Iranian vessel points weapon at U.S. helicopter: officials

Iranian vessel points weapon at U.S. helicopter: officials

A small Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard vessel pointed its weapon at a U.S. military helicopter in the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday, two U.S. defense officials told Reuters on Monday, an action they described as “unsafe and unprofessional.” The incident is the latest in a series of similar actions by Iranian vessels this year, but […]

Cubans worry about what comes next after Fidel Castro’s death

Cubans worry about what comes next after Fidel Castro’s death

HAVANA — For the nearly five decades Fidel Castro ruled this country, he was a daily presence in Cubans’ lives. His speeches echoed on their televisions, and his harsh rules shaped almost every aspect of their existence. They woke up Saturday and found out he was gone. A numbness has set in here since. Few […]

Mattis, favored for SECDEF, ‘surprises’ Trump with waterboarding stance

Mattis, favored for SECDEF, ‘surprises’ Trump with waterboarding stance

Last Saturday, President Elect Donald Trump met with a number of prominent American officials as he continued to flesh out his cabinet appointments prior to taking office this coming January.  Among these meetings was one with retired Marine General James Mattis.  Mattis, a favorite among veterans, is being considered for the role of Secretary of […]

Ex-CIA boss Petraeus indicates would serve Trump if asked

Ex-CIA boss Petraeus indicates would serve Trump if asked

Retired U.S. general David Petraeus indicated on Wednesday that he would serve in President-elect Donald Trump’s administration if he was offered a job, according to an interview on Britain’s BBC radio. The Wall Street Journal has reported that Petraeus, who resigned as CIA chief in 2012 after an extra-marital affair was revealed, was under consideration […]

Defense spending and alliances: Is Trump wrong about NATO?

Defense spending and alliances: Is Trump wrong about NATO?

Along the campaign trail, Donald Trump said a number of things that concerned prominent Democrats and foreign leaders. Some of these things can be chalked up to campaign rhetoric, but few of these remarks made the heads of foreign governments wiggle uncomfortably in their chairs more than his stance on NATO. In what would become […]

Russian President Putin says Trump confirmed willing to mend ties

Russian President Putin says Trump confirmed willing to mend ties

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Sunday U.S. President-elect Donald Trump confirmed to him he was willing to mend ties, though he also said he would welcome President Barack Obama in Russia. “The President-elect confirmed he is willing to normalize Russian-American relations. I told him the same. We did not discuss where and when we […]

Foreign Policy shakeup, will America work with Russia to fight ISIS?

Foreign Policy shakeup, will America work with Russia to fight ISIS?

First and foremost, no one really knows how American foreign policy is going to change over the next 12 months as the Trump administration enters the White House.  Staff members are still being selected, still have to be approved by Congress, and the Trump transition team is still figuring things out, sometimes as they learn […]

NSA Director Mike Rogers Could Be Removed in Restructuring

NSA Director Mike Rogers Could Be Removed in Restructuring

President Obama is considering a recommendation by Defense Secretary Ash Carter and Director of National Intelligence James Clapper to separate the commands of the National Security Agency and U.S. Cyber Command that could lead to the removal of Admiral Mike Rogers who heads both commands. Rogers’ potential removal as the head of the National Security Agency was […]

Senior U.S. officials recommend removal of NSA director

Senior U.S. officials recommend removal of NSA director

The heads of the Pentagon and the U.S. intelligence community have recommended to President Barack Obama that the director of the National Security Agency, Admiral Michael Rogers, be removed from his position, sources familiar with the matter said on Saturday. The recommendation by Defense Secretary Ash Carter and Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, first […]

Top Obama military official under fire as he meets Trump

Top Obama military official under fire as he meets Trump

A top U.S. military official in consideration to be Donald Trump’s director of national intelligence has been recommended to be removed from his command in the Obama administration. The recommendation to relieve Adm. Michael S. Rogers from his post as head of the National Security Agency was made to the White House last month by Defense […]

A Delta Man’s Republican kid; Splayn’ it to me like I’m just 14

A Delta Man’s Republican kid; Splayn’ it to me like I’m just 14

Small Daughter was born Regan Christine Hand some 14 years passed. In that there is such a disparity of age between her and my oldest daughter, I took to referring to them as the First Daughter, and Small Daughter, noms de guerre that I cherish as being truly my own, and just between us three. […]