Former Central Intelligence Agency Director John Brennan to spill the beans on the Trump-Russia probe

Speaking to MSNBC’s Chris Hayes, Brennan said he felt “very good” that while at the CIA, and serving for the Barack Obama administration, he was “not engaged in any type of wrongdoing or activities” that caused him to “worry about what this investigation may uncover”.
Former Central Intelligence Agency Director John Brennan has revealed he’s yet to be interviewed by John Durham, the federal prosecutor investigating the origins of the Trump-Russia probe - although he claims he’s willing and able to do so as he’s “nothing to hide”.
“I’ve not yet been interviewed by any of those individuals involved in this matter, but I’m willing to do so because I do believe that for too long, the American public have been misled by Donald Trump, by William Barr and others,” he said to MSNBC’s Chris Hayes.
— MSNBC (@MSNBC) May 16, 2020
Durham, US attorney for Connecticut, has been investigating the intelligence community’s investigations and surveillance of associates of Donald Trump 2016 - 2017, and reportedly taking a keen interest in Brennan’s activities, subpoenaing his emails, call logs and other documents in order to determine what he told other intelligence officials, including former FBI director James Comey, about potential Russian interference in the 2016 Presidential election. Durham is also examining whether Brennan privately contradicted various public statements, including his May 2017 testimony to Congress, about whether there was debate among intelligence agencies over Russian interference.
It’s become clear officials who worked on the official Intelligence Community Assessment that concluded the Kremlin did indeed interference in the Presidential vote disagreed fundamentally on whether the Russian state actually wanted to assist Trump win, and whether the salacious contents of ‘Trump-Russia’ dossier compiled by former MI6 operative Christopher Steele, which was funded by the Democratic party, were remotely credible.
Adding fuel to the fire, on 13th May a list of Obama administration officials who submitted ‘unmasking’ requests for information on national security adviser Michael Flynn was released. Among the names are then-Vice President Joe Biden, Comey, Brennan and James Clapper. Denis McDonough, who served as chief of staff to President Obama, also submitted a request on Jan. 5, 2017, the documents show.
#FLYNN unmasking docs include these key details “Each individual was an authorized recipient of the original report and the unmasking was approved through NSA's standard process..While the principals are identified below, we cannot confirm they saw the unmasked information." pic.twitter.com/vz9W3uHPSz
— Catherine Herridge (@CBS_Herridge) May 13, 2020
Unmasking refers to the process by which high-level US government officials request information regarding US citizens mentioned in classified foreign intelligence reports. A flurry of requests were submitted in mid-December 2016, the records show.
Brennan has defended making these requests on the basis he and other Obama administration officials were “carrying out our responsibilities”, and claims he’s in the President’s “crosshairs” for speaking out against “the corruption, the incompetence, the mischaracterizations [Trump] and individuals around him have made to the American public”.
Durham is also investigating some of areas also probed in the Justice Department inspector general’s report on the FBI’s Crossfire Hurricane investigation, which found the Bureau made 17 “significant” errors and omissions in applications for surveillance warrants against former Trump campaign aide Carter Page.
Many of the omissions centered on the Steele dossier - the Inspector General report said FBI investigators withheld information that undercut the theory Page and other Trump aides were working with the Kremlin.

On 15/05/2020 ,the US Africa Command (AFRICOM) asserted that even though seasonal change in Somalia has prevented the force from carrying out airstrikes against al-Shabaab targets, the US military force remains committed to its support of the country’s government against the militants.

On 15/05/2020 ,the US Africa Command (AFRICOM) asserted that even though seasonal change in Somalia has prevented the force from carrying out airstrikes against al-Shabaab targets, the US military force remains committed to its support of the country’s government against the militants.
Stars and Stripes on Thursday called attention to what is now AFRICOM’s five-week break from airstrikes in Somalia - the longest hiatus in air-based attacks from the force in over a year.
Despite a pause in reported airstrikes since the
April 10 strike against an al-Shabaab terrorist in Jamaame, Somalia, the military force has not ceased additional operations in and around the region, AFRICOM spokesperson Col. Chris Karns insisted.
“With the rainy season there can be shifts in al-Shabaab and broader activity,” the AFRICOM spokesperson claimed. “There is always effort, not always opportunity to conduct airstrikes. There is certainly no pause.”
According to recent numbers from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Somalia, 24 people have been killed and an estimated 283,000 have been displaced following heavy rains in the country triggered by the warming Indian Ocean.
AFRICOM managed to conduct a total of 40 airstrikes in Somalia within the first four months of 2020 - a significant increase after only 63 airstrikes were conducted in 2019.
The frequency of airstrikes against militants in Somalia began to increase following al-Shabaab’s January 5 attack on Kenyan and American troops at the Kenyan Defense Force Military Base in Manda Bay.
During its five-week halt on airstrikes, the US released its first quarterly casualties report and
confessed to killing two Somali civilians and injuring at least three more in a single airstrike.
“While we follow very precise and rigorous standards, in instances where we fail to meet our expectations, we will admit the mistake,” AFRICOM Commander US Army Gen. Stephen Townsend said in the report.
“Regrettably two civilians were killed and three others injured in a February 2019 airstrike. We have the highest respect for our Somali friends, and we are deeply sorry this occurred.”
The authenticity of AFRICOM’s reporting on civilian casualties in Somalia has previously been brought into question by human rights organization Amnesty International.
More recently, AFRICOM has been providing COVID-19 novel coronavirus-related humanitarian assistance to countries in Africa grappling with the highly contagious disease.
The command, in conjunction with the US Embassy in Mauritius and Seychelles, provided the Seychelles Department of Health with 2,900 KN95 masks and 200 face shields on April 28. Likewise, on April 20, the Mauritius Ministry of Health and Wellness received 2,000 N95 masks, 21,000 pairs of gloves and additional personal protective equipment.
In addition to the flooding, COVID-19 pandemic and airstrikes, Somalians are also experiencing food insecurity brought about by waves of voracious desert locusts that have found the recent moist conditions extremely favorable .

The American military's newest weapons system, the Next Generation Squad Weapons (NGSW), will be delivered to US special operations ground forces

A previous addition to the American special operations forces' arsenal, the XM25 air-burst system, failed to generate much love from soldiers due to it being heavy and unreliable. The new weapons system, however, has been developed with their direct participation.
The American military's newest weapons system, the Next Generation Squad Weapons (NGSW), will be delivered to US special operations ground forces, such as the Green Berets or Army Rangers, once its development is complete, Joel Babbitt, a representative from the Programme Executive Officer Special Operations Forces Warrior shared in an interview with the website Military.com.
"We are an enthusiastic supporter of the Army's 6.8mm Next Generation Squad Weapons. We expect there will be Next Generation Squad Weapons in our formations as soon as we can receive them via fielding", he said.
NGSW prototypes have already been developed by four different contractors and are currently being evaluated by the military, who will pick one manufacturer for the entire weapons system. The latter will include an NGSW-based rifle, which will replace the Army's M4A1 carbine, and an NGSW-based automatic rifle to replace the M249 light machine gun. It's unclear if a separate NGSW-based LMG will be developed as currently, the Army is content with the automatic rifle's performance, Babbitt noted.
The RM277 - General Dynamics' new bullpup offering for US Army's NGSW program. GD in collaboration with True Velocity is also offering 6.8mm polymer-cased ammo for 30-40% weight reduction for the ammo. Other companies competing in NGSW are SIG Sauer and Textron Systems.
Unlike another addition to the military's arsenal, the XM25 air-burst system, NGSW have been developed in concert with representatives of the armed forces. The XM25 was received coldly by special forces due to it being too heavy to carry and was eventually discarded for being unreliable.
High-Tech Weapons System
NGSW items, which are expected to hit the Army shelves around 2023, will feature a long list of improvements, compared to existing weapons systems . It will be based on a unified lightweight 6.8 mm ammunition, which is expected to outperform the 5.56 mm ammo in terms of range and lethality.
The weapons themselves will also be lightweight, allowing soldiers to carry more ammo and supplies on missions, while featuring higher precision and better ergonomics than their predecessors. In addition, the NGSW guns will have a reduced acoustic and flash signature thus making soldiers using them less detectable to enemies.
The new weapons system will also have capabilities for further modernisations, such as installing gadgets to calculate bullet ballistics, intelligent targeting, and even tracking enemies on the battlefield.

FARDC take position on borders with Zambia

The Rapid Reaction Units of the 22th Brigade and the 22th FARDC Naval Group are deployed on the border locations of the DRC at the border of Zambia. The news is confirmed by Didier Mumbere, the admin of the territory of Moba, in the province of Tanganyika, says
radiookapi.net.
At a press conference held on Wednesday 13 May in Tanganyika, Didier Mumbere assured that FARDC have chosen to maintain their presence in all border communities with Zambia.
Since the beginning of their deployment in April, FARDC has continued to take a stand in almost all border villages with Zambia. " We are deploying military, strengthening total security at the level of our Congolese and Congolese border limits, deployed the military at the level of Moliro, and at Kalubamba, Libondwe, Kibanga, even to, to and in Musosa, even Kabondwe on the side of Pweto, that our population cannot live (with) fear in the belly ", said Didier Mumbere.
Beyond the of group, FARDC deployed throughout the border with Zambia, including the Kapingu village, which had also been invaded by the Zambian security forces in 2007, says Didier Mumbere.
HARARE TO HELP IN SOLVING THE Crisis
The DRC approached Zimbabwe President Mnangagwa to referee his long-standing border dispute with Zambia. DRC Special sent, Marie Nzeza, met on Monday with Zimbabwe President Emerson Mnangagwa at State House to inform him of the situation. Chairman of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), Mnangagwa said after the meeting that the two countries would support SADC's intervention on this issue. "A special sent from my brother Tshisekedi from the rd Congo has informed me of the situation in rd Congo, especially in connection with the current pandemic-19 pandemic and how they deal with it".
"There is also the security situation where the DR Congo and Zambia want the Defense and Political Body to consider a small case that exists between the Republic of Zambia and the DR Congo", he said.
The border between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Zambia includes, inter alia, the panhandle of the Katanga boot. Kasumbalesa is one of the main crossing of the border (road and rail), on the road between Lubumbashi in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Kitwe and Ndola in Zambia.
The DR Congo and Zambia had misunderstandings over part of their 80. km common border, the last one from an attempt to define the border with tags in the late 1 s.
In its eastern part, the border is embodied in the Lwapula River and then Lake Moero. To the west, it almost coincides with the water-sharing line between the Congo-Lualaba basin in the north, and that of the Zambezi to the south.
As all countries fight to contain the progress of the Covid-19 on their territory, a border conflict between the two countries will only make it more difficult for people, as is already the case of the inhabitants of of , who had to desert their homes to get safe.

Army announcesArmy announces the identification of military and senior officers in Butembo

The General Staff, command of the 3310th Regiment of the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, in an official statement reached 7,. CD this Friday, May 2020, 15, announced the identification of the military and senior officers who are based in different areas of the commercial city of Butembo (North Kivu).
The Congolese army calls on the inhabitants of Butembo to provide, in their immediate environment, the address of "all military and senior officer" resident in the city for identification by the specialized services.
"The heads of cells, heads of neighborhoods and civil society of the communes are asked to collect all this information and send it to us through the channel of the mayors of the communes for centralization", says Lieutenant Colonel Ombeni Murengisi, Commander of FARDC-Butembo.
It should also be mentioned that several military positions are already installed in different remote areas of Butembo. This, with a view to dealing with insecurity (Kasuku phenomenon, Ndlr) in the r in Butembo
15/05/2020
The General Staff, command of the 3310th Regiment of the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, in an official statement reached 7,. CD this Friday, May 2020, 15, announced the identification of the military and senior officers who are based in different areas of the commercial city of Butembo (North Kivu).
The Congolese army calls on the inhabitants of Butembo to provide, in their immediate environment, the address of "all military and senior officer" resident in the city for identification by the specialized services.
"The heads of cells, heads of neighborhoods and civil society of the communes are asked to collect all this information and send it to us through the channel of the mayors of the communes for centralization", says Lieutenant Colonel Ombeni Murengisi, Commander of FARDC-Butembo.
It should also be mentioned that several military positions are already installed in different remote areas of Butembo. This, with a view to dealing with insecurity (Kasuku phenomenon, Ndlr) in the region.

Ankara was unceremoniously booted out of the F-35 fighter programme in July 2019 after refusing to give up on its Russian-made S-400 air defence systems

Ankara was unceremoniously booted out of the F-35 fighter programme in July 2019 after refusing to give up on its Russian-made S-400 air defence systems. The Pentagon claims the S-400 is incompatible with NATO air defence standards and says it poses an unspecified potential threat to the F-35.
The timely production of key components for the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II fifth-generation multirole combat aircraft has been put out of whack thanks to US lawmakers’ decision to kick senior development partner Turkey out of the programme, Breaking Defense has reported , citing a fresh report by the Government Accountability Office.
According to the spending watchdog, as many as 15 key components for the F-35 once produced in Turkey are currently not “being produced at the needed production rate.” At the same time, the GAO reported that Lockheed has had to scramble to find new suppliers for a whopping 1,005 different components previously made by Turkish defence contractors.
Turkey’s decision to buy Russian-made S-400s led Washington to halt the delivery of F-35s to the country, and to threaten the allied nation with sanctions. US officials also indicated that Turkey would not get access to the Patriot missile system so long as the S-400s were deployed in the country. This week, US special representative for Syria engagement James Jeffrey said the S-400 issue is the biggest snag to normalized relations between Washington and Ankara.
Tardy Contractors
The production bottleneck caused by the halt in Turkish parts deliveries has been further aggravated by the fact that contractors have developed a habit of being late with parts deliveries, the GAO says. According to the Defence Contract Management Agency, a Pentagon agency responsible for administering DoD contracts, “between August 2017 and July 2019, the number of parts delivered late increased from under 2,000 to more than 10,000,” with “roughly 60 percent of parts shortages…attributable to 20 suppliers.”
Another problem, the GAO notes, is that only about 30 percent of the “manufacturing leading practices” outlined by the watchdog are meeting predefined quality standards, with the 500+ aircraft already delivered to the armed forces failing to meet both reliability and maintainability standards.
“Although the contractor is changing the manufacturing processes to address problems and improve efficiency, more remains to be done. Unless the program office evaluates the risks of not meeting these leading practices, the military services and international partners are at risk of not receiving the quality aircraft they purchased,” the GAO concludes.
With an estimated lifetime price tag of $1.6 trillion , the F-35 programme is easily the most expensive weapons project in human history, and hugely controversial. Efforts by the Pentagon and Lockheed to create a one-size-fits-all fighter for use by the Air Force, the Navy, and the Marine Corps have necessitated a series of innovative solutions, but have also left the plane with serious drawbacks, such as a single engine design making it unsuitable for long-term deployment at sea, as well literally hundreds of major and minor problems, glitches and bugs caused by overengineering.

US aerospace giant Boeing won two cruise missile contracts worth over $2.6 billion

US aerospace giant Boeing won two cruise missile contracts worth over $2.6 billion combined to support foreign military sales to Saudi Arabia and six other countries, the Defence Department said in a press release.
"The Boeing Company of St. Louis, Missouri is awarded a $1,971,754,089... contract to provide non-recurring engineering associated with the Stand-off Land Attack Missile – Expanded Response (SLAM ER) obsolescence redesign effort as well as the production and delivery of 650 SLAM ER missiles in support of the government of Saudi Arabia", the release said on Wednesday.
Boeing also won $656 million to provide 467 Harpoon anti-ship missiles to Japan, India, South Korea, Qatar, Brazil, and The Netherlands, the release added.
In December 2019, the Boeing Company received a $265 million modification contract to upgrade the US Ground-based Midcourse Defence (GMD) interceptor system.
The AGM-84H/K SLAM-ER (Standoff Land Attack Missile-Expanded Response) is an advanced standoff precision-guided, air-launched cruise missile. The Harpoon is an all-weather, over-the-horizon, anti-ship missile.