U.S. general says no military threat on southern border
The top U.S. general for homeland defense says there is no military threat coming from the southern border with Mexico, but his focus in on “very real” threats from China and Russia.
Air Force Gen. Terrence O’Shaughnessy, commander, U.S. Northern Command and North American Aerospace Defense Command, told a Senate committee Tuesday that America has vulnerabilities in the Arctic region.
He says proposed barriers along the U.S.-Mexico border could increase security. President Donald Trump has declared a national emergency along the southern border to fund his proposed wall.
Senators are questioning the need for the wall and suggesting U.S. troops are being used as political props in a fake emergency. AP
Pakistan says 2 Indian warplanes downed, pilot captured
Pakistan’s military said Feb. 27 it shot down two Indian warplanes in the disputed region of Kashmir and captured a pilot, answering an airstrike a day earlier by Indian fighter jets inside Pakistan and raising tensions between the nuclear-armed rivals to a level unseen in two decades.
Within hours Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan went on television urging peace talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying both countries needed to step back from the brink and warning that “miscalculations” could drag their two countries into a war that neither side would benefit from. “Let’s sit together to talk to find a solution,” Khan said.
There was no reply from Modi, but India acknowledged one of its air force planes was “lost” in skirmishes with Pakistan and that its pilot was “missing in action.” Pakistan’s military later circulated a video of a man with a mustache who identified himself as the Indian pilot, sipping tea and responding to questions, mostly by saying, “You know I can’t answer that.” He appeared in good health as he was questioned about his hometown, his aircraft and his mission.
The downing of the Indian aircraft came on a chaotic day that also saw mortar shells fired by Indian troops from across the frontier dividing the two sectors of Kashmir kill six civilians and wound several others. A helicopter crash in the region also killed six Indian air force officials and a civilian on the ground.
Pakistan responded by shutting down its civilian airspace.
The Indian warplanes went down the morning of Feb. 27 in Kashmir, a mountainous region claimed by both India and Pakistan since almost immediately after their creation in 1947. One of the downed planes crashed in Pakistan’s part of Kashmir while the other went down in an Indian-controlled section of the Himalayan region, Pakistan’s army spokesman Maj. Gen. Asif Ghafoor said.
He said Pakistani troops on the ground captured the Indian pilot. He had said earlier that two pilots were captured, but did not explain the discrepancy. AP
Nikki Haley nominated for board seat at Boeing
Nikki Haley, the former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, has been nominated for a seat on the board of directors at Boeing.
The defense contractor and aircraft manufacturer said Feb. 26 that Haley will stand for election at its annual shareholder meeting on April 29.
Haley was previously the governor of South Carolina, and she fought attempts by unions to represent workers at the plant where the Chicago-based company assembles its Boeing 787 jetliners. She said that companies in her state take care of workers, and unions aren’t needed.
In 2017, Boeing workers in North Charleston voted about 3-to-1 against representation by the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, a resounding setback for unions that have long hoped to make inroads in the South.
Boeing did not say whether Haley will replace a current director or will expand the board. A spokesman said the company would disclose more details when it files a proxy statement next month.
There are currently 13 directors including a former White House chief of staff under President George H.W. Bush, a former U.S. trade representative under President George W. Bush, a former vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under the younger Bush, and Caroline Kennedy, the U.S. ambassador to Japan under President Barack Obama.
Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg said Feb. 27 that the company will benefit from Haley’s combination of diplomatic, government and business experience.
The 47-year-old Haley was named as ambassador to the UN by President Donald Trump, and served from January 2017 until December 2018. In a prepared statement from the company, she praised Boeing as the world’s biggest aerospace company and the largest U.S. exporter. AP