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"What the United States fears the most is taking casualties," said Rear Admiral Lou Yuan...Lou’s comments reflect a growing belief in China that the United States has lost its stomach for war,...The Chinese believe that "Americans have gone soft...at the first sign of genuine trouble they will cut and run,"

RUSSIA has sent supersonic bombers capable of carrying nuclear missiles to one of Venezuela’s islands in the Caribbean Sea, according to reports. This follows news earlier in the month that the former-Soviet state was planning to set up its first military base in the Caribbean after striking a deal with cash-strapped Venezuela. Venezuela’s socialist president Nicolas Maduro did not object to the proposals, according to Russian newspaper Nezavisimaya Gazeta. The deployment will represent the one of the largest postings of the Russian military in the region since the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962. Under Venezuelan law, military bases cannot be...

Russia’s Foreign Ministry says Moscow expects the Syrian government to take over the areas where the U.S. troops are currently deployed following their withdrawal. The ministry’s spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova, said at Wednesday’s briefing that the territories in eastern Syria should be handed over to the Syrian government in line with international law. She noted that Moscow is unaware of any details of the planned U.S. withdrawal from Syria, but added that the move would help peaceful settlement in Syria if implemented. U.S. President Donald Trump abruptly announced the pullout from Syria last week, surprising allies and sparking the resignation of...

U.S.-allied Syrian Kurds, in the wake of America’s decision this week to withdraw its military forces from Syria, are faced with the prospects of making a pact with the Iranian and Russian-backed regime of Bashar al-Assad to repel a prospective attack by Turkish forces. Vowing to ultimately clear U.S.-allied Kurdish groups from Syria, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan...“Of course, this is not an open-ended waiting period,” he warned, adding, "In the next months, we will see an operational style aimed at removing the YPG [Kurdish People’s Protection Units militia]..."

The ministry, which did not specify which flights had been threatened, added that Syrian air defenses had destroyed 14 of 16 Israeli missiles launched by six F-16 jets against unspecified targets near Damascus on Tuesday. “Provocative acts by the Israeli Air Force endangered two passenger jets when six of their F-16s carried out airstrikes on Syria from Lebanese airspac,” the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement carried by the Russia Today news outlet.