-denial strategy that sought to create safe waters for Soviet nuclear submarines to stage a nuclear counterstrike in the case of an atomic war.

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We cannot shy away from the fact that the security landscape in the Arctic is getting more difficult, said Ine Eriksen Soreide, Norways foreign minister. We dont see Russia as a direct threat to Norway, but we see more and more signaling towards NATO and thereby Norway as a NATO member.

With little appetite for the eight-nation Arctic Council to pick up military and defense topics, that leaves the alliance as the logical forum for crisis prevention and management in the High North, according to analysts. The fact that the Biden administration has rejoined the Paris Agreement to battle climate change has given a boost to the prospect of increased cooperation through NATO.

The alliance has found itself in something of a soul-searching mode for about a year, brooding over a reform process known as NATO 2030. In addition, Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg wants members to agree on a strategic concept that takes into account new challenges connected with Russia and China.

That period of introspection could open new avenues for anchoring Arctic security topics on the trans-Atlantic agenda.

The strategic concept should highlight that NATO has a role in the Arctic, Henning Vaglum, the director general for security policy at Norways Defence Ministry, said at the Atlantic Council event. There have historically been some doubts about that.

However, U.S. policymakers dont view the region as a source of imminent conflict.

Its the region where, in many respects, the status quo is enviable, said James DeHart, the U.S. State Departments coordinator for the Arctic region.

Im not downplaying the risks here, he added. We have to have our eyes open.

At the same time, Pentagon officials are cleareyed that tensions elsewhere could quickly spill over to the High North. We have to be able to connect some dots and think forward about what we should be anticipating from Russia in the region, said Jennifer Walsh, a senior Defense Department policy official.

While Moscows current objective may be to bolster its territorial defense in the Arctic, how far will it go to increase its oversight or control of northern sea routes? she wondered.

The same goes for China, Walsh said. With Beijings stated ambitions to be a player in the region, its attempts to influence existing Arctic governance mechanisms should be judged in light of its behavior elsewhere.

But how NATO could realize a planning mandate for the Arctic remains to be seen, according to analysts.

NATO as an institution has not dealt that much with the Arctic, leaving the heavy lifting to individual countries of the region, said Wieslander of the Atlantic Council think tank.

If you have an increased amount of military activity but you [dont have a] political forum to put these activities into some kind of perspective, then you have a problem, she told Defense News.

Regionally focused alliance groups on the Baltic and Black Sea regions, which produced common threat assessments, could serve as a model, the analyst argued.

The Baltic Sea focus, in particular, could help shift attention to the Arctic, Wieslander said. Its one strategic area, and the theaters are really interconnected. You could easily expand upward those discussions.

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Russian military buildup in the Arctic has northern NATO members uneasy - DefenseNews.com

At long last: Americas military is leaving Afghanistan in September. Thats the big news we learned Tuesday, and expect to hear more about this afternoon when President Joe Biden addresses the topic in remarks planned for about 2 p.m. ET from the White Houses Treaty Room.

Also today: We could get a better sense of what Americas NATO allies think of Bidens decision. His Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin and top diplomat Secretary of State Antony Blinken are in Brussels to meet with Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, as well as foreign and defense ministers from across the alliance and Afghanistan is just one of a few interrelated matters the officials are discussing today. Others include NATO support to Ukraine and the immediate need for Russia to cease its aggressive military buildup along Ukraines borders and in occupied Crimea, according to a statement today from Blinkens spokesman Ned Price.

But about Afghanistan: [T]he NATO Alliance went into Afghanistan together, adjusted to changing circumstances together, and will leave together, Price said.

According to the White House: We will begin an orderly drawdown of the remaining forces before May 1 and plan to have all U.S. troops out of the country before the 20th anniversary of 9/11, a senior administration official told reporters Tuesday.

NATO troops will also depart; but exactly how many is unclear. We have discussed the drawdown with our NATO allies and operational partners, that administration official said. We will remain in lockstep with them as we undergo this operation. We went in together, adjusted together, and now we will prepare to leave together.

Worth noting: At the moment, of the 9,600 NATO troops officially in Afghanistan, about 2,500 of them are American, though that number can be as many as 1,000 higher, the New York Times reports today from Brussels. The second-largest contingent is from Germany, with some 1,300 troops.

ICYMI: 500 more U.S. troops will be headed to Germanys Wiesbaden area possibly as early as this fall, Austin announced Tuesday from Berlin. The new troops would bring the total U.S. forces in Germany to about 35,500; and it sends a notably different message to NATO than the one from Bidens predecessor, who sought to reduce troop levels in Germany and add to troop levels in Poland.

[T]his move will also create more space capabilities, more cyber, and more electronic warfare capabilities in Europe, and it will greatly improve our ability to surge forces at a moment's notice to defend our allies, Austin said Tuesday. Some 35 local national positions and 750 family members will also be coming to the Wiesbaden areas, U.S. Army-Europe officials said in a separate announcement Tuesday.

Germanys reax: It is great news that not only has the withdrawal of troops...from Germany been halted, but, quite the contrary; we will be able to welcome an additional 500 U.S. troops, Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer said while standing beside Austin in Berlin.

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'I Felt Hate More Than Anything': How an Active Duty Airman Tried to Start a Civil War // Gisela Prez de Acha, Ellie Lightfoot, and Kathryn Hurd, ProPublica: Steven Carrillos path to the Boogaloo Bois shows the hate group is far more organized and dangerous than previously known.

Welcome to this Wednesday edition of The D Brief from Ben Watson with Bradley Peniston. And if youre not already subscribed to The D Brief, you can do that here. On this day in 1865, President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C., on the same night that a deserter in the Confederacy attacked Lincolns Secretary of State William Seward while he was being treated by an Army nurse in his home. Confederate Gen. Robert Lee had surrendered to the Union Army just four days earlier, but Lincoln and Sewards attackers thought there was still a chance the South could win the war. Seward somehow survived his attack; Lincoln passed away the following day. The South officially lost the war on May 9.

For the first time in two years, Americas top intelligence officials will testify on global threats to the U.S. That includes CIA Director William Burns; FBI Director Chris Wray; Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines; Army Gen. Paul Nakasone of the National Security Agency; and Defense Intelligence Agency's Army Lt. Gen. Scott Berrier. That started at 10 a.m. ET. Catch the livestream here.Some things theyre apt to bring up today: The worldwide effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, which is prompting shifts in security priorities for countries around the world, Defense Ones Patrick Tucker reports off the new worldwide threat assessment (PDF) from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, which was released this week.In addition to COVID-19, A large section on cyber this year highlights the risk of supply-chain disruptions from China and particularly Russia. Read on, here.What does the future of U.S. cybersecurity look like? Thats what the Senate Armed Services Committee is looking into today during an afternoon hearing with NSA Cybersecurity Director Robert Joyce; the Defense Department's David McKeown and and Navy Rear Adm. William Chase III. That gets underway at 2:30 p.m. ET.

NORTHCOM and SOUTHCOM leaders are headed before the House Armed Services Committee today. The ostensible focus of that hearing: National Security Challenges and U.S. Military Activity in North and South America. Thats scheduled for 11 a.m., and comes an hour after the House Foreign Affairs Committee began its hearing digging into Root Causes of Migration from Central America.

Biden talked with Putin on Tuesday. During the leaders second phone call, the U.S. president emphasized the United States unwavering commitment to Ukraines sovereignty and territorial integrity," according to a White House readout of the call. The Hill has a bit more.Russia vows two more weeks of military maneuvers near Ukraine as U.S. warships plan Black Sea sortie, AP reported Tuesday.Heres a roundup of Russias recent military moves in the region, from Defense Ones Patrick Tucker.

The U.S. has also dispatched an unofficial delegation to Taiwan, according to Reuters: Former U.S. Senator Chris Dodd and former Deputy Secretaries of State Richard Armitage and James Steinberg headed to Taiwan on Tuesday at President Joe Bidens request, in what a White House official called a personal signal of the presidents commitment to the Chinese-claimed island and its democracy. Read on, here.ICYMI: Chinese and U.S. naval forces have been particularly active in the Western Pacific and South China Sea in the past few weeks. More at CNN.

And finally today: A company in Australia knows how to break into encrypted iPhones. Thats why the FBI asked them to help in the case of the San Bernardino shooters back in December 2015 and its also why Apple is suing the company, the Washington Posts Ellen Nakashima and Reed Albergotti report after some respectable sleuthing.Who are these guys? Azimuth Security, which the Post describes as a publicity-shy company that says it sells its cyber wares only to democratic governments.Where this story gets interesting: Even Apple didnt know which vendor the FBI used, Nakashima and Albergotti write. But without realizing it, Apples attorneys came close last year to learning of Azimuths role through a different court case, one that has nothing to do with unlocking a terrorists device. Continue reading here.

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Today's D Brief: US, NATO to pull out of Afghanistan; IC's threat assessment; Biden diplomacy; Extremist airman; And a bit more. - Defense One