Pentagon

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Battle Over War Funds Escalates
 Battle Over War Funds Escalates
Nov 30, 2007 3:50 AM CST

Battle Over War Funds Escalates

President warns of Christmas layoffs

(Newser) - The dispute between the White House and Congress over $196 billion in funding for the war in Iraq escalated as President Bush warned of imminent layoffs, the Washington Post reports. "The missions of this department are too important to be disrupted or delayed," Bush said after a series...

Injury Tally Misses Brain Trauma
Injury Tally Misses Brain Trauma
Nov 23, 2007 4:37 PM CST

Injury Tally Misses Brain Trauma

20K troops omitted from casualty list

(Newser) - More than 20,000 service members not classified as wounded in combat have signs of brain injury, according to an examination of records by USA Today. The actual number of troops with brain trauma suffered in Iraq or Afghanistan was more than five times the official tally, meaning that the...

Pentagon, Congress Play Chicken Over Iraq Funds

Layoffs threatened; Dems unmoved

(Newser) - The Pentagon is threatening as many as 200,000 civilian layoffs by Christmas if war funding isn't approved by Congress, but Dems say there will be no funding until Bush sets withdrawal dates for Iraq. "Both sides are playing a big game of chicken here," a Congressional budget...

Petraeus Comes Home to Pick New Generals

Army needs his help finding innovative leaders—like him

(Newser) - David Petraeus is returning to Washington this week to help select the next generation of generals, an unusual move highlighting the Army’s desperation to inject Petraeus-style unconventional thinkers into its leadership, the Washington Post reports. “It's unprecedented for the commander of an active theater to be brought back...

Bush Blames Pork for Spending Veto
Bush Blames Pork for Spending Veto
Nov 13, 2007 3:17 PM CST

Bush Blames Pork for Spending Veto

$606B bill isn't kosher, prez says, ordering Congress to trim

(Newser) - President Bush vetoed a $606 billion domestic spending bill today, accusing Congress of “acting like a teenager with a new credit card.” His rejection of the measure, which included education, health, and job-training funds, will likely lead to a showdown, the Los Angeles Times reports. The House appropriations...

Got a Record? No Problem
Got a Record?
No Problem
Nov 6, 2007 8:19 PM CST

Got a Record? No Problem

US military wants to ease entry, but some officers worry about 'problem children'

(Newser) - Seeking to swell enlisted ranks, the Pentagon may let more minor criminals enlist in the military, the AP reports. "I do believe it needs to be done," an Army official said of the proposed plan. "There are really anomalies out there"—like recruits who have youthful...

Rice Sets New Rules for Guards
Rice Sets New Rules for Guards
Oct 24, 2007 3:11 AM CDT

Rice Sets New Rules for Guards

But Blackwater may still get the ax

(Newser) - Private security contractors in Iraq will operate under tougher controls and tighter supervision, according to new State Department rules approved by Condoleezza Rice today, but they won't be supervised by the military, as Defense's Robert Gates had proposed. Measures include investigative "go teams"' that will respond quickly to...

Audits Rip Fed Oversight of Security Firms, Costs

Lax controls, slopping accounting

(Newser) - A State Department internal review of its own security practices in Iraq is sharply critical of the lack of oversight of private contractors Blackwater, DynCorp International and Triple Canopy. A second report due today says officials can't say what the government got for $1.2B paid to DynCorp since 2004,...

Condi to Stanford Profs: Lay Off Rummy

Secretary of state scolds faculty for doubting Rummy appointment

(Newser) - Condi wants Stanford profs to lay off Don Rumsfeld and welcome “all views” at the university, Politico reports. She stopped short of praising her old colleague—“I know Don Rumsfeld, he is going to be a challenging presence”—but scolded faculty for doubting Rummy’s appointment as...

US Marines Want Out of Iraq
US Marines Want Out of Iraq
Oct 11, 2007 3:15 AM CDT

US Marines Want Out of Iraq

Commander calls for lead Afghan role instead

(Newser) - The US Marine Corps is lobbying to be withdrawn from Iraq and instead be given the lead role in Afghanistan, reports the New York Times. The move would leave the Army with primary responsibility for the increasingly unpopular war in Iraq. Supporters believe it would allow the branches to operate...

SEALs to Get Swimming Gizmo
SEALs to Get Swimming Gizmo
Oct 8, 2007 6:08 PM CDT

SEALs to Get Swimming Gizmo

New device will help fighters swim up to 150% faster and arrive less tired

(Newser) - Navy SEALs will be swimming to their targets up to 150% faster when they get a new Pentagon gizmo called a PowerSwim. It looks like a mini-glider that attaches to a diver's legs, Popular Mechanics reports. SEALs reportedly take about 2 hours to master it; they have to learn a...

Feds Fly 1st Class on Your Dime
Feds Fly 1st Class on Your Dime
Oct 3, 2007 9:29 AM CDT

Feds Fly 1st Class on Your Dime

$146M wasted in premium travel

(Newser) - Federal employees wasted $146 million in a single year flying business or first class, according to a government investigation. Some 67% of premium-class travel is unauthorized or unnecessary, and the biggest abusers are Pentagon, Justice and State Department officials, according to a report by the Government Accountability Office.

Democrats Vote $150B For War
Democrats Vote $150B For War
Oct 2, 2007 3:06 AM CDT

Democrats Vote $150B For War

Will continue to pressure administration to end conflict

(Newser) - After failing to force the White House to bring significant numbers of troops home, Senate Democrats helped authorize another $150 billion to pay for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The 92-3 funding approval came as the House planned legislation that will require President Bush to produce a coherent exit...

Gates Eyes $3B Army Expansion
Gates Eyes $3B Army Expansion
Sep 28, 2007 9:42 AM CDT

Gates Eyes $3B Army Expansion

Gates ready to approve major recruitment campaign to boost ranks

(Newser) - Defense Secretary Robert Gates says he's likely to approve spending nearly $3 billion over the next four years to accelerate an expansion of the US Army, stretched thin by punishing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the AP reports. The Pentagon believes the Army and Marine Corps need to grow to...

Blackwater 'Cowboys' Faster on Trigger

Have been in twice as many shootings as other security firms in Iraq

(Newser) - The US security firm being investigated in an Iraqi operation earlier this month that killed at least 11 civilians has been involved in twice as many shootings as other companies providing protection to American officials in Iraq, the New York Times reports. Guards working for Blackwater killed 10 and wounded...

Pentagon Investigates $6B in Contracts

Soldiers, civilians charged with taking bribes in Iraq

(Newser) - The Pentagon is investigating widespread graft involving US war-zone contracts, with 29 soldiers and civilians charged so far, the New York Times reports. Most of the scrutiny focuses on a contracting office in Kuwait, where an Army major is charged with taking $10 million in bribes from companies seeking contracts...

Russia and China Spying at Cold War Levels, Top Spy Warns

Patriot Act not enough, he tells lawmakers

(Newser) - China and Russia are spying on the US at nearly cold war levels, the nation's top spy told lawmakers today. Vice Admiral McConnell defended the Patriot Act as necessary for US defense and asked Congress to give intelligence agencies even greater eavesdropping powers. His  testimony comes weeks after an alleged...

Big Brother Making Strides in Technology

America's top minds are devoted to 'gait DNA' and new spy drones

(Newser) - Top researchers are developing new surveillance technology, the BBC reports - including "gait DNA" to identify a person by their walk and advanced spy drones that can fly overhead for years. The Pentagon plans to continue its tech supremacy, which includes inventing the Internet in the 1970s and satellite...

Dems Shift Strategy to Speed Troop Pullout

Plan would require troops to stay at home as long as last tour before redeploying.

(Newser) - Democrats in Congress are pinning their hopes on what they believe is the most politically palatable way to speed the withdrawal of troops from Iraq in the wake of Gen. Petraeus’ report last week. A bill mandating that troops be allowed to spend the same amount of time at home...

Castro: We Saved Reagan's Life
Castro: We Saved Reagan's Life
Sep 13, 2007 9:06 AM CDT

Castro: We Saved Reagan's Life

Dictator claims Cuba foiled an assassination attempt

(Newser) - Fidel Castro says Cuba helped the US avert an assassination attempt on Ronald Reagan in 1984. An essay attributed to the ailing dictator says a Cuban posted to the UN tipped off an American official to the plot, which involved a presidential visit to North Carolina, the Telegraph reports. How...

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