Pentagon
“When it comes to sensitive special operations missions, such as the operation that took down Osama bin Laden, it is important that those who are involved in such operations take care to protect sensitive and classified information…the author in this case elected not to abide by his legal obligations. And that's disheartening and frankly is something that we're taking a very close look at.”
“Green-on-Blue” Attacks, From the “Green” Side…
There’s been a flurry of stories, largely out of Washington, about what the Pentagon is doing to try to cut down on the rash of insider attacks in Afghanistan. Here’s Time’s John Wendle reporting on them from Kabul, where …
Hey, Mr. President: Here’s How to Really Help Hurting Vets
I was initially excited by President’s Obama executive order entitled Improving Access to Mental Health Services for Veterans, Service Members, and Military Families. But then I was disappointed as I read the details.
The …
Army Life: The Waiting Never Ends
They say war is long stretches of boredom punctuated by moments of sheer terror – or maybe excitement. Two recent military photos illustrate the point. In one, a lonely soldier awaits attack by the enemy. In the second, …
GOP Silence on the Wars 2.0
We were perplexed following Wednesday’s supposed “foreign policy night” at the Republican convention that scant mention was made of the nation’s wars and those who have fought, and are fighting, them: “It is amazing …
Recalibrating the Defense Budget
Pollster Scott Rasmussen says the planets may be coming into alignment for deeper cuts in defense spending than are already being discussed. Writing in the latest issue of Reason, a libertarian magazine, he argues that it’s …
Squealing SEAL: No Surprise Here
The Pentagon’s top lawyer wrote a terse letter Thursday to “Mark Owen” – Jeh Johnson fastidiously put the author’s pseudonym in quotes – warning that “Owen” is in legal jeopardy for penning No East Day: The Firsthand Account …
“We actually have a distinction between `lessons identified' and `lessons learned' – sometimes you can identify the lesson, but you don't learn.”
Pentagon Brass
Battleland has known the thrill of listening to enough military bands to recreate Fort Leonard Woodstock. In fact, he used to know his way around both a trumpet and a tuba. There is something bracing, and affirming, in martial …
Getting Bin Laden: Who Cares If He Fought Back?
So this is what it comes down to: a former SEAL who participated in the mission to kill Osama bin Laden charges in his new book that the mastermind behind the 9/11 attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people was simply killed when he …
“I make no apologies for being on the ground in the Anbar province. We settled right in next door to our allies; more specifically, the United States Army. (Laughter.) And we fought there pretty hard. [Army chief of staff and General] Ray [Odierno], I didn't mean it to come out that way.”
What Good Are Acts of War If You Don’t Get Credit For Them?
Big-thought-thinker Martin Libicki has long focused his attention on cyber warfare. But now the Rand Corp. senior scientist is studying what he calls non-obvious warfare, of which cyberwar is only one part:
Innovations, both
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