US military

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Pentagon Downplays 13K Surge in Afghan Support Troops

Extra thousands swell US numbers in Afghanistan

(Newser) - When does 21,000 equal 34,000? When the Pentagon is counting. The 21,000 additional troops President Obama approved for Afghanistan earlier this year have been accompanied by 13,000 extra support troops, bringing the total number in Afghanistan to nearly 68,000. Pentagon and White House officials have...

Obama Looks to Lieberman to Lead 'Don't Ask' Repeal

Conn. independent has opposed policy on gays in military since '93

(Newser) - After President Obama's pledge this weekend to repeal Don't Ask, Don't Tell, the White House turned immediately to key senators on the Armed Services Committee—in particular Joe Lieberman. A House bill to repeal the policy has 177 sponsors, but the White House is eager for Senate legislation with bipartisan...

Obama Team Downplays Risks in Afghan Pullback
 Obama Team Downplays
 Risks in Afghan Pullback
Pentagon Insiders:
Oct 12, 2009 11:57 AM CDT

Obama Team Downplays Risks in Afghan Pullback

Al-Qaeda, Taliban much closer than public has been led to believe

(Newser) - US military and intelligence officials see dangerous misrepresentations in the Obama team’s flirting with a limited, anti-al-Qaeda strategy in Afghanistan. “The White House is downplaying the dangers of doing the only thing that they think Congress and the public will support,” an official tells McClatchy. But taking...

Gay Rights Rally Draws Tens of Thousands to DC

Energized by Obama's vow on 'don't ask, don't tell,' activists demand equality

(Newser) - Thousands of gay and lesbian activists marched from the White House to the Capitol today, demanding that President Obama keep his promises to end "don't ask, don't tell" and work to end discrimination against gays. Rainbow flags and homemade signs abounded as participants chanted "Hey, Obama, let mama...

Liz Cheney to Obama: Nobel Is a 'Farce'

Ex-veep's kid wants prez to send military mom to pick up his prize

(Newser) - Liz Cheney, ever as shy, quiet, and retiring as dear old dad, thinks President Obama's Nobel Prize is a "farce," and wants him to "send a real signal" by sending the mother of a fallen soldier to Oslo to collect his Nobel—to underscore the importance of...

Taliban Claim Victory as US Quits Base

Insurgents take control of remote outpost where 8 troops were killed last week

(Newser) - The Taliban claimed to have won a major victory over the US yesterday as American troops abandoned a remote base in eastern Afghanistan where eight soldiers were killed in a firefight last weekend. "The white flag of the Taliban is raised above Kamdesh," crowed a Taliban spokesman. NATO ...

Top Afghan Troop Request Is 60K—Not 40K

Obama and team meet again today on strategy

(Newser) - The troop requests on the table as President Obama meets with his security team again today are even higher than has been reported: The top option is 60,000, not 40,000, the Wall Street Journal reports, though Gen. McChrystal is backing the middle figure, 40,000. The third and...

New Challenge for US in Iraq: Pulling Out

Military faces mammoth task hauling equipment out of Iraq as withdrawal gathers pace

(Newser) - American forces in Iraq have devoted a full sixth of their manpower to a task one commander compares to moving the entire population of Alaska across the world—with all their stuff. The military, in the biggest movement of personnel and material in over 40 years, is dismantling some 300...

In Afghanistan, We Fight and Die, China Wins

In fact, Beijing comes out ahead whether we stay or go

(Newser) - American and Chinese interests seem to be conveniently aligned in Afghanistan, writes Robert D. Kaplan. By securing the country, NATO forces have allowed China access to vast mineral deposits and trade routes to the Indian Ocean. In turn, Chinese companies employ Afghan workers, stabilizing the economy and hence the nation....

Arlington Mix-Up Creates Another Unknown Soldier

Unidentified remains found in plot listed as vacant

(Newser) - Arlington National Cemetery has buried an unknown soldier for the first time since 1984 because of bungled paperwork. Workers burying a service member in Grave 449 in 2003 found human remains in the ground when paperwork had marked the plot as vacant. The plot was left unmarked until recently when...

In Wanat, US Learns Value, Pain of Retreat

In Waygal Valley, leaving has helped the cause.

(Newser) - Days after the bloody battle that has come to be called the "Black Hawk Down" of Afghanistan, US troops left the the isolated Afghan village of Wanat. Fourteen months later, they haven’t returned, giving the Taliban free reign in the Waygal Valley—but the retreat is starting to...

Weak Afghan al-Qaeda Calls Surge Into Question

Whether Taliban will facilitate or shun terror group is up in the air

(Newser) - The principal rationale for the original US invasion of Afghanistan was the elimination of an al-Qaeda safe haven. Almost a decade later, the terrorist group is much diminished there, as well as in Pakistan, prompting serious second thoughts within the administration about ramping up forces in the region. Aides to...

Sign of Change? Pentagon Essay Rebukes Ban on Gays

(Newser) - A persuasive essay arguing against the military's ban on gay soldiers is raising hope among activists that a watershed moment is near. It's not so much because of the essay's familiar arguments—that "Don't Ask Don't Tell" hurts morale and violates civil rights—but because of its publication in...

White House Split on Afghanistan Strategy

'Skeptic-in-chief' Biden challenges McChrystal's call for more troops

(Newser) - Gen. Stanley McChrystal's call to beef up the war effort in Afghanistan is proving a tough sell with senior administration officials.  White House advisers challenged many aspects of the commander's assessment at a meeting this week, including his belief that al-Qaeda would again find sanctuary in Afghanistan if the...

Righty Site Yanks Post on US Military Coup

Newsmax scribe said Obama overthrow 'gaining possibility'

(Newser) - A Newsmax columnist—the conservative mag says he's a mere “unpaid blogger”—suggests that a military coup against the Obama administration is “gaining possibility.” “Imagine a bloodless coup to restore and defend the Constitution through an interim administration,” writes John Perry in a column...

War Games Help Vets Cope With PTSD

Psychologists say virtual reality allows vets to confront and overcome trauma

(Newser) - Using realistic war games to re-create the sights, sounds, and even smells of combat is helping veterans overcome post-traumatic stress disorder in several clinical trials. Games like Virtual Iraq—modeled on Full Spectrum Warrior—help psychologists bring patients back to traumatic events and break down mental barriers. Researchers say the...

2 US Soldiers Killed in Philippines

Land mine triggers first US casualties in the nation since 2002

(Newser) - Two American soldiers and a Filipino marine were killed when their vehicle rolled over a land mine in the southern Philippines today. The men were fetching supplies for a school when their vehicle was hit, officials say.  The American soldiers, part of a 300-strong force helping the Filipino army...

Americans Fed Up With Afghan War
 Americans Fed Up 
 With Afghan War 
OPINION
Sep 26, 2009 9:59 AM CDT

Americans Fed Up With Afghan War

(Newser) - The Obama administration is busy figuring out how to fine-tune its Afghan strategy while most Americans by and large just want us out of there. "A clash is coming," warns Bob Herbert. Most people are tired of the war, worried about the recession, and in no mood for...

Brooks: Listen to McChrystal
 Brooks: 
 Listen to McChrystal 
opinion
Sep 25, 2009 9:12 AM CDT

Brooks: Listen to McChrystal

President Obama must dismiss 'graveyard of empires' remarks

(Newser) - Talk to people who have a superficial sense of Afghanistan, and you'll hear the same thing: It's a "graveyard of empires," and the US needs to get out. Genuine experts, people who live there, dismiss the stereotype as "rubbish" and take a more "guardedly optimistic" view....

Taliban Widens Afghan Attacks From Pakistan Base

Forces controlled from Pakistan respond nimbly

(Newser) - The Afghan Taliban leadership operating out of Pakistan has surprised the US military by countering its offensive in southern Afghanistan with a shrewd expansion into the north and west of the country. “They’ve outmaneuvered us time and time again,” an intelligence official tells the New York Times....

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