Kerry, Hagel Press Senate To Approve Syrian Strikes: ‘Deter And Degrade’
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UPDATED: Through End of Today’s Hearing. CAPITOL HILL: Secretary of State John Kerry, taking the lead in arguing the administration’s case for limited strikes against Syria for killing more than 1,400 civilians with chemical weapons, told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that Iran and North Korea are watching what we do. Kerry told the committee… Keep reading →
A ‘Limited Strike’ On Syria? Considerations For Congressional Debate
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President Obama has made it clear that Syria crossed a “red line” by using chemical weapons against its own people. The proposed remedy is to execute a limited strike to change the behavior of the Assad government, but without putting troops on the ground, without regime change or without an international stamp of approval. Congress… Keep reading →
Syria, Sequester, & Mists Of Unreality At Senate Appropriations Mark-Up
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CAPITOL HILL: Syria and sequestration dominated today’s Senate Appropriations Committee’s mark-up of the $594 billion defense spending bill for fiscal year 2014, but there was little actual progress on either. Appropriators are historically the most hard-nosed legislators; they’re the committees that have to match congressional rhetoric with actual money. But today, the appropriators approved a… Keep reading →
Does Iran’s New President Open A Path To Nuclear Compromise?
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Will Iran’s new president defuse the confrontation with the United States over the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program? Hassan Rowhani, elected with a narrow 50.7 percent of the votes in Friday’s presidential election, inherits a dangerous stalemate. Iran is stonewalling on answering UN inspectors’ questions about possible military dimensions of its nuclear program, while talks with… Keep reading →
CSAF Welsh: Sequester Groundings Threaten Readiness For Syria
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ARLINGTON: As if Syria and sequestration weren’t complicated enough on their own, the combat training cutbacks required by the sequester are cutting into the military’s readiness to intervene, the Air Force Chief of Staff, Gen. Mark Welsh, told reporters this morning. Army Chief of Staff Gen. Ray Odierno has expressed similar concerns about his service’s… Keep reading →
GOP’s War On Terror 2.0: More Drones, More Missiles, More Boots On Ground
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President Barack Obama says he wants to end the 12-year-old war on terror. Not so fast, said Sen. Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican and Armed Services Committee member. Not only does Graham warn against declaring victory over al Qaeda, he wants more drones, more deployed missile defenses and more U.S. troops on the ground… Keep reading →
US Options For Syrian Operations: Institute for the Study of War
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Given all the talk in recent days about whether America should impose a No Fly Zone in Syria, I thought readers would find this presentation by the folks at the Institute for the Study of War a useful guide to what is possible and might work. Just click on the link below. Updated Syrian Air… Keep reading →
Gen. Odierno: Budget Crunch Will Render Army Unready For Syria & Hybrid War
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WASHINGTON: While the Army can keep troops headed for Afghanistan trained up and ready to go, the ongoing budget gridlock threatens its ability to prepare for crises around the world — from North Korea to Syria – conflicts that would require a very different kind of training than the counterinsurgency tactics the force has focused on… Keep reading →
Syria, North Korea, China & Beyond: Does Army’s Future Lie In ‘Messy Middle’?
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WASHINGTON: What does America need an army for, anyway? The question has bedeviled policymakers since the Founding Fathers, who wrote their distrust of large ground forces into the Constitution. The question returns as budgets come back down after every land war. This time around, the Army leadership has not given the country a clear answer,… Keep reading →
Gen. James Jones: Arm Syrian Rebels — Some Of Them
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WASHINGTON: President Barack Obama’s former National Security Adviser, retired Marine Gen. James Jones, said the administration should go ahead and arm rebels in Syria — albeit carefully selected ones. “Hope is not a strategy,” Jones declared at the small, student-run Georgetown Diplomacy and International Security Conference at Georgetown University, where Jones is an alumnus. “If… Keep reading →