Michael Langley insisted only a “very small number” of Africans trained by Washington overthrew their governments
US general admits to sharing ‘core values’ with coup leaders
General Michael Langley, head of US AFRICOM, appeared to admit that the Pentagon’s “core values,” instilled into tens of thousands of African military officers, were compatible with staging coups as he was grilled during a House Armed Services Committee hearing by Republican Matt Gaetz (Florida) on Thursday.
Initially unable to provide a “ballpark” figure for how many US-trained African officers have gone on to stage coups, Langley then claimed it was “less than one percent,” crediting the Pentagon’s International Military Education and Training program, which stresses civilian governance and representative democracy.
Gaetz, citing an Intercept article revealing US-trained officers had staged at least eight successful coups in West Africa alone since 2008, asked whether the “core values” instilled in that curriculum were compatible with program graduate Col. Mamady Doumboya, who overthrew the Guinean government while his unit was literally in training with US Green Berets in September 2021.
Langley answered in the affirmative, insisting the “core values” of “respect for civilian governance, apolitical” were “what sticks across a very high percentage” of trainees.
“How many governments have to be overthrown by people we train before you sort of get the message that our core values might not be sticking with everyone?” Gaetz asked, questioning why US tax dollars should be spent training African military officers to overthrow their governments. “I think we should at least know how many countries we train the coup plotters in,” he suggested.......More Below
https://www.rt.com/africa/573599-africom-coup-plotters-trained-gaetz/
US President Donald Trump confirmed on Wednesday the upcoming start of ground strikes against drug cartel targets in Latin America.
He made the remarks during Christmas greetings to the military.
Trump said the United States was "now going after the land" in its fight against drug cartel targets, noting that drug trafficking by sea was down 96 percent.
The U.S. president also extended special congratulations to the crew of the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford, currently deployed in the Caribbean.
BEIJING (Sputnik) - China has begun operating the world's first intelligent ultra-large oil tanker powered by methanol, the China Central Television (CCTV) reported on Monday.
The tanker, designed to transport crude oil, was successfully put into operation in the city of Dalian in China's northeastern coastal province of Liaoning, the report said. State-owned company Dalian Shipbuilding Industry Co Ltd independently designed and built the vessel, it added.
The tanker is approximately 333 meters (1,092 feet) long and can carry around 2.1 million barrels of crude oil, the CCTV reported. Designed to produce low emissions and having intelligent control capabilities, the tanker will serve the route to the Middle East, among others, according to the report.
The vessel is powered by a dual-fuel methanol engine, which reduces carbon dioxide emissions by 92% compared to conventional fuel, the CCTV reported. It is equipped with an intelligent ship platform, an intelligent liquid cargo ...
A car bomb has killed a senior General Staff member, officials have confirmed
Source: The Investigative Committee
A Russian general has been killed in a car bomb blast in Moscow, the Investigative Committee has reported.
Officials identified the victim as Lt. Gen. Fanil Sarvarov, head of operational training at the General Staff. According to the statement, an explosive device had been planted beneath the vehicle he was traveling in, and detonated on Monday morning in the southern part of the Russian capital.
The blast also damaged several other vehicles and seriously injured Sarvarov’s driver, media reports stated.
Russian officials said one line of investigation is an assassination carried out by Ukrainian intelligence services, noting that Kiev has previously used explosive devices in targeted killings of officials and public figures.
Last December, a bomb hidden in an e-scooter killed Lt. Gen. Igor Kirillov, commander of Russia’s Nuclear, Chemical, and Biological Defense ...
