Department of Defense

Page: << 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 >>

Article In Military Journal Endorses Repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"

New York Times | ELISABETH BUMILLER | Posted 11.30.2009 | Home

Read More: Pentagon, Gays, Mike Mullen, Lesbians, Air Force, Dod, Don't Ask Don't Tell, Dadt, Army, Homosexual, Joint Force Quarterly, Robert Gates, Gay Rights, Department of Defense, Col. Prakash, Military, Adm Mike Mullen, Navy, Home News

WASHINGTON -- In an unusual show of support for allowing gay men and lesbians to serve openly in the armed forces, an official military journal articl...

Read Whole Story

The President in Chains

Gary Hart | Posted 09.24.2009 | Politics

Read More: Bush Administration, National Security, Gary Hart, Matters of Principle, Military, Central Intelligence Agency, Constitution, Gary Wills, Department of Defense, George W. Bush, Obama Administration, Air Force, National Security Council, Politics News

The national security state has become a kind of powerful prison with the president as warden. He has authority over it, but he cannot escape it.

Read Post

Afghanistan Pullback: U.S. May Focus On Drone Attacks On Terrorists

AP | LARA JAKES | Posted 11.21.2009 | World

Read More: White House, Kabul, Gates, Hindu Kush, Afghanistan Strategy, Forces, Obama, Retreat, Population, Afghanistan War, Mcchrystal, Stanley McChrystal, Department of Defense, Taliban, Afghanistan, General Mcchrystal, Pullback, World News

WASHINGTON — Military officials voiced frustration and congressional leaders urged caution Tuesday over what they described as President Barack ...

Read Whole Story

Brutal Destruction Of Iraq's Archaeological Sites Continues (SLIDESHOW)

Diane Tucker | Posted 11.21.2009 | World

Read More: Thomas E. Ricks, Pentagon, Major James Cogbill, Camp Alpha, Donald Rumsfeld, National Museum in Baghdad, Diane Tucker, State Department, War Crimes, Maryam Mussa, Iraq War, Clemens Reichel, Middle East, Great Mosque of Samarra, Department of Defense, Rumsfeld Doctrine, Ebay, Looted-Iraq-Artifacts, Iraq, Malwiya Tower, Babylon, Plundered Antiquities, Antiquity Thefts, Mesopotamia, Cradle of Civilization Looted, Ancient Sites Damaged, Hague Convention, National Gallery of Art, Obama Foreign Policy, Iraqi Refugees, Sumeria, Foreign Policy, Iraq Museum Database Project, Slideshow, Archaeology, War Wire, Iraq Archaeology, Diane Tucker Iraq, Archaeologist, United Nations, World News

A brutal plundering of this rich cultural heritage has been taking place in broad daylight ever since the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

Read Post

Senate Panel OKs $128 Billion For Afghanistan, Iraq Wars

AP | ANDREW TAYLOR | Posted 11.10.2009 | Politics

Read More: Gates, Troop Surge, Boeing, Iraq, Congress, Obama, Appropriations Committee, War Funding, Troops, F-22, Department of Defense, Spending, Afghanistan, Senate, Politics News

WASHINGTON — With hardly any debate, a powerful Senate committee Thursday approved President Barack Obama's $128 billion request for military op...

Read Whole Story

Pelosi: Upping Troops To Afghanistan Unpopular

AP | LARA JAKES | Posted 11.10.2009 | World

Read More: Kabul, Troop Levels, Gates, Washington, Congress, Afghanistan War, Pelosi, Nato, Pelosi and Afghanistan, Mcchrystal, Nancy Pelosi, Department of Defense, Gen. Stanley Mcchrystal, Afghanistan, House Speaker, D.C., World News

WASHINGTON — Democratic leaders in Congress urged the Obama administration Thursday to quickly produce a plan for winning the war in Afghanistan...

Read Whole Story

Military Drones and the Ethics of Warfare

Laura Colarusso | Posted 10.21.2009 | World

Read More: Pentagon, Stanley McChrystal, Warfare, Department of Defense, Drones, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Foreign Policy, World News

There will come a time, military experts say, when it's technically feasible for a drone aircraft to take off from an air base without being flown by an operator sitting at the controls.

Read Post

Ramadan 2009: America and Islam

James Zogby | Posted 10.20.2009 | Politics

Read More: Religion, Islam, Change, Department of Defense, US Marines, US Army, Muslim, Ramadan, Iftar, US Navy, US Air Force, American Muslims, Politics News

A primary factor accounting for the change and the growing recognition being given to Ramadan is the presence and vitality of a growing Muslim community.

Read Post

George Will: If Iraq Troop Surge Didn't Work, U.S. Forces Must Come Home Sooner

washingtonpost.com | George F. Will | Posted 10.19.2009 | Home

Read More: Iran, Pentagon, Troop Surge, Nouri Al-Maliki, George Will, Iraq War, Department of Defense, Baghdad, Iraq, Obama, Home News

If there is a worse use of the U.S. military than "nation-building," it is adult supervision and behavior modification of other peoples' politicians. ...

Read Whole Story

Private Military and Security Companies Wanted for Hire by CIA as "Hitmen"?

Amnesty International | Posted 09.27.2009 | Home

Read More: Nisour Square, Human Rights, Department of Defense, Cia, Private Contractors, Blackwater, Xe, Iraq, Department of State, Home News

Congress needs to pass legislation that will close the legal vacuum in which private military and security companies are operating.

Read Post

Bagram Isn't The New Guantanamo, It's The Old Guantanamo

Andy Worthington | Posted 09.15.2009 | Politics

Read More: Geneva Conventions, Aclu, Military Tribunals, Department of Defense, World, War on Terror, Terrorism, President Obama, Guantanamo Detainees, Donald Rumsfeld, Guantanamo, Freedom of Information Act, International Justice Network, Boumediene v. Bush, Barack Obama, Judge John D. Bates, World News, Rendition, Habeas Corpus, Politics News, Bagram Detainees Us Courts, Bagram, Bagram Detainees, Cia, Guantanamo Bay, Bagram Habeas Corpus, The Guantanamo Files, Judge Gladys Kessler, Obama Afghanistan, Afghanistan, Afghanistan War, Foreign Affairs, Advocacy, Politics News

From what I have been able to gather about the workings of Bagram, I have no reason to conclude that the prison is now being run according to the Geneva Conventions.

Read Post

Mercenaries and Murder in Iraq

Eric Stoner | Posted 09.14.2009 | World

Read More: Iraq Contractors, Mercenaries, Iraq, Blackwater, Green Zone, Department of Defense, Blackwater Iraq, Iraq Pullout, Iraq Withdrawal, Daniel Fitzsimons, British Contractor, World News

With no countries officially left in the so-called "coalition of the willing", contractors are now playing a more important role than ever, as Obama begins to slowly scale back the war in Iraq.

Read Post

The Pentagon's Nuclear Posture Landmine

Joe Cirincione | Posted 09.10.2009 | Politics

Read More: Pentagon, Heritage Foundation, Department of Defense, Nuclear Weapons, Nuclear Posture Review, Nuclear Threat Initiative, James Schlesinger, Nuclear Proliferation, Japan, Prague Speech, Bill Perry, Deterrence, Politics News

Rather than shaping a nuclear policy to prevent the 21st century threats of nuclear terrorism and new nuclear states, the Pentagon reviewers are defending Cold War architectures.

Read Post

Congress Orders Private Jets For Lawmakers' Travel

Wall Street Journal | Posted 09.07.2009 | Politics

Read More: Congress, Congressional Travel, Private Jets, Gulfstream, Dod, Department of Defense, Pentagon, House Appropriations Committee, C-40s, Corporate Jets, Politics News

Congress plans to spend $550 million to buy eight jets, a substantial upgrade to the fleet used by federal officials at a time when lawmakers have cri...

Read Whole Story

Slogging Towards Repeal

Aubrey Sarvis | Posted 09.06.2009 | Politics

Read More: C-Span, Elaine Donnelly, Senate Appropriations Committee, Department of Defense, Colin Powell, Ike Skelton, Ann Coulter, The Rachel Maddow Show, U.S. Rep. Patrick Murphy, Sen. Dan Inouye, Senate Armed Services Committee, Obama Administration, Admiral Mike Mullen, House Armed Services Committee, Robert F. Kennedy, Defense Secretary Gates, Gays in the Military, Don't Ask Don't Tell, H.R. 1283, Eugene McCarthy, Iraq Veterans, Sen. Carl Levin, Martin Luther King, Human Events.com, "Summer of Love, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Rep. Jared Polis, Politics News

The nation's armed forces are stretched thin, very thin. Repeal of DADT is a national security issue, first and last.

Read Post

Guantanamo As Hotel California: You Can Check Out Any Time You Like, But You Can Never Leave

Andy Worthington | Posted 09.03.2009 | Politics

Read More: Department of Defense, War on Terror, President Obama, Guantanamo, Fbi, Binyam Mohamed, Alla Ali Bin Ali Ahmed, Detention Policy Task Force, World News, Habeas Corpus, Obama Detention Policy, Politics News, Sabir Lahmar, Umar Abdulayev, Habeas Corpus Guantanamo, Guantanamo Bay, Abdul Rahim Al-Ginco, Judge Gladys Kessler, Pentagon, Yemen, World, Terrorism, Guantanamo Detainees, Saudi Rehabilitation, Ayman Batarfi, Justice Department, US District Court, Barack Obama, Guantanamo Uighurs, Yasim Basardah, Cia, Torture, Politics News

Prisoners who do not face ill-treatment on return to their homelands are still held, no matter how many times their release is approved by various representatives of the U.S. government.

Read Post

As Judge Orders Release of Tortured Guantanamo Prisoner, Government Refuses to Concede Defeat

Andy Worthington | Posted 08.31.2009 | World

Read More: Supreme Court, Mohamed Jawad, Col. Stephen Henley, Department of Defense, War on Terror, George W. Bush, President Obama, 9/11, Guantanamo, Taliban, Judge Ellen Huvelle, Eric Holder, World News, Habeas Corpus, Dick Cheney, Politics News, Enemy Combatants, Robert Gates, Habeas Corpus Guantanamo, US Torture, Guantanamo Bay, Advocacy, World, Afghanistan, Terrorism, Guantanamo Detainees, Guantanamo Task Force, Justice Department, US District Court, Barack Obama, Military Commissions, Al Qaeda, Lt. Col. Darrel Vandeveld, Torture, World News

I still have no firm idea why Obama and Holder have allowed the Justice Department to pursue unjustifiable and unwinnable habeas cases, resulting in humiliation after humiliation.

Read Post

SHOCK: Government Discovers Double-Sided Photocopying, Saves $102 Million

WSJ | Posted 08.29.2009 | Business

Read More: Deficit, Forest Service, Department of Defense, Federal Budget Deficit, Budget Cuts, Goverment Spending, President Obama, Photocopying, Business News

With the budget deficit soaring toward $2 trillion, the Department of Justice has figured out how to play its part: double-sided photocopying. More T...

Read Whole Story

Gates and Trucks

Reese Schonfeld | Posted 08.28.2009 | Politics

Read More: Supreme Court, Dod, Marines, Public Defender, Gates, Pennsylvania, Department of Defense, US Soldiers, Robert Gates, Afghanistan, M-Atvs, Mraps, Bob Gates, Henry Louis Gates, Oshkosh Truck Corp, Politics News

For once, American manufacturers are producing the best weapons ahead of schedule, and will save lives of men who would die without them.

Read Post

Defense Secretary Scores Spending Cuts, But Not Satisfied: "It Would Be Nice To Win Our Current Wars"

AP | RICHARD LARDNER | Posted 08.25.2009 | Politics

Read More: Pentagon, Department of Defense, US Military, Afghanistan, F-22, Weapons, Defense Budget, Defense Secretary Robert Gates, Military Spending, US Military Spending, Iraq, Robert Gates, Defense Department, Politics News

WASHINGTON — Robert Gates is on a roll. Question is, how long will it last? The politically savvy defense secretary scored big legislative wins...

Read Whole Story

F-22 Victory Is About More Than Just a Plane

Max Bergmann | Posted 08.21.2009 | Politics

Read More: F-22, Department of Defense, Defense Secretary Robert Gates, Robert Gates, F-22 Plane, Military Spending, Obama Military Spending, Transparency, Politics News

This fight was about whether the Pentagon would be able to institutionalize the lessons from Iraq and Afghanistan and finally move out of the Cold War strategic mindset that still dominates.

Read Post

Senate sides with Obama, removes F-22 money

AP | JIM ABRAMS | Posted 08.21.2009 | Home

Read More: Senate, Department of Defense, Defense, Senate Votes, F-22, F-22 Funding, Defense Bill, F-22 Money, Home News

WASHINGTON — The Senate voted Tuesday to halt production of the Air Force's missile-eluding F-22 Raptor fighter jets in a high-stakes showdown o...

Read Whole Story

Fighting Over Fighter Jets: Obama, Gates and the F-22

Lawrence Korb | Posted 08.21.2009 | Politics

Read More: Defense Secretary Robert Gates, Michael B Donley, Unmanned Aerial Systems, Lockheed Martin, Robert Gates, Jon Soltz, Afghanistan, F22, Obama F22, Norton A. Schwartz, Iraq, Air Force, Department of Defense, Politics News

The F-22 issue has become an entirely politicized debate, when what we need is thoughtful analysis based on risk assessment and the overall best interest of national security.

Read Post

Lawmakers Blast Obama For "No-Visit" Gitmo Policy

ABC News | Posted 08.17.2009 | Politics

Read More: Pentagon, Guantanamo Uighurs, Department of Defense, White House, President Obama, Guantanamo Detainees, Guantanamo, Obama Administration, Obama, Uighurs, Gitmo, China, Senators, Politics News

A Pentagon official Thursday largely refused to answer lawmakers' questions about why members of Congress are prohibited from meeting with Guantanamo ...

Read Whole Story

McKiernan 'Embarrassed' By Removal From Top Post In Afghanistan

cnn.com | Posted 08.15.2009 | World

Read More: Afghanistan War, Gen. David McKiernan, General David McKiernan, President Obama, War in Afghanistan, NATO Forces in Afghanistan, Obama, Mckiernan, Nato, Robert Gates, Department of Defense, Afghanistan, David McKiernan, World News

General David McKiernan was "dismayed, disappointed, and more than a little embarrassed" when he was ousted as the commander of NATO forces in Afghani...

Read Whole Story