The War & Peace Newsletter from Antiwar.com

Your source for US  foreign policy.

June 17, 2020

The US is sending a new group of F-35s to the Middle East, though exactly why is subject to speculation, as Centcom's report was just a list of things the costly plane could conceivably do.

Things like close air support are capabilities, but not strengths, and the US has other planes better suited to that role. This is fueling speculation that the move is aimed at Iran.

- By  Jason Ditz

The U.S. is a wreck. Streets are filled with protesters. Neighborhoods are looted and burned. Extremists seized city hall and the surrounding neighborhood in the progressive city of Seattle. American politics is hyper-partisan, divided and hostile, even hateful.

The economic decline remains at depression levels, with major cities only now loosening shutdowns. Many small businesses have closed for good and the survival of even some large firms is in doubt. Washington will be borrowing more than $4 trillion this year and $2 trillion next year - and those numbers likely will increase after another bailout bill expected next month.

But what has official Washington most upset is the president's plan to bring 9,500 US troops home from Germany by September.

- By Doug Bandow

Read the full story >

A report from Politico Pro revealed the Senate Armed Services Committee set aside $10 million to prepare for live nuclear testing. The Republican majority committee included the funds in the Senate's version of the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) in a vote that went along party lines. The vote took place last week in a meeting behind closed doors.

The amendment says at least $10 million "shall be made available to carry out projects related to reducing the time required to execute a nuclear test if necessary." According to Politico Pro, Senator Tom Cotton (R-KY) proposed the provision. The measure will likely face backlash from the Democrat-controlled House, as the two chambers will have to negotiate what is included in the final version of the 2021 NDAA.

- By Dave DeCamp

Read the full story >

Nefarious Nostalgia: Trump's West Point Address, by the Numbers

Donald J. Trump pretended to be presidential and the graduating cadets pretended to listen. Such are the life and times of a nation led by a reality television star who's currently at war with his own military. Presidents regularly deliver West Point commencement addresses, or - on off year rotations to the Naval or Air Force academies - send prominent proxies. Sometimes commanders-in-chief even take the opportunity to signal strategic policy shifts. I was in the audience in 2002, after all, when Ellen and Michelle's new friend George W. Bush ("our values are the same") announced the military "preemption doctrine" that resulted in thousands of troop, and perhaps millions of foreign, deaths.

- By Maj. Danny Sjursen, USA (ret.)

Senate Challenges Trump With NDAA; Trump Threatens Veto

While the Democrat-controlled House often pushes policy challenges to Trump in the annual National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), it is unusual for the Republican Senate to do so. Still, the new revision pushed enough to lead the White House to threaten a veto.

- By Jason Ditz

The Danger of Sending in the Troops: The Killing of David McAtee

In the wake of the murder of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police, protests erupted across the United States. Along with the demonstrations came some looting and violence, which gave states the excuse to deploy National Guard troops and enact curfews in major cities. A beloved barbecue chef in Louisville, Kentucky was shot and killed in the doorway of his home and business by National Guard soldiers enforcing a 9 pm curfew on June 1st around 12:15 am.

- By Dave DeCamp

Dozens of Troops Killed on India-China Border in Worst Clash in Decades

Kelley Vlahos on the Arms Dealers and Lobbyists Getting Rich as Yemen Burns

Do you want more news?

Keep your finger on the pulse of US foreign policy. Subscribe to our Daily Digest and each evening, the day's top news stories and editorials are delivered straight to your email. Please support our work by visiting Antiwar.com/donate.

Antiwar.com, 1017 El Camino Real #306, Redwood City, CA 94063 | 323 512 7095 | www.antiwar.com