Pentagon once again removing Gaza pier

June 28, 2024

Defense and
International Security

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US amphibious assault ship deployed to eastern Mediterranean amid rising tensions between Israel and Hezbollah

U.S. European Command confirmed Friday that the Pentagon has deployed the Navy amphibious assault ship USS Wasp with Marines to the eastern Mediterranean amid rising tensions between Hezbollah and Israel along the Lebanese border. Wasp and the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, which includes about 2,200 personnel, entered the Mediterranean on Wednesday on a “planned deployment to U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Africa.”

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Russia warns it may take unspecified measures against U.S. drone flights over the Black Sea

Russia’s defense minister has ordered officials to prepare a “response” to any U.S. military drone flights over the Black Sea, the defense ministry said on Friday, appearing to warn that Russia may take aggressive action to shoot down U.S. military surveillance planes.

The Russian Defense Ministry noted a recent “increased intensity” of U.S. drone activity over the Black Sea, saying it was “collecting information and identifying targets of precision weapons supplied by Western countries to the Ukrainian armed forces for attacks on Russian facilities.”

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Two US soldiers charged with sexual assault in Japan

Two U.S. soldiers have been accused of sexual assault in Japan, prompting Japanese government officials to voice their protests over what they see as questionable behavior. A U.S. Air Force soldier was accused of sexually assaulting a teenage girl in December, and a Marine was accused of assaulting and attempting to sexually assault a woman this month. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi, who is in charge of policy coordination, said…

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Our Radar

Upcoming topics we are keeping an eye on:

Secretary of State Antony Blinken Let’s talk in Brookings Institution He will speak about the Biden administration’s foreign policy at 10:30 a.m. Monday.

In other news

Read another article from The Hill:

Putin didn’t ‘set an alarm’ to watch Trump-Biden debate: Kremlin

Russian President Vladimir Putin didn’t set an alarm to wake up in the middle of the night to watch Thursday’s debate between President Biden and former President Trump.

“You can’t expect the Russian president to set his alarm and get up early in the morning to watch the United States debate,” Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, according to Reuters.

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On Tap Monday

Happenings in and outside the defense industry:

Atlantic Council Discuss “What’s next for the EU?” 9:30 a.m.
of McCain Institute Intention Host a lecture With retired general David Petraeus About his new book Conflict: The evolution of the war from 1945 to Ukraine, 2 pm
Atlantic Council Also, Discuss About the report Distributed Maritime Operations 4pm

What we’re reading

Other media highlights:

Israel and Hezbollah Approaching War (Bloomberg)
Russia sent troops to the front line one after another, Brutal fighting style (The New York Times)

Trending Today

Two big stories currently on The Hill:

Alyssa Farah Griffin: ‘I feel deceived by the Biden campaign’

After watching the shaky debate between President Biden and former President Trump, “The View” host Alyssa Farrah Griffin said she felt… read more

Fetterman urges Democrats to ‘calm down’ after Biden debate performance

Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA), overcoming his disastrous debate performance ahead of the 2022 election, told his fellow Democrats to “keep calm…” read more

The Hill’s opinion

Defense and national security op-ed submitted to The Hill:

The Assange saga is over. What have we learned?
Defeat, Deter, and Persuade: Israel’s Survival Strategy Against Iran and Its Proxies
We cannot let our guard down against ISIS