DefenceTalkFor Malian troops making their first forays into the country’s north since jihadists took control, French military support provides reassurance at a time when they are strangers in their own back yard. Islamist militias linked to Al-Qaeda — some foreign fighters but most homegrown jihadists — seized the vast expanse of desert in 2012, effectively […]https://www.defencetalk.com/mali-troops-get-reacquainted-with-lost-north-64465/

DefenceTalkThe Baltic states will formally ask NATO to deploy several thousand troops as a deterrent to Russia, Lithuania said Thursday, but the alliance gave no assurance that the request would be accepted. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said at meeting of the alliance’s foreign ministers in the Turkish city of Antalya that he was aware […]https://www.defencetalk.com/baltics-to-ask-nato-for-thousands-of-troops-64217/

DefenceTalkThe number of U.S. troops expected to train Syrian opposition forces “could approach” 1,000, Pentagon spokesman Navy Rear Adm. John Kirby told reporters today in a press briefing. While the final number is still being worked out, training could begin as early as spring, Kirby said. The deploying troops would include trainers as well as […]https://www.defencetalk.com/up-to-1000-u-s-troops-to-train-syrian-opposition-62001/

DefenceTalkSecretary of State John Kerry said Friday it was too early to discuss cutting the number of US troops stationed in Asia and South Korea, amid increased tensions on the heavily guarded peninsula. The warning came a day after Washington and Seoul agreed to delay transfer of the Pentagon’s control of Korean troops in the […]https://www.defencetalk.com/premature-to-talk-of-us-troop-cuts-in-asia-kerry-60855/

DefenceTalkNATO’s Supreme Allied Commander Europe said today that Pentagon leaders are reviewing decisions to scale down U.S. military forces in Europe in light of the changing security environment on the continent triggered by Russia’s annexation of Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula and Moscow’s ongoing support for rebels in the east. “I have talked to leadership here about […]https://www.defencetalk.com/us-reconsidering-troops-reductions-in-europe-60597/

DefenceTalkPresident Barack Obama said Monday he had sent up to 200 US extra troops equipped for combat, with surveillance gear and helicopters, to protect the US Embassy in Baghdad. Together with a 275-strong embassy protection force already sent and another 300 US special forces charged with advising the Iraqi army, the deployment will mean nearly […]https://www.defencetalk.com/obama-to-deploy-200-extra-troops-to-iraq-59994/

DefenceTalkPresident Barack Obama today announced the United States plans to keep nearly 10,000 American troops in Afghanistan next year — a level largely in line with what U.S. commanders had requested — and that nearly all U.S. forces will leave the country by the end of 2016, bringing to an end a U.S. military mission […]https://www.defencetalk.com/us-to-keep-nearly-10000-troops-in-afghanistan-in-2015-59716/

DefenceTalkFrance has delayed plans to pull troops out of its former colony Mali after a fresh bout of clashes in a key town. France said earlier this month it was ending its “frontal war phase” in Mali after sending troops there in 2013 to free the country’s vast desert north from Islamists and Tuareg rebels […]https://www.defencetalk.com/france-defers-troop-pull-out-after-mali-clashes-59688/

DefenceTalkRussia said Monday it had ordered troops near the border with Ukraine to return to their bases, just days ahead of a crucial presidential vote aimed at bringing the country out of deep crisis. In a move that could ease tensions, President Vladimir Putin’s office said he had ordered thousands of troops deployed in border […]https://www.defencetalk.com/russia-orders-troops-back-to-bases-ahead-of-ukraine-vote-59638/

DefenceTalkNATO’s troop build-up in Eastern Europe amid tensions with Russia over Ukraine could become permanent, the military alliance’s top general said Tuesday. NATO countries drew down their defense budgets following the end of the Cold War, as they started to look upon Russia as a partner, US General Philip Breedlove said. But Russia’s “annexation of […]https://www.defencetalk.com/eastern-europe-troop-surge-could-become-permanent-general-59504/