Back Off, Iran: US & Israel Complete Groundbreaking Missile Defense Exercise
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For the first time, the US plugged its high-altitude THAAD into the Israeli missile defense network — just one of the ways the two countries are cooperating against Iran.
S-400 or F-35? Turkey’s Erdogan Must Choose
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Turkey’s increasingly autocratic president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is an erstwhile NATO ally. Turkey flies F-16s and is a partner in the F-35 program. But Erdogan has committed his country to buying Russia’s reportedly excellent surface to air missile system, the S-400. This op-ed by Bradley Bowman, former aide to Sen. Todd Young of the Senate… Keep reading →
‘Thousands’ More Troops To US Border, But Colombia Deployment Unclear: Shanahan
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Shanahan spent much of his first formal (albeit off-camera) Pentagon pressroom briefing as SecDef emphasizing continuity with his ousted predecessor, Gen. Jim Mattis. He made a point of praising Mattis’s National Defense Strategy, America’s allies, and even the press – not exactly favorites of President Donald Trump.
Donald Trump: Breaking With The Past (The Beltway Ain’t Happy)
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President Trump is breaking with the past. He’s arguing that Washington must cut its losses, withdraw its forces, climb out of the Middle Eastern and Afghan money pits, and acknowledge that Seoul (with U.S. backing) won the war on the Korean Peninsula. Washington hates him for doing these things, but most Americans and future generations of Americans will love him for it.
Trump’s Pick For Joint Chiefs Praises Allies, Kurds & Mattis Strategy
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“The Army has aligned itself with Secretary Mattis’s National Defense Strategy, which we will not walk away from,” Gen. Milley told an Association of the US Army breakfast. “It’s a solid strategy, it’s written in history, it’s written in the blood of generations past, and we subscribe to it.” And allies are key to the strategy.
‘Hold Fast, Alongside Our Allies’: Mattis Farewell Invokes Civil War
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Mattis’s last message to the troops is three brief, carefully crafted paragraphs packed with historical references and political messages — which are implicitly critical of President Trump.
The Secretary Of Reassurance Has Resigned: Farewell To Mattis
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WASHINGTON: After two years of reassuring US allies that Donald Trump’s America would not abandon them, Jim Mattis finally had enough. Even before Trump was sworn in as president, the announcement that he would pick Mattis as his Secretary of Defense was met with delighted relief “from the right, from the left, and from overseas.”… Keep reading →
White House, Pentagon Remain In Dark Over Syria Withdrawal
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Republican Senators erupted in outrage, and there are some indications that Turkey pushed Trump to withdraw support from its traditional foes, the Kurds. The British government issued an equivocal statement, while the Kremlin applauded the move.
Russia Winning Info & Electronic War In Syria, US & UK Generals Warn
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“The Russians are really good at this, better than us,” said the UK’s Maj. Gen. Felix Gedney, who just wrapped up a year as deputy commander of Operation Inherent Resolve. “We saw a very clever, assiduous information campaign aimed at discrediting the campaign of the coalition. And I would argue in many of our nation’s capitals, we didn’t realize we were being played.”