US Defense Secretary Mattis expected to send hundreds of troops to Mexico border

A US official says Defense Secretary Jim Mattis is expected to sign an order as early as Thursday sending 800 or more troops to the southern border to support the Border Patrol. (Getty Images/AFP)
Updated 25 October 2018
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US Defense Secretary Mattis expected to send hundreds of troops to Mexico border

WASHINGTON: A US official says Defense Secretary Jim Mattis is expected to sign an order as early as Thursday sending 800 or more troops to the southern border to support the Border Patrol.
Mattis is responding to a request from President Donald Trump, who says he’s “bringing out the military” to address what he’s calling a national emergency at the border.
The US official was not authorized to speak publicly because the details had not yet been finalized and spoke on condition of anonymity.
The additional troops are to provide what one official described as logistical support to the Border Patrol. This would include a variety of things such as vehicles, tents and equipment.
There already are about 2,000 National Guard troops assisting at the border under a previous Pentagon arrangement.


German foreign minister says he confident NATO will remain as is

Updated 8 sec ago
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German foreign minister says he confident NATO will remain as is

  • Wadephul said NATO was “the most successful defense alliance in the world”

BERLIN: German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said on ​Wednesday that he had no doubt that NATO’s members remained united and was confident that the ‌defense alliance would ‌remain ‌as ⁠it ​is.
“The ‌United States stands by the defense of the alliance and also stands by its alliance ⁠with Europe,” Wadephul ‌told a joint press ‍conference ‍in Paris with ‍his counterparts from India, France and Poland.
“I have not the ​slightest doubt that we stand together in the ⁠closest possible unity and that this alliance will remain exactly what it has always been: the most successful defense alliance in the world,” ‌he added.