The U.S. Army is considering a plan where they will send an additional 1000 troops to Afghanistan where they would join the already 14,000 military forces there as the US-led coalition works to break the stalemate with the Taliban. The Washington Post was reporting this first and quoted senior military officials that the proposal has More »
Jim Mattis
Mattis: Lines Blurring Between SOF and Conventional Forces
In an interesting development, albeit a more muted approach than what we saw back in the fall, the Secretary of Defense, Jim Mattis said on Tuesday that the lines that separate the Special Operations Forces from conventional operating forces are blurring. And that he expects general purpose forces will soon take on missions that were More »
Trump, Mattis Relax Rules of Engagement for Troops in Afghanistan
Back in August, President Donald Trump pledged to lift the restrictions and expand the authorities for US troops in Afghanistan in a move to break the stalemate in the sixteen-year long war. And now Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis has overturned a stipulation in the rules of engagement that US troops must be in contact More »
Rockets Hit Kabul Airport as Insurgents Target Defense Secretary Mattis
Insurgents fired a barrage of rockets at the Kabul International Airport on Wednesday that they claimed was targeting the plane of US Defense Secretary James Mattis. Both the Taliban and the Islamic State (ISIS) rushed to claim responsibility for the attack. The US then responded with an airstrike at the suspected launch sites. One of More »
Contractors Taking Over in Afghanistan: The Story That Refuses to Die
Opinion – The administration of President Trump, when not engaging in a 7th grade Twitter War with King Jong Un from North Korea, has invested long-term in Afghanistan. Right or wrong isn’t the topic here but the manner in which the United States decides to prosecute the war. A couple of the President’s advisers, including More »
Mattis Suggests Transgenders May Continue to Serve
With the Trump White House has still not provided the Defense Department the necessary policy guidance on transgender persons serving in the armed forces, Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis told the press, that DOD was continuing to study the issue. That statement hints that transgender military members may be allowed to continue to serve despite More »
Mattis: Get Rid of Senseless Exercises, Get Back to Warfighting
Defense Secretary Jim Mattis wants the military to get back to the art of fighting wars and do realistic training and stop wasting time on what he termed “senseless exercises.” Mattis came to this conclusion after hearing complaints of thousands of service members. Many service members said that too much of their time is spent More »
Defense Chief Mattis Says North Korea is US Security’s Greatest Threat
United States Defense Secretary Jim Mattis declared to the House Armed Services Committee on Monday that North Korea is the “most urgent and dangerous threat to peace and security,” moving the rogue regime of Kim Jong Un past Russia as the No. 1 threat that the United States faces. This is an escalation of the More »
North Korea Fires Scud Ballistic Missile into the Sea of Japan
The North Koreans are it again, test firing a Scud-type ballistic missile that successfully launched and landed in the Sea of Japan off Korea’s east coast. This was the latest in a series of missile tests that the reclusive, belligerent nation has conducted in recent weeks. This latest test unleashed a protest from Japan who More »