Responsible Statecraft
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On Tuesday, Israel bombed a Syrian airbase that Turkish officials have been helping to renovate, marking the latest escalation in the Israeli government’s effort to beat back Turkey’s influence in Syria. The strikes, which reportedly damaged an airstrip and a storage facility at the Abu al-Duhur Airbase, did not lead to any casualties. Still, they drew a strong rebuke from U.S. Ambassador to…
The U.S. has lost 45 MQ-9 Reaper drones, worth at least $1.3 billion, since the start of its war on Iran, the Washington Post reported Friday . The drones can cost between $30 and $50 million each, depending on their sensor and weapons payload. The U.S. military has lost roughly 25% of its pre-war fleet in the past five months. A defense official told the Washington Post that some of the drones…
On Sunday, President Donald Trump abruptly announced that he had directed the Pentagon to “substantially reduce” major U.S.-South Korea military drills that began this week. In a post on Truth Social, Trump provided several reasons why: the exercises are too “costly,” send a “totally inappropriate and hostile signal” to Pyongyang, and could strain his “very good relationship” with North Korean…
The Pentagon acknowledged for the first time that U.S. military operations killed Yemeni civilians last year, in an annual report on civilian casualties it sent to members of Congress Tuesday. CENTCOM determined that three operations in Yemen last year “more likely than not” resulted in civilian harm, the report said . It assessed that 153 civilians and wounded 243 others were killed as part of…
A lot can change in a week. Barely five days after President Donald Trump hailed the “historic agreement” on Hamas’s disarmament by the Board of Peace (BOP) — the body Trump created to oversee his Gaza Peace Plan — the very same Board of Peace has now effectively reneged on its own agreement. The deal emerged from eight months of intensive negotiations between BOP High Representative Nicolay…
Abdul El-Sayed became the latest progressive insurgent to win a Democratic nomination contest on Tuesday, when he bested sitting House Rep. Haley Stevens to become the party’s nominee for Senate in Michigan. At the time of writing, with 95% of the votes counted, El-Sayed had 48.6% to 47.3% for Stevens. Major media networks have called the race for El-Sayed, the former Wayne County health…
Reuters reported this morning that the U.S. has used “virtually all” its long-range precision strike missiles during its war on Iran. Reuters’ sources would not say exactly how many of these surface to surface weapons, known as Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) and Precision Strike Missiles (PrSM), the U.S. military has left. This comes amid news that the U.S. has burned through other key…
This week, the Navy retired a littoral combat ship only halfway through its lifespan. The USS Fort Worth , a surface combatant ship which cost $400 million to build, entered service in 2012. It was originally meant to serve until the late 2030s, but was retired early due to chronic repair issues and related costs, and longstanding concerns regarding its overall viability. A major issue for the USS…
Israel is spending wads of cash on public diplomacy in a desperate attempt to reverse waning American support for the country after it stands accused of genocide in Gaza and pushing the U.S. into the Iran war. Since Oct. 7, Israel has spent over a billion dollars on global “hasbara” — television appearances, social media campaigns, chat-bot training, and other efforts to influence how people think…
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky landed in Washington with a bang Tuesday, just days after Ukraine carried out a missile strike against an Iranian cargo ship in the Caspian Sea. The attack appears to be part of Zelensky’s effort to win over President Donald Trump, who has long had a tense relationship with the Ukrainian leader. The pitch is simple: Ukraine is the kind of partner who will…
