Bernie Sanders sides with Obama and against Clinton on no-fly zone in Syria - The Washington Post: Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said Saturday that he opposes a unilateral American no-fly zone in Syria, offering a less hawkish stance on the war-torn region than Hillary Rodham Clinton, his chief rival for the Democratic presidential nomination, and a position more in line with President Obama.
“We must be very careful about not making a complex and dangerous situation in Syria even worse,” Sanders said in a statement to The Washington Post. “I support President Obama’s efforts to combat ISIS in Syria while at the same time supporting those in that country trying to remove the brutal dictatorship of Bashar Assad.”
But, Sanders added: “I oppose, at this point, a unilateral American no-fly zone in Syria, which could get us more deeply involved in that horrible civil war and lead to a never-ending U.S. entanglement in that region.”
Monday, October 5, 2015
McCain Wins Big With Acquisition Reform
McCain Wins Big With Acquisition Reform: With conference finished on the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), it appears that sweeping acquisition reforms spearheaded by Sen. John McCain will become the law of the land.
The bill, reported out of a joint committee Sept. 29, gives service chiefs and secretaries overall responsibility for acquisition programs within the services — a shift away from the Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics (AT&L), which has held milestone decision authority over programs for roughly the past 30 years.
"That's designed to establish clear lines of authority and clear accountability so the service chief and service secretary are given greater responsibility in this bill," a Senate Armed Services Committee staff member said during a briefing with reporters a day after the committee report was filed.
Months of negotiations between House and Senate committee conferees sorted through more than 120 acquisition policy provisions to yield a conference report with mostly Senate provisions. The measures are aimed at increasing accountability, streamlining existing rules, and gaining access to different and nontraditional parts of the industrial base.
The bill, reported out of a joint committee Sept. 29, gives service chiefs and secretaries overall responsibility for acquisition programs within the services — a shift away from the Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics (AT&L), which has held milestone decision authority over programs for roughly the past 30 years.
"That's designed to establish clear lines of authority and clear accountability so the service chief and service secretary are given greater responsibility in this bill," a Senate Armed Services Committee staff member said during a briefing with reporters a day after the committee report was filed.
Months of negotiations between House and Senate committee conferees sorted through more than 120 acquisition policy provisions to yield a conference report with mostly Senate provisions. The measures are aimed at increasing accountability, streamlining existing rules, and gaining access to different and nontraditional parts of the industrial base.
U.S., NATO Condemn Russia's Violations Of Turkish Airspace
U.S., NATO Condemn Russia's Violations Of Turkish Airspace: T
he United States and its NATO allies have condemned Russia's incursions into Turkey's airspace, saying the violations were both dangerous and irresponsible.
Ankara said Turkish warplanes were scrambled after a Russian warplane violated Turkey's airspace on October 3.
It said Turkish jets patrolling the border were also "harassed" by an unidentified plane on October 4.
The Russian Defense Ministry said one of its warplane briefly entered Turkish air space due to "unfavorable weather conditions."
After an emergency meeting on October 5, NATO said, "Allies strongly protest these violations of Turkish sovereign airspace, and condemn these incursions into and violations of NATO airspace."
"Allies also note the extreme danger of such irresponsible behavior," the statement added.
he United States and its NATO allies have condemned Russia's incursions into Turkey's airspace, saying the violations were both dangerous and irresponsible.
Ankara said Turkish warplanes were scrambled after a Russian warplane violated Turkey's airspace on October 3.
It said Turkish jets patrolling the border were also "harassed" by an unidentified plane on October 4.
The Russian Defense Ministry said one of its warplane briefly entered Turkish air space due to "unfavorable weather conditions."
After an emergency meeting on October 5, NATO said, "Allies strongly protest these violations of Turkish sovereign airspace, and condemn these incursions into and violations of NATO airspace."
"Allies also note the extreme danger of such irresponsible behavior," the statement added.
Obama rejects candidates' ideas for solving crisis in Syria
Obama rejects candidates' ideas for solving crisis in Syria: President Obama is accusing White House hopefuls of concocting "half-baked" ideas for solving the crisis in Syria, appearing to even dismiss his former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton's call for a no-fly zone before later clarifying his view of the Democratic front-runner.
The idea of a no-fly zone — a region of Syria that the United States would protect from bombing to create a safe corridor for refugees — has emerged as a favorite option for Democratic and Republican candidates. It's a plan that allows them to stake out a more aggressive military posture than Obama, while stopping short of the kind of large-scale combat troop deployments the U.S. engaged in for years in Iraq and Afghanistan — and of which voters have wearied.
Obama, who opposes such a move, said Friday that he'd like critics of his Syria policies to be asked, "Specifically, precisely, what exactly would you do?" He told a White House news conference, "Typically, what you get is a bunch of mumbo jumbo."
The idea of a no-fly zone — a region of Syria that the United States would protect from bombing to create a safe corridor for refugees — has emerged as a favorite option for Democratic and Republican candidates. It's a plan that allows them to stake out a more aggressive military posture than Obama, while stopping short of the kind of large-scale combat troop deployments the U.S. engaged in for years in Iraq and Afghanistan — and of which voters have wearied.
Obama, who opposes such a move, said Friday that he'd like critics of his Syria policies to be asked, "Specifically, precisely, what exactly would you do?" He told a White House news conference, "Typically, what you get is a bunch of mumbo jumbo."
Iraqi Leader Says Would 'Welcome' Russian Air Strikes In Iraq
Iraqi Leader Says Would 'Welcome' Russian Air Strikes In Iraq: I
raq's prime minister says that he would "welcome" air strikes by Russia in his country if Moscow made such a proposal, but that hasn't happened yet.
Haidar al-Abadi told France 24 television in an interview made available October 1: "If we get the offer, we [will] consider it. In actual fact, I would welcome it." Abadi noted that he has been in contact with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Russia's foreign minister Sergey Lavrov said October 1 that Russia has no plans to extend air strikes to Iraq, but would do so if Iraq invited it.
Abadi said he would be "amazed" if Russian planes now carrying out air strikes in Syria were going after Syrian opposition rebels rather than the Islamic State group.
He said it's in Russia's interest to go after IS because "more than 2,000" IS fighters are Russians, making them a "national threat" that would "cause havoc" were they to return to Russia.
Abadi said Washington and Moscow should stop sparring over Syria and find a way to work together.
raq's prime minister says that he would "welcome" air strikes by Russia in his country if Moscow made such a proposal, but that hasn't happened yet.
Haidar al-Abadi told France 24 television in an interview made available October 1: "If we get the offer, we [will] consider it. In actual fact, I would welcome it." Abadi noted that he has been in contact with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Russia's foreign minister Sergey Lavrov said October 1 that Russia has no plans to extend air strikes to Iraq, but would do so if Iraq invited it.
Abadi said he would be "amazed" if Russian planes now carrying out air strikes in Syria were going after Syrian opposition rebels rather than the Islamic State group.
He said it's in Russia's interest to go after IS because "more than 2,000" IS fighters are Russians, making them a "national threat" that would "cause havoc" were they to return to Russia.
Abadi said Washington and Moscow should stop sparring over Syria and find a way to work together.
U.S. vs. Russia: What a war would look like between the world's most fearsome militaries
U.S. vs. Russia: What a war would look like between the world's most fearsome militaries:
Russia's increasingly aggressive posture has sparked a sweeping review among U.S. defense strategists of America's military policies and contingency plans in the event of a conflict with the former Soviet state. Indeed, the Pentagon's senior leaders are asking questions that have been set aside for more than 20 years:
Make no mistake: Experts agree that the U.S. military's globe-spanning force would clobber the Russian military in any toe-to-toe conventional fight. But modern wars are not toe-to-toe conventional fights; geography, politics and terrain inevitably give one side an advantage.
Today, the U.S. spends nearly 10 times more than Russia on national defense. The U.S. operates 10 aircraft carriers; Russia has just one. And the U.S. military maintains a broad technological edge and a vastly superior ability to project power around the world.
Russia's increasingly aggressive posture has sparked a sweeping review among U.S. defense strategists of America's military policies and contingency plans in the event of a conflict with the former Soviet state. Indeed, the Pentagon's senior leaders are asking questions that have been set aside for more than 20 years:
- How much are the Russians truly capable of?
- Where precisely might a conflict with Russia occur?
- What would a war with Russia look like today?
Make no mistake: Experts agree that the U.S. military's globe-spanning force would clobber the Russian military in any toe-to-toe conventional fight. But modern wars are not toe-to-toe conventional fights; geography, politics and terrain inevitably give one side an advantage.
Today, the U.S. spends nearly 10 times more than Russia on national defense. The U.S. operates 10 aircraft carriers; Russia has just one. And the U.S. military maintains a broad technological edge and a vastly superior ability to project power around the world.
F-22 Raptors deploy to Middle East
F-22 Raptors deploy to Middle East: An undisclosed number of F-22 Raptors of the Hawaii Air National Guard and the U.S. Air Force have been deployed to the Middle East for as long as six months.
The Hawaii Air National Guard, or HIANG, said the deployment of most of the fighters and more than 200 personnel from Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Honolulu took place Sept. 26 but was kept secret for security considerations.
The aircraft and personnel are now in an unidentified location in the region, which is in the area of responsibility of the U.S. Central Command.
The Hawaii Air National Guard, or HIANG, said the deployment of most of the fighters and more than 200 personnel from Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Honolulu took place Sept. 26 but was kept secret for security considerations.
The aircraft and personnel are now in an unidentified location in the region, which is in the area of responsibility of the U.S. Central Command.
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