Pentagon
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It may comes as a surprise to some, but the man who helped train the London suicide bomber whose attacks killed 52 people in 2007 has been free for two years. According to court documents Mohammed Junaid Babar, a naturalized U.S. citizen from Pakistan, faced a 70-year prison sentence, but he cooperated with British and U.S. authorities and was released after five years. Some experts say his level of cooperation since his agreement has been extraordinary.
February 18, 2011 -
What kind of military relationship will the U.S. have with Egypt now that Hosni Mubarak is gone? President Barack Obama says the Egyptian military has served patriotically and responsibly and now must ensure a transition of power that is credible to the Egyptian people. For the next seven months the military will essentially be a caretaker of the Egyptian government. The ruling council has been charged with preparing the country for elections in September.
February 18, 2011 -
Director of National Intelligence James Clapper told the House Intelligence Committee, the United States believes North Korea has the capability to produce nuclear weapons, but is unlikely to use them unless the Pyongyang government is on the close to defeat. He said the Obama administration regards North Korea as a \"serious threat\" to security in East Asia, and believes it may well have built other uranium enrichment facilities beyond the known Yongbyon nuclear complex.
February 18, 2011 -
It\'s going to happen. The head of the U.S. Joint Forces Command says that 2,300 people in Virginia will lose their jobs as part of the Pentagon\'s plan to cut costs. Another 36 positions in Nevada will be cut while an in Tampa, Fla., are going to be eliminated. Gen. Ray Odierno says the cuts are expected to save about $400 million a year. The command employs nearly 6,000 military and civilian personnel.
February 18, 2011 -
Fort Meade, the National Naval Medical Center in Maryland, Virginia\'s Fort Belvoir, Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington, Florida\'s Eglin Air Force Base and Fort Bliss, Texas all need traffic management makeovers. That\'s what a new congressionally mandated traffic study says. It also says the Pentagon needs to pay for those traffic improvements. Traffic around those six locations are absorbing large numbers of personnel as a result of the Base Re-alignment Commission recommendations.
February 18, 2011 -
Cambodian and Thai troops are engaging in some of the fiercest fighting in years over a disputed part of their shared border. Tensions between the neighbors have been exacerbated in recent days by pressure from powerful Thai nationalist groups, which have been staging protests in Bangkok urging the government to reclaim the land.
February 18, 2011 -
A report from the Senate Homeland Security committee said the Defense Department did not inform or train commanders about how to recognize a radicalized Islamic extremist or how to see the difference between that and the peaceful practice of Islam. In addition, the FBI was harshly criticized for not totally sharing information with the military about Major Nidal Hasan and his views and beliefs. the FBI did not pass on some of the initial information up the chain about Hasan\'s connections because they said it wasn\'t clear he was connected to terrorists.
February 18, 2011 -
Billions of dollars in weapons deals with Egypt are probably going to be put on hold until the situation clears up there. No one from the Pentagon has said things have been shutdown, but one thing is clear, U.S. arms firms may notice a downturn in the near term. Egypt is due to get $1.3 billion in military aid from the U.S this year. Experts say while the deals may not be on the fast track, they won\'t disappear, because regardless of who comes to power in North African and Middle Eastern countries facing crises, there will be a demand for U.S. weapons
February 18, 2011 -
Approximately 3 million people work for the Department of Defense, making it the largest employer in the US. Human Capital Management For Defense conference director, Lisa Ringlen, tells us why the personal touch is important.
February 16, 2011 -
Overall, the Pentagon\'s request for operations in Iraq and Afghanistan is $118 billion, a $42 billion reduction from its 2011 request.
February 15, 2011 -
Secretary Robert M. Gates is warning the continuing resolution means the Pentagon could run out of money before September 30.
February 15, 2011 -
The Arab world is consumed by protests demanding democracy and justice. Yemen\'s president, is hoping to shut-down unrest by offering concessions. But will they be enough? The changes sweeping the region may mean upheaval is not far away. Sporadic demonstrations have already struck the poor Arabian Peninsula state. And the protests are taking place with the understanding that Al Qaida sympathizer Anwar Al Awlaki has urged attacks there to deal with their discontent.
February 02, 2011 -
Carrying with knives and sticks gangs roam and rule the streets of the Tunisian town of Gessrine. Yesterday those gangs attacked government buildings and they threatened residents. The gangs burnt a youth center and attacked a number of other buildings in. Police were largely absent on the streets on Monday and the Army has had trouble restoring order in Gessrine. The uprising in Tunisia that led to the sacking of former President Ben Ali, is largely responsible for the revolution unfolding in Egypt.
February 02, 2011 -
Egypt\'s military chief of staff cut short a visit to the Pentagon because of anti-government. U.S. Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. James Cartwright said that Egypt\'s Lt. Gen. Sami Hafez Anan flew home, just two days into a planned week of meetings in Washington. Anan was in the U.S. for the highest level strategic talks each year between Washington and Cairo. Repeating the Obama administration\'s position on upheaval in Egypt, Cartwright urged the Egyptian government to show restraint in how it deals with protesters.
February 02, 2011 -
So what will the new terror alert system look like? The National Terrorism Advisory System will be implemented over the next 90 days. Under the new system, DHS and other federal entities to issue formal, detailed alerts when the federal government receives information about a specific or credible terrorist threat. They\'ll provide a concise summary of the potential threat and actionable information.
February 02, 2011