This may be presumptuous, but it strikes me that the new administration’s national security team could use some advice. I have worked with senior leaders through many administrations from both parties. I’ve seen firsthand how highly capable and skilled professionals have conducted themselves in these positions. So, Vice President JD Vance; Secretary of State Marco … Read more
President Trump’s decision to fire senior military leaders without cause is foolish and a disgrace. It politicizes our professional military in a dangerous and debilitating way. What frightens me even more is the removal of three judge advocates general, the most senior uniformed legal authorities in the Defense Department. Their removal is one more element … Read more
The Army on Friday released the names of two male aviators who were killed when their Black Hawk helicopter collided with an American Airlines regional jet on Wednesday night. But in an extraordinary step, the Army did not identify the third crew member, a female pilot, citing her family’s request for privacy. The names of … Read more
As the Defense Department prepares to solicit bids for cloud-computing work that could yield billions of dollars for Amazon, members of Congress are raising new questions about the company’s efforts to win a $10 billion contract during the Trump administration. Previously unreleased emails show that Pentagon officials in 2017 and 2018 lavished praise on several … Read more
Five months after the attack on the U.S. Capitol, the Biden administration on Tuesday will unveil new steps to combat the “elevated threat” posed by domestic terrorism, but will not – for now – seek legislation to battle home-grown threats. Instead, in a national strategy to be publicly unveiled by U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, … Read more
WASHINGTON—The Pentagon has quietly begun withdrawing top military officers from U.S. embassies in Africa and downgrading other such posts world-wide, a move officials say is necessary to shift resources to counter China and Russia on the geopolitical stage and meet congressional caps on the number of generals and admirals in the U.S. military. The position … Read more
TAIPEI—Beijing flew military aircraft close to Taiwan on a day that a senior American diplomat met with Taiwan’s president as part of a series of recent U.S. moves to improve ties with the self-ruled island. Undersecretary of State Keith Krach, the highest-ranking State Department official to visit the island since Washington cut formal ties with … Read more
BOGOTÁ, Colombia—A government minister overseeing the police apologized for the death of Bogotá man in police custody and said two officers have been fired, as authorities called for calm following two nights of protests and rioting that left at least 13 people dead. “The National Police ask for forgiveness for any violation of the law … Read more
WASHINGTON—The Pentagon is cutting the U.S. force in Iraq to about 3,500 troops, U.S. officials said, a roughly one-third reduction that President Trump is expected to tout as progress toward winding down what he has described as endless wars. The U.S. and Iraq refrained from publicly setting a schedule for reducing the approximately 5,200 American … Read more