Due to a less than enthusiastic response from numerous African countries, the year-old United States military command for Africa (AFRICOM) has recently decided to forgo the attempt to base its headquarters on the African continent. Confusion and conspiracy rumors have developed in response to AFRICOM’s creation, including the idea that the command’s “real motives are thirst for oil and the desire to counter growing Chinese influence on the continent,” according to the article, “US Defers Sensitive Africa HQ Decision for Now.” These conspiracy ideas are all misunderstandings though. The current …
According to the Washington Post, in an article featured “U.S. Flu Outbreak Plan Criticized” Health Officials say that the Administration’s plans for dealing with pandemic flu does not anticipate strain on hospitals, staff, and the public health systems. This is true. A serious outbreak would inundate medical centers, cause lengthy delays in emergency and routine care, and trigger shortages of beds and other supplies. The Bush administration argues that it is doing a lot to help communities as part of its three-pronged strategy for dealing with the flu threat. But …
It has only taken six years, but according to reports that surfaced today, the United States and Poland have finally reached a tentative agreement on the development of a Ground Based Midcourse defense site, which will initially include the placement of 10 interceptors in Poland. Although discussions concerning the radar site in the Czech Republic have not been concluded, the agreement between the U.S. and Poland comes as somewhat of a surprise, as the Polish public opinion looked unfavorable and requests for cooperation on security and other matters were prolonging …
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Michael Mullen is calling for the elimination of emergency supplemental spending used to finance the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and is instead pushing for the inclusion of war funding in the annual defense budget. In the DefenseNews.com article, “Mullen Wants Supplemental Spending Rolled Into Annual Baseline Budgets,” he argues that supplemental appropriations “have taken on, in many ways, a life of their own.” Often times these supplemental bills have provided more than just emergency funds for war fighting, and his solution …
