2017
Monday, June 19, 2017 - 09:56
The Department of Defense has a major gun control problem.
On May 26, Amnesty International published a damning report revealing that the United States failed to track more than $1 billion in arms transfers to Iraqi and Kuwaiti security forces as part of Operation Inherent Resolve. The report, based on a now-declassified 2016 DoD audit obtained via Freedom of Information Act requests, shows that terrible record keeping and loose restrictions potentially let weapons from machine guns to mortar rounds fall into the hands of ISIS.
Monday, June 19, 2017 - 09:52
Afghan government officials say they are leery about President Donald Trump’s plan to grant new authority to the Pentagon to set troop levels in the war-torn country, expressing concern that such a shift could be a sign that larger numbers of Americans might soon be headed back to the front lines in the 15-year war.
Monday, June 19, 2017 - 09:47
U.S. lawmakers on both sides of the aisle laid bare their suspicions about U.S. arms sales to Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Lebanon over the countries’ supposed links to terror on Thursday, perhaps signaling choppy waters in the alliances.
Monday, June 19, 2017 - 09:40
The Qatar crisis has quickly become one of the Trump administration’s most sensitive dilemmas in the Middle East. Since America’s close Sunni Arab allies—Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE)—took action against Doha earlier this month, the White House has sent the Qataris mixed messages about Washington’s position on the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)’s row. At this juncture, it remains unclear what role the Trump administration will play in Saudi/Emirati efforts to pressure the Qataris into capitulation.
Monday, June 19, 2017 - 09:32
The U.S. Senate narrowly voted 53-47 along largely partisan lines to approve a $510 million sale of precision-guided munitions to Saudi Arabia on Tuesday.