US Air Force and US Southern Command officials have known for at least a year that Ecuador wanted US counterdrug forces out of Forward Operating Location Manta. The US has been operating from there under a 1999 agreement that is slated to end next year. According to a July 29 Associated Press report, Ecuador’s Foreign Ministry formally notified the US Embassy of its decision not to renew the agreement. Although last year US officials mentioned Columbia or Peru as possible new locations, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack on July 30 would only say, “There’s still a need for the mission, so we’ll look at how we accomplish the mission, perhaps in other locations or by other means.” Earlier this year, Adm. James Stavridis, SOUTHCOM commander, told lawmakers that he felt other “friends and allies in the region” would provide support for the mission. McCormack noted, too, though that Ecuador “has promised continued close cooperation to confront the threat of drug smuggling, and we look forward to this continued cooperation.”
DNI: Cyber Is The Common Weapon Among Top Adversaries
April 17, 2021
The top four U.S. adversaries—China, Russia, Iran and North Korea—are improving their military capabilities but relying increasingly on cyber means to challenge the U.S. and blunt its influence around the world, the intelligence community's annual threat assessment says. The report comes amid military tensions with both China and Russia.