War

The Pentagon has confirmed that the U.S. military used depleted uranium anti-tank rounds on Syrian civilians, during air strikes against ISIS.  On two occasions in 2015, the military used depleted uranium munitions in air strikes against Islamic State tanker trucks, despite warnings by the United Nations Environment Program that they posed a health risk to civilians due to their “chemically and radiologically toxic heavy metal.” Thelastamericanvagabond.com reports: In 2015 the military claimed that they would not be using DU rounds in Syria, and for good reason.

Russia’s envoy to NATO has warned that the alliance’s increased military buildup in the Black Sea region could lead to a cold war situation. Alexander Grushko made his comments after NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg promised to fortify its military presence in the region, to counter so-called ‘Russian aggression.’ Grushko said that Moscow will take “all necessary measures” to protect its national interests in the Black Sea. MSN reports: “All these decisions will be subject of thorough analysis.

Syrian President Bashar Assad has accused France of sponsoring terrorists, including ISIS militants, in Syria in order to destabilise the Middle East.  In an explosive interview with Press TV, Assad accused French President Francois Hollande of sponsoring terror in Syria and encouraging other Western governments to end diplomatic relations with Assad, in order to oust the Syrian President from power.

The White House has said that reports claiming Donald Trump is considering using 100,000 National Guard troops to round up illegal immigrants in 11 states are “100% false”. The Associated Press reported that the Trump administration was considering mobilizing the National Guard to round up immigrants living in the US illegally. According to a draft memo obtained by AP, millions of unauthorised citizens could be affected by the plan who live nowhere near the Mexican border.

Two days after the Pentagon's new chief Jim Mattis appeared before a full conference room in Brussels, and issued an ultimatum to NATO to boost spending or risk a cut in US support, Germany's Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen "fired a salvo of warnings" back at Washington, cautioning it against hurting European cohesion, abandoning core Western values and seeking a rapprochement with Russia behind the backs of its allies.