Pentagon
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268 American troops were killed last year by roadside bombs in Afghanistan. The Pentagon says since the U.S. invasion in October 2001, 619 U.S. troops have been killed and another 5,764 have been wounded in improvised explosive device (IED) attacks. Overall, at least 1,370 U.S. troops have been killed in Afghanistan since the war began. Last year was, by far, the deadliest for all foreign troops, including Americans, with 702 killed, eclipsing the 2009 record of 504. While the number is high, it\'s about a third of what the number was in Iraq.
February 02, 2011 -
Did the Chinese pilfer the technology to build their stealth fighter. An official Chinese newspaper has dismissed a report that the country used technology taken from a downed U.S. airplane in its own stealth fighter program. But the concerns are not going away. The Chinese staged the first-known test flight of its J-20 prototype stealth fighter that could one day challenge American air superiority.
February 02, 2011 -
A British court on Friday approved the extradition of a terror suspect wanted in the United States over an alleged plot to detonate explosives aboard the New York City subway system. According to the Associated Press, Judge Quentin Purdy said that 24-year-old Abid Naseer can be sent for to the U.S. to stand trial for his alleged role in a terror campaign that would have struck at targets in Britain, Norway and the U.S. U.S. authorities say they aim to prove that Naseer collected bombing ingredients, conducted reconnaissance, and was in frequent contact with other al-Qaida operatives as part of the international plot, previously tied to a foiled plan to detonate explosives aboard the New York City subway and a suspected plot to bomb a busy shopping area in the northern England city of Manchester.
February 02, 2011 -
Newly elected Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., thinks the U.S. Coast Guard should be part of the Defense Department, not the Department of Homeland Security.
February 01, 2011 -
Defense said it would issue new contractor reporting guidance by last August. The GAO says agencies are still waiting.
January 31, 2011 -
On Friday, the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff told reporters that the training of officers and troops the Pentagon has said is a predicate to full repeal would begin in February.
January 31, 2011 -
\"Our immediate concern is that the Defense Department will take precipitous action in the near term that would undercut Congress\' ability to pass judgment on the recommendations,\" according to the letter obtained by National Journal Daily.
January 26, 2011 -
Caring for the families of military personnel requires a coordinated approach across the federal government, President Obama said Monday. He said agencies have made 50 separate commitments to coordinate programs designed to assist the loved ones of servicemembers.
January 25, 2011 -
Was Chinese Premiers Hu Jintao in the dark on their stealth fighter? Earlier this month during a visit from Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, a very public demonstration of the plane took place and Mr. Hu appeared to be unaware of it. But was he? Some military officials have raised the specter of a divide between the Hu and military, but observers suggest that it was probably a part of an orchestrated power play --complete with plausible deniability for the Chinese leader considering the big meeting with President Obama was coming up.
January 21, 2011 -
For the first time in seven years suicides among active duty soldiers dropped, but according to the Army the dip was supplanted by a stark rise in suicides in the National Guard and Reserve ranks. The Associated Press reports Army Vice Chiefof Staff Gen. Peter Chiarelli said those victims, \"are often geographically separated, removed from the support network provided by military installations.\" Chiarelli said. \"They lack the ready camaraderie of fellow soldiers and the daily oversight and hands-on assistance from members of the chain of command.
January 21, 2011 -
How will a 7.3 magnitude earthquake in Pakistan impact the Afghan war? A U.S. military outpost in Afghanistan is very close to the epicenter of the quake, but there have been no reports of significant damage. A Pakistani government spokesman said there was minimal loss of life and property damage. Considering that many insurgents hide in the mountains around the area where the quake took place, NATO coalition troops are watching the situation to see if any movement or changes in behavior by the militants result from the quake.
January 21, 2011 -
A government analysis says that discharging gay service members cost the Pentagon nearly $200 million from 2004 to 2009. The money went mainly to recruit and train replacements.
January 21, 2011 -
Seven retired admirals and generals are going to leave their jobs as military consultants.
January 20, 2011 -
Obama administration is going to shut down problematic \"virtual fence\" designed to guard parts of the U.S. border with Mexico. The project, being run by Boeing Co involving video cameras, radar, sensors and other technologies was supposed to catch smugglers trying to cross the porous border. Bennie Thompson, the senior Democrat on the House Homeland Security Committee said, \"The SBInet program has been a grave and expensive disappointment since its inception.\"
January 17, 2011 -
The Ivory coast is in serious turmoil. Forces loyal to Laurent Gbagbo began attacking and burning U.N. vehicles in yesterday as tensions rise between Gbagbo and those who say he lost the election to Alassane Ouattra. The United Nations says Ouattara won the vote, but Gbagbo, who came to power in 2000, has rejected the U.N.-certified tally. There are reports of atrocities. A U.N. human rights officials says there are reports of mass graves around the capital of Abidjan.
January 17, 2011