Pentagon
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Defense Secretary Robert Gates says the U.S. to protect any individuals who might be at risk after the Wikileaks War Dairies leaks. He also said the military was reviewing its rules for safeguarding classified information. He called it a \"mountain of raw data\" that didn\'t shed new light on U.S. policy but he and experts say it could help the Taliban Joint Chiefs Adm. Mike Mullen said that Wikileaks \"might already have on their hands the blood of a young soldier or that of an Afghan family.\"
July 30, 2010 -
A dozen Defense Department workers jobs are at risk, allegedly because of their bad credit ratings. AFGE Vice President, Arnold Scott, says DoD isn\'t playing fair.
July 29, 2010 -
Difficult but the war in Afghanistan can succeed. The words of Richard Holbrook, the top U.S envoy in Afghanistan and Pakistan yesterday before Congress at an oversight hearing on money being spent on the nine year old war in Afghanistan. Lawmakers expressed concern about corruption that\'s eaten up millions of dollars. Holbrooke said this is the toughest job he\'s ever had.
July 29, 2010 -
The Defense Department says an investigation has identified dozens of members of the military and defense contractors that have allegedly obtained child pornography. Many of those involved are said to have access to top secret information. Some of those implicated to are connected to the National Reconnaissance Office and the National Security Agency. The Boston Globe first reported the story after obtaining documents through the Freedom of Information Act. Some have already been prosecuted.
July 26, 2010 -
The Afghan Taliban leadership is facing more pressure from the U.S. The U.S. Treasury Department will freeze the militants\' assets, ban travel and trigger an arms embargo. It follows similar action by the United Nations earlier this week, and comes after calls from Gen. David Petraeus, the top military commander in Afghanistan. the U.S. and U.N. sanctions prohibit any financial transactions of the terror leaders in U.N. member countries, putting additional pressure on Pakistan to take broader actions against the Taliban militants.
July 26, 2010 -
The Associated Press says it\'s obtained a thousand emails showing DHS sent FOIA requests to senior political advisers who turned scoured them for information about the requesters and delaying disclosures deemed too politically sensitive. DHS spokesman Sean Smith says, they were just giving senior leadership visibility into FOIA releases to enable the Department to be as responsive as possible. FOIA\'s are designed to be insulated from political considerations. AP says DHS stopped the practice after their investigation.
July 22, 2010 -
The Pentagon is feed up with leaks. \"Over the last two years I\'ve lost a first rate central command commander, and an outstanding commander of ISAF in Afghanistan due to their own missteps in dealing with the media, says Secretary of Defense, Robert Gates. He adds\' \"if you\'re a Captain in a unit that has an embedded reporter\", be as open as possible within the guidelines and rules, but \"if you\'re a Captain working in this building on budget options, I expect you to keep your mouth shut.\"
July 20, 2010 -
A judge in Denver has ruled that a federal law making it illegal to lie about being a war hero is unconstitutional because it violates free speech. The Associated Press reported the ruling, came in the case of Rick Glen Strandlof, a Colorado man who claimed he was an ex-Marine wounded in Iraq and had received the Purple Heart and Silver Star. The military had no record that Strandlof served. Strandlof was charged with violating the Stolen Valor Act, which makes it illegal to falsely claim to have won a military medal.
July 19, 2010 -
The Army is no longer using the term \"psychological operations\" for the unit in tasked with changing minds behind enemy lines. They say it sounds threatening. Now it\'s going to be called Military Information Support Operations. A U.S. Special Operations Command spokesman says more the new name more accurately reflects the unit\'s job of producing leaflets, radio broadcasts and loudspeaker messages to influence enemy soldiers and civilians.
July 15, 2010 -
Is Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in good health? That question is being asked as he\'s again reportedly cancelled a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. They\'ve postponed the meeting several times. Israeli media reported last week Mubarak has cancer. Mubarak reportedly went to Germany in the spring for what some describe as urgent treatment. Some sources say it the postponement many be due to political concerns.
July 14, 2010 -
A Yemeni man held at the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay for eight years has been sent home after a judge concluded he had no connection to al Qaeda and ordered his release, the Pentagon said Tuesday. Reuters reports, Mohammed Odaini is the first Yemeni sent home since U.S. President Barack Obama halted repatriations after allegations that a Yemeni al Qaeda affiliate was behind a failed attempt to blow up a U.S. airplane on Christmas Day.
July 14, 2010 -
Members of the armed services are being asked how they feel about certain situations involving people who are gay. The Pentagon sent out a survey to gauge their opinion ahead of a possible repeal of the \"Don\'t Ask, Don\'t Tell\" policy. Among the key questions are those about privacy issues and living quarters. Some critics claim parts of survey are biased against homosexuals, but the Pentagon claims it is fair.
July 13, 2010 -
What\'s the big deal about a 32-character string of secret code in the logo of the Pentagon\'s U.S. Cyber Command. The new military command was launched in late May to help centralize Defense Department efforts to protect its computer networks, which are under constant threat from attackers. The Associated Press reports it was created to frustrate everyone from run-of-the-mill hackers to foreign governments looking to steal sensitive information or crash critical, life-sustaining computer systems.
July 11, 2010 -
Gen. David Petraeus is a little bit closer to becoming the next commander of the Afghanistan war. The Senate Armed Services Committee has voted in favor of the appointment. It now goes to the full Senate. He will replace Gen. Stanley McChrystal. He was fired last week for making disparaging remarks in an interview about administration officials. Petraeus could be confirmed by the weekend.
July 01, 2010 -
The Pentagon needs to save $100 billion dollars in the next 5 years. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates says cutting weapons systems and contractor services may be the way to go. The Pentagon will spend about $400 billion of its roughly $700 billion budget on weapons and services from defense contractors. Gates said it is \"a matter of principle and political reality to make sure every taxpayer dollar counts.\"
July 01, 2010