Your source for US  foreign policy.

July 1, 2020

When a nation touts its own exceptionalism, that’s called patriotism. Absolute Americanism so red-blooded that it’s become mandatory for all political aspirants (think Obama’s "belief” with "his every fiber") to prostrate themselves at exceptionalism’s altar. Funny, when an individual believes himself exceptional – that’s diagnosable. Sociopaths afflicted with messiah complexes proclaim their exceptionalism. No one much mentions that twist. Well, only a mentally ill nation – and its symptomatic political-media spokesmen – would dare digest and obtusely deliver the latest headline prognosis: "Russia Secretly Offered Afghan Militants Bounties to Kill U.S. Troops, Intelligence Says." (We’ll come back to the absurd doozy packed behind that comma)

— By Maj. Danny Sjursen, USA (ret.)

Under the US peace deal with the Taliban, the US was to get troop levels in Afghanistan down to 8,600 by mid-July. Drawdowns have been ahead of schedule, and by last week, officials announced they’d already reached 8,600.

That’s not the end of it, and reports are that President Trump has finalized a plan to withdraw another 4,000 or so US troops from the country, with the goal of getting things down to 4,500 remaining by autumn. This would be the lowest US troop level in Afghanistan since the 2001 invasion and occupation.

— By Jason Ditz

Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz told his Blue and White party on Monday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plan to annex parts of the West Bank will have to wait due to the coronavirus crisis. Netanyahu responded to Gantz’s comments and said his coalition partners in the Blue and White party are “not a factor” in deciding on annexation.

“We are in discreet talks with US officials here,” Netanyahu said at a Likud party meeting on Monday. “We are doing it discreetly. The matter is not up to Blue and White, they are not a factor either way.” 

— By Dave DeCamp

Why Are American Forces Still Guarding the Korean Peninsula?

Seven decades ago Americans found themselves at war in a country most people couldn’t locate without a map. That included two young army officers, Charles Bonesteel and Dean Rusk, a future Secretary of State.

On August 10, 1945, the Pentagon tasked them with determining a convenient division of the Korea peninsula. 

— By Doug Bandow

With an Eye on US Tension, China Asserts Itself Militarily

While most of the focus on China’s military policy is the risk of conflict with the US, the Chinese military has also taken a few steps into potential conflicts in the area. This involves military operations around Taiwan, and a clash along the border with India.

— By Jason Ditz