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Here’s your weekly briefing on what’s going on in national security and military news.
President Trump Cancels Summit with Kim
President Donald Trump abruptly canceled his planned summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Thursday, citing “tremendous anger and open hostility” by North Korea. The summit had been planned for June 12 in Singapore and would have been a major step towards achieving peace on the Korean peninsula.
(Credit: Facebook/KTVE 10 KARD)
North Korea responded by calling the cancelation “regrettable” and by issuing a statement Friday that said it is “willing to give the U.S. time and opportunities” to reconsider talks. President Trump appeared to pivot on Friday by saying that the June 12 summit may still happen. U.S. officials are in talks with North Korea and U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said Friday that “the diplomats are still at work on the summit” but declined to say whether he thought the event would take place on June 12 after all.
The Financial Cost of Fighting Terrorism Since 9/11
Seventeen years after 9/11 and the start of the Global War on Terror, the United States has spent nearly $2.8 trillion on counterterrorism, according to a report released by the Stimson Center.
The study group’s report states that “total spending that has been characterized as counterterrorism-related – including expenditures for governmentwide homeland security efforts, international programs, and the wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria – totaled $2.8 trillion during fiscal years 2002 through 2017.”
The report also finds that the United States lacks accurate data or accounting on expenditures for fighting terrorism, making it difficult to assess if the nation is spending too much or too little on counterterrorism. Read the full report here.
China Uninvited to Major Naval Exercise
The Pentagon has uninvited the Chinese from participating in Rim of the Pacific, or RimPac, a major naval exercise in the Pacific Ocean. The United States had included the Chinese in the exercise twice, in 2014 and 2016, but made the decision to disinvite them due to China’s militarization of the South China Sea. The Pentagon cited strong evidence that the Chinese have deployed large anti-ship missiles, surface-to-air missile systems, and electronic jammers to contested areas in the Spratly Island region of the South China Sea.
February 2017: Beijing’s second aircraft carrier set to be based in South China Sea. (Credit: Facebook/Spratly Islands)
The Chinese Defense Ministry responded by calling Washington’s decision “unconstructive” and by releasing a statement saying that the disinvitation would do nothing to change China’s resolve to “play a role in maintaining peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region.”
Should the Tomahawk Cruise Missile be Saved?
The United States Navy wants to stop production of the Tomahawk cruise missile. The planned halt to production is being met with opposition due to the missile’s vital role and exceptional performance in nearly every U.S. military engagement since the 1991 Persian Gulf War.
Tomahawks have been the go-to weapon system for U.S. Presidents George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama, and Donald Trump in strikes against Iraq, Serbia, Afghanistan, Somalia, Yemen, Libya, and Syria.
(Credit: Facebook/Spotted Portsmouth)
The long-range cruise missile allows the U.S. to hit targets deep in enemy countries without placing pilots at risk of anti-aircraft fire. The missiles can be fired from ships, submarines, or aircraft flying outside of enemy airspace and have incredible accuracy that minimizes collateral damage and civilian casualties.
Congress would like to halt production of the Tomahawk in 2019, even though the next generation of missiles and the likely replacement for the Tomahawk will not arrive to around 2025. The Navy would like to focus instead on the recertification process for the existing inventory, according to a report by Defense-Aerospace.
Strikes Against ISIS up Nearly 150 percent
Strikes against the Islamic State are up so far in the month of May, since U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) launched a new offensive against ISIS fighters in Syria. Since the start of the offensive on May 1, there have been 184 strikes – compared to 183 in the entire month of April and only 74 in March.
ISIS has lost almost all the territory they once controlled in Iraq and Syria. All that remains are holdouts in isolated pockets.
“Family of ISIS terrorist Murshid from Kerela say he was killed in yesterday’s MOAB strike in Afghanistan.” (Credit: Facebook/Defence News India)
“Morale is sinking on the frontlines as privileged Daesh [ISIS] leaders increasingly abandon their own fighters on the battlefield, taking resources with them as they flee,” Operation Inherent Resolve officials said in statement released on Friday.
Fleet Week in New York City
The 30th annual Fleet Week celebration kicked off in New York City on Wednesday. The tradition brings thousands of Sailors, Marines, and Coast Guardsmen to the Big Apple with a parade of ships, aircraft flights, demonstrations, and ship tours until May 29.
The star of the parade of ships has been the Norfolk, Virginia-based USS Arlington. The ship is a San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock and its primary mission is to embark, transport, and land Marines for expeditionary warfare missions.
(Credit: Facebook/Mark Mitchell)
The ship was named for Arlington, Virginia, the location of the Pentagon. Like her sister ships, the USS New York and USS Somerset, the ship is named in commemoration of the 9/11 attacks. Steel from the Pentagon, a flag that was flown at Osama bin Laden’s compound the day he was killed, and a quilt that honors the victims at the Pentagon on 9/11 can all be found on the ship – items that pay tribute to the victims that died on 9/11 and continues to inspire crewmembers in their mission.
