General james holmes, commander of air combat command, discussed the future of the u. S. Air force during a virtual conversation with the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies. This is an hour. Good afternoon, everyone. Warm welcome to all of you. Im dave deptula, dean of the institute for Aerospace Studies and would like that thank air combat command general commander james holmes for joining us today. After so many years of service and in key positions throughout our air force, needs little introduction. Simply summarize by saying hes excelled in operational, staff and academic purchase suits at every level, and as a result, hes brought an unsurpassed degree of competence to his current job. As commander of air combat command hes responsible for organizing, training and equipping air force aerospace cyber and Intelligence Forces for Rapid Deployment and employment. With that mobile, id like to turn it observer ver to you to what are at the top of your priority lists these days esp
Speech i plan to give today, i plan on coming when we set this up a couple of weeks ago. To talk about agricultural policy, unions, rural policies. But too much as happened in the recent past. I have prepared for me a speech that i hope would set a marker for what we should be doing. You all know that the words of a president matter. Hey can move markets they can send our brave women and men to war. They can bring peace. They can calm a nation in turmoil. They can console, they can confront and comfort those who have faced tragedy. They can inspire us to literally reach for the moon. They can encourage us to appeal to our better angels, our better nature. They can also unleash the deepest, darkest forces in the nation. That is what i believe donald trump has chosen to do. What he said after charlottesville, there were, and i quote, very fine people on both sides, i said then that it gave license in safe harbor to White Supremacists and neonazis, to the ku klux klan. These words not onl
i m michael smerconish in philadelphia. on friday the u.s. conducted major retaliatory airstrikes on iraq and syria, the start of what the u.s. military says likely will be larger attacks on iranian-backed militias. airstrikes hit more than 85 targets according to u.s. central command including command and control operation centers, intelligence centers, rockets and missiles and unmanned aerial vehicle storage. the move came in response to a drone strike by iran-backed militants on a u.s. military outpost in jordan on sunday. that killed three u.s. service members and wounded more than 40 others. the strikes began only about an hour after president biden attended the dignified transfer of their remains at dover air force base in delaware. officials say the timing was coincidental but symbolic of the gravity of his decision. iraqi officials say at least 16 people were killed in the strikes and condemn the attacks as, quote, a flagrant violation of iraqi sovereigty. a chief in
is it time to pop that balloon? i m michael smerconish. it sparked kshs about national security regarding beijing. is it more a about symbolism? secretary of state antony blinken was due to travel to china this weekend. he postponed his trip calling the infiltration a, quote, irresponsible act that created conditions that undermine the purpose of the trip. the public first learned of the balloon s existence thursday while it was over montana, which is home to ballistic missile silos and bomber bases. china is saying it s all innocent. a spokesperson for the chinese foreign min city sits is a civilian air shift used for meteorological purposes affected by the westerlies and limited self-steering capability, it deviated from its course. the chinese side regrets the entry of the ship. but it was a clear violation of our sovereignty as well as international law. the balloon does not pose a military or political threat and a senior defense official said military officials a advise
i m michael smerconish in philadelphia. fighter jets have shot down an object in u.s. air space. on friday president biden gave the order to shoot down a high altitude object hovering ten m miles off the coast of alaska. last saturday fighter jets shot down a suspected chinese spy balloon in the atlantic ocean after flying across the entire country. j joining me now to discuss is retired air force lieutenant general, he was the first chief of intelligence, surveillance and he s a fighter pilot with more than 3,000 flying hours. he was the principle attack planner by operation desert storm commander of no-fly operations over iraq in the 90s. these days he s the dean of the mitchell institute for aerospace studies. general, thank you for coming back to the program. so what is norad s responsibility and the framework through which it determines a course of action? well, michael, it s good to see you again 37 it s been quite a week for the commander of north american air defen