After 2 Decades, Democrats Still Don’t Agree on When to Leave Afghanistan
Tulsi Gabbard promised during Wednesday’s debate to quickly end the Afghanistan war.Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Two Democratic candidates who served in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq made unambiguous pledges during this week’s debates: They promised to bring home the roughly 14,000 US troops in Afghanistan by the end of their first year in office. Those two…
Trump’s Intelligence Pick Is a Mueller-Bashing Loyalist With a Far-Right Voting Record
Olivier Doulier/Getty Rep. John Ratcliffe, the Texas representative who President Donald Trump picked Sunday to be his next national intelligence director, has never served in the intelligence community. Nor, unlike previous directors, does he have any background in the military or as a national security expert. Instead, the three-term lawmaker has carved out a reputation as one of the most…
The Pentagon’s Top Ranks Have Been Empty for a Long Time. Now 1,581 Problems Are Waiting to Be Solved.
Mark Wilson/Getty One day after taking over as the Pentagon’s first Senate-confirmed leader in seven months, new Secretary of Defense Mark Esper was asked by a reporter to assess what the impact has been of the months-long lack of stable leadership at the largest federal agency. His careful answer attempted to endorse the department’s vast civilian workforce, whose…
There Is Finally a Confirmed Secretary of Defense. What About All the Other Pentagon Vacancies?
Sha Hanting/China News Service/VCG/Getty It only took 204 days, but the Department of Defense finally has a Senate-confirmed leader again. Ninety lawmakers voted Tuesday afternoon to elevate Mark Esper permanently to the position of Secretary of Defense and put an end, at least for now, to the bizarre game of musical chairs Pentagon officials have been forced…
US Says Venezuelan Forces “Aggressively Shadowed” a Navy Aircraft Over the Caribbean Sea
Russian-made Venezuelan Su-30MKV multirole strike fighters fly over a military parade to celebrate Venezuela’s 206th anniversary of its Independence in Caracas on July 5, 2017. Federico Parra/AFP/Getty A Venezuelan fighter jet “aggressively shadowed” a US Navy plane “at an unsafe distance” on Friday according to a new Pentagon statement, sparking concerns of a military confrontation…
“This Is Outrageous”: Elizabeth Warren Unloads on Trump’s Pentagon Nominee
Secretary of the Army Mark Esper testifies in front of the Senate Armed Services panel during his confirmation hearing to lead the Pentagon.Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) tore into Mark Esper, President Donald Trump’s choice to lead the Pentagon, during a series of heated questions at Esper’s confirmation hearing Tuesday morning. Esper was a top…