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Two US National Guard troops pulled from inauguration duty: report
Washington (AFP) - The US National Guard has pulled two soldiers from security duty for Joe Biden's presidential inauguration ceremony, CNN reported Tuesday, as troops were vetted for links to extremist groups. Citing a Defense Department official, the cable network could not confirm whether such a link had indeed been made to the two troops or whether a specific incident had provoked their expulsion ahead of Wednesday's events. "Due to operational security, we do not discuss the process nor the outcome of the vetting process for military members supporting the inauguration," the National Guar...
AFP
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US troop levels cut to 2,500 each in Afghanistan and Iraq
Washington (AFP) - The US military has cut troop levels in Afghanistan and Iraq to 2,500 each, their lowest levels in the nearly two decades since the wars began, the Pentagon announced Friday. Outgoing President Donald Trump, seeking to fulfill a campaign promise to end the two wars launched after the 9/11 attacks, had ordered force levels slashed in both countries to that level by January 15 -- despite initial pushback from the Pentagon. Acting Secretary of Defense Chris Miller said progress towards peace in both countries permits the cuts without a decrease in security for Americans and the...
AFP
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Far-right extremists recruiting in military: Pentagon
Washington (AFP) - Far-right and white supremacist extremists are actively recruiting in the US military and have gained more support over the past year, the Defense Department said Thursday. One week after hard-liners who support President Donald Trump stormed the US Congress shutting down the legislature, the Pentagon said it will launch an investigation into the extent of extremism in US military ranks. A senior defense official who declined to be named told reporters that there was an increase in far-right activity among the military over the past year, though he noted that it paralleled ...
AFP
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Turkey urges dialogue with US after missile sanctions
Ankara (AFP) - Turkey's defence minister has called on the United States to reopen talks about Ankara's controversial purchase of a Russian air defence system, urging Washington to move past sanctions and threats. But Hulusi Akar also told foreign reporters in Ankara on Wednesday that Turkey was in discussions to receive a second batch of the advanced S-400 missiles from Russia, which compete with US Patriots. The issue will pose an immediate challenge for US President-elect Joe Biden, who is expected to take a tougher line with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. After more than a year of...
AFP
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Troops on Washington streets to begin carrying arms
Washington (AFP) - National Guard troops deployed on the streets of Washington began carry weapons late Tuesday in a major change of posture ahead of Joe Biden's inauguration as US president, according to an AFP photographer. The Guard soldiers were originally mobilized to provide mostly logistical support to Washington police, and on Monday General Daniel Hokanson, Pentagon National Guard Bureau chief, said they had not been authorized yet to carry weapons. Authorizing Guard members to deploy in a law enforcement role, armed and empowered to make arrests, would be a "last resort" if the secur...
AFP
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Top US generals condemn Capitol attack in message to troops
Washington (AFP) - The Pentagon's top generals condemned the January 6 attack on the Capitol by Trump supporters on Tuesday, telling US troops that it was an illegal assault on the constitutional process. "The violent riot... was as direct assault on the US Congress, the Capitol building, and our Constitutional process," said a memorandum signed by all eight members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, led by the chairman, General Mark Milley. "The rights of freedom of speech and assembly do not give anyone the right to resort to violence, sedition and insurrection," they said. The letter said member...
AFP
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New York stock exchange delists Chinese telecoms firms
New York (AFP) - The New York stock exchange has begun the process of delisting three Chinese telecoms companies as it seeks to comply with an order by the Trump administration barring investment in firms with ties to the Chinese military. It comes as relations between the world's two biggest economies spiral downwards over sore points ranging from trade and the coronavirus to Hong Kong and Xinjiang. Trading in China Mobile Communications, China Telecommunications Corp and China Unicom (Hong Kong) Limited will end within the next week, subject to transactions being settled, the exchange said i...
AFP
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Biden says Trump Pentagon stalling transition, posing risks
Wilmington (United States) (AFP) - President-elect Joe Biden said Monday that Donald Trump's appointees at the Pentagon were stalling on the transition and warned that the United States faces security risks as a result. After he and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris were briefed by their transition teams on national security, Biden said that political appointees at the Pentagon as well as the Office of Management and Budget had put up "roadblocks." "Right now, we just aren't getting all the information that we need from the outgoing administration in key national security area(s)," Biden said...
AFP
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Trump vetoes sweeping US defense bill
Washington (AFP) - US President Donald Trump vetoed a broad defense funding bill sent to him by Congress Wednesday, complaining that it helps Russia and China and objecting to provisions to rename military bases. The bipartisan bill was passed by high enough margins in both chambers of Congress for lawmakers to -- in theory -- override the president's rejection. The veto of the $740 billion measure to fund the military for fiscal 2021 came a day after the US leader, with less than one month left in office, threw a separate $900 billion Covid-19 relief bill and overall funding for the governmen...
AFP
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Top US general presses Taliban to end violence in rare meeting
Washington (AFP) - The top US military officer has pressed Afghanistan's Taliban to reduce violence in a rare meeting as outgoing President Donald Trump seeks to hasten the end of the nearly 20-year war. General Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, met separately with Taliban representatives in Qatar and with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani in Kabul. It was only the second time the top US general met with the Taliban, whom the US military had tried unsuccessfully to destroy in battle, although Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has also met the Islamist militants in Qatar. In his ...
AFP
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