Pentagon – News Stories About Pentagon - Page 34

Nov 13, 2007 3:17 PM CST

Bush Blames Pork for Spending Veto

$606B bill isn't kosher, prez says, ordering Congress to trim

(Newser) - President Bush vetoed a $606 billion domestic spending bill today, accusing Congress of “acting like a teenager with a new credit card.” His rejection of the measure, which included education, health, and job-training funds, will likely lead to a showdown, the Los Angeles Times reports. The House appropriations...

Got a Record?
No Problem

Nov 6, 2007 8:19 PM CST

Got a Record? No Problem

US military wants to ease entry, but some officers worry about 'problem children'

(Newser) - Seeking to swell enlisted ranks, the Pentagon may let more minor criminals enlist in the military, the AP reports. "I do believe it needs to be done," an Army official said of the proposed plan. "There are really anomalies out there"—like recruits who have youthful...

Rice Sets New Rules for Guards

Oct 24, 2007 3:11 AM CDT

Rice Sets New Rules for Guards

But Blackwater may still get the ax

(Newser) - Private security contractors in Iraq will operate under tougher controls and tighter supervision, according to new State Department rules approved by Condoleezza Rice today, but they won't be supervised by the military, as Defense's Robert Gates had proposed. Measures include investigative "go teams"' that will respond quickly to...

Audits Rip Fed Oversight of Security Firms, Costs

Oct 23, 2007 7:20 AM CDT

Audits Rip Fed Oversight of Security Firms, Costs

Lax controls, slopping accounting

(Newser) - A State Department internal review of its own security practices in Iraq is sharply critical of the lack of oversight of private contractors Blackwater, DynCorp International and Triple Canopy. A second report due today says officials can't say what the government got for $1.2B paid to DynCorp since 2004,...

Condi to Stanford Profs:
Lay Off Rummy

Oct 15, 2007 7:26 PM CDT

Condi to Stanford Profs: Lay Off Rummy

Secretary of state scolds faculty for doubting Rummy appointment

(Newser) - Condi wants Stanford profs to lay off Don Rumsfeld and welcome “all views” at the university, Politico reports. She stopped short of praising her old colleague—“I know Don Rumsfeld, he is going to be a challenging presence”—but scolded faculty for doubting Rummy’s appointment as...

US Marines Want Out of Iraq

Oct 11, 2007 3:15 AM CDT

US Marines Want Out of Iraq

Commander calls for lead Afghan role instead

(Newser) - The US Marine Corps is lobbying to be withdrawn from Iraq and instead be given the lead role in Afghanistan, reports the New York Times. The move would leave the Army with primary responsibility for the increasingly unpopular war in Iraq. Supporters believe it would allow the branches to operate...

SEALs to Get Swimming Gizmo

Oct 8, 2007 6:08 PM CDT

SEALs to Get Swimming Gizmo

New device will help fighters swim up to 150% faster and arrive less tired

(Newser) - Navy SEALs will be swimming to their targets up to 150% faster when they get a new Pentagon gizmo called a PowerSwim. It looks like a mini-glider that attaches to a diver's legs, Popular Mechanics reports. SEALs reportedly take about 2 hours to master it; they have to learn a...

Feds Fly 1st Class on Your Dime

Oct 3, 2007 9:29 AM CDT

Feds Fly 1st Class on Your Dime

$146M wasted in premium travel

(Newser) - Federal employees wasted $146 million in a single year flying business or first class, according to a government investigation. Some 67% of premium-class travel is unauthorized or unnecessary, and the biggest abusers are Pentagon, Justice and State Department officials, according to a report by the Government Accountability Office.

Democrats Vote $150B For War

Oct 2, 2007 3:06 AM CDT

Democrats Vote $150B For War

Will continue to pressure administration to end conflict

(Newser) - After failing to force the White House to bring significant numbers of troops home, Senate Democrats helped authorize another $150 billion to pay for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The 92-3 funding approval came as the House planned legislation that will require President Bush to produce a coherent exit...

Gates Eyes $3B Army Expansion

Sep 28, 2007 9:42 AM CDT

Gates Eyes $3B Army Expansion

Gates ready to approve major recruitment campaign to boost ranks

(Newser) - Defense Secretary Robert Gates says he's likely to approve spending nearly $3 billion over the next four years to accelerate an expansion of the US Army, stretched thin by punishing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the AP reports. The Pentagon believes the Army and Marine Corps need to grow to...

Blackwater 'Cowboys' Faster on Trigger

Sep 27, 2007 10:12 AM CDT

Blackwater 'Cowboys' Faster on Trigger

Have been in twice as many shootings as other security firms in Iraq

(Newser) - The US security firm being investigated in an Iraqi operation earlier this month that killed at least 11 civilians has been involved in twice as many shootings as other companies providing protection to American officials in Iraq, the New York Times reports. Guards working for Blackwater killed 10 and wounded...

Pentagon Investigates $6B in Contracts

Sep 24, 2007 9:06 AM CDT

Pentagon Investigates $6B in Contracts

Soldiers, civilians charged with taking bribes in Iraq

(Newser) - The Pentagon is investigating widespread graft involving US war-zone contracts, with 29 soldiers and civilians charged so far, the New York Times reports. Most of the scrutiny focuses on a contracting office in Kuwait, where an Army major is charged with taking $10 million in bribes from companies seeking contracts...

Russia and China Spying at Cold War Levels, Top Spy Warns

Sep 18, 2007 9:04 PM CDT

Russia and China Spying at Cold War Levels, Top Spy Warns

Patriot Act not enough, he tells lawmakers

(Newser) - China and Russia are spying on the US at nearly cold war levels, the nation's top spy told lawmakers today. Vice Admiral McConnell defended the Patriot Act as necessary for US defense and asked Congress to give intelligence agencies even greater eavesdropping powers. His testimony comes weeks after an alleged...

Big Brother Making Strides in Technology

Sep 16, 2007 5:27 PM CDT

Big Brother Making Strides in Technology

America's top minds are devoted to 'gait DNA' and new spy drones

(Newser) - Top researchers are developing new surveillance technology, the BBC reports - including "gait DNA" to identify a person by their walk and advanced spy drones that can fly overhead for years. The Pentagon plans to continue its tech supremacy, which includes inventing the Internet in the 1970s and satellite...

Dems Shift Strategy to
Speed Troop Pullout

Sep 15, 2007 8:40 AM CDT

Dems Shift Strategy to Speed Troop Pullout

Plan would require troops to stay at home as long as last tour before redeploying.

(Newser) - Democrats in Congress are pinning their hopes on what they believe is the most politically palatable way to speed the withdrawal of troops from Iraq in the wake of Gen. Petraeus’ report last week. A bill mandating that troops be allowed to spend the same amount of time at home...

Castro: We Saved Reagan's Life

Sep 13, 2007 9:06 AM CDT

Castro: We Saved Reagan's Life

Dictator claims Cuba foiled an assassination attempt

(Newser) - Fidel Castro says Cuba helped the US avert an assassination attempt on Ronald Reagan in 1984. An essay attributed to the ailing dictator says a Cuban posted to the UN tipped off an American official to the plot, which involved a presidential visit to North Carolina, the Telegraph reports. How...

Six Years Later

Sep 11, 2007 5:29 PM CDT

Six Years Later

Country, relatives mark anniversary of 9/11 attacks

(Newser) - Relatives gathered at a park near Ground Zero to remember the victims of the World Trade Center attacks today—the first anniversary without a clear blue sky, notes the New York Daily News. It was also the first time the memorial was moved away from the footprints of the towers....

Petraeus: Give Me Six More Months

Sep 10, 2007 4:36 AM CDT

Petraeus: Give Me Six More Months

Wants Congress to postpone decision on bringing troops home

(Newser) - The commander of US forces in Iraq, Gen. David Petraeus, wants to postpone a decision to significantly reduce troop levels there for another six months, reports the New York Times. The general, who is scheduled to begin testimony before Congress today, has told the president he is willing to withdraw...

Chinese Military Hackers Hit London, Too

Sep 5, 2007 5:36 PM CDT

Chinese Military Hackers Hit London, Too

A day after Pentagon denial, evidence of cyberattacks in Europe

(Newser) - A day after Beijing denied that Chinese hackers had infiltrated the Pentagon's computer network, the Guardian leads with a story that "cyberwarriors" have targeted British defense and diplomatic ministries. The hackers, believed to be working for the People's Liberation Army, have also directed attacks at American and German government...

China Denies Hacking Pentagon

Sep 4, 2007 8:59 AM CDT

China Denies Hacking Pentagon

Part of network came offline for a week

(Newser) - The Chinese military hacked the Pentagon's computer system in June, bringing part of it down for over a week, the Financial Times reports, but Beijing calls the accusation "groundless." The apparently successful hack raises serious worries about the safety of the network because it shows China has "...