In a day of optimism at NATO’s 70th birthday bash, tensions over spending, and weapons deals with Russia, make for awkward moments

Senators, generals, and the acting Defense Secretary all tried to present a united front on Tuesday, but questions remain.

WASHINGTON: The US economic vice is beginning to tighten on Recep Tayyip Erdogan, president of Turkey, who has made it a mark of his presidency to test just how far he can stretch the bonds that knit his country to NATO and the United States. The Pentagon announced today, as my Reuters’ colleague Mike Stone… Keep reading →

  Turkey’s increasingly autocratic president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is an erstwhile NATO ally. Turkey flies F-16s and is a partner in the F-35 program. But Erdogan has committed his country to buying Russia’s reportedly excellent surface to air missile system, the S-400. This op-ed by Bradley Bowman, former aide to Sen. Todd Young of the Senate… Keep reading →

When I visited Turkey last year, it was clear that President Erdogan was on a path to break with the traditions of Ataturk and the secular state. In a period when the global impact of the various strands of Islam are having significant global impact, the President of Turkey has focused on emphasizing Turkey’s Islamic… Keep reading →

How are Air Force pilots training for a war with Russia or China?

Another US ally — and host of a critical Middle Eastern air base — is considering buying a high-tech Russian missile system. What can Washington do about it?

Republican Senators erupted in outrage, and there are some indications that Turkey pushed Trump to withdraw support from its traditional foes, the Kurds. The British government issued an equivocal statement, while the Kremlin applauded the move.

WASHINGTON: Even as Congress inches toward cutting off arms sales to Saudi Arabia over the disappearance of Saudi dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi and Riyadh’s grinding war in Yemen, the United States is preparing to ship $14.5 billion worth of arms to the increasingly embattled kingdom. Those weapons include “helicopters, tanks, ships, weapons, and training,” a… Keep reading →

As big defense firms line up to pitch their fighter planes to India, the government of Narendra Modi is demanding they build in India, something that might be at odds with the Trumpian America First philosophy.