13 August 2024

Associated Press | Russia intensifies attacks in eastern Ukraine as it fights against Kyiv’s cross-border incursion

The Russian army is intensifying its attacks in eastern Ukraine, military authorities said Tuesday, even as the Kremlin’s forces try to check a stunning weeklong incursion into Russia by Kyiv’s troops.

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Reuters | US to lift ban on offensive weapons sales to Saudi Arabia

The Biden administration has decided to lift a ban on U.S. sales of offensive weapons to Saudi Arabia, the State Department said on Friday, reversing a three-year-old policy to pressure the kingdom to wind down the Yemen war.
 

The Washington Post | Israel anticipates direct attack from Iran; U.S. deploys more vessels to region

The United States has deployed more vessels to the eastern Mediterranean Sea, including a submarine and several destroyers, as concerns grow in the region about a potential Iranian attack on Israel.
   

Washington Examiner | Biden’s ‘Trump-proofing’ foreign policy revolves around Ukraine and NATO

During his presidency, he held up, strengthened, and unified NATO in the face of the largest ground war in Europe since World War II and attempted to shift the government’s attention to the Pacific region as his administration continues to try to prevent a regional conflict in the Middle East.

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NBC News | Veterans playing a vital role in 2024 elections

As Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz visits Los Angeles for his first solo campaign, both parties hope to gain the voting approval of veterans. In 2020 the group supported former President Donald Trump over President Joe Biden by ten points.

Fox News | Navy warship production hits 25-year low, falls behind China: report

Navy shipbuilding has had its worst production in 25 years, putting the U.S. behind rival China in production pace.

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War Horse | I Had a Body Part Repossessed’: Post-9/11 Amputee Vets Say VA Care Is Failing Them
Travis Vendela died three times in triage and medevac, by his own account, after the lead Humvee he was directing in Iraq in 2007 drove over an improvised explosive device and blew off both of his legs.

Foreign Affairs | A Post-American Europe

For decades, U.S. policy toward Europe stayed the same: Washington anchored itself to the continent via NATO and acted as the region’s main security provider while the European members of NATO accepted U.S. leadership.

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Military.com | 2 Years Since the PACT Act Was Signed, Vets Are Getting More Support but Hurdles Remain
War comes at an agonizing cost. Our nation mourns the service members who paid the ultimate sacrifice, and our hearts ache for the veterans who have lost limbs and bear scars from their service.

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Foreign Policy | Europe’s New Dividing Line Is Security
Fifteen years ago, when Europe went through a financial crisis, an economic depression, and a euro crisis, most political fights between European countries were about money.

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Defense Priorities | POLL: AMERICAN FOREIGN POLICY VIEWS
On key foreign policy questions—around the Ukraine-Russia war, a China-Taiwan contingency, the Israel-Hamas conflict, and more—there’s often a disconnect between Washington’s policies and the preferences of the American people.

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The American Conservative | A Cold Peace With China

Trump’s foreign policy record during his first term suggests that the taproot of his personal instincts—not those of his senior national security advisors, who rarely shared his preferences and policy positions—is realist restraint.

In The American Conservative, CVA’s John Byrnes writes about a U.S. foreign policy rooted in the philosophy of realism and restraint – one that he believes best aligns with conservatism.

He explains how the preservation of liberty at home precludes imperial adventures abroad:

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“To restrainers, military intervention should be a last resort, not a handy tool. Restrainers pursue trade and diplomacy, and we believe in maintaining a powerful U.S. military capable of defeating rivals and securing the global commons. These are beliefs most often espoused by libertarians and national conservatives.”

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Read the full article in The American Conservative here.

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CVA’s Darin Selnick joins The American Potential Podcast to discuss how the Phoenix VA is involved in yet another scandal after refusing to provide care for a veteran who collapsed in their parking lot.

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Watch Darin on the American Potential Podcast here.