US President Donald Trump has asked the Pentagon to organise a large military parade in the nation’s capital. The president made the request of top military chiefs in late January, after reportedly being impressed by a French Bastille Day parade last year. Military displays in Washington DC are usually only used to mark victory at … Read more
US Senator John McCain will head to Arizona to resume his cancer treatment and will return to Washington after the summer break, his office said Friday, following his decisive vote to kill his party’s health care reforms. “On Monday, July 31, he will begin a standard post-surgical regimen of targeted radiation and chemotherapy,” his office … Read more
US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis has issued a sharp rebuke after the Pentagon wasted millions of dollars buying the Afghan army a pricey uniform that may have made soldiers easier to spot. According to a memo released Monday, Mattis told Pentagon procurement officials that the decision to buy the overpriced woodland green camouflage uniforms “serves … Read more
The outpouring of affection for US Senator John McCain, who was recently diagnosed with brain cancer, highlights the respect the maverick Republican — symbol of a bygone era of bipartisan cooperation — has earned over his long career. The former Vietnam prisoner of war and 2008 Republican presidential nominee has been a reliably even-keeled voice … Read more
North Korea “clearly” has the range to hit parts of the United States with an intercontinental ballistic missile — but not with much accuracy, a top US general said Tuesday. Pyongyang on July 4 for the first time tested an ICBM that experts said could potentially reach parts of Alaska or Hawaii. But General Paul … Read more
US Senator John McCain visited Kabul Tuesday and warned neighbouring Pakistan that Washington was counting on its support to eliminate militancy and in particular the Haqqani network, responsible for numerous attacks on Afghan territory. The relationship between the US and Pakistan has been strained at times, with some in Washington believing Islamabad has not done … Read more
A high-level US Senate delegation met Pakistan’s top foreign affairs official and powerful military chief in Islamabad to discuss regional security as Washington gears up to send more troops to neighbouring Afghanistan. The Sunday visit by members of the influential Senate Armed Services Committee, including top Republican John McCain, came days after Islamabad slammed Washington’s … Read more
US President Donald Trump and his South Korean counterpart held talks Thursday on how to halt North Korea’s nuclear drive, but remained at odds over whether to isolate or engage the Pyongyang regime. Trump welcomed the newly-elected South Korean President Moon Jae-In to the White House for a formal dinner that preceded the heavier lifting … Read more
South Korea’s new President Moon Jae-In lobbied US leaders on Thursday to back his policy of engagement with North Korea, as the Trump administration vowed to increase pressure on Pyongyang over its nuclear program. On his first overseas trip since his landslide election victory this month, Moon met with Congressional leaders ahead of a dinner … Read more
President Donald Trump has granted the Pentagon authority to set troop levels in Afghanistan, a US official said Tuesday, a move that could lead to the deployment of thousands more soldiers. Speaking on condition of anonymity, the official told AFP that Pentagon chief Jim Mattis can now directly adjust troop numbers, though the official would … Read more
President Donald Trump will host South Korea’s new leader Moon Jae-In for talks on containing North Korea’s nuclear program, officials said Tuesday, amid fresh Pentagon warnings that the Pyongyang regime is a ‘clear and present danger to all.’ A White House statement said the two leaders will meet June 29-30 to discuss ways of building … Read more
Pentagon chief Jim Mattis on Tuesday warned lawmakers that the Taliban is surging in Afghanistan, and said America is “not winning” in the country. The “Taliban had a good year last year, they are trying to have a good one this year,” Mattis told the Senate Armed Services Committee. “Right now I believe the enemy … Read more
Pentagon chief Jim Mattis claimed he was ‘shocked’ by the state of the US military’s readiness, blaming legal budget caps and the grind of 16 years of constant war. The defense secretary also warned the House Armed Services Committee that North Korea has become the most urgent threat to peace and security, and said – … Read more
US President Donald Trump said Friday that the United States remained committed to NATO’s mutual defense pledge, after he failed to endorse it in a speech in Brussels last month. Amid worries by Washington’s European partners that the US leader had not fully bought into the Atlantic alliance, Trump told reporters: “I’m committing the United … Read more
Russian President Vladimir Putin is a bigger threat to world security than the so-called Islamic State group, according to veteran US Senator John McCain who also admits Donald Trump makes him “nervous”. Republican McCain — one of US President Trump’s most outspoken critics in his own party — said Russia’s alleged meddling in elections was … Read more
Former CIA director John Brennan said Tuesday he became increasingly concerned last summer over contacts between Donald Trump’s campaign officials and Moscow, as a Russian effort to interfere with the US presidential election became evident. Brennan’s testimony before the House Intelligence Committee gave a much clearer view of how seriously US intelligence took the Russian … Read more
US Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats on Tuesday sidestepped questions about an explosive report which said President Donald Trump pressured him to help push back against the probe into Russian ties with his campaign. But amid controversy over Trump’s alleged spilling of US intelligence information to Russia’s foreign minister, Coats also strongly condemned leaks … Read more
The head of America’s National Security Agency said Tuesday that Russia was behind the 11th-hour hack of French President-elect Emmanuel Macron’s campaign team, and that US officials had informed France a cyber-attack was underway. The hacking attack on Macron’s campaign, just hours ahead of Sunday’s run-off vote that saw him elected, led to thousands of … Read more
The Pentagon will ask the White House next week to send thousands more troops to Afghanistan to break a deadlocked fight with the Taliban, a senior official said Thursday. After a steady downsizing of US troop numbers since 2011, US military commanders say they need to strengthen the numbers on the ground to better support … Read more
US President Donald Trump said on Thursday a major conflict with North Korea is possible in the standoff over its nuclear and missile programs, but he would prefer a diplomatic outcome to the dispute. ‘There is a chance that we could end up having a major, major conflict with North Korea. Absolutely,’ Trump said ahead … Read more