A new leader for U.S. Central Command has been approved by the Senate at a precarious time for U.S. forces and policy in the Middle East.
In a voice vote over the weekend slipped in while senators remained in Washington, D.C., to debate the Trump administration’s mega domestic policy bill, the Senate confirmed Vice Adm. Brad Cooper to be the new chief of Central Command and to earn a fourth star.
Cooper will take the helm of U.S. forces in the Middle East as U.S.-Iran tensions simmer following President Donald Trump’s decision earlier this month to strike three Iranian nuclear facilities in support of an Israeli military campaign.
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After the U.S. strikes, Trump announced a ceasefire between Iran and Israel, and he’s also expressed a willingness to resume diplomacy on a deal to constrain Iran’s nuclear program.
But while there is a lull in fighting right now, Trump also said on Friday that he would “without question, absolutely” consider striking Iran again if U.S. intelligence concludes the previous strikes did not in fact completely destroy Iran’s nuclear capabilities as Trump claims. And two days before the Senate confirmed Cooper, senators voted against limiting Trump’s ability to strike Iran again.
At his confirmation hearing earlier this month, Cooper testified that, while the U.S. and Israeli operations against Iran degraded its capabilities, it still poses a threat to American forces in the region. He cited Iran’s retaliatory missile attack against Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, one of the largest American military bases in the region, as an example of Tehran’s continued threat to the U.S.
No U.S. casualties were reported in the strike on Al Udeid, but Trump has said Iran gave him advanced warning of the attack.
Cooper has served as the deputy commander of Central Command since last year after previously serving as the commander of Naval Forces Central Command and the U.S. Fifth Fleet for three years. He will take the top spot at Central Command from Gen. Erik Kurilla, whose term is expiring.
In the same voice vote as Cooper’s confirmation, senators also confirmed Gen. Alexus Grynkewich to become the next head of U.S. European Command. He was formally sworn into the role Tuesday, according to a social media post from the Joint Staff.
Grynkewich is also stepping into his role as head of European Command at a pivotal time for U.S. forces in that region.
While Trump came away from a recent NATO summit pleased with allies’ commitment to stepping up their defense spending, he has a history of questioning American alliances in Europe and threatening to pull U.S. forces from the region.
At the beginning of Trump’s current term, several reports said he was considering giving up U.S. military leadership of NATO, a role that has been held by an American general since the alliance’s inception. But when the administration announced Grynkewich’s nomination to be European Command leader, it also confirmed he would simultaneously serve as NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander Europe.
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