US military

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US Bolsters Command in Afghanistan

Gates deploying top brass as part of structural overhaul of Afghan campaign

(Newser) - Defense Secretary Robert Gates plans to dispatch three-star general David M. Rodriguez to Kabul to shore up military leadership, the Wall Street Journal reports.  Military officials say the move—along with the creation of a new task force—is aimed at ensuring "the Pentagon is on a war...

US Admits Afghan Raids Killed Civilians

Pentagon reverses earlier claims that Taliban was to blame

(Newser) - American officials acknowledged for the first time yesterday that the US military was responsible for at least some of the 100 recent civilian deaths in western Afghanistan. The air strikes have led to angry protests in Afghanistan and calls for the US to withdraw from the country. While initial military...

US Won't Send Troops to Pakistan: Gates

(Newser) - There are no plans to deploy US ground troops to Pakistan, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said today, despite concerns over increasing violence between Pakistani troops and Taliban militants. Speaking to about 300 Marines at Camp Leatherneck in southern Afghanistan, Gates assured the soldiers they didn't have to "worry about...

Red Cross: US Strike Killed Afghan Women, Children

(Newser) - Many civilians were killed in two Afghan villages hit by a US airstrike on Monday, the Red Cross said today, confirming both "dozens of bodies" and allegations coming from Kabul. “There were bodies, there were graves, and there were people burying bodies,” a spokeswoman said. “We...

US-Led Airstrike Kills 30 Afghan Civilians

Villagers deliver bodies to provincial capital as proof

(Newser) - Afghan villagers bore the bodies of 30 civilian victims of a US-led airstrike to a provincial council as proof of the coalition operation’s deadly price, provincial officials reported to the AP today. When fighting broke out yesterday between militants and coalition forces in Farah province, villagers herded their women,...

Pentagon to Create 'Digital Warfare Force'

(Newser) - The US military is creating a digital warfare force as part of a complete reorganization of its cyber operations, says NSA director and top cyber warfare commander Keith Alexander. In blunt testimony prepared for the House Armed Services subcommittee today, Alexander says the Pentagon’s current cyber training is woefully...

Abu Ghraib Guards Say They Were Scapegoats

(Newser) - Lawyers for US soldiers convicted of abuse at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison say the recently released CIA memos prove their clients were just following orders, the Times of London reports. Some of the dozen soldiers who were convicted plan to appeal, arguing that the Bush administration kept quiet during their...

Fear Returns to Baghdad
 Fear Returns to Baghdad 
May 2, 2009 4:08 AM CDT

Fear Returns to Baghdad

(Newser) - The recent spate of violence in Iraq may pale in comparison to the relentless suicide bombings of 2006, but Baghdad is beginning to hunker down in fear again, the Los Angeles Times reports. Residents are curtailing their public activities, checking in with each other more often to make sure family...

6 Car Bombs Kill 48 in Baghdad
 6 Car Bombs Kill 48 in Baghdad 
Apr 29, 2009 3:19 PM CDT

6 Car Bombs Kill 48 in Baghdad

All target Shiite areas as violence rises

(Newser) - Six car bombs rattled predominantly Shiite areas of Baghdad within four hours today, killing 48 and injuring 81. The three bloodiest explosions went off in quick succession in Sadr City, a dense Shiite neighborhood, CNN reports. The bombings were similar to seven coordinated attacks earlier this month, which the US...

Iraq PM Vows to Prosecute US Troops After Fatal Raid

First time Iraq has threatened prosecution against American soldiers

(Newser) - Iraq’s prime minister is threatening the country’s first prosecution of US troops after two Iraqis were killed yesterday morning in a US raid, the Washington Post reports. Nouri al-Maliki said the raid violated a security agreement that bans unilateral American action; the US says Iraq’s military had...

Talks Begin on Keeping US Troops in Mosul, Baghdad

Despite deadline, US may keep forces in some Iraqi cities

(Newser) - The US and Iraq are negotiating exceptions to the June 30 deadline for withdrawing combat troops from Iraqi cities, reports the New York Times. While the US military will leave most cities and towns by the deadlines, troops may remain in Mosul, the northern city critical to al-Qaeda in Iraq,...

Gates Pressure Speeds New Armor to Afghan Soldiers

(Newser) - With a little push from Defense Secretary Robert Gates, the Army says it has completed its assessment of $3 million worth of high-tech, lightweight body armor and will send it immediately to soldiers in Afghanistan, the New York Times reports. The Army was dragging out testing on the new armor,...

Pentagon Will Fill Civilian Jobs in Afghanistan

Reservists to fill up to 300 positions intended for nonmilitary experts

(Newser) - The Obama administration is being forced to fill hundreds of new positions designed for civilian experts in Afghanistan with military personnel, mostly reservists, reports the New York Times. The shortfall results from insufficient funds to hire and train nonmilitary people for work in combat zones, and the fact that agencies...

Cyberspies Steal Pentagon's Jet-Fighter Plans

Hackers, possibly Chinese, download specs for Joint Strike Fighter

(Newser) - Cyberspies believed to be working from China repeatedly penetrated the computers of one of the Pentagon's most important weapons programs, reports the Wall Street Journal. Hackers broke into the system for the Joint Strike Fighter Project—the Defense Department's most expensive program ever at $300 billion—and downloaded several terabytes...

Army May Not Want You So Bad After All

Jobless rate drives surge in applicants

(Newser) - Rising unemployment and safer conditions in Iraq have boosted interest in joining the Army, allowing recruiters to raise acceptance standards. The Washington Post reports that felons and recent drug users need not apply, and the pool of applicants also is better educated. For the first time since 2004, the Army...

Let's Help Vets Avoid Extremist Urge
 Let's Help Vets 
 Avoid Extremist Urge 
OPINION
Apr 18, 2009 1:00 PM CDT

Let's Help Vets Avoid Extremist Urge

(Newser) - The recent Homeland Security report detailing right-wing extremist recruitment of veterans is “true, true, true,” Charles M. Blow writes in the New York Times. But “conservatives reacted by throwing a knee-jerk hissy fit,” suggesting that vets “were being vilified by a partisan document.” Instead...

Pentagon Targets Taliban Radio
 Pentagon Targets Taliban Radio 
Apr 18, 2009 6:00 AM CDT

Pentagon Targets Taliban Radio

Extremist websites, radio stations to be jammed as part of new strategy

(Newser) - Forcing Radio Taliban off the air is a key part of the Pentagon's new Afghanistan strategy, the Wall Street Journal reports. Military communications experts are working to jam the websites and unlicensed radio stations extremists in Afghanistan in Pakistan use to proclaim their power, intimidate residents, plan attacks, and broadcast...

Army Holds Up Lighter Armor for Soldiers in Afghanistan

(Newser) - In a sign of the Army’s careful—some say plodding—procurement process, $3 million in lightweight body armor destined for Afghanistan is still stateside pending a widened assessment, the New York Times reports. The armor would shave 20 pounds off the punishing load—up to 130 pounds—some soldiers...

Napolitano Apologizes to Vets for Report

DHS had painted soldiers as prone to right-wing extremism

(Newser) - Janet Napolitano apologized today for language in a recent Homeland Security report suggesting that veterans were more likely to be wooed by far-right extremist groups, CNN reports. “The return of military veterans facing significant challenges,” said the report evaluating domestic threats, “could lead to the potential emergence...

Captain, Family Laud Military 'Heroes'

Colleagues and friends praise Phillips' high-stakes performance

(Newser) - Richard Phillips has been hailed a hero, but the rescued captain is downplaying his own role and praising his military saviors, reports the Boston Globe. "I'm just a small part in this. The real heroes in this story are the US military. They are the most dedicated, professional, and...

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