The US has deepened and enhanced its intelligence sharing with France in the wake of the terrorist attacks there this weekend, Pentagon spokesmen said Monday. “Secretary of Defense Ash Carter and Director of National Intelligence Jim Clapper have provided new instructions that will enable US military personnel to more easily share operational planning information and intelligence with our French counterparts on a range of shared challenges to the fullest extent allowed by existing law and policy,” press secretary Peter Cook said in a written statement. The agreement between France and the US was in the works before the attacks in Paris, but was accelerated over the weekend, DOD spokesman Navy Capt. Jeff Davis told reporters at the Pentagon. The agreement removes some of the procedural limitations on intelligence sharing, Davis said. France this weekend launched airstrikes against ISIS in Raqqa, Syria, after nominating the target based on information the US shared with them, Davis said. The strikes were French but carried “the full coalition weight and support behind” them, he added.
A-10 Thunderbolt II attack planes in the Middle East are flying with fresh modifications as the Air Force looks to make the plane more versatile amid America’s ongoing blockade of Iranian ports and a tenuous ceasefire in the U.S. air war against Iran.