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Pentagon Denies Responsibility for Helping Destroy Yemen, But It Isn’t Keeping Records

“Hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil” appears to be official Defense Department policy on its role in the ongoing humanitarian catastrophe in Yemen. The head of Central Command (CENTCOM) told lawmakers on Tuesday that the Pentagon doesn’t chronicle details of the specific Saudi air missions supported by the US military. Gen. Joseph Votel also denied the United States was “one of the parties” to the war, and put the blame for fighting squarely on Houthi rebels. “There is certainly a humanitarian disaster… Keep Reading

After “Rexit,” Iran Nuke Deal in Peril

President Donald Trump told reporters that he fired Rex Tillerson because he wanted to kill the Iran nuclear deal and his Secretary of State did not. America’s top diplomat was forced out on Tuesday morning after a tumultuous year on the job, and months of rumors that the former oilman’s ouster was imminent. “We disagreed on things,” Trump said of Tillerson, hours after news broke of the termination. “When you look at the Iran deal, I think its’ terrible, the President added. “I guess [Tillerson]… Keep Reading

Trump’s Spy Chief Admits Destroying Iranian Nuke Deal Could Harm U.S. Intel

The President’s case for scrapping the Iranian nuclear agreement was undermined by his Director of National Intelligence on Tuesday. Appearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee, DNI Dan Coats testified that undoing the agreement could diminish US intel on Iran’s capabilities. The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), as it’s formally known, was implemented in 2015 during the Obama administration. The framework has long been the focus of derision from Republican lawmakers and the new administration. In submitted testimony to the Senate panel on Tuesday,… Keep Reading

Mattis Cites Kissinger to Call for New Nukes

The head of the Pentagon was called before Congress to defend the administration’s nuclear policies and plans to develop new weapons capabilities. Lawmakers on the House Armed Services Committee are skeptical of Defense Secretary James Mattis’ initiative to build new lower-yield nuclear weapons capable of being launched from submarines. The details of which were contained in the administration’s Nuclear Posture Review, released last week. Secretary Mattis on Tuesday spun some game theory to the committee in an attempt to justify the expenditure. “It’s to make certain that no… Keep Reading

Trump Nuclear Deal with Saudi Arabia Would Need Review, Regulator Says

A nuclear regulatory official stressed that his agency will have the chance to weigh in on the outcome of atomic energy discussions between the Trump administration and Saudi Arabia—talks that have taken on a possible military dimension. Jeffery Baran, a member of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, said Wednesday that the body must make “certain statutory findings” before recommending the approval of export licenses. “We aren’t at that stage yet,” he said in testimony before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. Baran was asked about… Keep Reading

US-Europe Trump Divide Explored by Iranian Foreign Minister in NY Times Piece

Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif is testing the Trump era schism between the US and Western Europe. In an op-ed published by The New York Times on Sunday, Zarif said Iran is “cautioning European countries against wavering on issues beyond the scope of the nuclear agreement and following in lock step behind the White House.” The agreement limiting Iran to civilian nuclear activity was signed in 2015 by every permanent member of the UN Security Council, Iran and Germany—to minimize the chance of replicating the… Keep Reading

Pentagon Confirms: “Approximately 2,000” U.S. Troops on the Ground in Syria

The Department of Defense provided a revised count on the number of US soldiers participating in the Syrian Civil War—one that’s drastically higher than numbers provided just a month ago. Speaking to reporters at the Pentagon on Wednesday, Army spokesman Col. Rob Manning pegged the troop deployment number in Syria at roughly 2,000, and added: “it could be more, could be less.” That’s four times the number of deployed US soldiers that the Pentagon previously copped to last November. Officials did, however, acknowledge a few weeks… Keep Reading

Tillerson Facing Internal Dissent at State Dept. Over Refusal to Enforce Child Soldiers Law

The Secretary of State is in violation of US law, according to a “dissent” memo published by department employees first reported by Reuters. Officials at State accused Rex Tillerson of breaking the Child Soldiers Prevention Act (CSPA), which prohibits aid and military assistance to nations that conscript troops younger than 18 years old. In June, Tillerson removed Afghanistan, Iraq, and Myanmar from the list of offending nations, overruling recommendations from career diplomats who cited evidence that each country still employs child soldiers. A July 28 memo… Keep Reading

U.S. Military No Longer Cool With Narcotics Labs in Afghanistan, Bombs Them

The US Commander in Afghanistan announced several airstrikes on Sunday against opium production facilities, marking a shift in the Pentagon’s approach toward the booming illicit drug industry in the country. Army Gen. John Nicholson reported that roughly ten opium laboratories in the Northern Helmand province were destroyed in the barrage. The purported aim of the strikes was to cut off Taliban insurgents’ revenue streams. The Washington Post noted the assault was the “first significant use” of new authorities President Trump bestowed upon the Pentagon, giving military… Keep Reading

Leahy Accuses White House of Acting like a “Paranoid Totalitarian Government” on Cuba

Under new restrictions announced by the Trump administration, US travelers to Cuba will now have to be escorted by a certified tour guide who will prevent them from patronizing scores of restaurants and hotels on the island. The regulations unveiled on Wednesday, further chip away at diplomatic ties to Havana forged by President Obama. Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), the ranking member of the State Department Appropriations subcommittee, described the move as “reminiscent of the Cold War and what one would expect of a paranoid totalitarian government.” The… Keep Reading

US Military Now Classifying Key Data About Afghan Army Strength

An oversight office charged with keeping tabs on reconstruction efforts in Afghanistan reported this week that the Pentagon is withholding from the public critical information about the US mission in the war-torn country. In a quarterly report released on Monday, The Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) said that certain data about the Afghan army and police was, for the first time, shielded from public view. “The newly classified or restricted data include important measures of Afghan National Defense and Security Force (ANDSF) performance… Keep Reading

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