US Builds Several New Bases In Iraq Near Iran

US Builds Several New Bases In Iraq Near Iran
US Builds Several New Bases In Iraq Near Iran

Israeli experts say the U.S realized withdrawing from Iraq would leave policymakers and the military with greatly reduced influence in a region that has seen rapid and extensive Russian penetration into the region.

US-Turkey Relations At Precipice; Turks Start S-400 Training

US-Turkey Relations At Precipice; Turks Start S-400 Training
US-Turkey Relations At Precipice; Turks Start S-400 Training

The Pentagon appears to be ready to take further action in the long-running saga over Turkey and the F-35.

White House, Pentagon Remain In Dark Over Syria Withdrawal

White House, Pentagon Remain In Dark Over Syria Withdrawal
White House, Pentagon Remain In Dark Over Syria Withdrawal

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.

Has Turkey Gone Rogue?

Has Turkey Gone Rogue?
Has Turkey Gone Rogue?

When Secretary of State Rex Tillerson arrives in Ankara on Thursday, he will find Turkey unrecognizable as the ostensibly Muslim democracy and close ally that U.S. officials once held up as a model for the Islamic world. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is poised to complete his long transformation of Turkey from a raucous — if imperfect democracy — to an autocracy, one ruled by caprice and fear.

Iraq & Syria Airstrikes Dip 30% Since June: Turkey & Russia Complications

Iraq & Syria Airstrikes Dip 30% Since June: Turkey & Russia Complications
Iraq & Syria Airstrikes Dip 30% Since June: Turkey & Russia Complications

WASHINGTON:  Airstrikes against the Islamic State have dropped 30 percent since June, because Islamic State retreats and Turkish advances have made it much harder to find targets, three experts told us. The administration’s self-imposed limits and negotiations with Russia — of which the military is very wary — restrict airstrikes as well. The ground war in Iraq…

Anti-Daesh Coalition Meets; SEAL Death Reminds All Of Stakes

Anti-Daesh Coalition Meets; SEAL Death Reminds All Of Stakes
Anti-Daesh Coalition Meets; SEAL Death Reminds All Of Stakes

EUCOM HEADQUARTERS, STUTTGART: in a series of lightning meetings held throughout the day, Defense Secretary Ash Carter and 11 allies tried to hash out the next steps needed for dealing Daesh “a lasting defeat” in Iraq and Syria. Carter started the day with a short address to representatives of the now-11 partners — the 11th nation, Norway, just…

HASC NDAA Mark Challenges White House From A-10 To Iraq To Space

HASC NDAA Mark Challenges White House From A-10 To Iraq To Space
HASC NDAA Mark Challenges White House From A-10 To Iraq To Space

WASHINGTON: If anyone at the White House had hoped the new chairman of the House Armed Services Committee would be more compliant than his predecessor, the defense bill out today should end their illusions. Sure, Rep. Mac Thornberry has consulted closely with the Pentagon and his ranking member on issues like acquisition reform. But Thornberry’s draft…

President Obama’s Historic Middle East Opportunity

President Obama’s Historic Middle East Opportunity
President Obama’s Historic Middle East Opportunity

President Obama was recently depicted on the cover of The Economist as the new George W. Bush, forced to head back to Iraq. One can correctly argue that the President and his national security team have spent more time distancing themselves from Bush’s administration than looking hard into the future and shaping the strategic space within which…

Syrian Ops Mean DoD ‘Budget Problems:’ CJCS Dempsey

Syrian Ops Mean DoD ‘Budget Problems:’ CJCS Dempsey
Syrian Ops Mean DoD ‘Budget Problems:’ CJCS Dempsey

PENTAGON: The services’ draft budgets delivered to the Office of Secretary of Defense early this month are probably being shredded in light of the campaign in Iraq and Syria against the terrorist group known as ISIL. “If you’re asking me, are we going to have budget problems, the answer is yes,” the president’s top military advisor told reporters this…

It’s Not Airpower Vs. Boots On Ground Any More

It’s Not Airpower Vs. Boots On Ground Any More
It’s Not Airpower Vs. Boots On Ground Any More

As the Air Force Association girds for its annual conference, which starts Monday here in Washington, I was struck by several comments from several experts that the traditional dichotomy between air power and ground forces — often the focus of internecine budget battles between the Army and Air Force — isn’t that relevant any more. Aircraft…

Iraq Airstrikes Are Strategic, Not Humanitarian

Iraq Airstrikes Are Strategic, Not Humanitarian
Iraq Airstrikes Are Strategic, Not Humanitarian

[CORRECTED number of Mt. Sinjar airdrops] The Obama administration and the mainstream media can make the airstrikes in Iraq sound like a humanitarian war, a New Age operation driven not by realpolitik but by the high-minded and/or fuzzy-headed responsibility to protect. In fact, Obama is using deadly force for strategic goals, just like George Bush. The difference —…

US Bombs ISIS To Aid Kurds: Strikes By USS George H.W. Bush, Drones

US Bombs ISIS To Aid Kurds: Strikes By USS George H.W. Bush, Drones
US Bombs ISIS To Aid Kurds: Strikes By USS George H.W. Bush, Drones

[UPDATED with details on latest strikes] Yesterday, President Obama ordered humanitarian airdrops to Iraqi refugees and authorized — but did not actually launch — airstrikes on Islamic State forces threatening either the refugees or Erbil, the capital of quasi-independent Kurdistan. This morning, at 6:45 am Washington time, the other shoe dropped, in the form of 500-pound smart bombs…

Gen. James Jones: Arm Syrian Rebels — Some Of Them

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…