US military

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Senate OKs $106B for Wars
 Senate OKs $106B for Wars 
Jun 18, 2009 5:08 PM CDT

Senate OKs $106B for Wars

(Newser) - The Senate today overwhelmingly passed a bill authorizing $106 billion to fund the nation’s wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Hill reports. It now goes to President Obama for his expected signature. The vote had been delayed by wrangling over how to keep detainee abuse photos under wraps. Yesterday,...

Older Recruits Grapple With Army Life

Unemployment pushes steady stream of 'Pops' and 'Gramps' into the military

(Newser) - A steady stream of over-35s have been joining the Army since the age limit was raised to 42, and both sides have had plenty of adjusting to do, the New York Times reports in a look at the 3,800 older recruits, whose numbers, though small, have surged this year...

New US Afghanistan Chief: Convince, Don't Kill

Sketches strategy to mix troops with population

(Newser) - The new US commander in Afghanistan says his experiences there and in Iraq have changed his perspective on an effective counterinsurgency: “You're going to have to convince people, not kill them,” Gen. Stanley McChrystal tells the Wall Street Journal. “Since 9/11, I have watched as America tried...

Colbert: The New Bob Hope
 Colbert: The New Bob Hope 
TV review
Jun 12, 2009 7:36 AM CDT

Colbert: The New Bob Hope

Iraq stint brings back predecessor's 'easy-going' style

(Newser) - Taping his show in Iraq this week, Stephen Colbert channeled Bob Hope in an "unexpectedly charming" series of shows, writes Alessandra Stanley in the New York Times. Colbert largely stayed in ultra-right character, though he let it slip in places. His interviews were “pleasant, not barbed,” and...

Youngest Gitmo Detainee, Captured at 14, Goes Free

(Newser) - The youngest detainee at Guantanamo Bay has been freed to his native Chad, Reuters reports. Mohammed El Gharani was seized in Pakistan in 2001 at 14, and accused variously of being an al-Qaeda operative, messenger, and combatant. Five months ago a judge found the evidence against him insufficient. “That...

Military's New Afghanistan Chief Gets Free Rein

Allowed to choose own team as Obama prioritizes effort

(Newser) - With Afghanistan a priority for the administration, officials have given the new US commander there free rein to select his team, the New York Times reports. Gen. Stanley McChrystal’s job “is that important. Afghanistan is the main effort right now,” said the chairman of the Joint Chiefs....

Int'l Pirate Patrols Spar With Language Barriers

Diverse crews learn to communicate

(Newser) - The international fleet patrolling for pirates off the coast of Somalia is on guard against an oceanic traffic jam, too, the Military Times reports. One US admiral likened the problem to young soccer players swarming the ball, saying communications were necessary for an efficient response. There are three separate international...

West Pointers Eager to Hit War Running

A look into the heads of Army class of '09

(Newser) - There's a group quietly hoping that the war in Iraq doesn't end just yet, and they're hardly insurgents. They're the class of 2009 at West Point, reports Newsweek, in a look at graduates of the military academy and their eagerness to serve their country. The storied institution has proven remarkably...

Pentagon Prefers Blimps to $35M Spy Planes

(Newser) - Financially grounded by the recession, the Pentagon and governments around the world are launching blimps to spy on their enemies, the Economist reports. Such balloons cost far less than Predator and Global Hawk drones—which can sell for $35 million each—and stay airborne for more than a week, while...

Bin Laden Short on Hiding Spots: Officials

Pakistan offensive, troops in Afghanistan, drone attacks cut space

(Newser) - Osama bin Laden has fewer and fewer places to hide these days, officials tell NPR. And “the administration smells blood,” says a former counterterror official who cites three reasons for the shrinking space: Pakistan’s Swat Valley offensive against the Taliban, "along with US activities from the...

US Committed Serious Errors in Afghan Strikes: Report

Investigation finds civilian deaths could have been reduced

(Newser) - The American military could have reduced the number of civilian causalities during its controversial Afghanistan air strikes last month if it had followed proper procedures, a military investigation has found. Personnel made serious errors in the bloody May 4 raids, including the failure of one plane to reconfirm a target...

Pentagon Builds Legion of 'Hacker Soldiers'

US lags behind in cyberwarfare: experts

(Newser) - Military recruiters may still prize the strapping jock, but military contractors are wooing the scrawny computer geek to join the ranks of young "hacker soldiers" enlisted to defend the US in cyberwarfare, the New York Times reports. Most of the biggest companies, like Northrop Grumman and Lockheed Martin, have...

Defense Giants Stalk Cyberwar Contracts

(Newser) - Major defense contractors are already staffed with "hacker soldiers" who can help them earn billions of dollars in Washington's new cyberwar, the New York Times reports. Cranking rock tunes and piling up pop cans, engineers hack away at companies like Raytheon, working for the Pentagon or protecting internal documents....

Pentagon Plans New Command for Online War

Military unit will complement Obama's new civilian office

(Newser) - The Pentagon is pushing ahead with a new military command devoted to cyberspace as the armed forces ramp up abilities to not only defend against computer attacks but launch them as well, the New York Times reports. The new command will work in concert with a civilian organization, which President...

Troop Autopsies Yield Life-Saving Clues

Decision to autopsy all US war dead helps military eliminate equipment flaws

(Newser) - Navy pathologist Capt Craig T. Mallak's groundbreaking decision to order autopsies on every US casualty killed in Iraq and Afghanistan has helped save the lives of American troops, the New York Times reports. The autopsies—and, since 2004, CT scans—have allowed the military to build a huge database on...

Little Left for Fiancée of Fallen Soldier

Unmarried loved ones have no standing, get nothing from Army

(Newser) - To the US Army bureaucracy, love means little without a marriage certificate—so the fiancée of a man killed in Iraq was left with nothing other than what his family was willing to part with. Now, the Washington Post reports, Kyle Harper, 27, is trying to forge a path...

Remember the Meaning of Memorial Day
 Remember the 
 Meaning of 
 Memorial Day 
OPINION
May 25, 2009 10:26 AM CDT

Remember the Meaning of Memorial Day

Time to honor the 1.3 million fallen US troops

(Newser) - On a day of barbecues and baseball, “let's not forget the point of Memorial Day,” write William J. Bennett and John Cribb: to salute the sacrifices of the 1.3 million troops who have died for our country. “Through their sacrifice, the United States has liberated more...

The Death of the 'Old Army Buddy'
The Death
of the 'Old
Army Buddy'
OPINION
May 24, 2009 11:23 AM CDT

The Death of the 'Old Army Buddy'

Draft's end means a generation sans sense of service, camaraderie

(Newser) - On Memorial Day, former soldiers of all ages will be touching base with their brothers in arms, but as Michael Auslin writes in the Washington Post, real Old Army Buddies are on the verge of extinction. The men who willingly served during the drafts of the '50s and '60s came...

Reuters Journo Held by US in Iraq 8 Months

No charges against photographer; military cites insurgent ties

(Newser) - Amid the outrage over journalist Roxana Saberi’s detention in Iran, the US is holding a Reuters photographer in Iraq without charges, the Los Angeles Times reports. Ibrahim Jassam, 31, has been held since September “as the result of his activity with a known insurgent organization,” said a...

Generals Puzzle Through Surge in Army Suicides

(Newser) - Top Army brass are meeting monthly to figure out the disturbing rise in soldier suicides, the Washington Post reports. The generals pore through case studies and examine factors such as solitude, multiple tours of duty, and interactions between anti-depressants and high-caffeine drinks like Rip It popular among soldiers. “It's...

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