National Security
The Defense Build-Down is On, But Fantasies Remain
Marine General John Allen, commander of forces in Afghanistan, is planning for the end – the withdrawal of U.S. forces, expecting to leave behind a small training force, but saddling the U.S. taxpayers with at least $2 billion a year to pay for the Afghan security force. Better deal than we have now, at roughly $100 billion a year, …
Grey Matters
Two separate events Wednesday put into sharp focus what is happening to the young Americans the nation has been sending off to war for more than a decade:
— At 2 p.m., scientists at Boston University and the Boston VA announced they have found chronic traumatic encephalopathy – brain damage like that suffered by boxers and football …
The F-35: Super Plane for Super Cruise
Tom Cruise steps onto the tarmac – cool and confident in his flight suit and dark aviator glasses. While his co-stars still call him Maverick, this isn’t Top Gun and that’s not an F-14 fighter plane. This is Top Gun 2, and …
Bowe Bergdahl: Born in Idaho, a Prisoner of War in Afghanistan
In this week’s issue of TIME, Aryn Baker and Nate Rawlings report on the attempts to win freedom for U.S. Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, who has been held by the Taliban since mid-2009. His parents, Bob and Jani Bergdahl, have been …
Thank You, Lieutenant Mosko
Pentagon: We Don’t Call Them POWs Anymore
Lots of people call Bowe Bergdahl, who has been held by insurgents on the Afghanistan-Pakistan frontier for nearly three years, a prisoner of war. Even his father, Bob, used the term for his son in a recent chat with Time’s …
Learning How to Say: “We Regret to Inform You That…”
The pain of war isn’t limited to the front lines. Sometimes it ricochets all the way back home. That’s what Army Major Brent Fogleman learned following a tour in Afghanistan. His next assignment was as rear detachment commander for the 4th Brigade, 25th Infantry Division, at Fort Richardson, Alaska, supporting those fighting in Iraq …
Humpin’ It…And Jammin’ It…
China’s ‘Security Dilemma’ Risks Arms Race in Asia
History’s Lesson: Sea Power Defines a Nation
Seventy years ago this month, the battles of Coral Sea and Midway set the United States firmly on course to become the world’s undisputed naval power. How long it will remain so and whether it matters are questions central to any debate about U.S. military spending. These questions should not be answered lightly. Few lessons from …
Mental Ills Top Reason U.S. Troops Now Hospitalized
F-22 In A Dogfight as Panetta Crimps Its Flight Envelope
You may have noticed that the Air Force’s prized F-22 fighter — the crown jewel of American air dominance — has had some negative press lately. The bad news peaked Tuesday when Defense Secretary Leon Panetta ordered flight …