Latest news with #AnnualThreatAssessment
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Warship captain explains why the military sent his destroyer fresh off the Red Sea fight to the US southern border
The US Navy dispatched three of its destroyers to support the military's southern border mission. USS Stockdale's captain explained to BI that his warship is an ideal platform for this mission. He said the Stockdale brings high-end comms and sensors to the table, along with an embarked helicopter. The captain of one of three US Navy destroyers that deployed this spring to support the military's southern border mission after spending months battling the Iran-backed Houthis in the Red Sea says his warship was well-suited to both assignments. Amid questions of whether the southern border deployments were overkill, the military acknowledged that it was "a bit unique to deploy a capability of this level for this mission set." But it sent an unmistakable message. Unlike the Red Sea mission, at the southern border, the value of these warfighting ships isn't as much the firepower they bring to a potential fight but rather the capabilities that other vessels lack, such as robust communications and sensor suites, and endurance. Cdr. Jacob Beckelhymer, the commanding officer of USS Stockdale, told Business Insider that the maritime security missions are familiar taskings and "part of the broad set of things that destroyers do." The Stockdale just recently returned to its homeport in San Diego after spending weeks deployed off the coast of southern California in support of US military operations at the southern border. Transnational criminal operations coming out of Mexico were at the top of the US intelligence community's 2025 Annual Threat Assessment, and the Trump administration has made cracking down on maritime criminal activity, from illegal immigration to human and drug trafficking, priorities. In addition to thousands of military personnel, the administration has dispatched a range of military assets to the border area, including the three destroyers that battled the Houthis last year. The Stockdale, like USS Spruance and USS Gravely, had an embarked US Coast Guard Law Enforcement Detachment for its southern border deployment. These are Coast Guard teams that specialize in law-enforcement operations at sea, such as counterterrorism, counter-piracy, and anti-immigration missions. Arleigh Burke-class destroyers like the Stockdale are equipped with missile tubes that carry a mix of surface-to-air and land-attack munitions and different guns, such as a five-inch deck gun, machine guns, and a Phalanx Close-In Weapons System. This extensive loadout was needed to battle the Houthis, as the Stockdale and other Navy warships routinely came under rebel missile and drone attacks. The warships faced a very different threat environment at the southern border than in the Red Sea. Beckelhymer said Stockdale's weapon system was in a "different configuration" since they didn't expect to be shot at. At the southern border, the emphasis was on other capabilities. "The sensor suite is incredible. My surface radar tracking ability, I think, far exceeds what we normally see, particularly on the smaller Coast Guard cutters," Beckelhymer said. "And then I've also got a much larger team." He touted the ship's combat information center, a multimission room with many monitors that display maps and radars, as an essential tool for monitoring possible smuggling situations and recommending whether it's worth following up. As Henry Ziemer, an Americas Program fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, previously wrote, a destroyer has "powerful sensors and electronics that can be assets for detecting small boats and semisubmersibles used for illicit activities." These ships can also coordinate additional assets, he said, and function as a force multiplier. Beckelhymer said the MH-60R Seahawk helicopter embarked on the Stockdale provides faster air coverage than relying on something from the shore. The helicopter is equipped with a very capable radar and communications suite and can share real-time data and video feed with the destroyer. The captain said the Stockdale is also an endurance platform. The ship can "stay on station considerably longer" and carry more fuel and food. During its deployment, Stockdale served as a command-and-control platform, providing maritime awareness and surveillance to the Coast Guard assets operating in the area. The destroyer played a role in helping them apprehend suspected smuggling vessels, and Beckelhymer's crew saved the lives of mariners who were caught adrift with no food or water on board. Speaking to the missions that his warship has supported, Beckelhymer said "it's really, really humbling to watch young men and women put to action the things that it takes to operate a destroyer at sea in support of priority missions for two separate fleet commanders." Read the original article on Business Insider
Asia Times
03-04-2025
- Politics
- Asia Times
Iran lacks leverage for fair nuke deal with US
Iranian-US tensions are boiling after Trump threatened to bomb Iran following its rejection of direct talks over a new nuclear deal. He also ordered the Pentagon to move six B-2 stealth bombers, which CNN assessed to be 30% of its stealth bomber fleet, to the Indian Ocean island base of Diego Garcia. The Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei responded by promising strong retaliation if the US attacks. One of his chief advisors, Ali Larijani, warned that Iran would have 'no choice' but to build nukes if the US or through it Israel bombs the country. Although the US intelligence community's latest Annual Threat Assessment found that 'Iran is not building a nuclear weapon', there are long-standing concerns it could do so quickly with its program's alleged rapid breakout potential. This makes Iran's nuclear program no different in principle than Japan's, which reputedly could begin churning out nukes in a matter of months if it so chose, but neither the US nor its regional allies consider Japan to be a threat. The US's renewed bombing campaign against Iran's Houthi allies in Yemen may be partially intended to send a message to the Islamic Republic that the Trump 2.0 administration does indeed have the political will to initiate military action if Iran refuses to enter talks. Trump might hold off on bombing for now due to the likelihood that Iran could inflict unacceptable retaliatory damage to US regional bases and allies. Furthermore, diplomacy hasn't yet been exhausted since Iran didn't reject indirect talks of the kind that Russia offered to mediate after reportedly being asked by the US to do so, which was discussed here. It would thus seemingly be premature for the US to seriously consider bombing Iran at this juncture, but the option isn't off the table if indirect talks fail to reach a deal. Iran lacks the leverage for a fair deal with the US, however, so it'll either have to accept a lopsided one or prepare for a major war that it might well lose. Iran is a proud civilization-state that's loath to subordinate itself to anyone, hence the difficulty in getting it to agree to sovereignty-eroding curbs on its nuclear program that would effectively make it a second-class country in this regard, all while abandoning any chance of acquiring nuclear weapons in the future. From Iran's perspective, this could embolden Israel into one day launching a large-scale conventional or even nuclear war against it, which Iran believes has only hitherto been deterred by dangling a sword of Damocles nuclear weapon threat. That said, while Iran could inflict severe retaliatory damage to US regional bases and allies (first and foremost Israel) if it's attacked over its refusal to agree to a Russian-mediated lopsided deal, it cannot inflict such damage to the US nuclear triad and would thus likely be destroyed. Iran couldn't count on Russia intervening to help it either since their newly updated strategic partnership doesn't include mutual defense obligations and Moscow doesn't want war with Washington or Jerusalem. Even though the US could survive a major war with Iran, it no doubt prefers to avoid one. So long as US demands remain limited to drastically curbing Iran's nuclear energy program and don't expand to include curbs on its support for regional allies or its ballistic missile program, then creative diplomacy could yet prevail. For that to happen, Russia would have to devise a set of incentives for Iran that the US approves and Iran then agrees to, but that's still a long way off and Trump might strike first if he loses patience. This article was first published on Andrew Korybko's Substack and is republished with kind permission. Become an Andrew Korybko Newsletter subscriber here.
Yahoo
27-03-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Canada Announces Bombshell Break With U.S. Over Trump
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney officially broke things off with the United States Thursday, marking a seismic shift in relations between the longtime allies. 'The old relationship we had with the United States based on deepening integration of our economies and tight security and military cooperation is over,' Carney said during a press conference, following a meeting in Ottawa with his ministers to 'discuss trade options' in response to Donald Trump's 'permanent' 25 percent tariffs on all imported vehicles and auto parts. 'What exactly the United States does next is unclear, but what is clear, what is clear is that we as Canadians have agency. We have power. We are masters in our own home,' Carney said. 'We can control our destiny. We can give ourselves much more than any foreign government, including the United States, can ever take away. We can deal with this crisis best by building our own strength right here at home.' Carney warned that Canada, which is currently one of the top importers of U.S. goods, would need to reshape its economy to wean itself off its southern neighbor. 'We will need to dramatically reduce our reliance on the United States. We will need to pivot our trade relationships elsewhere. And we will need to do things previously thought impossible at speeds we haven't seen in generations,' Carney said. On Wednesday, Carney called the latest round of tariffs a 'very direct attack.' 'We will defend our workers. We will defend our companies. We will defend our country,' he said at the time. Back stateside, the Big Three automakers took an immediate hit Thursday as the market digested Trump's tariff announcement, with new tariffs on vehicles expected to go into effect on April 3 and on vehicle parts one month later. The White House has pretended that the steep tariffs on Canada are a bargaining chip to help curb illegal drug trafficking—a threat so minor that it warranted no mention in the Trump administration's first Annual Threat Assessment—but Trump openly admitted that he hoped to use tariffs to bully Canada into becoming a U.S. state. His bullying has since escalated into an all-out trade war, which could potentially devastate states along America's northern border.
Gulf Insider
27-03-2025
- Politics
- Gulf Insider
Russia Winning In Ukraine, Continually Gaining Leverage: US Intel Community
The US government in its 2025 Annual Threat Assessment of the U.S. Intelligence Community – which was just released by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence in conjunction with top officials' testimony at a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing Tuesday – has admitted that Ukraine's battlefield prospects are fading amid the onslaught of superior Russian forces. Currently, Moscow has 'seized the upper hand' in the war over the past year, the fresh assessment warns, and 'is on a path to accrue greater leverage' as peace talks with Washington are underway. 'Even though Russian President [Vladimir] Putin will be unable to achieve the total victory he envisioned when initiating the large-scale invasion in February 2022, Russia retains momentum as a grinding war of attrition plays to Russia's military advantages,' the report states. 'This grinding war of attrition will lead to a gradual but steady erosion of Kyiv's position on the battlefield, regardless of any U.S. or allied attempts to impose new and greater costs on Moscow,' it continues. This should come as no surprise to any objective observer; however, what is surprising is the huge amount of Russian losses estimated by US intelligence. While there's no way of verifying such information, the report claims that there are over 750,000 dead and wounded on the Russian side. Still, the intel community emphasizes the Russian military machine's ability to quickly replenish personnel while growing its industrial capacity to continually support the war. On the prospect for achieving a quick peace settlement, the report notes that both Russian and Ukrainian leadership 'probably still see the risks of a longer war as less than those of an unsatisfying settlement.' 'For Russia, positive battlefield trends allow for some strategic patience, and for Ukraine, conceding territory or neutrality to Russia without substantial security guarantees from the West could prompt domestic backlash and future insecurity.' 'Regardless of how and when the war in Ukraine ends, Russia's current geopolitical, economic, military, and domestic political trends underscore its resilience and enduring potential threat to U.S. power, presence, and global interests,' it adds. Click here to read more…
Yahoo
27-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Climate change left off list of threats to military personnel, bases
WASHINGTON (WAVY) — Lost in a contentious Monday Senate hearing over the leaking of battle plans was an issue of concern to miliary members and bases in Hampton Roads — climate change. Warner demands answers after Middle East attack plan leaks to journalist before it happened The hearing was the platform for the Annual Threat Assessment, the list of major threats to national security compiled by the intelligence community. Sen. Angus King (I-Maine), a member of the Intelligence Committee for 13 years, wanted to know why climate change was omitted from this year's assessment for the first time in 12 years. 'Every single one of these [previous 11 assessments] has mentioned global climate change as a significant national security threat except this one,' King said as he questioned Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, in charge of the assessment. 'Has something happened — has global climate change been solved?' 'This assessment has been focused directly on the threats that we deem most critical to the United States and our national security,' Gabbard said in response. 'Obviously, we're aware of occurrences within the environment and how they may impact operations.' The Pentagon has studied the effects of climate change on military bases and operations for years. In 2021, the Department of Defense reported that , with a forecast of as much as three more feet by 2050. Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.), vice chair of the Intelligence Committee, said President Trump knows that climate change is a threat. 'It was in this document every year that Trump was president the first time,' he said in a Wednesday morning conference call with reporters. Warner said climate change and sea level rise have already forced some costly, but necessary changes here in Hampton Roads. 'We spent millions of dollars a year raising the piers in Norfolk so the fleet can still appropriately dock there,' Warner said. 'If anybody thinks sea level rise has gotten better, or we're not seeing extreme weather events, then they're either oblivious or ignorant.' King asked whether Gabbard directed her staff to keep climate change off the list of threats. Gabbard said she didn't recall giving that instruction. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
