More than 100,000 have died in a pandemic and troops are on the streets. The rate of fresh affronts has outpaced the ability to digest them
The sheer tumult of the Trump era, the unceasing torrent of events that were unthinkable even hours before, has left a nation constantly off balance, unable to find its bearing and grasp how far it has traveled.
The developments of the past 24 hours were a reminder of how slippery the downward slope has been.
Continue reading...The president suggested the US could use troops against Americans – true to the instincts of a man surrounded by sycophants
“When fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying a cross,” goes an oft-quoted line of uncertain origin.
On Monday evening, Donald Trump, with four US flags behind him, threatened to send in the military against the American people, then crossed the road to pose for a photo outside a historic church while clutching an upside-down Bible.
Continue reading...Kauai has one of the Pentagon’s most valued testing sites. It’s an economic driver, but some residents say the military shouldn’t be on the islands at all
Hawaii’s “garden island”, Kauai, is known for its breathtaking scenery and laid-back vibe, a place of plunging waterfalls and cliffs cloaked in green tropical forests. But beyond its beauty it is one of the Pentagon’s most valued testing and training sites in the Pacific.
In Hawaii, where the military is the second-largest economic driver, after tourism, weapons testing and training enjoy widespread support, but some residents view the islands’ highly militarized state as misguided or even illegal.
Continue reading...Unveiling the flag for his new space force, Donald Trump said the US was developing a 'super-duper missile' to outpace its military adversaries. 'We have no choice, we have to do it with the adversaries we have out there. We have, I call it the super duper missile and I heard the other night [it’s] 17 times faster than what they have right now,' the US president said on Friday
Continue reading...Previously secret agreement emerges as spokesmen for US military and Taliban clash on Twitter
The US military has warned the Taliban it must curb attacks inside Afghanistan and revealed that a US troop withdrawal agreement signed in February included an informal commitment for both sides to cut violence by 80%.
The previously secret arrangement was revealed in a Twitter spat between the US military spokesman Col Sonny Leggett and his Taliban counterpart Zabihullah Mujahid. It comes after a sharp escalation in militant attacks since the agreement was sealed.
Continue reading...Even amid the coronavirus crisis, the countries are trading threats. A de-escalation hotline is desperately needed
A dangerous encounter between the Iranian and US navies in the Persian Gulf last month, provoked by 11 Iranian Revolutionary Guards’ speedboats, and President Trump’s threat one week later to shoot Iranian gunboats out of water if this happens again, are stark reminders of the short fuse between the two countries amid growing tensions. If they want conflict to wag the dog and deflect attention from their failures to fight the Covid-19 outbreak in their respective countries, they can easily stumble into one; but if they don’t, as they often claim, they should find a way to establish a military hotline.
Related: Iranian boats come 'dangerously' close to US navy warships
Continue reading...Exclusive: test has potential to identify carriers before they become infectious
Scientists working for the US military have designed a new Covid-19 test that could potentially identify carriers before they become infectious and spread the disease, the Guardian has learned.
In what could be a significant breakthrough, project coordinators hope the blood-based test will be able to detect the virus’s presence as early as 24 hours after infection – before people show symptoms and several days before a carrier is considered capable of spreading it to other people. That is also around four days before current tests can detect the virus.
Continue reading...Iranian navy vessels came within 10 yards of American warships in the Persian Gulf in what the US navy described as a series of “dangerous and harassing approaches”.
The close encounters on Wednesday and the aggressive tactics pursued by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) navy, visible from photos and video released by the US Fifth Fleet, represent a blow to the Trump administration’s claims to have “restored deterrence” in its relations with Iran.
Continue reading...Donald Trump says he will settle dispute as acting navy secretary Thomas Modly faces calls to resign for attack on captain of USS Theodore Roosevelt
The Pentagon leadership crisis over a US aircraft carrier has intensified after the acting navy secretary called the ship’s ousted captain “too naive or too stupid” to be in command.
There were calls from Congress and former officers for Thomas Modly to resign after an audio recording surfaced of a speech he gave to the crew of the USS Theodore Roosevelt, in which he denigrated the commander he had fired for having circulated a memo calling for more help for his crew, who had been stricken by a coronavirus outbreak onboard.
Continue reading...On national holiday he declared, president who avoided draft salutes those who served
Donald Trump marked National Vietnam War Veterans Day on Sunday, with a tweet praising those who served in a conflict that involved US combat operations in Indochina from 1965 to 1973 .
“You have earned our gratitude and thanks,” he wrote, “by your actions years ago and what you have done since returning home. The nation thanks you and your families for your service and sacrifice. We love you!”
Continue reading...After the 2010 Haitian earthquake, we saw the US military in action as a humanitarian force. They can do this
In 2010, a devastating earthquake hit Haiti. In three minutes it killed more than 200,000 people and displaced two million more.
Our humanitarian aid organization, the Community Organized Relief Effort (CORE), was on the ground in Haiti. In Haiti – as well as on the front lines of other disasters, like Hurricane Florence in North Carolina and Hurricane Dorian in the Bahamas just a few months ago – we saw how dangerous inaction and political paralysis can be, and how rapid mobilization saves lives. In a crisis, every minute – every second – counts.
Continue reading...Two Americans and a British soldier are reported to have been killed and 11 others injured, by a rocket attack on a coalition base in Iraq, according to US defence officials.
Within hours air strikes were reported on an area of the Iraqi-Syrian border used as a base by an Iran-backed militia, raising fears of a fresh round of US-Iranian escalation that brought both countries close to war in January.
Continue reading...Decision overturns earlier rejection of request to examine actions of US soldiers
Senior judges at the international criminal court have authorised an investigation into alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in Afghanistan, overturning an earlier rejection of the inquiry.
The ICC investigation will look at actions by US, Afghan and Taliban troops. It is possible, however, that allegations relating to UK troops could emerge in that process.
Continue reading...Call with official whom Trump mistakenly called ‘leader of the Taliban’ is first direct exchange between a US president and insurgent leadership since 2001
Donald Trump has spoken by telephone to a senior Taliban official at a time when a row over prisoner exchanges and a fresh outbreak of violence jeopardised a historic US-Taliban peace agreement signed on Saturday.
The conversation between Trump and the head of the Taliban’s political office, Abdul Ghani Baradar, was the first direct exchange between a US president and the insurgent leadership since the US military intervention in Afghanistan began in 2001.
Continue reading...Peace deal will see troops withdrawn from conflict in which 41 Australians, 2,500 Americans and more than 100,000 Afghans were killed
Australia has urged the Taliban to negotiate with the Afghan government “in good faith” as it welcomes the withdrawal of US forces from the war-ravaged country.
The foreign minister, Marise Payne, and the defence minister, Linda Reynolds, issued a joint statement on Sunday welcoming the agreement signed between the United States and the Taliban that will see the 19-year presence of coalition forces come to an end.
Continue reading...The US and the Taliban have signed a peace agreement aimed at ending the 18-year war in Afghanistan.
According to the agreement, the US will start withdrawing thousands of troops in exchange for Taliban commitments to prevent Afghanistan from being a launchpad for terrorist attacks
Continue reading...A seven-day ‘reduction of violence’ deal will begin on Friday night, Mike Pompeo said, leading to signing of a peace agreement
The US and Taliban are due to sign an agreement on 29 February that will lead to the withdrawal of thousands of US troops and the start of comprehensive peace talks between the Afghan government and the insurgents.
The US secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, announced that the agreement would be signed once there has been a week-long “nationwide reduction in violence”, to start at midnight on Friday, according to an understanding reached by US and Taliban negotiators meeting in Doha.
Continue reading...Al-Rimi had claimed responsibility for a shooting at a Florida naval base, where a Saudi aviation trainee killed three American sailors
Donald Trump confirmed on Thursday that a counter-terrorism operation in Yemen killed Qassim al-Rimi, an al-Qaida leader who claimed responsibility for last year’s deadly shooting at Naval Air Station Pensacola, where a Saudi aviation trainee killed three American sailors.
Unconfirmed reports of his death, including indicative tweets from the president, have been circulating since 31 January, but the neither the Department of Defense nor the CIA had issued official confirmation.
Continue reading...Donald Trump appeared on Saturday to confirm the death of Qassim al-Rimi, the leader of an al-Qaida affiliate in Yemen, through a series of tweets.
Related: Yemeni terror chief warns US: 'Your security has broken away'
Continue reading...Defence secretary Mark Esper confirmed the policy change that would, according to a Pentagon review, increase danger to US armed forces
The US will end its moratorium on the production and deployment of landmines, in another reversal of Obama-era policies and a further breach with western allies, it has been reported.
The defence secretary, Mark Esper, confirmed that a policy change was imminent but refused to describe it. Vox published a leaked state department cable rescinding Barack Obama’s 2014 ban on production or acquisition of anti-personnel landmines (APLs).
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