While the election in Congo was relatively quiet, the US is expecting that there will be protests when the results are announced. The anticipation is enough that President Trump has ordered to send troops to neighboring Gabon, and is warning the Congolese not to protest. Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) is reporting that the US sent about 80 Read More…
Jason Ditz
Trump’s Slowing Syria Pullout Raises Many Serious Questions
President Trump’s decision to slow the withdrawal of US troops from Syria, after initial reports that he planned for a “rapid” withdrawal, is raising a lot of questions. These center heavily on how this apparently unilateral slowing of the pullout is reconciled with previous promises to closely coordinate with Turkey. The decision to withdraw, after Read More…
Democrats And Republicans Unite In Panic Over Syria Pullout, Afghanistan Drawdown
Open-ended war continuation has so much momentum in the US that President Trump’s announced pullout from Syria shocked the nation. Followed up the same week with a drawdown from Afghanistan, the mainstream is now completely apoplectic. On the left and right, comfort with the status quo was virtually uniform. The arguments behind condemning the drawdowns vary Read More…
US Airstrikes Kill 62 People In Coastal Somali Town
Over the weekend, US warplanes carried out at least six airstrikes against the coastal town of Gandarsh, Somalia. US African Command (Africom) says 62 people were killed in the strikes, and all were “terrorists” from al-Shabaab. 34 people were killed on Saturday, and 28 more on Sunday. The identities of the slain are not clear, and Read More…
Trump Says US Military Spending Is ‘Crazy’ High — Then Calls for Billions More
Trump backs away from calling spending levels ‘crazy’ a week ago. On Monday, President Trump seemed to be positioning himself against Pentagon calls for spending increases, saying that the spending levels are already “crazy” and that he didn’t envision the 2020 military budget should exceed $700 billion, despite Pentagon presumptions it would be $733 billion. Having met Read More…
US Commanders Seek Military Escalation In Afghanistan
Increasingly resigned to the reality that the US simply isn’t going to stumble into a military victory in Afghanistan, US military commanders are looking to redouble their efforts. The goal now is to not just kill people, but “shape the political environment” ahead of negotiations. Officials now see their goal increasingly as bolstering America’s bargaining Read More…






