Department of Defense

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White House Forced to Rethink Russian Relationship

Georgia action prompts US to reconsider Moscow ties

(Newser) - Russia's military action in Georgia was a rude awakening for the White House, forcing the Bush administration to reconsider the relationship it thought they had, the New York Times reports. President Bush has famously touted Vladimir Putin a reliable friend and diplomatic partner, despite policy differences, but cooperation across a...

Pentagon's New Bid Rules Favor Northrop: Boeing

Bidding changes seen to justify previous decision

(Newser) - The Pentagon issued new criteria yesterday for the second round of bidding on its lucrative fuel-tanker contract, Bloomberg reports, and Boeing backers immediately cried foul. The new terms give bonus points to a plane that carries more fuel than the earlier guidelines, which Boeing officials and congressional allies claim favors...

Terror Will Be No. 1 Enemy for Decades, Warns Gates

New strategy focuses on 'irregular' conflict

(Newser) - Defense Secretary Robert Gates foresees terrorism remaining the leading threat to America for decades, and calls for the military to prepare for "irregular" warfare rather than conventional conflicts with other nations, reports the Washington Post. While success in Afghanistan and Iraq is crucial, it will not be enough to...

US Military Showing Softer Side
 US Military Showing Softer Side 
ANALYSIS
Jul 28, 2008 2:08 PM CDT

US Military Showing Softer Side

Greater emphasis on humanitarian operations seen by some as 'out of whack'

(Newser) - Despite recent focus on shooting wars, the Defense Department has tweaked the core mission of US armed forces to promote “soft power,” such as humanitarian aid, the Boston Globe reports. Some civilian onlookers say the foreign policy is “out of whack,” and “too dominated by...

Polluting Pentagon Rebuffs EPA Orders

Pentagon challenges agency's right to order toxic chemical clean up

(Newser) - The Pentagon is holding out on an Environmental Protection Agency order to clean up pollutants from three military bases where chemicals have become an "imminent and substantial" threat to the public health and environment, the Washington Post reports. The Defense Department also won’t sign contracts to clean up...

US Can't Be Sure Pakistan's $5.6B Went to Fight Terror

Suspect accounting makes tracking funds nearly impossible: GAO report

(Newser) - The Defense Department cannot show that nearly $6 billion the US has sent to Pakistan since 2001 has been used, as intended, to fight terrorism. In a report yesterday, the Government Accountability Office said the Pentagon hadn’t properly tracked the funds, CNN reports, blindly signing off on questionable charges—...

Nuclear Parts Still Missing: Pentagon Report

Sensitive components remain unaccounted for in mess that cost Air Force brass jobs

(Newser) - The investigation that resulted in the dismissal of top US Air Force brass two weeks ago also found that hundreds of nuclear-missile parts remain missing, the Financial Times reports. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said the Pentagon needed "to re-establish positive control of these sensitive, classified components" in announcing the...

FBI Stalled in Addressing Prisoner Abuse

Report says agents didn't participate in torture, but knew of it

(Newser) - FBI agents dragged their feet in reporting torture inflicted on prisoners by Defense contractors and CIA employees, an an internal FBI report shows, but agents themselves generally did not participate in torture. FBI brass, however, was scolded for not providing more guidance or “pressing harder” to curb other agencies’...

Pentagon Emails Detail TV Propaganda Plans
Pentagon Emails Detail
TV Propaganda Plans
analysis
May 10, 2008 4:23 PM CDT

Pentagon Emails Detail TV Propaganda Plans

Defense officials sought military experts willing to "carry our water"

(Newser) - Need more proof that the Pentagon coached ostensibly impartial military analysts about what to say on TV? In Salon, Glenn Greenwald reveals emails from one top defense staffer who suggested developing a core group of insiders who are “most reliably friendly” and that “we can count on to...

Judge Purges General From Gitmo Case
Judge Purges General From Gitmo Case
May 10, 2008 12:10 PM CDT

Judge Purges General From Gitmo Case

Says he's not impartial; move could throw wrench in 9/11 trials

(Newser) - A military judge has expelled a Pentagon general from the case of a Guantanamo detainee in a move that could open the military tribunal system to further attacks. The judge said the general—who is supposed to be impartial as overseer of the Gitmo legal process—worked too closely with...

9/11 Suspects Won't See Trial on Bush Watch

Lack of precedent has Gitmo cases moving at snail's pace

(Newser) - Guantanamo Bay inmates likely will not be tried for charges connected to the Sept. 11 attacks while President Bush is still in office, US officials say. The system set up in 2006 for trying charges brought against the prisoners is crawling. "Every little detail ends up being contested, because...

Rumsfeld Dodged Early Iraq Failures: Sanchez

Former general speaks out in new book, describes lies and 'total BS'

(Newser) - Early mistakes in Iraq—and the extent of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's involvement in them—are the subject of a Time excerpt from a book by the former commander of US forces in Iraq, Gen. Ricardo Sanchez. Sanchez details an effort by Rumsfeld to get him to agree, on paper,...

Bill Would Defend Troops From Incoming Playmates

Playboy way off base, says proposed ban

(Newser) - A Republican lawmaker wants to keep America's fighting men and women out of harm's way—the harm he says is caused by exposure to incoming copies of Playboy and Penthouse. The Military Honor and Decency Act sponsored by Georgia congressman Paul Broun would tighten existing laws to prevent the magazines...

Pentagon Purse Strings Ensnare TV Military Analysts

Commentators linked to defense contractors

(Newser) - Several so-called "independent" military analysts who often support Defense Department positions on TV news programs have been linked closely to defense contractors and the Pentagon in an extensive New York Times investigation. "We need to stick our hands up your back and move your mouth for you,’...

Workers Charge Laptops to Lingerie on Fed Credit Cards

Audit: Nearly half of purchases broke rules

(Newser) - Millions of dollars government employees charged to federal credit cards went for less-than-appropriate perks ranging from digital cameras to dating services, sexy lingerie, laptops, and a $13,000 postal party, reports the Washington Post. An investigation by the Government Accountability Office found that 48% of major purchases on federal credit...

Pentagon Inventing Group Hits 50, Looks to Next Strides

Freewheeling DARPA helped create the Internet

(Newser) - A small Defense Department agency credited with inventing the Internet and rockets that sent men to the moon is turning 50, the Washington Post reports, and is fine-tuning its next innovations. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency's work spans biology, satellites and aircraft; it has no permanent labs and its...

Couple Seeks $25K Over Google's 'Street View'

Privacy-seeking couple claims 'mental suffering' after home appears online

(Newser) - Google gave in to the Defense Department, but can it fight a couple in Pittsburgh? Aaron and Christine Boring are seeking more than $25,000 for invasion of privacy by Google's “Street View” feature, the Smoking Gun reports. The couple says that a “major component of their purchase...

Gates Orders Full Nuclear Inventory
Gates Orders Full Nuclear Inventory
Mar 28, 2008 6:32 AM CDT

Gates Orders Full Nuclear Inventory

Missile fuses shipped to Taiwan were second mishap in a year

(Newser) - Secretary of State Robert Gates has ordered Pentagon officials to take a new inventory of all US nuclear weapons and related equipment, the Washington Post reports. The count, to be completed in 60 days, is in addition to a specific probe into how 4 missile fuses were shipped accidentally to...

China Furious Over US/Taiwan Nuke Mixup

Beijing warns of 'disastrous consequences'

(Newser) - Beijing unloaded on Washington today, enraged by reports that the US had accidentally sent nuclear missile parts to Taiwan. China demanded a full US investigation, and said the mistake had “disastrous consequences.” China told the US to halt all arms shipments to Taiwan to “avoid endangering the...

Nuke Fluke: US Sent Missile Parts to Taiwan

Defense Dept. didn't realize error through nearly 2 years of Taiwanese queries

(Newser) - The US accidentally shipped components used in nuclear missiles to Taiwan in 2006, CNN reports. Instead of helicopter batteries, the Defense Department sent fuses designed to allow 1960s ballistic missiles to detonate; no actual nuclear material was involved. Taiwan quickly alerted the US to the error, but it wasn’t...

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