Pentagon

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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

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...

Six Years Later
Six Years Later

Six Years Later

Country, relatives mark anniversary of 9/11 attacks

(Newser) - Relatives gathered at a park near Ground Zero to remember the victims of the World Trade Center attacks today—the first anniversary without a clear blue sky, notes the New York Daily News. It was also the first time the memorial was moved away from the footprints of the towers....

Petraeus: Give Me Six More Months
Petraeus: Give Me Six More Months

Petraeus: Give Me Six More Months

Wants Congress to postpone decision on bringing troops home

(Newser) - The commander of US forces in Iraq, Gen. David Petraeus, wants to postpone a decision to significantly reduce troop levels there for another six months, reports the New York Times. The general, who is scheduled to begin testimony before Congress today, has told the president he is willing to withdraw...

Chinese Military Hackers Hit London, Too

A day after Pentagon denial, evidence of cyberattacks in Europe

(Newser) - A day after Beijing denied that Chinese hackers had infiltrated the Pentagon's computer network, the Guardian leads with a story that "cyberwarriors" have targeted British defense and diplomatic ministries. The hackers, believed to be working for the People's Liberation Army, have also directed attacks at American and German government...

China Denies Hacking Pentagon
China Denies Hacking Pentagon

China Denies Hacking Pentagon

Part of network came offline for a week

(Newser) - The Chinese military hacked the Pentagon's computer system in June, bringing part of it down for over a week, the Financial Times reports, but Beijing calls the accusation "groundless." The apparently successful hack raises serious worries about the safety of the network because it shows China has "...

Iraqi Police Force Should Be 'Scrapped'

Infighting, corruption force recommendation that US 'start over'

(Newser) - Corruption and sectarian biases are so deeply entrenched in the Iraqi police ranks that the force's structure must be “scrapped,” an independent panel will report to Congress next week. The recommendation stems from an examination of the 26,000-member police force that concludes “we should start over,...

Iraqis 'Fail to Meet Benchmarks'
Iraqis 'Fail to Meet Benchmarks'

Iraqis 'Fail to Meet Benchmarks'

Congressional auditors say most key goals unfulfilled

(Newser) - The Iraqi government has failed to meet most of the key political and military goals—the so called benchmarks—designed to measure the success of the US troop surge, congressional auditors say. An investigation by the Government Accountability Office has concluded that 13 of the 18 benchmarks remain unmet as...

Couric Will Report From Iraq, Syria
Couric Will Report From Iraq, Syria

Couric Will Report From Iraq, Syria

Anchor plans 10-day trip through Mideast before surge report

(Newser) - Katie Couric leaves today for a 10-day trip to Iraq and Syria, where she will cover the war and the turbulent Middle East as the Pentagon's September 15 deadline for a report on Iraq looms. Couric will spend six days in Iraq, twice anchoring "CBS Evening News" live from...

Puerto Rican Pacifists Say No To Pentagon

Activists undermine recruitment push with opt-out forms

(Newser) - Anti-war sentiment is pulsing through Puerto Rico, the Washington Post reports, even rattling dormant talk of independence. Pacifists have been giving high schoolers leaflets with instructions for avoiding Pentagon recruiters who have been ravenous in the poor island territory; an independence activist said the forms helped prevent young Puerto Ricans...

Pentagon Spent $1M on 2 Washers
Pentagon Spent $1M on 2 Washers

Pentagon Spent $1M on 2 Washers

Crafty twin sisters bilked government out of $20.5 million over 6 years

(Newser) - Twin sisters at a parts supplier scammed the Pentagon out of $20.5 million in fraudulent  shipping costs, including $998,798 they charged to ship two 19-cent washers and half a mil to ship three machine screws to Iraq. The Pentagon took six years to catch on to the sisters'...

Robots Get Their Own Surge
Robots Get Their Own Surge

Robots Get Their Own Surge

Military wants 3000 new war-bots ASAP

(Newser) - The military wants more robots, and it wants them fast. The Pentagon is looking to enlist more small, maneuverable 'bots that can look out for insurgents and bombs—1,000 by the end of this year and 2,000 more over the next five years, Wired reports. The military is...

US Loses 30% of Iraq Weapons
US Loses 30% of Iraq Weapons

US Loses 30% of Iraq Weapons

That's 110,000 AK-47s, 80,000 pistols

(Newser) - Nearly a third of US weapons doled out to Iraqi security forces over the past three years are unaccounted for, a GAO report says, and insiders are worried they've fallen into the hands of insurgents. The weapons that the Pentagon can no longer track include 110,000 AK-47 assault rifles...

New Party in Japan Prompts US Anxiety

Election winners threaten to veto anti-terror measures

(Newser) - The ruling party’s losses in Japanese elections last week are causing worry in the White House and the Pentagon, says the Financial Times. An anti-terror measure that that has allowed Japanese ships to refuel American vessels is set to expire in November, and the Democratic Party of Japan is...

Rumsfeld Denies Role in Tillman Cover-Up

On Hill, ex-Pentagon chief rejects personal responsibility

(Newser) - Donald Rumsfeld took no responsibility today for the bungled handling of the reporting and investigation of Pat Tillman’s death, saying he always stressed honesty at the Pentagon. Before a House committee, the ex-defense secretary denied allegations he was involved in the military plot to claim the ex-NFL star was...

General Censured in Tillman Death
General Censured in Tillman Death

General Censured in Tillman Death

Chief misled probe after friendly fire cut down ex-NFL star

(Newser) - A retired three-star general has been censured for a "perfect storm of mistakes, misjudgments and a failure of leadership" following the friendly-fire death of ex-NFL star Pat Tillman, the AP reports. Lt. Gen. Philip Kensinger misled investigators probing Tillman's death, which was initially said to be the result of...

General Faces Demotion in Tillman Probe

Six other officers will draw career-ending punishments

(Newser) - A retired three-star general who allegedly misled investigators about the death of former NFL player Pat Tillman in Afghanistan could be stripped of his stars and part of his pension, Pentagon officials told CNN. Retired Lt. Gen. Phillip Kensinger told inspectors he didn't know the Green Beret was killed by...

Pentagon Destroys Surplus Goods
Pentagon Destroys
Surplus Goods

Pentagon Destroys Surplus Goods

Surplus dealers angry at scope of gear purge

(Newser) - The Pentagon is scrapping millions of dollars of gear it has traditionally resold to surplus dealers, Time reports. The army claims that sorting passels of helmets, boots, and sleeping bags is too onerous, while suppliers are concerned the move is the vestige of an effort to keep old jet parts...

Heel-Dragging on Humvees Cost Lives
Heel-Dragging on Humvees Cost Lives

Heel-Dragging on Humvees Cost Lives

Officers in Iraq pled with Pentagon for years to replace dangerous vehicles

(Newser) - Officers in Iraq have been begging the Pentagon to replace their vulnerable Humvees with mine-proof MRAPs for years, but to no avail. Now senators Joe Biden and Kit Bond estimate that 700 lives could have been saved if the Pentagon had shipped out the MRAPs earlier, and USA Today reports...

Gates Sambas Out of Latin American Tour

Stays home to bolster Iraq war support after GOP desertions

(Newser) - Defense Secretary Robert Gates canceled a tour of Latin America just hours before he was set to depart in an effort to help shore up faltering support for the Iraq War, Bloomberg reports. Gates will stay home to prepare for the administration's July 15 update to Congress on the progress...

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