Two B-1B bombers and four F-16 fighters carried out precision air strikes Jan. 10 against reported al Qaeda safe havens in Iraq’s Arab Jabour area. The Air Force reports more than 40 targets were hit in the raids during which the aircraft dispensed a total of 40,000 pounds of ordnance. The air strikes supported Phantom Phoenix, the overarching operation that includes Marne Thunderbolt, the large US-Iraqi ground push to rid Arab Jabour of anti-coalition elements.
The U.S. and Sweden signed a bilateral Defense Cooperation Agreement on Dec. 5 that will strengthen military ties between them and likely lead to U.S. troops and prepositioned gear on Swedish soil. Swedish Defense minister Pal Jonson said the war in Ukraine prompted Sweden's joining NATO and he laid out…