The Trump administration is signaling its readiness to put “boots on the ground” in Syria and Iraq to defeat the Islamic State and secure a stronger place for the United States in the negotiations on the future of both countries. It is a risky approach because of the presence of military forces from Russia, Iran, the Lebanese terrorist organization Hezbollah and Turkey as well as various Syrian factions, including Kurds seeking to carve out an independent state along the Turkish border.
Category: US Military
China eyes to close military gap with US
China has put into service its new generation J-20 stealth fighter, a warplane it hopes will narrow the military gap with the United States, as senior naval officers said the country was building a “first class” navy and developing a marine corps. Chinese President Xi Jinping is overseeing a sweeping modernisation of the country’s armed forces, the largest in the world, including anti-satellite missiles and advanced submarines, seeking to project power far from its shores.
The Latest: Syrian Kurds see force boosting in push on IS
The Latest on the developments related to Syria’s civil war and the expected push against the Islamic State group’s main stronghold of Raqqa in northern Syria : U.S.-backed Syrian Kurdish forces say they have enough fighters to take the Islamic State group’s de facto capital of Raqqa in northern Syria. The spokeswoman for the Syrian Democratic Forces said on Friday that their numbers are increasing, with residents of areas newly liberated from IS joining the ethnically mixed force.
US commander signals larger, longer US presence in Syria
Thursday that there will be a larger and longer American military presence in Syria to accelerate the fight against the Islamic State group and quell friction within the complicated mix of warring factions there. Gen. Joseph Votel, head of U.S. Central Command, told senators Thursday that he will need more conventional U.S. forces to insure stability once the fight to defeat Islamic State militants in their self-declared capital of Raqqa is over.
US troops seem poised to take a prominent role in attacking the ISIS capital
US military forces seem poised to take a prominent role in the long-awaited battle to take down Raqqa, Syria, the capital of the self-proclaimed Islamic State. Though the Pentagon has long downplayed the role of US ground troops in the fight against the ISIS terror group in Iraq and Syria, recent deployments of many more ” boots on the ground ” suggest they may be front-and-center in the coming months.
US troops seem poised to take a prominent role in attacking the ISIS capital
US military forces seem poised to take a prominent role in the long-awaited battle to take down Raqqa, Syria, the capital of the self-proclaimed Islamic State. Though the Pentagon has long downplayed the role of US ground troops in the fight against the ISIS terror group in Iraq and Syria, recent deployments of many more ” boots on the ground ” suggest they may be front-and-center in the coming months.
Military SAR technician killed in training accident in Saskatchewan
A search and rescue technician with the Royal Canadian Air Force has died in a training accident near Yorkton, Sask. Master-Corporal Alfred Barr was a member of 435 Transport and Rescue Squadron at 17 Winnipeg based at CFB Winnipeg.
Military SAR technician killed in training accident in Saskatchewan
A search and rescue technician with the Royal Canadian Air Force has died in a training accident near Yorkton, Sask. Master-Corporal Alfred Barr was a member of 435 Transport and Rescue Squadron at 17 Winnipeg based at CFB Winnipeg.
US Marines have arrived in Syria for Raqqa battle
US Marines with the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit attach a concrete barrier to a CH-53E Super Stallion during helicopter external load training at Arta Beach, Djibouti. Photo / Marine Corps Marines from an amphibious task force have left their ships in the Middle East and deployed to Syria, establishing an outpost from which they can fire artillery guns in support of the fight to take back the city of Raqqa from Isis.
Turkish, US, Russian military chiefs discuss Syria tensions
The top generals from Turkey, the United States and Russia met Tuesday in Turkey to discuss mutual suspicions over northern Syria military operations, as Russia’s military announced a two-week long cease-fire between rebels and the government in the suburbs of the Syrian capital, Damascus. The Russian military said a cease-fire has been in place since Tuesday, March 6, and will extend until March 20, for the Eastern Ghouta region outside Damascus, but activists reported a number of airstrikes and artillery strikes by government forces, killing two civilians.
At least two killed in new drone strikes on al Qaeda in Yemen: residents
Drones fired missiles at suspected al Qaeda targets in two separate attacks in Yemen on Saturday, local sources said, in what appeared to be a third successive day of U.S. strikes against militants in the Arab country. Tribal sources and residents said one of the pilotless aircraft unleashed its missiles on a vehicle traveling on the outskirts of the southern city of Ahwar, killing two suspected al Qaeda members inside.
Bush has ‘no regrets’ about invading Iraq and Afghanistan
‘I just had to show them off!’ Savannah Guthrie surprises her Today co-stars with an on air visit from her daughter Vale and her newborn son Charley Disgraced former journalist is arrested by FBI for bomb threats against eight Jewish Community Centers in a bid to ‘set up lover who dumped him’ after subjecting her to a vile Twitter hate campaign ‘My skin crawls watching this man wear the uniform of my service’: ‘Admiral’ Trump angers veterans AGAIN by donning Navy flight jacket and military cap Silicon Valley high school makes $24million in the Snapchat IPO five years after a parent convinced it to invest $15,000 in seed money Naked man ‘breaks into his neighbor’s apartment at 4am, makes her strip and rapes her in front of her two children’ Why sleep tracking apps are BAD for your health: Study reveals people are so worried about following the rules that they can’t get quality shut-eye … (more)
US steps up in Somalia as al-Shabab proves a stubborn foe
With frequent suicide bombings and assaults on Somalia’s hotels and military targets, the Islamic extremist group al-Shabab has proved more resilient than expected, leading President Donald Trump’s administration to pursue wider military involvement here as current strategies, including drone attacks, are not enough, security experts say. Senior U.S. officials have said the Pentagon wants to expand the military’s efforts to battle the al-Qaida-linked group.
Russia says Palmyra fully recaptured by Syrian army with Moscow’s help – RIA
FILE PHOTO: Syrian army soldiers drive past the Arch of Triumph in the historic city of Palmyra, in Homs Governorate, Syria April 1, 2016. Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu told President Vladimir Putin on Thursday that the Syrian city of Palmyra has been fully recaptured from Islamic State militants, the RIA news agency reported, citing Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.
China makes another jab at US in SCS war of words
A senior Chinese politician A defended Beijing’s right to build facilities on artificial islands in the South China Sea in comments that were seen as a veiled attack on the United States. The remarks on Thursday by Wang Guoqing, spokesman for the country’s top political advisory body, came after a US aircraft carrier group was sent to the disputed waters, and the PLA Navy staged combat exercises in the Western Pacific.
U.S.-China Tensions May Force Nations to Choose, Singapore Says
Singapore risks being “coerced” into choosing between the U.S. or China as the two powers jostle for influence in Asia, according to Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. “If America-China relations become very difficult our position becomes tougher because then we will be coerced to choose between being friends with America and friends with China,” Lee said in an interview with BBC’s “HARDtalk” that aired on Wednesday.
.com | Russia, China veto UN resolution on Syria sanctions
Russia and China on Tuesday vetoed a Western-backed UN resolution that would have imposed sanctions on Syria over chemical weapons use, in the first clash at the Security Council since US President Donald Trump took office. The twin vetoes came as peace talks in Geneva showed no signs of progress on ending the nearly six-year war in Syria.
The resurrection of ISIS
The so-called Islamic State is being driven out of its Iraqi and Syrian strongholds. But the organization has staged brutal comebacks before-and this one could be global.
Pentagon presenting counter-IS plan to White House
Defense Secretary Jim Mattis is presenting the White House with a plan to “rapidly defeat” the Islamic State group, a Pentagon spokesman said Monday. The strategy includes significant elements of the approach President Donald Trump inherited, while potentially deepening U.S. military involvement in Syria.
More industry players taking part in Lima 2017
Aerial power: EN Projects chief executive officer Shaun Jacobson briefing Hishammuddin and Liow during their official visit to the venue for the coming Lima 2017. LANGKAWI: A total of 505 companies from 36 countries will be taking part in the five-day Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace 2017 here starting from March 21. Defence Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein said the showcase would feature half of the world’s top 100 maritime and aerospace suppliers.
Iraqi forces advance in Mosul, strike IS inside Syria
The advance comes as part of a major assault that started five days earlier to drive Islamic State militants from the western ha… . An Iraqi military helicopter prepare to attacks Islamic State group positions as Iraqi special forces advance towards the western side of Mosul, Iraq, Thursday, Feb. 23, 2017.
Iraqi air force hits IslamicState inside Syria for first time
Iraqi warplanes have struck Islamic State targets inside Syria in retaliation for recent bomb attacks in Baghdad by the group, Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said on Friday. It appeared to be the first time Iraqi jets have conducted such raids across the border.
Trump’s taunts are stirring a level of nationalism Mexico hasn’t seen in years
A woman carries an effigy of President Trump during a march in Mexico City on Feb. 12 to protest his proposed border wall and to call for national unity. Confrontation with the United States is so central to Mexican history there’s an institution dedicated to the trauma.
US envoy vows no mass deportation to pacify Mexico
Top US envoys on a working visit to Mexico on Thursday tried to allay fears that their government was preparing to massively deport undocumented migrants back across the border. The reassurances came during a joint press conference by US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Secretary of Homeland Security John Kelly, following their meeting with Mexico’s Ministers of Foreign Affairs and the Interior, Luis Videgaray and Miguel Angel Osorio Chong, in Mexico City.
Canada’s Shameful Role in the Overthrow of Ghana’s President Kwame Nkrumah
A half-century and one year ago today Canada helped overthrow a leading pan Africanist president. Ghana’s Canadian-trained army overthrew Kwame Nkrumah, a leader dubbed “Man of the Millennium” in a 2000 poll by BBC listeners in Africa.
Looking for Larvae
Sailors and host nation residents collect mosquito larvae during a preventative medicine site visit to support a Continuing Promise 2017 stop in Trujillo, Honduras, Feb. 24, 2017. The exercise conducts civil-military operations, including humanitarian assistance, training engagements, and medical, dental and veterinary support to show U.S. commitment to Central and South America.
US resumes its provocative actions in sea
Missile destroyers Changsha and Haikou, part of the Chinese Navy’s Nanhai Fleet, fire at simulated enemy destroyers during a counter-attack drill in the South China Sea on Feb 19, 2017. [Photo/Xinhua] The USS Carl Vinson Nimitz-class carrier strike group has begun patrolling the South China Sea, proving the speculation over the past few days was true.
Coast Guard rescues woman in distrtess at sea
U.S. Coast Guard rescued a woman in distress from a cruise ship 86 miles southwest of San Diego Monday morning. The 73-year-old woman had been experiencing persistent severe abdominal pain since Sunday at about 5:15 p.m. A Coast Guard flight surgeon recommended she be medically evacuated from the Star Princess cruise ship that was en route to Ensenada, Mexico, so she could seek emergency medical care on land.
Today in History
On Feb. 18, 1977, the space shuttle prototype Enterprise, sitting atop a Boeing 747, went on its debut “flight” above Edwards Air Force Base in California. In 1913, Mexican President Francisco I. Madero and Vice President Jose Maria Pino Suarez were arrested during a military coup .
The Ghazi Attack Twitter Review: Rana Daggubati and Taapsee Pannu’s…
Rana Daggubati ‘s film The Ghazi Attack opened up to rave reviews today. Most critics and publications gave it a thumbs-up.
For Flynn replacement, Trump should ditch the status quo
National security adviser Mike Flynn resigned late on Monday when it became apparent he not only held diplomatic discussions with a Russian ambassador before President Trump was sworn into office, but also misled senior United States officials about the nature of those conversations. The White House is now considering Vice Adm.
In first under Trump, Russian jets buzzed a U.S. destroyer at close range
A Russian Su-24 buzzes the USS Donald Cook in the Baltic Sea on April 12, 2016. Multiple Russian aircraft buzzed a U.S. destroyer patrolling in the Black Sea last week, in an incident the captain of the American ship called “unsafe,” the Pentagon said Tuesday.
UN condemns N. Korea missile launch as Trump vows strong response
No military solution: The Security Council has imposed six sets of sanctions since Pyongyang first tested an atomic device in 2006. Enforcing those measures is key to changing Pyongyang’s behavior, Japan’s Ambassador Koro Bessho said, cautioning that “it takes time.”
Iraqi air force says surgical strike killed 13 militant leaders, 64 others
More than a dozen militant leaders of the Islamic State were killed in a coalition airstrike in Iraq, the country’s air force said Monday. Military officials said the strike , in Anbar on Saturday, killed dozens of terror operatives and 13 leaders.
How Trump Is Empowering the Saudi Destruction of Yemen
The Trump administration seems to have abandoned the possibility of a diplomatic resolution to the Saudi-led destruction of Yemen. In his first few weeks in office Trump approved a disastrous Navy SEAL raid in the interior, parked a guided missile destroyer with history in Yemen off its coast, and now might approve major arms shipments to Arab Gulf states currently under scrutiny for war crimes in the country.
Trump, Abe express close bonds after NKorea’s missile launch
A man watches a TV news program reporting about North Korea’s missile launch with a file image of a North Korean missile at the Seoul Train Station in Seoul, South Korea, Sunday, Feb. 12, 2017. North Korea reportedly fired a ballistic missile early Sunday in what would be its first such test of the year and an implicit challenge to President Donald Trump’s new administration.
Asian Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons Illustration by Greg Groesch/The Washington Times
Since Kim Jong-un took over from his father in December 2011 as the supreme leader, the nuclear threat from North Korea has increased exponentially. Over this five-year period, North Korea has conducted four progressively larger nuclear tests and more than 50 ballistic missile launches.
Russian warplanes annihilate ISIS base killing 650 jihadis in joint strike with Syria
Vladimir Putin dispatched his air force to bring death from above the the jihadi terror nuts in a huge attack near the city of Al-Bab, Syria. Russia’s military announced the joint-operation had killed at least 650 ISIS fighters along with destroying tanks, vehicles and heavy weapons.
Irish folk singer to perform at Four Saints
If you love Irish music and want to impress your sweetheart this weekend, mark your calendars for a real treat as Irish-American folk singer Jim Sharkey performs live at Four Saints Brewing Company on Sunday from 5:30-8:30 p.m. Sharkey, was born in the United States but grew up in County Roscommon, Ireland, where his parents were originally from. He came to the United States in 1982 when he joined the U.S. Navy in London, England.
Irish folk singer to perform at Four Saints
If you love Irish music and want to impress your sweetheart this weekend, mark your calendars for a real treat as Irish-American folk singer Jim Sharkey performs live at Four Saints Brewing Company on Sunday from 5:30-8:30 p.m. Sharkey, was born in the United States but grew up in County Roscommon, Ireland, where his parents were originally from. He came to the United States in 1982 when he joined the U.S. Navy in London, England.