Pentagon

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Bush Ordered Troop Surge Over Internal Opposition

State Dept., Pentagon, military leaders were split over plan

(Newser) - President Bush’s 2007 addition of 20,000 troops in Iraq helped stabilize the country —but advisers didn’t support the idea until the situation there looked like “civil war,” in the CIA’s words. Instead, the Pentagon wanted to shift responsibilities to Iraqi troops; the State...

US Weighs Direct Pakistan Strikes

But unilateral action could heighten tension between countries

(Newser) - Frustrated with what some see as unproductive new leadership in Pakistan and fearing a strengthening al-Qaeda, Pentagon officials are considering a unilateral mission to root out militants hiding in the country, the Los Angeles Times reports. The CIA has backed such a move for months, but some officials remain concerned...

Gates Plans to Double Size of Afghan Army

(Newser) - Robert Gates is backing a plan to pump $20 billion into Afghanistan’s army and restructure the command of NATO and US forces, in an effort to revamp the struggling war effort there. With American troops tied up in Iraq, Gates intends to almost double the size of the Afghan...

Pentagon's New Bid Rules Favor Northrop: Boeing

Bidding changes seen to justify previous decision

(Newser) - The Pentagon issued new criteria yesterday for the second round of bidding on its lucrative fuel-tanker contract, Bloomberg reports, and Boeing backers immediately cried foul. The new terms give bonus points to a plane that carries more fuel than the earlier guidelines, which Boeing officials and congressional allies claim favors...

Pentagon Extends Tours for Marines in Afghanistan

(Newser) - As the situation in Afghanistan worsens, 1,000 Marines deployed to train local security forces will stay there for at least another 30 days, mirroring an identical move last month for another group of Marines elsewhere in the country, Reuters reports. A defense official confirmed the move, which has yet...

Sex Assaults Against Women in Military 'Epidemic'

Lawmaker discovers 41% of female vets at one hospital have been vicitms

(Newser) - A California congresswoman seeking better protection for military women said she was shocked to discover that 41% of women at a veterans hospital reported being sexually assaulted while in the service, CNN reports. "We have an epidemic here," Jane Harman told a House panel yesterday. "Women in...

Ex-Pentagon Official Eying Iraq Oil Deal

Noted war booster Perle denies deal, Kazakh connection

(Newser) - Former Pentagon official Richard Perle is on board with a consortium seeking to drill for oil in Iraq’s Kurdistan region, the Wall Street Journal reports—though both Baghdad and Washington want a national oil law passed before regional business is done. The Iraq war backer denies that he’s...

Bin Laden Driver's Soft Spot: McDonald's Fries

FBI agents discovered he liked them during interrogations

(Newser) - Osama bin Laden’s driver warmed up to interrogators after he was given McDonald’s french fries, Reuters reports. He "even appreciated that McDonald's fries are not good cold," an FBI agent testified yesterday at Salim Hamdan’s war crimes trial. In another instance, he perked up when...

Army Orders Lions Rookie to Active Duty

West Point star can't report to Detroit training camp

(Newser) - West Point graduate Caleb Campbell—drafted in April by the Detroit Lions—has been ordered to put his pro football career on hold and report for military duty, the Detroit News reports. The Army abruptly changed its policy and told Campbell—a day before he was to report to training...

Gitmo Trial Describes al-Qaeda Inner Circle

Driver was key member of organization: prosecutor

(Newser) - Arguments in the trial of Salim Hamdan gave a view of al-Qaeda's inner circle today, as prosecutors opened by painting Osama bin Laden's driver as a key member of the organization, the Miami Herald reports. The lead prosecutor depicted Hamdan as a constant presence in high-level al-Qaeda operations and argued...

Pentagon to Re-Open $35B Air Force Tanker Bid

(Newser) - The Pentagon will re-open a $35 billion contract to build the Air Force's fleet of new refueling tankers and pick a new winner by the end of the year, congressional sources say. The Office of the Secretary of Defense—not the Air Force—will oversee the new competition between Boeing...

Brass: Let Gays Serve Openly
 Brass: Let Gays Serve Openly 
Jul 8, 2008 2:40 AM CDT

Brass: Let Gays Serve Openly

Study says gays don't undermine military

(Newser) - Four high-ranking retired military officers have called on Congress to repeal the controversial "don't ask, don't tell" policy, saying that it makes it extremely difficult for gays in the US military, reports AP. Allowing gays to serve openly would not undermine the morale, discipline or effectiveness of units in...

Pentagon Backtracks, Extends Afghanistan Tours

2,200 Marines will remain another 30 days despite repeated denials

(Newser) - The Pentagon has extended the tour of 2,200 Marines in Afghanistan, after insisting for months the unit would come home on time. The 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, which is doing combat operations in the volatile south, will stay an extra 30 days and come home in early November rather...

Gitmo Prisoner Charged in Cole Bombing

Torture claims will be central to defense

(Newser) - A suspected al-Qaeda terrorist held at Guantanamo Bay for six years has been charged with masterminding the 2000 bombing of the USS Cole that killed 17 sailors and injured 50 others. The treatment of Saudi prisoner Abd al Rahim al-Nashiri in custody, which included waterboarding by interrogators, will be a...

Polluting Pentagon Rebuffs EPA Orders

Pentagon challenges agency's right to order toxic chemical clean up

(Newser) - The Pentagon is holding out on an Environmental Protection Agency order to clean up pollutants from three military bases where chemicals have become an "imminent and substantial" threat to the public health and environment, the Washington Post reports. The Defense Department also won’t sign contracts to clean up...

Pakistan Routs Taliban Forces in Major Offensive

Government abandons diplomatic tack to cut militant violence

(Newser) - Pakistan blasted suspected militant hideouts today, launching its biggest offensive against Taliban forces since electing a government last March. The military cleared three militant outposts and forced the insurgents west, CNN reports. For weeks, tensions have mounted between militants and Islamabad, which abandoned its diplomatic strategy as insurgent strikes increased.

Fighting Forces Get No Break on Fuel Price Hikes

Pentagon fuel expenses have doubled in 3 years

(Newser) - Consumers at the gas pump aren't the only ones suffering sticker shock: Military units in Iraq and elsewhere will see another hike in fuel costs next week, the second increase this budget year amid soaring oil prices. On July 1, the cost for refined fuel used by troops will jump...

Afghan Taliban Resurgence Alarms Pentagon

Pentagon report cautions a renewed insurgency

(Newser) - Taliban militants in Afghanistan have regrouped “into a resilient insurgency” that has US  allies "losing ground and slipping backwards," a new Pentagon report concludes. Bombing attacks set a record in 2007, and are on track to top that in 2008. Security conditions in the war-torn country have...

Contrast in Defense Chiefs: Blunt Vet vs. Rhodes Scholar

How Obama and McCain's potential Pentagon leaders stack up

(Newser) - How would a McCain Pentagon differ from Obama's? NPR sits own with two potential defense chiefs and finds common ground in their praise of Robert Gates' reforms but big differences in their approach to Iraq and in their own styles. Richard Armitage is an earthy McCain adviser and Vietnam vet...

Top Engineers Shun Military
Top Engineers Shun Military
Jun 25, 2008 2:15 AM CDT

Top Engineers Shun Military

Costs soar as sought-after project managers head for private sector

(Newser) - Greater "geek cachet" and higher pay is diverting engineering managers from the military into places like Microsoft and Google, the New York Times reports. The result is a dearth of  managers overseeing military projects, which government investigators largely blame for long delays and $295 billion in cost overruns. The...

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