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Trump Defense Policy Tag

In Saudi Arabia for his first foreign trip as president, President Trump delivered a speech on Islamic extremism and the need for the world to unite against and eradicate it.  Trump urged the Muslim-majority countries to "take the lead in combating radicalization" and to expel Islamist extremists from their places of worship, communities, holy lands, and the planet. Some highlights from the full text of President Trump's speech.
"I stand before you as a representative of the American People, to deliver a message of friendship and hope. That is why I chose to make my first foreign visit a trip to the heart of the Muslim world, to the nation that serves as custodian of the two holiest sites in the Islamic Faith." "Our vision is one of peace, security, and prosperity—in this region, and in the world. Our goal is a coalition of nations who share the aim of stamping out extremism and providing our children a hopeful future that does honor to God."

With the change of administration in Washington, the U.S. and India are strengthening their defense and strategic ties. National Security Adviser H. R. McMaster met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and senior members of his government in New Delhi this week to talk bilateral cooperation in the defense sector and combatting global terrorism. “The United States and India reaffirmed a strategic partnership that involves not only a growing defense relationship but also shared perspectives of the region.” Indian newspaper Economic Times reported. Last month, India’s National Security Advisor Ajit Doval was in Washington to meet the U.S. Secretary of Defence James Mattis. These high level visits are expected to lay the groundwork for Prime Minister Modi's visit to the Washington later this summer. New Delhi-based Economic Times writes:
The United States and India reaffirmed a strategic partnership that involves not only a growing defence relationship but also shared perspectives of the region.

Trump made an unscheduled trip to Delaware to honor William "Ryan" Owens, a Navy SEAL and the first casualty during Trump's administration. Fox News reports:
WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump is making an unannounced trip to honor the returning remains of a U.S. Navy SEAL killed during a weekend raid on an Al Qaeda base in Yemen. Trump was to arrive Wednesday afternoon at Delaware's Dover Air Force Base.

Yesterday, President Trump signed three new executive actions: reshuffling the Principals Committee of the National Security Council (NSC), restricting administration officials from lobbying, and calling for a comprehensive plan to defeat ISIS. The first memorandum removes the Director of National Intelligence (Dan Coats has yet to be confirmed, no hearing set) and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs (currently Marine Corps General Joseph Dunford) from and adds Steve Bannon to the NSC Principals Committee.

The Senate has confirmed retired General James Mattis to become the Secretary of Defense, the first confirmation of President Trump's Cabinet. He won confirmation with a 98-1. WOW. But who doesn't like or approve of Mad Dog Mattis?

The Senate Armed Services Committee passed a waiver by a vote of 24-3 allowing Gen. James Mattis to serve as President-elect Donald Trump's Secretary of Defense. Becuase he retired from the Marine Corps in 2013, he needed the waiver to bypass a rule stating an individual must be out of the service for seven years before serving a new appointment. Only Democrats Kirsten Gillibrand, Richard Blumenthal, and Elizabeth Warren voted against the waiver. Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) said the committee should pass the legislation "because the U.S. is at war and the Trump administration needs Mattis as quickly as possible."