Pentagon chief to discuss ISIS, Afghanistan with NATO partners

US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis arrives at NATO’s Brussels headquarters Wednesday for two days of talks with fellow defense ministers. A separate meeting is also planned with partners from the coalition fighting Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) in the Middle East, where the jihadists continue to lose territory. The alliance’s ministers will also discuss the North Korean nuclear crisis and Russia, AFP reported. Mattis told reporters that coalition partners are looking to the US for a clear plan about what follows the physical defeat of IS. “They are now saying: ‘What’s next? How is it looking?’” Mattis said. Washington is expected now to articulate what role, if any, US forces will play in Syria.