France, Germany, and Spain rejected the argument by US and British defense chiefs that it is time for NATO to step in and relieve US forces of some counterterrorism operations in Afghanistan. (DR, 9/15/05) At a meeting of NATO defense ministers, Rumsfeld expressed the belief that NATO, at some point, could take over fighting insurgents in Afghanistan. The allies do plan to extend their peacekeeping role, but plans to merge command of the NATO mission and the US/coalition mission may be up a creek, as well.
Happy Birthday US Air Force: 78 Today
Sept. 18, 2025
Seventy-eight years ago today, on Sept. 18, 1947, Supreme Court Chief Justice Fred Vinson swore in Stuart Symington as the first ever Secretary of the Air Force, and the Air Force officially became the first new military service since the Revolutionary War.