A first-ever full-scale audit of the Pentagon’s massive military budget promises details that may upset some, but according to government officials will be worth its nearly $1 billion price tag. According to US Department of Defense (DoD) undersecretary David Norquist, the ongoing audit of the Pentagon's books — the first ever for the enormous American military — will be worth the nearly $1 [...]

The choice of former CIA director Mike Pompeo as secretary of state, America's vow to strike against the Syrian government again and UK PM Theresa May's groundless accusations against Russia this week are parts of one very disturbing trend, geopolitical analyst Phil Butler told Sputnik. [...]

Ankara’s decision to purchase Russian S-400 air-defense systems was prompted by the reluctance of its NATO allies, primarily the US, to sell advanced weaponry to Turkey, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu has said. [...]

On February 27, US Army General Joseph Votel blamed Russia for “playing both arsonist and firefighter, fueling tensions among all parties in Syria… then serving as an arbitrator, to resolve disputes, attempting to undermine and weaken each party's bargaining positions." The United States has always introduced itself as a Messiah with the responsibility to protect. But has anyone invited Washin [...]

In 2002, the United States unilaterally and without consultation, withdrew from the landmark Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty. President George W. Bush noted that the treaty is “now behind us,” describing the ABM Treaty as a Cold War relic. Signed in 1972, the ABM Treaty barred both the US and the USSR from deploying national defences against long-range ballistic missiles. The treaty was [...]

Polish President Andrzej Duda has apologized to Jews who were kicked out of the country in the anti-Semitic campaign of 1968. At the same though, Duda asserted that Warsaw bears no responsibility for the country’s past. [...]

The Pentagon may not be surprised by the new Russian hypersonic missiles – but why not use them as a pitch for more money? A military budget about 10 times that of Russia is not enough, according to the DARPA director. Asked by a gathering of journalists on Thursday if the United States is spending enough on its own hypersonic missile program, Steven Walker, the director of the Pentagon’s Defe [...]

On Monday, the UN Human Rights Council voted in favor of adopting the UK-proposed draft resolution, rejecting Russia's amendments. The Russian delegation regards the refusal to take its proposal into account as a public announcement for the support of terrorists. The United Kingdom and the United States de facto confirmed their support of terrorists in Syria by rejecting Russian amendments for the [...]

Commenting on President Putin recently touting advanced Russian weapons and lawmaker Alexander Sherin signaling Moscow's readiness to stand up for its partners, including Ankara, Turkish military expert Beyazit Karatas told Sputnik that these statements indicate that Ankara does not need NATO's deterrence systems. [...]

The head of the Pentagon's F-35 office has confirmed that some 49% of the 280 planes delivered to the military by Lockheed Martin are suffering from a series of hardware and software problems. Vice Admiral Matt Winter, director of the F-35 Joint Program Office, has confirmed that just 51% the US new 5th-gen fighter aircraft are flight ready, with the initial production lots delivered starting in [...]

While Washington ostensibly supports the peaceful resolution of the Ukraine-Donbass conflict, new revelations - if true - do not add to these claims and on the contrary seem to be in sync with the approval of US weapons to Kiev. The Swiss newspaper Le Temps has reported about scores of US and Canadian instructors training Ukrainian servicemen at the former Soviet firing range Yavorov in wester [...]

Major General Qassem Soleimani, senior commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards' Quds Force, has provided the country's Foreign Ministry with documents proving US collaboration with Daesh beyond a shadow of a doubt, Iranian media has reported. Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, special advisor on international affairs to Iran's speaker of parliament, said he had a meeting with Soleimani and received t [...]

Russian President Vladimir Putin has denied accusations he revived an arms race by unveiling Russia’s new nuclear deterrent. That was done by US President George W. Bush killing a 30-year-old missile treaty in 2002, he told NBC.  In an interview with NBC’s “Megyn Kelly Today” on Thursday, the Russian leader brushed off claims in the Western media that by introducing new nuclear-powered mi [...]

Exclusive: Selective outrage over civilian suffering in Syria – hyping Syrian government abuses while downplaying the effects of U.S.-led Coalition air strikes – undermines the legitimacy of human rights advocacy, argues Jonathan Marshall. Few things threaten the legitimacy of human rights advocacy more than partisans invoking it selectively to promote one side in a violent conflict. Tha [...]

Are we headed towards another world war or is a ‘long peace’ in our future? A new study has examined decades of conflicts to evaluate the likelihood of another global war.  It has been over 70 years since last major world war. Despite the multiple conflicts ongoing across the globe, there hasn’t been a large, global conflict in decades. [...]

A new report by Syrian media about the evacuation of Daesh militants adds to the growing evidence that the US is using its aviation to assist terrorists. According to the Syrian state-run news agency SANA, the US has evacuated Daesh leaders from the Al-Shaddadah area in the northeastern al-Hasakah Governorate using its helicopters. [...]

An article mentioning “NATO’s Eastern Front” in a headline got Germany’s Die Welt newspaper in hot water, with furious readers accusing it of warmongering. The term Eastern Front is associated with the 1941 Nazi invasion of USSR. [...]

May you live in interesting times, goes the Chinese proverb. Few can doubt that we are indeed living in such an interesting time. Big changes are afoot in the world, it seems. None more so than the collapsing of the American Empire. The US is going through an historic "correction" in the same way that the Soviet Union did some 30 years ago when the latter was confronted with the reality [...]

President Donald Trump has accused Russia, Iran and the Syrian government of causing a "humanitarian disgrace" in Syria, and said that the US military only remains in that war-torn country "for one reason: to get ISIS and get rid of ISIS and to go home." But let’s look at the facts. [...]

The Defense and Security Council of Montenegro has sent at least 40 members of its Armed Forces of Montenegro to Kosovo and Afghanistan as part of NATO ‘peacekeeping’ missions, participating with the possibility of rotation. The Montenegrin Army first sent a contingent to Afghanistan in March 2010, with the country becoming the 44th non-NATO state to contribute to the International Security As [...]

The Serbian breakaway of Kosovo is in the midst of two days of celebrations to mark the tenth anniversary of its declaration of independence. Speaking to Radio Sputnik, Marko Gasic, a London-based international affairs commentator and Balkans expert, explained why he felt there was really very little to celebrate. [...]

Indonesia finalizes a billion-dollar deal pertaining to the purchase of 11 Sukhoi Su-35 jets from Russia. According to Indonesian Defense Ministry spokesman Totok Sugiharto on Saturday, the contract, worth a total of $1.14 billion, was finalized by representatives from both countries in Jakarta. [...]