Russia Zapad 2017 military exercise in Belorussia could be “preparation for a big war” NATO says
Gen. Petr Pavel, head of NATO’s Military Committee, said over the weekend that NATO was working to re-establish military-to-military communications with Russia, to try to avoid any “unintended consequences of potential incidents during the exercise.”The week-long exercise — named Zapad, the Russian word for “west” — is taking place in areas near the Baltic Sea. […]
Syria may be in ruins, but it looks like Assad ‘has won the war militarily’
In southern Syria’s chilly late winter of 2011, a scrap of schoolboy graffiti that read “Your turn, Doctor” — a mocking call for the ouster of President Bashar Assad — helped spark a ferocious civil war that has left hundreds of thousands dead and millions displaced. Now, there is a growing diplomatic consensus that Assad, […]
Mattis: ISIS militants caught in Iraq-Syria military vise
Expelled from their main stronghold in northern Iraq, Islamic State militants are now trapped in a military vise that will squeeze them on both sides of the Syria-Iraq border, U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said. Mattis arrived in the Iraqi capital on an unannounced visit Tuesday just hours after President Donald Trump outlined a fresh […]
‘Serious military provocation’: China angered by US presence in South China Sea
The passage of a US warship close to a disputed island in the South China Sea was a “serious political and military provocation”, Beijing said, one that could further strain relations between the superpowers The destroyer, the USS Stethem, sailed less than 12 nautical miles from tiny Triton Island in the Paracel Islands archipelago, which […]
Trump, Erdogan commit to cooperation despite tensions over Syrian militias
President Trump on Tuesday pledged continued support for Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan, highlighting the importance of the U.S.-Turkish alliance despite mounting tensions over Washington’s support for Kurdish rebels in Syria. Speaking alongside Erdogan at the White House, Trump said Turkey and the United States would act together against extremist groups including the Islamic State. […]
Pentagon eyes Iran-North Korea military connection
When Iran attempted to launch a cruise missile from a “midget” submarine earlier this week, Pentagon officials saw more evidence of North Korean influence in the Islamic Republic – with intelligence reports saying the submarine was based on a Pyongyang design, the same type that sank a South Korean warship in 2010. According to U.S. […]
McMaster says US must be prepared for military operations in North Korea
National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster attempted to make clear Sunday that President Trump is seeking international support in trying to stop North Korea’s pursuit of a nuclear weapon, reasserting Trump’s vow that the U.S. will no longer be the world’s policeman. “It’s an open defiance of the international community,” McMaster told “Fox News Sunday.” “It’s […]
North Korea crisis: North in another ‘failed’ missile launch
North Korea has test-fired another ballistic missile, South Korean and US military officials say. The missile exploded shortly after take-off, they said – the second failed launch in the past fortnight. US President Donald Trump accused North Korea of showing “disrespect” towards China and its president. The missile was fired from a site in South […]
North Korea warns ‘thermonuclear war may break out at any moment’
A senior North Korean official has accused the US of turning the Korean peninsula into “the world’s biggest hotspot” and creating “a dangerous situation in which a thermonuclear war may break out at any moment”. North Korea’s deputy UN ambassador, Kim In-ryong, described US-South Korean military exercises as the largest ever “aggressive war drill” and […]
Iran vows ‘Death to Israel’ as it unveils latest missiles
Iran has paraded a missile with the sign ‘Death to Israel’ attached to it during a huge military parade showcasing deadly weapons this morning. The ceremony was held in the capital Tehran and troops from all units took part to mark National Army Day in the country, but one weapon in particular looked a lot like […]