The U.S. Navy has condemned Iran’s new propaganda film, in which a U.S. sailor is shown weeping in captivity, as “outrageous and unacceptable.” Meanwhile, a defiant Iran is re-enacting the capture of the American sailors on January 10 as street theater, during celebrations marking the anniversary of the Iranian revolution.
U.S. Director of National Intelligence James Clapper said today he expects the Chinese government to continue its illegal construction of artificial islands in the South China Sea, as propaganda in Chinese media becomes increasingly vocal in support of efforts to cement the nation’s hold over the region.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A spokesperson for the U.S.-led coalition against the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) told reporters that he did not dispute a news report saying that the real number of American troops serving on the ground in Iraq is about 800 over the 3,650 figure often cited by Obama administration officials.
The U.S. Navy has outraged the Chinese government once again by performing a legal “freedom of navigation” exercise in disputed South China Sea territory, for which the Chinese Foreign Ministry accused America of seeking “maritime hegemony” in the region.
Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter, speaking from the World Economic Forum in Davos to CNBC, stated that America must put more “boots on the ground” in Iraq to defeat the Islamic State, but promised they will not actually do any fighting.
The governments of Vietnam, the Philippines, and Japan have all condemned China for landing a plane on an artificial island in the South China Sea, constructed in what is widely regarded as sovereign Vietnamese territory. China rejects international claims in the sea and has begun constructing military facilities in the Spratly Islands.
Iraqi Vice President Nouri al-Maliki failed to acknowledge the U.S.-led coalition air support in a statement about the liberation of Ramadi, although it was an integral part of the offensive to wrest control of the Iraqi city from the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL).
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi demanded Secretary of State John Kerry “respect China’s core interests” in the South China Sea following the presence of a B-52 bomber within 12 nautical miles of the Spratly Islands, a passage the Pentagon has branded unintentional.
The Chinese state-run Global Times newspaper has issued a threat to the Australian government to stay out of the international waters of the South China Sea or face the possibility of having its jets shot down by the Chinese government.
Three House panels will join forces to investigate allegations that senior U.S. Central Command officers altered intelligence assessments to make it appear that President Obama is winning the war against the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL), according to their chairmen.
The Chinese government is paying “close attention” to the new deployment of an American spy plane off the island of Singapore
US NAVAL STATION GUANTÁNAMO BAY, CUBA—The primary debate during pre-trial proceedings here at Guantánamo Bay Naval Base on Tuesday will revolve around whether female guards are allowed to make contact with detainees.
Satellite images of construction in the South China Sea indicate the Chinese government has begun construction on three new airstrikes near the Spratly and Paracel Islands, quadrupling its presence in the highly-contested maritime territory.
Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI), who also happens to be vice-chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee, expressed concern that President Barack Obama’s approach to the civil war in Syria may lead to nuclear war during an exchange with Defense Secretary Ashton Carter at a House Armed Services hearing on Tuesday.
WASHINGTON, D.C.—The United States is expected to deploy up to 200 special operation forces to combat the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) in Iraq and Syria, including some who will participate in ground combat operations, U.S. defense officials have said.
Maj. Jason Brezler is being kicked out of the military after more than 15 years of service for warning fellow Marines in 2012 that a Taliban-linked Afghan police commander working at their post in southern Afghanistan was corrupt and sexually abusing boys, the Washington Post recently reported.
Shiite groups in Iraq have issued a statement vowing to fight any American troops on the ground following the announcement of a new deployment of special operations forces to fight the Islamic State in the war-torn nation.
WASHINGTON, D.C.—U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter contradicted President Obama when pressed by Rep. Ryan Zinke (R-MT) during a House panel hearing on Tuesday, declaring that the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) and other radical Islamic terrorist groups are a greater threat than climate change.
Defense Secretary Ash Carter told Congress on Tuesday that the U.S. would establish a special operations “targeting force” in Iraq as part of the intensified military effort to fight ISIS.
Thursday on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter acknowledged to co-hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski that the United States is indeed at war with ISIS. Partial transcript as follows: BRZEZINSKI: How can you assure the American public
The United States needs Europe to take bolder action to defeat the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL), said U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter.
(Reuters) China has shown “great restraint” in the South China Sea by not seizing islands occupied by other countries even though it could have, a senior Chinese diplomat said on Tuesday ahead of two regional summits where the disputed waterway is likely to be a hot topic.
Indonesia’s defense chief told reporters Wednesday that it, too, may take China to court over its outrageous territorial claims in the South China Sea, following the Philippines’ request for the Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague to address the matter. The Hague has accepted the petition.
The Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) launched a relatively rare attack behind Kurdish lines in northern Iraq, briefly occupying a local government compound located in the vicinity of several oil-producing fields.
After stating last week that, despite Chinese objections, American naval ships will “fly, sail and operate wherever international law allows,” Defense Secretary Ashton Carter personally made good on that promise by joining the crew of the USS Theodore Roosevelt in the South China Sea today.
WASHINGTON D.C.—The Pentagon has denied claims by Vladimir Putin’s defense ministry that the Russian air force held an air space cooperation exercise with its U.S. counterpart in Syria, aimed at staving off dangerous encounters between their warplanes.
The White House officially “announced” on Friday that small teams of U.S. special forces would be deployed in Syria, totaling up to 50 commandos on the ground.
Reuters, citing two Obama Administration officials, reports that U.S. special operations in Iraq and Syria may occur in the near future.
While being questioned by Lindsey Graham about the means through which the Obama administration intended to secure the ousting of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad, Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter conceded that such efforts were “principally political.”
Defense Secretary Ashton Carter insisted in a press conference on Friday that the anti-ISIS raid in which Master Sgt. Joshua Wheeler was killed does not mean American troops have a “combat role” in Iraq.
More details have emerged about the raid against an ISIS prison camp near Hawija, Iraq, where a joint American-Kurdish-Iraqi strike force rescued seventy prisoners who were about to be executed and dumped in mass graves.
Sanafi al-Nasr, al-Qaeda’s chief financial officer and highest-ranking leader of the Khorasan Group, a terrorist organization intent on attacking America and its allies in the West, was killed in a U.S.-led coalition airstrike in Syria, the Pentagon has announced.
Chinese President Xi Jinping, on a diplomatic visit to London, has reiterated to Reuters his nation’s claim that the entirety of the South China Sea belongs to China, asserting that the islands in that region were “left to us by our ancestors” and cannot be shared with neighboring countries.
Vietnam is accusing a Chinese vessel of attacking and sinking a fishing boat near the disputed Paracel Islands, days after the Chinese government insisted that territories in the South China Sea were not international waters, but belonged to China.
Iranian troops, allied Hezbollah fighters, and Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad’s army have reportedly joined forces to launch a ground offensive, backed by Russian airstrikes, to seize key areas from rebels in Syria.
WASHINGTON, D.C.—Russian “aggression” in Europe and now the Middle East is a “new reality” for the United States that is “here to stay,” said U.S. Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter.
At least four Russian missiles reportedly crashed into Iran instead of Syria. The Russian government launched 26 rockets from the Caspian Sea on Wednesday.
After several days of pounding enemies of the Assad regime from the air – with a preference for bombing forces trained by the CIA and backed by the United States – Russia kicked in a swarm of 26 cruise missiles launched by its Caspian Sea fleet, some 900 miles away
WASHINGTON, D.C.—The U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) refuses to explicitly say whether or not American military troops are planning to assist and protect U.S.-armed and trained Syrian rebels who come under attack by Russia.
The Russians are still insisting their air campaign is targeting the Islamic State, but U.S. officials say the bombs have been dropping on CIA-backed rebel groups.
