Military

Jade Helm military drills begin without media access, Twitter blows up
The controversial military drill spanning seven states known as Jade Helm 15 has officially begun, but with no media allowed to cover the exercises, people have taken to Twitter to speculate on and poke fun at the hysteria surrounding the war games. Expected to feature more than 1,200 troops from all US military branches, including some 200 Special Operations forces, the drills are scheduled to [...]
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Psychologists adjusted ethics code to Pentagon & CIA post 9/11 torture – report
The US’s leading professional psychologists’ organization helped justify CIA and Pentagon torture programs, a new 542-page report shows. The psychologists involved later profited from torture-related contracts. The report, concluded this month, examined the involvement of the American Psychological Association (APA) in the validation of the so-called program of enhanced interrogation, under [...]
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International violation? US Army considering hollow point bullets for pistols
In a dramatic shift for the US military, the army is considering the use of bullets that can expand and break up when striking a target to make new pistols more lethal, raising concern that doing so would violate international law. According to the Army Times, the Pentagon recently reviewed the use of “special purpose ammunition” and determined the army could look into enabling its next-gen [...]
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‘US beating drums of war against Russia to increase European defense spending’
European leaders know that the US wants to get them to spend money on military equipment which will be purchased from the US, says Brian Becker of the anti-war Answer Coalition. But Europe knows the dangers from the experience of two world wars, he added. Several senior American officials say Russia is the greatest threat to their country's national security. [...]
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Kiev in violation of heavy weaponry clause in E. Ukraine – OSCE
The OSCE has warned that a growing presence of heavy weaponry on the government controlled side of Donbass territory has put Ukrainian security forces in violation of the terms of the demarcation line, according to OSCE Deputy Chief Monitor Alexander Hug. “We can highlight that the security situation has gotten worse in the Donbass over the past few weeks,” Hug said at a briefing in Mariupo [...]
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Member of Kiev’s top brass “defects” to anti-govt forces, predicts more like him
A man claiming to be a Ukrainian major general and former assistant to the country's defense minister has announced he is now working with the forces of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic. "I am Ukrainian Armed Forces Major General Aleksandr Kolomiyets. [...]
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Pentagon’s new military strategy calls for preserving US dominion of the world
The US military needs to remain engaged around the world against both rival states and non-state actors, while nurturing regional allies and promoting American values, declares the Pentagon’s new National Military Strategy 2015. That the United States is “the world’s strongest nation, enjoying unique advantages in technology, energy, alliances and partnerships, and demographics,” is the [...]
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Bahrain to get more US arms as authorities keep cracking down on protestors
Washington has resumed military aid to the Bahraini government. The move was criticized by human rights groups, which say it takes place "in the absence of any real or meaningful political reforms" and amid numerous human rights abuses. “The administration has decided to lift the holds on security assistance to the Bahrain Defense Force and National Guard that were implemented following Bahra [...]
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ISIS barbarians at the gates, while NATO busy hyping “Russia threat”
As ISIS and ISIS-style terror erupts across the globe, Western governments are busy making plans to establish a rapid reaction force in Eastern Europe to ‘contain Russia’, thus qualifying them for an annual ‘you couldn’t make it up’ award. It calls to mind one of Britain’s worst military defeats, suffered at the hands of the Japanese, when 100,000 troops and sailors were marched int [...]
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Russian rocket engines key to US “assured access to space” – space command chief
The US can't quit buying Russian RD-180 rocket engines for heavy lifting until it produces an engine with similar capabilities, chief of the US Space Command said. This follows frantic calls by Republican Senator John McCain to terminate the contract. “Why in the world would anyone think we would want to continue dependency on Russian rocket engines, which traces up to the corrupt mafia that [...]
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Despite NATO propaganda, Russia not planning to invade Baltic States
The latest US narrative on Russia is straight from the plot of a Hollywood fantasy: US superheroes versus a Russian villain. Sadly for the Baltic States, they are being used by Uncle Sam as bait. Here's a starter for ten question: Russia’s reunification with Crimea last year was prompted by which of the following… [...]
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The Pentagon goes nuclear on Russia
We all remember how, in early June, President Putin announced that Russia would deploy more than 40 new ICBMs "able to overcome even the most technically advanced anti-missile defense systems." Oh dear; the Pentagon and their European minions have been freaking out on overdrive ever since. [...]
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US to deploy at least 250 military vehicles across 6 European nations – US Defense Sec
Washington plans to station hardware, including tanks and armored vehicles, in a number of European countries, Defense Secretary Ash Carter announced on Tuesday. Nukes withdrawn in the 1980s will not return to Europe. Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, and Romania will be hosting the new hardware, and it will be possible to move it around for exercises, Carter said as he stood with h [...]
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NATO vs Russia: “US tries to create enemy out of nothing”
The Ukrainian crisis is about Ukraine, but not about Central or Western Europe, says Jonathan Steele, Guardian international affairs columnist. But NATO needs to justify its existence and sell arms, that's why a demonetization of Russia is taking place. On Monday, US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter claimed America will provide more aircraft, weapons and soldiers to NATO’s rapid reaction force [...]
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Operation Barbarossa: What would Europe look like if the Soviets hadn’t defeated Hitler?
Never has a leader so catastrophically misjudged the character of an enemy as Hitler misjudged the Soviet Union and its people prior to launching his invasion of the country on June 22, 1941. Hitler and other top Nazis were convinced that the Soviet Union would crumble under the weight of the largest military operation ever mounted, codenamed Operation Barbarossa. [...]
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Public view armed forces as suicidal, traumatized “victims” – study
Britons view military personnel as "victims" who more likely to commit suicide, suffer from post-traumatic stress and serve prison time, according to a study, which claims these perceptions are inaccurate. The survey, carried out by King’s College London and polling company Ipsos MORI, has led to fears that recruiting – already at a serious low – could be damaged. [...]
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“West’s foreign policy leaders – intellectual dwarfs compared to Cold War”
Western leaders seem not to have a clue about conflict resolution and confidence building and their mentality will sooner or later lead to war, says Jan Oberg director of the Transnational Foundation for Peace and Future Research. Poland is on its way to hosting NATO heavy weapons. Warsaw has confirmed it expects ongoing talks to come to an agreement. [...]
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“Most aggressive since Cold War”: Russia may beef up border if US arms stationed in E. Europe
Russia has no binding obligations limiting its armed forces in its western region, which means if the US deploys heavy weapons in Eastern Europe and the Baltic States, there will be an equivalent response from Moscow, Russia's top general said. “If America’s heavy arms, be it tanks, artillery systems or other heavy military hardware are deployed to Eastern Europe and the Baltic States, it w [...]
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“And the winner of the Jihad World Cup is”
The US-assembled coalition of the willing that – supposedly – is fighting ISIS/ISIL/Daesh across “Syraq” met in Paris this week. In theory, they’d examine what to do next after the loss of Ramadi in Iraq and Palmyra in Syria. The script, though, came straight from the Surrealist Manifesto. [...]
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