Ever since the weird non-war against ISIS began, we have heard loud boasts from the Obama Administration about how many fabulously expensive airstrikes coalition forces were conducting. And yet, the Islamic State remains on the march in Iraq and Syria, and is confident enough to launch a new campaign for control of devastated post-Obama, post-Clinton Libya.
U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter met a top Chinese general on Thursday and repeated a U.S. call for a halt to land reclamation in the South China Sea while stressing that the Pentagon remained committed to expanding military contacts with China.
WASHINGTON, D.C.—Department of Defense (DoD) Secretary Ashton Carter said he is “incredibly optimistic” about the United States’s position in the world.
The UK Telegraph reports that British Prime Minister David Cameron “has refused to meet demands by Barack Obama that Britain commits to spending 2 per cent of its national income on defense for the next five years.”
On Tuesday, U.S. Defense Secretary Ashton Carter arrived in India to sign a defense agreement that will have a major impact on the region.
Philippine President Benigno Aquino, in remarks made Wednesday at a public event, compared China’s incursions into Philippine and Vietnamese land in the South China Sea to Nazi Germany’s push into the Sudetenland, calling for the United States to intervene and keep China out of their sovereign territory before it was too late.
The United States has offered Vietnam $18 million for the purchase of American patrol boats, to be used in self-defense against looming threats from China to Vietnamese and Philippine vessels that dare navigate into the South China Sea. China has both increased its belligerent activity in the disputed region and trumped up calls to condemn its neighbors for “provocative” behavior near the Spratly Islands.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter criticized China’s artificial island construction in the South China Sea, declaring that the United States would not be deterred by China’s military activity in the region.
Philippine President Benigno Aquino is set to land in Japan on Tuesday following initial negotiations for new weapons trade deals and closer military ties. Observers see the move as a preventative measure in the face of China’s expanded efforts in disputed South China Sea territory to build military facilities and artificial islands, violating international law.
Contents: US-China tensions in South China Sea take another step upward; EU rescues 4300 migrants in one day as country quotas are enacted
Contents: Russia using mobile crematoriums to continue pretense about Ukraine; Russia’s economic crisis may force withdrawal from Ukraine; US-China military tensions get rapidly inflamed over South China Sea
On CNN’s State of the Union Sunday morning, Defense Secretary Ashton Carter expressed frustration about the poor performance of Iraqi military forces at Ramadi.
Contents: US administration’s strategy in Iraq continues to fail; Obama administration’s rhetoric changes dramatically on Sunday; Some reports suggest intentional loss of Ramadi by Iraq’s government
As information slowly trickled out about Russian hacker attacks on major government systems — first the State Department, then the White House — it seemed only a matter of time until the Pentagon admitted it had been hacked as well.
On Tuesday’s broadcast of NBC’s “Today,” Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter told co-host Savannah Guthrie he was “reluctant” to say the United States is winning the fight against ISIS. “I think it’s too early to say we are winning, but
Out transgender recruits want to serve openly in the U.S. military, as they do in a number of allied armed forces. It is a subject under active consideration within the Department of Defense, and something supported by a coalition of transgender military personnel and their supporters in the Democratic Party.
Former New York Congressman Barney Frank recently slammed Vice President Joe Biden, saying he “lacks discipline” and criticized him for constantly fondling women.
The Associated Press reports that Jordan has announced plans to help train Syrian rebels to fight the Islamic State. “The training is part of a regional effort also involving Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar as hosts of training sites. The U.S. Congress has passed legislation providing $500 million for training about 5,000 rebels over the next year,” writes the AP.
WASHINGTON — A change in policy issued by the Army Friday evening will make it harder to dismiss transgender soldiers, according to advocate groups.
WASHINGTON — Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter told a Senate panel that it was a “mistake” for a U.S. military official to divulge details of an Iraqi-led ground operation to retake Mosul from the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) in Iraq.
New Defense Secretary Ashton Carter indicated that he is open to transgender people serving in the U.S. military as long as they can do what is required of them.
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani indicated that peace negotiations between Afghanistan and the Taliban are within reach now, more than 13 years after the war began, following the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the U.S. homeland.
It’s far from the strangest or most offensive thing he’s ever done, but for some reason the spectacle of Vice President Joe Biden getting “handsy” with freshly-minted Defense Secretary Ashton Carter’s wife Stephanie was the straw that broke the camel’s back for a few people on the left.
