New British carriers to join allied effort to secure air, sea routes in South China Sea

New British carriers to join allied effort to secure air, sea routes in South China Sea

by WorldTribune Staff, December 2, 2016 British aircraft carriers will join freedom of navigation efforts in the South China Sea, the UK’s ambassador to the U.S. said on Dec. 1. “Certainly, as we bring our two new aircraft carriers onstream in 2020, and as we renew and update our defense forces, they will be seen […]

More tension in the Persian Gulf as Iran gunboat takes aim at U.S. helicopter

More tension in the Persian Gulf as Iran gunboat takes aim at U.S. helicopter

by WorldTribune Staff, November 29, 2016 An Iranian gunboat pointed its loaded machine gun at a U.S. Navy helicopter flying over the Gulf of Hormuz on Nov. 25, U.S. defense officials said. In the latest of a series of incidents between Iranian and American forces in and around the Persian Gulf, the officials told Fox […]

Memorandum for the President-elect: You are the future, leave Mitt Romney in the past

Memorandum for the President-elect: You are the future, leave Mitt Romney in the past

Special to WorldTribune.com Jeffrey T. Kuhner President-Elect Donald Trump may be about to make a big mistake — the first one of his presidential transition. And the damage could be enormous. As a staunch Trump supporter and America First nationalist, I am urging that he not pick — under any circumstances — Mitt Romney to […]

Japan weighs THAAD missile shield as North Korean WMD threat grows

Japan weighs THAAD missile shield as North Korean WMD threat grows

by WorldTribune Staff, November 27, 2016 Japan is considering following South Korea’s lead in deploying the U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile system. The move comes amid a heightened threat from North Korea, which has conducted more than 20 ballistic missile tests this year and has made steady progress in its quest to […]

U.S. faces new spectrum of geostrategic options in a post-Obama world

U.S. faces new spectrum of geostrategic options in a post-Obama world

Special to WorldTribune.com By Gregory R. Copley, Editor, GIS/Defense & Foreign Affairs U.S. President-elect Donald J. Trump in many ways faces the most circumscribed strategic options of any modern U.S. President entering office. Not only has the global context changed — and will change rapidly even further — so also has the United States’ abilities, […]

Flashback: The Castro brothers’ Stalinist Cuba, mass graves, and a U.S. president’s legacy

Flashback: The Castro brothers’ Stalinist Cuba, mass graves, and a U.S. president’s legacy

Special to WorldTribune.com By Frank Calzon Fidel Castro, 90, is dead, his brother Raul announced Friday. The following was published on Jan. 19, 2016. President Barack Obama announced his visit to Cuba on Feb. 18, 2016 following the death of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. Obama did not attend Scalia’s funeral and he has […]

Tunisian president confirms requesting U.S. drone surveillance of Libya

Tunisian president confirms requesting U.S. drone surveillance of Libya

by WorldTribune Staff, November 24, 2016 The U.S. is flying surveillance drones from Tunisia to scope out Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL) activity in Libya, Tunisia’s president confirmed. Last month, U.S. government sources said unarmed American drones had begun flying into Libya from a Tunisian air base. Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi said […]

Defense contractors looking to improved bottom lines with new administration

Defense contractors looking to improved bottom lines with new administration

by WorldTribune Staff, November 23, 2016 President-elect Donald Trump’s pledge to increase military spending has defense contractors optimistic about the next four years. “It’s been a challenging couple of years,” said Robert Carullo, executive director of the Mid-Atlantic business group SMART. “We’re looking for that to turn around.” The defense industry is looking for Republicans, […]

Pentagon says troops, recruiters may carry concealed weapons

Pentagon says troops, recruiters may carry concealed weapons

by WorldTribune Staff, November 23, 2016 U.S. military recruiters and personnel at other military facilities will be allowed to carry concealed handguns, according to a new Defense Department directive. The Defense Department directive comes seven years after the 2009 terrorist attack at Fort Hood in Texas, where former Army Maj. Nidal Hasan killed 13 people […]

U.S. increases combat drone strikes on ISIL in Afghanistan

U.S. increases combat drone strikes on ISIL in Afghanistan

by WorldTribune Staff, November 20, 2016 U.S. drone strikes have increased in Afghan provinces where Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL) has seized territory, the U.S. military commander in Afghanistan said. Army Gen. John Nicholson said there are some 1,300 ISIL jihadists in Afghanistan who “receive money, guidance, and communications support” from ISIL leaders […]