Lloyd Austin

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin ordered Pentagon officials on Jan. 27 to undertake reforms to reduce the number of civilian deaths from military strikes after multiple unjustified fatal incidents.

At the behest of President Joe Biden, the Pentagon has put about 8,500 U.S.-based troops on high alert, which could be sent to Europe if Russia invades Ukraine, the Associated Press and Reuters reported, quoting Pentagon spokesman John Kirby.

Iveta Cherneva is an Amazon best-selling author, political commentator and human rights activist. Her latest book is "Trump, European security and Turkey". Cherneva's career includes Congress and the UN; she was a top finalist for UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of speech in 2020.

New commercial satellite imagery taken on Monday confirms recent reports that Russia is re-accumulating troops and military equipment on the border with Ukraine after a major concentration of forces this spring, Politico reported.

The U.S. Defense Department said on Oct. 15 that it is committed to offering condolence payments to relatives of the 10 people who were killed in an errant U.S. drone strike in Kabul, Afghanistan, in August.

The top U.S. military officer called the 20-year war in Afghanistan a "strategic failure" and acknowledged to Congress that he had favored keeping several thousand troops in the country to prevent a collapse of the U.S.-supported Kabul government and a rapid takeover by the Taliban.

The U.S. is "working closely" with its allies in Turkey and Qatar on quickly reopening Kabul's Hamid Karzai International Airport, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Sept. 3.

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"We're working closely with our partners Qatar and Turkey to help get the airport in Kabul up and running as quickly as possible," he told reporters at the State Department.

Acting swiftly on President Joe Biden's promise to retaliate for the deadly suicide bombing at Kabul airport, the US military said it used a drone strike to kill a member of the Islamic State group's Afghanistan affiliate Saturday.

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett is aiming to dissuade President Joe Biden from returning to the Iran nuclear deal when the two leaders meet at the White House on Aug. 27.

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President Joe Biden said on Aug. 22 the U.S.-led evacuation of Americans, at-risk Afghans and others from the Kabul airport picked up speed this weekend, although it remains vulnerable to threats posed by the Islamic State extremist group.

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