Pentagon

  • Russia\'s FSB, the equivalent to the FBI is trying to get access to encrypted communication providers like Skype, Gmail and Hotmail. Reuters is reporting, \"the agency says the uncontrolled use of such services could threaten national security.\" Alexander Andreyechkin, head of the FSB says, \"the uncontrolled use of these services could lead to a large-scale threat to Russian security.\" Critics say what he really wants to do is limit access to the internet ahead of the 2012 elections.

    April 19, 2011
  • Israel has rolled out it secret weapon. In the face of renewed shelling from Gaza, The military unveiled something they call the Iron Dome yesterday. It\'s a missile shield. The device intercepted two rockets in its first deployment. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made the announcement while visiting Prague. The Iron Dome fires radar-guided missiles from a truck-sized launcher and which tracks and blows up incoming rockets in mid-air.

    April 19, 2011
  • The Associated Press reports: \"Defense Secretary Robert Gates tried to smooth the worst rift in years with Arab ally and oil producer Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, reassuring the Saudi king that the U.S. remains a steady friend despite support for pro-democracy revolutions in the Middle East. The Saudi king, looking thin after months of medical treatment in the United States and elsewhere, welcomed Gates for what the Pentagon chief later said was a cordial and warm visit.\"

    April 19, 2011
  • So if there were a government shutdown, how would me and women in uniform be paid? Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell said late yesterday the leadership hadn\'t figured that out yet. There are 146,000 service members in Iraq and Afghanistan. He says the Pentagon would continue key national security responsibilities including fighting the Afghanistan and Iraq wars, and continuing operations in Libya and earthquake assistance to Japan.

    April 19, 2011
  • Reports about a Third Intifada being organized against Israel apparently were bogus. \"They investigated that Facebook page and they couldn\'t trace it back to any Palestinian individual or organization,\" says Maen Areikat, Representative for the Palestinian Liberation Organization. \"It\'s really interesting to know who is behind it,\" says Areikat. As far as any future Palestinian protests go, he says any future protests, \"continue to be peaceful and not resort to violence.\"

    April 19, 2011
  • Alassane Ouattara\'s, President in waiting in the Ivory Coast has declared an overnight curfew in the main city of Abidjan from now until Sunday. A Ouattara spokesman says the curfew was needed \"for security reasons\" and would run from nine o\'clock in the evening through to six o\'clock in the morning each day. Ouattara is locked in a bitter dispute over the Presidency in that war-torn country with incumbent Laurent Bagbo. Ouattara won the election but has not been able to assume the office.

    April 19, 2011
  • A rise in the number of troops wounded from buried bombs in Afghanistan has the Pentagon experimenting with new forms of protection.

    April 19, 2011
  • In a memo outlining DOD plans for dealing with the threatened government shutdown, Deputy Defense Secretary William Lynn explains who gets paid and when.

    April 08, 2011
  • Military members would continue to earn wages in the event of an April 8 shutdown of the federal government, but they\'d have to wait to collect them until Congress agrees on a budget, a senior administration official said.

    April 07, 2011
  • The Pentagon is finalizing a new cyber warfighting strategy that will create a framework for training and equipping forces.

    March 30, 2011
  • NATO has taken over command of the No-Fly zone and other military efforts to stop Libyan leader Muamar Gadhafi\'s military and help the rebels gain steam. A U.s. intelligence source says the British and French have troops on the ground and supply guidance to the rebels while the a wealthy Middle Eastern government is bank rolling the effort to supply weapons to the rebels. As that effort continues, there are major concerns about possibly arming the rebels.

    March 29, 2011
  • Muammar Gaddafi\'s army hasn\'t thrown in the towel yet. They set back the momentum of the rebels troops who were headed toward Tripoli. In the meantime Admiral James Stravridis, the U.S. head of NATO said there \"flickers\" of Al Qaida in Libya, waiting to fill the void left behind by Gadhafi, if he\'s ousted. But Stavridis added the is no evidence of a significant presence. The NATO-led aerial bombardment of Libyan forces is expected to continue until Gaddafi gives up or is defeated.

    March 29, 2011
  • You can expect gradual movement of U.S. ships out of the Mediterranean. NATO is taking command of the international military campaign in Libya and is in charge of air strikes, an arms blockade and no-fly zone put in place to protect Libyan civilians from Muamar Ghadafi. The U.S. will still have a role, but it will not be leading the effort. At one point 11 U.S. vessels were stationed in the Mediterranean, including three submarines, two guided-missile destroyers and two amphibious assault ships

    March 29, 2011
  • Two Virginia-based ships are being credited with thwarting a pirate attack on a Philippine-flagged merchant vessel in the Arabian Sea. The Pentagon says the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise and the guided missile cruiser USS Leyte Gulf responded Thursday to the Falcon Trader II after the ship reported pirates in a skiff were attempting to board the vessel. The ships dispatched two helicopters to the Philippine vessel, and they fired warning shots. Men were seen jumping from the ship and speeding away in their skiff.

    March 29, 2011