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17 April 2025
Associated Press | Ukraine’s future is at the center of talks in Paris with
Rubio, Witkoff and top European officials
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Paris is hosting a series of talks Thursday about Ukraine and its security,
including U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and presidential envoy Steve
Witkoff, French President Emmanuel Macron and top Ukrainian and European
officials.
Newsweek | North Korea Is Making Billions From Russia's War on Ukraine
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North Korea's involvement in Russia's war on Ukraine has generated more than
$20 billion for its economy so far, according to a recent estimate, and is
helping Pyongyang to acquire even more high-tech weapons. The South's Korea
Institute for Defense Analyses (KIDA) think tank published a report outlining
the potential value of North Korea's military cooperation with Russia as it
supports Moscow's ongoing Ukraine invasion.
The Economist | Power is being monopolised in Ukraine
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Behind the nondescript façade of a light-industrial building in Kyiv, an
eclectic crew of video-gamers, architects, scientists and film-makers is
mass-producing deep-strike drones and cruise missiles. They do not look like
old-style defence types, but they are transforming Ukraine’s war. Three years
ago they were making 30 drones a month. Now they are up to 1,300 a month,
ranging from slow drones ($580,000 for a set of ten) to a new ballistic missile
(at $1m a piece).
Military Times | House vets chairman backs VA staffing cuts but promises
oversight
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House Veterans’ Affairs Chairman Mike Bost
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doesn’t know what the full impact of cutting tens of thousands of federal
workers from Veterans Affairs payrolls will be, but he is confident it won’t
cripple the department.
Military.com | Search Underway at VA for Key Under Secretary Positions for
Health and Benefits
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The search is underway to fill two key leadership positions at the Department
of Veterans Affairs: under secretary for benefits and under secretary for
health. The jobs have been filled by acting leaders since the departures of
Josh Jacobs, who led the Veterans Benefits Administration, and Dr. Shereef
Elnahal, former head of the Veterans Health Administration, with the change in
presidential administrations.
Stars & Stripes | Vaughn Drake, oldest known surviving veteran of 1941
Japanese surprise attack, dies at 106
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Vaughn P. Drake Jr., who at 106 was believed to be the oldest surviving
veteran of the 1941 Japanese surprise attack on Hawaii, died Monday in
Lexington, Ky. Drake was a 23-year-old Army engineer helping to build barracks
at Kaneohe Naval Air Station on the windward side of Oahu when the attack took
place on Dec. 7, 1941, according to a Facebook post Friday by Pacific Historic
Parks, which announced his death.
Time | Why Trump’s Iran Diplomacy May Work
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| Trita Parsi
Top diplomats from the U.S. and Iran look set
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to meet on Saturday in Oman. It would mark a significant diplomatic win for
President Donald Trump, and one that eluded his predecessor Joe Biden. And
though Trump’s overall foreign policy approachleaves much to be desired
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, he may prove uniquely positioned to revive a diplomatic accord with Iran.
Responsible Statecraft | The US Army is about to get smaller, especially in
Europe <[link removed]> | Jennifer
Kavanagh
What are the Trump administration’s plans for the U.S. Army at home and
abroad? The question hung over recentHouse
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andSenate <[link removed]> hearings with Pentagon
officials about security challenges facing the United States. “The Department
[of Defense (DoD)] is undergoing a global force posture review…No decisions
have been made at this time,” the acting assistant secretary for international
security affairs,Katherine Thompson
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, responded at one session when asked about the possibility of changes to the
U.S. military footprint inEurope
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The American Conservative | A U.S.-Iran Deal Would Be Good for Israel
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| Andrew Day
President Donald Trump’s efforts to get a nuclear deal with Iran have met a
formidable obstacle:the Israel lobby
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.
Pro-Israel think tanks, lobbying groups, and analysts
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Tehran, make unreasonable demands, and issue more threats of war, rather than
secure a landmark accord. They have also sought todelegitimize
<[link removed]> Trump’s special envoy Steve
Witkoff, who met with Iran’s foreign minister on Saturday to lay the groundwork
for substantive negotiations. Witkoff, a trusted friend of the president,appears
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succeeded, with more talks scheduled for this weekend.
Concerned Veterans for America has been vocal on the war in Ukraine. We
believe it is past time for a negotiated peace deal. CVA’s Coalitions Director,
Jimmie Smithwrote a piece for Foreign Policy
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arguing a swift end to the war in Ukraine that excludes any security
guarantees from NATO or the United States.Read more here
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.
CVA’s Strategic Director John Byrnes will be on OAN’s The Real Story with
Riley Lewis tonight around 6pm ET to discuss the Ukraine war and CVA’s realist
perspective.Tune in online! <[link removed]>
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