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© AFP 2015/ Ross D. Franklin
McCain noted that US lawmakers repeatedly hear how "dramatic increases in civilian and military staffs have persisted even as resources available for warfighting functions are increasingly strained."
"We must ask whether the current combatant command structure best enables us to succeed in the strategic environment of the 21st century," McCain stated. "Should we consider alternative structures that are organized less around geography than trans-regional and functional missions."
© AP Photo/ Anatolia, Kenan Gurbuz
Two Greek F-16 fighter jets held a radar lock on a Turkish F-16 over the Aegean Sea, the Turkish General Staff said on Thursday.
Comment: That's what the Greeks should do if they want to stop Turkey's airspace intrusions.
© Vitaliy Ankov / Sputnik
"Russian military helicopters have carried out no flights over the territory adjacent to the Georgian border over the past 24 hours," Major General Igor Konashenkov, Russia's Defense ministry spokesman, said.
The spokesman stressed that the Georgian side made their claims based on unconfirmed reports by "some local witnesses."
"It's no surprise that the accusations, made by the Georgian representatives, didn't point, even approximately, to a place where the Georgian airspace violation took place," he said.
Comment: More countries seem to be on hyper-alert of their airspace lately.
© theweek.com
"If being a protagonist means playing at running after other people's bombardments, then I say 'no thank you,'" Renzi said. "Italy's position is clear and solid. We want to wipe out terrorists, not please the commentators. The one thing we don't need is to multiply on-the-spot reactions, without a strategic vision."Renzi also drew comparisons to the 2011 NATO airstrikes in Libya, which successfully helped rebel efforts to oust Moammar Gadhafi but left the country a chaotic haven of terrorism:
"Four years of civil war in Libya show it was not a happy decision. Today there needs to be a different strategy," to deal with Syria, Renzi said. He added, "The one thing we cannot allow ourselves is a repeat of Libya."
© Sputnik/ Julia Nasulina
More than 10,000 cases of desertion have been registered in the Ukrainian Army since the outbreak of the Donbass war in April 2014, Ukrainian Vesti reported.
In 2014 the army suffered heavy desertion and nearly 30 percent of the servicemen called up in the first wave of mobilization (March 17) abandoned their positions, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said.
Ukrainian parliament Verkhovna Rada has announced six waves of mobilization so far. By the end of 2014 the strength of Ukrainian Armed Forces grew from 130,000 to 232,000.
Ukrainians have been protesting against the mobilization. They travel to work abroad or simply reside at their relatives' in other countries. Almost 1,3 million Ukrainian draftees live in Russia.
Since April 7, 2014 the Kiev authorities have been waging war against Donbass self-defense forces who rejected the legitimacy of the coup-imposed Ukrainian government and declared the independent republics of Donetsk and Lugansk.
Official figures estimate the number of victims to near 6,500. But the German intelligence reported of 50,000 victims in February 2015.
© www.therussophile.org
The Russians may be the only party interested in the long-term political stability of Syria. There is certainly no doubt that President Vladimir Putin is more determined than Western leaders to act on the fact that the various so-called "moderate" parties standing against the Assad regime cannot work together and that this fault cannot be corrected by enticements from the United States. For the Russians, this fact makes the Damascus government the only source of future stability.
© Unknown
According to a battlefield journalist that is embedded with the Yemeni Army's Republican Guard, the latter and the Houthis carried out a powerful attack on the defensive positions of the Hadi loyalists at Mount Hayd Al-Baqr, resulting in the popular resistance forces taking full control of this site that overlooks the villages of Dabeen and Juraybah, which are located between Ta'iz and Al-Lahj in southern Yemen.
In addition to their success at Mount Hayd Al-Baqr, the Yemeni Army's Republican Guard and the Houthis imposed full control over the Al-'Arous Camp's main entrance and the nearby village of Al-Shaqab after killing several enemy combatants from the Saudi-led Coalition forces.
As a result of their success in southern Yemen, the Yemeni Army's Republican Guard and the Houthis have cutoff the last loyalist supply line to Ta'iz; this leaves the latter with only two choices: fight their way out or surrender to the popular resistance forces.
© Unknown
Video from a TIME magazine photo shoot in August shows a bald eagle named Uncle Sam refusing to participate with the Republican candidate.
The Donald's infamous "hair" was put in jeopardy when the 27-year-old bird attacked his head. Later, when sitting at his desk, Sam went for Trump's hand.
"What you will do for a cover - this bird is seriously dangerous but beautiful," said Trump.
"It's hard to plan what animals will do. There's not much training you can do with a wild bird and Mr. Trump was a little hesitant holding the bird, so it was very tricky to get the bird to [stay] on his hand", said Martin Schoeller, the shoot photographer.
"Donald Trump is an icon, and this bald eagle is an icon," said Jonathan Wood, the bald eagle's owner.
Comment: Considering the bald eagle represents American freedom and democracy, it's no wonder it lashed out at the fascist Donald Trump. Freedom, and all it stands for, is definitely in danger in the hands of someone like Trump.
© Stringer / ReutersSyrian Turkmen fighters are seen near the northern Syrian village of Yamadi, near the Turkish-Syrian border, Syria, November 24, 2015.
"It is strange to make such statements as they demonstrate the complete detachment of the Turkish leadership from reality, from what is actually happening in the region," said the ministry's spokesperson Maria Zakharova.
Turkish leaders, including President Recep Erdogan, have been accusing Russia of deliberately targeting ethnic Turks in Syria after the downing of a Russian warplane on the Turkish-Syrian border. A Turkoman militant group killed the pilot of the downed bomber as he was parachuting to the ground, an act the US State Department claimed was self-defense, but which the Geneva Convention unambiguously forbids. Russia launched retaliation attacks on militants in the area after the incident.
Speaking at a weekly briefing, Zakharova lashed out at the ongoing Turkish incursion into Iraq. Last week, Ankara sent a tank battalion into western Iraq and refused to withdraw despite protests from Baghdad.
Comment: Turkey is following in the footsteps of its American masters by demonstrating a complete detachment from reality in its statements and actions. It's a perfect US puppet state!
Comment: Warmonger McCain just wants more money so he is crying about having to do with less even though the US spends the most on the military budget than any other country in the world.