January 16, 2020 Graham, Coons express 'serious concerns' to Esper about potential US troop drawdown in Africa Senators Lindsey Graham, R.-S.C., and Chris Coons, D.-Del., wrote a letter Wednesday to Defense Secretary Mark Esper warning against possible plans to reduce U.S. troop presence in the African front.Â
January 14, 2020 France's Macron: If Trump pulls US military out of Africa, it would be 'bad news' French President Emmanuel Macron urged the Trump administration not to withdraw troops from Africa after military officials announced they were contemplating a shift in focus to threats from Russia and China.Â
January 11, 2020 Sultan Qaboos of Oman, who ruled since 1970, dies at 79 The Sultan of Oman, Qaboos bin Said, who seized power during a 1970s palace coup, passed away at the age of 79 on Saturday, according to the country's state-run news agency. His cause of death was not announced.
January 8, 2020 Iran's missiles intended to 'kill personnel' in Iraq, Pentagon says Pentagon officials believe that the more than a dozen missiles launched at two bases in Iraq housing U.S. forces Tuesday night were designed to kill Americans, but the Iranian efforts were thwarted by the military's Early Warning Systems, Defense Secretary Mark Esper and Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters on Wednesday.
December 7, 2019 Esper: Reports claiming additional US troops being sent to Middle East are 'false' Secretary of Defense Mark Esper said Saturday that reports saying as many as 14,000 additional troops would be heading to the Middle East to counter Iran are "false."
December 6, 2019 GOP rep wants answers from DoD after Army bans company from printing Bible verses on dog tags A Louisiana congressman sent a letter to Secretary of Defense Mark Esper this week seeking answers about the Army banning "Shields of Strength" from putting Bible verses on military dog tags.
November 27, 2019 Fired Navy secretary criticizes Trump for 'shocking' intervention in SEAL case Former Navy Secretary Richard Spencer spoke out Wednesday for the first time since his weekend ousting by Defense Secretary Mark Esper, calling President Trump's intervention ahead of Navy SEAL Eddie Gallagher's review board "shocking and unprecedented" n a Washington Post op-ed.
November 17, 2019 US, South Korea postpone joint military exercise criticized by North Korea The United States and South Korea on Sunday said they were postponing a joint military air exercise that North Korea has criticized as provocative.
November 6, 2019 China exporting lethal drones to Middle East, Esper says Defense Secretary Mark Esper this week warned of the dangers of China as it vies for global dominance in artificial intelligence (AI) -- including its move to export autonomous military drones to the Middle East that can allegedly conduct "lethal targeted strikes."
October 24, 2019 Defense Secretary Esper has sharp words for Turkey over Syria invasion U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper is lashing out at Turkey for its military assault on Syrian Kurdish fighters across the border into Syria.