Tuesday, August 14, 2018

Military and Intelligence News Briefs -- August 14, 2018



VICE News: China is really not happy with Trump’s $716 billion defense spending bill

China has condemned the $716 billion defense spending bill signed by U.S. President Donald Trump Monday, claiming it “exaggerated Sino-U.S. antagonism.”

Beijing issued three separate statements about the John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act inked by the president at Fort Drum, against the backdrop of an Apache helicopter and artillery pieces.

“America is respected again,” Trump said. “With this new authorization we will increase the size and strength of our military by adding thousands of new recruits to active duty.” In his 20-minute address, Trump refused to mention the name of terminally-ill McCain, who has been critical of president.

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Military and Intelligence News Briefs -- August 14, 2018

Beijing ‘strongly dissatisfied’ as Donald Trump signs defence act upping US support for Taiwan and scrutiny of foreign companies -- SCMP

China Leaving US Behind on Artificial Intelligence: Air Force General -- Defense Tech

Panel: Japan Still Needs U.S. Protection from North Korean, Chinese Aggression -- USNI News

China flexes its military might with series of naval exercises in local waters -- SCMP

China 'prepares for battles' against US, Japanese missiles in tense East China Sea -- Business Insider

China’s New Missile Force: New Ambitions, New Challenges -- Adam Ni & Bates Gill, RCD

Hong Kong military garrison mounts its ‘biggest’ anti-terror drill -- SCMP

Russia open to talks with US on strategic weapons -- The Hill

NATO’s Two Percent and Burden Sharing -- John Cappello, RCD

HMS Queen Elizabeth to sail to the United States for F-35 trials -- UK Defense Journal

Trump blocks fighter jet transfer amid deepening U.S.-Turkey rift -- Foreign Relations

US Defense Secretary Mattis Pitches Closer US-Brazil Ties -- AP

Work on Guam's $8.7 billion portion of Pacific realignment gaining momentum, officials say -- Stars and Stripes

Navy's New Amphibs Must Be Ready for a High-Tech Fight, 2-Star Says -- Defense Tech

Killer Angel On Your Shoulder: Army’s Future Armed Reconnaissance Aircraft -- Breaking Defense

Lockheed nabs another big hypersonic weapons contract -- Defense News

Air Force Doubles Down on Hypersonic Weapons Development with 2nd Contract -- Defense Tech

Space-based laser weapons could ultimately take out missile threats in boost phase -- Defense News

As the Pentagon moves to stand up a Space Force, budget fight looms -- Space News

Army Leaders Made ‘Hard Choices’ in 2020 Budget Blueprint -- National Defense

Army Secretary Wants to Boost Active-Duty End Strength Above 500,000 -- DoD Buzz

Army Special Forces Soldier Dies After IED Blast in Afghanistan -- Military.com

Pentagon spokeswoman investigated for misusing staff: report -- The Hill

New Marine awards push for superior fitness -- Marine Times

More public speaking, less PowerPoint for Army NCO schools -- Stars and Stripes

V-J Day: U.S. Military Power in Asia Grew After World War II, But Do We Still Need Bases There? -- Tom O'Connor, Newsweek

The Perfect Can Wait: Good Solutions to the ‘Drone Swarm’ Problem -- Joseph Hanacek, War On The Rocks

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Draft dodger refuses to mention hero for whom the bill is named...that is disgraceful and shows his smallness. You do not have to like this or that about John McCain but hero he is, and no bs about being a pow does not make him a hero. That is a lousy thing to say about a guy who gave his all for his nation

Anonymous said...

Agreed. One of Trump's (many, many) character flaws.

But you know what's worse? The silence about this in the republican party which McCain spent decades in. It's just sad.

And I'm not even American. But this is just wrong on so many levels and not the way how McCain should be treated at all.

Anonymous said...


Trump signals he may ignore Russia provisions in defense bill he just signed
no surprise from Putin puppet

B.Poster said...

There is substantial doubt as to whether McCain is a "war hero." There is much on this via YouTube. For those who are intellectually honest, I would suggest pursuing these avenues to acquire the full picture.

He's supported a number of bad policies over the last few years that hurt a number of people and insulted a number of very good people over the last few years including going out of his way to insult both POTUS and hs supporters. These actions are going to make it hard for allot of people to look past. War hero or no does not excuse or allow for stupid or malice.

One of the best ways to understand POTUS is a counter puncher. He seldom if ever throws the first "punch" but he does often "hit" back with devastating consequences for the attacker.

Is POTUS a draft dodger? The media has often lamented about the number of military veterans who serve or who have served in his Administration. This would tend to discount the draft dodger theory as it seems exceedingly unlikely that this many veterans would not want to or choose to or want to serve in his Administration if he were viewed this way.

Anon (second to last post), since you are not American, I think your best choice is STAY OUT OF IT!! Not a day goes by that we/Americans are not criticized, in some cases rightly, for meddling in the affairs of other countries that we did not or do not understand.