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☆ US announces $6 billion long-term military aid package for Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-26 | by ( Haley Britzky | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced on Friday a $6 billion long-term military aid package for Ukraine — the largest to date — which will allow the US to purchase new equipment produced by the American defense industry for the Ukrainian military. The announcement comes just days after the US announced a $1 billion package that would quickly provide equipment to Ukraine from US stocks, following President Joe Biden’s signing of a much delayed $95 billion supplemental aid package on Wednesday. Biden said moments after signing the legislation that shipments of aid to Ukraine would begin within hours. Equipment under the $6 billion package announced Friday, however, will take much longer to arrive. The USAI is intended to provide Ukraine with a long-term supply of weapons and equipment.

Persons: Lloyd Austin, ” Austin, Joe Biden’s, Biden, Austin, CQ, “ They’ve, ” Brown, Volodymyr Zelensky, ” Organizations: CNN, US, Ukraine —, Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, Joint Chiefs, Staff, Contact Locations: Ukraine, Germany, Ukrainian

☆ Who’s coming to the White House’s Japan state dinner: the Clintons, De Niro, Bezos
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-10 | by ( Betsy Klein | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

The guest list also includes Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines, US Trade Representative Katherine Tai, US Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield and White House chief of staff Jeff Zients. NBC News White House correspondent Kelly O’Donnell, who is the president of the White House Correspondents Association, will attend, as well as Washington Post columnist Josh Rogin. First lady Jill Biden chose Simon to perform at the state dinner because Kishida also “shares an appreciation” for his work, a White House official said. The state dinner for South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol featured a Broadway star’s performance of Don McLean’s “American Pie” – a personal favorite of Yoon. It led to one of the iconic state dinner moments of the Biden presidency – Yoon picking up a microphone to serenade guests with a few lines from the song.

Persons: Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, Robert De Niro, Jeff Bezos, Fumio Kishida, Joe Biden, Kristi Yamaguchi, Tim Cook, Laurence Fink, Jamie Dimon, Brad Smith, Shawn Fain, Cecile Richards, Antony Blinken, Janet Yellen, Alejandro Mayorkas, Jennifer Granholm, Gina Raimondo, National Intelligence Avril Haines, Katherine Tai, United Nations Linda Thomas, Jeff Zients, CQ, Jerome Powell, Bill Nelson, Biden, Donald Trump, De Niro, Nelson, ” Nelson, Sen, Bill Hagerty, Trump, Rahm Emanuel, Kelly O’Donnell, Josh Rogin, Kamala Harris, Doug Emhoff, Kathy Hochul, Josh Shapiro, Tony Evers, Roy Cooper of, Mazie, Jeff Merkley, Ashley Biden, Howard Krein, Finnegan Biden, Naomi Biden Neal, Peter Neal, Paul Simon, Jill Biden, Simon, Kishida, ”, It’s, Yoon Suk, Don McLean’s, Yoon, – Yoon, CNN’s Arlette Saenz Organizations: CNN, Amazon, White, Japan’s, Apple, BlackRock, JPMorgan, Microsoft, United Auto Workers, Planned, Biden, Homeland, Senate, Energy, National Intelligence, US, United Nations, White House, Joint Chiefs, Staff, Federal, NASA, Tennessee Republican, NBC, White House Correspondents Association, Washington, Democratic, Gov, Pennsylvania, South Korean Locations: Japanese American, Greenfield, Cleveland , Ohio, Japan, New York, Tony Evers of Wisconsin, Roy Cooper of North Carolina, Hawaii, Oregon

☆ Chairman of the Joint Chiefs says ‘US credibility is at stake’ when asked about Trump’s NATO comments
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-12 | by ( Haley Britzky | Oren Liebermann | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

“I think we have a responsibility to uphold those alliances,” Brown told NBC’s Lester Holt in an interview airing Monday evening. “US credibility is at stake with each of our alliances, and US leadership is still needed, wanted, and watched.”“The US is committed,” Brown added. “We don’t take an oath to a king, or a queen, or a tyrant or a dictator. And we don’t take an oath to a wannabe dictator,” Milley said at the time, in a veiled reference to Trump. The Pentagon said Monday that those attacks have resulted in 186 wounded or killed in action — including 130 traumatic brain injuries.

Persons: CQ Brown, Donald Trump, ”, Brown, “, ” Brown, NBC’s Lester Holt, that’s, ” Brown’s, Trump, Mark Milley, ” Milley, Joe Biden, Milley, Robert Hur’s, Biden, “ He’s, — Brown Organizations: CNN, Joint Chiefs, Staff, NATO, “ NBC, Trump, Republican, South Carolina, NBC, White, America, Pentagon Locations: Russia, “, South, Milley, ” Iran, —, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Gaza, United States, Jordan

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. has bolstered defenses at a base in Jordan that was attacked by Iran-backed militants as it prepares for a wider U.S. response to a drone attack that killed three service members, a U.S. official said Friday. Even as a larger U.S. military response seemed imminent, some Iran-backed factions pledged to continue to attack U.S. forces in the region. A second U.S. official confirmed the military had taken self-defense strikes inside Yemen against Houthi military targets deemed an imminent threat. The U.S. options under consideration include targets in Syria, Yemen and Iraq, where the Iranian-made drone that killed the service members was fired from, the official said. The U.S. has blamed the Jordan attack on the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, a coalition of Iranian-backed militias.

Persons: Harakat, Jordan, Joe Biden, Lloyd Austin, CQ Brown, Defense SecretaryAustin, ” Austin, Austin, ”, Aamer Mahdani, Abdulrahman Zeyad, Ahmed al, Haj Organizations: WASHINGTON, U.S, Joint Chiefs, Dover Air Force Base, Defense, Hezbollah, Washington , D.C Locations: Jordan, Iran, U.S, The U.S, Yemen, Red, Yemeni, Hajjah, Sanaa, Iraq, Syria, Israel, Delaware, Iranian, Iraqi, backchannels, Washington ,, Baghdad

CNN —Three US Army soldiers were killed and at least two dozen service members were injured in a drone attack overnight on a small US outpost in Jordan, US officials told CNN, marking the first time US troops have been killed by enemy fire in the Middle East since the beginning of the Gaza war. The killing of three Americans at Tower 22 in Jordan near the border with Syria is a significant escalation of an already-precarious situation in the Middle East. Officials said the drone was fired by Iran-backed militants and appeared to come from Syria. US officials have repeatedly said they do not want to see the increasingly high tensions across the Middle East broaden into a regional war. Chief Warrant Officer 4 Garrett Illerbrunn from the 82nd Combat Aviation Brigade was set to be sent back to the US for further treatment after he critically injured in a drone attack on Erbil Airbase.

Persons: Joe Biden, ”, Sabrina Singh, “, CQ Brown, —, Garrett Illerbrunn Organizations: CNN, US Army, Officials, Central Command, Pentagon, ABC News, Joint Chiefs, Staff, Christmas, 82nd Combat Aviation Brigade, US Locations: Jordan, Gaza, Syria, Iran, Iraq, Erbil Airbase

☆ Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin released from hospital
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-15 | by ( Oren Liebermann | Haley Britzky | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

CNN —US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was released from Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on Monday, according to the Pentagon, two weeks after he was admitted for complications following prostate cancer surgery. Austin will work remotely “for a period of time” before returning to the Pentagon, the Pentagon statement said. His discharge comes after Austin was hospitalized on January 1 for complications from a prostate cancer procedure in December. But a little over a week later on January 1, Austin began experiencing severe pain and was taken back to the hospital in an ambulance. “The Department of Defense is the most vital element of the United States government,” Reed and Wicker said.

Persons: Lloyd Austin, Austin, ”, John Maddox, Gregory Chesnut, ” Austin, Biden, Joe Biden, “, John Kirby, Pat Ryder, Jake Sullivan, CQ Brown, Erik Kurilla, ” Ryder, Austin’s, Walter Reed, Dr, Oliver Sartor, Otis Brawley, Sen, Jack Reed, Member Sen, Roger Wicker, ” Reed, Wicker Organizations: CNN, US, Walter Reed National Military Medical, Pentagon, Trauma, Center, Prostate Disease, Murtha Cancer, Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, House, Defense, National Security, Air Force, Joint Chiefs, Staff, US Central Command, Central Command, Cancer Disease, Mayo Clinic, Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center, Senate Armed Services, Member, Department of Defense, United, Department Locations: Iraq, Syria, Yemen, United States

☆ Top Biden administration officials head to Asia to show China remains a top priority amid Israel-Hamas war
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-07 | by ( Haley Britzky | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Washington CNN —The Biden administration’s senior-most national security officials are traveling this week to the Indo-Pacific, signaling that the administration’s China strategy remains a priority as it grapples with an increasingly volatile Middle East. Blinken and Austin will both travel to India for a 2+2 Dialogue with their counterparts. Meanwhile, talks between US and Chinese officials stalled until this summer when Blinken met with senior Chinese officials in Beijing. Asked by CNN on Monday if Austin would be meeting with any PRC officials during his travel, Pentagon spokesman Brig. The senior officials’ travel also comes as the White House is preparing for a meeting between President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping later this month in San Francisco.

Persons: Washington CNN —, Biden, Antony Blinken, Defense Lloyd Austin, CQ Brown, Brown, Austin, Blinken, —, Nancy Pelosi’s, Ely Ratner, John Aquilino, “, ”, Li Shangfu, Pat Ryder, Pacific Affairs Daniel Kritenbrink, ” Kritenbrink, Blinken —, Israel —, ’, Joe Biden, Xi Jinping, “ It’s, Karine Jean, Pierre said, Jennifer Hansler Organizations: Washington CNN, Biden administration’s, Defense, Joint Chiefs, Staff, West Bank, Security, Relations, US Air Force, US, East, Military, Pacific Command, ASEAN Defense, China’s, CNN, Pentagon, East Asian, Pacific Affairs, State Department, Hamas, Israel Locations: China, East, India, Indonesia, South Korea, Israel, Jordan, Turkey, Japan, Taiwan, Chinese, South China, Beijing, Pacific, Iranian, Iraq, Syria, Gaza, San Francisco

CNN witnessed the skies of Northern Gaza illuminated by flares and explosions as the bombardment intensified late Thursday night. Israel Defense Forces spokesman Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus claimed the strike was targeting a Hamas commander hiding in an underground bunker and that when the complex imploded it possibly collapsed nearby buildings. The Israel military says there are fuel supplies in Gaza being held by Hamas, which are not being distributed for humanitarian purposes, CNN has reported. Pentagon officials believe Israel has been striking legitimate Hamas targets, including some senior commanders. Blinken plans to raise the issue in his talks with Israeli officials Friday, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Persons: Joe Biden, Biden, Lloyd Austin, Antony Blinken –, –, “ didn’t, ”, Jonathan Conricus, Benjamin Netanyahu, Netanyahu, Israel, Blinken, “ I’m, Base Andrews, “, Sen, Chris Murphy of, Austin, Yoav Gallant, CQ Brown, Herzi, Gabriel Boric, Boric, CNN’s Oren Liebermann Organizations: Washington CNN, Israel, Israel Defense Forces, CNN, White, Israeli, Sunday, West Bank, Hamas, Base, Pentagon, Joint Chiefs, Staff Locations: Israel, Gaza, Gaza City, Northern Gaza, Minnesota, Chris Murphy of Connecticut, Chile

Washington CNN —Concern is growing within the Pentagon over the potential need to stretch its increasingly scarce ammunition stockpiles to support Ukraine and Israel in two separate wars, according to multiple US defense officials. At the moment Ukraine and Israel require different weapons: Ukraine wants massive amounts of artillery ammunition while Israel has requested precision guided aerial munitions and Iron Dome interceptors. Israel has its own capable industrial base and produces many of its own advanced weapons, but a prolonged ground campaign could drain the country’s stockpiles, officials said. The request was immediately approved by former President Barack Obama, and the equipment was pulled from US reserve stockpiles in Israel. Defense officials are also anxious about the dysfunction in Congress and whether lawmakers will approve additional funding for US support to Israel and Ukraine.

Persons: Lloyd Austin, ”, Austin, “ We’re, CQ Brown, Benjamin Netanyahu, Barack Obama, Russia –, Netanyahu, Christine Wormuth, John Kirby, “, ” Kirby, we’ve, that’s, we’re Organizations: Washington CNN, Pentagon, Joint Staff, Transportation Command, Hamas, Defense, US, Joint Chiefs, Staff, Defense Department, Gaza, ”, Israel, National Security Locations: Ukraine, Israel, Gaza, Brussels, Austin, Belgium, Russia

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkish warplanes have carried out airstrikes on sites believed to be used by U.S.-backed Kurdish militant groups in northern Syria after the U.S. military shot down an armed Turkish drone that came within 500 meters (yards) of American troops. Turkey has been carrying out strikes on Kurdish militant targets in Iraq and Syria following a suicide attack outside the Interior Ministry building in the Turkish capital earlier this week. Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said the two assailants had arrived from Syria, where they had been trained. He said PKK and YPG positions in Iraq and Syria had now become legitimate targets. Political Cartoons View All 1202 ImagesIn Washington, the Pentagon said Thursday that the Turkish drone bombed targets near the U.S. troops in Syria, forcing them to go to bunkers for safety.

Persons: Tal, Hakan Fidan, Patrick Ryder, “, Lloyd Austin, CQ Brown Organizations: Turkish, U.S, Kurdistan Workers ’ Party, PKK, Kurdish, Interior Ministry, Washington, Pentagon, Air Force, NATO, Joint Chiefs, Islamic Locations: ANKARA, Turkey, U.S, Syria, Turkish, YPG, Iraq, State, Syrian, Homs, Dabik, United States

☆ Milley says the military doesn’t swear oath to a ‘wannabe dictator’ in apparent swipe at Trump
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-29 | by ( Katie Bo Lillis | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

“We don’t take an oath to a country, we don’t take an oath to a tribe, we don’t take an oath to a religion. We don’t take an oath to a king, or a queen, or a tyrant or a dictator.”“And we don’t take an oath to a wannabe dictator,” he spat. Milley, who was in uniform, later apologized publicly for “creat[ing] a perception of the military involved in domestic politics.” The apology outraged Trump. Their relationship became even more contentious in the wake of the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol. We will take appropriate measures to ensure my safety and the safety of my family.”

Persons: Mark Milley, Donald Trump, Milley, ”, “, ” Milley, Trump, George Floyd, CQ Brown, Sen, Dianne Feinstein, Kevin McCarthy, Trump “, ” –, Bob Woodward, Robert Costa’s, ” Trump, “ I’ve Organizations: CNN, America, ’, Corps, Princeton, Trump, Capitol, Army, US, National Military Command Center, Pentagon, CBS Locations: Lafayette, United States, “, American, Beijing, China

Striding along the training area in his fatigues, Army Gen. Mark Milley bellowed at the Ukrainian troops gathered around him. But as he leaves office at the end of the month, his work to support Ukraine will be just one part of a complicated and fractious legacy. to World War II. He often quotes one World War II veteran at the Normandy American Cemetery who begged him to make sure a war like that never happens again. I’ve buried a lot of soldiers, and my dad and mom fought in World War II,” he said.

Persons: Mark Milley bellowed, “ Slava Ukraini, hollered, “ Heroyam slava, wince, They've, can’t, they’ll, Milley, Donald Trump, Trump, Joe Biden, Sen, Marco Rubio, Biden, Barry McCaffrey, “ Trump, ” Long, strolled, he’s, shouldn’t, ”, Mike Waltz, “, couldn’t, CQ Brown, Adm, Rob Bauer, Bauer, Milley “, “ I’m, ” Bauer, I’ve, we’ve Organizations: Biden, Joint Chiefs of Staff, Capitol, Pentagon, Florida Republican, Trump, White, National Defense University, ” Republican, ” Air Force, Ukraine, ., ” Observers, NATO, Irish Catholic, U.S . Constitution Locations: OSLO, Norway, Germany, Ukraine, Moscow, Ukrainian, Afghanistan, Washington, Iraq, Syria, U.S, China, Florida, Lafayette, Europe, Netherlands, Oslo, “, Boston, Athens, Sparta, Normandy, U.S .

☆ Senate Republicans try to blame Chuck Schumer for Tommy Tuberville’s military blockade
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-08 | by ( Frank Thorp V | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., is seen in the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, September 6, 2023. WASHINGTON — As Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., keeps hundreds of military promotions in limbo for a sixth straight month, his Republican colleagues are trying to deflect criticism by pointing the finger at a familiar GOP foe: Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer. "Sen. Tuberville has created a problem that pervades our entire military, and trying to glue one hole closed does not fix that problem." "Sen. Tuberville has created a problem that pervades our entire military, and trying to glue one hole closed does not fix that problem." As he digs in on his tactic, the number of promotions that have not been approved by the Senate only grows.

Persons: Sen, Tommy Tuberville, WASHINGTON —, Chuck Schumer, Roger Wicker of, John Cornyn, Cornyn, Schumer, CQ Brown, Tuberville, Brown, Mark Milley, McConnell, Thune, It's, Mitch McConnell, John Thune, Elizabeth Warren, Jack Reed, Kate Santaliz Organizations: U.S, Capitol, WASHINGTON, Joint Chiefs, Republican, Armed Services Committee, Air Force, Republicans, Republican Party, Defense Department, Senate, Services Locations: Roger Wicker of Mississippi, Texas, Sen, Ky

☆ How the F-16 pilot nominated to be the US military's top officer earned the callsign 'Swamp Thing'
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-25 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

His escape from a burning jet earned him the callsign "Swamp Thing." Gen. Charles "CQ" Brown, Jr., the current Air Force chief of staff and former F-16 Fighting Falcon pilot, is a distinguished four-star general. He has also logged more than 3,000 flying hours — including 130 in combat, yet his callsign is, perhaps unexpectedly, "Swamp Thing." Well I tell you what — he was back in the cockpit the next week with a new callsign: Swamp Thing." "While General Brown is a proud, butt-kicking American airman, first and always, he's always been an operational leader of the Joint Force," Biden said during Thursday's announcement.

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