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NEWS ABOUT: Joint Chiefs of Staff

Joint Chiefs of Staff stories: 29 news summaries

1 - 20 of 29 Stories | 1 2 Next >>

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 Pentagon Holds 
 Secret Afghan 
 War Games 

Mullen leads exercise to assess effects of troop surge

Oct 26, 09 6:06 AM CDT
(Newser) - The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Adm. Mike Mullen, led a secret war game earlier this month to assess the Obama administration's options in Afghanistan, including a 44,000-troop surge. A team of military leaders used Gen. Stanley McChrystal's analysis to examine how Taliban insurgents and the Afghan... More »

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Afghanistan • Barack Obama • war games • troop surge • Robert Gates • Joint Chiefs of Staff • Adm. Mike Mullen • counterterrorism • troop levels • Afghanistan war • Stanley McChrystal

(Newser) - The drumbeat for more US troops in Afghanistan goes on: The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff told senators today that a "properly resourced counter-insurgency probably means more forces." Adm. Mike Mullen said he hasn't yet received a formal request from Gen. Stanley McChrystal but expects one... More »

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Afghanistan • Joint Chiefs of Staff • Adm. Mike Mullen • US troops • Afghanistan war • Stanley McChrystal

(Newser) - Afghanistan’s prison system, including the American-run Bagram facility, needs a complete overhaul, according to a new US military review. The current system, which has a dreadful reputation with both human rights advocates and Afghan civilians, houses radical inmates with more moderate prisoners. The offensive in the southern part of... More »

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Afghanistan • Joint Chiefs of Staff • Adm. Mike Mullen • inmates • Bagram • prisons • Afghanistan war • detainees

Al-Qaeda Militants Leaving Pakistan for Yemen, Somalia

Dozens have left, US officials say

Jun 12, 09 7:48 AM CDT
(Newser) - Al-Qaeda fighters from Pakistan have started leaving isolated tribal areas and moving far afield to Somalia and Yemen, the New York Times reports. Some US officials point to stepped up drone attacks against militants in Pakistan for the development, which involves relatively small numbers so far. But the growth of... More »

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Somalia • War on Terror • Barack Obama • Pakistan • Joint Chiefs of Staff • Pashtun • Yemen • militant • al-Qaeda

Military's New Afghanistan Chief Gets Free Rein

Allowed to choose own team as Obama prioritizes effort

Jun 11, 09 7:47 AM CDT
(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.... More »

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Afghanistan • Harry Reid • Joint Chiefs of Staff • US military • Adm. Mike Mullen • Afghanistan war • Obama administration • military commanders • Stanley McChrystal • Special Ops

(Newser) - Top Army brass are meeting monthly to figure out the disturbing rise in soldier suicides, the Washington Post reports. The generals pore through case studies and examine factors such as solitude, multiple tours of duty, and interactions between anti-depressants and high-caffeine drinks like Rip It popular among soldiers. “... More »

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suicide • Joint Chiefs of Staff • US military • soldier • Iraq war • Afghanistan war • Army general • combat stress • Gen. Peter Chiarelli

Rumsfeld Denies He Put Bible
in Briefings

GQ writer, anonymous sources better suited to gossip beat, he says

May 20, 09 9:36 AM CDT
(Newser) - Donald Rumsfeld didn't decorate the president’s World Intelligence Update cover slides with biblical quotes, a spokesman says, and GQ reporter Robert Draper should've known better than to use anonymous sources "with an axe to grind." The slides, the spokesman says in an email to Marc Ambinder... More »

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Donald Rumsfeld • Joint Chiefs of Staff • US military • Department of Defense • Bible • Robert Draper • Iraq war • George W. Bush

New Afghanistan Commander Is Warrior-Scholar

Workaholic McChrystal has shadowy past, links to spy agencies

May 13, 09 7:52 AM CDT
(Newser) - Lt. Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the designated new American commander in Afghanistan, has a reputation for hard work and self-denial: He sleeps for just a few hours and eats only one meal a day. Colleagues describe McChrystal, the current director of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, as an ideal combination of... More »

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Afghanistan • Pentagon • Joint Chiefs of Staff • US military • Afghanistan war • Joint Special Operations Command • Stanley McChrystal

 US: Iran Has Enough 
 Uranium for a Bomb 

Iran's step forward worries Mullen, many others

Mar 1, 09 10:56 AM CST
(Newser) - Iran has enriched enough uranium to make a nuclear bomb, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Mike Mullen told State of the Union today. "Iran having nuclear weapons, is a very very bad outcome—for the region and for the world," Mullen said. A recent report by the IAEA... More »

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Iran • diplomacy • Joint Chiefs of Staff • IAEA • Adm. Mike Mullen • nuclear enrichment • enriched uranium

Obama Challenges Troop Surge in Afghanistan

Asks for clear strategy before sending more troops

Feb 8, 09 6:52 AM CST
(Newser) - President Obama has called for a review of the planned deployment of up to 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan, a nation that some fear will become his “Vietnam,” the Times of London reports. Some 17,000 more troops were poised to head there last week, but defense... More »

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Afghanistan • Pentagon • military strategy • troop surge • Joint Chiefs of Staff • US military • Afghanistan war • President Obama

New Releases Show How Vietnam Weighed on Nixon

Defense secretary urges against plan that would become 'Christmas bombing'

Dec 2, 08 4:25 PM CST
(Newser) - Newly declassified documents and tapes from the Nixon era show how conflicted the administration was over public dissatisfaction with the war in Vietnam, the AP reports. One October 1969 memo from Defense Secretary Melvin Laird advises the president against adopting a proposal for a massive assault on North Vietnam, noting... More »

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Vietnam • Joint Chiefs of Staff • White House • Richard Nixon • war • Hanoi • Melvin Laird

Joint Chiefs Head Calls for Wider PTSD Screening

Post Traumatic Stress a 'bigger problem than we realize,' says chief

Oct 13, 08 4:03 AM CDT
(Newser) - Every member of the US military should undergo screening for post-traumatic stress disorder upon returning from combat in Iraq, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff has recommended. As many as 1 of every 5 returning combat vets suffers from mental health problems, USA Today reports. "I... More »

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Iraq • Pentagon • Joint Chiefs of Staff • Adm. Mike Mullen • Department of Defense • US Army • Marine • Iraq war • Post Traumatic Stress Disorder • Center for Military Health Policy Research

White House Lambastes Woodward

Denies book's claims; author unveils shocker on death teams

Sep 9, 08 5:22 AM CDT
(Newser) - The White House has angrily rejected Bob Woodward's claim that the administration was riven by dissent ahead of the surge in Iraq, CNN reports. Woodward wrote in his new book that President Bush pushed troop levels past the Joint Chiefs, ignoring their worries about over-extending the military. The War Within... More »

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troop surge • Joint Chiefs of Staff • White House • Bob Woodward • Iraq war • George W. Bush

Bush Pulled Rank on Military Over Surge

Joint Chiefs were pushed aside, new Woodward book says

Sep 8, 08 3:14 PM CDT
(Newser) - In the months leading up to the Iraq surge, President Bush faced a revolt by frustrated Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Washington Post’s Bob Woodward writes in a new book, The War Within. Bush dumped the military leaders’ advice as Iraq spun out of control in fall of 2006,... More »

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military • Peter Pace • Joint Chiefs of Staff • David Petraeus • Bob Woodward • surge • Gen. George Casey • Iraq war • George W. Bush

ANALYSIS

McCain Adopts Obama's Afghanistan Position

Stance on US vs. NATO troops appears to soften

Jul 15, 08 5:12 PM CDT
(Newser) - John McCain suddenly switched both schedule and policy today, transforming a speech about jobs into one on Afghanistan, and echoing Barack Obama's argument for sending in new brigades. Obama has long said more troops are needed in Afghanistan, but McCain has repeatedly contended that NATO should pick up the slack,... More »

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Afghanistan • Barack Obama • John McCain • Joint Chiefs of Staff • surge • flip flop • troop levels

Afghan War Hamstrung by Troop Shortage

But Joint Chiefs chair
says that Iraq's needs
limit US options

Jul 3, 08 12:26 PM CDT
(Newser) - The US needs more troops in Afghanistan but lacks the available forces because of the Iraq war, the nation’s top military officer said yesterday. In his most pointed remarks to date, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Michael Mullen said that countering the country's resurgent Taliban and booming... More »

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Iraq • Afghanistan • Taliban • Joint Chiefs of Staff • US military • Adm. Mike Mullen • US troops • George W. Bush

OPINION

Washington's War Drums Beating Loudly

Amid US, Israeli, Iran saber-rattling, 'all options on the table'

Jul 3, 08 10:25 AM CDT
(Newser) - Is Washington, or its Israeli allies, really ready to attack Iran? "The threats, counterthreats, and counter-counterthreats … have reached new levels of hysteria in recent days," Dana Milbank writes in the Washington Post. Rumblings of an Israeli strike prompted Tehran threats to close oil-shipping lanes. That would be... More »

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Iran • Bush administration • Israel • Joint Chiefs of Staff • Adm. Mike Mullen • oil price • Iran war • Liz Cheney

Let's Not Push War With Iran: Top Admiral

Joint Chiefs head prefers non-military pressure on Tehran

May 5, 08 10:15 AM CDT
(Newser) - With wars still raging in Iraq and Afghanistan, the US would be hard-pressed to start a new one with Iran, Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman Michael Mullen said today. “I actually am very hopeful that we don't have to get into a conflict,” Mullen told Israeli TV, though... More »

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Iran • Israel • Joint Chiefs of Staff • US military • Adm. Mike Mullen

 US Preparing Iran War Plans 

Attack isn't imminent, Joint Chiefs chair says, but US has capability

Apr 25, 08 2:40 PM CDT
(Newser) - The US is preparing for a potential military action against Iran, the nation’s top military official said today. Such an attack would be “extremely stressing” on the military, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said, but it is on the table if a diplomatic solution can’... More »

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Iran • Robert Gates • Joint Chiefs of Staff • Air Force • Navy • US military • Adm. Mike Mullen

White House 'Duped' General Into Torture: Book

Myers 'hoodwinked' into permitting harsh techniques

Apr 19, 08 7:54 AM CDT
(Newser) - The Bush administration "hoodwinked" one of the country's top military men in order to establish harsh interrogation techniques on Guantanamo Bay prisoners, according to revelations in a new book reported in the Guardian. Former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Richard Myers was misled by White... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Donald Rumsfeld • Joint Chiefs of Staff • US military • Guantanamo Bay • interrogation techniques • harsh interrogation

1 - 20 of 29 Stories | 1 2 Next >>


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