FBI/MILITARY/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The Federal Bureau of Investigation has joined the investigation into how a group of militants thought to be Islamists killed four American soldiers in Niger two weeks ago, a move that comes as U.S. officials face criticism over their struggle to answer questions about the incident. U.S. military officials said Thursday [10-19-17] […]
Category: Military
10/19/2017
JOHN KELLY/MILITARY/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “White House Chief of Staff John Kelly defended President Donald Trump’s comments to an Army widow, saying the president expressed his condolences to the families of fallen soldiers the ‘best way he could.’… Mr. Kelly, who said he had counseled the president on what to say, denounced Ms. Wilson, calling her […]
10/19/2017
CIA/MILITARY/NORTH KOREA: “Former CIA Director John Brennan estimated that the U.S. has at least a 20% likelihood of becoming engaged in military conflict with North Korea amid President Donald Trump’s discord with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un. ‘Having this back-and-forth on the public stage is not the way to de-escalate here,’ Mr. Brennan said […]
10/18/2017
MILITARY/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Trump has denied a congresswoman’s account that he told a grieving soldier’s widow in a phone call that the soldier ‘knew what he signed up for,’ saying on Wednesday [10-18-17] that the Democratic representative’s description was ‘totally fabricated.’ Representative Frederica Wilson, Democrat of Florida, recounted details of Mr. Trump’s call with […]
10/18/2017
MEDIA/MILITARY/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said Rep. Frederica Wilson’s conduct regarding President Donald Trump’s call with Myeshia Johnson, the widow of Sgt. La David Johnson, is ‘appalling and disgusting.’ ‘I think it is appalling what the congresswoman has done and the way she has politicized this issue and the way […]
10/18/2017
MILITARY/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “.@DanaPerino & @BradThor, Thank you so much for the wonderful compliment. Working hard! #MAGA https://t.co/AKWlsMsCVH” -Donald Trump, Twitter.com, October 18, 2017 06:31pm […]
10/18/2017
CYBERWAR/FOREIGN POLICY/JAMES MATTIS/MILITARY: “U.S. Secretary of Defense James Mattis this week asked Congress to halt pending legislation that would compel the U.S. to alert foreign governments when the Pentagon has decided to combat certain cyber attacks, according to a letter sent to lawmakers. The letter, sent to members of Congress on Tuesday and seen by […]
10/18/2017
MILITARY/NATIONAL SECURITY/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Staffers at the National Security Council drafted and circulated a statement of condolence for President Donald Trump to make almost immediately after a deadly ambush of U.S. soldiers in Niger earlier this month. But Trump never publicly issued the statement, and, some two weeks later, is now in hot water over […]
10/18/2017
MILITARY/POLITICAL FIGURES/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Democrat Congresswoman totally fabricated what I said to the wife of a soldier who died in action (and I have proof). Sad!” -Donald Trump, Twitter.com, October 18, 2017 06:25am […]
10/17/2017
JOHN KELLY/MILITARY/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Donald Trump on Tuesday [10-17-17] invoked the death of the son of his chief of staff, John Kelly, as he defended his claim from a day before that Barack Obama and other past presidents didn’t always call the families of slain service members… ‘Now, as far as other representatives, I […]
10/17/2017
MILITARY: “U.S.-backed forces said Tuesday [10-17-17] they have captured Islamic State’s de facto capital of Raqqa, Syria, wrenching away the terror group’s last major urban stronghold in the Middle East. The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, backed by U.S. airstrikes and American special forces on the ground, said they had completed their four-month battle for the […]
10/16/2017
MILITARY/NORTH KOREA/SOUTH KOREA: “The United States military said on Monday [10-16-17] that it would practice evacuating noncombatant Americans out of South Korea in the event of war and other emergencies, as the two allies began a joint naval exercise amid heightened tensions with North Korea. The evacuation drill, known as Courageous Channel, is scheduled from […]
10/12/2017
DEFENSE/MILITARY/NUCLEAR/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The Pentagon has no current plans to increase the size of the U.S. nuclear arsenal. In fact, it can barely sustain the existing force, which is decades old and is in some respects almost decrepit. The arsenal is far from being in the ‘perfect shape’ that President Donald Trump said Wednesday [10-11-17] […]
10/9/2017
ARMY/CYBERWAR/MILITARY/RUSSIA: “The Army is preparing to unveil a new approach for fighting future wars that combines space, cyberspace and traditional combat, in preparation for conflicts short of all-out war that require attacks or counterstrikes in uncertain situations, officials said. A document on the new approach being released on Monday [10-9-17] also will caution that decisive […]
10/8/2017
BUDGET/MILITARY: “The Pentagon has taken over an effort to cut the cost of the F-35 combat jet, after rejecting plans proposed by Lockheed Martin Corp. and its partners, as it tries to make a program estimated to cost $400 billion more affordable. The U.S. plans to buy more than 2,400 of the jets over the […]
10/6/2017
MILITARY/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Trump said late Thursday [10-5-17] that a meeting with his military leaders was ‘the calm before the storm,’ but what he meant by his ominous comment remained unclear. When pressed for more details, the president said, ‘you’ll find out,’ a declaration that comes amid more turmoil in his own cabinet and […]
10/4/2017
MILITARY: “Three U.S. Army Green Berets were killed and two others were wounded in an ambush in Niger, marking the first U.S. troops deaths there in support of local forces battling jihadist elements. The Americans, members of the Army’s Special Forces, were attacked near the Niger-Mali border Wednesday during a patrol as part of a […]
10/4/2017
BUDGET/CRISIS/DEFENSE/MILITARY: “The extended deployment of military cargo jets and Navy ships to help with Hurricane Maria and Hurricane Irma relief efforts is causing military planners to scramble and recalculate future deployments all the way from Afghanistan to the Korean Peninsula, according to several defense officials familiar with discussions underway inside the Defense Department. Due to […]
10/1/2017
MILITARY/RUSSIA: “A recent major exercise by the Russian military revealed significant strides in its ability to conduct the sort of complex, large-scale operations, using drones and other new technology, that would be part of any all-out war with the United States in Europe, according to American and allied officials. Preliminary Pentagon and NATO assessments of […]
9/30/2017
MILITARY/STATE/TRUMP MEMORANDA: “Presidential Memorandum for the Secretary of State Presidential Determination with Respect to the Child Soldiers Prevention Act of 2008 Pursuant to section 404 of the Child Soldiers Prevention Act of 2008 (22 U.S.C. 2370c-1) (CSPA), I hereby determine as follows: It is in the national interest of the United States to waive the […]
9/28/2017
CRISIS/MILITARY/PUERTO RICO/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The Trump administration, facing criticism for its response to the devastation in Puerto Rico, sent a three-star general to the island Thursday [9-28-17] to ramp up relief efforts in the wake of Hurricane Maria. Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Buchanan, a commander of U.S. Army North, had already been overseeing the effort from […]
9/26/2017
LGBTQ/MILITARY: “The U.S. military’s top uniformed officer said Tuesday [9-26-17] that transgender service members who meet the ‘physical and mental standards’ required by the military should be allowed to serve, a position that appeared to put him at odds with President Donald Trump… Gen. Dunford, who serves as the principal military adviser to the president, […]
9/26/2017
FOREIGN POLICY/MILITARY/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “U.S. officials are preparing to announce restrictions to Russian military flights over American territory under the Treaty on Open Skies in the latest sign of strain in U.S.-Russia relations. The treaty, part of a suite of arms-control, transparency and confidence-building agreements that proliferated in the late stages of the Cold War, […]
9/25/2017
FOREIGN POLICY/MILITARY/RUSSIA/SYRIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said on Monday that the ‘two-faced policy’ of the United States was to blame for the death of Russian Lieutenant-General Valery Asapov in Syria, the RIA news agency quoted him as saying. The Russian Defence Ministry said on Sunday that Asapov had been killed by […]
9/24/2017
MILITARY/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The United States military said on Sunday [9-24-17] that it had conducted drone strikes on an Islamic State training camp in Libya, killing 17 militants in the first American airstrikes in the strife-torn North African nation since January. A half-dozen ‘precision strikes’ on Friday hit a training camp about 150 miles southeast […]
9/21/2017
AFGHANISTAN/MILITARY: “The U.S. has invested 16 years and more than $70 billion to train Afghan security forces, but the effort has been undermined by poor planning, training and oversight, a government watchdog said in a report Thursday. The 259-page report by the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, or Sigar, offered a critical assessment of […]
9/18/2017
DEFENSE/JAMES MATTIS/MILITARY/NORTH KOREA/SOUTH KOREA/UN: “The U.S. has military options available for North Korea that won’t put South Korea at grave risk of counterattack, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said Monday [9-18-17], but he refused to spell out what those are. Mr. Mattis also said in an impromptu meeting with reporters at the Pentagon that the U.S. […]
9/18/2017
BUDGET/DEFENSE/MILITARY: “The Senate on Monday [9-18-17] passed the annual defense policy bill, in a broad show of support for boosting military spending well above the current limits set by law. The measure passed overwhelmingly Monday evening, in an 89-8 vote… Mr. McCain urged lawmakers to support higher military spending not only in the defense policy […]
9/16/2017
MILITARY/RUSSIA/SYRIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Russian military forces on Saturday [9-16-17] attacked a location in Syria where they knew troops from the U.S.-led coalition and allied Syrian rebels were operating, the U.S. military said. The strike injured several Syrian Democratic Forces troops but didn’t wound any members of the U.S.-led coalition, according to the statement from the […]
9/15/2017
DEFENSE/MILITARY/TRUMP MEMORANDA: “Presidential Memorandum for the Secretary of Defense Thirteenth Quadrennial Review of Military Compensation In addition to our support and gratitude, we owe our men and women in uniform the tools, equipment, resources, and training they need to fight and win. Our military compensation system must recognize their sacrifices and adequately and fairly reward […]
9/15/2017
DEFENSE/IMMIGRATION/MILITARY/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “…In the last week, recruiters have rescinded contracts for an unknown number of foreign nationals who had signed up for Military Accessions Vital to the National Interest, or Mavni, a program introduced in 2009 to attract immigrants with certain language and other skills that are in short supply into the armed forces. […]
9/15/2017
MILITARY/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “We will defend our people, our nations and our civilization from all who dare to threaten our way of life…cont: https://t.co/SYBRshx89b https://t.co/sIiAuxL3OE” -Donald Trump, Twitter.com, September 15, 2017 05:58pm […]
9/15/2017
MILITARY: “NEVER forget our HEROES held prisoner or who have gone missing in action while serving their country. Proclamation: https://t.co/4xBZGjAGj5 https://t.co/yZTr7rlpTV” -Donald Trump, Twitter.com, September 15, 2017 02:02pm […]
9/13/2017
MILITARY/POLITICS/TERRORISM/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Nearly 16 years to the day after Congress first authorized a military response to the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, the Senate on Wednesday rejected an effort to repeal the virtual blank check that Congress granted to the president while smoke still rose from the rubble of the World Trade Center. The […]
9/13/2017
MILITARY/NATO/RUSSIA: “The country does not exist, so it has neither an army nor any real citizens, though it has acquired a feisty following of would-be patriots online. Starting on Thursday [9-14-17], however, the fictional state, Veishnoriya, a distillation of the Kremlin’s darkest fears about the West, becomes the target of the combined military might of […]
9/13/2017
MILITARY/POLITICS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The Senate voted Wednesday [9-13-17] to retain two resolutions authorizing the use of military force that date back to the early 2000s, even while lawmakers from both parties complained that Congress has avoided reopening debate on U.S. military commitments overseas. In a 61-36 vote, the Senate set aside an amendment from Sen. […]
9/12/2017
BUDGET/DEFENSE/JAMES MATTIS/MILITARY: “Defense Secretary James Mattis is warning Congress that a long-term continuing resolution to fund the government will lead to irrecoverable lost training time, delayed ship maintenance and critical personnel gaps. In a letter to defense committee leaders obtained by CNN, Mattis detailed the effects of a continuing resolution, which Congress frequently uses to […]
9/11/2017
DEFENSE/LGBTQ/MILITARY/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The Senate is likely to tackle a slew of contentious issues this week during debate over the annual defense policy bill, from the status of transgender troops to war powers and even a surprise push by Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) to allow the military to close bases across the country. It’ll also […]
9/11/2017
AFGHANISTAN/MILITARY/TERRORISM/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan said on Monday [9-11-17] Washington would never allow militants to use the country as a sanctuary, as American and allied troops in Kabul commemorated the Sept. 11 attacks. U.S. President Donald Trump in August committed nearly 4,000 additional troops to Afghanistan as part of an open-ended campaign […]
9/7/2107
MILITARY/SYRIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Overnight strikes Thursday [9-8-17] on Syrian military sites — which are said to produce chemical weapons and advanced missiles — brought renewed attention to Syria’s chemical weapons, and appear to have been an escalation of Israel’s efforts to prevent its enemies from gaining access to sophisticated weapons. The Syrian military said Israeli […]
9/7/2017
FOREIGN POLICY/MILITARY/NORTH KOREA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Donald Trump refused to rule out military action against North Korea on Thursday [9-7-17], but he stopped short of answering a reporter’s question as to whether he would tolerate a nuclearized North Korean state if the threat were contained… Continuing several months of rhetoric between the U.S. and North […]
9/7/2017
FOREIGN POLICY/MILITARY/NORTH KOREA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Donald Trump downplayed the possibility of military action against North Korea on Thursday, saying such an event is neither inevitable nor preferable. ‘Military action would certainly be an option,’ he said during a White House news conference, but added later: ‘It would be great if something else could be […]
9/6/2017
MILITARY/NORTH KOREA/SOUTH KOREA: “The United States military plans to complete the deployment of an advanced missile-defense system in South Korea on Thursday [9-7-17], days after North Korea detonated what it called a missile-delivered hydrogen bomb in an underground nuclear test, the South Korean Defense Ministry said. Despite angry protests from China, Seoul and Washington have […]
9/6/2017
MILITARY/NORTH KOREA/UN: “The Trump administration on Wednesday [9-6-17] circulated a draft resolution at the United Nations Security Council that would effectively empower the United States Navy and Air Force to interdict North Korean ships at sea, inspect them to determine whether they are carrying weapons material or fuel into the country, and use ‘all necessary […]
9/6/2017
AFGHANISTAN/MILITARY: “The U.S. military in Afghanistan apologized Wednesday [9-6-17] for dropping leaflets in a northern province of the country that it said mistakenly contained an image deeply insulting to Muslims. Maj. Gen. James Linder, commander of the Special Operations Joint Task Force in Afghanistan, didn’t describe the derogatory image, saying in a statement only that […]
8/31/2017
DEFENSE/DHS/LGBTQ/MILITARY/TRUMP MEMORANDA: “Text of a Letter from the President to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President of the Senate Dear Mr. Speaker: (Dear Mr. President:) I am transmitting an alternative plan for monthly basic pay increases for members of the uniformed services for 2018. I strongly support our men and women […]
8/31/2017
FOREIGN POLICY/MILITARY/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The United States and South Korea wrapped up their annual joint military exercises on Thursday [8-31-17] by flying some of their most powerful warplanes in bombing drills in a show of force two days after North Korea fired a ballistic missile over Japan. Two B-1B supersonic bombers and four F-35 stealth […]
8/31/2017
FOREIGN POLICY/MILITARY/NORTH KOREA: “The U.S. sent four of its most advanced fighter jets and a pair of B-1B bombers over the Korean Peninsula, alongside Japanese and South Korean jets, as a show of force in direct response to North Korea firing a missile over Japan. The Air Force flyover Thursday [8-31-17], which included a bombing […]
8/30/2017
AFGHANISTAN/MILITARY/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The United States has about 11,000 troops in Afghanistan, the Pentagon said on Wednesday [8-30-17], acknowledging for the first time publicly that the total forces there are higher than formally disclosed in recent years. Previously, Defense Department officials had said 8,400 troops were in Afghanistan as part of NATO’s Resolute Support mission. […]
8/30/2017
JAMES MATTIS/LGBTQ/MILITARY: “Defense Secretary Jim Mattis plans to convene a panel of experts to help implement a ban on transgender service in the military, but there are still too few top defense officials to adequately conduct the review, a top Pentagon spokeswoman said Wednesday [8-30-17]. Like other federal agencies, the Defense Department has dozens of […]
8/30/2017
MILITARY/TERRORISM/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The U.S. military on Wednesday [8-30-17] carried out an airstrike to stop hundreds of Islamic State militants evacuated from the Lebanese-Syrian border from relocating to an extremist stronghold in Syria near the border with Iraq. The airstrike came shortly after the U.S. criticized a deal brokered by the Lebanese militia Hezbollah that […]
8/28/2017
LEGAL/LGBTQ/MILITARY/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Civil-liberties groups on Monday [8-28-17] filed two lawsuits challenging President Donald Trump’s ban on transgender service members serving in the military, arguing that the prohibitions are unconstitutional. The suits state the ban violates rights to due process of service members and those who want to join the military. One of the two […]
8/27/2017
MILITARY/POLICE/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The Trump administration plans to reinstate in full a program that provides local police departments with military surplus equipment such as large-caliber weapons and grenade launchers, according to a document obtained by The New York Times… President Barack Obama put limits on the program in 2015, when several high-profile cases of police […]
8/25/2017
DEFENSE/DHS/LGBTQ/MILITARY/TRUMP MEMORANDA: “Presidential Memorandum for the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Homeland Security Military Service by Transgender Individuals… Until June 2016, the Department of Defense (DoD) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) (collectively, the Departments) generally prohibited openly transgender individuals from accession into the United States military and authorized the discharge of […]
8/25/2017
MILITARY/SOMALIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Ten civilians, including three children, were killed in a raid by foreign and Somali forces on a farm in southern Somalia, a deputy governor said Friday [8-25-17]. The United States military confirmed that it had supported a counterterrorism operation in the area, and said it would look into the allegations. The deaths […]
8/25/2017
MILITARY/NATO/RUSSIA: “Russia is preventing proper international observation of large military exercises near the Polish border next month, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Friday, echoing European governments’ growing apprehension over troops massing on the tense geopolitical fault line. Russia will send troops to Belarus, next to Poland, next month as part of an every-few-years exercise called […]
8/25/2017
MIKE PENCE/MILITARY: “Members of a military detail assigned to Vice President Mike Pence’s communications team have been removed for bringing women back to a hotel during a trip to Latin America, U.S. defense officials told NBC. Senior Army and Air Force members were caught on surveillance camera bringing unregistered women into the secure area, the […]
8/25/2017
BORDER/BUDGET/MILITARY/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/WALL: “The Pentagon is staring down weeks and possibly months of budget uncertainty that’s shaping up to be the most turbulent budget drama for the military in years. Once again, the US Armed Forces are caught in the middle of a bigger political fight — this time over President Donald Trump’s border wall […]
8/24/2017
MILITARY/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “A GREAT HONOR to spend time with our BRAVE HEROES at the @USMC Air Station Yuma. THANK YOU for your service to the United States of America! https://t.co/4lJ94nxODu” -Donald Trump, Twitter.com, August 24, 2017 07:21pm […]
8/24/2017
MILITARY/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “A great honor to spend time with our brave HEROES at the @USMC Air Station Yuma. THANK YOU for your service to the United Staes of America! https://t.co/FUtGBoTJLo” -Donald Trump, Twitter.com, August 24, 2017 05:39pm […]
8/24/2017
FOREIGN POLICY/MILITARY/RUSSIA: “Two US B-1 bombers and one B-52 Stratofortress arrived in the United Kingdom on Wednesday [8-23-17] for an annual international war games event taking place at the same time as a controversial Russian military exercise. The long-range B-1s, from the 7th Bomb Wing at Dyess Air Force Base, Texas, and the B-52, from […]
8/23/2017
JAMES MATTIS/LGBTQ/MILITARY/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The White House is expected to send guidance to the Pentagon in coming days on how to implement a new administration ban on transgender people in the military, issuing a policy that will allow Defense Secretary Jim Mattis to consider a service member’s ability to deploy in deciding whether to kick […]
8/23/2017
MILITARY: “Donald E. Ballard, on behalf of the people of the United States, THANK YOU for your courageous service. YOU INSPIRE US ALL! #ALConv2017 https://t.co/46m20cJkLB” -Donald Trump, Twitter.com, August 23, 2017 07:52pm […]
8/22/2017
EGYPT/FOREIGN POLICY/MILITARY/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The Trump administration on Tuesday [8-22-17] denied Egypt $96 million in aid and delayed $195 million in military funding because of concerns over Egypt’s human rights record and its cozy relationship with North Korea. Analysts said they were surprised by the moves, which followed an Oval Office meeting in April between […]
8/22/2017
AFGHANISTAN/MILITARY: “The Pentagon maintains more than 12,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan, defense officials said, currently about 3,500 more than it publicly acknowledges, a critical factor as military planners weigh how many additional forces to deploy under a new strategy. The actual number of troops, which hasn’t been previously disclosed, reflects the true U.S. force level […]
8/22/2017
AFGHANISTAN/MILITARY/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Trump’s appeal for India’s help on Afghanistan set off alarm bells on Tuesday [8-22-17] in Pakistan, where officials warned that the approach risked jolting a tumultuous relationship. They also expressed relief that Mr. Trump did not call for abrupt reductions in military aid to Pakistan, which the United States has long […]
8/22/2017
MILITARY/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Was with great people last night in Fort Myer, Virginia. The future of our country is strong!” -Donald Trump, Twitter.com, August 22, 2017 05:46am […]
8/22/2017
MILITARY/NORTH KOREA: “North Korea threatened to turn the U.S. into ‘huge heaps of ashes’ and warned that military exercises involving American and South Korean forces this week had worsened the standoff, which could only be resolved by ‘absolute force.’ In a strongly worded commentary issued through its state media on Tuesday [8-22-17], Pyongyang attacked President […]
8/21/2017
MILITARY/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Thank you to the men and women of Fort Myer, and every member of the U.S. Military at home and abroad. #USA?? https://t.co/ticezYKkhz” -Donald Trump, Twitter.com, August 21, 2017 10:20pm […]
8/21/2017
AFGHANISTAN/MILITARY/NATIONAL SECURITY/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Trump’s skepticism about America’s involvement in Afghanistan was no secret to his staff. But his top national security officials were still taken aback at a meeting in the Situation Room on July 19, when an angry Mr. Trump began ripping apart their latest proposal to send thousands of additional American […]
8/21/2017
AFGHANISTAN/MILITARY/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Trump put forward on Monday [8-21-17] a long-awaited strategy for resolving the nearly 16-year-old conflict in Afghanistan, but he declined to specify either the number of troops that would be committed, or the conditions by which he would judge the success of their mission there. In a nationally televised prime-time speech […]
8/20/2017
AFGHANISTAN/MILITARY/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Donald Trump will give a nationally televised address Monday [8-21-17] night to unveil his strategy for the long-running war in Afghanistan, the White House said, a plan expected to include sending as many as 4,000 more troops to the country. He’ll deliver the prime-time speech from Fort Myer in Arlington, Va., […]
8/20/2017
FOREIGN POLICY/MILITARY/NORTH KOREA/SOUTH KOREA: “A new cycle of escalation on the Korean Peninsula looked set to begin this week as the U.S. and South Korea kicked off annual military exercises that have a history of enraging Pyongyang. The long-planned drills follow weeks of belligerent rhetoric between the U.S. and North Korea that stoked fears of […]
8/16/2017
MILITARY: “New York Governor Andrew Cuomo on Wednesday [8-16-17] urged acting Secretary of the Army Ryan McCarthy to remove names of Confederate generals from streets on the Fort Hamilton military base in Brooklyn. In a letter to Mr. McCarthy, Mr. Cuomo said the streets in question—Stonewall Jackson Drive and General Lee Avenue—’are named for leaders […]
8/16/2017
CHINA/MILITARY/NORTH KOREA: “The Pentagon’s top general on Wednesday [8-16-17] said he discussed with his Chinese counterparts ways to coordinate with China’s military to avoid dangerous miscalculations should war break out with North Korea. Gen. Joe Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, described the contingency talks after he paid a rare visit to the […]
8/16/2017
MILITARY/NORTH KOREA/TRUMP PEOPLE: “The Trump administration plunged America’s Asian allies into new confusion Thursday over its strategy for countering North Korea’s nuclear threat, as the chief White House strategist and top general offered radically different approaches to the crisis… Stephen K. Bannon, the nationalist ideologue who is Mr. Trump’s chief strategist, said in an interview […]
8/16/2017
MILITARY/RACISM/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The nation’s top military officers issued public statements condemning racial bigotry and extremism, a rare foray into domestic politics that indicated deep unease Wednesday [8-16-17] in the Pentagon with President Trump’s views on race and underscored his growing isolation. The social media posts from the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff — the […]
8/14/2017
FOREIGN POLICY/MILITARY/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/VENEZUELA: “President Nicolás Maduro of Venezuela had become a pariah among fellow Latin American leaders as his beleaguered country staggered toward dictatorship. But a threat by President Trump to use the American military against Mr. Maduro’s government has united those leaders in a different direction: demanding that the United States keep out […]
8/14/2017
MILITARY/TRADE DEALS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Leaving for New York City and meetings on military purchases and trade.” -Donald Trump, Twitter.com, August 14, 2017 05:29pm […]
8/14/2017
FOREIGN POLICY/MILITARY/NORTH KOREA: “Gen. Joe Dunford, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the U.S. must take threats from North Korea seriously, despite fresh skepticism from South Korea that Pyongyang has the ability to reliably deliver an intercontinental ballistic missile to the U.S… Gen. Dunford noted that North Korea had conducted missile and […]
8/13/2017
MIKE PENCE/MILITARY/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/VENEZUELA: “Vice President Mike Pence tamped down President Donald Trump’s threats of U.S. military intervention in Venezuela amid growing regional fears that such comments have strengthened that country’s president, Nicolás Maduro. Mr. Pence spoke Sunday [8-13-17] night in neighboring Colombia, two days after Mr. Trump jolted the region by saying he was […]
8/11/2017
MILITARY/NORTH KOREA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Shortly after tweeting the US military was ‘locked and loaded’ should North Korea ‘act unwisely,’ President Donald Trump returned to Twitter on Friday [8-11-17] to emphasize his point by retweeting images of US B-1 bombers currently stationed in Guam. Featuring a series of photos depicting B-1B Lancers deployed to the US […]
8/11/2017
MILITARY/NORTH KOREA: “Military solutions are now fully in place,locked and loaded,should North Korea act unwisely. Hopefully Kim Jong Un will find another path!” -Donald Trump, Twitter.com, August 11, 2017 06:29am […]
8/10/2017
LGBTQ/MILITARY/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Trump said on Thursday [8-10-17] that he is doing the United States military a ‘great favor’ by barring transgender people from serving in its ranks — even though the Pentagon has made no move to expel personnel since the commander in chief first tweeted the policy about-face two weeks ago. The […]
8/10/2017
CHINA/MILITARY/NAVY: “A U.S. Navy destroyer carried out a ‘freedom of navigation operation’ on Thursday [8-10-17], coming within 12 nautical miles of an artificial island built up by China in the South China Sea, U.S. officials told Reuters. The operation came as President Donald Trump’s administration seeks Chinese cooperation in dealing with North Korea’s missile and […]
8/9/2017
LEGAL/LGBTQ/MILITARY/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Two advocacy groups sued President Trump in federal court Wednesday [8-9-17] over his declaration on Twitter last month that the Pentagon would a reinstate a ban on transgender people serving in the U.S. military. So far, the armed services have not implemented a ban or moved to discharge anyone, saying that it […]
8/9/2017
MILITARY/NUCLEAR/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “My first order as President was to renovate and modernize our nuclear arsenal. It is now far stronger and more powerful than ever before… Hopefully we will never have to use this power, but there will never be a time that we are not the most powerful nation in the world!” -Donald […]
8/8/2017
IRAN/MILITARY/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “An unarmed Iranian drone buzzed an American Super Hornet fighter jet as it circled an aircraft carrier in the Persian Gulf, Defense Department officials said on Tuesday [8-8-17]. A statement released by the military’s Central Command said that despite repeated radio calls demanding that Iran keep the drone clear of American flight […]
8/7/2017
HOLIDAY/MILITARY: “On #PurpleHeartDay?I thank all the brave men and women who have sacrificed in battle for this GREAT NATION! #USA?? https://t.co/QmfdLSLp6p” -Donald Trump, Twitter.com, August 7, 2017 01:03pm […]
8/7/2017
AFGHANISTAN/MILITARY/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “To understand the Trump administration’s struggle to agree on a strategy to reverse the deteriorating situation in Afghanistan, it’s useful first to look back in time. In early 2013, Donald Trump tweeted: ‘We should leave Afghanistan immediately. No more wasted lives.’ Early the following year, when President Barack Obama was trying to […]
8/3/2017
LGBTQ/MILITARY/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “When President Trump chose Twitter last week to announce that he planned to ban transgender service members from the military, he said his decision would safeguard the readiness of the armed forces and was made on the advice of his generals. Now, a week after Mr. Trump’s Twitter statements, military policy experts […]
8/2/2017
DEFENSE/JAMES MATTIS/MILITARY/UAE: “Defense Secretary James Mattis received permission from the US military after retiring from the Marine Corps to work as a military adviser to the United Arab Emirates, newly disclosed Pentagon records show. Mattis, a retired Marine general, was not paid for the advising work, according to the Pentagon, and the advising role was […]
8/2/2017
MILITARY/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/VETS: “It was my great honor to pay tribute to a VET who went above & beyond the call of duty to PROTECT our COMRADES, our COUNTRY, & OUR FREEDOM! https://t.co/YS6y1WR30G” -Donald Trump, Twitter.com, August 2, 2017 09:09am […]
8/1/2017
FOREIGN POLICY/MILITARY/NATO/RUSSIA: “NATO jets intercepted three Russian military aircraft near Estonian airspace Tuesday [8-1-17], an alliance spokesman told CNN… He added that Finnish jets also scrambled to intercept the Russian aircraft which he identified as two MiG-31 fighter jets and an AN-26 transport plane. NATO’s Baltic Air Policing mission involves allied aircraft securing the airspace […]
8/1/2017
DEFENSE/MILITARY/STATE/UKRAINE: “The Pentagon and State Department have proposed to the White House a plan to supply Ukraine with anti-tank missiles and other arms, according to Defense Department officials. The proposed transfer — which also would include antiaircraft arms that would be defined as defensive weaponry — comes as fighting between Ukrainian troops and Russian-backed separatists […]
7/31/2017
MILITARY/RUSSIA/STATE/UKRAINE: “The U.S. Pentagon and State Department have devised plans to supply Ukraine with antitank missiles and other weaponry and are seeking White House approval, U.S. officials said, as Kiev battles Russia-backed separatists and ties between Moscow and Washington fray. American military officials and diplomats say the arms, which they characterized as defensive, are meant […]
7/30/2017
AFGHANISTAN/MILITARY: “President Donald Trump’s reservations about sending more troops to Afghanistan have triggered a new exploration of an option long considered unlikely: withdrawal. Unable to agree on a plan to send up to 3,900 more American forces to help turn back Taliban advances in Afghanistan, the White House is taking a new look at what […]
7/28/2017
HEALTHCARE/LGBTQ/MILITARY/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Trump’s tweets banning transgender Americans from serving in the armed forces not only sent shockwaves from the barracks to Capitol Hill, they also rocked the families of service members whose military health care coverage provides essential care for their transgender children. ‘I instantly started crying,’ Amanda Brewer told NBC Washington. Her […]
7/27/2017
LEGAL/LGBTQ/MILITARY/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Donald Trump’s three-tweet plan to stop transgender individuals from serving in the military has yet to be clarified or implemented, but as it stands could run headlong into established case law. The same is true for the position the Trump administration took late on Wednesday [7-26-17], declaring that federal anti-discrimination law […]
7/27/2017
LGBTQ/MILITARY/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “There will be ‘no modifications’ to the military’s transgender policy as a result of President Donald Trump’s declared ban on transgender men and women on Twitter, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs said in a message to top military officers on Thursday — the latest sign of the disarray following the commander-in-chief’s […]