US military

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General's Iraqi Shift Mirrors US Strategy

Outgoing No. 2 evolved from aggressive tactics to nonlethal ones

(Newser) - Gen Raymond Odierno stepped down from his post as the No. 2 general in Iraq this week, having evolved from a proponent of heavy-handed tactics to a believer in nonlethal methods to win favor with Iraqis and reduce violence, the Washington Post reports. In a lengthy profile of the so-called...

Overseas Tours Cost Soldiers Child Custody

Deployment often means troops have rough time in court

(Newser) - In what the Pentagon and parent-advocacy groups agree is a growing trend, troops serving overseas are unable to maintain custody of their children upon their return, NPR reports. One National Guardswoman raised her son until her unit deployed to Iraq, when his father took temporary custody. AFter she returned home,...

Okinawa Rape Case Reignites Anti-US Ire

Citing discipline lack, angry Japanese want less military presence

(Newser) - The arrest this week of a US Marine on charges of raping a 14-year-old girl on the Japanese island of Okinawa has stirred long-simmering resentment of the nearly 50,000 American troops stationed there, Reuters reports. “Considering that such vicious, atrocious incidents have never ceased to occur, we must...

9/11 Executions Could Take Place in Gitmo

Military rules changed allowing executions far from federal courts

(Newser) - Six 9/11 suspects detained at Gitmo could be executed at the controversial prison compound if found guilty, legal experts say. Military regulations used to require that executions take place at Fort Leavenworth in Kansas, but that rule was amended two years ago to allow prisoners to be executed in "...

UC Berkeley Rumbles Over City Council's War Criticism

Pro- and anti-war groups plan protests

(Newser) - Berkeley is getting a little of its ‘60s vibe back, with pro- and anti-war groups gearing up for a night of demonstrations as the City Council decides whether to revoke a letter critical of the Marine Corps, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. The council’s letter, written 2 weeks...

Japanese Fury Mounts Over US Marine Rape Case

'Unforgivable' crime threatens alliance

(Newser) - Tensions continued to mount in Japan today in the aftermath of the arrest of a US Marine accused of raping a 14-year-old schoolgirl in Okinawa. "It is unforgivable," Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda told a parliamentary panel. "It has happened over and over again in the past and...

US Marine Busted in Rape of Okinawa Schoolgirl

Governor furious as marine denies crime

(Newser) - A US Marine has been arrested on suspicion of raping a 14-year-old Japanese schoolgirl in Okinawa, where resentment is already running high against American military presence, Reuters reports. The 38-year-old Marine allegedly raped the teen in a car yesterday, officials said. "This kind of crime cannot be forgiven, especially...

Diary of a Bitter al-Qaeda Leader
Diary of a Bitter al-Qaeda Leader

Diary of a Bitter al-Qaeda Leader

Insurgent slams Sunnis who've deserted group to join American forces

(Newser) - Al-Qaeda’s once indomitable force in Iraq is suffering from diminished ranks and low resources: That’s the word not from US generals but from one of the insurgent group’s leaders. In a bitter 16-page diary, Abu Tariq blasts former members who deserted al-Qaeda to join American forces. “...

US Readies Major 9/11 Trial of Gitmo detainees

Case could bring closure for White House, or revive criticisms

(Newser) - US military prosecutors are finalizing plans for a major trial against Guantanamo’s 9/11 suspects, sources tell the New York Times. Among those likely to be charged is Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, who has claimed full responsibility for the attacks. “The thinking was 9/11 is the heart and soul of...

Germany Balks at US Request for Troop Help

Call for reinforcements in southern Afghanistan outside 'point of focus'

(Newser) - Germany has rejected a request from US defense secretary Robert Gates for more troops to fight the Taliban insurgency in southern Afghanistan, Der Spiegel reports. German defense minister Franz Josef Jung prefers his troops remain in the country's north, in accordance with Germany's Afghanistan mandate—which says troops will only...

Panel Blasts 'Appalling' US Terror Readiness

Panel calls for sweeping changes to National Guard, Army Reserves

(Newser) - The US is woefully under-prepared for a terrorist attack on home soil, according to a scathing report by an independent commission charged by Congress to recommend National Guard and Army Reserve policy. "It's totally unacceptable," the panel declared of American readiness in the event of such an attack....

Falling Spy Satellite May Hit North America

Military won't know exact landing spots until 30 minutes to impact

(Newser) - A defunct and out-of-control spy satellite is falling to Earth, and could scatter debris somewhere in North America in late February or early March, the AP reports. The Air Force says the satellite called US 193, whose central computer failed shortly after its launch in 2006, is big enough that...

Complexity of Army Software Raises Concern

Mammoth Boeing project is most costly weapons plan

(Newser) - More than 2,000 developers are working on a $200 billion software project considered the biggest Army modernization since World War II, but many worry the Boeing-led Future Combat Systems may come in late and severely flawed. FCS, which dwarfs Windows in complexity, would enable communication with hovering drones, bomb-defusing...

Homeless Vets Spark Outcry: Haven't We Learned?

1,500 back from Iraq now in poverty

(Newser) - Iraq war veterans are suffering from stress, turning to alcohol, and falling into poverty—a fate that prompts some to ask whether the US has learned from tragedies of veterans past. Washington has identified 1,500 Iraq vets as homeless and helped about a third, but echoes of Vietnam persist...

US Officer Cleared Over Abu Ghraib
US Officer
Cleared Over Abu Ghraib

US Officer Cleared Over Abu Ghraib

Only officer charged with a crime in torture scandal will face no punishment

(Newser) - The only officer who faced a court-martial over the torture at Abu Ghraib has been cleared of all criminal wrongdoing. The BBC reports that Lt. Col. Steven Jordan was convicted in August of disobeying a gag order, but that decision was annulled and his record is now clean. No officer...

Iraq Booby-Trap Blast Kills 6 US Troops

Nine dead in first two days of new offensive against al-Qaeda strongholds

(Newser) - Six US soldiers and their Iraqi interpreter were killed when a booby-trapped house in Diyala province exploded, the Washington Post reports. Four others were injured. Another three soldiers were killed Tuesday as tens of thousands of US and Iraqi troops, along with many local volunteers, began sweeping through northern Iraq...

151,000 Iraqis Killed, Study Says
151,000 Iraqis Killed, Study Says

151,000 Iraqis Killed, Study Says

New survey touted as most reliable yet, but definite figure hard to come by

(Newser) - More than 150,000 Iraqis—about 120 a day—were killed in the first three years of the Iraqi war following the US invasion in 2003, a new study says. The estimate, from the WHO and the Iraqi government, is said to be the most scientific study yet of the...

Online Scammer Impersonates US Colonel

Details taken from website for military families

(Newser) - British woman Wendy McKay had been enjoying her romantic online chats with a handsome US colonel deployed to Iraq, but alarm bells started ringing when the "colonel" suddenly needed thousands of dollars sent to Ghana, the Military Times reports. A con man had stolen the real colonel's identity and...

Protect or Prevent? Iraq Tanks Raise Heavy Issues

New armored vehicles will save soldiers, but may endanger strategy

(Newser) - A new heavily armored vehicle will better protect US soldiers in Iraq from roadside bombs, but possibly at the risk of jeopardizing the overall counter-insurgency strategy, the Los Angeles Times reports. The new equipment has ignited debate over whether it is better to protect soldiers from attack, or stop the...

Iraq Invites Refugees Home, but Home Is Gone

350K displaced in Iraq; US military begs Baghdad to build new housing

(Newser) - Baghdad shocked Washington and the UN last month by inviting home 1.4 million refugees from Syria, the Washington Post reports. The UN warned against it, saying exiles would face poverty, but Iraq started a bus line to transport them back. Many found their homes looted and neighborhoods redrawn along...

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