United States Defense and Military Forces

• U.S. Moves Some Personnel From Qatar Air Base as Trump Weighs Military Response to Iran - Nonessential personnel are being removed from Udeid Air Base in Qatar, the main U.S. air operations hub in the region, as President Trump weighs a military response to Iran’s crackdown on protests.
• Republicans Move to Block Effort to Check Trump’s Power in Venezuela - G.O.P. leaders are pressuring fellow senators who supported the measure to change their vote on the bill to block President Trump’s military action in Venezuela without Congress’s consent.
• An Emboldened Trump Makes Big Bets in Venezuela, Iran and Beyond - President Trump has left himself plenty of room for maximal intervention. But there are a host of potential wild cards, each with risks for the president.
• Trump’s Plans for Venezuelan Oil Run Headlong Into Reality - President Trump’s fixation on Venezuela’s oil raises the question of how much “energy dominance” is really worth nowadays.
• U.S. Attacked Boat With Aircraft That Looked Like a Civilian Plane - Even accepting the Trump administration’s claim that there is an armed conflict with suspected drug runners, the laws of war bar “perfidy.”
• U.S. Citizens Are Joining the Military to Protect Undocumented Parents - Amid an ICE crackdown in her area, an Oregon National Guard recruiter offers U.S. citizens a way to save their immigrant parents.
• Deposed Shah’s Son Hopes Trump Will Put Iran Regime ‘Down for Good’ - Reza Pahlavi, once the crown prince of Iran, says protesters there have been emboldened by President Trump suggesting that he could take military action.
• Venezuela’s New Leader Enlists U.S. Troops to Bring a Rogue Ship Back - Delcy Rodríguez got American help with the return of an oil tanker linked to one of her political rivals that had left the country without authorization.
• Trump Is Briefed on Options for Striking Iran as Protests Continue - The president has said he will be “hitting them very hard” if Iranian leaders kill protesters amid widespread demonstrations calling for wholesale changes in the country.
• U.S. Launches Major Strikes on Islamic State Targets in Syria - The airstrikes followed an even larger attack in December to avenge the killing of three Americans last year.