Pentagon
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Many people are still wondering what General Stanley McChrystal was thinking. \"He really in meeting with him didn\'t try to explain it, he just acknowledged that he had made a terrible decision,\" said Secretary of Defense Robert Gates. The Rolling Stone article that will leave a black mark on his career made Admiral Mike Mullen sick when he saw it. \"He is a friend, an extraordinary officer. He made a severe mistake and I think the actions that were taken were appropriate.\"
July 01, 2010 -
In a staggering statement yesterday the head of Canada\'s intelligence agency said says it suspects that cabinet ministers in two Canadian provinces are under the control of foreign nations. The Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) also said China and countries in the Middle East may be the culprits. Director Richard Fadden said on Canadian TV politicians in British Columbia may be under the influence of foreign governments and are not aware they are being used.
July 01, 2010 -
Lawmakers are criticizing U.S. military officials for failing to heed warnings about the role they say a Pentagon transportation contract plays in fueling extortion and corruption in Afghanistan. Massachusetts Rep. John Tierney says the companies hired to move food, water, fuel and ammunition to American troops stationed at bases across Afghanistan are forced to pay warlords millions of dollars to ensure safe passage. The spoils may then be funneled to the Taliban and insurgent forces, potentially making the U.S. an unwitting financier of the enemy.
July 01, 2010 -
The U.S. is better off with a new strategic arms reduction treaty with Russia than without it. That\'s what Secretary of Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates told the Senate Armed Services Committee. Joint Chiefs Chairman Mike Mullen, also urged the committee to ratify the agreement, saying the treaty has the full support of uniformed leaders. The agreement reduces U.S. and Russian strategic nuclear forces in a way that strengthens the stability of the U.S.-Russian relationship, Gates said.
July 01, 2010 -
Schizophrenic is how Defense Secretary Robert Gates describes Russia\'s relationship to Iran. In remarks before Congress he indicated Russian knows nukes in Iran would destabilized the region, but still Russia is pursuing a commercial relationship with Iran. Gates said he was told by his counterpart in Russia while he was head of the CIA in the 1990s, supporting Iran\'s nuclear reactor was all about the money.
July 01, 2010 -
Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Monday he wants to trim some of the billions of dollars the Pentagon spends on weapons systems and contractor services, part of a Pentagon-wide effort to find $100 billion in savings in the next five years. Todd Harrison with the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments has suggestions for starting points.
June 30, 2010 -
The editor-in-chief of the controversial web site Wikileaks\' is sending out pleas for financial and legal help. Julian Assange is looking for some support in the formation of local \"Friends of WikiLeaks\" chapters to help build out the site\'s mission to (ostensibly) protect whistleblowers, journalists and activists. With pressure on the site coming from several directions - possibly including the Pentagon - regarding its publication of potentially sensitive information - Assange has sent out emails with the header \"WikiLeaks may be under attack.\"
June 17, 2010 -
Chinese leaders may be willing to realign some of their weapons and ease tensions with Taiwan. Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Dianne Feinstein, who visited China and Taiwan earlier made the comments during a Senate hearing. The move may have been coated with hopes that the U.S. suspend or abandon future weapons sales to Taiwan. China broke of military to military talks with the U.S. after the Obama administration announced plans to sell Taiwan up to $6.4 billion in arms.
June 17, 2010 -
The North America Aerospace Defense Command and the Russian Air Force plan to conduct a cooperative air defense exercise focused on combating terrorism. This exercise will take place in Russian and U.S. airspace and include Western Alaska and Eastern Russia in early August 2010. The scenario will involve both Russian and U.S. aircraft monitoring an international flight seized by terrorists.
June 16, 2010 -
In spite of the billions of dollars the U.S. government has provided Iraq to train it\'s military forces, there is evidence still of deep concern about whether they can do it. The State Department is reportedly putting together a diplomatic protection force to take the place of the U.S. military once they leave the country next year. Department officials are asking the Pentagon to provide heavy military gear, including Black Hawk helicopters, and say they will also need substantial support from private contractors.
June 16, 2010 -
Canadian Police are looking for a man who illegally bought enough ammonium nitrate to make a large bomb. There is significant concern about the purchase, because Canada is hosting the Group of Eight summit and the G20 later this month. Police found out about it after they were notified by a farm supply store in Canada. The man was described by police as being in his 50s or 60s, with brown, unkempt hair and missing fingers on his right hand.
June 14, 2010 -
A U.S. military official in Afghanistan called the claims the Taliban is planting HIV tainted needles along with IEDS, \"absolutely\" ridiculous. A former British military officer reportedly exposed the tactic to a U.K. news outlet. Questions have arisen about where the Taliban would get the needles and how they would know they\'re infected with HIV. British military explosive ordinance disposal teams have reportedly have been issued special gloves to handle IEDs.
June 10, 2010 -
The Taliban denies any involvement, but for the third time in two months, school girls in Afghanistan have fallen ill. Authorities say they were poisoned with some kind of substance. The most up to date reporting from the region suggests the 14 girls in this incident were gassed. The girls were rushed to a medical facility in the Sar e Pol province in Northern Afghanistan. Authorities say they don\'t have any suspects. Almost 100 girls and teachers have been attacked this way in recent months.
June 08, 2010 -
The U.S. Cyber Command - or CYBERCOM - officially became operational in late May. But observers inside the military and out still aren\'t sure what the command is supposed to do: protect the Pentagon\'s networks, strike out at enemies, seal up civilian vulnerabilities, or some combination of all three. CYBERCOM officials insist they have no interest in taking over the security of the Internet, but Pentagon officials have floated the idea the Defense Department might start a protective program for civilian networks.
June 07, 2010 -
Last year there were 90 - this year there are 102. Stars on the wall at CIA headquarters. 12 Stars were added yesterday to commemorate the agency\'s fallen heroes. Seven of the 12 died in Khost, Afghanistan last December. The other five of those killed died engaged in clandestine operations. According to CIA Director Leon Panetta, the sensitivity of their work requires that the nature and their names of course remain classified and secret.
June 07, 2010