Robert Gates

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Obama OKs Armed Predator Drones in Libya

Unmanned craft will take out Gadhafi targets

(Newser) - President Obama has approved the use of armed Predator drone aircraft in Libya to improve the precision of low-level attacks on ground targets, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said today. The first Predator mission was flown today, but the unmanned aircraft—armed with Hellfire missiles—turned back early because of poor...

Time's Most Influential List: Julian Assange, Justin Bieber, Michele Bachmann, Oprah
 Time Unveils Influential List 
Apr 21, 2011 10:29 AM CDT

Time Unveils Influential List

A look at some of the more interesting entries from this year's list

(Newser) - Time has just released its annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world, and there are some perennial favorites (Barack Obama, Oprah), some recent newsmakers (Julian Assange, Mark Zuckerberg), some villains (Anwar al-Awlaki, Saif al-Islam Gadhafi, Kim Jong Un, all of whom get very brief write-ups), some...

Alaska Mulls Lowering Drinking Age for Military Members
 Alaska May Let 
 Troops Drink at 18 
in case you missed it
Apr 3, 2011 10:26 AM CDT

Alaska May Let Troops Drink at 18

Old enough to serve, old enough to drink, lawmaker says

(Newser) - "Any soldier who braves military combat and risks their life for our country should be treated like an adult—in every sense of the word," says Alaska lawmaker Bob Lynn. The Republican has revived an old controversy with a bill that would allow members of the military under...

US Ending Libya Air Combat Role

Gates, Mullen: Attack planes to be pulled out Saturday

(Newser) - The Pentagon is about to pull its attack planes out of the international air campaign in Libya, hoping NATO partners can pick up the slack. The announcement by Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Joint Chiefs chairman Adm. Mike Mullen that American combat missions will end Saturday drew incredulous reactions from...

Fox's Chris Wallace Torqued By Hillary Clinton-Robert Gates Appearances on Other Sunday Shows
 Fox Torqued By 
 Clinton-Gates 'Diss' 
TALK SHOW ROUNDUP
Mar 27, 2011 11:56 AM CDT

Fox Torqued By Clinton-Gates 'Diss'

Of course, secretaries skipped CNN, too

(Newser) - Hillary Clinton and Robert Gates were talking up Libya on the talk show circuit today—except on Fox, and don't you think that host Chris Wallace didn't notice, reports Politico. “Of course we wanted to get the White House view on Libya,” Wallace told his viewers. “However,...

Israel Hits Gaza With Air Strikes

Hamas responds with ineffectual mortar attack

(Newser) - Israel launched another round of air strikes on the Gaza Strip last night, after Gaza fired a number of rockets deep into Israel. The air strikes hit a number of buildings belonging to Hamas, and initial reports indicate that some people were injured, according to the Jerusalem Post . On the...

Why Obama Really Went to War

 Why Obama Really Went to War 
Analysis
Mar 21, 2011 1:39 PM CDT

Why Obama Really Went to War

Administration wanted to resurrect the idea of humanitarian intervention

(Newser) - The Obama administration didn’t really go to war to stop Moammar Gadhafi from committing human rights violations—or at least that wasn’t the only reason, sources tell Massimo Calabresi of Time . Senior officials say that many who pushed for the war pitched it in part as a way...

Gates, Petraeus Joke About Bombing Libya

Ha ha

(Newser) - Apparently when military leaders get together they joke about ... bombing countries. That's what Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Afghanistan coalition forces commander David Petraeus did when they met in Kabul yesterday. "Welcome back, Sir," Petraeus said to Gates on the tarmac after the boss landed. "You returning...

Obama Restarts Guantanamo Trials

Administration ends 2-year military prosecution freeze

(Newser) - President Obama today reversed a two-year freeze on military prosecutions against Guantanamo Bay detainees, the AP reports. In an executive order, the president restarted the process of trying the high-risk detainees—the latest acknowledgment of the political difficulties of fulfilling his campaign promise to close the Cuban detention facility. Defense...

Gates: After 2014, US Should Stay Involved in Afghanistan

Officials agree on engagement beyond deadline, says defense secretary

(Newser) - Both the US and Afghanistan agree that the US military should maintain its involvement with Afghanistan past 2014 by continuing to train and advise Afghan troops, said Defense Secretary Robert Gates. “Obviously it would be a small fraction of the presence that we have today, but I think we're...

Gates to Army: No More Wars Like Iraq

US must dial down 'controversial large-scale military intervention'

(Newser) - Will the US ever undertake another war like the ones in Iraq and Afghanistan? Not if Defense Secretary Robert Gates has his way. “In my opinion, any future defense secretary who advises the president to again send a big American land army into Asia or into the Middle East...

Female Vets Sue Pentagon Over Sex Abuse

Lawsuit says rape is rampant, but ignored by commanders

(Newser) - Seventeen current and former service members, all but two of them female, have filed a class-action lawsuit against the military alleging that systemic sexual abuse is rampant among the troops but ignored by commanders. "There are three types of women in the Army,” one of the female victims...

Obama Resurrects Gitmo Military Trials

Move an admission that detention center is here to stay

(Newser) - President Obama has given Robert Gates the go-ahead to initiate new military commissions against Guantanamo detainees—something Obama originally banned on the first day of his presidency. Within weeks one or more detainees may face new charges—the Justice Department has already designated some prisoners for military tribunal, including suspected...

North Korean Missiles Could Hit US: Robert Gates

China, meanwhile, thumbs nose at US with stealth fighter test

(Newser) - North Korea could be a direct threat to the US within five years, with intercontinental ballistic missiles capable of delivering a nuclear warhead across the ocean, Robert Gates said today. “I don’t think it’s an immediate threat,” Gates said, according to the New York Times , “...

Pentagon Plans a Rarity: No More Budget Increases

Gates says they won't be necessary by 2015

(Newser) - For the first time in more than a decade defined by costly wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, the Pentagon announced plans today to freeze its budget, forcing the military to shrink the Army and Marines and increase health care premiums for troops and their families. The Pentagon says it can...

Pentagon to Slash $100B From Budget

Weapons systems in development to be axed

(Newser) - Defense Secretary Robert Gates is set to unveil details of some $100 billion in Pentagon spending cuts, sources tell Reuters . The savings, which could be announced as early as Thursday, are expected to include cuts to some weapons programs, including the Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle, a 40-ton landing craft being developed...

Advocates to Military Gays: Don't Come Out Yet

Gays can still be investigated, discharged during transition

(Newser) - The Pentagon's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy concerning gays might be dead, but don't be too quick to come out of the military closet, advocates are warning gays. "While the immediate impact of this bill may inspire folks from across the nation, it is important to note that...

Pentagon: Hurry Up on DADT
 Pentagon: Hurry Up on DADT 
Nov 22, 2010 6:06 AM CST

Pentagon: Hurry Up on DADT

Better for Congress, not courts, to repeal it: Gates

(Newser) - Top military brass are calling on Congress to quickly repeal "Don’t Ask Don’t Tell"—before the courts overturn the policy, potentially ordering changes that military leaders consider too fast or poorly thought-out. “If this law is going to change, it's better to be changed by...

Gates: Repeal 'Don't Ask' ASAP

...Before Republicans take over

(Newser) - Robert Gates wants Congress to repeal the law preventing gays from openly serving in the military as quickly as possible—before Republicans take over in January and prevent it from happening at all. “I would like to see the repeal of ‘don’t ask, don’t tell,...

Pentagon Asks Media Not to Publish WikiLeaks' Iraq Files

Pushes against distribution of war material

(Newser) - The Defense Department is asking media organizations not to publish or post on websites classified US war files released by WikiLeaks. The department has been bracing for a possible leak of as many as many as 400,000 documents from a military database on the Iraq war. The documents are...

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