Page 9 - Combat Capability News Today

>> reporter: the back and forth began yesterday. >> translator: we need to strengthen combat capability of strategic nuclear force. >> reporter: trump pledged -- putins response was saying he wasnt surprised. >> translator: mr. trump, theres nothing new here. during his election campaign, he has spoken about the need to strengthen u.s. nuclear capabilities. >> reporter: days before christmas, eric trulmp announce he wont campaign for his foundation. now his dad is weighing in. tweeting --

He said russia needs to enhance the combat capability of strategic nuclear forces primarily by strengthening missile complexes that will be guaranteed to penetrate existing and future missile defense systems. is that -- >> there is one of several -- no, no, there are several countries in the past weeks, russia being one of them. but the bottom line is this, the president is going to put our nations security and safety first. and hes not going to worry about how its -- hes going to do it. thats w...

Offended that trump is not doing things the way people in washington have wanted them to be done for a long time. thats a pr win. we have to be mindful of the fact that there are consequences to making policy this way. what might seem like a short-term political gain could have real long-term political consequences, particularly if the president-elect is showing confusion among our allies. >> i want to read what we heard from putin today. he had a lot to say in his speech today. the translation ...

Only hours earlier, vladimir putin, who u.s. intelligence officials say was personally involved in the cyber attacks to influence the u.s. elections, told his generals, we need to enhance the combat capability of strategic nuclear forces. last spring trump drew fire for saying he might use nuclear weapons in europe, or against isis. >> theyre hearing a guy running for president of the united states talking of maybe using nuclear weapons. nobody wants to hear that about an american president. >> ...

Theyre not likely to be offended that trump is not doing things the way people in washington have wanted them to be done for a long time. thats a pr win. we have to be mindful of the fact that there are consequences to making policy this way. what might seem like a short-term political gain could have real long-term political consequences, particularly if the president-elect is showing confusion among our allies. >> i want to read what we heard from putin today. he had a lot to say in his speech...

Rotating them in is a good step but its only one step in a long, long climb back to u.s. ground force capability. we have the same american pattern over and over again. after something like the cold war, we cut too deeply. now we have gone from half a million troops at the heist our involvement in the cold war to fewer than 7,000 and that includes marines, navy, air force. so sending back these brigades on training missions, great idea. but that doesnt mean you have combat capability there. we d...

>> the presidents logic at the time look, its been a decade. we cant stay forever. the united states, you know, cant hold a country together. iraq has to be ready to have democracy and stand on its own. ultimately wasnt that a decision that had to be made? trillions of dollars had been spent. it was continual, hundreds of billions of dollars a year, and things werent getting better. >> you know, i sat in on the margins of the national security meetings when george bush was president. and he used...

He admitted there are difficult times ahead, but 2014 is a hard and fist deadline for u.s. troops to come home. >> this time of war began in afghanistan and this is where it will end. >> reporter: shortly after arriving under cover of darkness, president obama signed an agreement promising support after the war ends in 2014. >> we have a clear path to fulfill our mission in afghanistan. >> reporter: the agreement does not say how many troops will stay. >> 20,000 troops spread all over the countr...

Manner that puts serious combat capability off the coast in the event that we have to evacuate u.s. citizens and embassy personnel from damascus. heather: is this a show of support for israel? >> i think, yeah, actually it is. they are our real ally in the neighborhood, the only democracy in the middle east and youve got turmoil all the way around, just sweep around from what is going on in syria, the mess in lebanon, egypt, so much for the arab spring. you just take a look at it, its an extreme...

ill get a live update from tripoli. in china, vice president joe biden says the u.s. will never default on its debt. ill have more on what hes saying about the u.s. economy just ahead. and for many members. u.s. military, returning home is just not complete. well, until they get a heros welcome from mans best friend. their dog. a very special welcome to all the servicemen and women who are watching us right now on the armed forces network. lets get right to it. we begin with liby...