Global defense news, analysis and opinion

The 10 US Army Bases Named for Confederate Officers

The protests across the United States sparked by the death of George Floyd have reignited moves to rename US Army bases honoring military figures of the pro-slavery Civil War South. President Donald Trump has said he will “not even consider” renaming the bases, which he described as “part of a Great American Heritage, and a history of Winning, Victory, and Freedom.” Despite Trump’s opposition, a Republican-led Senate committee approved an amendment on Wednesday requiring the Pentagon to rename the bases within three years. These are the 10 bases in question. All of them are located in Southern states that were part of the Confederacy during the 1861-1865 Civil War: Camp Beauregard  Camp Beauregard in Louisiana is a training center for the Louisiana National Guard. It is named after General Pierre Gustave Toutant Beauregard (1818-1893), who was known as “The Little Napoleon” and whose troops fired on Fort Sumter in April 1861, the first salvo of the Civil War. Fort Benning Fort Benning in Georgia is home to the US Army Infantry School. It is named after Brigadier General Henry Benning (1814-1875), an ardent secessionist who argued for the “superiority” of the white race. Fort Bragg Fort Bragg in North Carolina …

Read More »

Jihadists Kill Dozens in Northeast Nigeria Attacks

Jihadists linked to the Islamic State group killed dozens of people in the latest of a flurry of bloody attacks in northeast Nigeria, local sources said Sunday.  Inhabitants of remote Goni Usmanti village told AFP that fighters gunned down 38 people in a raid on Saturday and set a truck ablaze, killing an unknown number of passengers.  Security sources and residents said at least 15 people, including nine soldiers, died hours later in a second attack by the jihadists on the town of Monguno, 40 miles away.  The killings are the latest in a spike of assaults by fighters believed to be from the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) faction after they massacred 81 people at a village in the area on Tuesday. Jihadists in pickup trucks on Saturday shot dead fleeing residents in Goni Usmanti after brief clashes with members of a local government-backed militia, sources said.  “The insurgents killed 38 people, including six vigilantes who put up a fight before they were overpowered,” local self-defense group leader Babakura Kolo said. Resident Grema Nuwaisu gave the same toll and said the fighters had also opened fire on a lorry loaded with traders, burning the vehicle and those inside.  …

Read More »

China, India Increasing Their Nuclear Arsenal, Doing Significant Modernization 

Nuclear powers continue to modernize their arsenals, including India and China, researchers said Monday, warning that tensions were rising and the outlook for arms control was “bleak.” “The loss of key channels of communication between Russia and the USA… could potentially lead to a new nuclear arms race,” said Shannon Kile, director of the nuclear arms control program at the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) and co-author of the report. Russia and the US account for more than 90 percent of the world’s nuclear weapons. Kile was referring to the future of the New START treaty between the US and Russia, which is set to expire in February 2021. It is the final nuclear deal still in force between the two superpowers, aimed at maintaining their nuclear arsenals below Cold War levels. “Discussions to extend New START or to negotiate a new treaty made no progress in 2019,” the SIPRI researchers noted. At the same time, nuclear powers continue to modernize their weapons while China and India are increasing the size of their arsenals. “China is in the middle of a significant modernization of its nuclear arsenal. It is developing a so-called nuclear triad for the first time, made …

Read More »

Four Killed in Kabul Mosque Blast: Government

At least four people were killed after a blast ripped through a crowd during Friday prayers at a mosque in Kabul, Afghan officials said.

Read More »

US to Reduce Troops in Iraq ‘Over Coming Months’

The United States promised Thursday to reduce troops from Iraq over the coming months after talks with Baghdad, where lawmakers have pushed for their withdrawal.

Read More »

‘Capture Not Possible:’ France’s Desert Operation Against Al-Qaeda Chief

The French military, for the first time, provided details on Thursday of how late last week it 'neutralized' Abdelmalek Droukdel, the 'the third deputy' of Al-Qaeda's leader.

Read More »

About 10 Dead in Jihadist Attack on I.Coast Border Post: Security Sources

Suspected jihadists attacked a frontier post on Ivory Coast's border with Burkina Faso overnight, killing around 10 people, security sources said Thursday.

Read More »

Freed Taliban Prisoners Eye Return to the Battlefield

Afghan authorities are opening prison doors for thousands of Taliban inmates in a high-risk gambit to ensure the insurgent group begins peace talks with Kabul.

Read More »

Dozens Killed in Fresh Northwest Nigeria Attacks

Armed gangs killed 57 people in a string of attacks on villages in northwest Nigeria, residents said on Wednesday, as security forces struggle to curb violence in the region.

Read More »

Three Civilians Dead in AU Firefight With Al Shabaab in Somalia

The African Union said that three civilians were killed and two others injured during a firefight between its forces in Somalia and Islamists from the Al Shabaab group.

Read More »