• UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer visited Ukraine on Thursday to sign a "100-year partnership" with Ukraine.
• The deal aims "to deepen security ties and strengthen partnership for future generations."
• Starmer pledged to put Ukraine in the "strongest possible position."

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer visited Kyiv on Thursday to sign a "historic partnership" with Ukraine, just days before President-elect Donald Trump is set to be sworn in as US president.

During an unannounced trip to the capital, his first since being elected prime minister, Starmer pledged to put Ukraine in the "strongest possible position."

"Our 100 Year Partnership is a promise that we are with you, not just today or tomorrow, but for a hundred years — long after this war is over and Ukraine is free and thriving once again," he said in a post on X.

According to a UK government press release, the treaty will boost military collaboration on maritime security across the Baltic Sea, Black Sea, and Azov Sea in an effort to deter Russian aggression.

The deal will also seek to advance the countries' scientific and technology partnerships in areas such as space and drones, it said.

In a press briefing following a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Starmer also announced that the UK would deliver 150 artillery barrels and a mobile air defense system to Ukraine.

The UK has been one of Ukraine's main backers. As of December 20, the UK had committed £12.8 billion (around $15.7 billion) to Ukraine, including £7.8 billion ($9.5 billion) in military aid since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022.

Starmer's visit comes as Ukraine gears up for the return of Trump to the White House.

Trump — who along with his vice president pick JD Vance has been skeptical of US aid to Kyiv — has said that he intends to bring the war in Ukraine to a swift close without detailing how he plans to do so.

Both Moscow and Kyiv have been racing to put their respective sides in the best possible position ahead of his return to office.

• Israel and Hamas appear close to a cease-fire deal to end 15 months of fighting in Gaza.
• The conflict has left Hamas battered, with thousands of its militants killed.
• But for Israel, an end to the conflict doesn't mean an end to its Hamas problem.

Israel and Hamas appear close to a cease-fire deal to end more than 15 months of devastating fighting in Gaza, though it's facing something of a last-minute crisis.

The agreement, which has hit a snag at the eleventh hour as Hamas reneges on certain parts and Israel pushes for last-minute concessions, is expected to eventually go through. The deal aims to facilitate the release of hostages from Gaza and a surge of humanitarian aid into areas ravaged by fighting, as well as create options for a permanent end to the bloodshed.

Regardless of how the negotiations ultimately work out, many of the issues that fueled this conflict remain, and Israel's Hamas problem appears to be an enduring challenge.

US officials have said that Israel's scorched-earth campaign in Gaza killed thousands of Hamas fighters and eliminated senior commanders, including Yahya Sinwar, its longtime leader. But after all this, the militant group remains alive, leaving Israel with a problem. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu set out to wipe out Hamas, but that hasn't happened.

That reality makes the next steps especially important.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that the US had long conveyed to Israel that it couldn't defeat Hamas through a military campaign alone and needed a postconflict plan for Gaza, or "something just as abhorrent and dangerous" would take its place.

"Each time Israel completes its military operations and pulls back," he said at an Atlantic Council event this week, "Hamas militants regroup and reemerge because there's nothing else to fill the void."

The latest war is the fifth Israel and Hamas have fought since 2008, though the scale has been significantly larger than past fights. Hamas, however, remains an issue for the Israeli leadership and military.

"We assess that Hamas has recruited almost as many new militants as it has lost," Blinken said, adding that this "is a recipe for an enduring insurgency and perpetual war."

The October 7, 2023, attacks, during which Hamas and other militants killed some 1,200 people across Israel and took another 250 people hostage, triggered a retaliatory Israeli bombardment and ground invasion of Gaza that reduced much of the enclave to rubble and left tens of thousands of Palestinians dead.

Israeli officials have said throughout the war that the goal is to crush Hamas and remove the group from power in Gaza. However, analysts were skeptical of this approach, arguing that Israel faced a no-win situation in its high-intensity campaign.

Even with a cease-fire agreement in view, Hamas — though heavily battered and bruised and devoid of the external support from Hezbollah in Lebanon it had enjoyed — remains a decision-making and militant power in Gaza.

"Hamas is not going to disappear," Avi Melamed, a former Israeli intelligence official, told Business Insider. "All this rhetoric about crushing Hamas and eliminating Hamas — it will never really stick. It was just political rhetoric."

Melamed, the founder of the Inside the Middle East institute, said that the big question was whether Palestinians would hold Hamas accountable for initiating the war with its October 7, 2023, massacre. He said the release of prisoners from Israel as part of the cease-fire deal could increase the popularity of the militant group in Gaza.

Polling data has indicated that the group maintains notable support within Gaza, where Hamas as an organization has ruled for nearly two decades. Its deeply entrenched position makes it more difficult for Israel to eradicate it. This has been a challenge with terrorist operations across the Middle East.

Bruce Hoffman, a counterterrorism expert at the Council on Foreign Relations, told BI that such groups, which have survived for so many years, "are enormously difficult — if not impossible — to completely eliminate."

He said that for the foreseeable future, Hamas would be incapable of launching another October 7-style attack against Israel but cautioned that the group still had considerable resources at its disposal. What Hamas needs most is leadership, and it may be able to fill that vacuum with prisoners released from Israel.

"The group is undeniably weakened and a shell of its former self, but the capacity to continue to regroup, I mean, this is a given," Hoffman said. "I don't think anybody's surprised by that."

FIRST ON FOX: A pair of Republicans are introducing legislation that would offer service members who were fired over the military’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate a chance to get their jobs back and receive back pay. 

The AMERICANS Act, put forth by Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and freshman Rep. Pat Harrigan, R-N.C., bans the Pentagon from instituting any additional COVID-19 vaccine mandates without congressional approval. 

It would offer reinstatement to any service member discharged solely for their refusal of the COVID vaccine and credit them for the time of their involuntary separation for retirement pay, 

TOP 5 MOMENTS FROM PETE HEGSETH'S SENATE CONFIRMATION HEARING

It would also restore the rank of anyone who was demoted over the vaccine mandate, offering them back pay and benefits for any compensation they lost as a result of their demotion. 

For those who do not want to rejoin service, it would restore their discharge to "honorable" to restore their GI Bill and health care benefits. 

In August 2021, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced a requirement that troops take the COVID-19 jab for "readiness" purposes. That order was rescinded in January 2023 after lawmakers directed the Pentagon to do so in the annual defense policy bill Congress passed for that year. 

More than 8,400 troops were separated in the year and a half that the order was in effect. Thousands of others sought religious or medical exemptions. 

Austin’s repeal did not require the Pentagon to reinstate troops separated because of the mandate and stipulated that commanders would still have the authority to consider troops’ immunization status when making decisions on deployments or other assignments. He added that 96% of U.S. forces had taken the vaccine. 

"Our military is still dealing with the consequences of the Biden administration’s wrongful COVID-19 vaccine mandate," Cruz said in a statement. "The AMERICANS Act would provide remedies for servicemembers whom the Biden Department of Defense punished for standing by their convictions. It’s the right thing to do."

DEM SENATOR WHO BASHED HEGSETH'S QUALIFICATIONS STANDS BY DOD SEC WHO OVERSAW BOTCHED AFGHAN WITHDRAWAL

"The Biden Administration’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate wasn’t about science or readiness—it was about control," said Harrigan. "As a Green Beret, I’ve seen the sacrifices our service members make firsthand, and I will not stand by while their honor is tarnished." 

The legislation is in line with a pledge President-elect Donald Trump's nominee for Defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, made on Tuesday to re-recruit those who parted ways with the military over the vaccine. 

"Service members who were kicked out because of the experimental vaccine," Hegseth told lawmakers, "they will be apologized to. They will be reinstituted with pay and rank."

Trump told supporters over the summer he would "rehire every patriot who was fired from the military" because of the mandate. 

Pentagon leadership considered offering back pay to troops after the vaccine mandate was rescinded in early 2023, but it never came to fruition.

Republicans have long railed against the vaccine mandate and the separations it caused, arguing it was a detriment to morale at a time of major recruitment issues. Pentagon leaders argued that their forces had been required to get vaccines for years, particularly if they deployed overseas. 

• Tal Chaimi was abducted on October 7, 2023. His body is being held in Gaza.
• Udi Goren, his cousin, is campaigning for his remains to be repatriated to Israel.
• But Goren fears the cease-fire deal may not last long enough to bring them back.

The cousin of an Israeli hostage who was abducted and killed and whose body is being held in Gaza said he is fearful that the cease-fire deal may not last long enough to ensure the return of his relative's remains.

"This is not the end of the road," Udi Goren, the cousin of Tal Chaimi, said in a call with reporters from outlets including BI.

Chaimi was among the 251 people kidnapped from Israel and taken to the Gaza Strip during the October 7, 2023, terror attack.

Chaimi, a civil engineer, was defending Kibbutz Nir Yitzhak when he was abducted. His wife was two months pregnant with their fourth child at the time.

Initially listed as missing, Israeli authorities confirmed months later that Chaimi had been killed and his body was being kept hostage.

Hamas and its allies still hold 98 hostages, an Israeli government spokesperson said Tuesday, though at least 34 of them are believed to be dead.

On Wednesday, the White House announced that Israel and Hamas had reached an agreement on a cease-fire intended to halt the fighting in Gaza — which has killed tens of thousands.

The agreement would facilitate the release of some of the remaining hostages, though it hit a roadblock on Thursday over its ratification, with Israel saying Hamas had created a last-minute crisis.

The deal, structured in phases, is expected to include the release of 33 hostages in the first stage, the majority of them women, children, older people, and those who are sick.

"My cousin Tal is not going to be among these 33," Goren said.

The second phase would see the release of the remaining living hostages, and the third phase would see the remains of dead hostages, including Chaimi, returned to their families.

However, reaching that final phase will be challenging.

"Everything can go wrong along the way," Goren said. "Not just that the deal might actually fall through, with the implementation of each step, but also moving from one step to another."

Goren said that the last couple of days have been incredibly stressful, and that his family has found themselves in a "whirlwind of emotions" — excited for families who may soon be reunited with their abducted relatives, but nervous about the prospect of Chaimi's return.

He said he has concerns about whether Hamas might, for example, say they can't locate his cousin's body.

"This is just the beginning of a new phase of our struggle," he added. "The fact that this is going to take so long, it's going to be excruciating."

• Ukraine said one of its F-16 pilots downed a record-breaking six cruise missiles in one mission.
• That shows how much Ukraine's air force has developed, a former US F-16 pilot told BI.
• All of its systems had to work well, and it showed how Ukraine is fighting more like the West.

A Ukrainian pilot's record-breaking shootdown of six missiles with an F-16 offers insight into how much its air force has developed as it fights back against Russia's invasion.

Throughout much of the war, Ukraine's air force faced one of the world's biggest air forces with a fleet of older, Soviet-designed combat aircraft while begging the West for F-16s readily available in NATO arsenals.

The US, however, refused to allow the transfer, even as other allies pushed to give Ukraine the aircraft. Washington felt they would arrive too late, that training would take too long, and the jets could prompt Russian escalation. But it eventually relented.

Early usage of the aircraft in combat saw the loss of an airframe and the Ukrainian pilot, raising questions about how much of an impact the jets could make.

But Ukraine's assertion that one of its F-16 pilots downed six Russian cruise missiles in one mission — which it said is a record for the American-made fighter jet — shows how much Ukraine's air force has developed, a former American F-16 pilot told Business Insider.

Responding to missile threats requires coordination and quick reaction. Ret. Col. John Venable, a 25-year veteran of the US Air Force and a former F-16 pilot, told BI the pilot being alert, able to get a notification, and get out in time to intercept all of those missiles "says a lot" about "the capabilities are of the Ukrainian Air Force."

The reported intercept spoke to "their ability to actually detect" cruise missiles and "then scramble fighters in order to successfully intercept them." he said. Cruise missiles do not fire back like a Russian jet would, but it was a very impressive showing of Ukraine's air force.

Responding like this was "no simple task," Venable said, which required all of Ukraine's command and control systems, as well as its sensors and radars, to work together. He said that to "actually find, fix and engage threats that are inbound to your nation, that says a lot about their command and control."

Fighting like the West

Venable said the event shows how much Ukraine has been fighting like the West does.

He said Russia's "command and control apparatus is basically scripted," which means they have an issue letting pilots "go out and actually do what you are required to do without someone doing a puppeteer thing over the top of you."

The Ukrainian F-16 pilot pulling off what Ukraine says they did "says a lot about how far the Ukrainians have come" from their Soviet start and that "scheme of close control."

Peter Layton, a fellow at the Griffith Asia Institute and a former Royal Australian Air Force officer, told BI the intercept showed the pilot had "good training" since he was "able to react quickly to a changing situation."

"Russian pilots have a reputation of needing to receive orders from their ground controllers,'" he said. This event demonstrates Ukrainian pilots "have adopted Western methods of operating both independently and aggressively when the situation is right."

For instance, Ukraine said the pilot, who said he was out of missiles and short on fuel, made a quick decision to keep fighting, pursuing two more of the Russian missiles with guns, a riskier engagement requiring control of the plane and confidence a safe airfield was nearby.

Ukraine, generally, has adopted a more Western style of fighting, with individuals and leaders making quick decisions away from the central command. But Russia, though it has been learning, has been hampered by not delegating such responsibility, making it slower to respond to battlefield developments and even losing commanders as a result.

Ukraine's F-16 pilots have received training from a coalition of countries, including the Netherlands, Canada, Denmark, the US, and Romania.

The exchange is not one-sided. While many of Ukraine's soldiers have received training from Western allies, those allies say Ukraine is teaching them about tactics and how to fight Russia, too.

Western officials and warfare experts say Ukraine's tactics and successes reveal lessons that the West should learn for fighting Russia.

These lessons have been something of a trade-off as the West provides more gear and as Ukraine signs agreements with countries like the UK, Denmark, and France, with the war showing vulnerabilities in systems and tactics.

The Westernization of Ukraine's army aids its ambition to join NATO, an uncertainty while the country is at war with Russia and a question in the aftermath.

A small air force

Before Russia's full-scale invasion, some expected Ukraine's air force would be immediately destroyed in a war with Russia.

Russia attempted to wipe out Ukraine's air force at the start but failed, with Ukraine able to disperse many jets and keep them intact. Those surviving aircraft have played key roles in its defense, even as the skies remain heavily contested.

Ukraine's air force is expanding and becoming more Western with the arrival of F-16s and a pledge from France to send Mirage aircraft.

Warfare experts say Ukraine has nowhere near enough F-16s to make a difference against Russia, and the few it does have are older versions, less powerful than what many allies have and Russia's best jets. Ukraine appears to be using its few F-16s primarily to help its air defenses battle missile threats rather than sending them on risky missions against Russian jets or critical ground targets.

The Ukrainian jets, 50-year-old aircraft made by Lockheed Martin, typically fly with a loadout of four air-to-air missiles and are equipped with bolt-on self-defense pylons for detecting incoming missiles.

Venable said the air-defense mission has met his expectations for how Ukraine would use them.

Ukraine, Venable said, does not have enough F-16s, nor does it have the support systems or upgrades, to be able to use them aggressively to change the shape of the war.

Ukraine's air force is not perfect, Venable said. But the progress so far is clear. "As far as being able to intercept inbound missiles and being able to engage them, this says a lot about their capabilities."

• A new Pentagon report said its troops earn more than most of their full-time civilian counterparts.
• It said that after one year of service, the top 70th percentile of enlisted earners get about $1,000 a week.
• But that figure includes far more than base pay, which Congress recently voted to raise significantly.

A Pentagon report said its troops often earn more than their civilian counterparts and would stand to lose out if they were to leave the service.

"Our military compensation package is strongly competitive with the civilian labor market," it wrote in its review for military compensation, which is released every four years.

The report comes just a month after Congress voted to raise basic pay for US troops by 4.5% across the board, citing concerns about recruitment difficulties and food insecurity among soldiers. Junior enlisted troops, who hold rank equivalents of E-1 to E-4, received an even bigger raise of 14.5%.

Many of these troops were earning less than $30,000 a year in basic pay, and the bill passed in December aimed to raise their salaries to that level.

However, the Pentagon uses a different metric that extends beyond basic pay, which it calls regular military compensation. This includes benefits such as tax advantages and housing and food allowances.

By that measure, the Defense Department's new report found that "military pay among Junior Enlisted Personnel is higher than 90th percentile of earnings for civilians with similar education and experience."

"Basic pay is a blunt and costly instrument," the report said. "And should be used only when there are system-wide problems, such as widespread retention and recruiting shortfalls, which cannot be solved more efficiently with other policy instruments."

Its findings relied largely on a benchmark that compared two things: the 70th percentile of compensation for enlisted soldiers and the 70th percentile earnings for full-time civilian workers with the same education.

The report said that for enlisted soldiers with one year of service, the top 70th percentile received about $1,000 a week in regular military compensation.

Meanwhile, the report listed the 70th percentile of civilian earners as needing 10 years of work experience to get $1,000 a week.

The Pentagon said that for enlisted soldiers with 10 years of service, the top 70th percentile of earners gets $1,500 a week.

On the other hand, the 70th percentile of officer earnings stands at $1,500 a week for those with one year of service, going up to nearly $2,500 a week for those with 10 years of service.

It compared those earnings to the 70th percentile of civilians with college degrees, whom the report said consistently earn about $200 to $300 less a week.

Overall, the report said that enlisted personnel earn more than 83 out of 100 civilian workers with the same education and experience, and officers earn more than 76 out of 100 civilian workers with the same background.

The Pentagon mostly recommended "quality-of-life" improvements instead of a pay bump. It asked the military to look more into expanding its retirement savings programs, providing better childcare access for serving parents, and asking its personnel to move less often to avoid hurting the careers of soldiers' spouses.

In its budget overview for the 2025 financial year ending September 30, the Defense Department said troop pay and benefits make up about 30% of its total budget request for $850 billion.

In the new report, the Pentagon said its current pay structure is mostly working.

"Recent retention is strong, recruiting has significantly improved, and favorable comparisons between military and civilian pay suggests that levels of basic pay are more than adequate," it said.

• Israel and Hamas have reached a multiphase cease-fire and hostage agreement, negotiators announced.
• People in Israel and the Gaza Strip gathered to celebrate the news of the long-awaited accord.
• The tentative deal comes after 15 months of bloodshed that left tens of thousands dead.

Israel and Hamas have reached a tentative agreement to stop the war in Gaza, the White House announced Wednesday, a first step towards an end to 15 months of fighting that left tens of thousands dead in the Middle East.

As news of the long-awaited cease-fire deal reached Tel Aviv and the Gaza Strip, people gathered to celebrate what they hoped would be the end of hostilities and the anticipated return of their family and friends held in Hamas tunnels or Israeli prisons.

'Complex' multiphase agreement

Set to take effect on January 19, the complex cease-fire deal includes a phased approach. Lasting six weeks, the first phase consists of a "full and complete" cease-fire, a gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces, and the release of hostages held by Hamas, US President Joe Biden said Wednesday.

Israel said it would reduce the number of forces operating in the Gaza Strip and expected to fully withdraw its military presence in a later phase of the deal. Hamas agreed to initially release nearly three dozen Israeli hostages in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners held in Israel but has not confirmed when the final hostages will return home.

Biden added that women, the elderly, and the wounded hostages would be released as part of the first phase, as well as American hostages being held in Gaza. Seven Americans are being held hostage in Gaza, three of whom are presumed to be alive.

To ensure both sides adhere to the terms of the cease-fire agreement, diplomats from the US, Qatar, and Egypt said they plan to create a "follow-up mechanism" to track reports of violations.

"We expect that the parties will adhere to the agreement and stay committed … but we know that these kinds of agreements are very complex and will have some issues down the line," Qatar Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said.

'A permanent end of the war'

Over the next six weeks, Biden said negotiations between Israel and Hamas will continue to work out the second phase of the cease-fire deal: a permanent end of the war in Gaza.

"There are a number of details to negotiate, to move from phase one to phase two," the US president said. "But the plan says if negotiations take longer than six weeks, the cease-fire will continue as long as the negotiations continue."

Biden added that Palestinians can return to their homes in all areas of Gaza as officials work to get humanitarian assistance into the war-torn territory.

In a possible third phase of the deal, Biden said the remains of hostages who have been declared dead would be returned to their families, and "a major reconstruction plan for Gaza will begin."

Palestinians rejoice in Gaza Strip

Photos and video taken in the Gaza Strip captured celebratory cheers and gunfire as Palestinians crowded the streets after learning that this could be the end of the humanitarian crisis that has gripped the Gaza Strip and forced the vast majority of them from their homes.

Israel's war against Hamas has leveled neighborhoods and led to the deaths of at least 46,000 Palestinians in Gaza.

Some gathered outside al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, a medical facility in central Gaza that doubled as a displacement camp that was frequently targeted by Israeli attacks. The Israeli military said they believed the complex concealed a Hamas command center.

One of the celebrants, Alaa Abu Karsh, told CNN that the news of the cease-fire was a "very big surprise for the Palestinian people and the whole world."

"We wish many people could be celebrating this moment with us, but they are now in a better place," he said.

Protest-turned-celebration in Israel

Ahead of the announcement of the cease-fire agreement, thousands of Israeli protesters gathered outside the country's defense ministry to call for the return of the hostages still being held in Gaza.

The remaining hostages have been held for 466 days in abject conditions in Gaza after being seized by Hamas fighters during the Oct. 7, 2023 terror rampage into Israel.

Former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant condemned National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, both of whom were against the hostage deal and threatened to quit the government if it was approved.

"It is neither Jewish, nor Zionist, nor humane," Gallant said at the rally.

However, the protests soon turned to celebrations as news spread to Tel Aviv that the cease-fire and hostage deal had been reached.

Demonstrators were seen embracing and crying as they held their picket signs depicting their friends and family still being held hostage by Hamas in Gaza.

Divided on hostage deal

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum, a volunteer-based organization, said the agreement is a "significant step forward" to bring Israeli hostages home, expressing "profound gratitude" to the US and international mediators involved in brokering the peace deal.

"Since November 2023, we have been anxiously awaiting this moment," the organization said in a statement, "and now, after over 460 days of our family members being held in Hamas tunnels, we are closer than ever to reuniting with our loved ones."

"However, deep anxiety and concerns accompany us regarding the possibility that the agreement might not be fully implemented, leaving hostages behind. We urgently call for swift arrangements to ensure all phases of the deal are carried out," the group continued.

Though a majority of Israelis support the peace deal, the Tivka Forum, a right-wing organization advocating for the release of hostages, said they believe the agreement includes steep concessions, like the release of Palestinian prisoners, that could compromise Israel's national security and its leverage against Hamas.

"The proposed deal endangers the hostages and endangers the State of Israel," the organization said in a statement. "It is high time we stop the immoral surrender to terror, and demand that all the hostages be released at once, unconditionally and immediately."

The forum added: "Our only option is to win this war and to remove any incentive to ever attack Israel again."

World leaders react

World leaders reacted with messages of hope for peace.

The peace deal came less than a week before Biden leaves office and US President-elect Donald Trump's return to the White House, with both administrations taking part in the negotiations.

"In these past few days, we have been speaking as one team," Biden said, as his administration will work to implement the deal while the Trump administration will work to carry it out.

António Guterres, United Nations secretary-general, emphasized the importance of implementing the deal and getting humanitarian aid to Palestinians in Gaza.

"It is imperative that this ceasefire removes the significant security and political obstacles to delivering aid across Gaza so that we can support a major increase in urgent lifesaving humanitarian support," Guterres said.

Netanyahu had yet to officially announce that Israel accepts the agreement announced by Biden and Al Thani on Wednesday, saying that some final details are still being agreed upon. The Israeli prime minister said he will release a statement "after the final details of the agreement, which are currently being worked on, are completed."

Hamas said in a statement that the cease-fire was "the result of the legendary resilience of our great Palestinian people and our valiant resistance in the Gaza Strip."

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s secret hospitalizations "unnecessarily" increased America’s national security risk, according to a new report from the Department of Defense Office of Inspector General (OIG). 

The Pentagon watchdog’s scathing 188-page review scrutinizes the secretary’s hospitalizations in December 2023, January 2024 and February 2024 and puts the blame on Austin’s team for communication lapses and failures to transfer authority.  

OIG noted the main role Austin’s "strong desire for privacy about his medical condition" played in the breakdown of communications within the Pentagon, as well as between Defense Department and the White House and Congress.

Neither Austin’s chief of staff nor Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks knew of his cancer diagnosis or the procedure he underwent in December 2023. In fact, OIG notes that "nearly all of his staff" were unaware of Austin’s medical condition and treatments.

DR. MARC SIEGEL: PATIENT PRIVACY DOESN'T COVER LLOYD AUSTIN'S SECRET HOSPITALIZATION

Evidence also allegedly indicates that, on Jan. 1, 2024, when he was taken to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for "severe" pain, Austin requested the ambulance not use lights or sirens. Additionally, according to the report, Austin told his personal security officer not to notify anyone about the incident.

"No one on Secretary Austin’s staff knew the seriousness of his condition, including when his condition became worse and he was transferred to the Surgical Intensive Care Unit on January 2," OIG noted in its report.

On Jan. 3, 2024, Austin’s chief of staff, Kelly Magsamen, texted the secretary’s junior military assistant, who was in the hospital with the secretary at the time. In her message, Magsamen urged the secretary to be more forthcoming about his condition.

"I wish [Secretary Austin] were a normal person but he’s the [Secretary of Defense]. We have a big institutional responsibility. He can’t just go totally dark on his staff. … Please pass to him that we can’t keep his hospitalization a secret forever. It’s kind of big deal for him to be in the [SICU]. And I’m worried sick," Magsamen wrote, according to the OIG report.

The OIG also found that on Feb. 11, 2024, when Austin was once again unexpectedly hospitalized, his authorities were not transferred "until several hours later." In reference to this incident, the OIG noted that "given the seriousness of his condition," Austin’s authorities should have been transferred "hours earlier than ultimately occurred."

After its review, the OIG gave the DOD 20 recommendations to "improve processes" and advised the department to act on them promptly. 

PENTAGON RELEASES SUMMARY OF AUSTIN HOSPITAL REVIEW

Inspector General Robert Storch said in a statement that "while the DoD has taken some important steps to address these concerns, additional improvements are required to ensure the DoD’s readiness, transparency, and the fulfillment of its mission. These improvements are not just an administrative necessity; they are an operational and national security imperative." 

Ultimately, the report found that the Department of Defense lacked a "comprehensive" plan for handing off duties in the event of the secretary’s absence.

After the report’s release, a senior defense official admitted to reporters that Austin "made a mistake," insisting "there was no scandal" and "there was no cover up." The official also noted that "at every moment, either the Secretary of Defense or the Deputy Secretary of Defense was fully prepared to support the president."

Austin acknowledged his office’s shortcomings in a February 2024 press conference shortly after the hospitalizations became public.

"I want to be crystal clear. We did not handle this right, and I did not handle this right," Austin said at the time regarding his previous hospitalization. "I should have told the president about my cancer diagnosis. I should have also told my team and the American public, and I take full responsibility. I apologize to my teammates and to the American people."

Liz Friden contributed to this report.

• Pete Hegseth faced intense questioning over his comments about women in combat roles.
• Hegseth walked back his opposition but said he'd order a review of gender-neutral standards.
• The military does not have a quota for women in combat roles as Hegseth had suggested.

President-elect Donald Trump's pick to lead the Pentagon, Pete Hegseth, walked back his outspoken opposition to women serving in the US military's combat jobs as he faced intense questioning from lawmakers on Tuesday.

Hegseth, an Army veteran of Iraq and Fox News host, had built a large following with blunt commentary that criticized female troops and claimed standards had been lowered to help them. But in the Senate hearing, he signaled he wouldn't attempt to ban women from combat roles, a backtrack that may have been necessary to get enough votes.

Sen. Joni Ernst, an Iowa Republican and Iraq veteran whose support has been seen as pivotal, asked if Hegseth supports women continuing to serve in combat roles.

"Yes, exactly the way that you caveated it," Hegseth said. "Yes, women will have access to ground combat roles, given the standards remain high, and we'll have a review to ensure the standards have not been eroded in any one of these cases."

Hegseth said that if he's confirmed by the GOP-led Senate, he would initiate a review of gender-neutral standards within the Pentagon for combat jobs held by female service members.

Hegseth had been a vociferous critic of the 2015 lifting of combat exclusions for women.

"I'm straight-up just saying we should not have women in combat roles," Hegseth said in an interview after Trump's re-election in November. Combat roles include jobs in the infantry, artillery, and special operations, among others.

"They're gonna change the standards, they're gonna push the quotas," he continued during the interview. "They pushed that under Obama in a way that had nothing, zero to do with efficiency… with lethality," he said.

The military does not have a quota requirement for women who fill combat roles and Hegseth's claims to the contrary provoked a confrontation before the Senate Armed Services Committee.

"Commanders do not have to have a quota for women in the infantry," Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, a New York Democrat, said during questioning. "That does not exist."

According to Military.com, almost 700 female Marines currently serve in infantry jobs, over 700 serve in the Navy's submarine forces and nearly 4,000 in the Army hold combat-related jobs. Roughly 98% of the Army's armor and infantry jobs were held by men as of 2020.

Since opening ground combat jobs to women in 2015, critics have contended that women who passed notoriously grueling training is a result of lowered physical standards, putting combat missions at-risk of catastrophe.

Ground combat roles were opened to female service members only after years of war in Iraq and Afghanistan in which women routinely found themselves in a grey zone, operating outside the wire at a time when restrictions on women in combat at times burdened units with bureaucratic red tape.

In the hearing, Hegseth emphasized his focus would be on the Defense Department's warrior ethos and making troops and the arms they carry even deadlier, implying that his earlier opposition to women stemmed from concern over fair and rigorous standards.

"Our standards will be high, and they will be equal — not equitable, that is a very different word," Hegseth said in his opening statement. "When President Trump chose me for this position, the primary charge he gave me was to bring the warrior culture back to the Department of Defense."

Since women began attending sought-after training schools, allegations have popped up about unequal treatment. Military news site Air Force Times reported in 2021 concerns from a female student at the Air Force's special operations course who questioned whether course standards were lowered for her.

The US Army has repeatedly said it did not lower standards for female soldiers at Ranger School, over 100 of whom now wear its coveted tab on their sleeve.

• US special operators are shifting away from counterterrorism toward peer-adversary conflict.
• There are five areas the US special operations community can focus on to best do that, new research says.
• These areas harken back to the strengths of special ops in the Cold War and the War on Terror.

As the US shifts its priorities toward countering near-peer adversaries like Russia and China, its special operations forces are adapting to new challenges.

Best practices for that ongoing adaptation may lie in Cold War lessons, new research on how the US can best leverage the skills of the special operations community says.

An Atlantic Council's report on ways the US can use special operations forces in the next decade was released Tuesday and notes that "three realities" facing the Department of Defense lend themselves to leveraging American special operations forces "more in strategic competition."

US special operations forces offer critical flexibility amid stagnation in defense spending and force size and can counter aggressors elsewhere while the military prioritizes the Indo-Pacific and Europe. Special operators can also use irregular capabilities to prevent competition from turning into armed conflict.

The report's authors, Clementine Starling-Daniels and Theresa Luetkefend, argue that US special operations should return to their "roots" and Cold War practices.

"USSOF's unconventional warfare support of resistance groups in Europe; its support of covert intelligence operations in Eastern Europe, Asia, and Latin America; its evacuation missions of civilians in Africa; and its guerrilla and counterguerrilla operations helped combat Soviet influence operations worldwide," they wrote.

"During that era, special operations became one of the US military's key enablers to counter coercion below the threshold of armed conflict," the authors added, noting they can do the same again now.

Keeping an eye on non-priority regions

Rivals and foes around the world are pulling the US military in different directions. It's facing threats from an aggressive Russia, a rising and often confrontational China, and joint challenges from increased cooperation between China, Russia, North Korea, and Iran. Threats from non-state actors also remain.

So where do special operations come in?

"While traditional elements of the Joint Force are likely to focus on the Indo-Pacific region and Europe, the DoD can mitigate risks and extend its global reach by leveraging USSOF for persistent, low-footprint operations in under-addressed regions," the new Atlantic Council's report says.

These areas include the Middle East, Central Asia, Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean, and the Arctic as prime examples.

US adversaries like Russia and China look to extend their presence and influence in these areas, meaning the Pentagon could use special ops to protect US interests and preserve situational awareness.

Preventing full-blown conflict with unconventional, irregular warfare tactics

To deter conflict, the US military can use special ops to up activities in the cyberspace and information environment that expend adversary resources. Some of SOF's biggest strengths are in this area, including intelligence campaigns, warping information and communications spaces, unconventional tactics that target US adversaries and create narratives favorable to Washington, sabotage, and deception.

Two prime examples could include supporting Taiwan's resilience against a potential Chinese invasion or blockade and Eastern European resistance to Russia's hybrid warfare and disinformation tactics.

During the Cold War, special operations forces conducted similar operations against the Soviet Union, bolstering resistance groups in Europe and undermining Soviet campaigns.

Skills from the Global War on Terror can be applied as well. Over the past 20 years, the US has relied on special operations for unconventional and difficult missions, including running shadowy helicopter assaults to kill or capture enemy leaders. These activities advance national security objectives.

Building connections with key allies and partners

Christopher Maier, the assistant secretary of defense for special operations and low-intensity conflict, said earlier this week that the other strength of special ops comes with its widespread global footprint and cultural awareness, which helps build connections between the US and its allies and partners.

Special ops leaders have long recognized that language and cultural sensitivity are absolutely critical to the force's success, but a recent watchdog report raised concerns about those skills.

Between 2018 and 2022, most Army and Marine Corps Special Operations Forces didn't meet the necessary foreign language proficiency goals.

Such skills have been vital for US military cooperation with allies in the past. Us Army Special Forces, the Green Berets, have been training and advising foreign armies and guerrillas since the early 1960s.

Similarly, US special operations cooperation with foreign SOFs is critical, the Atlantic Council paper says, and vital to building resilient relationships with partners that can help deter and deny the influence of US adversaries.

Putting the "integration" in integrated deterrence

US government and military responses to crises and conflict often need to be integrated responses, something special operations forces can help provide, the report argues.

"USSOF operations often bridge the activities of interagency and intelligence community partners, allied and partner militaries, and the rest of the joint force," the paper says, adding that special operations could be the "connective tissue."

That special operations "tissue" could connect US government departments like State, Justice, and Treasury Departments, as well as the Central Intelligence Agency and National Security Agency.

Using SOF's technological prowess to US advantage

Future warfare is expected to span across all domains, including information and cyber. As technological capabilities, such as artificial intelligence, develop at breakneck speed, special operations can play a pivotal role as a "pathfinder for technological solutions that can be scaled across the Joint Force," the report says.

Such a "pathfinder" role could include facilitating data sharing across the military and government and identifying and fielding cutting-edge technologies, especially in unmanned systems.

SOF's procurement process and culture has given it the opportunity to quickly develop and deploy innovative technologies and systems before the larger joint force.

That also sets special ops up for focusing on what the demand of future warfare could be, which could "support DoD's information and decision advantage over its competitors," the Atlantic Council report adds.

• Israel and Hamas reached an agreement Wednesday on a deal meant to halt 15 months of fighting.
• The White House confirmed that a cease-fire agreement was in place.
• But on Thursday, Netanyahu's office said there was a "last-minute crisis."

After more than 15 months of fighting, and with tens of thousands dead, the White House announced Wednesday that Israel and Hamas had reached an agreement on a cease-fire.

Israel's cabinet was expected to vote on whether to ratify it on Thursday, but the meeting was delayed after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Hamas of creating a "last-minute crisis."

"Hamas has reneged on parts of the agreement reached with the mediators and Israel in an effort to extort last-minute concessions," David Mencer, a spokesperson for Netanyahu's office, said in a statement sent to Business Insider.

The agreement, a major breakthrough in the Middle East conflict, is meant to halt the bloodshed and facilitate the release of some of the remaining hostages.

"At long last, I can announce a cease-fire and a hostage deal has been reached between Israel and Hamas," President Joe Biden said Wednesday afternoon.

In a written statement, he said the deal would stop the fighting in Gaza, surge much-needed humanitarian assistance to Palestinian civilians, and reunite hostages with their families.

On Thursday, White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby told NBC's "Today" that the US was aware of the issues raised by Israel over the deal, but added: "We're going to get there."

On October 7, 2023, as part of a Hamas-led terror attack against Israel, Hamas and other militants kidnapped 251 people from Israel and killed around 1,200 across the country.

Hamas and its allies still hold 98 hostages, an Israeli government spokesperson said Tuesday, though at least 34 of them are thought to have died in captivity.

The deal, if formally approved, is set to include multiple phases.

The first stage is expected to include 33 hostages — most of whom are alive — released on "humanitarian" grounds, an Israeli spokesperson told reporters at a briefing. This will consist of women, children, older people, as well as hostages who are sick.

When asked how many Palestinian prisoners Israel was willing to release in exchange, the spokesperson said that the country "is prepared to pay a heavy price, in the hundreds."

The Israeli military confirmed that it's preparing for the return of the hostages. On Wednesday, Qatar's prime minister said the deal would go into effect Sunday.

Biden, flanked by Vice President Kamala Harris and Secretary of State Antony Blinken, had told reporters that the first phase of the deal included a full cease-fire. If ratified, it's expected to last six weeks and includes the withdrawal of Israeli forces from all the populated areas of Gaza.

A second phase, which is still being worked out, would see a "permanent end" to the war, Biden said.

The president added that this phase would include the release of the remainder of the living hostages, with the rest of the Israeli forces withdrawing from Gaza.

In the third phase, any remains of hostages who have been killed would be returned to their families, and a major reconstruction plan would be set in motion for Gaza.

To date, 117 hostages have been returned alive to Israel, including 105 freed as part of a prisoner exchange in November 2023.

The cease-fire deal intends to end the brutal conflict, which has seen large areas of Gaza destroyed and left the militant group severely battered. The Hamas-run health ministry says Israel's military offensive in the coastal enclave has killed more than 46,000 people. It does not distinguish between civilians and combatants.

Negotiations for a cease-fire deal have been ongoing for many months, but news that Israel and Hamas were close to reaching an agreement emerged earlier this week, hinting that, at last, there could be movement.

President-elect Donald Trump said his victory in November directly contributed to the deal coming to fruition. "We have achieved so much without even being in the White House," he wrote in a post on his Truth Social platform.

• Ukraine launched waves of drone and missile strikes deep in Russia.
• It comes a week before President-elect Trump is to be sworn in.
• Both Ukraine and Russia have intensified attacks ahead of Trump's second term.

Ukraine struck targets deep inside Russia using missiles and drones in one of its biggest recent attacks as Donald Trump prepares to start his second presidential term next week.

The strikes were carried out on January 13 and 14 on industrial and military targets up to 680 miles into Russia in Bryansk, Saratov, and Tula oblasts and the Republic of Tatarstan, Ukrainian officials said.

Among the targets struck were an oil refinery near Engels, Saratov Oblast, which provides fuel for the strategic bombers, and a chemical plant in Bryansk that provides material for missile systems, the officials said.

Russia's defense ministry claimed to identify the missiles used, saying they were among the most advanced sent to Ukraine: the British/French Storm Shadow missiles and US ATACMS.

It said 146 drones were also involved in the attack.

On Monday, Russia launched with drone and missile strikes at energy infrastructure targets across Ukraine.

Both the Ukrainian and Russian militaries said they intercepted most of the missiles, a claim that was not possible to verify.

The Ukrainian amount to a show of strength just before President-elect Donald Trump begins his second term on Monday.

Trump has harshly criticized Ukraine's strikes on Russia, and President Joe Biden for allowing the involvement of US weapons.

In a December interview with Time magazine, he said: "It's crazy what's taking place. It's crazy. I disagree very vehemently with sending missiles hundreds of miles into Russia. Why are we doing that? We're just escalating this war and making it worse. That should not have been allowed to be done."

Trump officials have suggsted that Ukraine could be forced to cede some territory now occupied by Russia in a peace deal.

Analyzing the moves, the former UK foreign minister William Hague told Times Radio Tuesday that both sides were seeking to "position themselves" for a new Trump administration.

"The Russians have been trying to grab more territory. The Ukrainians have been striking back harder in order to get them settled positions," said Hague.

In the run-up to Trump's inauguration, fighting has intensified between Russia and Ukraine.

Ukraine has attacked sites in Russia using missiles and drones, Russia has made important advances on the front line in east Ukraine.

It's also intensified its bid to oust Ukrainian troops from the Kursk region of Russia, where Ukraine still holds territory.

• Corruption has been plaguing China's military, including senior leadership.
• The issues and purges raise questions about China's military readiness and its ambitions.
• China's military has long struggled with graft, but it's growth and modernization can't be overlooked.

Corruption investigations have led to significant high-level purges in the Chinese military. A US Department of Defense official said that these purges are "just the tip of the iceberg" and that the issues affecting the military could hinder its ambitions, including Taiwan.

The Defense Department released its annual report on China's military last month, assessing that the People's Liberation Army has "experienced a new wave of corruption-related investigations and removals of senior leaders that may have disrupted its progress towards stated 2027 modernization goals."

China's leadership has directed the PLA to be fully ready to execute a potential invasion or blockade of Taiwan as a professional fighting force should Beijing opt to pursue that path.

The PLA has long faced corruption scandals, and Chinese leader Xi Jinping has spent the last decade cracking down as part of a wider campaign to root out corruption and ensure loyalty to the Communist Party. But the latest string of cases has left the Pentagon questioning China's military ambitions and their ability to achieve them in the Pacific.

At an event in mid-December with the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Michael Chase said the US has assessed "the anti-corruption campaign — the corruption challenges themselves — and how they could present real obstacles to accomplishing the goals that Xi has set for the PLA for 2027."

"Just the tip of the iceberg"

Over the past year and half, China has sacked at least 15 high-ranking military officers and defense industry executives. A prominent example includes the dismissal of Defense Minister Li Shangfu. China also expelled Li and another defense minister from the ruling party over graft. The suspension of Adm. Miao Hua from his position as the Director of the Political Work Department of the Central Military Commission in November 2024, was also significant.

Leaders within the People's Liberation Army's Rocket Force have also been removed.

PLARF's leadership has faced allegations of fraud in the construction of silos for ballistic missiles, and US intelligence has reported on missiles filled with water and intercontinental ballistic missile silos equipped with improperly functioning lids that could derail a missile launch.

At CSIS last month, Assistant Secretary of Defense Ely Ratner said a key takeaway from the corruption crackdown: corruption investigations such as this are typically highly secretive. Beijing has often publicly described the current wave of dismissals as "serious violations of discipline."

"We often don't hear about them until they're done," Ratner said of the Chinese corruption investigations. "And what that should lead us to believe is that what we are seeing now — which already has been substantial, right, 15 senior PLA officials already rounded up — is just the tip of the iceberg."

Chase added that there can be a spiral effect in these kinds of situations, where an investigation may reveal further corruption in a different branch or program. That's broadly been the case in the current wave of allegations.

China's military growth and Taiwan

The PLA has long suffered from corruption issues. Since he took office, Xi's anti-corruption campaign has been seen as a renewed effort to root out problems while also ensuring the PLA is both politically loyal to Chinese Communist Party leadership and prepared for any military directives Xi gives it.

China has pursued massive military buildup and growth over the past decade or so, with its eyes set on Taiwan and challenging the US as a peer adversary, but that's also driven corruption.

"The PLA is modernizing so quickly, and they're spending significant amounts of money to build up their forces," said Brian Hart, a fellow with the China Power Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. He said that widespread graft is, in many ways, also "a manifestation of the rapid pace of PLA modernization."

A concentration of the PLA purges being in equipment procurements and the defense industrial base supports the argument that the corruption could be tied to how quickly and aggressively the military is attempting to build up its forces and capabilities.

That raises questions of whether the PLA is on track to meet its mandated modernization goals — a concern that likely keeps Xi up at night, Hart said.

"Does that really undermine the PLA's ability to fight and win wars, especially when it comes to Taiwan?" he asked.

The Pentagon said in its recent report that an investigation announced in July 2023 related to weapons procurement programs dating back to 2017 pointed to "significant concerns with the PLA's modernization efforts more broadly."

What does corruption mean for China's military goals?

Despite the corruption, China's military has achieved tremendous military growth across its branches, from procuring advanced aircraft and bolstering its naval forces to doubling the number of missiles that can reach Guam.

Its military exercises in the Western Pacific, specifically around Taiwan, have grown in size and frequency, and it puts pressure on US allies. And there have been other demonstrations of might.

In September 2024, PLARF carried out an intercontinental ballistic missile test in the Pacific for the first time in 40 years, an apparent signal that despite its challenges with corruption, it maintains power and ambition.

Since the US election, China has been flexing its muscles, sending a clear message to the incoming Trump administration.

The ultimate goal, Hart explained, of Xi's anti-corruption campaign has been to ensure the PLA can modernize on the timeline he has implemented. Even with some issues along the way, China's military growth shows that effort has seen its successes.

Despite the Pentagon's observations, it remains unclear if the PLA's corruption problems will impact China's 2027 goals.

• Russia is accused of using aging tankers to damage undersea cables.
• Analysts say it gives the cover of plausible deniability.
• But it's a method that also comes with risks.

A series of apparent attacks on undersea internet cables show Russia exploiting a Western vulnerability, analysts say.

The incidents in recent months involve aging tankers dragging their anchors and severing undersea cables in the Baltic Sea, prompting outages.

The latest came on Christmas Day, when the tanker Eagle S dragged its anchor for hundreds of miles, damaged the Estlink 2 power line between Finland and Estonia and telecommunications cables.

Officials in Europe say Russia is deliberately using the vessels to target the crucial infrastructure used to transmit internet data and power.

They say the incidents add up to a campaign by Russia to sabotage infrastructure. At least one vessel is said to belong to a "shadow fleet" of ships not directly tied to Russia that it uses to evade oil sanctions.

The means employed, the officials say, are decidedly low-tech: aging tankers dragging their anchors along the seabed for miles, hoping to snag and damage a cable.

One Finnish official on Monday said that Eagle S and its crew were preparing to target more cables before the ship was boarded.

The Baltic and beyond

In November, a Chinese-flagged vessel, the Yi Peng 3, was accused of damaging another cable in the Baltic.

Another Chinese-flagged vessel, the NewnewPolar Bear, damaged subsea communications and gas cables in the Baltic in October 2023 by dragging its anchor. China admitted the vessel was responsible for the damage but said it was an accident, The South China Morning Post reported.

And on January 6, Taiwanese officials said that a Chinese-owned tanker severed cables near its north coast in a parallel incident it blamed on China.

Analysts classify the incidents as likely examples of "grey zone" tactics used by Russia and China to destabilize their rivals while falling short of acts of war.

"Attacks on CUI have become a viable weapon in grey zone warfare," said James Foggo, a retired US Navy admiral, using an abbreviation for Critical Undersea Infrastructure.

"More must be done to preserve CUI in the Baltic and other susceptible regions of the globe," he said in an interview with Business Insider.

Plausible deniability

Using commercial vessels for sabotage comes with risks, but also significant benefits for the attacker.

Henri van Soest, a senior analyst at RAND Europe, told BI that "Russia gets a number of advantages from using its shadow fleet for this purpose. The most important one is deniability and ambiguity: We currently have little insight into the make-up of the shadow fleet."

The ultimate ownership of a vessel can be difficult to establish.

The Eagle S, for instance, is owned by a company registered in the UAE, managed by a firm in Mumbai, and sails under the flag of the Cook Islands.

Analysts assert that Russia is directing the vessel, but there is no verifiable public link.

The Kremlin has itself denied any connection with the Eagle S, and other similar incidents in the Baltic.

The lack of an explicit tie to Russia also allows the ships to navigate freely, drawing less attention from national coast guards than a Russian ship.

A thousand threats, or more

Van Soest also pointed to the size of the fleet — which analysts say could exceed 1,400 vessels. It makes any single ship hard to monitor or counter.

"While currently only a small number of ships are suspected of engaging in sabotage activities, these actions make the entire shadow fleet suspect," said Van Soest.

He said there was a psychological component to the strategy in addition to the actual damage it can cause.

"Any ship that forms part of the shadow fleet could potentially be on a sabotage mission. It also sends the implicit message that Russia could swiftly order a larger number of shadow fleet vessels to start sabotage actions, leading to far greater damage and disruption," he said.

Clumsy strategy

The sabotage playbook comes with risks for Russia.

Pushing too hard with the fleet, Kaushal said, could prompt Western navies to treat it as a hostile entity and try to restrict its movements, reducing its value as a way of overcoming sanctions.

It's also clumsy, said Erin Murphy, deputy director of Chair on India and Emerging Asia Economics at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, DC.: "Anchors can bounce on the ocean floor and miss cutting the cable entirely, if that was the intent of a ship."

For all that, there is not much Western countries can do that matches the potential scale of the problem.

Limited counterplays

Sweden has said it'll be contributing 3 naval ships to boost NATO patrols in the Baltic to defend against subsea cable sabotage.

And late last year the alliance also deployed divers to test equipment to better defend the cables.

Two further measures proposed by European officials have been to tighten sanctions on vessels in the shadow fleet and boost naval patrols to deter sabotage.

"Increased patrols could help, but there's still the problem in terms of the size of the ocean and waterways," said Murphy.

In short: the sea is just too big to defend.

And Sidharth Kaushal, a research fellow at London's Royal United Services Institute, was skeptical that sanctions would deter the shadow fleet in practice.

Kaushal said that several vessels connected to recent cable-cuttings, including the Yi Peng 3, were not considered to be part of the shadow fleet.

Murphy, the author of a 2024 report on the threat to subsea cables, said nations could pressure the destination ports of suspected shadow fleet vessels to search them or deny them entry.

"This could work for a short time but countries and actors usually find ways to circumvent," she said.

It leaves Western nations with few options beyond chasing shadows.

• Finland said a Russia-linked oil tanker was close to wreaking havoc on its undersea cables.
• Its president said that officials intervened about 12 minutes before the damage got "much worse."
• The tanker is accused of being part of a Russian "shadow fleet" sabotaging European infrastructure.

Finnish President Alexander Stubb said on Tuesday that his country had stopped the crew of a Russia-linked oil tanker just minutes before it caused catastrophic damage to undersea cables in the Baltic Sea.

"Had it continued for another 12 minutes, the carnage would have been much worse than the four basic cables that were there," Stubb told reporters at this week's Baltic-focused NATO summit in Helsinki.

The tanker, the Eagle S, was seized in late December as Finland probed recent damage to its Estlink-2 power line, one of two vital cables carrying electricity in the Baltic Sea.

Four data cables were also severed.

Finnish investigators have accused the Eagle S crew of trying to sabotage the cables by dragging the ship's anchor for miles along the seabed.

The Finnish head of the investigation, Risto Lohi, told Reuters on Tuesday that the Eagle S would likely also have attempted sabotage on the other power cable, the Estlink-1, had police not boarded the vessel.

"There would have been an almost immediate danger that other cables or pipes related to our critical underwater infrastructure could have been damaged," said Lohi, who is the chief of Finland's National Bureau of Investigation.

On Tuesday, Stubb said that Finland's security process for protecting the cables started with the private company overseeing them. If a cable is severed, the firm would alert the authorities, who then try to find possible ships around the location of the damage.

"Once that happens, you identify the ship and contact the ship. Number four, you stop the ship," Stubb said.

Stubb added that Finnish authorities would compel the ship to enter Finnish waters, where officers could then legally board the vessel.

That process is set to change now. European members of NATO announced at the summit that they would launch a new program, called the "Baltic Sentry," to collectively patrol near Baltic Sea infrastructure.

The surveillance program involves frigates, maritime aircraft, and "a small fleet of naval drones," said NATO's secretary-general, Mark Rutte, at the summit.

The investigation into the Eagle S is of particular significance to the European Union because it's suspected for years that Russia has been intentionally trying to covertly damage Western undersea infrastructure. Other cables, such as two fiber-optic data cables running between Finland and Germany, were cut last year.

Though the Eagle S is registered in the Cook Islands, European officials say it's tied to Russia because it was carrying 35,000 tons of unleaded gasoline loaded in Russian ports.

They have accused the ship of being part of a Russian "shadow fleet," or a network of vessels with owners registered outside Russia that are actually carrying sanctioned Russian oil.

Russia has denied being involved in any way with such sabotage. The Russian Foreign Ministry did not respond to a comment request sent outside regular business hours by Business Insider.

• Two future Ford-class aircraft carriers will be named for Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush.
• It's the US Navy convention to name nuclear-powered flattops after presidents, with some exceptions.
• USS Doris Miller and Enterprise are the only two Ford-class vessels not named after presidents.

President Joe Biden announced Monday that two future Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft carriers will be named after former US presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush.

"Each knows firsthand the weight of the responsibilities that come with being Commander-in-Chief," Biden said in the White House announcement. "And both know well our duty to support the families and loved ones who wait and worry for the safe return of their servicemember."

US Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro said the future Ford-class carriers "will serve as lasting tributes to each leader's legacy in service of the United States."

The newly named flattops follow the sea service's tradition of naming the nuclear-powered carriers after US presidents. The trend has many exceptions, including first-in-class USS Nimitz, USS Carl Vinson, USS John C. Stennis, and future Ford-class ships USS Doris Miller and USS Enterprise.

Here are the names of the first six supercarriers in the Ford class, poised to become the backbone of America's naval power for the rest of the 21st Century.

USS Gerald R. Ford

The first-in-class USS Gerald R. Ford is named after the 38th US president who office after then-President Richard Nixon resigned in the wake of the Watergate Scandal.

Ford granted Nixon a controversial pardon saying it was in the country's best interest to put an end to the "American tragedy in which we all — all have played a part," he said at the time.

The USS Gerald R. Ford, the world's largest and most advanced aircraft carrier, completed its first full deployment last January, which the Pentagon extended in response to the October 7 Hamas attacks in Israel.

The Ford and the other warships in its strike group served in part as a deterrence message for its 239-day deployment to the Mediterranean in 2023.

USS John F. Kennedy

The second-in-class USS John F. Kennedy was named after the 35th US president, sharing its namesake with the last conventional aircraft carrier built for the Navy before the introduction of the nuclear-powered Nimitz class.

The future carrier was initially set to deliver in June 2024 but was delayed a year to July 2025 so the Navy could perform more work to prepare it for deployment in the Indo-Pacific.

The Navy said the Kennedy would be equipped with "new technology and warfighting capabilities," making the future aircraft carrier the "most agile and lethal combat platform globally."

USS Enterprise

The future USS Enterprise is one of two Ford-class carriers that wasn't named after a US president. It carries on a storied name whose heritage includes the world's first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, a decorated World War II carrier, and a brig from the Barbary War over 200 years ago.

Still under construction at Huntington Ingalls Industries' Newport News — the US's only aircraft carrier shipyard — the Enterprise was initially scheduled to deliver by March 2028, but the Navy's shipbuilding review found that it will now deliver by May 2030 at the latest.

In November, the Enterprise was moved for the first time at the shipyard to accommodate the construction of USS Doris Miller on the same dry dock.

USS Doris Miller

The other Ford-class carrier without a US president's name is the future USS Doris Miller.

The future supercarrier, named after US Navy sailor Doris "Dorie" Miller, is expected to be delivered a year and a half later than scheduled in early 2032.

Miller was a World War II hero of the surprise Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The mess attendant fired at Japanese aircraft with a .50 caliber machine gun on the battleship USS West Virginia and was the first Black person to be awarded the Navy Cross, the service's second-highest award for valor.

"Naming CVN 81 for Dorie Miller casts long overdue recognition to a true American hero and icon," then-Master Chief Petty Officer Russell Smith said during the ship's naming ceremony. "It also honors the contributions of African Americans and enlisted sailors for the first time in the history of American aircraft carriers."

One controversy has been that the Nimitz-class carrier John C. Stennis honors a key lawmaker behind the funding of nuclear-powered aircraft carriers, who was also a longtime segregationist and opponent of the US Navy's racial integration.

USS William J. Clinton

Bill Clinton served as the 42nd president of the US, becoming the second president in US history to be impeached after Andrew Johnson in 1868. He faced charges of lying under oath and obstruction of justice in the wake of his infamous affair with then-White House intern Monica Lewinsky.

In his time as commander-in-chief, Clinton ordered cruise missile strikes against Iraq in retaliation for the assassination attempt on former President George H.W. Bush. He also played a key role in promoting peace in the Middle East and Northern Ireland through the Oslo Accords and the Good Friday Agreement.

The name of the future CVN 82 was announced in a private ceremony shortly after the new year, during which former President Clinton's daughter, Chelsea Clinton, was announced as the carrier's sponsor.

"It's never far from my mind that the precious freedoms Americans enjoy are safeguarded by our armed forces, anchored by a strong, modern, and agile Navy," Clinton said in a statement. "I'm honored that future servicemembers carrying on that proud tradition will serve on a carrier bearing my name."

USS George W. Bush

The sixth Ford-class carrier will bear the name of former President George W. Bush, whose presidency was defined by the 9/11 attacks and the launching of the Afghanistan and Iraq wars.

He implemented domestic counterterrorism measures and built a worldwide coalition to dismantle terrorist groups globally.

"I am honored that my name will be associated with the United States Navy and a symbol of our Nation's might," Bush said in a statement. "I have a special admiration for the men and women of our Navy — including my dad — and ask God to watch over this ship and those who sail aboard her."

The 10th and final Nimitz-class carrier was named after Bush's father, George H.W. Bush, who served as the 41st president of the US. The elder Bush was honored for his service as one of the youngest naval aviators serving in World War II, receiving military decorations like the Distinguished Flying Cross, three Air Medals, and the Presidential Unit Citation.

CVN 82 and CVN 83 will be the fifth and sixth carriers to join the Navy's fleet in the coming decade, but they are not yet under construction, nor have contracts been issued to HII's Newport News.

In a briefing last week, Christopher Kastner, CEO and president of HII, urged the US Navy to follow its shipbuilding timeline to procure USS William J. Clinton by 2028 as planned to avoid supply chain and workforce issues.

• Israel has used its Air Force to strike its enemies with impunity.
• Syria's collapse now gives it unprecedented power in the air, right up to Iran's border.
• "Israel now has open skies to Iran," a Middle East analyst told BI.

The Israeli Air Force has long been regarded as the Middle East's premier aerial fleet, supplied in large part with US-made aircraft and munitions. But in the past year it has gone further, showing its aircraft can strike any of its adversaries with impunity and establishing unprecedented air superiority across wide stretches of the region.

It gutted Russian and Iranian-made air defenses in Iran, daring Iranian leaders to strike back with fewer defenses. It destroyed stocks of Hezbollah's missile arsenal in southern Lebanon and killed its top leader with a precision airstrike on his underground headquarters.

Its power was so formidable in Syria that the Assad regime and Russia secretly asked Israel to spare Assad's military, according to allegedly classified documents found in the country after that brutal regime collapsed in December.

In the wake of that collapse, Israel seized the opportunity. The Israeli Air Force (IAF) destroyed the country's vast majority of air defenses and Syrian military stockpiles.

Across 15 months of war, instigated by the Oct. 7, 2023 terrorist massacre by Hamas into Israel, the IAF has emerged supreme and is basking in its moment.

"Fighter pilots, if they wanted, could now merrily fly in pairs, with visible operating systems, at any altitude, to any range, to any spot in Israel's first circle of defense," reported the Israeli news site Ynet in late December.

Israel has long possessed the most powerful air force in the Middle East and one of the most powerful and technologically advanced anywhere in the world. It boasts over 600 aircraft and over 30,000 active personnel, with no less than 50,000 in reserve. It operates the second-largest fleet of F-16s in the world and is the only regional country that currently flies the F-35 stealth jet. Furthermore, Israel has its own version of that fifth-generation aircraft, a privilege no other country enjoys.

The IAF overwhelmingly consists of American-made aircraft that also include Apache and Black Hawk helicopters. Israel also flies a large fleet of F-15s and recently signed a $5.2 billion deal for 25 highly advanced F-15IA variants.

The IAF plays a pivotal role in the defense of Israel. It gave the small country a critical qualitative edge over its larger Arab adversaries in historical conflicts, most notably the June 1967 Six Day War.

The IAF's newfound supremacy goes beyond previous wars. For example, it previously destroyed several Soviet-built Syrian surface-to-air missile batteries in Lebanon's Beqaa Valley in a complex operation in 1982 and shot down over 80 Syrian fighter jets without incurring any losses in return. While December's operation saw the IAF strike all across Syria, the operation wasn't nearly as sophisticated or dangerous as that historical episode; many of the air defenses in the latest operation were abandoned or in low states of readiness.

"We know one reason possibly restraining Israel was a recently exposed secret agreement with Russia and Syria in which Israel agreed to refrain from wider targeting of Syria's military," said Sebastien Roblin, a widely published military aviation journalist.

Israel launched an enormous long-range air and drone attack against Iran on the night of October 26 in retaliation for an Iranian missile barrage against it on October 1. The IAF targeted some Syrian air defenses in the lead-up to the attack.

The IAF also used Iraqi airspace that October night and reportedly targeted early warning radars and sensors in both Syria and Iraq, which were part of a network Iran established in the region to detect incoming Israeli attacks. While the IAF used standoff munitions, including air-launched ballistic missiles, some Israeli aircraft are believed to have penetrated Iranian airspace.

"From what we currently know, some Israeli aircraft did reportedly breach Iranian airspace, though not, from what I've seen, very far," Ryan Bohl, a senior Middle East and North Africa analyst at the risk intelligence company RANE, told BI.

"That was in part a demonstration of capability and in part an operational necessity to effectively hit deep targets," Bohl said.

Israel stated some aircraft entered Iranian airspace, which were likely stealthy Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II jets and newly revealed long-range drones. Roblin said it's unclear if these aircraft released weapons over Iran. They could have been there to help "precisely locate key targets" and guide weapons fired by other aircraft over significant distances.

"The strike certainly had the effect of dispelling deterrence benefits of Iran's more advanced air defenses (Russian S-300 systems)," Roblin said. However, as in the case with Syria before December, Iran's remaining air defenses "still have some value in compelling use of more expensive standoff munitions and perhaps absorbing a percentage of incoming weapons."

Israel's campaign against the remnants of the Syrian military has major implications for Iran. Should Syria's airspace remain permissive to Israeli aircraft, Israel can fly its tanker aircraft closer to Iranian airspace than previously possible.

"If medium/high-altitude air defenses were truly fully destroyed, then Israel's ordinarily vulnerable tanker aircraft could indeed theoretically access Syrian airspace and refuel fighters, which could enable higher volume attacks on Iran," Roblin said.

With Syrian air defenses eliminated, Bohl believes that "Israel now has open skies to Iran."

It will likely take years before Syria manages to reestablish significant air defenses.

"The one-two-punch of Assad regime's collapse followed by Israeli strikes on surviving equipment mean Syria will require a much longer time-frame to reconstitute an air- and ground-based defense capability through expensive new equipment purchases," Roblin said. "So, Israel's ability to attack targets at will has been improved, though it was already more than adequate."

Airpower, of course, has its limits. Israel's aerial bombing has damaged roughly two-thirds of all buildings in Gaza, but it was a foot patrol that found and killed Hamas' hardline leader, who orchestrated the 10/7 attacks. Similarly, waves of Israeli airstrikes have failed to stop Iran from nuclear weapons development and uranium enrichment.

With Russia's influence diminishing, Turkey appears destined to become the new Syria's main military backer. Ankara has already offered to help Damascus rebuild the Syrian military.

"For now, Israel can ignore Syria as a defensive layer for Iran; it's just geography to fly over now," RANE's Bohl said. "But that is unlikely to be a permanent condition, and eventually, Syria's air defenses will, in some capacity, return."

"And should Turkey provide them, (that) might complicate Israel's regional strategy in a new way."

Paul Iddon is a freelance journalist and columnist who writes about Middle East developments, military affairs, politics, and history. His articles have appeared in a variety of publications focused on the region.

FIRST ON FOX: Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, officially endorsed Pete Hegseth for Secretary of Defense on Tuesday night, despite expressing some initial uncertainty following their first meeting. 

"After four years of weakness in the White House, Americans deserve a strong Secretary of Defense," Ernst told Fox News Digital in an exclusive statement.

'WASTE LESS, SAVE MORE': DOGE CAUCUS MEMBER ROLLS OUT EXPANSIVE BILL PACKAGE AHEAD OF TRUMP INAUGURATION

"Our next commander in chief selected Pete Hegseth to serve in this role, and after our conversations, hearing from Iowans, and doing my job as a United States Senator, I will support President Trump’s pick for Secretary of Defense. As I serve on the Armed Services Committee, I will work with Pete to create the most lethal fighting force and hold him to his commitments of auditing the Pentagon, ensuring opportunity for women in combat while maintaining high standards, and selecting a senior official to address and prevent sexual assault in the ranks."

President-elect Trump's pick to lead the Department of Defense (DOD) went before the Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday morning, where he faced questions from both Democratic and Republican members. 

• The secretary of defense nominee pledged to re-recruit troops discharged over COVID-19 vaccine refusal.
• Over 8,400 troops were separated due to the vaccine mandate, which has now been rescinded.
• Hegseth said discharged troops should receive back pay, restored ranks, and an apology.

President-elect Donald Trump's pick for secretary of defense, Pete Hegseth, pledged Tuesday to re-recruit troops forced out of the military for refusing to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, and said they would receive back pay, restored ranks, and an apology.

"Service members who were kicked out because of the experimental vaccine," Hegseth told lawmakers, "they will be apologized to. They will be reinstituted with pay and rank."

Hegseth, if confirmed by the Senate, would build on the groundwork laid by Trump, who told supporters last summer he would "rehire every patriot who was fired from the military," because of the vaccine mandate.

Over 8,400 troops were separated from the services after refusing to receive the vaccine following a lawful order from Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin in 2021. The Pentagon argued that the vaccines, similar to over a dozen others servicemembers receive, were crucial to military readiness.

The Pentagon reversed course and dropped the vaccine mandate in 2023 following a decision by Congress. At that time, it stopped separating troops who had not received the shot. Roughly 99% of the active-duty Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force had been vaccinated and around 98% of the Army. Guard and Reserve rates were lower but over 90%.

Sen. Jim Banks, a Republican from Indiana, asked if Hegseth Tuesday if he would commit to "recruit these folks back" with back pay.

"I will commit to this because the Commander in Chief has committed to this," Hegseth replied. "Not only will they be reinstated, they will receive an apology, back pay, and rank that they lost because they were forced out due to an experimental vaccine."

Top military brass considered the possibility of providing back pay to troops after the vaccine mandate was repealed in early 2023, but Hegseth's remarks Tuesday drive home the incoming administration's intent to re-recruit separated troops back into the military. It is the first such indication since Trump won reelection in November.

Such a change could affect the Marine Corps, the DoD's smallest service, the most — of the roughly 8,400 troops discharged, 3,717 were Marines. For the other services, 2,041 were discharged from the Navy, 1,841 from the Army, and 834 from the Air Force.

Republicans have long criticized these separations, arguing they were unnecessary and detrimental amid US military recruitment struggles. The military, however, maintained that the mandate was a lawful order essential to readiness and the well-being of the force.