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Carlo Muñoz

cmunoz@washingtontimes.com

Carlo Muñoz is a former military correspondent for The Washington Times.

Latest Podcast Episodes for Inheriting Chaos

Articles by Carlo Muñoz

Gen. Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told the Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday, "While the political space is clearly very charged right now, we haven't seen a change in the posture of North Korean forces." (Associated Press)

Donald Trump vows to ‘fix the mess’ of North Korea

The U.S. slapped sanctions on North Korean banks Tuesday as President Trump vowed to "fix the mess" of Pyongyang's nuclear weapons programs and warned that military action would be devastating to North Korea.

September 26, 2017
National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster said lifting Iran's ban on nuclear enrichment in 2025 is a "fatal flaw." (Associated Press)

Iran deal pullout by U.S. would harm allies, European diplomats warn

Top diplomats from Washington's European allies agreed Monday that it would be America's allies who would suffer most from a U.S. pullout from the landmark nuclear deal with Iran, but refused to weigh in on whether the Trump White House was seriously considering such a move.

September 25, 2017
White House national security adviser H.R. McMaster, center, listens as President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak in the Cabinet Room of the White House, Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2017, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

H.R. McMaster: Open war with North Korea a possiblity

The U.S. and its allies in the Pacific must steel themselves for the realistic possibility of open warfare with North Korea, National Security Adviser Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster said Monday, hours after the country's top diplomat claimed the growing war of words between the White House and Pyongyang was tantamount to a declaration of war.

September 25, 2017
President Trump insisted the U.S. will be abandoning the timeline-based approach to Afghanistan in favor of a "conditions-based" strategy. Critics claim the decision will effectively restart combat operations. (Associated Press)

U.S. military advisers failing in Afghan training, advising

A basic misunderstanding by American military advisers on how to stand up a fully functioning military and police force, compounded by unrealistic timelines set by Washington, laid the foundation for many of the challenges faced by the Afghan national security forces 16 years into the war there.

September 21, 2017
Hamdullah Mohib (left), Afghanistan's ambassador to the United States, said the Trump administration's plan for a long-term occupation in his country is the right way to capitalize on gains made in the past 16 years of war. (Associated Press/File)

Hamdullah Mohib, Afghanistan’s ambassador, welcomes Trump’s plan for long-term U.S. occupation

NEWSMAKER INTERVIEW: A country that has long fiercely resisted foreign occupiers is ready to accept a long-term U.S. military presence to ensure stability and security, Afghanistan's ambassador to Washington said in an interview, adding that Kabul is also ready to forge stronger ties with regional powers such as Iran and India to defeat terrorism and serve as a check to neighboring Pakistan.

September 20, 2017
Ahmed Pesher said 23 members of his family were killed during fighting in March in Mosul, Iraq. A U.S. airstrike in the Islamic State stronghold allegedly killed more than 100 people. (Associated Press/File)

ISIS fight will raise civilian casualties, rights groups fear

As the endgame nears for the fight to oust Islamic State from its last strongholds in Iraq and Syria, rights activists and the United Nations are expressing mounting concerns that civilian casualties are spiking, as both the U.S.-backed coalition and Russian-backed Syrian forces intensify their battle against the terrorist group.

September 17, 2017
Islamic State claimed over the weekend that its Philippine affiliate, known as the Maute group, killed 50 troops as government forces launched a massive offensive to drive militants out of Marawi. (Associated Press/File)

ISIS affiliate Maute a tough foe for Philippines, U.S. in Marawi

A Southeast Asian faction of the Islamic State is putting up an unexpectedly tough fight in the face of unrelenting military pressure from U.S.-backed counterterrorism forces in the Philippines, three months after the extremists stunned the region by seizing control of a major city in the southern part of the country.

September 13, 2017
The Pentagon released revised troop figures Monday, saying that there are nearly 11,000 troops on the ground in Afghanistan. (Associated Press)

Pentagon: 11,000 troops are on the ground in Afghanistan

The Pentagon for the first time revealed Tuesday that nearly 11,000 American troops are still on the ground in Afghanistan, roughly 40 percent more than what Defense Department leaders had acknowledged since President Obama ended the U.S. combat mission three years earlier.

August 30, 2017
President Trump insisted the U.S. will be abandoning the timeline-based approach to Afghanistan in favor of a "conditions-based" strategy. Critics claim the decision will effectively restart combat operations. (Associated Press)

Pentagon faces hurdles turning Donald Trump’s Afghanistan strategy into action

A week after President Trump outlined his new plan for the war in Afghan, the Defense Department has begun drafting the battle plan to make his vision a reality in the troubled 16-year-old war. But the early drafts, being overseen by Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Joseph Dunford, appear at odds with actions already undertaken by U.S. wartime commanders.

August 29, 2017
In this April 15, 2017, file photo, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un waves during a military parade in Pyongyang, North Korea to celebrate the 105th birth anniversary of Kim Il Sung, the country's late founder and grandfather of current ruler Kim Jong Un. North Korea fired a ballistic missile from its capital Pyongyang that flew over Japan before plunging into the northern Pacific Ocean, officials said Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2017, an especially aggressive test-flight that will rattle an already anxious region. (AP Photo/Wong Maye-E, File)

North Korea fires test missile into Japanese airspace

A North Korean short-range missile was fired into Japanese airspace during a weapons test early Tuesday morning, representing the latest shot across the bow by Pyongyang against Washington and its allies in the Pacific.

August 28, 2017
Although Tal Afar's city center and key infrastructure centers are under Iraqi control, Pentagon officials say coalition forces remain engaged in dangerous back-clearing operations against Islamic State. (Associated Press)

Iraq battles ISIS, looks to political stability

Iraq still faces tough military battles and hard political choices in the wake of the surprisingly quick advance over the weekend to oust Islamic State militants from the northern city of Tal Afar.

August 28, 2017
FILE - In this Aug. 22, 2017 file photo. the damaged port aft hull of the USS John S. McCain is visible while docked at Singapore's Changi naval base in Singapore.  Divers have recovered the remains of all 10 sailors who went missing after the USS John S. McCain and an oil tanker collided near Singapore last week, the U.S. Navy said Monday, Aug. 28, 2017.  (AP Photo/Wong Maye-E, File)

Navy recovers remains of missing sailors from USS McCain

The Navy has recovered remains of all 10 missing sailors from the USS McCain collision, the Pentagon confirmed Monday, as the sea service continues its fleet-wide inquiry into why Navy warships have been involved in two fatal crashes in as many months while deployed in the Pacific.

August 28, 2017