Billionaire Sought by U.S. Holds Key to Putin Gas Cash
A detained billionaire who made a fortune as a middleman in Russia’s murky gas trade with Ukraine may hold the key for U.S. lawmakers seeking harsher sanctions against President Vladimir Putin’s inner circle.
“This law would enable the U.S. to go after any member of Putin’s entourage,” Masha Lipman, an analyst at the Carnegie Moscow Center, said by phone. “The point is to deepen the fractures within the Russian elite. The idea is to weaken Putin so he can be contained.”
End of American Military Dominance
President Barack Obama will sharply cut ships, aircraft, and troops as part of a major reduction of U.S. military forces that will face even steeper downsizing in 2016, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel a
A few takeaways from this article: 1) It spins a positive light on a perceived decrease in military spending 2) it makes an interesting point about a refocusing of U.S. government resources:
Ostensibly, the force reductions are being made as the war in Afghanistan winds down and the administration is seeking to reposition forces to the Asia Pacific to deal with China’s growing military buildup and increasing assertiveness in making maritime claims over international waters.
The administration’s defense focus for the future is on “new technologies, new centers of power, and a world that is growing more volatile, more unpredictable, and in some instances more threatening to the United States,” Hagel said, adding that current defense spending limits have forced the military to “face significant readiness and modernization challenges next year.”
3) Could this be a sign of the decline of an empire that has been stretched too thin?
Eyeing Afghan exit, U.S. intensifies campaign against Haqqani militants
KABUL/WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States has intensified its drive against the Taliban-linked Haqqani network in an attempt to deal a lasting blow to the militants in Afghanistan before foreign combat
Eyeing Afghan exit, U.S. intensifies campaign against Haqqani militants
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