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Foreign Affairs May 2, 2016

House OKs bill to force Iran to pay terror victims' claims

The House has backed a bill to block implementation of the Iran nuclear deal until Tehran pays some $43 billion in damages that U.S. courts have awarded to victims of Iranian-sponsored terror.

Threats May 2, 2016

US and Russian military holding Syria talks

The Pentagon said it would begin talks Thursday with Russian military officials on ways to avoid U.S. and Russian forces firing on each other in Syria as tensions escalate over Russian airstrikes that apparently are serving to strengthen Syrian President Bashar Assad.

Threats May 2, 2016

Carter: Russian strikes will ‘inflame’ Syrian war, likely targeted non-ISIS areas

Defense Secretary Ash Carter, visibly frustrated at Russia's air campaign over Syria, warned Wednesday that while he's taking "the Russians at their word" about their intentions in the country, he thinks the strikes will "backfire" and only serve to "inflame" the civil war.

Pentagon May 2, 2016

DoD accused of ducking Afghan child abuse controversy with 'lawyer-speak'

The Defense Department has responded to mounting allegations that U.S. soldiers were told to ignore Afghan troops abusing children by insisting there was "no such policy" at the time. But lawmakers and those who served in Afghanistan suggest that the Pentagon is leaning on semantics.

Armed Forces May 2, 2016

Russian jets on ground in Syria, as Carter speaks to Moscow counterpart

Russian fighter jets are on the ground in Syria, Pentagon officials told Ó£ÌÒÊÓƵ, in the latest escalation of Moscow’s military build-up there -- as the Obama administration seeks answers from the Putin government on their intentions.  

Threats May 2, 2016

Russian attack helicopters spotted in Syria

Four Russian attack helicopters have been spotted on the tarmac of a Syrian airport that the Pentagon says is being converted into a Russian forward operating base.

Threats May 2, 2016

Russian troops reportedly join Syria fight, ‘prop up’ Assad

The Obama administration's hopes for Bashar Assad to step aside and make way for a democratic government in Damascus are being dashed once again -- this time, by evidence that the dictator's strongest ally is joining the fight to keep him in power.

Threats May 2, 2016

Russian military build-up in Syria ‘unprecedented,’ officials say

U.S. officials are expressing growing concern about Russia's military build-up in Assad-controlled Syria, calling it "unprecedented" -- with one telling Ó£ÌÒÊÓƵ it compares in scope to Vladimir Putin's incursion into Crimea.

Threats May 2, 2016

Military official: Early tests show traces of mustard gas agent in ISIS attack

Concerns flared Friday that the Islamic State has its hands on chemical weapons, after a senior military official confirmed preliminary tests show traces of sulfur mustard on mortars fired by ISIS militants.

Pentagon May 2, 2016

Pentagon: China's man-made islands growing, now thousands of acres

China has built up and reclaimed even more land in the South China Sea than previously thought -- with an archipelago of man-made islands now spanning 2,900 acres, according to a new Pentagon report released Friday.

Armed Forces May 2, 2016

US moving F-16s to Turkey

The U.S. military is planning to move fighter jets to Turkey as part of the mission to target the Islamic State in Syria, Ó£ÌÒÊÓƵ has learned.