Carlo Muñoz

Dismissing ICC, U.S. says it can handle charges of torture by soldiers

Officials from the Pentagon and the State Department on Monday dismissed accusations by the International Criminal Court of possible torture and abuse by U.S. forces and the CIA during the 14-year war in Afghanistan, insisting that the current military code of justice and standing rules of engagement for American troops exceed any standard The Hague-based court could set for conduct in a war zone.

November 15, 2016

Pentagon reviewing renewed air assault on Aleppo

The Pentagon is evaluating Russia's involvement in the renewed aerial campaign against anti-government forces in the Syrian city of Aleppo, dismissing Moscow's naval buildup in the Mediterranean Sea as nothing more than a show of force to the U.S. and international community.

November 15, 2016

Pentagon left in the dark by Trump transition team

The transition team for President-elect Donald Trump has not had any contact with Pentagon officials responsible for shepherding the department into the new administration, a week after the New York billionaire won the White House.

November 15, 2016

Iran-backed Shiites join Iraqi troops in Mosul fight, put U.S. commanders in bind

U.S.-backed Iraqi troops are fighting side by side with Shiite paramilitary forces backed by Iran for the first time in the campaign to take back Mosul, deepening U.S. fears that Tehran is claiming a greater role in the critical battle to oust Islamic State militants from Iraq's second-largest city.

November 14, 2016

Defense Department pressures Baghdad to investigate claims of civilian killings

The Defense Department has implored Baghdad to begin investigations into claims by human rights group Amnesty International of extrajudicial killings by members of the Iraqi Federal Police outside of Mosul.

November 10, 2016

Jihadi terrorist groups see opportunity with Trump election

Jihadi terrorist groups in the Middle East and Southwest Asia are looking to leverage the election win of Donald Trump as president of the United States as a call to arms on social media, while others are reaching out to the next administration in an attempt to end U.S. involvement in their countries.

November 9, 2016

Ash Carter pledges ‘orderly’ transition to new Trump administration

Defense Secretary Ashton Carter pledged to lead an 'orderly transition' of the Defense Department to President Elect Donald Trump and his new administration.

November 9, 2016

U.S. military sales drop sharply in latest fiscal year

The Pentagon sold over $33 billion in military-grade weapons, materiel and equipment to countries across the globe in the latest fiscal year, a $13 billion drop — nearly 30 percent — from previous years.

November 8, 2016

U.S. pulled deeper into Libya’s ISIS conflict as Sirte offensive stalls

In June the White House and Pentagon were touting the recent success of Libyan militias closing in on the Islamic State-held city of Sirte, with little to no support from U.S. forces on the ground.

November 6, 2016

Pentagon identifies U.S. special forces troops killed in Jordan

The Pentagon has released the identities of the three Army Special Forces troops killed in an apparent ambush outside a military base in Jordan.

November 6, 2016

U.S-backed offensive to seize Islamic State’s Syrian capital of Raqqa begins

U.S.-backed Syrian fighters have begun operations to retake Raqqa, the Islamic State's capital of its so-called caliphate, effectively opening a second front in the war against the terrorist group in Iraq and Syria.

November 6, 2016

Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi message a sign of trouble for ISIS, Pentagon says

An audio recording purportedly circulated this week by reclusive Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi may be proof that communications have broken down between the terrorist group's top leaders in Syria and its rank-and-file fighters in the besieged city of Mosul, the Pentagon said Thursday, as coalition forces continued their advance on Iraq's second-largest city.

November 3, 2016

Tensions rise as Shia militias enter the fray in fight for Mosul

As Iraqi and Kurdish forces tighten the noose around the Islamic State-held city of Mosul, American and coalition commanders are keeping a wary eye on the city's western flanks, where thousands of Shia majority paramilitary fighters have launched an offensive toward the city.

November 3, 2016

Mosul assault on hold as Iraqi troops clear territory, reinforce lines

U.S.-backed Iraqi troops hit pause on their assault on the Islamic State-held city of Mosul on Wednesday, shifting focus to flush out the remaining pockets of insurgents in the territory already cleared by local forces.

November 2, 2016

ISIS seeks to thwart Mosul operation with IEDs

The brutally simple weapon that for years caused problems for U.S. troops occupying Iraq and Afghanistan is now increasingly shaping the ongoing push by Iraq's military and other allied ground forces to retake Mosul from the Islamic State.

November 1, 2016

U.S. and Russian aircraft came close to crash over Syria

A near miss between U.S. and Russian aircraft over Syria this month was the closest call between American pilots and their Russian counterparts since the Syrian air war began, the Pentagon acknowledged Monday.

October 31, 2016

Turkish-trained militias in the fight for Mosul, U.S. eyes larger role for country in Iraq

Turkish-trained militiamen have begun operations northwest of the Islamic State-held Iraqi city of Mosul, as Baghdad and Ankara reportedly inch closer to a deal allowing a larger role for Turkish forces in the fight.

October 27, 2016

Ashton Carter suspends National Guard ‘clawbacks,’ vows pay system reform

The Pentagon has suspended "clawbacks," or forced repayments of re-enlistment bonuses handed out to California National Guard units, vowing to revamp the broken military pay system that forced thousands of U.S. service members to fork over money granted a decade ago.

October 26, 2016

Pentagon orders revamp of military pay system in wake of California National Guard scandal

The Pentagon has suspended repayments of mistaken or fraudulent wartime bonuses handed out to California National Guard units a decade ago, with plans to revamp how the Defense Department determines which servicemembers should and should not be allowed to keep the those funds.

October 26, 2016

U.S., allies shift focus to ISIS capital Raqqa in quest for ‘lasting defeat’

As the battle rages to retake Mosul from the Islamic State, U.S. and European commanders are shifting focus to the Syrian city of Raqqa, the capital of the group's self-styled caliphate, Defense Secretary Ashton Carter said Tuesday.

October 25, 2016