Intelligence

The “Yellow Parallel, um Peril” (With That Red One)

Make no mistake about it: China remains the U.S.’s No. 1 foe — with a bullet. In its annual kabuki dance Wednesday, the Pentagon issued its latest version of its assessment of China’s military might, mandated by Congress. The 84-page report focused like a laser on what the Pentagon sees as China’s push for naval and air power in the …

The Pentagon’s Foreign-Language Frustrations

As Defense Secretary Leon Panetta told 2,500 troops Tuesday about the foreign-language skills he championed as a congressman, an active-duty Army officer was complaining about the paucity of military personnel who can speak anything other than English.

The current push to train soldiers to speak the local languages in Afghanistan …

Chinese Reportedly Get Peek at Secret SEAL Chopper

Pakistan has let the Chinese study — and take samples from — the stealthy MH-60 helicopter used by Navy SEALs in their raid that killed Osama bin Laden May 2, the London-based Financial Times reported Monday:

“The US now has information that Pakistan, particularly the ISI, gave access to the Chinese military to the downed

Fully-Loaded Magazine

TIME published its report on Osama bin Laden’s death three days after it happened. It has taken bin Laden’s allies nearly three months. The latest issue of Inspire, the English-language jihadist magazine allegedly published by al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, hails his sacrifice:

While we lament the loss of a great leader, we also

Predatory Surveillance?

The Tehran Times quotes Ali Aqazadeh-Dafsari, a member of the Iranian parliament, saying Tuesday that Iran shot down a U.S. drone over the Fordo nuclear site near Qom. He didn’t say when the shootdown allegedly happened and — critically — no photographic evidence has yet been produced. Look for the U.S. to deny the charges — which …

Is the Cyber-Terror Threat Inflated?

So I’m reading the August-September issue of Reason magazine (a well-crafted periodical of libertarian bent) when I came across a fairly compelling piece on the threat, or lack thereof, posed by cyber-terrorism. Unfortunately, Reason’s latest issue isn’t on line, but I found the working paper on which it is based. It’s well worth a …

Droning On To a New Way of War

So the U.S. government — if not the military, then the CIA — is now using drones to kill suspected terrorists in at least six different countries — Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Pakistan, Somalia and Yemen. Congress — the entity charged with declaring war, according to the Constitution — has basically green-lighted only the attacks …

U.S. To Probe CIA-Linked Death of “The Iceman”

As first detailed by Adam Zagorin on Battleland two weeks ago, the Justice Department has launched a full criminal probe into the death of the “Ice Man” at Iraq’s notorious Abu Ghraib prison in 2003.

The department issued a statement in Attorney General Eric Holder’s name Thursday saying he has accepted U.S. Attorney John Durham’s …

Deadly Infiltrators on Both Sides of the Durand Line

The historically-porous frontier dividing Afghanistan from Pakistan — all 1,600 miles (2,400 km.) of it — has long been easily crossed by Taliban fighters seeking to attack U.S. troops in Afghanistan, who then withdraw back into the relative safety of Pakistan. If that constant border crossing isn’t headache enough for local …

Was There an Anthrax Push into War With Iraq?

David Willman’s new book, The Mirage Man, dives deeply into the anthrax mailings that took place shortly after 9/11 and further panicked an already-distraught American public. He hones in on Dr. Bruce Ivins as the perpetrator, and details a strong case implicating the Army bio-weapons expert, who committed suicide three years ago as …

Can a California Salvage Diver Recover bin Laden’s Body?

Talk is cheap. That’s why Bill Warren won’t elaborate on his conspiracy theory regarding bin Laden’s death. Instead, he’s taking action. The Fallbrook, Calif. salvage diver is planning a mission to retrieve bin Laden’s body from the bottom of the Arabian Sea.

Having been in the business of salvage diving for more than 30 …

Haunted by Homicide: Federal Grand Jury Investigates War Crimes and Torture in Death of ‘the Iceman’ at Abu Ghraib, Plus Other Alleged CIA Abuses

Former colleague and TIME contributor Adam Zagorin breaks news here on Battleland with exclusive reporting on the latest federal action over the infamous death of “the Iceman” at Iraq’s Abu Ghraib prison in 2003:

By Adam Zagorin

It has been nearly a decade since Manadel al-Jamadi, an Iraqi prisoner known as “the Iceman” — for …

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