The knocks on President Donald Trump’s defense-secretary-in-waiting have been circulating for months behind closed doors in the Pentagon and on Capitol Hill. Pat Shanahan is the “Boeing guy” who is still doing the bidding of his former employer, his critics inside and outside the administration say. He allows White House appointees, including National Security Adviser […]
Circuit Court Backs DoD’s Transgender Policy…
A circuit court hearing one of the four federal cases challenging President Donald Trump’s policy to limit transgender military service sided with the administration Friday, ruling that the process former Defense Secretary Jim Mattis took to implement the president’s directive was sufficient and did not result in a blanket ban. That federal case, “Doe v. […]
Rising Tensions with China: Jim Mattis Cancels Visit and U.S. Warship Has ‘Unsafe’ Encounter at Sea…
Defense Secretary Jim Mattis has canceled a planned visit to China this month, a sign of the rising tensions between Washington and Beijing over trade and China’s expansive maritime claims in the South China Sea. The word from the Pentagon comes one day after a U.S. warship had an “unsafe” encounter with a Chinese destroyer […]
Here’s Why Mattis Won’t Cancel Upcoming Maneuvers With South Korean Forces…
Just days after a planned high-level summit between the U.S. and North Korea was called off, the Pentagon’s top official said Tuesday that no decision has been made to cancel major joint military exercises between the U.S. and South Korea planned for 2019. Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis told reporters that there are “no plans, […]
No Deal Between U.S. Allies on How to Deal with Foreign Islamic State Militants…
Countries allied with the United States in the fight against the Islamic State (IS) group failed on Tuesday to come to a final agreement on what to do with foreign militants captured in Syria who could pose a security threat if they were to escape justice. A meeting with around a dozen of defence ministers […]
The Captured Islamic State Fighters Nobody Wants…
Has the U.S. Decided to Re Train These Unwanted Militants?…
Mattis Wanted this Woman as His Second-in-Command…
Michèle Flournoy met with Defense Secretary Jim Mattis in December about coming on board as his deputy, but she ultimately turned down the job. A roundtable discussion in Politico Magazine published on Monday finally reveals why: Her own conscience would have made it difficult. “When [Mattis] called me to ask me to consider ways to […]
Mattis Phones German Defense Chief, Underscoring Commitment to NATO…
Defense Secretary James Mattis spoke by phone to his German counterpart on Thursday, underscoring the importance of the defense relationship between the United States and Germany and their membership in NATO. The conversation was one of several the new defense secretary has had with counterparts from other countries this week, assuring allies of the U.S. […]