Free Republic

Many of the troops and ships once at the president’s disposal have shifted to the Caribbean.The Trump administration has insisted it has numerous military options to deploy against Iran if the regime uses force against demonstrators. But that menu is far more limited than it was even a year ago. The U.S. troops and ships that were once at the president’s disposal have shifted to the Caribbean. A major American defense system sent to the Middle East last year has returned to South Korea. And administration officials say there are no plans for the movement of major assets. The president...

Administration allies say they are fed up with the Defense Department’s third-most senior leader and his foreign policy surprises. More than a half dozen diplomats interviewed in Washington and Europe also complain that the Pentagon’s once steady consultations have slowed as Colby’s office crafts that strategy, along with a review of troop locations worldwide.That uncertainty deepened after the Pentagon quietly decided not to replace a rotational Army brigade in Romania, Hungary and Slovakia — a move the Romanian government learned of only two days before it was announced, according to a U.S. defense official and a Romanian official.One NATO diplomat...

Meetings between NATO and U.S. defense officials left allies concerned that President Donald Trump would leave Europe to ensure a lasting peace in the war-scarred country.“There’s the dawning reality that this will be Europe making this happen on the ground,” said a NATO diplomat who was briefed on the talks. “The U.S. is not fully committed to anything.” The meetings — which occurred days after Trump and European leaders met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House in a sign of unity — underscore the massive task ahead for allies as they weigh plans to send a peacekeeping...

President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth pledged a first ever $1 trillion defense budget proposal on Monday, a record sum for the military. Trump, during a press event with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, said the upcoming budget would be “in the vicinity” of $1 trillion Hegseth went further in an X post on Monday evening, saying Trump “is rebuilding our military — and FAST.” “COMING SOON: the first TRILLION dollar @DeptofDefense budget,” Hegseth posted from his personal account. “(PS: we intend to spend every taxpayer dollar wisely — on lethality and readiness).” The number would be a...

Vice President-elect JD VANCE, a prominent GOP skeptic of U.S. aid for Ukraine, met with a delegation of senior Ukrainian officials and other members of President-elect DONALD TRUMP’s inner circle in Washington on Wednesday, two people familiar with the matter confirmed. The Ukrainian delegation traveled to Washington to meet with Vance as well as Rep. MIKE WALTZ (R-Fla.), Trump’s pick to be his national security adviser, and retired Gen. KEITH KELLOGG, Trump’s pick to be special envoy for Ukraine and Russia. The meeting, according to these people, was meant to be a meet and greet for both sides to get...

<p>The U.S. and other Western countries are considering transferring to NATO a U.S.-led multinational group that coordinates the shipment of weapons to Ukraine, one of several new proposals that could help maintain the flow of arms to Kyiv under a second Donald Trump presidency.</p>

POLITICO’s National Security Daily has procured two telling documents on the Ukraine war: a list of Ukraine’s latest weapons requests circulating in Washington, D.C., and a slide deck used at today’s extraordinary meeting of 30 nations to curb Russia’s military rearmament. First off, the “priority items” list, obtained Thursday night. Eight months into the war, Ukraine is asking for: — 300 Main battle tanks — 1,000 BMP armored personnel carriers — 30 Multiple Launch Rocket System — 250 155mm artillery systems — 500 anti-tank guided missiles — 1,000 man-portable air-defense systems — 72 short-range air defense systems — 20 AN/TPQ-36,...

KYIV — For two months, Ukraine has been signaling its intent to recapture the southern city of Kherson in what has been billed as a major counteroffensive and the moment that Kyiv turns the tide against Russia.What that push will look like is still a mystery, however. Ukrainian artillery and rockets provided by the U.S. and allies have smashed bridges and Russian ammunition depots close to the city, but the larger movement of infantry has yet to happen. Meanwhile, the Russians are reinforcing and digging in.Ukrainian officials have long said the fate of the war could be decided in the...