US military

Stories 1261 - 1280 | << Prev   Next >>

'We Were Just Pawns:' Lynndie England

(Newser) - Lynndie England is trying to rebuild some semblance of a normal life, but her past continues to haunt her, she tells the AP. “It’s my face that's always recognized,” the former Army Reservist and poster child for Abu Ghraib abuse said of trying to get a job—...

Iraq's Upbeat Mood Angers US Officials

(Newser) - Baghdad's festive mood this weekend has left some Washington officials and military leaders simmering, the Guardian reports. While Iraqis prepare to celebrate US troops' withdrawal from city streets tomorrow, American officials say that local forces have gone untrained, forcing US troops to sustain casualties. Worse, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said...

Maliki Not Above Arresting Rivals as Iraq Election Looms

(Newser) - PM Nouri al-Maliki looks a lot like a strongman these days, using every lever at his disposal to influence Iraq’s January elections, the Washington Post reports. His men have arrested or threatened political rivals in Diyala province and Basra; last month they even arrested a councilman from the Iraqi...

52 Dead in Baghdad Blast
 52 Dead in 
 Baghdad Blast 

52 Dead in Baghdad Blast

(Newser) - An explosion ripped through a market in Baghdad’s Sadr City today killing 52 and injuring 104, Reuters reports. Though Iraq has seen markedly less violence in the past year, today’s bombing is part of a wave of attacks ahead of the US military’s scheduled withdrawal from Iraqi...

Afghan Detainees Allege Abuse at US Base

(Newser) - Many Afghans once detained by the US military at Bagram air base, north of Kabul, say they were treated similarly to abused prisoners at Abu Ghraib in Iraq, the BBC reports. “They did things that you would not do against animals let alone to humans,” a former detainee...

Colo. Ranchers Battle Army Land Grab

Coloradans balk at plans to expand training base onto vast tract of rangeland

(Newser) - Ranchers in southeast Colorado have fought the US Army to a standstill over plans to expand a training site onto their land, the Wall Street Journal reports. An Army analysis found that the grasslands were ideal for combat training, and recommended the military acquire 7 million acres, but the ranchers...

Gates Launches Cyberwar Military Command

(Newser) - Defense Secretary Robert Gates launched the military's new cyberspace surveillance command yesterday, with a mission to defend military computers and to orchestrate potential cyber attacks on enemy nations, reports the Los Angeles Times. In the short run, the US Cyber Command will be part of the Strategic Command, which oversees...

US Drone Kills 60 in Pakistan; May Be Deadliest Ever

(Newser) - The American hunt for Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud—implicated, among other things, in the assassination of Benazir Bhutto—took two major twists today in Pakistan. Early reports suggest that a US military drone killed about 60 suspected militants after the funeral of an insurgent commander in South Waziristan near the...

US Cuts Deal on Central Asia Military Base

Troops must leave, but base will help Afghanistan mission

(Newser) - The US has agreed to more than triple the rent it pays for use of a key air base in Kyrgyzstan to ship non-lethal military supplies to Afghanistan under a deal approved today, reports the AP. The accord over the Manas Air Base comes four months after the Central Asian...

US to Cut Down on Afghan Airstrikes

(Newser) - The US military is tightening its rules regarding airstrikes in Afghanistan, in the face of mounting civilian casualties, the New York Times reports. Airstrikes will now be used mostly to prevent coalition forces from being overrun, new Afghan commander Stanley McChrystal announced. “Air power contains the seeds of our...

Suicide Bomb Kills 50 in Iraq
 Suicide Bomb Kills 50 in Iraq 
updated

Suicide Bomb Kills 50 in Iraq

Blast at Shia mosque occurs hours after PM's warning

(Newser) - At least 50 people were killed in Iraq today when a truck bomb detonated near a crowd of worshipers leaving a Shiite mosque near Kirkuk, Reuters reports. The bombing occurred only hours after Nouri al-Maliki warned the country that terrorist violence may increase as the planned June 30 withdrawal of...

US Army Evangelism: Is It a 'Crusade'?
US Army Evangelism:
Is It a 'Crusade'?
glossies

US Army Evangelism: Is It a 'Crusade'?

(Newser) - US Army chaplains have distributed Arabic-language Bibles in Iraq, told soldiers to "hunt people for Jesus," and speculated that President Obama is a secret Muslim. Enough already, says a religious rights watchdog: Led by Air Force veteran Mikey Weinstein, the group is suing the Pentagon over alleged religious-based...

Senate OKs $106B for Wars
 Senate OKs $106B for Wars 

Senate OKs $106B for Wars

(Newser) - The Senate today overwhelmingly passed a bill authorizing $106 billion to fund the nation’s wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Hill reports. It now goes to President Obama for his expected signature. The vote had been delayed by wrangling over how to keep detainee abuse photos under wraps. Yesterday,...

Older Recruits Grapple With Army Life

Unemployment pushes steady stream of 'Pops' and 'Gramps' into the military

(Newser) - A steady stream of over-35s have been joining the Army since the age limit was raised to 42, and both sides have had plenty of adjusting to do, the New York Times reports in a look at the 3,800 older recruits, whose numbers, though small, have surged this year...

New US Afghanistan Chief: Convince, Don't Kill

Sketches strategy to mix troops with population

(Newser) - The new US commander in Afghanistan says his experiences there and in Iraq have changed his perspective on an effective counterinsurgency: “You're going to have to convince people, not kill them,” Gen. Stanley McChrystal tells the Wall Street Journal. “Since 9/11, I have watched as America tried...

Colbert: The New Bob Hope
 Colbert: The New Bob Hope 
TV review

Colbert: The New Bob Hope

Iraq stint brings back predecessor's 'easy-going' style

(Newser) - Taping his show in Iraq this week, Stephen Colbert channeled Bob Hope in an "unexpectedly charming" series of shows, writes Alessandra Stanley in the New York Times. Colbert largely stayed in ultra-right character, though he let it slip in places. His interviews were “pleasant, not barbed,” and...

Youngest Gitmo Detainee, Captured at 14, Goes Free

(Newser) - The youngest detainee at Guantanamo Bay has been freed to his native Chad, Reuters reports. Mohammed El Gharani was seized in Pakistan in 2001 at 14, and accused variously of being an al-Qaeda operative, messenger, and combatant. Five months ago a judge found the evidence against him insufficient. “That...

Military's New Afghanistan Chief Gets Free Rein

Allowed to choose own team as Obama prioritizes effort

(Newser) - With Afghanistan a priority for the administration, officials have given the new US commander there free rein to select his team, the New York Times reports. Gen. Stanley McChrystal’s job “is that important. Afghanistan is the main effort right now,” said the chairman of the Joint Chiefs....

Int'l Pirate Patrols Spar With Language Barriers

Diverse crews learn to communicate

(Newser) - The international fleet patrolling for pirates off the coast of Somalia is on guard against an oceanic traffic jam, too, the Military Times reports. One US admiral likened the problem to young soccer players swarming the ball, saying communications were necessary for an efficient response. There are three separate international...

West Pointers Eager to Hit War Running

A look into the heads of Army class of '09

(Newser) - There's a group quietly hoping that the war in Iraq doesn't end just yet, and they're hardly insurgents. They're the class of 2009 at West Point, reports Newsweek, in a look at graduates of the military academy and their eagerness to serve their country. The storied institution has proven remarkably...

Stories 1261 - 1280 | << Prev   Next >>
Most Read on Newser