The Russian Ministry of Defense has released aerial images which they say show US Army special forces equipment north of the town of Deir er-Zor, where ISIS militants are deployed. US Army special units provide free passage for the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) through the battle formations of Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) terrorists, the ministry said in a statement.   [...]

The US State Department stated on Friday that the country’s military defense networks will shoot down a North Korean ballistic missile if it flies over the island territory of Guam, but experts in the field have claimed that the Pentagon is flat-out wrong. [...]

In planning an upcoming conference and nonviolent action aimed at challenging the institution of war, with the conference to be held at American University, I can’t help but be drawn to the speech a U.S. president gave at American University a little more than 50 years ago. Whether or not you agree with me that this is the best speech ever given by a U.S. president [...]

Russian MP and former chief prosecutor of Crimea, Natalya Poklonskaya, has said she is ready to testify in court on the events of 2013-2014 in Ukraine, which she called “the assassination” of the country by its current leaders. Poklonskaya was commenting in Moscow on the ruling of a Kiev court that allowed Ukrainian prosecutors to continue her trial in absentia. [...]

Surprising as it may be to the US, their staunch NATO ally Turkey is listing the American-made warplanes and missiles it says are vulnerable to the Russian-made S-400 SAMs it has just bought. An infographic published on Wednesday by the state-run Turkish news agency Anadolu details the components of an S-400 battalion and the system’s capabilities. Half of the picture shows aircraft the system � [...]

The Senate passed a $700 billion defense policy bill on Monday, exceeding what even Trump requested. Come you masters of warYou that build all the gunsYou that build the death planesYou that build the big bombsYou that hide behind wallsYou that hide behind desks– Bob Dylan, Masters of War, 1963 The US Senate passed a $700 billion defense policy bill on Monday that puts the US on track to have [...]

As Russia and its BRICS partners convene this week, the organization faces a momentous test of its global influence: can it hold the line and insist on a diplomatic solution to the alarming US standoff with North Korea? [...]

While Syria and North Korea remain the focus of worldwide attention, the US continues to exert considerable pressure on "undesired regimes" in Latin America, Russian scholar Igor Pshenichnikov writes, wondering who will become Washington's next "target." [...]

The USS Indianapolis, a lost World War II cruiser has been located in the Philippines sea by a team of civilian researchers led by billionaire and Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen. Allen confirmed the discovery Saturday, revealing that the infamous wreckage was found 5,500 meters below the surface resting on the floor of the North Pacific Ocean. [...]

US President Donald Trump hinted that decisions have been made, “including on Afghanistan,” at a meeting with top US military commanders at Camp David, pushing back on speculation that he is putting off making a decisive strategy call. “Important day spent at Camp David with our very talented Generals and military leaders. Many decisions made, including on Afghanistan,” Trump tweeted o [...]

US President Donald Trump is finding his campaign promises increasingly difficult to fulfill, but his leaning towards military interventionism could be the most fundamental breach of trust for his Rust Belt supporters. Across the globe, we see potential new Trump foreign military actions or the expansion of old ones. [...]

The ACLU has declared a “historic victory” following the settlement of its lawsuit against two CIA-contracted psychologists involved in torturing suspects and developing the agency’s ‘enhanced interrogation program.' The terms are confidential. CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou told RT that while the settlement is historic, he is disappointed on three fronts. [...]

Members of the Russian upper house have stated that the 16-year US military campaign in Afghanistan had ended in failure and reiterated a call for Washington to withdraw troops from that country. “George Bush Junior started the war, Barack Obama promised to end it but never did it. [...]

US Defense Secretary James Mattis put the military option against North Korea back on the table following President Trump’s Chief Strategist Steve Bannon saying that a military action against Pyongyang is out of the question. “There are strong military consequences if [North Korea] initiates hostilities,” Mattis said at a joint news conference with US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and [...]

The price tag attached to Britain’s next generation F-35 fighter jets is expected to rise dramatically. The controversial aircraft is in urgent need of an upgrade at a time when the British pound continues to fall in value. The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) will pay around £80 million ($103 million) more for its F-35s, which have faced widespread criticism due to a number of technical mishaps [...]

The perennial American lack of foresight and the chaos its Middle Eastern wars have wreaked means Osama bin Laden and forces for extremism have essentially won the war on terror, a former CIA analyst tells Radio Sputnik’s Loud and Clear program. Loud and Clear host Brian Becker was joined by John Kiriakou, a former CIA analyst who gained celebrity for confirming to the press that the Cent [...]

On Wednesday, the Syrian Foreign Ministry accused the US and the UK of supplying toxic agents to terrorists based on evidence found in Aleppo and a Damascus suburb. Sputnik Radio spoke with political scientist Dr. Kevin Barrett about the significance of this discovery and whether it could become a turning point in the Syrian conflict. [...]

The UK is investing in F-35 fighter jets, part of a massive £160 billion program to re-equip the British military. It comes in the midst of painful austerity when there is no money for anything else, says political analyst Dan Glazebrook. The UK's plan to purchase F-35 fighter jets has MPs debating the increasing costs.   [...]

Previously obedient European allies of Washington have openly criticized Donald Trump's policy toward North Korea, political commentator Rostislav Ishchenko writes, adding that for the first time since the Second World War "the West" is split over the issue of war and peace. Washington's ramping up of the war of words with Pyongyang hasn't got the backing of the EU, RIA Novosti contributor [...]

Will World War III kick off this week because of the bellicose actions of a buffoonish leader with a dodgy hair-cut and his sinister nuclear-armed warmongering rogue state?  Or, can Donald Trump and the US be deterred? Of course, in State Department-friendly Western media, it’s North Korea and its leadership who are routinely portrayed as the nut jobs. [...]

A CIA whistleblower and ex-Marine Corps captain are among the outspoken leaders of a campaign to stop the US bombing of Syria before a “nuclear apocalypse” erupts out of the conflict with Russia. The National Press Club in Washington, DC on Tuesday hosted a conference of five speakers opposed, morally and legally, to US intervention in Syria, especially the use of US warplanes and drones. & [...]

The United States is ready to use the "full range" of its capabilities if provoked by North Korea, the country's top military officer said, noting that Washington is still hoping for a "peaceful resolution" to the crisis. Marine Corps Gen. Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, made clear on Monday that Washington is ready "to use the full range of military capabilities to defend [...]