Top World News

Aug 19, 2026 - World

The Department of Defense is weighing a retreat and not rebuilding bases after President Donald Trump exposed Middle East vulnerabilities.According to a Tuesday article, the Pentagon's policy office is evaluating whether to retreat long-term from the Persian Gulf after Iranian strikes battered military bases. The Washington Post reported that damage to the bases presents a "once-in-a-generation" chance for the Pentagon to reevaluate its footprint in the Middle East."The war really did highlight the vulnerability...of U.S. forces in the region," Michael Ratney told The Post. Ratney is a former diplomat who served as the U.S. ambassador to Saudi Arabia and deputy chief of mission in Qatar.The shift would leave battered bases unrepaired and move U.S. forces back, according to The Post. A person familiar with the change told The Post that U.S. Central Command is considering keeping in place shifts away from bases that were evacuated because they were too vulnerable to Iranian missile and drone attacks."Iran thinks we are in the traditional places," the person told The Washington Post. "And we are not."The Post noted that the Pentagon's retreat could impact U.S. allies in the Gulf because they rely on the presence of U.S. forces in the region for defense. The move could leave them "unable to defend themselves against Iranian attacks," according to The Post. The largest and most permanent bases in the Middle East are in the Persian Gulf, according to The Post. The headquarters of the U.S. Fifth Fleet is in Bahrain, and countries like Kuwait host Army and Air Force assets, The Post added.Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has not yet ordered a formal review of U.S. posture in the region, The Post noted. An anonymous senior official who spoke to The Post called it "prudent planning" and said, "Decisions are going to have to be made on some of this stuff."

Aug 18, 2026 - World

President Donald Trump told his administration's envoys to stop talks with Iran on Tuesday, CNN reported.CNN anchor Jake Tapper reported that Trump officials have told allies that they have shifted their strategy from "hammer Iran ASAP" to "strangle them over time," according to sources.Lawmakers have shared their concerns amid reports of dwindling weapon supplies and low morale among troops as the military operations have continued for nearly six months. Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), who serves on the Senate Armed Services Committee, reacted to the administration's reported change in an interview with Tapper."I think it's another indication that he has reached a strategic dead-end," Blumenthal said. "He has involved this nation in a seemingly endless, costly war. Just as the [USS] Abraham Lincoln is on an endless, seemingly indefinite deployment with no exit. The idea that he would 'strangle Iran' seems pretty magical thinking."He called out Trump for lack of strategy and cost of the war — from gas, groceries and worldwide economic backlash."He's playing a dangerous game of chicken," Blumenthal added.

Aug 18, 2026 - World

U.S. President Donald Trump says the U.S. has no planned talks with Iran but insists the Strait of Hormuz remains open

Aug 18, 2026 - World

South Korea says the South Korean and U.S. militaries have agreed to shorten their drills at the U.S.'s request

Aug 18, 2026 - World

Former CNN anchor Jim Acosta warned that foreign allies are concerned that President Donald Trump's politics represent more than an aberration.During a recent episode of "The Jim Acosta Show," the former anchor and his guest, Jonathan V. Last from The Bulwark, said that the warning from abroad is that the United States needs more than a Democratic successor to Trump to avoid becoming 1930s Germany.Last and Acosta were talking about Trump's threats to take over Greenland and his preference for North Korea over South Korea."Is this permanent, or is this just unique to Trump?" Last asked Acosta. "Is it that Trump has some special magic...The whole international order looks at this and just is like, 'What are you going to do?'"Acosta told Last that he's been to functions attended by ambassadors, and said that a couple of ambassadors warned him that Trump echoes Germany at its darkest period."This was after when he gave the crazy bats--- election conspiracy theory speech, which we've all flushed out of our systems because we just move on to the next crazy thing that he does," Acosta said. "A pretty close U.S. allied ambassador for that country came up to me at a party — this was about a month ago or so — and said, 'Jim...This reminds me of 1930s Germany. What is happening in America right now?'" According to Acosta, "Another ambassador for another major U.S. ally standing next to this person was nodding and saying, 'Yep, that's what it reminds me of, too.'"He added, "People need to understand the rest of the world is starting to form this conclusion that the United States of America is just in a serious f------ jam right now, and nobody knows how we're going to get out of this."Shaking his head, Acosta made it clear that the world doesn't have faith in "this whole idea that some Democratic candidate is going to ride in on a white horse and change everything overnight."