Over the years, President Donald Trump has promised to end the US’s ”endless wars.” The longest and most expensive of these, in Afghanistan, will enter its 20th year in October. It has cost taxpayers over $2 trillion; it has cost more than 2,200 US soldiers their lives.

Trump plans to decrease the number of US troops in Afghanistan from 8,600 to 4,500 by the end of October. He has continued to withdraw troops without consulting NATO allies while pursuing peace talks with the Taliban — once the US’s declared enemy in Afghanistan. Trump seems only partially interested in whether negotiations are a success or what role the fundamentalist Taliban will play in shaping Afghanistan’s future.  […]

In 2002, Germany sent Bundeswehr troops to support the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force established at the end of 2001. The defense minister at the time, the Social Democrat Peter Struck, seemed to announce a new military doctrine in December 2002: ”German security is being defended in the Hindu Kush.”

The military mission gained broad acceptance for its declared aim of transforming Afghanistan into a democracy. That was something that sold well — even to a German public generally skeptical of the military and foreign intervention. In a 2011 interview with the Mitteldeutsche Zeitung on the 10th anniversary of the beginning of the intervention, former Bundeswehr Inspector General  Harald Kujat said German troops had primarily been sent to Afghanistan as a sign of solidarity with the US: ”But, if we look at our aim of stabilizing a country and a region, then the mission failed.” That assessment remains accurate. […]

Germany has paid a high price for its participation: Almost 60 Bundeswehr soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan. The financial cost for Germany lies somewhere between €12 and €16 billion ($14-$19 billion) — depending on whether the sum is limited to purely military expenditures.

The most important lesson to be learned from Afghanistan is a fundamental one: The concept of establishing a Europeann-style democracy there was utterly unrealistic. Läs artikel

Over the past seven years, France’s Barkhane counterinsurgency operation in the Sahel has weathered terrorist attacks, flagging political support from its African allies, and growing popular protests against the ongoing presence of Paris, the region’s former colonial power. Now, it faces the coup in Mali.

August’s power grab by a group of army colonels — Mali’s fourth coup since independence — is again posing questions about whether and for how long French boots should remain in an increasingly shifting and dangerous terrain.

That debate ratcheted up a notch this week, following the deaths of two French soldiers in northern Mali, bringing to 45 the number of French fatalities in the region over the past seven years. […]

The debate comes as Mali’s new military rulers hold local and international talks about the country’s next steps. The 15-nation Economic Commission of West African States, or ECOWAS, has set a 12-month limit for new elections and a September 15th deadline for the appointment of an interim president and prime minister.  […]

Even as the European Union and Washington announced the suspension of some military missions in Mali following the coup, French President Emmanuel Macron announced in late August the Barkhane peacekeeping force “would continue.”  […]

Helping to ease relations, Mali’s coup leaders have said they would respect the country’s previous military engagements, which include partnering with other so-called G-5 Sahel member states and France in fighting the long-running Islamist insurgency in northern Mali and neighboring countries.

When they met with France’s ambassador to Mali in August, analyst Lebovich noted, Barkhane’s commander was also present.

“There was a clear message being sent,” he added, “that from their perspective, nothing changed with Barkhane.”  […]

French opposition parties have expressed their own doubts about the status quo.

A number of analysts are also skeptical about Barkhane’s effectiveness. Some point to a tangle of sometimes conflicting French and other European military missions in the region, and to protests in Mali and elsewhere against foreign involvement.

“The French say they’re making headway,” analyst Lebovich said. “Most outside specialists look at this and say, ‘Yes, there’s some improvement, but in general the overall security situation is not that much better.’ ”  Läs artikel

Militære styrker fra Russland, Kina og Hviterussland skal øve sammen i det sørlige Russland, opplyser forsvarsdepartementet i Kina.

Øvelsen har fått navnet Kaukasus 2020 og omfatter også styrker fra blant andre Armenia, Iran, Myanmar og Pakistan. Øvelsen finner sted fra 21. september. Landene skal konsentrere seg om taktiske forsvarsoperasjoner, omringingsmanøvrer og kommando- og kontrollrutiner på slagmarken, opplyser forsvarsdepartementet i Beijing.

Et stort antall lettere kjøretøyer skal fraktes inn i øvelsesområdet av siste generasjon av kinesiske transportfly.

– Øvelsen har spesiell betydning for kinesisk-russiske forbindelser i en tid da hele verden bekjemper pandemien, heter det i en uttalelse fra departementet. Läs artikel

Forsvaret har siden 2016 jobbet for å tilrettelegge for mottak av allierte reaktordrevne fartøy, ofte kalt atomubåter, i Tromsø. Etter at marinebasen Olavsvern ble lagt ned i 2009, og solgt i 2013, har Nord-Norge vært uten havn for mottak av blant annet amerikanske reaktordrevne ubåter. Nærmeste havn har vært Haakonsvern i Bergen. […]

Men i et brev signert konstituert kommunaldirektør Mari Enoksen Hult, gir Tromsø kommune beskjed til både Forsvaret, Forsvarsdepartementet og den amerikanske marinen om at de ikke ønsker at reaktordrevne ubåter legger til kai på en kommunal havn, skriver Nordlys.

Dermed kan det spøke for regjeringens ønske om å ta i bruk Tromsø som havn for bytte av mannskap og vedlikehold for allierte reaktordrevne ubåter, i all hovedsak amerikanske.

Den amerikanske marinen opplyste i august at Tromsø vil få besøk av rundt fire amerikanske og britiske reaktordrevne fartøy årlig. Läs artikel

Mali has witnessed four military coups since its independence from France in 1960, averaging a coup every twenty years. The exception is that last month’s coup came eight years after the previous one which deposed Amadou Toumani Toure when he was about to end his second term in office. As a civilian president, he entered political life after his retirement from the army. The context of this coup was very similar to the 1991 coup, led by the then General Amadou Toumani Toure against Moussa Traore, Mali’s longest-serving president, taking advantage of the popular uprising against economic conditions. […]

Moreover, the deterioration of the security situation was the reason for France’s intervention in Mali in 2013, in accordance with a UN resolution. Declaring war on terrorists and separatists, military operations were launched in a war with no objective other than to strengthen the French presence in the country. The number of French soldiers in Mali rose above 5,800 but they did not succeed in stabilising the situation. Instead, weapons became more commonplace, and the identity of those bearing arms changed. This raised doubts about the true purpose of the French troops being there, particularly after increased activity by the armed religious and ethnic movements in the north, close to the French bases.

Paris still views Mali as a French protectorate, in which terrorism constitutes a threat to its own interests, and this alone is a convincing justification for its presence in the country, despite the increase — up to 80 per cent, according to some polls — in those calling for the French forces to be expelled.

The French intervention has exacerbated the situation, and increased the anger of the Malian people at new colonialism disguised as humanitarian intervention. This is especially after there was raised awareness of Paris playing with countries across Africa, creating differences between key institutions — the government, opposition and armed forces, for example —and then exploiting them for its own benefit. Läs artikel

Militären har informerat regeringen om hur länge Sverige kan försvaras vid ett väpnat angrepp. Utåt är det hemligt. Det säger Michael Claesson, ny insatschef i Försvarsmakten. ”Vi kommunicerar vår förmåga till den politiska uppdragsgivaren på ett väldigt tydligt sätt”. […]

Varför är Natofrågan så politisk laddad i Sverige?

– Svaret på det finns väl egentligen bara att söka i vår historia, i den säkerhetspolitiska position som vi traditionellt sett har tagit och att det förmodligen inte är i någons intresse att väcka upp alltför mycket damm i de här frågorna. Läs intervjun.

Sjöminor, stridsbåtar, granatkastare och tunga kulsprutor. Det smäller precis överallt när fienden siktas på svenskt territorium.
GP tog rygg på Amfibieregementets skarpa övning i Göteborgs skärgård.
– Det är i den kustnära miljön vi ska fungera och vara som bäst, säger överste Patrik Gardesten, amfibieregementets chef. […]

Amfibieregementets övning på Rävholmen, mellan Styrsö och Vrångö i Göteborgs södra skärgård, ska efterlikna verkligheten så mycket som möjligt. Förbandet verkar som Försvarsmaktens främsta resurs i försvaret av kustnära skärgårdsområden, hamnar och farleder. […]

Och att Göteborg är en strategiskt viktig plats sett ur försvarssynpunkt är knappast en underdrift.

– Göteborg med dess hamnar och västkusten med den geografin är helt avgörande för både Sverige och regionen. Den är avgörande för vår förnödenhetsförsörjning, den är avgörande för vår export och ekonomi, vilket vi inte ska glömma, säger Patrik Gardesten. Läs artikel

USA:s militär meddelar att man kommer att minska sin närvaro i Irak från 5 200 till 3 000 soldater under september.

Den amerikanska styrkans uppgift har varit att bekämpa IS. Företrädare för den USA-ledda militäralliansen mot IS säger att de bedömer att irakiska styrkor inte längre behöver lika stor hjälp i striderna mot terrorgruppen.

Iraks parlament röstade tidigare i år igenom ett förslag om att utländska styrkor ska lämna landet, och USA och Irak meddelade i juni att de skulle sikta på att minska den amerikanska militära närvaron i landet under de kommande månaderna. Läs artikel

Fjorten tyrkiske kampfly tok seg inn i gresk luftrom mandag. Espen Barth Eide mener det er grunn til bekymring.

Fire av jagerflyene var væpnede, ifølge nettstedet, som henviser til kilder i det greske luftforsvaret. Hellas svarte med å sende opp egne kampfly, som ved fire tilfeller engasjerte seg i nærkamper – uten våpenbruk.

Flere tonn med tungt militært materiell har den siste tiden blitt hentet ut fra forhåndslagre i Trøndelag. I løpet av helga ble åtte stridsvogner sendt til havna i Verdal hvor de står klare for transport tilbake til USA. […]

Det er tre materiell-kategorier som gjøres klare for utskipning: For det første er det kjøretøy og utstyr som har tilhørt den amerikanske rotasjonsstyrken i Norge. Deretter er det materiell fra forhåndslagrene som skal moderniseres og som rutinemessig byttes ut.

Til slutt er det snakk om stridsvogner med støttekjøretøy, samt ingeniør-bromateriell som fjernes som del av omstruktureringen i det amerikanske marinekorpset. […]

Stridsvognene kom på plass i 2014 da USA gjennomførte den største utskiftningen av militært materiell i Norge noensinne. Når stridsvognene nå forlater Norge skjer det i som del av en større omstrukturering i det amerikanske marinekorpset.

For å møte utfordringen fra Kina foreslår sjefen for US Marine Corps, general David Berger, en total omveltning i hvordan styrken er utstyrt og trent.

Han mener at en eventuell konflikt i Stillehavsregionen vil kreve en styrke som ser annerledes ut enn dagens marinekorps. Derfor har han presentert en 10-års plan for omstruktureringen. Läs artikel