Scored a hat trick today on Battleland: had a left-leaner (Gordon Adams, Pentagon czar at OMB during Clinton I) commenting on Mackenzie Eaglen‘s post (she’s from the rightward Heritage Foundation, and before that with quasi-GOPer Susan Collins, senator of Maine), topped off by Nick Schwellenbach, defense pro at the stridently …
Military
Armed Predators Now Over Libya
Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Thursday that armed U.S. Predator drones have begun flying missions over Libya. It’s a small bump in U.S. military capability in hopes of blunting the expanding political problem caused by Muammar Gaddafi’s continued attacks on civilians despite a U.N. resolution calling for their protection. The …
Mullen Talks Tougher in Pakistan
Usually when Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, talks, it’s reported as “commenting” or “remarks.” But Wednesday he let the Pakistani military and its Inter-Services Intelligence unit know that their cozy relationship with the Haqqani terrorist network threatens relations between the two countries. The local …
Memo to the Military: Money’s Tight and Getting Tighter
Ashton Carter is the U.S.military’s chief weapons buyer. Judging from what he said yesterday at The Heritage Foundation about saving money in the defense budget, his job is about to get much more complicated if the Obama Administration gets its way by trying to reduce the federal budget deficit on the backs of those in …
Remembering Chris Hondros
Time colleague Bobby Ghosh recalls his friend, Chris Hondros, on our Global Spin blog. Chris was killed Wednesday in Misrata, Libya, along with Tim Hetherington. Brave war reporters like Bobby are nothing compared to the guys who go in to make the pictures of conflict around the world that we rely on to try to come to grips with such …
In Memory of Tim Hetherington
Time photo editor Paul Moakley reflects on the death Wednesday of Restrepo director Tim Hetherington in Misrata, Libya.
It Ain’t The Money, It’s The Lack of Control and Presence of Stupidity
Four of every five young U.S. military officers who hang up their uniforms say the best officers are bailing from the military’s ranks. And it isn’t about the money, according to a new study. The report, by two graduate students at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government, asked 250 young officers to list their reasons for …
Stop The Presses: The War In Libya Could Drag On
The New York Times is reporting Thursday morning that the Libyan war – launched by Americans with their fingers crossed – will likely have “no quick and easy end.” It’s hard to recall those days in early March when the rebels were on the move and U.S.-led air attacks, later joined by NATO, were viewed as little more than a armed …
Army Accessions Command, 2002-2011
The Army created its Accessions Command in 2002. On Wednesday, with encouragement from the Pentagon, it killed it. The U.S. Army Accessions Command was 9. The Army says it will shut down the command, based at Fort Monroe, Va., over the next 18 months. That will lead to the elimination of two general’s slots, 65 other military …
“And Don’t Let It Hit You On The Way Out!”
Colleague and columnist Joe Klein, over on Swampland, doesn’t like the way LTG Dave Rodriguez is being shown the door after his long service in Afghanistan.
Don’t Take The Money And Run
Our country loves our troops so much we’ll do anything to give them more money — like extending, yet again — for the sixth time — the government’s deadline for them to apply for bonuses if they had to fight in Afghanistan or Iraq beyond their enlistment period. You may recall the controversial “stop loss” orders issued to troops …
More on Retired LTG Sanchez’s Possible Senate Run
…here, from TIME’s Hilary Hylton in Texas.
Libya: As Misrata Burns, The West Debates
While the third-largest Libyan city, the rebel stronghold of Misrata, continues to burn — ignited by Muammar Gaddafi — the West continues to fiddle. Rhetorical war rages between European capitals and Washington, even as a growing number of European nations — including Britain, France and Italy — say they will be dispatching dozens of …