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WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The Pentagon is not considering cutting back the joint US-South Korean military exercises that have drawn angry condemnation from Pyongyang ahead of a planned US-North Korea summit, an official said Thursday. “There’s been no talk of reducing anything. There’s been no talk of changing our scope,” Pentagon spokeswoman Dana White said. The exercises “are defensive in nature and the scope hasn’t changed … This is about safeguarding the alliance,” she […]
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The number of sexual assaults reported in the US military increased last year by 10 percent, Pentagon officials said Monday, attributing the spike to the fact that victims feel freer to come forward. The number of sexual assaults brought to the attention of military authorities was 6,769 in 2017, up from 6,172 in 2016, according to the report from the Defense Department’s sexual assault prevention and response office. For the […]
by Thomas WATKINS Agence France-Presse WASHINGTON, United States – Pentagon planners scrambled Wednesday to find ways to support President Donald Trump’s surprise edict that he would send “the military” to guard America’s southern border. The commander-in-chief’s seemingly off-the-cuff directive blindsided officials Tuesday, when Trump said the military would guard the frontier until “we can have a wall and proper security.” It took hours for the White House to clarify that Trump’s plan involved mobilizing the […]
by Sylvie Lanteaume Agence France Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The US military has for years enjoyed a broad technological edge over its adversaries, dominating foes with superior communications and cyber capabilities. Now, thanks to rapid advances by Russia and China, the gap has shrunk, and the Pentagon is looking at how a future conflict with a “near-peer” competitor might play out. Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson recently warned that both Russia and […]
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The Iranian nuclear deal is still in the best interests of the United States, a senior Pentagon official said Tuesday, going against President Donald Trump’s claim that it’s a “terrible” agreement. US Central Command chief General Joseph Votel told a Senate panel he shared the views of Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and Joe Dunford, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. “From my perspective, the JCPOA addresses one of […]
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Deadly air strikes by a US-led coalition on pro-regime forces in eastern Syria were purely an act of self-defense, Pentagon chief Jim Mattis said Thursday, in an apparent effort to tamp down controversy over the incident. “It was self-defense,” Mattis told reporters. “We are not getting engaged in the Syrian civil war.” More than 100 forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad were killed in the attack by the US-backed […]
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) – Hundreds of thousands of US government defense workers, park rangers and business regulators could be temporarily out of work if Congress fails to pass a budget before a midnight Friday deadline. But the looming government shutdown due to lack of funding — which would be the second in five years — does not mean every office closes its doors. Vital services will still be provided by law enforcement, immigration officers, the central […]
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The mystery surrounding the fate of a secret military satellite deepened Thursday when the Pentagon refused to answer even simple questions about whether the mission to launch it had gone awry. On Sunday, private space firm SpaceX blasted a Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida carrying the secret government satellite, known as Zuma. US media this week reported that the billion-dollar payload did not make it into orbit and […]
by Sylvie Lanteaume Agence France-Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) – The United States is considering a stepped-up military presence in Africa to pursue Islamic State group jihadists looking for new havens after the fall of their “caliphate,” American officials say. After IS lost its de facto capital Raqa in Syria this month, and its Iraqi stronghold of Mosul earlier, the group “has aspirations to establish a larger presence” in Africa, the US military’s top officer General Joseph […]
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) – US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis thanked his French counterpart Friday for France’s assistance in the immediate aftermath of a Niger ambush that killed four US troops, as questions mounted in Washington about what happened. French warplanes flew overhead and armed helicopters evacuated the US wounded following the October 4 attack near the Mali border, which is thought to have been carried out by jihadists. The Pentagon chief has previously praised the less […]
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) – President Donald Trump has signed an executive order allowing the Air Force to bring up to 1,000 pilots back to active duty as it grapples with an aviator shortage, the Pentagon said Friday. The Air Force has complained for years that it is struggling to retain pilots, who are often lured away by better-paying commercial airlines. Additionally, pilots often choose to leave the military due to the strains of extended deployments overseas. […]
by Andrew Beatty Agence France-Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) – White House chief of staff John Kelly — a former general whose son died in Afghanistan — made an emotive defense of Donald Trump Thursday, amid a scandal over the president’s phone call with a military widow. Kelly, who spent nearly four decades in the Marine Corps, said he had advised Trump not to call the families of four servicemen killed in Niger personally, but was disgusted […]
