Pentagon

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Biggest Stories You Didn't Hear in '08

Catching up on the stuff blotted out by the election and financial crisis

(Newser) - Election coverage and reports on the financial crisis ate up much of the media's attention in '08—while some major news stories went under-reported. Time runs down the biggest:
  1. A Pentagon gaffe accidentally sent nuclear warhead fuses to Taiwan in 2006; the mix-up was noted this year—by the Taiwanese.
...

Pentagon Closer to Air Laser Wars

(Newser) - Barack Obama's transition team is studying the Pentagon's first test of a plane firing a laser weapon, and may nix the $4.3 billion project—but the US military is still nearing its dream of laser warfare, New Scientist Tech reports. The Airborne Laser, once touted as defensive, could easily...

US Bungled Iraq Rebuilding: Report

(Newser) - Hostile Pentagon planners and government turf wars have hobbled US attempts to rebuild Iraq, which failed to improve facilities since the days of Saddam Hussein, a searing federal report says. The unpublished history adds that when efforts lagged, the Pentagon publicly lied about them. Led by a Republican lawyer, the...

Gates Poised to Cut Pricey Weapons
Gates Poised
to Cut Pricey Weapons
Dec 10, 2008 4:05 AM CST

Gates Poised to Cut Pricey Weapons

He's ready to steer Pentagon to 'Wal-Mart approach'

(Newser) - Armed with Barack Obama's endorsement, Defense Secretary Robert Gates is poised to change the Pentagon's pricey weapons priorities, reports the Los Angeles Times. Gates is expected to carve into expensive pending programs like the Army's $160 billion Future Combat Systems plan and high-tech fighter jets in favor of cheap, low-tech...

Pentagon Kept Humvees Despite Known IED Threat

Officials delayed switch to safer vehicles: report

(Newser) - Military leaders knew before the Iraq war that roadside bombs would threaten troops, but they still dragged their heels on adopting vehicles more resistant to IEDs, a Pentagon investigation has found. In 2005 officials stopped processing an urgent request from field commanders for vehicles called MRAPs, whose height and hull...

US Readies 20,000 Troops Against Homeland Threats

Critics fear executive-power growth in major shift

(Newser) - After years of planning, the military will have 20,000 troops stationed inside the US ready to handle domestic crises such as nuclear terrorism by 2011, the Washington Post reports. That’s almost seven times the number of domestic-response troops 5 years ago—a move that would have been “...

Obama Foreign-Policy Team Signals Shift to Diplomacy

Clinton, Gates, Jones will lead diplomatic reform

(Newser) - The three lead players on the national security team Barack Obama will announce today have each historically been more hawkish than the president-elect—but all have embraced his plan for a sweeping foreign policy shift, the New York Times reports. Hillary Clinton, Gen. James Jones, and Robert Gates will work...

Russian Cyberattack Hits US Central Command

Malware targeted combat systems

(Newser) - Defense Department computers have been hit by a computer virus from Russia, Los Angeles Times reports. Malware has infected large parts of the military system, including Central Command systems and computers used in Iraq and Afghanistan combat zones. The military scrambled to stop the infection and banned the use of...

Pentagon Aims for Target-Seeking Bullet

'Can't miss' sniper round being developed

(Newser) - The Pentagon wants to develop a bullet that can change course in midflight to seek its target, Wired reports. The Defense Advanced Research Project Agency yesterday committed $22 million to producing the superbullet—"an actively controlled .50 caliber projectile that uses information for real time directional flight control"—...

Gates, Obama: Different Parties, Similar Views
Gates, Obama:
Different Parties, Similar Views
analysis
Nov 27, 2008 11:16 AM CST

Gates, Obama: Different Parties, Similar Views

Defense secretary wants to close Gitmo, focus on Afghanistan

(Newser) - Assuming he keeps his job, Robert Gates will have a transformed set of instructions come Jan. 20: Once charged with winning the war in Iraq, the defense secretary will now have to end it. But Gates and Barack Obama have substantial agreements about the nation's military strategy, the New ...

Reports: Gates Will Remain at Pentagon

'Done deal' that Bush appointee will stay at least 1 year under Obama

(Newser) - Robert Gates will remain in his post as defense secretary at least through the first year of Barack Obama’s administration, reports ABC News. “It’s a done deal,” an anonymous source told the network today. Obama will reportedly unveil his choice of Gates shortly after Thanksgiving, along...

Pentagon Plans Afghan Surge of 20,000

Commanders say extra 20,000 troops will quell rising Taliban violence

(Newser) - US commanders are drawing up plans to send an extra 20,000 troops to Afghanistan over the next 12 to 18 months, Reuters reports. Defense Secretary Robert Gates says the surge will help reverse the rising violence in the country and safeguard elections planned for next fall. Commanders say the...

Why Gates Should Stay &mdash;and Why He Shouldn't
Why Gates Should Stay
—and Why He Shouldn't
ANALYSIS
Nov 21, 2008 1:25 PM CST

Why Gates Should Stay —and Why He Shouldn't

(Newser) - Conventional wisdom has it that Barack Obama will ask Robert Gates to keep his post as Secretary of Defense, but there’s no conventional wisdom about how wise that is. “It has more minuses than pluses,” opines one ex-Pentagon official, but others disagree. Some pros and cons:
  • Gates
...

Obama Talks to Gates About Staying at Pentagon

Defense Secretary fulfill talk of bipartisan cabinet

(Newser) - Barack Obama and Robert Gates are negotiating policy issues with a view toward Gates remaining Defense secretary, the Financial Times reports, a move that would make the Bush appointee a key member of a bipartisan cabinet that resembles Abraham Lincoln's “team of rivals.” Gates, a former CIA chief,...

Military Recruitment Up Amid Job Crisis

Pending Iraq withdrawal also increasing appeal

(Newser) - More young people are considering joining the military as civilian jobs dry up and the US begins to prepare plans to withdraw from Iraq, reports USA Today. After years of difficulty finding recruits, a Pentagon survey shows a jump from 9% to 11% in the number of 16- to 20-year-old ...

Military Launches 'TroopTube'
 Military Launches 'TroopTube' 
Nov 12, 2008 3:28 AM CST

Military Launches 'TroopTube'

Aimed at troops banned from YouTube

(Newser) - The Pentagon has opened an alternative internet site to YouTube for military personnel who are banned from using the popular video-sharing network, reports the San Francisco Business Times. The new "TroopTube" is an approved site where service men and woman and their families can post and view videos. Strict...

Obama Likely to Keep Gates at Defense
Obama Likely
to Keep Gates
at Defense
Nov 11, 2008 10:10 AM CST

Obama Likely to Keep Gates at Defense

But Bush secretary opposes setting a timeline to leave Iraq

(Newser) - Barack Obama is considering asking Robert Gates to stay on as defense secretary, advisers tell the Wall Street Journal. Gates, considered a competent and nonpartisan pragmatist, was brought on to patch things up after Donald Rumsfeld’s tenure at the Pentagon. But while Gates, like Obama, supports an increased presence...

Obama Must Slash Defense Budget: Study

New equipment likely to take hit as Pentagon seeks to build forces

(Newser) - Between the financial crisis, galloping budget deficits, and shifting military priorities, a Pentagon advisory group is warning that the military's current budget is “not sustainable,” and the new administration will have to choose where to make cuts, the Boston Globe reports. Weapons projects that are already billions over...

Secret Directive Lets US Attack Up to 20 Nations

Rumsfeld order in '04 allowed peacetime strikes on al-Qaeda

(Newser) - The American military has conducted almost a dozen secret attacks against al-Qaeda and other militant groups in Syria, Pakistan, and other nations since 2004, the New York Times reveals. The strikes were carried out under a classified order signed by Donald Rumsfeld that gave sweeping powers to let the military...

Silver Screen's Ray Guns Become Battlefield Reality

Ground troops testing laser weapons, tagged for missile-defense systems, too

(Newser) - Ray guns aren't just for Flash Gordon anymore, the Economist reports. The US military and defense contractors are experimenting with “directed energy” weapons systems on the battlefield and in labs, most of which help troops zap unexploded bombs and incoming fire. One model, the Zeus, is designed to more...

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