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In an interview with Fox News on Wednesday, Republican presidential candidate Carly Fiorina chastised the Obama administration, calling its response, or lack thereof, to Russian aggression in Syria, “weak” and willfully naïve. “We must be prepared to use force,” declared Fiorina in a hawkish response to Russian airstrikes in the central city of Homs this week that have transformed the geopolitical calculus in the region. U.S. Pentagon officials insist that the Russian aerial assault is targeting primarily non-ISIS combatants, including the American-backed moderate Syrian opposition. “I can absolutely confirm to you that they were strikes against our Free Syrian Army...

MOSCOW -- Russian jets carried out a second day of strikes in Syria Thursday, as a senior U.S. politician and activists claimed the targets included rebels backed by the United States. "I can absolutely confirm to you that they were strikes against our Free Syrian Army recruits that have been armed and trained by the CIA, because we have communications with people there," Republican Sen. John McCain, who is head of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said in an interview with CNN, according to the Reuters news agency.

Amid conflicting reports about Moscow targeting U.S.-alllied groups in Syria, GOP presidential candidate Carly Fiorina said late Wednesday that she backs military readiness against Russian forces. “I believe we must tell the Russians that we will conduct [and] we will secure a no-fly zone around anti-Assad rebel forces that we’re supporting,” she said on Fox News’s "Hannity." “Does that mean we might use force against Russian jets?” host Sean Hannity then asked. “Well, hopefully not,” Fiorina responded. "Hopefully, if we are signaling clearly to the Russians are intention, it will not come to that.” “But if it does come to...

Republican presidential candidate Carly Fiorina argued the US should “secure a no-fly zone around anti-Assad rebel forces that we’re supporting” and “be prepared” to use force against Russia if need be on Wednesday’s “Hannity” on the Fox News Channel. Fiorina said, Well, first, we know what’s going on. Syria and Russia, who have had a longstanding relationship, Iran, and Iraq, are forming an unholy alliance. Russia’s intentions are to shore up, and stabilize the Assad regime. ISIS is sort of a camouflage. There is no doubt, that Russia will be conducting airstrikes against anti-Assad rebels, whether or not they happen...

(CNSNews.com) – At a time of escalated tensions with the West over Ukraine, Russia says it is negotiating with eight governments around the world for access to military facilities, to enable it to extend its long-range naval and strategic bomber capabilities. Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said Wednesday the military was engaged in talks with Cuba, Venezuela, Nicaragua, Algeria, Cyprus, the Seychelles, Vietnam and Singapore. “We need bases for refueling near the equator, and in other places,” ITAR-Tass quoted him as saying. Russia is not looking to establish bases in those locations, but to reach agreement to use facilities there when...

At a time of escalated tensions with the West over Ukraine, Russia says it is negotiating with eight governments around the world for access to military facilities, to enable it to extend its long-range naval and strategic bomber capabilities. Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said Wednesday the military was engaged in talks with Cuba, Venezuela, Nicaragua, Algeria, Cyprus, the Seychelles, Vietnam and Singapore. “We need bases for refueling near the equator, and in other places,” ITAR-Tass quoted him as saying. Russia is not looking to establish bases in those locations, but to reach agreement to use facilities there when required. The...

WASHINGTON- The Fourth of July won´t have a patriotic boom in the sky over some military bases because budget cuts and furloughed workers also mean furloughed fireworks. Independence Day celebrations have been canceled at the Camp Lejeune Marine Corps Base and at the Army´s Fort Bragg, both in North Carolina. The annual July Fourth celebration also has been scrapped at the Marine Corps Logistics Base in Albany, Ga. The reason is money - namely the lack of it. The failure in Washington to follow up a 2011 budget pact with additional spending cuts meant $85 billion across-the-board cuts

President Obama is backtracking from his campaign promise that “I don’t think now is the time” for another round of military base closures across the country. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel on Wednesday presented the $526 billion defense budget request for fiscal 2014, which explicitly calls for shutting down facilities in a process called Base Realignment and Closure Commission (BRAC). “BRAC is the only effective means of achieving infrastructure consolidation,” the Pentagon said. “This BRAC round adds $2.4 billion to costs in the next five years but would eventually save substantial sums. The actual closing of bases would involve a multiyear...

The Lebanon-based Hizbullah terrorist organization is setting up bases in Syria close to known chemical weapons storage facilities, according to a source quoted in a report published Monday by Israeli Hebrew-language news outlet Ynet. Hizbullah, which is generously funded and equipped by Iran, has been working to shore up the government forces backing Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, together with Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards. But even with that assistance, the loyalists are beginning to lose their grip on the country, and it appears likely that Assad’s regime may soon fall. If it does, there is a strong likelihood that he may...

Operatives linked to Iran tried to kill foreign diplomats, including Israelis and Americans, in at least seven countries over 13 months, the Washington Post reported. New evidence uncovered by investigators in four countries linked the assassination attempts to either Iran-backed Hezbollah militants or operatives based inside Iran, the Post reported Monday, citing U.S. and Middle Eastern security officials. The officials reportedly said that the assassination attempts stopped in early spring, when Iran began to take a softer tone with the West. Shortly after, Iranian officials formally accepted a proposal to resume negotiations with six world powers on proposals to limit...

Reports from American Intelligence are being leaked to the public to put pressure on Israel to keep them from attacking Iran. Israel and Azerbaijan have struck a 1.6 billion dollar drone and defense deal, supposedly giving Israel access to their bases if they attack Iran. This means the Israelis would not have to refuel if they do attack and that is a game changer. Last Thursday, Ambassador John Bolton, being the straight shooter he is, laid it out succinctly on Fox News. He accused this administration of leaking information deliberately to deter Israel from defending herself. He was responding to...

With the full consent of the Cuban leadership, on May 11 of this year, our country has not only resumed work in the electronic center of Lourdes, but also placed the latest mobile strategic nuclear missiles "Oak" on the island. They did not want to do it the amicable way, now let them deal with this," Putin said.

With the U.S. moving the majority of its naval fleet to the Pacific, commanders are eagerly looking for invitations to park the planes and ships that will be pouring into the region. Travis Tritten at Stars and Stripes reports that the Pentagon has apparently been fanning the old flame of friendship with the Philippines and will be re-opening two bases it left in 1991 — Subic Bay and Clark Air Base. The U.S. had a falling out with the island nation in the early nineties and pulled out of the bases, which were then built-up by a series of private...

MOSCOW (Reuters) – President Dmitry Medvedev said on Thursday Russia was looking to open new naval bases abroad to increase the global reach of a military that shrunk abruptly when the Soviet Union collapsed. Soviet forces drew on over a dozen naval bases in Europe, South America, Africa and South East Asia in the 1970s and 1980s; but post-Soviet economic crisis, fuel shortages and a rundown of the military confined forces largely to home bases. Vladimir Putin began rebuilding military power after he assumed the Russian presidency in 2000. Last year, state news agency Itar-Tass cited military sources saying Russia...

New program will boost security at military basesBy Lolita C. Baldor, Associated Press Writer Wed Oct 6, 5:42 pm ET WASHINGTON – Nearly a year after a shooting rampage at Fort Hood, Texas, the Pentagon is taking new steps to beef up security and surveillance programs at its bases, and will join an FBI intelligence-sharing program aimed at identifying future terror threats, U.S. officials said. The new partnership with the FBI's eGuardian program comes two years after the Pentagon shut down a controversial anti-terror database that collected reports of suspicious activity near military installations. The now-defunct program, called TALON, was...

Taliban insurgents have attacked two coalition bases in eastern Afghanistan, Nato forces say. Coalition forces repelled both attacks, killing 13 militants and capturing others, the Nato-led International Security Assistance Force (Isaf) said. The coalition suffered some casualties as a result of the fighting in Khost province, south-east of Kabul. The Taliban said about 30 fighters, including suicide bombers, were involved in the two separate assaults. Continue reading the main story Taliban ConflictCivilian toll shows Nato dilemma Q&A: Fighting the Taliban Who are the Taliban? Challenges for Afghan forces The attacks on Forward Operating Base Salerno in Khost province and nearby...

SALAH AD DIN PROVINCE – In accordance with the U.S. - Iraq Security Agreement to reduce the U.S. troop presence here to 50,000 by August, two more U.S. bases were returned to the Government of Iraq, Feb. 1. The historic Mahmoon Palace and the Sharqat Joint Coordination Center were both transitioned back to the GOI from the 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division. The Iraqi Receivership Secretariat, Sameer Al-Haddad, signed for both centers. The Mahmoon Palace was built as a place to celebrate Saddam Hussein birthdays, and it still contains ornate chandeliers, columns and decorative tiled floors and...

BASRAH — U.S. military leaders here returned camps Hutch and Area 51 (No.. not that Area 51), located within the Shaibah Training Center, to the Government of Iraq, Jan. 9. The 14th Iraqi Army Division and the Department of Border Enforcement's 51st Brigade will continue to use the facilities as American forces draw down. "The handover highlights Iraq's growing confidence, capacity and capability to provide a stable and self-reliant country," said Lt. Col. Charles Roede, 17th Fires Brigade executive officer and the senior U.S. leader of the day's events. "The base returns do not mean we are ending our partnership...

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) – Pakistani forces are zeroing in on two major Taliban bases in South Waziristan region as their offensive pushes deeper into militant bastion on the Afghan border, the military said on Sunday. The army launched a major assault in South Waziristan on September 17 to seize control of the lawless land after a string of attacks by militants, including a stunning assault on the army headquarters that killed more than 150 people. The offensive is a major test for the Pakistani government and the military to stem the rising tide of Islamist militancy and is being closely followed...

BOGOTA – In a private, low-key ceremony, the U.S. ambassador and three Colombian ministers on Friday signed a pact giving American personnel expanded access to military bases in this drug-producing country, a deal that Venezuela's Hugo Chavez has called a threat to the region's security. Foreign Minister Jaime Bermudez said the 10-year deal takes effect immediately and restricts U.S. military operations to Colombian territory — alluding to fears expressed by leftist leaders in the region that it would make Colombia a base for asserting U.S. power in South America. Details of the pact, which aims to boost drug and counterinsurgency...