Secretary of Defense

Military Sexual Abuse Can't Be Ignored

Joseph Bobrow | Posted 04.01.2012

Read More: Sundance Film Festival, Invisible Injuries, Rape, Trauma, Leon Panetta, Secretary of Defense, Military Sexual Trauma, Women Veterans, The Invisible War, Female Veterans, Veterans, Impact News

What women veterans need is fundamental respect, recognition, and understanding of the unique stressors of their service experience. They need humane, integrative treatment, and some programming solely with and for their fellow women veterans.

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U.S. Defense Secretary Panetta's Refusal to Cut Pentagon Spending Puts America at Greater Risk

Michael Shank | Posted 12.13.2011

Read More: National Peace Academy, Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict, US Defense Secretary, Michael Shank, Pentagon, George Washington, Leon Panetta, Paul Collier, Secretary of Defense, School for Conflict Analysis and Resolution, George Mason University, Congress, Defense Spending, Super Committee, The Hague, Politics News

Refusal by US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, Members of Congress, and now the Super Committee, to cut US defense spending puts our country on a dange...

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On 10th Anniversary of Afghan War, Time to Exit Militarized US Foreign Policy

Michael Shank | Posted 11.28.2011

Read More: National Peace Academy, Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict, Pentagon, Cia, Leon Panetta, Somalia, Pakistan, David Petraeus, Counter-Terrorism, Yemen, Iraq, Afghan Local Police, Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, Rand Corporation, Afghanistan War, Michael Shank, Wartime Contracting Commission, Brown University, Secretary of Defense, School for Conflict Analysis and Resolution, George Mason University, Libya, Afghanistan, The Hague, Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction, Politics News

October 7 marks the tenth anniversary of the US war in Afghanistan. After expending $4 trillion and thousands of lives, the US needs an exit from the depressing impasse of its militarized foreign policy.

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Secretary Panetta and the Doomsday Mechanism

Winslow T. Wheeler | Posted 10.10.2011

Read More: Pentagon, Defense Spending, Debt Ceiling, Leon Panetta, Debt Deal, Secretary of Defense, Politics News

Real budget reductions present the prospect of real reform in the Pentagon. Clearly, Secretary Panetta is not opting to be the source of that reform. It now must come from the outside.

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Secretary Gates' Sacred Contract

Tucker Reed | Posted 08.28.2011

Read More: Robert Gates, Secretary of Defense, Politics News

Gates has often spoke of a "sacred contract" between the American people and our military. But the burden of caring for our wounded cannot and should not be borne by our government alone.

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Robert Gates: America's Best Defense Secretary?

Asher Smith | Posted 08.22.2011

Read More: Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld, Pentagon, Robert Gates, James Forrestal, Leon Panetta, Politics News

By providing a model for effective Pentagon administration suitable for emulation, Gates has accomplished far more, under more challenging circumstances, than virtually all of his predecessors.

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Leon Panetta Approved By Senate As Next Pentagon Chief

AP | By DONNA CASSATA | Posted 08.21.2011

WASHINGTON -- The Senate on Tuesday unanimously approved the nomination of Leon Panetta to be the next Pentagon chief, handing him a crowded agenda of...

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What Is Gates? Who Is Panetta?

Winslow T. Wheeler | Posted 08.21.2011

Read More: Pentagon, Department of Defense, Robert Gates, Defense Budget, Leon Panetta, Secretary of Defense, Politics News

Robert Gates has been called the best secretary of defense in recent memory. On the other hand, he has a reputation with some as a slick career bureaucrat with a knack for avoiding blame but pocketing credit. Both are true.

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Gates Says NATO Alliance In Danger Of Breaking

AP | ROBERT BURNS | Posted 08.15.2011

Read More: North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Robert Gates, World Politics, Nato, Secretary of Defense, International Organization, World News, World News

WASHINGTON — Robert Gates calls it "aging out." He's not referring to his imminent retirement as defense secretary. He's talking about a generat...

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Gates Closing: Teller Window, Too?

Michael Brenner | Posted 06.18.2011

Read More: Pentagon, Robert Gates, Nato, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, Defense Spending, Defense Budget, Obama Defense Spending, Secretary of Defense, Al Qaeda, Politics News

Robert Gates' tenure as secretary of defense has bracketed a turbulent period in American politics only to be resurrected at death's door by heavy doses of steroids provided by the victims.

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Old Secretaries of Defense Never Die, They Just Write Bestselling Memoirs

Tom Engelhardt | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Afghanistan War, Defense Secretary Robert Gates, Donald Rumsfeld Book, Robert Gates, War, Donald Rumsfeld Memoir, Donald Rumsfeld, Secretary of Defense, Politics News

Robert Gates' much-hinted-at retirement now seems like the Titanic looming on the military-industrial horizon.

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Losing Our Sons and Daughters: The Cost of Afghanistan

Jim Wallis | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Killing, Sojourners, Email Updates, War in Afghanistan, Washington, Politics, Perspective, American, Washington Post, Dissent, Rediscovering Values, America, Battle of Fallujah, Government, John F Kelly, Indifference, Military Assistant, Robert M Kelly, Military Officer, Urban Battle, Sacrifices, Civilian Casualties, Change, Taliban, Landmine, Military, Sons and Daughters, Afghanistan, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, Secretary of Defense, Parents, Politics News

The small percentage of Americans who have borne the brunt of the human costs of our Afghan war, the utter corruption of the government we are supporting, and the toll in civilian casualties all make the continuing of this war immoral.

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Joe Klein: Why Hillary Clinton Should Not Be Defense Secretary

TIME | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Department of Defense, Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton Secretary of Defense, Hillary Clinton Secretary of State, Secretary of Defense, Hillary Clinton, Hillary Clinton Defense Secretary, State Department, Politics News

The most daunting piece of real estate in modern American politics is any podium right after Bill Clinton has relinquished it. The guy is on fire thes...

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John McCain Urges Obama To Select Joe Lieberman As Next Defense Secretary

The Huffington Post | Nick Wing | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Joe Lieberman John McCain, Lieberman, Joe Lieberman Defense, Joe Lieberman Defense Secretary, Mccain, Joe Lieberman Secretary of Defense, Joe Lieberman, Robert Gates, John McCain, John McCain Joe Lieberman, Secretary of Defense, Politics News

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said Wednesday that in light of the retirement news of his Senate colleague Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.), President Barack Obama...

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Letter From a Serviceman in Afghanistan

Matthew Hoh | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Nato, President Obama, Marines, Pakistan, General Petraeus, Secretary of Defense, Taliban, Afghanistan, Afghanistan Study Group, Anonymous Letters, Joe Biden, Servicemen React, War on Terror, World News

I recently received an email from a friend in the Army on his second combat deployment to Afghanistan. His views illustrate the very real disconnect between our service members and diplomats.

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Walter Reed Closure Begins; Wounded Warriors Surge

Hal Donahue | Posted 05.25.2011

As a truly world class rehabilitation facility closes at Walter Reed, that facility is being replaced by fragmented and geographically separate facilities. Now care for our combat wounded is about to suffer further.

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Donald Rumsfeld's Memoir Coming In January

AP | HILLEL ITALIE | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Known and Unknown, Defense Secretary, George W Bush, Autobiography, Rumsfeld Autobiography, Donald Rumsfeld Memoir, Politcal Memoir, Bush Rumsfeld, Memoir, Donald Rumsfeld, Political Biography, Secretary of Defense, Iraq War Advocate, Iraq War, Books News

NEW YORK — The title and release date of Donald Rumsfeld's memoir are now known, or, as he might say, are now known knowns. The book is called ...

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Yosemite Sam Hacks the Media

B. Jeffrey Madoff | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Birther-Movement, Virus, Pastor Terry Jones, Balloon Boy, General David Petraeus, Hillary Clinton Secretary of State, Today Show, New York Times, Shirley Sherrod, Hate Speech, Burn a Quran Day, Secretary of Defense, Terry Jones, Media, Koran Burning, Media News

Why did Terry Jones get media exposure? Media coverage is the oxygen that keeps these people alive and makes them seem to matter.

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Legendary Marine Corps Tactic Still Relevant

Ed Hooper | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Tactics, Special Operations, Pentagon Budget, Beach-Landings, Usmc, Secretary of Defense, Amphibious Assaults, Politics News

Pentagon budget trimming is unquestionably needed, but eliminating proven military tactics is a dangerous risk.

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McChrystal, Sympton not Cause; DoD Healthcare Debacle Continues

Hal Donahue | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Pentagon, Dod, Bethesda Naval Hospital, Gen. Stanley McCrystal, Robert Gates, Obama Administration, Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Navy, Kenneth Kizer, US Navy, Walter Reed, Secretary of Defense, Politics News

DoD Photo McChrystal is a symptom and not a cause of the problems within the Department of Defense (DoD). For far too long, the folks at the Pentago...

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Robert Gates Succession: Obama Passes Executive Order Changing Rules In Event Of Defense Secretary's Death

AP | ANNE FLAHERTY | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Gates, Robert Gates, Defense Secretary Robert Gates, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, Robert Gates Succession, Barack Obama, Barack Obama Executive Order, Secretary of Defense Succession, Secretary of Defense, Politics News

WASHINGTON — Who would act as defense secretary if the 66-year-old Robert Gates died or resigned and his deputy, Bill Lynn, couldn't do it? Pre...

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Obama's Nuclear Decision Day

Joe Cirincione | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Germany, Terrorists, Secretary of State, Nuclear Weapons, Prague, National Security Advisor, President Obama, Iran, Arms Control, Joe Biden, Barack Obama, Japan, North Korea, Secretary of Defense, Politics News

A secret meeting in the White House today will set US nuclear policy. It will also test Barack Obama's sincerity and determination for a policy where the public has no real democratic voice.

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Jon Karl & ABC Give Cheney a Sunday Valentine

Linda Milazzo | Posted 05.25.2011

Like every other corporate-controlled 'journalist' who's ever interviewed Cheney, Karl never confronted him on the accusations of un-Constitutional acts that have been lodged against him.

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Friday Talking Points [110] -- Left Still Waiting For Rahm Apology

Chris Weigant | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Supreme Court, 60 Votes, Axelrod, White House, Judicial Activist, Corporation, Al Franken, Mullen, Mccain, Apology, Generals on the Ground, President, Don't Ask Don't Tell, Deficit, Comcast, Military, Emanuel, Midotw, Most Impressive Democrat of the Week, Levin, Carl Levin, Robert a Heinlein, Judicial Activism, Budget, Campaign Finance, Democrat, Nbc, Congress, Democrats, Tom Tancredo, Barack Obama, Admiral Mullen, Secretary Gates, Military Appropriations, Mddotw, Rahm Emanuel, Offense, Shelby, Obstructionist, Branding, Republicans, Retarded, Senate, Gates, President Obama, Rahmbo, Civil Rights, Literacy Test, Democratic, Obama, Mike Mullen, Scotus, Friday Talking Points, Republican, Party of No, Dadt, Clinton, Robert Gates, Most Disappointing Democrat of the Week, Secretary of Defense, Joint Chiefs of Staff, Obstructionism, Richard Shelby, Rahm, Hold, John McCain, Tancredo, Cbo, Framing, Franken, Gay, Heinlein, Earmarks, Chris Weigant, David Axelrod, Joe Lieberman, Nominee, Earmark, Secdef, Politics News

Democrats need to realize that they still have the biggest majority in both houses of Congress that they are likely to see in their lifetimes.

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Cut the Deficit -- Cut Military Spending

Jim Wallis | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Small Business, President Obama, Children, Center for Budget and Policy Priorities, Economy, State, Ronald Reagan, National, Employment, Domestic Priority, Priorities, Poor, Tax Credit, Military Budget, Unemployment, Defense Contractors, Housing, Tanf, Security, Secretary of Defense, Sword, Tax Credits, Attack, Sacred Cow, Veterans, Education, Workers, Trillion, Biblical, Deficit Spending, Domestic Spending, Recession, Barney Frank, Bob Greenstein, Faith Community, Military, Afghanistan, Operating Budget, Military Spending, Job Creation, Politics News

To reduce a $1.6 trillion shortfall in the 2011 budget, we should cut the contracts of private defense contractors who serve their own profits.

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