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[1/2] A view shows smoke in the Gaza Strip as seen from Israel's border with the Gaza Strip, in southern Israel October 18, 2023. REUTERS/Amir Cohen/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsWASHINGTON/BAGHDAD, Nov 9 (Reuters) - A defective drone in Iraq may have helped keep America from being dragged deeper into a widening Middle East conflict. The possibility of a major strike that draws America into a conflict is "a very realistic concern," he said. "I think they are calibrating the attacks to harass rather than kill en masse U.S. troops," he said of Iraqi and Syrian militias. "We had rocket attacks, mortar attacks, before we got hit with the big bomb," he said.

Persons: Amir Cohen, David Schenker, Joe Biden, Biden, Antony Blinken, Mohammed Shia Al, Sudani, Ali Turki, Arif al, didn't, Saddam Hussein, it's, Blinken, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, isn't, Biden's, Lloyd Austin, hasn't, Tom Cotton, Austin, Lindsey Graham, Austin demurred, Graham, David Madaras, Phil Stewart, Idrees Ali, Ahmed Rasheed, Amina Ismail, Parisa, Michael Georgy, Pravin Organizations: REUTERS, U.S, Israel, Pentagon, Washington Institute for Near, Sunday, Haq, IRAN Iraq's, U.S . Navy, Wednesday, U.S . Defense, Democrat, Senate Armed Services Committee, Republican, United, Thomson Locations: Gaza, Israel, WASHINGTON, BAGHDAD, Iraq, America, Erbil, Iranian, Syria, U.S, Iran, Syrian, Sudani's, Baghdad, IRAQ, IRAN, Tehran, Iraqi, Lebanon, Russian, Washington, TEHRAN, Yemen, Ukraine, China, pullout, Afghanistan, Ohio, Beirut, United States

The Pentagon building is seen in Arlington, Virginia, U.S. October 9, 2020. "We don't necessarily see that Iran has explicitly ordered them to take these kinds of attacks," Pentagon spokesperson Brigadier General Patrick Ryder told reporters. Pressed on the issue, Ryder added: "We haven't seen a direct order, for example, from the Supreme Leader saying: 'Go out and do this.'" Ryder, however, said that the United States ultimately holds Iran responsible for such attacks by militant groups "by virtue of the fact that they are supported by Iran." The United States has also sent warships and fighter aircraft to the region to try to deter Iran and Iran-backed groups from widening the conflict.

Persons: Carlos Barria, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Patrick Ryder, Ryder, Lloyd Austin, Austin, Asad, Phil Stewart, Idrees Ali, Chizu Nomiyama, Howard Goller Organizations: Pentagon, REUTERS, Rights, United, Iran's, Reuters, Biden, Defense, Area Defense, Thomson Locations: Arlington , Virginia, U.S, United States, Iraq, Syria, Iran, Israel, Gaza, Tehran, Islamic Republic, Iranian, Yemen

For its part, North Korea appears to have treated his case as one of illegal immigration. North Korea's KCNA state news agency said King told Pyongyang he entered North Korea illegally because he was "disillusioned about unequal U.S. The Swedish government, which represents U.S. interests in North Korea because Washington has no diplomatic presence in the country, retrieved King in North Korea and brought him to China. The State Department said the U.S. ambassador to Beijing, Nicholas Burns, met King in Dandong, China, a city bordering North Korea. King, who joined the U.S. army in January 2021, faced two allegations of assault in South Korea.

Persons: Travis King, King, Fort Sam Houston, Brittney Griner, Travis T, Sarah Leslie, Handout, Nicholas Burns, Phil Stewart, Idrees Ali, Evan Garcia, Ed Davies, Neil Fullick, Toby Chopra Organizations: U.S . Army, Reuters, Base San, Fort, Brooke Army Medical Center, Russia, Security Area, REUTERS, Army, The State Department, Osan Air Force Base, U.S, South Korean, Thomson Locations: Texas, North Korea, U.S, Base San Antonio, Panmunjom, South Korea, Pyongyang, Swedish, Washington, China, Beijing, Dandong, Shenyang, United States, Korea

WASHINGTON, July 20 (Reuters) - The United States on Thursday voiced mounting concern over Army Private Travis King, who dashed into North Korea two days ago, saying Pyongyang had a history of mistreating captured Americans. But North Korea had yet to offer any response, officials said. American officials remained stumped about why King ran across the border into North Korea. Asked whether King might have sympathized with North Korea, Wormuth said: "I don't think we have any information that points to that clearly." Last week, North Korea launched its newest solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) which it said had the longest flight time ever.

Persons: Travis King, mistreating, Christine Wormuth, Washington, Wormuth, Otto Warmbier, John Kirby, King, Sabrina Singh, Army's, Singh, North Korea Sung Kim, Kim, Kim Yo Jong, Kim Jong Un, Jake Sullivan, Phil Stewart, Idrees Ali, David Brunnstrom, Jonathan Oatis, Daniel Wallis, Grant McCool Organizations: U.S . Army, United, Aspen Security, White House, National Security, Army, Pentagon, Incheon International Airport, U.S, Reuters, South Korean, Thomson Locations: United States, North Korea, Pyongyang, United Nations, Colorado, U.S, South Korea, Japan, Incheon, Dallas , Texas, Korea

WASHINGTON, May 4 (Reuters) - Russia is very unlikely to use its nuclear weapons, the top U.S. intelligence official said on Thursday, despite past saber-rattling from the Kremlin and the heavy casualties that eMoscow is enduring in its invasion of Ukraine. Nuclear tensions between Russia and the United States have increased since the start of the conflict with Ukraine with Putin repeatedly warning that Russia is ready to use its nuclear arsenal if necessary to defend its "territorial integrity." U.S. officials for months have said they have not seen signs Russia was preparing to employ nuclear weapons but also cautioned that they were staying vigilant. Deputy U.S. Secretary of State Wendy Sherman pointed to Putin's March 25 announcement that Russia was preparing to station tactical nuclear weapons in neighboring Belarus "is his effort to use this threat in a managed way." Last week the Kremlin played down the idea that Russia might be preparing to carry out a nuclear weapons test, saying all nuclear states were abiding by a moratorium on the testing of nuclear weapons.

WASHINGTON, March 31 (Reuters) - The United States has decided to extend the deployment of the George H.W. Bush carrier strike group to provide options to policymakers after last week's deadly attacks in Syria by Iran-backed forces, U.S. military officials said on Friday. Buccino also noted a scheduled, expedited deployment of a squadron of A-10 attack aircraft to the region. One U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the Bush strike group was expected to remain in the European Command area of responsibility. President Joe Biden warned Iran last week that the United States would act forcefully to protect Americans.

[1/2] U.S. Joint Chiefs Chair Army General Mark Milley speaks with U.S. forces in Syria during an unannounced visit, at a U.S. military base in Northeast Syria, March 4, 2023. The attack against U.S. personnel took place at a coalition base near Hasakah in northeast Syria at approximately 1:38 p.m. (1038 GMT) on Thursday, it said. The other two wounded American troops were treated at the base in northeast Syria, the Pentagon said. Thousands of other Islamic State fighters are in detention facilities guarded by Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, America's key ally in the country. American officials say that Islamic State could still regenerate into a major threat.

WASHINGTON, March 16 (Reuters) - In a rare move, the Pentagon on Thursday released a de-classified video showing Russia's intercept of a U.S. military surveillance drone downed over the Black Sea two days ago. It was the first direct U.S.-Russian incident since the Ukraine war began, worsening already tense relations between Washington and Moscow. It also shows the loss of the video feed after another close Russian maneuver, which the Pentagon says resulted from the Russian jet's collision with the drone. It ends with images of the drone's damaged propeller, which the Pentagon says resulted from the collision, making the aircraft inoperable. [1/4] A Russian Su-27 aircraft dumps fuel while flying upon a U.S. Air Force intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance unmanned MQ-9 aircraft over the Black Sea, March 14, 2023 in this still image taken from a handout video.

[1/8] A U.S. Air Force MQ-9 Reaper drone sits in a hanger at Amari Air Base, Estonia, July 1, 2020. On the diplomatic and economic fronts, talks continued to extend a deal to allow grain shipments from Ukraine's Black Sea ports that is due to expire this week, the United Nations and Turkey said. DRONE CRASHTwo Russian Su-27 jets carried out what the U.S. military described as a reckless intercept of the American spy drone while flying in international air space. The accounts of the incident in the Black Sea, which is bordered by Russia and Ukraine among other countries, could not be independently verified. RUSSIAN AMBASSADOR SUMMONEDRussia's Ambassador to Washington Anatoly Antonov was summoned by the U.S. State Department to discuss what happened over the Black Sea, said spokesperson Ned Price.

[1/2] A U.S. Air Force MQ-9 Reaper drone sits in a hanger at Amari Air Base, Estonia, July 1, 2020. Two Russian Su-27 jets carried out what the U.S. military described as a reckless intercept of the American spy drone before one of them collided with it at 7:03 a.m. (0603 GMT). The U.S. military said the incident followed a pattern of dangerous behavior by Russian pilots operating near aircraft flown by the U.S. and its allies, including over the Black Sea. The Black Sea lies between Europe and Asia and is bordered by Russia and Ukraine, among other countries. "The State Department will be speaking directly with their Russian counterparts, and expressing our concerns over this unsafe and unprofessional intercept," said White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby.

The United States joined with G7 allies with plans to impose sanctions that will target 200 individuals and entities and a dozen Russian financial institutions. They planned to form an "Enforcement Coordination Mechanism," at first chaired by the United States, to counter Russian efforts to circumvent the sanctions. The sanctions are aimed at targets in Russia and "third-country actors" across Europe, Asia and the Middle East that are supporting Russia's war effort, the White House said in a fact sheet. "We will sanction additional actors tied to Russia's defense and technology industry, including those responsible for backfilling Russian stocks of sanctioned items or enabling Russian sanctions evasion," it said. Biden was also set to sign proclamations to raise tariffs on Russian products imported to the United States.

WASHINGTON, Feb 13 (Reuters) - The U.S. military said on Monday it had recovered critical electronics from the suspected Chinese spy balloon downed by a U.S. fighter jet off South Carolina's coast on Feb. 4, including key sensors presumably used for intelligence gathering. The Chinese balloon, which Beijing denies was a government spy vessel, spent a week flying over the United States and Canada before President Joe Biden ordered it shot down. The U.S. military has said that targeting the latest objects has been more difficult than shooting down the Chinese spy balloon, given the smaller size and the objects' lack of a traditional radar signature. Austin said the U.S. military has not yet recovered any debris from the three most recent objects shot down, one of which fell off the coast of Alaska in ice and snow. But Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Monday that the four aerial objects shot down in recent days were somehow connected, without elaborating.

WASHINGTON, Feb 12 (Reuters) - The U.S. Air Force general overseeing North American airspace said on Sunday after a series of shoot-downs of unidentified objects that he would not rule out aliens or any other explanation yet, deferring to U.S. intelligence experts. It was the third unidentified flying object to be knocked out of the sky by U.S. warplanes since Friday, following the Feb. 4 downing of a suspected Chinese weather balloon that put North American air defenses on high alert. "We're calling them objects, not balloons, for a reason, said VanHerck, who is head of the joint U.S.-Canadian North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) and the U.S. Air Force Northern Command. However, the government's effort to investigate anomalous, unidentified objects — whether they are in space, the skies or even underwater — has led to hundreds of reports that are being investigated, senior military leaders have said. But so far, the Pentagon has not found evidence to indicate Earthly visits from intelligent alien life, those officials have said.

The suspected Chinese spy balloon that flew over the United States earlier this month led politicians to criticize the .S. The Pentagon said there had been four previous Chinese spy balloon flights over the United States in recent years. On Friday, a U.S. F-22 fighter jet shot down an unidentified object about the size of a small car near Deadhorse, Alaska. VanHerck said the military considered shooting guns at the objects, but this was deemed too difficult given the small targets. Whether this is the start of regular shootdowns of unidentified objects over American skies is still unclear.

The Pentagon said the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) detected the object over Alaska late Friday evening. U.S. fighter jets from Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, monitored the object as it crossed over into Canadian airspace, where Canadian CF-18 and CP-140 aircraft joined the formation. "A U.S. F-22 shot down the object in Canadian territory using an AIM 9X missile following close coordination between U.S. and Canadian authorities," Pentagon spokesman Brig. U.S. President Joe Biden authorized the U.S. military to work with Canada to take down the high-altitude craft after a call between Biden and Trudeau, the Pentagon said. Some U.S. lawmakers criticized Biden for not shooting down the Chinese balloon sooner.

REUTERS/Evelyn HocksteinWASHINGTON, Feb 9 (Reuters) - Democratic and Republican U.S. lawmakers sharply criticized the U.S. military and the Biden administration on Thursday for failing to shoot down a Chinese spy balloon when it first entered U.S. airspace, instead of waiting a week to do so. Pentagon officials said they were able to monitor the balloon's path and protect and conceal areas sensitive to U.S. national security. Republican Senator Susan Collins said the decision to let the balloon trek across the United States sent the wrong message to China and other U.S. adversaries. "In my judgment, U.S. deterrence was weakened when the spy balloon was permitted to transverse Alaska and several other states, included hovering over sensitive military bases and assets," Collins added. Separately, the House of Representatives on Thursday unanimously backed a resolution condemning the incursion of the balloon as "a brazen violation of United States sovereignty."

WASHINGTON, Feb 8 (Reuters) - Four previous Chinese spy balloon flights over the United States passed over sites that would be of interest to Beijing, the Pentagon said on Wednesday, without elaborating on the paths the balloons took or whether the U.S. sites were military ones. Pentagon spokesperson Brigadier General Patrick Ryder said the United States was aware of the four past flights before it detected the latest Chinese balloon. "They were over sites that would be of interest to the Chinese," Ryder told reporters. [1/2] The suspected Chinese spy balloon drifts to the ocean after being shot down off the coast in Surfside Beach, South Carolina, U.S. February 4, 2023. The Pentagon said over the weekend that Chinese spy balloons had briefly flown over the United States at least three times during President Donald Trump's administration and one previously under President Joe Biden.

WASHINGTON, Feb 7 (Reuters) - China declined a request for a phone call between U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Chinese Defense Minister Wei Fenghe after Washington brought down a Chinese spy balloon, a Pentagon spokesperson said on Tuesday. The Pentagon submitted the request for a secure call on Saturday after the balloon came down, Brigadier General Pat Ryder said in a statement. "Unfortunately, the PRC (China) has declined our request. China has said it was a weather balloon that had blown off course into U.S. airspace and accused the United States of overreacting. Relations between China and the United States have been tense, with friction between the world's two largest economies over everything from Taiwan and China's human rights record to its military activity in the South China Sea.

WASHINGTON, Feb 6 (Reuters) - A senior U.S. general responsible for bringing down a Chinese spy balloon said on Monday the military had not detected previous spy balloons before the one that appeared on Jan. 28 over the United States and called it an "awareness gap." The Pentagon said over the weekend that Chinese spy balloons had briefly flown over the United States at least three times during President Donald Trump's administration and one previously under President Joe Biden. He did not provide details on previous balloons, including where over the United States they flew. Senior U.S. officials have offered to brief individuals from the previous administration on the details of previous balloons overflights when Trump was president. A U.S. Air Force fighter jet shot down the suspected Chinese spy balloon off the South Carolina coast on Saturday, a week after it first entered U.S. airspace and triggered a dramatic -- and public -- spying saga that worsened Sino-U.S. relations.

"The public certainly has the ability to look up in the sky and see where the balloon is," Ryder said. Senator Roger Marshall from Kansas said the spy balloon was over the northeastern part of his state and his staff was is in contact with law enforcement officials. President Biden must protect the sovereignty of the U.S.," Marshall posted on Twitter. Chinese spy satellites carry similar sensors to what U.S. officials believe is on the spy balloon, raising questions about why Beijing would risk such a brazen act on the eve of a major diplomatic event. Still, the Chinese spy balloon has taken a flight path that would carry it over a number of sensitive sites, officials say.

The U.S. Pentagon presented its best arguments, publicly and privately, against sending Abrams - its most advanced battle tanks - to Ukraine. The reversal ended a rare public division in the alliance that Washington officials feared Moscow could exploit. TANK DELIVERIES LIKELY MONTHS AWAYIn Washington, senior U.S. officials had privately expressed consternation at Germany's attempts to tie the Abrams tanks to delivery of the Leopards. He also discussed the issue in multiple phone conversations with Biden this month, senior Biden administration officials said. But at one point during Austin's trip, Washington asked Berlin to stop publicly tying Germany's approval of the Leopard tanks to the Biden administration sending Abrams tanks.

[1/2] The Pentagon is seen from the air in Washington, U.S., March 3, 2022, more than a week after Russia invaded Ukraine. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts/File PhotoWASHINGTON, Dec 16 (Reuters) - The Pentagon's new push to investigate reports of UFOs has so far not yielded any evidence to suggest that aliens have visited Earth or crash-landed here, senior military leaders said on Friday. However, the Pentagon's effort to investigate anomalous, unidentified objects -- whether they are in space, the skies or even underwater -- led to hundreds of new reports that are now being investigated, they say. But so far they have seen nothing that indicates intelligent alien life. We will go through it all," Kirkpatrick said, speaking at the first news conference since AARO was established in July.

Reuters is the first to report on the use of the deconfliction line, beyond regular testing. SEVERAL WAYS TO COMMUNICATEThe deconfliction line is just one of several ways the U.S. and Russia militaries still have to communicate. Other military channels include rare high-level talks between U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu. During the Cold War, the United States and the Soviet Union maintained such hot lines at different levels. Vershbow drew a comparison to the far more active deconfliction line for Syria, where U.S. and Russian military forces sometimes operate in the same airspace or terrain.

WASHINGTON, Nov 23 (Reuters) - Turkish air strikes in northern Syria threatened the safety of U.S. military personnel and the escalating situation jeopardized years of progress against Islamic State militants, the Pentagon said on Wednesday. The public comments represent the strongest condemnation by the United States of NATO-ally Turkey's air operations in recent days against a Kurdish militia in northern Syria to date. "Recent air strikes in Syria directly threatened the safety of U.S. personnel who are working in Syria with local partners to defeat ISIS and maintain custody of more than ten thousand ISIS detainees," the Pentagon's spokesman, Air Force Brigadier General Pat Ryder, said in a statement. President Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday that Turkey's air operations were only the beginning and it would launch a land operation when convenient after an escalation in retaliatory strikes. This is not the first time Turkey's operations in northern Syria have threatened U.S. personnel.

"They're really trying to overwhelm and exhaust Ukrainian air defense systems," Kahl told reporters during a trip to the Middle East. Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, Western military experts widely expected the Russian military to try to immediately destroy Ukraine's air force and air defenses. "I think one of the things that probably surprised the Russians the most is how resilient Ukraine's air defenses have been since the beginning of this conflict," Kahl said. "In large part, that's because of the ingenuity and cleverness of the Ukrainians themselves in keeping their air defense systems viable. Last week, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin focused on air defense supplies for Ukraine at a virtual meeting he hosted from the Pentagon.

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