US Pacific Command has invited representatives from China, among six other nations, to observe Valiant Shield 2006, which it bills as “one of the largest joint-military exercises in the Pacific in more than a decade.” Command officials say some 33 representatives from Australia, China, India, Japan, South Korea, Russia, and Singapore are on hand at Andersen AFB, Guam, the hub for the exercise, comprising about 22,000 US airmen, coast guardsmen, marines, sailors, and soldiers. The exercise runs through June 23.
A U.S. Air Force B-52 bomber flew from Europe across the Middle East to the Persian Gulf on July 25 in a 32-hour flight, as conflicts continued to roil the area with U.S. troops coming under attack in Iraq and Syria on July 25 and July 26, U.S. officials told…