Tag: perpetual war

2,000 Marines Arrive in Arabian Sea on USS Tripoli Assault Ship as Trump Admin Weighs Deploying Up to 10,000 More Ground Troops to Middle East 

Thousands of Marines and Sailors have arrived in the Arabian Sea on board the USS Tripoli amphibious assault ship, carrying fighter jets, as well as amphibious assault and tactical assets.

CENTCOM announced on X,

U.S. Sailors and Marines aboard USS Tripoli (LHA 7) arrived in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility, March 27. The America-class amphibious assault ship serves as the flagship for the Tripoli Amphibious Ready Group / 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit composed of about 3,500 Sailors and Marines in addition to transport and strike fighter aircraft, as well as amphibious assault and tactical assets.

U.S. Sailors and Marines aboard USS Tripoli (LHA 7) arrived in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility, March 27. The America-class amphibious assault ship serves as the flagship for the Tripoli Amphibious Ready Group / 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit composed of about… pic.twitter.com/JFWiPBbkd2

— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) March 28, 2026

Fox reports that “nearly 2,000 Marines” are on the ship with fighter jets and gun ship helicopters. Additionally, the USS George H.W. Bush Aircraft Carrier is expected to depart from Norfolk, Virginia, next week.

Keep reading

US-Iran war live: Donald Trump drops hint that massive escalation is imminent

Donald Trump seemed to drop a hint about his intentions in Iran on Sunday, Australian time, as he directed his followers on social media to tune in for a media appearance by a conservative political commentator, Mark Levin.

“Watch Mark Levin interview of Brilliant Marc Thiessen tonight at 8pm on Fox News. Will discuss the importance of hitting Iran, HARD!!! President DJT,” Mr Trump wrote on Truth Social.

Mr Thiessen, now a columnist and TV panelist, previously worked as a speechwriter for the Republican president George W. Bush. He and Mr Levin are both very much in favour of the Iran war.

The TV segment in question turned out to involve Mr Levin advocating for a dramatic escalation in Iran, which would involve the deployment of US ground troops to the country. He suggested Mr Trump should order the American military to seize the regime’s stores of enriched uranium.

Such an operation would be fraught with danger for US forces.

“Why would we need troops on the ground?” Mr Levin said, before answering the question for his viewers.

“Well there’s a lot of reasons, and we wouldn’t need 300,000 of them,” he said.

“It’s this uranium too. We’ve got to get the uranium.

“If it cannot be destroyed, if it cannot be altered, we’ve gotta get it. For the reason I just said, you can make dirty bombs and over time you can still make sophisticated missiles.

“So you need to get to the uranium. That’s why I’m reading, in the paper, we’re talking about (various troop deployments). It’s not talking abouts ending regular army and infantry in by the hundreds of thousands. The men he’s talking about, they are specialised.

“You know what else? I remember from my days in the Reagan administration. Many of them are trained for a moment like this. To try to secure enriched uranium.”

Keep reading

Failed by the MoD: The wives tortured by Army husbands using brutal battlefield techniques

Military wives and girlfriends who suffer chilling domestic abuse involving ‘battlefield techniques’ at the hands of high-ranking servicemen are being failed by the Ministry of Defence and justice system, a damning report has found.

A dossier of 52 harrowing cases reveals victims have been tortured with military techniques including chokeholds and restraints, have been raped, threatened with combat weapons and even taunted by the maiming of family pets by elite troops who have been ‘kill-trained’ for armed conflicts.

Some were subject to sophisticated tracking involving military resources and equipment.

One woman, diagnosed with PTSD after the abuse, reported that her husband brought home combat knives and a remote transponder to set off an improvised explosive device (IED) after threatening to put one around the front door. 

Another told how she had a stroke after excessive strangulation by a partner in the Special Forces who also used torture tactics, including pressing his thumbs into her eye sockets.

But a significant proportion of the women reported that MoD welfare services and the Royal Military Police ‘closed rank’ when such abuse was reported – and either failed to investigate or dismissed concerns for their safety. Some women were told by welfare staff that their job was to ‘protect our boys’.

The report also claims top brass are prepared to submit glowing character references for alleged abusers whose cases come before the family and criminal courts, which campaigners say is ‘swaying’ judges in their favour and putting families at risk.

The deeply disturbing revelations – described by campaigners as the armed forces’ ‘nasty, big secret’ – are particularly embarrassing for the MoD because it is implementing its Domestic Abuse Action Plan 2024-29. 

Keep reading

IDF Vet-Turned War Critic Explains Why Israel’s Military is on the Brink of Collapse

Israel has been fighting a multi-front war since 2023, with the backbone of its forces “based on its reserve battalions, on people that are civilians and that are called by the army to serve,” former IDF officer Guy Poran told Sputnik, commenting on a top general’s warning that the IDF risks “collapsing in on itself” from operational strain.

“Under normal circumstances, they serve 30 days or 45 days a year. Now, because of the war in Gaza” and other conflicts Israel has found itself in, “many of those reserve battalions, the fighting units of the IDF, have been called up for hundreds of days,” Poran, an ex-IAF helicopter pilot-turned peace activist, explained.

Many soldiers have businesses that are falling apart, problems with family life, etc.

Compounding the crisis are the exemptions to service that the Netanyahu government has given to members of the Ultra-Orthodox community. This has created “a big conflict” in Israeli society, according to Poran.

“And this during the time that the army has clearly said that it requires something like 15,000 more soldiers just to be able to do the missions that it has” in Gaza, Lebanon (for which a whopping five divisions have been mobilized), the West Bank, etc.

On top of that, there is the growing realization in society that these conflicts are “political,” and not existential, in nature, Poran says.

In contrast to the wars of 1967 and 1973, which most saw “as wars that were absolutely necessary,” the wars since 2023, initially met with enthusiasm, now face skepticism – from the sense that the “destruction of Gaza” was not carried out for security reasons, from the government’s rejections of a ceasefire to bring hostages home, etc.

Keep reading

Israeli Forces Raise Flag Over Syrian Town In Latest Raid: ‘Provocative Act’

Israeli military vehicles rolled into the town of Hadr in Syria’s Quneitra Governorate days ago and raised the Israeli flag over the town’s entrance. Locals say they also closed all but one road leading into or out of the town, and established a checkpoint on that road as well.

Though Israel routinely raids Quneitra’s towns and villages of late, raising the Israeli government’s flag over a town is more provocative than what usually happens in these incidents, and like most of Israel’s military forays on Syrian soil, they’ve yet to issue a statement to even attempt to explain the purpose of the operation.

Hadr is a relatively small town of about 5,000 people along the frontier between Quneitra Governorate and the UNDOF demilitarized zone, a zone which has subsequently been occupied militarily by Israel. Some suburbs of Hadr extend into the demilitarized zone.

Israel also launched operations against multiple other villages in Quneitra earlier this week, including Saida al-Golan and Saida al-Hanout. They captured two young men who were herding sheep to the west of the village.

The troops also captured two village elders in Saida al-Golan, though the elders were ultimately released without incident. The fate of the shepherds remains uncertain, and again the IDF has not commented.

As for the flag-raising incident, Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which the mainstream media had long relied on as its main anti-Assad source throughout the prior war, detailed the following of the “provocative act”:

Al-Quneitra province: Israeli forces raised the Israeli flag at the entrance of Hadr Town in northern Al-Quneitra countryside [on Wednesday], raising local questions regarding the escalation in the area.

According to sources, these forces closed secondary roads leading to the town from the side of Al-Qanaif checkpoints, and only kept the main road leading to the town open.

Keep reading

IRGC targets US-linked aluminum industries in coordinated missile-drone strike

The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) has announced targeting two industries connected to US military and aerospace sectors in a combined missile and drone operation.

In a statement on Saturday, the Corps said the strikes were carried out jointly by its Aerospace Force and Navy in response to “the malicious actions of the US-Zionist enemy targeting the industrial infrastructure of our beloved country from the Persian Gulf’s littoral states.”

The two targeted facilities were identified as the Emirates Aluminum (EMAL) plant and the Aluminum Bahrain (ALBA) plant.

The statement highlighted their strategic significance, noting that EMAL houses the world’s longest aluminum production line with a capacity of 1.3 million tons, while ALBA operates with American investment and shareholding. The latter, it added, “plays a significant role in supplying the military-industrial production of the US terrorist army.”

Keep reading

Israel Targeted Churches, Mosques, and Markets during the Genocide.

Gaza City is home to landmarks such as the Church of Saint Porphyrius, the Great Mosque and Gaza’s al-Zawiya and gold markets.

These landmarks testify to Gaza’s archaeological history, religious significance and commercial heritage.

But throughout its genocide in the Gaza Strip, Israel has wreaked havoc on these places.

The Orthodox Church of Saint Porphyrius is located in Gaza City’s al-Zaytoon neighborhood, with roughly 20 Christian homes standing around it.

The church is believed to be the third-oldest in the world.

But its heritage and status as a place of worship didn’t deter Israel from bombing the church on 19 October 2023, targeting the church’s annex building and killing 17 Palestinian Christians who were sheltering there.

“It was the greatest catastrophe of our lives,” Fuad Ayyad, a Christian working at the church, told The Electronic Intifada.

“I can still see the faces and bodies of the martyrs I collected with my own hands, the children I buried myself,” Ayyad, 44, said. “It was the first time in our history that a church – a house of worship – was directly targeted.”

The Christian community sought refuge in Gaza’s churches during the genocide.

More than 400 sought refuge in Saint Porphyrius, while a few hundred meters away, the Latin convent, which comprises the Catholic Holy Family Church, sheltered around 500 others.

On 16 December 2023, an Israeli sniper fatally shot two Christian women while they were sheltering at the Holy Family Church.

On 18 July 2025, an Israeli artillery shell struck the Holy Family Church, killing three Christians.

Churches weren’t safe havens only for Christians.

The Saint Porphyrius Church, Ayyad said, was also housing Palestinian Muslims.

But “the Israeli army makes no distinction between a Christian or a Muslim,” Ayyad said.

The 19 October 2023 bombing, he said, killed another Muslim man who was sheltering at the church.

“The church lost its majesty, but it still carries the memory of coexistence and love,” Ayyad said, referring to the 2014 Gaza war when the church sheltered Palestinian Muslims during Ramadan, Muslims’ holy month, where they broke their fasts and worshiped god.

Keep reading

Hegseth Slashes ‘Faith Codes’ in Move to Make Chaplains the Spiritual Backbone of the US Military

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth says his latest reforms will allow the Chaplain Corps to fulfill its mission of being the spiritual backbone of America’s military.

The number of faith codes used in the service has been winnowed down to 31, according to a War Department news release.

In 2017, the Pentagon issued a list of 221 groups that qualify as a religious group. The list included Wiccans and atheists, according to Stars and Stripes.

“The previous system had ballooned to well over 200 faith codes,” Hegseth said Tuesday.

“It was impractical and unusable, and many codes were never used at all,” Hegseth said, adding that most of the 82 percent of service members who identify as being religious used six of the codes.

The reduction “brings the codes in line with its original purpose, giving chaplains clear, usable information so they can minister to service members in a way that aligns with that service member’s faith background and religious practice,” Hegseth said.

Hegseth added that the chaplains will display their religious insignia on their uniforms instead of their ranks.

“A chaplain is first and foremost a chaplain, and an officer second. This change is a visual representation of that fact,” he said.

“While they will retain rank as an officer to those they serve, their rank will not be visible.”

Hegseth said his Chaplain Corps reforms are not over.

“These two reforms are big progress, but we’re not even close to being done. These are the first steps toward restoring the esteemed position of chaplain as moral anchors of our fighting force,” Hegseth said.

“Theirs is a high and sacred calling, but they can only be successful if they are given the freedom to boldly guide and care for their flock.”

Keep reading

Exiled Iranian crown prince says at CPAC he intends to ‘make Iran great again’

Reza Pahlavi, the exiled crown prince of Iran, called on the American people to take a moment and reflect on what a free Iran would look like.

“No more nuclear threats. No more terrorism. No more hostage taking. No more closing of the Strait of Hormuz. No more blackmailing fo the global community. Imagine an Iran that instead of exporting terrorism, is promoting freedom,” he said at the conference.

“Stability to its neighbors. National security and economic opportunity for the United States and the free world,” he added.

“Can you imagine Iranians going from ‘Death to America’ to ‘God Bless America’?” he also said. “I can because I’ve seen the true soul of my people.”

The crowd began chanting, “USA.”

He said he can imagine an Iran that “exports engineers, instead of extremists” and “startups instead of suicide bombers.”

He said the Middle East will change when Iran is free.

“President Trump is making America great again. I intend to make Iran great again,” he said.

Keep reading

Yemen enters war, launches ballistic missile at ‘sensitive’ sites in southern Israel

The Ansarallah-led Yemeni Armed Forces (YAF) announced on 28 March the launch of a barrage of ballistic missiles targeting sensitive military sites in southern Israel.

Saturday’s attack marked the first action by the YAF against Israel since Tel Aviv and Washington initiated a war on Iran on 28 February. Shortly afterward, the US and Israel also engaged in wars against the Resistance Axis in Lebanon and Iraq.

YAF spokesman Brigadier General Yahya Saree stated that the operation was carried out in response to Israel’s crimes and massacres “against our brothers in Lebanon, Iran, Iraq, and Palestine.”

Saree added that the operation successfully achieved its objectives and coincided with the “heroic operations” carried out by “our mujahideen brothers in Iran and Hezbollah in Lebanon.”

He also confirmed that Yemeni military operations will continue until the declared objectives are achieved and the aggression against all resistance fronts ceases.

The attack came one day after Sanaa urged the US and Israel to participate in international diplomatic efforts to end the war against Iran, Lebanon, and Iraq.

“[Our] fingers are on the trigger for direct military intervention,” the YAF declared on Friday, warning other countries against joining the US and Israel in their war against the Axis of Resistance, including if the Red Sea is used to carry out “hostile operations against Iran or any Muslim country.”

The Yemeni forces emphasized that Saturday’s ballistic missile attack stems from a religious and moral responsibility to resist the US and Israel’s effort to establish “Greater Israel.”

The Israeli military announced on Saturday that it had identified a missile launched from Yemen.

Keep reading