Free Republic

China and Iran appeasers are sneaking into the Pentagon.. “As of today, the incoming Trump Administration has hired over 1,000 people,” President Trump tweeted. “It would be helpful if you would not send, or recommend to us people who worked with, or are endorsed by, Americans for No Prosperity (headed by Charles Koch)” along with a long list of others. But by then it was already too late. The Kochers were already on the inside. Dan Caldwell, listed as a lobbyist by Americans for Prosperity who worked for a number of Koch network groups, has been staffing up the Department...

"Danny argues that the truth about the Ukraine–Russia war can no longer be concealed: Ukraine is heading toward a strategic and battlefield defeat, a reality now acknowledged even by strongly pro-Ukraine voices like journalist Julian Röpcke. According to the commentary: Western and Ukrainian leaders have long misrepresented battlefield conditions, offering “PR” optimism while ignoring deteriorating realities. Russia prioritized destroying Ukraine’s armed forces over capturing territory, but is now accelerating territorial gains as Ukrainian capacity collapses. Ukrainian reports and government messaging continue to “sugarcoat” the situation, preventing honest assessment and prolonging unnecessary losses. Russia maintains overwhelming advantages in drones, glide bombs,...

US defense officials are increasingly warning of the potential for conflict with China over Taiwan. There is almost no way in which the US could intervene in that conflict without devastating losses. Lt. Col. Daniel L. Davis, ret, Defense Priorities Thu, March 18, 2021, 7:16 AM·5 min read Shiyu Kinmen County Taiwan China Shiyu, or Lion Islet, one of Taiwan's offshore islands, with the Chinese city of Xiamen in the background. Carl Court/Getty Images US defense officials are increasingly warning of the potential for conflict with China over Taiwan. There is almost no way in which the US could intervene...

Last week the nuclear rhetoric between the US and Russia made some of us feel like we were transported back to 1962. Back then, Soviet moves to place nuclear-capable missiles 90 miles off our coast in Cuba led to the greatest crisis of the Cold War. The United States and its president, John F. Kennedy, could not tolerate such weapons placed by a hostile power on its doorstep and the world only knew years later how close we were to nuclear war. Thankfully both Khrushchev and Kennedy backed down – with the Soviet leader removing the missiles from Cuba and...

The Pentagon announced Monday that it had finished withdrawing U.S. forces from a $110 million military base in Niger, Africa, as the nation’s ruling regime takes over. Niger’s Air Base 201 previously hosted hundreds of U.S. troops who have now evacuated at the request of the country’s military junta.... Some equipment from Air Base 201 was shipped out, such as weaponry, but other equipment was left behind.... “What the [Biden administration] was not understanding, is that these guys are cold-blooded. This new government in Niger? They don’t care. They do not want the United States involved in their country,” Michael...

President Biden said the United States is “rallying the world to stand with Ukraine” and pledged to support the cause “as long as it takes.” U.S. officials have downplayed the (Russian} gains, calling them halting and incremental. The scrutiny is fueled by U.S. government assessments of other wars, notably in Afghanistan, where officials habitually glossed over widespread dysfunction and corruption and sidestepped questions of whether battlefield successes were not only achievable but sustainable. A Ukrainian lawmaker shared similar concerns. “We are losing the most valuable thing, our soldiers and officers.” Benjamin Friedman, a policy director at Defense Priorities, said that...