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Started by S Goldstein; Last updated Feb 28, 08 12:08 PM CST by K Schwartz | View history

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US Military

With stubborn, costly conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, our armed forces are facing unprecedented pressures

Stories

Stories 241 - 260 of 468

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April 2008
- Basra Showed Maliki Weakness, al-Sadr Strength
  
  Washington Post | Apr 4, 08 1:06 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The Iraqi-led assault on Basra last week exposed the weaknesses of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and the strength of Moqtada al-Sadr, the Washington Post concludes in its post-mortem of the unsuccessful foray. In not engaging parliament, political allies, or the Americans in planning the incursion, Maliki sought to demonstrate decisiveness, but showed ineptness instead. More »
- Iraqi PM Flips, Calls Off Raids on Militias
  
  Associated Press | Apr 4, 08 9:48 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Nouri al Maliki reversed course today, ordering a stop to raids against suspected Mahdi Army militants. The move is an apparent olive branch to Shiite rival Muqtada al Sadr, who had complained that raids against his militia fighters were continuing, even after he’d ordered them off the streets. Just yesterday, Maliki was calling for raids in both Basra and Sadr City. More »
- 1,000 Iraqis Deserted Basra Battle
  
  New York Times | Apr 4, 08 5:00 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Desertions from Iraqi forces during last week's Basra battles have raised fresh doubts about the effectiveness of the country's US-trained security forces, the New York Times reports. Over 1,000 soldiers and policemen—including dozens of officers—either deserted or refused to fight. The US has linked American troop withdrawals to the readiness of Iraqi forces to take charge. More »
- World Attitudes Toward US Improving: Poll
  
  BBC | Apr 2, 08 4:30 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - A worldwide wave of anti-Americanism appears to be abating a bit, though global views toward the US continue to be mainly negative, according to a BBC World Service poll. The average percentage of people saying the US is a negative global influence dropped to below 50% for the first time in three years. Those who believe the US is a positive influence increased to 35% from 31% a year ago. More »
- Justice Memo Backed Torture Interrogations
  
  Washington Post | Apr 2, 08 3:42 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Laws banning torture and assault should not apply to US military interrogators overseas, argues a 2003 Justice Department memo released yesterday. The Defense Department was told not to rely on the memo nine months after it was issued, but it established a legal foundation for controversial interrogations, the Washington Post reports. The document contends that presidential wartime powers override laws and treaties, and details justifications for using aggressive tactics against suspected terrorists. More »
- Army's Role in Iraq Turning Personal
  
  Bitterlemons | Apr 1, 08 11:21 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - After five years of war, the US military is enmeshed in virtually all aspects of Iraqi life—a common development in such engagements but one that can prove to be a double-edged sword for military efficiency, writes Lawrence Kaplan in the policy forum Bitter Lemons. "American units slowly melt into the landscape, becoming in effect the most powerful of their area's tribes," Kaplan writes. More »
- Insignia of Our Secret Armies
  
  New York Times | Apr 1, 08 4:44 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The men and women who work in our country’s most classified weapons and intelligence R&D programs—the New York Times calls them "stealthy armies of high-tech warriors" — have developed their own culture, complete with inside humor. That's on display in a new a book by Trevor Paglen on their patches—the kind worn on uniforms—which feature aliens, dragons, ghosts, and superbabes. More »
- Don't Ask, Don't Tell, Don't Fly?
  
  Politico | Apr 1, 08 1:54 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Nancy Pelosi acted to have a gay Congresswoman's domestic partner included on a military flight to Europe, and the question of government acknowledgment of same-sex partners continues to reverberate, the Politico reports. Tammy Baldwin’s partner took the March fact-finding trip, but Pelosi and Robert Gates are at odds over whether the waiver means the Defense Department or the House granted an exception. More »
- Pentagon Big Guns Late, Way Over Budget
  
  Washington Post | Apr 1, 08 12:46 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Some 95 of the Pentagon's biggest weapons systems are a total of $295 billion over budget and arrive an average of 2 years late, according to the Government Accountability Office. But GAO auditors say the Pentagon is getting sloppier, not better, reports the Washington Post . "It's taking longer and costing more," says a GAO director. More »
March 2008
- Army Allowing Spouses to Live Together in Iraq
  
  Associated Press | Mar 31, 08 4:48 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Desperate to combat sagging morale from repeated deployments to Iraq, the US Army has quietly eased rules against married soldiers living together at war, the AP reports. Wedded soldiers in certain camps can now cohabitate in private trailers. "It makes a lot of things easier," said soldier and husband Marvin Frazier. More »
- Next Prez's To-Do: Fix Military
  
  Slate | Mar 31, 08 3:39 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Has President Bush done irreparable damage to our armed forces? Not necessarily, Phillip Carter and Fred Kaplan write in Slate, offering a to-do list for the next president to tackle as he or she begins the process of fixing a military "in strange shambles." Overhaul the budget: "We don't have the money to stay this course." More »
- Army Finds Remains of Soldier Captured in 2004
  
  Cincinnati Enquirer | Mar 31, 08 3:08 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The remains of an Ohio soldier who was captured in Iraq four years ago have been found, reports the Cincinnati Enquirer . DNA tests identified the remains as Matt Maupin, 20, an Army general told the young soldier's parents. Maupin had been listed as missing in Iraq since his fuel convoy was ambushed west of Baghdad in 2004. More »
- Brits Join the Fight in Basra
  
  Daily Telegraph (UK) | Mar 29, 08 11:27 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - As the Iraqi army struggles to combat militias in Basra, British troops for the first time directly joined the fight, and American forces expanded their bombing beyond the militia stronghold. The Brits, who had previously provided only logistical and air support to the Iraqis, fired on an insurgent mortar team in Bosra, the Telegraph reports. Moqtada al-Sadr, meanwhile, told his soldiers not to surrender their weapons. More »
- New US Mideast Commander Installed
  
  St. Petersburg Times | Mar 29, 08 8:58 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - A new commander has taken temporary charge of US military operations in the Mideast, after a quiet ceremony at MacDill Air Force Base in Florida yesterday. Lt. Gen Martin Dempsey will run CentCom while the administration seeks a permanent replacement for Adm. William Fallon, who quit abruptly earlier this month amid media reports that he was opposed to President Bush's policy on Iran, the St. Petersburg Times reports. More »
- Criticism Dogs Basra Battle
  
  CNN | Mar 29, 08 5:33 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - As US troops are drawn deeper into the four-day-old Iraqi crackdown on militants in Basra, critics see a long and difficult road ahead. While President Bush praised the operation as a "defining moment in the history of a free Iraq," military officials murmured that the battle "is going to go on for a while," CNN reports. More »
- Pundits Spar Over McCain as Dubya Redux
  
  Salon | Mar 28, 08 2:19 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - John McCain’s foreign-policy address Wednesday split watchers, with David Brooks, in the New York Times , declaring the Republican candidate a breath of fresh air and Glenn Greenwald, in Salon, seeing four more years of George W. Bush. Brooks says the “personal, nuanced and ambitious speech” shows McCain to be a JFK-style internationalist, highlighting maverick criticism of the Iraq war in late 2003. More »
- Bush Praises Iraqi Offensive
  
  Associated Press | Mar 27, 08 4:47 PM CDT