Pentagon’s Mattis discussing war aims in Mideast this week
Defence Secretary Jim Mattis is looking to the Middle East and North Africa for broader contributions and new ideas to fight Islamic extremism as the Trump administration fleshes out its counterterrorism strategy.
His trip to the region this week includes stops with longstanding allies Israel and Saudi Arabia, and new partners like Djibouti.
As the administration enhances its efforts, Mattis has made a point of consulting counterparts around the world. His goals include expanding the American-led coalition against the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria, but also combatting al-Qaida, whose Yemen branch is posing particular worry as it uses ungoverned spaces in the Arab world’s poorest country to plan attacks on the United States.
In announcing Mattis’s trip, the Pentagon said last week he would be discussing ways to “defeat extremist terror organizations.”
Mattis is starting his travels Tuesday in Riyadh, where he is expected to meet senior Saudi leaders. Saudi Arabia is leading a coalition that is fighting Iranbacked rebels in Yemen. The coalition’s airstrikes began two years ago but haven’t driven the Houthi rebels from the capital and large parts of Yemen they still control.
The Trump administration is considering providing intelligence, aerial refuelling and other military assistance to the United Arab Emirates, which is helping the Saudis.
The UN says some 50,000 civilians have been killed or wounded in the three-year stalemate.