Pentagon Grades Reporters' War Coverage

A look back at the retiring defense secretary's career

(NEWSER) - With Robert Gates, who has served eight presidents over four decades, about to retire, the Washington Post looks back at how Gates operated in the Pentagon. He’s been “careful, conservative, and consensus-oriented,” writes Greg Jaffe, and he’s “earned a reputation as the most ruthlessly efficient defense secretary in decades.” So what can we learn from his tenure?

• Buy time. Defense Department reviews following troop surges in Iraq and Afghanistan gave Presidents Bush and Obama a sense of the military’s trajectory—and they bought time against critics calling for quick drawdowns.

Site asks for military help in making documents safe to publish

(NEWSER) - WikiLeaks—apparently heeding warnings it may have blood on its hands because of leaked Afghan documents—wants the Pentagon's help in scrubbing names from its next batch. The site has held back 15,000 more classified reports and it wants defense officials to help review them so they can be safely published, WikiLeaks spokesman Daniel Schmitt tells the Daily Beast. More»

Up to 14K fighters swap places with noncombatant troops

(NEWSER) - The Pentagon will add up to 14,000 combat troops to its Afghanistan force, replacing noncombatant support units with more "trigger-pullers" as casualties continue to climb. With support for the war waning, the Defense Department's "force optimization" plan will not increase the number of US troops, and may even lead Gen. Stanley McChrystal to ask for a smaller top-up in the future. Many of the noncombatant roles will likely be filled by Afghans or controversial private contractors. More»

Defense sec says US has months before support wanes

(NEWSER) - The Taliban have the momentum in the war in Afghanistan and the US is rapidly losing time to turn it around before public support runs out, Robert Gates tells the Wall Street Journal. The defense secretary said in an interview that American support for the war will recede unless the Obama administration can beat back the insurgency within the coming months. "If they think we're stalemated," Gates said, "then patience is going to run out pretty fast." More»

Reservists to fill up to 300 positions intended for nonmilitary experts

(NEWSER) - The Obama administration is being forced to fill hundreds of new positions designed for civilian experts in Afghanistan with military personnel, mostly reservists, reports the New York Times. The shortfall results from insufficient funds to hire and train nonmilitary people for work in combat zones, and the fact that agencies outside the military cannot compel employees to take posts in less desirable areas. More»