03 October 2024

Reuters | Israel calls for evacuations from south Lebanon as explosions heard in Beirut

Israel's military urged residents of over 20 towns in south Lebanon to evacuate their homes immediately on Thursday as it pressed on with an incursion after suffering its worst losses in a year of fighting the Iran-backed armed group Hezbollah.

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ABC News | The US is sending a few thousand more troops to the Middle East to boost security
The U.S. is sending a “few thousand” troops to the Middle East to bolster security and to defend Israel if necessary, the Pentagon said Monday. The announcement follows word that Israel has already launched limited raids across the border into Lebanon.The additional forces would raise the total number of troops in the region to as many as 43,000.

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Fox News | Pentagon plans to shrink US 'footprint' in Iraq, but declines to say by how much
The Pentagon has finalized plans to wrap up the U.S.-led mission to fight ISIS by next year, with many U.S. troops leaving the bases they have occupied for much of the past two decades. The Biden administration insists their plan is not to fully pull out of the nation but declined to say how many of the 2,500 troops currently stationed in Iraq will remain.

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Associated Press | The fall of Vuhledar is a microcosm of Ukraine’s wartime predicament
The fall of a front-line town nestled atop a tactically significant hill is unlikely to change the course of Ukraine’s war against Russia. But the loss underscores Kyiv’s worsening position, in part the result of firm Western red lines, military officials and analysts said.

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CNN | Russia captures key eastern Ukrainian town, exposing Kyiv’s critical vulnerabilities
Russia has captured the key eastern Ukrainian town of Vuhledar, ending months of resistance and underscoring the scale of Kyiv’s challenge as it heads into its third wartime winter.

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Military Times | VA employees improperly viewed health records of both VP candidates
Multiple Department of Veterans Affairs employees improperly accessed the veterans records of vice presidential candidates Tim Walz and JD Vance in recent months, prompting a U.S. Department of Justice investigation.

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Responsible Statecraft | Why are we paying $2M each for these missiles?
Since the United States government decided it had an obligation to protect global shipping from Houthi attacks in the Red Sea over 7,000 miles away from its borders, it has spent well over $1 billion in missile defense and dropping bombs on the militants’ assets in Yemen.

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Military.com | 1,000 Active-Duty Soldiers Called Up to Assist with Hurricane Helene Response
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Wednesday mobilized 1,000 active-duty soldiers to assist in recovery and relief efforts in communities hit by Hurricane Helene -- one of the most devastating storms in recent history.

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Stars & Stripes | VA rolls out virtual ER exams to compete with community hospitals and urgent care centers
The VA is rolling out a telehealth emergency care program nationwide that will connect veterans using their cellphones with a VA triage nurse who evaluates their problem and directs them to appropriate care, VA Secretary Denis McDonough said.

TIME | The U.S. Should Fully Withdraw From Iraq | Daniel R. DePetris
After negotiating for most of the year, U.S. and Iraqi officials finally reached a deal on Friday over the U.S. presence in Iraq—one that is frankly long overdue.

Although U.S. officials insist that Washington won’t be pulling all 2,500 troops out of the country and are hesitant to use the term “withdrawal,” the U.S. will be thinning out its deployment over the next two years.

Foreign Policy | How Congress Can Reclaim Its Role in U.S. Foreign Policy | Geo Saba
The authors of the U.S. Constitution were all too aware of the dangers of unchecked monarchs, many of whom plunged countries into ill-advised wars. In a letter to Thomas Jefferson, James Madison said, “The constitution supposes, what the History of all Governments demonstrates, that the Executive is the branch of power most interested in war, and most prone to it. It has accordingly with studied care, vested the question of war in the Legislature.”

Responsible Statecraft | Disabled refueler exposes fragility of US mission in Middle East | Kelly Beaucar Vlahos

A U.S. Navy oil tanker running aground off the coast of Oman isn’t a huge event. The fact that it is the only tanker to refuel American warships in a Middle East conflict zone, is.

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In fact, this only underscores the fragility of the Navy’s logistic systems at a time when the U.S. has chosen to lean in on an aggressive military posture when it may not have the full capacity to do so, and it may or may not be in the national interest for the Navy to be conducting these operations in the first place.

Realism in Practice Report: CVA Policy Director Tyler Koteskey has written a new report on how the foreign policy principles of realism and restraint should guide a new path for U.S. strategy abroad. “Realism in Practice” argues that policymakers have lost focus on protecting vital national interests since the end of the Cold War, overusing the U.S. military and running up massive amounts of debt at home. Because of these factors, the report argues that the President will need to realign U.S. foreign policy goals with our available resources. We can avoid strategic overstretch by asking more of our allies and rediscovering the value of creative diplomacy and economic engagement, focusing our military resources where they matter most. You can read the report here.