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Pentagon to Give Trump Options to Reduce Troops in Germany

Defense Secretary Mark Esper will present President Donald Trump with a series of options Monday to withdraw thousands of US troops from Germany, with many moving to eastern Europe, the Pentagon said Saturday. “Secretary Esper met with President Trump on Wednesday to discuss our presence in Europe,” said Pentagon spokesman Jonathan Hoffman. “On Monday the Secretary will brief the President at the White House on options for our force posture in Germany.” According to two senior Pentagon officials, the plan calls for cutting the permanent US troop presence in Germany to 25,000, as Trump announced June 15, for a reduction of 9,500 troops. Some of the 9,500 will return to the US, while others will be transferred to former Soviet-bloc countries, the two officials said, speaking on grounds of anonymity. That shift, they added, would be meant as a clear warning to President Vladimir Putin of Russia, whose military ambitions were underscored by the 2014 annexation of the Crimea. The two officials did not say to which European country the troops might be moved, as that is among the options to be presented to the US president. But Trump, meeting at the White House on Wednesday with Polish President Andrzej …

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One Dead, Six Wounded in Turkish Raid on Northern Iraq

A Turkish air strike on Iraqi Kurdistan killed one person and wounded six others Thursday, a local official said, as Ankara pushed an assault on the north of the country.

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Thousands Flee ‘Intense Fighting’ in Eastern South Sudan: MSF

Thousands of people have fled a fresh wave of intercommunal clashes in South Sudan's eastern region of Pibor, Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said Thursday.

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Japan Confirms Scrapping US Aegis Ashore Missile Defence System

Japan has scrapped the deployment of a multibillion-dollar US anti-missile system, days after saying the programme had been suspended.

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Will Egypt Send Troops Into Libya?

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has upped the ante in the chaotic conflict in Libya, warning Cairo could intervene militarily.

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US Soldier Plotted to Have Unit Attacked by Jihadists: Justice

A US soldier with links to neo-Nazis plotted to have Islamic extremists attack his unit in Turkey in hopes of sparking a new '10-year war' in the Middle East, the Justice Department charged Monday.

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Egypt’s Sisi Says Turkey/Qatar-Backed Assault on Libya’s Sirte Is ‘Red Line’

Egypt’s president warned Saturday that advances by Turkey-backed Libyan forces on the Libyan city of Sirte could prompt an Egyptian military intervention in the neighboring country in support of Cairo’s ally Khalifa Haftar.  Meanwhile, Ankara has urged forces led by the eastern-based Haftar to withdraw from the strategic city for a ceasefire agreement to be reached. The UN-recognized Government of National Accord (GNA) in Tripoli has made major military gains against Haftar’s forces recently thanks to increased support from its backer Turkey. The key city of Sirte, which lies some 280 miles east of the capital, is under the control of Haftar’s forces, who last year launched a recently aborted attempt to seize control of western Libya. In a televised address, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said Sirte is a “red line” for Egypt, citing the need to protect its porous border as grounds for “direct intervention” in Libya. “If the Libyan people asked us to intervene, it is a signal to the world that Egypt and Libya share … common interests, security and stability,” Sisi said on Saturday. The GNA denounced Sisi’s warning, saying any intervention would be a threat to Libya’s security. “We strongly reject what was said …

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US Navy Confirms Demotion of Captain of Virus-Hit Carrier

The US Navy said Friday it would not reinstate the captain of a coronavirus-stricken aircraft carrier, saying he was in part to blame for the severity of the crisis on the warship. Admiral Michael Gilday, chief of naval operations, said Brett Crozier, who was fired as captain of the USS Theodore Roosevelt in April, was guilty of “questionable judgment” in handling an outbreak of COVID-19 aboard the nuclear-powered ship in March. Gilday likewise faulted Rear Admiral Stuart Baker, Crozier’s direct supervisor as the carrier’s strike group commander, for poor leadership. “It is my belief that both Admiral Baker and Captain Crozier fell well short of what we expect of those in command,” Gilday said. “In reviewing both Admiral Baker’s and Captain Crozier’s actions, they did not do enough, soon enough, to fulfill their primary obligation” to keep the ship’s 5,000 crew safe. After a two-month investigation, the Navy decided that Crozier would not return to the Roosevelt and not be eligible to captain another ship. Baker’s expected promotion meanwhile has been placed on hold, pending further review. The coronavirus outbreak onboard the Roosevelt was one of the first US crises of the pandemic, crippling the massive ship and forcing it …

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Nigeria Attacks Spark Fears of Bloodier Jihadist Strategy

People in northeast Nigeria are no strangers to horror after a decade-long jihadist insurgency, but a flurry of bloody assaults has ramped up fears that a powerful jihadist faction may be opening a grim new chapter.

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Turkey Hits PKK in Iraq: Why Now and How Far Could It Go?

Turkey launched a rare ground assault into northern Iraq, deploying special forces against rebels from the Kurdistan Workers' Party which is blacklisted by Ankara as a 'terrorist' group.

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