Baltimore unrest summons the National Guard; A Friend in Abe; Nepal recovery; Senate chutzpah; How ISIS really gets its weapons; And a bit more.
In Baltimore, Maryland’s Governor Larry Hogan declared a state of emergency and called up the National Guard to help quell unrest and looting after at least 15 police officers were hurt and dozens of protesters arrested, hours after the funeral for Freddie Gray. The last time the Maryland Guard was activated for public disturbance was after the assassination of Martin Luther King more than 40 years ago. As of 7:30 a.m. EDT, there were some 500 Guard troops working in Baltimore, with another 500 expected soon, according to the Baltimore Sun. Follow their live feed here for the latest.
The devastation from Nepal’s weekend earthquake has now affected 8 million people in the region while the death toll has risen to more than 4,300, the U.N. says this morning. Now three days in, rescuers still haven’t reached the hardest hit areas while international aid continues to pour into the airport at Kathmandu—including a second U.S. Air Force C-17 loaded with supplies and rescue workers that’s due to arrive today. The Guardian is keeping tabs on the developments here.
Afghans this morning fear the capital of Kunduz province in the north could fall to the Taliban at any moment. President Ashraf Ghani delayed a trip to New Delhi yesterday to receive an updated assessment from Afghanistan war commander Gen. John Campbell. Locals say the Taliban have blown up bridges to cut off Kabul’s chances of reinforcing its now-modest contingent of nearby troops. And the district governor has requested NATO airstrikes on Taliban positions, but the coalition reportedly declined his request citing the high risk of civilian casualties, Afghanistan’s Naharnet News reports.
From Defense One
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is a rare, reliable ally who comes to honor cooperation with America rather than lecture or harangue the U.S. for additional financial and military assistance, former PACOM Commander and retired Navy Adm. Dennis Blair writes.
Japan’s Abe knows that the path to Tokyo’s security inevitably runs through South Korea, and Seoul and Beijing will both be watching Abe’s remarks to Congress with a very close eye, the Council on Foreign Relations’ Scott Snyder and the Center for Strategic and International Studies’ Brad Glosserman write.
Rand Paul was against drones, before he was for them. Call it a reversal or an evolution but the senator’s position is a long way from maverick, and politics editor Molly O’Toole traces his evolution on the issue here.
Two teams of Green Berets are on the ground in Nepal combing popular trekking routes for the dead and wounded while hundreds of rescue workers land in Kathmandu aboard Air Force C-17s. Watson has more on the Pentagon’s status report for Nepal recovery ops yesterday.
Well before the Wall Street Journal reported the White House issued an exemption to its drone policy in Pakistan, America’s use of drones have not lined up with President Obama’s promises of reform two years ago, Micah Zenko of the Council on Foreign Relations writes.
This week, 2016 contenders are using the Senate’s open amendment process on an Iran bill to show their foreign policy chutzpah, and National Journal’s Fawn Johnson lays out the implications.
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Defense Secretary Ash Carter welcomes his counterpart to the Pentagon in the afternoon the day after Japanese and U.S. officials, including Carter and State Secretary Kerry, announced a huge shift in the Washington-Tokyo defense alliance. The new guidelines allow Japan to help the U.S. should its troops in the region come under threat from hostilities out of Beijing or North Korea—though officials noted the new doctrine is not aimed at China. It also calls for increased coordination on missile, naval and cyber defense.
“Under the previous rules, Japanese forces could assist American troops only if they were operating in the direct defense of Japan... A US official earlier indicated Japan would now be able to defend US ships engaged in missile defense activities near its territory. ‘It means that Japan can respond to attacks on third countries if they are in close association with Japan and if those attacks directly affect Japanese security,’ the official added.
“One possible scenario could have Japan shooting down a missile headed toward the United States, even if Japan itself was not under attack.” Read more from the AFP’s Jo Biddle and Dan De Luce.
The biggest change, writes Tara Copp for The Washinton Examiner, “is that Japan's maritime patrols no longer will be limited to their own waters. But while Japan can now operate globally, that doesn't mean it will.”
“If we don’t write the rules, China will write the rules out in that region,” President Obama told The Wall Street Journal in an exclusive preview interview ahead of Japan’s Abe’s trip to the White House today.
Also: the AFP this morning has this nifty graphic of the power struggle and competing claims that dot the South China Sea.
House Armed Services Chairman Mac Thornberry released a $604 billion defense budget that includes weapons for Ukraine, presents an obstacle to closing Guantanamo Bay and keeps funding alive for the A-10 “Warthog.” AP’s Deb Reichmann has more.
While we’re talking price tags, a recent GAO report slams the reliability of Pratt and Whitney engine for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. Brian Dowling of The Hartford Courant, via Stars and Stripes, has more.
Or check out the Pentagon's 68-page IG report on the matter released yesterday, here.
Yemen’s exiled government declared disaster zones in the port city of Aden and the cities of Taiz and Dhale. That as Saudi-led warplanes continued to hit Houthi positions yesterday for two straight hours, residents told Reuters.
ISIS fighters in Iraq and Syria may hold weapons that look like U.S. M-16s, but NYT’s C.J. Chivers says many are in fact Chinese knock-offs that made their way into Syria from East Africa. That’s just one of a number of takeaways out of a forthcoming report from investigators for Conflict Armament Research.
Here’s Chivers on the findings: “This picture carries a sobering reminder for anyone who believes that arming even the most accommodating militaries and rebel groups comes without grave risks. The data set shows that the Islamic State…group’s diversions include ammunition that Iran most likely provided to Iraqi or Syrian security forces; weapons formerly used in wars in Libya, East Africa and the Balkans; and equipment intended for the Syrian opposition…sold, traded or captured from unreliable rebels… showing that the militant organization is a long way from being logistically isolated.” Read the rest here.
So how tough is it to stop foreign fighters in Syria from traveling back to the states? Despite the federal indictment this month of Ohio resident and U.S. citizen Abdirahman Sheik Mohamud, his case actually shows how it’s nearly impossible to catch them all, former CIA-er Kevin Strouse writes in the intelligence and natsec site Overt Action.
Meanwhile in Nigeria, Boko Haram left hundreds of dead bodies behind, including women and children, in the northeast town of Damasak, officials learned yesterday. The finding represents one of the largest mass graves discovered yet. AFP has more.
Ukraine now says separatists in the east fired GRAD rockets—banned in the Minsk 2 ceasefire—on the government-held town of Avdiivka, AP’s Peter Leonard reports this hour.
The Finnish military set off small depth charges on a suspected submarine this morning near Helsinki. Officials are all but singling out Russia over the suspicious underwater craft, Reuters reports.
And: Here are some of the weirdest nuclear weapons ever developed, from Jeep-mounted recoilless rifle versions to nuclear landmines, by former 82nd Airborne Division paratrooper David Nye at the military entertainment site, We Are the Mighty.