By Elvia Malagon
...O’Neill, (click here) a father of four who lives in suburban La Grange, is among an estimated 400 members of the Illinois Army National Guard who will be leaving this weekend to begin a more than yearlong deployment to Afghanistan in support of America’s “Operation Freedom’s Sentinel.”
Officials say the deployment of the 1st Battalion, 178th Infantry Regiment — headquartered on Chicago’s South Side with companies in Elgin, Woodstock, Joliet, Kankakee and downstate Bartonville, near Peoria — marks the largest mobilization of Illinois National Guardsmen and women in nearly a decade....
I don't find it a surprise they are beginning a troop build-up by drafting our National Guard into service at the federal level at a time when Congress is going on a six week recess.
Trump's options are definitely spinning out of control since he abandoned the Iran Agreement.
Esper is a very different kind of Defense Secretary. He hasn't sincerely left Raytheon to take this position. He is considered a lobbyist for Raytheon. What he knows about the balance of power in the world can be put in a thimble. He is about war spending and not much else.
By Quinn Scanlan
Retired Admiral Mike Mullen (click here) was the second lecturer in the LEAD Distinguished Speaker series.
The former top military adviser (click her) to both Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama said on Sunday that he's concerned escalating tensions with Iran "could spin out of control," stressing that the last thing the world needs is the United States going to war with the Middle Eastern country.
"My biggest concern is the president is running out of room, running out of options, and while the rhetoric goes back and forth on how close we came to hitting Iran just the other day, that this thing could spin out of control," retired Adm. Mike Mullen told "This Week" Co-Anchor Martha Raddatz. "The last thing in the world we need right now is a war.
Mullen, who boasts a lengthy military career and served as the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff between October 2007 and September 2011, said politicians need to diplomatically attain their goal of preventing Iran from developing a nuclear weapon, and that Americans need to call their representatives to advocate against declaring war on Iran.
"I really would like to know that the American people who feel we should not go to war with Iran are pressing their congressmen, their senators and everybody in the public domain to make sure that no matter what happens with respect to where we are with Iran right now, that we do not go to war," he said on "This Week." I think the politicians need to figure out a way to achieve the objective, which is Iran without a nuclear weapon, without -- from my perspective -- without regime change, without going to war."...
Esper is primarily a desk jockey. His highest rank was a lieutenant colonel which was achieved while in the Army Reserve. His battlefield exposure is very limited.
...Esper served as an infantry officer with the 101st Airborne Division and deployed with the "Screaming Eagles" for the 1990–91 Gulf War. His battalion was part of the famous "left hook" that led to the defeat of the Iraqi Army. For his actions, Esper was awarded a Bronze Star, the Combat Infantryman's Badge, and various service medals. He later led an Airborne Rifle Company in Europe and served as an army fellow at the Pentagon. Esper was on active duty for over ten years before transitioning to the Army National Guard and later the Army Reserve, rising to the rank of lieutenant colonel. Esper is a recipient of the Department of Defense Medal for Distinguished Public Service. Among his military awards and decorations are the Legion of Merit, Bronze Star Medal, the Kuwait Liberation Medal, Kuwait Liberation Medal – Saudi Arabia, and the Combat Infantryman Badge....
