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Istanbul (AFP) - Turkish, Russian and US military chiefs held talks on Tuesday in the southern Turkish city of Antalya to discuss regional issues including Iraq and Syria, the Turkish army said. "Common issues relating to regional security, in particular Syria and Iraq, are being discussed at the meeting," the army said in a statement, without elaborating further.

Washington is talking about the action taken by the Trump Team informing all inspector generals of federal agencies that their jobs would be on a temporary basis. In a Jan. 13 email, a transition official instructed the transition agency leads to tell the inspectors general in their agencies “that they are being held over on a temporary basis,” according to the Washington Post. Inspectors general are independent watchdogs who are typically in place for an indefinite period, regardless of the party in charge. So why would the Trump team want to let these “government watchdogs” go? Do they really do...

James Cartwright, formerly vice chairman to Joint Chiefs of Staff, was accused of lying to investigators A retired top US general pleaded guilty on Monday to making a false statement during an FBI probe into a classified intelligence leak about a cyber attack against Iran's nuclear programme in 2010. Marine Corps General James Cartwright, 67, formerly the vice chairman to the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was accused of lying to investigators when he said he had not confirmed classified information to New York Times journalist David Sanger. Sanger wrote a book describing a joint US and Israeli operation that deployed...

On Monday, Native Americans conducted a forgiveness ceremony with U.S. veterans at the Standing Rock casino, giving the veterans an opportunity to atone for military actions conducted against Natives throughout history. In celebration of Standing Rock protesters’ victory Sunday in halting construction on the Dakota Access Pipeline, Leonard Crow Dog formally forgave Wes Clark Jr., the son of retired U.S. Army general and former supreme commander at NATO, Wesley Clark Sr. This was a historically symbolic gesture forgiving centuries of oppression against Natives and honoring their partnership in defending the land from the Dakota Access Pipeline.

We’ve reached an odd point in American political discourse when a civilian president-elect can appoint three civilian former members of the military to key positions in his administration (with his cabinet appointees being confirmed by a civilian Senate) and mainstream journalists fret about whether Donald Trump is forming a “junta.” Yet that actually happened yesterday, when Politico’s Julia Ioffe tweeted: “Three generals and maybe a fourth. Can we just cut to the chase and call ourselves a junta?” The New Yorker’s Nicholas Thompson mused on Twitter: “How many generals do you need in government before you technically become a junta?”...

I don't know whether Gen. Wesley Clark is qualified to be president, but Peter J. Boyer's profile in this week's New Yorker—which paints him as scarily unqualified—is an unfair portrait as well as a misleading, occasionally inaccurate précis of the 1999 Kosovo war and Clark's role in commanding it.Boyer relies heavily on some of Clark's fellow retired Army generals who clearly despise him. The gist of their critique, as Boyer summarizes, is that Clark, while a brilliant analyst, "had a certainty about the rightness of his views which led to conflicts with his colleagues and, sometimes, his superiors." I have...

Finally, the skinny on what former Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Hugh Shelton meant by questioning the integrity and character of retired general and Democratic presidential candidate Wes Clark. Pentagon sources say Clark gave overly optimistic assessments about winning the war in Bosnia. Worse, Clark often cozied up to European and United Nations officials to get what he wanted in the war, at times disobeying Shelton's orders. "In terms of the honesty and integrity of most politicians, Clark is probably in the 99th percentile," says one who observed the Shelton-Clark spats. "But it's a different standard when you're talking about professional...

WASHINGTON – The Army said Friday it has determined that suicide was the cause of death of a two-star general who was found dead in his home on a military base in Alabama. Maj. Gen. John Rossi was found dead July 31 at Redstone Arsenal, two days before he was to assume command of Army Space and Missile Defense Command.

A retired U.S. Marine Corps general who last served as vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff pleaded guilty on Monday in a federal court to making false statements to the FBI during an investigation into leaks of classified information. Four-star General James Cartwright was questioned by the Federal Bureau of Investigation in 2012 over a book written by New York Times reporter David Sanger, which exposed a malicious computer software program known as "Stuxnet" designed to disrupt Iran's nuclear program. Cartwright also in 2012 confirmed classified information about an unnamed country to Daniel Klaidman, then a reporter for...

It was not hyperbole when GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump said that under resident Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the U.S. military had been "reduced to rubble" and left floundering without a coherent strategy or meaningful capability to win wars. It is a fait accompli, engineered by our commander-in-chief to reduce America's global footprint, an America he has profusely apologized for, and one he blames for all the world's ills. Almost as soon as he took office, resident Obama began a military purge not dissimilar to those routinely conducted by third-world despots, with the goal of eliminating voices...

During last night’s Commander in Chief Forum on the USS Intrepid, Mr. Trump told moderator Matt Lauer, in reference to the War on ISIS, “Well, the generals under Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton have not been successful,” Trump replied. “I think under the leadership of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, the generals have been reduced to rubble. They have been reduced to a point where it’s embarrassing for our country.” Mr. Trump is certainly correct. The generals have been reduced to rubble. Actually, they have been ground into space dust, for the value that they give to this Republic. Under...

"Any nation who shares in this goal will be our friend in this conflict." This is not the policy the media likes when you’re running for president, but it’s the only thing any serious president can do. It’s idiotic to stand there on the campaign stump and lay out in detail how you would fight a war. Not only are you giving away your strategy to the enemy, but you also have no idea how to anticipate what might actually happen on the field of battle. So however much you may hear complaints that Trump is “short on specifics” here,...

General John R. Allen, commander of the International Security Assistance Force, today issued the following statement:

<p>Flynn, 57, a registered Democrat but fierce critic of President Obama, previously ran the Defense Intelligence Agency.</p> <p>The persons, who spoke with The Washington Post on Saturday, requested anonymity to discuss their private conversations in recent days with Trump’s confidants and campaign aides.</p>

An influential veterans group is blasting some of their former brass for taking positions that many feel are a violation of their oaths to protect the Constitution. The Special Forces Association forcefully rebuked calls for more gun control from both former CIA director and CENTCOM commander David Petraeus and retired Army general Stanley McChrystal. SFA is a 52 year old national organization composed of members who once served in the U.S. Special Forces. The organization drew up a membership resolution at their annual convention in Jacksonville, Florida on Saturday, confirming prior statements of continued support of the U.S. “Constitution and...

Defense Secretary Ashton B. Carter has fired his top military aide for allegations of “misconduct,” a highly unusual move prior to a formal investigation into possible misbehavior by the Army general. In a statement, Carter said that he had removed Lt. Gen. Ron Lewis from his position as senior military assistant. As his top military aide, Lewis was a right-hand advisor to Carter, providing him analysis on military issues, joining him at high-level meetings, and traveling with him on overseas missions. Carter said the Pentagon’s Inspector General would investigate the allegations against Lewis and, if necessary, the Army would take...

Press Release Source: Council on American-Islamic Relations Muslims Call For Pentagon Action Over General's Remarks Thursday February 3, 3:30 pm ET Commander of Marine Division in Iraq Says Shooting People is 'Fun' WASHINGTON, Feb. 3 /PRNewswire/ -- The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) today called on the Pentagon to discipline a top general who earlier this week said it is "fun to shoot some people." At a public event in San Diego, Calif., Lt. Gen. James Mattis said: "Actually, it's a lot of fun to fight. You know, it's a hell of a hoot ... You go into Afghanistan, you...

Defense Secretary Ash Carter is removing a senior military assistant, Army Lt. Gen. Ron Lewis, from his position after learning about allegations of misconduct, Carter announced Thursday. "I directed that this matter be referred to the inspector general of the Department of Defense for investigation," he said in a statement. A senior defense official would not discuss the nature of the alleged misconduct but said Carter was "very surprised" to learn of the allegations.

Sources Confirm That Obama is Purging The U.S. Army By Firing Top 200 Military Commanders According to Obama's logic, if America is weaker no one would want to attack...

Maryland's married Deputy Attorney General tells all to female videographer on hidden video. He reveals Maryland state secrets to a reporter he tries to impress, including a major multi-state EPA case. He provides key information on upcoming governor’s race from a hotel bed and displays his extreme (and secret) position on the Second Amendment from a bar.