Russia accused NATO on Monday of destabilizing northern Europe and the Baltics by carrying out drills there and announced new military exercises of its own, increasing tension over the Ukraine crisis. NATO responded by blaming Moscow for instability in the region, while British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said he was concerned by “extremely aggressive” probing […]
Ukraine’s parliament on Tuesday approved a series of joint military exercises with NATO countries that would put US troops in direct proximity to Russian forces in the annexed Crimea peninsula. “This is a good opportunity to develop our armed forces,” acting defence minister Mykhailo Koval told Verkhovna Rada lawmakers ahead of the 235-0 vote. The…
Ukraine’s acting Foreign Minister Andriy Deshchytsya said this morning that the likelihood of war between his country and Russia is growing as Russian troops continued to seize Ukrainian military bases in the annexed Crimea region. Mr. Deschchytsya told ABC that “we don’t know what (Russian President Vladimir) Putin has in his mind… that’s why this…
A bomb killed four U.S. soldiers in southern Afghanistan on Sunday, American and Afghan officials said. They were the latest casualties in a 12-year conflict that shows no signs of slowing down despite a drawdown in foreign forces. The U.S.-led international military coalition says four of its service members were killed in the south, and a military offi…
Elite U.S. troops were completely capable of saving Ambassador Chris Stevens during the Benghazi Consulate attacks on September 11, 2012. Elements of the highly specialized Combatant Commanders In-Extremis (CIF) units are always on alert, on forward deployment, ready to respond. Their job description is to hit the ground in 3 to 5 hours. CIF elements a…
The top U.S. military commander in Europe said Tuesday that several NATO countries are working on contingency plans for possible military action to end the two-year civil war in Syria as PresidentBashar Assad’s regime accused U.S.-backed Syrian rebels of using chemical weapons.The Obama administration rejected the Assad claim as a sign of desperation by a…
A suicide bomber killed 14 people, including three NATO soldiers and four police, and wounded 37 in Afghanistan's volatile eastern Khost province on Monday, a NATO spokeswoman and local officials said.A U.S. official in Washington confirmed the three soldiers killed were Americans serving in the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force. Six ci…
Turkey warned Tuesday that any Syrian military unit approaching its border will be treated as a direct threat, a serious escalation in tensions days after Syria shot a Turkish military plane out of the sky.Turkey's NATO allies expressed solidarity with Ankara and condemned the Syrian attack but made no mention of any retaliatory action against Syria….
Turkey is calling on NATO to discuss a response to Syria's downing of a Turkish jet in what Turkish leaders insist was international airspace. The incident has deepened the regional turmoil caused by the conflict in Syria, where reports Sunday said more than a dozen people had died in the latest clashes between rebels and government troops.The plane w…
There was no sign on Sunday of Pakistan opening its border crossing to NATO trucks carrying essential supplies to Afghanistan, as President Asif Ali Zardari prepared to meet Western leaders.A furious Pakistan slammed shut the Torkham border gate in its northwest to NATO vehicles in November when air strikes killed 24 Pakistani soldiers, souring already fr…