Three thousand, one hundred and eight-five days after U.S. forces invaded Iraq, the U.S. military held what is expected to be its final formal press briefing from Baghdad on Wednesday. “With less than one month remaining, we …
Iraq
Anti-Islamic Hyperventilation….
…is how some breathe on Capitol Hill.
Check out this report issued Wednesday by the Committee on Homeland Security’s Republican majority:
The Department of Defense considers the U.S. Homeland the most dangerous place for a
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How Much Is Your Testicle (Or Ovary) Worth?
Unfortunately, due to the enemy’s favorite weapon in Afghanistan and Iraq – the improvised explosive device – that’s not an irrelevant question. The roadside bombs often are buried and blow up as a soldier walks over them, which can cause serious harm to one’s nether regions, if he or she is fortunate enough to survive. Such …
War Prize: Iraq Orders Its F-16s
Three weeks before all U.S. troops are out of Iraq, the U.S. Air Force has just awarded – on behalf of Baghdad – an $835 million contract to Lockheed Martin for 18 F-16 jet fighters. Even before the deal was inked, Iraqi …
Controlled Blast, Uncontrolled Death
After we reported last March on the stupidity behind the death of Air Force Senior Airman James Hansen in Iraq, we spoke to his father. Like any Dad who sends his son off to war, he expressed something – let’s call it disillusionment and sorrow, more than anger – that no one had yet been held accountable for his 25-year old son’s …
Warbirds: Dark or Light?
There is a rough correlation between the number of U.S. troops fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq, and the number of turkeys sent there annually to help them celebrate Thanksgiving. Your Battleland math whiz has stuffed data provided by the Defense Logistics Agency’s troop support folks into his abacus to generate this chart and can …
Thanksgiving Thought: A Woman in Combat
This is one of those little stories that lights the bigger truth. A month ago today – October 22 — Army 1st Lieutenant Ashley White, 24, died in Afghanistan when her Joint Special Operations task force was hit by an IED. Two other soldiers also were killed in the blast. One, Sgt. 1st Class Kristoffer B. Domeij, 29, of San Diego, …
“Is The Change the U.S. Brought to Iraq Likely to Last?”
U.S. forces will be out of Iraq by the end of next month, after a nearly nine-year stay. Just how permanent are the changes the U.S. military and diplomatic corps have tried to bring to a post-Saddam Hussein nation? John Nagl, of the Center for a New American Security, and I discuss the likelihood of a lasting success in Iraq …
Dwell Time: Not So Swell?
Military leaders have been telling us for years that troops need to spend more time at home between combat deployments – dwell time, as it’s known – to help keep the detritus of war: depression, suicides, divorce, post-traumatic stress disorder and other mental ailments, at bay:
When deployed for 12 months, we must get them to
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“What Will Iraq Be Like in 2012?”
Thousands of U.S. troops are now heading home from Iraq every week. By New Year’s Eve, the 45,000 who were there on Oct. 21 when President Obama announced their final pullout, will be down to zero. So what does Iraq’s near-term future look like once all the U.S. troops have come home? The Obama Administration has said it had no …
Cutting through War Fatigue with the Power of Ink
TIME’s photo blog, LightBox, has published a stunning series of photographs of tattoos troops get to commemorate their experiences in Iraq and Afghanistan. That kind of body art is a little-noticed trend among the small percentage of Americans serving in the military.
In fact, TIME did it to help shine some light on the growing …
TIME Veterans Day Twitter Chat–2:30 pm (1430) under #TIMEVets
In honor of Veterans Day, we will be holding a special Twitter discussion about the disconnect between the U.S. military, veterans returning home from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the rest of American society under the hashtag #TIMEVets.
Oh, The (War) Stories You’ll Hear
By Alex Horton, Official VA Blogger
Rain had transformed Baghdad’s many unpaved roads into one giant muddy sinkhole, and the engine of a Stryker vehicle moaned in a failed effort to escape. The vehicle sunk under the weight of its armor and required a tow. The driver and vehicle commander leapt to the ground to attach towing …