Amercia Cannot Afford The F-35

Source: Lockheed Martin.

Matthew Gault, War is Boring: Congress‘ Watchdog Thinks America Can’t Afford the F-35



New report reads like a passive-aggressive letter between spouses


The F-35 is the most expensive weapon the Pentagon has ever built. Current estimates put the total cost of the jet’s maintenance and operation at more than $1 trillion.


This number is for all the jets over their entire lifespan, but it’s also just for operations and maintenance. But this amount doesn’t take into account the acquisition cost — the cash taxpayers have spent so far to design and build the damn things.


The acquisition cost is just shy of $400 billion, and the military will need more cash to finish the job, according to a new report from the Government Accountability Office — Congress’ independent watchdog and reporting agency.



WNU Editor: Another critical and detailed analysis on the U.S. Air Force's F-35 program .... and the mess that it is in.

Did Then-Chairman Of The Joint Chiefs Admiral Mike Mullen Know That Bowe Bergdahl Deserted His Post?

FOX News: Bergdahl's platoon mates: Head of Joint Chiefs knew he walked off base in 2009



Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl walked away from his base in Afghanistan June 30, 2009, and by December of that same year, the president's principal military adviser, then-Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Admiral Mike Mullen, knew those details, according to three of Bergdahl's platoon mates who spoke to Fox News.


"I asked him (Mullen) if he knew about Bergdahl and that he deserted and he (Mullen) told me that he knew of the circumstances surrounding his walking off," former Sgt. Matt Vierkant told Fox,"(and) that they were developing leads and following leads, trying to do everything they could to get him back."



WNU Editor: Did then-Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Admiral Mike Mullen keep this information to himself (which I doubt) .... or did he do his job and notify the President. This is a case that keeps on giving .... and no surprising .... now retired Admiral Mike Mullen is not talking.

Differences Between The U.S. And Iran On Their Nuclear Deal Continues To Widen

USA Today: Iran-U.S. differences over nuclear deal widen



Two weeks after world powers and Iran announced a framework agreement to curb Iran's nuclear program, widening gaps between the two sides are emerging.


As negotiators prepare to start working on a final agreement in Vienna next Wednesday, the United States and Iran are at odds on key issues that form the basis of the deal unveiled April 2 in Switzerland.


They include when economic sanctions on Iran will be lifted, the number of machines Iran can keep to process uranium and length of the final agreement.



WNU Editor: These are the differences that are known .... we must not forget that much of these talks are still secret and will not be known until an agreement is signed (maybe).

Greece wants EU/IMF deal but impasse could bring referendum: deputy PM

ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece aims for a deal with its creditors over a reforms package but will not retreat from its red lines, the country's deputy prime minister told the Sunday newspaper To Vima, not ruling out a referendum or early polls if talks reach an impasse.

Are The People Who Run U.S. Central Command Stupid?

William M. Arkin, Phase Zero/Gawker: Why Is CENTCOM So Stupid?



Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi is in Washington today to meet President Obama. To set the stage yesterday, U.S. Central Command—the military command charged with advancing U.S. interests in the Middle East—announced that ISIS has lost control of 25 to 30 percent of its territory since August. The Pentagon briefing map, pictured below, is meticulous in its utter irrelevance.


The Pentagon spokesmen said that "coalition forces" expected to clear Tikrit of ISIS/ISIL "relatively soon" and that the front line "has been pushed either west or south, depending on location."



WNU Editor: A brutal look at how the higher-ups in the U.S. military operate. As to what is my take .... I gave up reading CENTCOM press releases a long time ago.

Nine gang members killed in army operation in El Salvador

SAN SALVADOR (Reuters) - At least nine members of the gang Barrio 18 were killed in El Salvador on Saturday in a confrontation with the army, which has taken on a larger role in fighting violence in the poor Central American nation.

Northern Cypriots vote for new president to oversee peace talks

NICOSIA (Reuters) - Voters in breakaway northern Cyprus elect a president on Sunday whose main task will be to represent them in reunification talks that are expected to resume on the ethnically divided island next month.

South Korea police clash with protesters over ferry disaster

SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korean police clashed with thousands of protesters, blocking their way to the presidential palace, where they hoped to demand a more vigorous government response to a ferry disaster that claimed more than 300 lives a year ago.

Car bomb kills three outside U.S. consulate in Iraq's Kurdish capital

ERBIL (Reuters) - A car bombing claimed by the Islamic State killed three people on Friday outside the U.S. consulate in Erbil, in a relatively rare attack in the capital of Iraq's Kurdistan region.

Afghan blast kills 33; president blames Islamic State

JALALABAD, Afghanistan (Reuters) - A suicide bomber in Afghanistan's eastern city of Jalalabad killed 33 people and injured more than 100 on Saturday, setting off a blast outside a bank where government workers collect salaries, the city's police chief said.