Robert Burns, Author at Valley News

Vice President Mike Pence, with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, left, and national security adviser Robert O'Brien, speaks to reporters outside the West Wing of the White House, Monday, Oct. 14, 2019, in Washington. The U.S. is calling for an immediate ceasefire in Turkey's strikes against Kurds in Syria, and is sending Pence to lead mediation effort (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Trump orders Turkey sanctions; US scrambles for Syria exit

by Robert Burns AP National Security WriterOctober 14, 2019

WASHINGTON — Targeting Turkey’s economy, President Donald Trump announced sanctions Monday aimed at restraining the Turks’ assault against Kurdish fighters and civilians in Syria — an assault Turkey began after Trump announced he was moving U.S….

FILE - This undated file photo provided Tuesday, Sept. 19, 2017, by Russian Defense Ministry official web site shows a Russian Iskander-K missile launched during a military exercise at a training ground at the Luzhsky Range, near St. Petersburg, Russia. A landmark arms control treaty that President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev signed three decades ago is dead. The U.S. and Russia both walked away from the deal on Friday, Aug. 2, 2019. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP/File)

U.S.-Russia arms control treaty dies; U.S. to test new weapon

by Robert Burns Associated Press, and Deb Riechmann Associated PressAugust 2, 2019

In this May 5, 2019 photo issued by Karatzas Images, showing the British oil tanker Stena Impero at unknown location, which is believed to have been captured by Iran. Iran's Revolutionary Guard announced on their website Friday July 19, 2019, it has seized a British oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz, the latest provocation in a strategic waterway that has become a flashpoint in the tensions between Tehran and the West. (Basil M. Karatzas, Karatzas Images via AP) MANDATORY CREDIT

Iran seizes British oil tanker

by Gregory Katz Associated Press, Robert Burns Associated Press, and Amir Vahdat Associated PressJuly 19, 2019

President Donald Trump speaks during a ceremony where Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte will present a 48-star flag flown on a U.S. Naval vessel during the D-Day invasion, in the East Room of the White House, Thursday, July 18, 2019, in Washington. The flag will be given to the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History. The vessel was control vessel Landing Craft, Control 60 (LCC 60). (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

U.S. warship destroys Iran’s drone

by Darlene Superville Associated Press, and Robert Burns Associated PressJuly 18, 2019

President Donald Trump speaks during a news conference with Polish President Andrzej Duda in the Rose Garden of the White House, Wednesday June 12, 2019, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Tanker attacks blamed on Iran

by Robert Burns Associated Press, and Lolita c. Baldor Associated PressJune 14, 2019

Marine Gen. Frank McKenzie, head of U.S. Central Command, confers with an Air Force officer below the bomb bay of a B-52 bomber on Friday, June 7, 2019 at al-Udeid air base in Qatar. McKenzie said on Friday that he thinks Iran had been planning some sort of attack on shipping or U.S. forces in Iraq. Two other officials, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive details, said Iran was at a high state of readiness in early May with its ships, submarines, surface-to-air missiles and drone aircraft. “It is my assessment that if we had not reenforced, it is entirely likely that an attack would have taken place by now,” he said. (AP Photo/Robert Burns)

U.S. carrier in Persian Gulf sends clear signal to Iran

by Robert Burns AP National Security WriterJune 8, 2019

In this May 13, 2019, photo, President Donald Trump listens to a question during a meeting with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington. A federal judge in Washington is set to hold a hearing on May 14 on Trump’s attempt to block a House subpoena seeking his financial records. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Global worries flare that U.S. sliding toward Iran war

by Robert Burns Associated Press, and Lolita c. Baldor Associated PressMay 14, 2019

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo arrives for a news conference at the State Department in Washington, Friday, Feb. 1, 2019. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has announced that the U.S. is pulling out of a treaty with Russia that's been a centerpiece of arms control since the Cold War. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

U.S. to back out of nuclear deal

by Deb Riechmann Associated Press, Robert Burns Associated Press, and Matthew Lee Associated PressFebruary 1, 2019

FILE - In this Nov. 29, 2018, file photo a Afghan Security forces member walks next to a crater caused by suicide bomb attack in Kabul, Afghanistan. As the Trump administration pushes for peace in Afghanistan, a new U.S. watchdog report says Afghan security forces are shrinking, gaps in security are growing, and the Taliban are largely holding their own despite a surge in American bombing. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul, File)

Report: Afghan forces still shrinking, security gaps growing

by Robert Burns AP National Security WriterJanuary 31, 2019

CIA Director Gina Haspel accompanied by FBI Director Christopher Wray and Director of National Intelligence Daniel Coats testifies before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington Tuesday, Jan. 29, 2019. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

U.S. Intel Heads List North Korea, not Border, as Threat to U.S.

by Robert Burns AP National Security WriterJanuary 29, 2019