Eric Schmitt | The Seattle Times

President Barack Obama walks with Air Force Col. Jacqueline Van Ovost, 89th Airlift Wing commander from Marine One to Air Force One at Andrews Air Force Base, Md., Tuesday, Aug. 31, 2010. Obama is traveling to Fort Bliss, the sprawling Army base in El Paso, Texas, and after speaking with the troops, he will return to Washington to address the nation and formally end a combat mission in Iraq. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen) MDCO101

February 17, 2021 at 10:12 am

Promotions for female generals were delayed over fears of Trump’s reaction

Last fall, the defense secretary and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, both out of favor with then-President Trump, held off on nominating...

February 16, 2021 at 3:51 pm

Biden, long a critic of Afghan deployments, faces a deadline

WASHINGTON — The previous two presidents of the United States declared that they wanted to pull all U.S. troops out of Afghanistan, and they both...

Nation & World

January 3, 2021 at 8:31 pm

Aircraft carrier Nimitz to remain in Middle East rather than return home to Bremerton, Pentagon says

WASHINGTON — The Pentagon said Sunday that it had ordered the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz to remain in the Middle East because of Iranian threats...

Nation & World

January 1, 2021 at 5:22 pm

Pentagon orders Bremerton-based aircraft carrier home in abrupt reversal of Iran strategy

WASHINGTON — The Pentagon has abruptly sent the aircraft carrier Nimitz home from the Middle East and Africa over the objections of top military advisers,...

Nation & World

December 1, 2020 at 10:17 am

Another Official Is Ousted From the Pentagon

The firing of Christopher P. Maier, the head of the Pentagon’s Defeat ISIS Task Force since March 2017, was announced to Maier by a White...

November 25, 2020 at 1:49 pm

CIA Officer Is Killed in Somalia

WASHINGTON — A veteran CIA officer was killed in combat in Somalia in recent days, according to current and former U.S. officials, a death that...

Nation & World

November 16, 2020 at 5:20 pm

Trump Sought Options for Attacking Iran to Stop Its Growing Nuclear Program

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump asked senior advisers in an Oval Office meeting Thursday whether he had options to take action against Iran’s main nuclear...

Nation & World

November 16, 2020 at 2:48 pm

Trump Is Said to Be Preparing to Withdraw Troops From Afghanistan, Iraq and Somalia

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump is expected to order the U.S. military to withdraw thousands of troops from Afghanistan, Iraq and Somalia by the time...

Nation & World

The FBI wanted poster for Abdullah Ahmed Abdullah, the second-highest official in al-Qaida, who went by the nom de guerre Abu Muhammad al-Masri. He was killed in Iran three months ago, intelligence officials from multiple countries have confirmed. (Federal Bureau of Investigation via The New York Times) — EDITORIAL USE ONLY —

November 13, 2020 at 5:13 pm

Al-Qaida’s No. 2, accused in U.S. Embassy attacks, is secretly killed in Iran

The killing occurred in such a netherworld of geopolitical intrigue and counterterrorism spycraft that the death of Abdullah Ahmed Abdullah, who went by the nom...

Nation & World

November 12, 2020 at 10:23 pm

Helicopter Crash Kills 7 Peacekeepers From Multinational Force in Sinai

JERUSALEM — A helicopter carrying members of a multinational peacekeeping force crashed Thursday near Sharm el-Sheikh in the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt, killing five Americans,...

Nation & World