US military

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Lawmakers, Afghan Leaders Welcome Petraeus

McChrystal replacement likely to have 'fastest confirmation in history'

(Newser) - President Obama's choice of David Petraeus to replace Stanley McChrystal has met near-universal praise in Washington and Kabul. Democrats and Republicans alike say the general is guaranteed a swift Senate confirmation to take charge of the Afghanistan war, Politico reports. The general's confirmation "may be the fastest in the...

Report: McChrystal Offers to Resign
Report: McChrystal Offers
to Resign
Jun 22, 2010 4:47 PM CDT

Report: McChrystal Offers to Resign

But his White House fate is far from settled

(Newser) - Gen. Stanley McChrystal has offered to resign in the wake of his unfortunate interview with Rolling Stone, reports Time. (The magazine's Joe Klein initially told CNN that McChrystal had actually submitted his resignation, but Time clarified with this Tweet .) Either way, it doesn't mean much at this point, notes...

US 'Funding Taliban Protection Racket'

Congressional report slams corruption in Afghan supply chain

(Newser) - Tens of millions of dollars are flowing from the Pentagon to Afghan warlords and Taliban leaders because of military outsourcing in Afghanistan, congressional investigators said in a report yesterday. Investigators say contractors trucking supplies to the US military pay whoever they have to ensure safe passage for their convoys, pouring...

US Buys Russian to Beef Up Afghan Forces

Pentagon has spent $650 million on Moscow's helicopters

(Newser) - Funny how the geopolitical world turns. Back in the day, the CIA gave Afghan rebels missiles to shoot down Soviet helicopters, notes the Washington Post . Now that the US is fighting its own war there, the Pentagon is beefing up the Afghan air corps—by buying Russian helicopters. The US...

Armed Pair Busted at Florida Air Force Base

Weapons, uniforms found in couple's SUV

(Newser) - A heavily armed man and woman were taken into custody last night after trying to gain unauthorized access to the Florida base that houses US Central Command. The pair were stopped at a gate at MacDill Air Force Base after they failed to show the proper ID, CNN reports. A...

$500M Has Gone Into Gitmo Money Pit

 $500M Has Gone 
 Into Gitmo Money Pit 
it has go-kart track, KFC
Jun 7, 2010 10:23 AM CDT

$500M Has Gone Into Gitmo Money Pit

Lavish new facilities include an outdoor roller hockey rink

(Newser) - The US detention facility at Guantanamo Bay may have drawn opprobrium from all over the world, but it's also sucked up a stunning amount of funding since 9/11, with construction and renovation projects totaling more than $500 million, the Washington Post reports. That doesn't even count operating costs—twice as...

Military Experts Rip Bush Over Waterboarding Remarks

'Bush is being flip about serious issue'

(Newser) - George Bush still doesn't seem to understand how serious an issue waterboarding is, say miltary men outraged at the former president's glib acknowledgment that he had a suspect waterboarded and he'd do it again . The interrogation technique is "unequivocably torture," former strategic intelligence officer and military law expert...

US May Deploy Aircraft Carrier to Korean Waters

Pentagon mulls sending USS George Washington

(Newser) - The US is considering deploying one of the world's biggest warships to the waters off the Korean peninsula where the sinking of a South Korean warship has raised tensions with the North. The nuclear-powered USS George Washington would be deployed separately from upcoming joint US-South Korean exercises, defense officials say....

The Long History of How We Care for Our Dead

Bringing them home is a fairly modern idea

(Newser) - In the Seminole Indian Wars of the early 1800s, only those families who could afford the cost of sending their dead relatives' remains home would receive them; the rest were buried where they took their last breath. Today, some 5,000 fallen soldiers have been flown home from Iraq and...

1000th US Serviceman Killed Was On Second Tour

Marine nearly lost his leg on first Afghanistan tour

(Newser) - Here's a name to think about on Memorial Day: Jacob Leicht. This week, the Marine became the 1,000th US serviceman killed in Afghanistan by AP's count. But his story goes beyond that: He was on his second tour of duty when he stepped on an explosive and was killed...

House Votes to Repeal Don't Ask

Measure to let gays serve openly clears another hurdle

(Newser) - The military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell' policy on gay service members took another big step towards becoming history tonight after the House voted 234-193 in favor of repeal. The Senate Armed Services Committee had earlier voted 16-12 of favor of repeal. Both measures won't implement repeal until after a...

S. Korea Stages Show of Force

North scraps naval agreement, warns that ships will be attacked

(Newser) - South Korea staged a massive military exercise off its west coast today in defiance of warnings from the North that such drills could trigger war. Ten warships fired artillery and dropped anti-submarine bombs in waters near where South Korea's Cheonan warship was sank by what an investigation concluded was a...

White House Backs Deal to Repeal 'Don't Ask'

Vote could come as early as this week

(Newser) - The White House has given its support to a deal that would lift the ban on gays serving openly in the military while giving the Pentagon plenty of time to implement changes. The compromise will allow lawmakers to vote on repealing the ban as early as this week. But the...

US Expands Secret Mideast Operations

Petraeus authorizes special ops in friendly, unfriendly Mideast nations

(Newser) - The head of US Central Command has green-lighted a huge expansion in American secret operations in the Middle East, the Horn of Africa, and Central Asia, according to documents obtained by the New York Times . Gen. David Petraeus has authorized the sending of special forces to both friendly and hostile...

US Troop Count in Afghanistan Overtakes Iraq

100K US troops to be in Afghanistan by this summer

(Newser) - The number of US troops in Afghanistan has hit 94,000, for the first time surpassing the 92,000 currently deployed in Iraq. The milestone comes as the US prepares to reduce its number of personnel in Iraq to 50,000 by the end of August, the BBC reports. But...

Obama Stresses Need for New 'International Order'
 Obama Stresses Need  
 for New 'International Order' 
west point commencement
May 22, 2010 10:26 AM CDT

Obama Stresses Need for New 'International Order'

President says America can't succeed alone

(Newser) - President Obama's commencement speech at West Point today stressed a common theme: the need to "shape an international order than can meet the challenges of our times," reports the Washington Post . "Yes, we are clear-eyed about the shortfalls of our international system," he said. "But...

US Deaths in Afghanistan Reach 1,000

Suicide bomber's attack in Kabul kills 5

(Newser) - A suicide attack in Kabul that killed five US troops today has brought the American death toll in the war to 1,000, reports the New York Times . In an extended look at the unwanted milestone, the Times notes that it took 7 years to reach the first 500 deaths...

Afghans Flee as Marjah Offensive Sours

US hasn't done a good job clearing or holding

(Newser) - Remember the big American military “clear and hold” operation in Marjah, Afghanistan? It ain't going so well. More than 150 families have fled the area, and some refugees tell the New York Times the Taliban is still running rampant, and the US is unable to protect the local population....

Mental, Not Physical, Illness Hospitalizes Most US Troops

As mental illness increases, cost of care skyrockets

(Newser) - For the first time on record, more US troops were hospitalized for mental illness last year than for any other reason, according to new data from the Pentagon. The year saw 17,538 mental health hospitalizations, which narrowly topped childbirth (17,354) and far outstripped injuries or battle wounds (11,...

Military May Give Medal for Avoiding Combat

Honor for not shooting would be unique

(Newser) - The US military is considering a medal for soldiers who show restraint in order to save civilian lives. The honor would celebrate "courageous restraint" in the line of duty—incidences in which soldiers hold their fire. While the idea of an award for not shooting might seem paradoxical, "...

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