In the sharpest warnings they have ever issued on the topic, Pentagon officials told Congress the growing opium trade is threatening the costly US war effort to build a stable Afghanistan.
Before Al Qaeda elements seized the city of Fallujah, Iraq, on Jan. 1, they had stayed mostly in the shadows. Coming into the open will make them easier to handle, some experts say.
If the US offer to help destroy Syria’s chemical weapons is accepted, a ship being retrofitted with portable decontamination units in Virginia will be sent to do the job. ‘Nothing will be dumped at sea,’ a Pentagon official said.
Members of Team Rubicon, a disaster relief organization staffed by US veterans, are using their military skills in the Philippines — and finding the camaraderie they miss in the process.
The US military’s aid relief to The Philippines is led by the USS George Washington, where airplanes and sonar systems have been removed to provide space for supplies.
A military parade ground in Manila is crowded with city residents offering aid to refugees from devastated areas such as Tacloban, where 16 countries were flying in over the weekend to help, according to a US military official.
A US combat role is slated to end in Afghanistan by late 2014, and negotiations go on over terms for keeping US troops there for training. But some analysts see a need to do a deal with the Taliban, sooner or later.
Syria has destroyed its equipment for making chemical weapons, but now it must destroy its stockpile. Similar efforts in the US show that the process is long and complicated.
Capt. William Swenson, an Afghanistan War vet awarded the Medal of Honor Tuesday, has openly said he struggles with combat stress. President Obama lauded his courage on and off the battlefield.
The Somalia-based Al Shabab has produced slick recruitment videos targeting Somali-Americans. Even before the Kenya mall attack, officials were monitoring the terror group’s reach into the US.
Secretary Hagel spent much of the day following the Navy Yard shooting collecting input to help define the parameters of the review, which could be announced Wednesday, a senior Pentagon official said.
Monday’s horrific Washington Navy Yard shooting, which killed 12, is the third attack in four years on US military installations at home. Active-duty or former military men were behind all three cases.
The Syria resolution passed by a Senate committee this week rules out ground troops for ‘combat operations.’ But in the end, a Syria strike could require ground troops for other reasons.
The sentencing hearing, beginning Wednesday, gives Pfc. Bradley Manning the ability to present more mitigating evidence. But his sentence could quickly add up – or later be set aside completely.
With an acquittal, Bradley Manning avoided his most serious charge, but he still faces convictions on multiple counts of violating the Espionage Act and theft. The judge has broad discretion for sentencing.
The X-47B drone made the carrier landing off Virginia Wednesday. How military leadership decides to put the drone into use will form the crux of ‘naval doctrine moving forward,’ one expert says.
The Supreme Court ruling against DOMA ‘helps ensure that all men and women who serve this country can be treated fairly and equally,’ Defense Secretary Hagel says.
FBI Director Robert Mueller told the Senate Judiciary Committee Wednesday that the FBI is using drones to conduct secret surveillance on US citizens. Many lawmakers seemed surprised.
The head of the NSA faced questions about the agency’s surveillance program during congressional testimony Wednesday. He said the program has been ‘critical’ to national security.
The court-martial of Pfc. Bradley Manning began Monday. Manning has said the documents he sent to WikiLeaks served a valuable purpose. Others agree, but that might not help him legally.
By Anna Mulrine
Jan. 21, 2014