US MILITARY FORCES, THE PENTAGON, & INTELLIGENCE :

Christian Science Monitor, 07 Aug 08, by Tom A. Peter
In Iraq, troops balance fighting and lending a hand
'Counterinsurgency efforts require US soldiers to shift from fighting to peacekeeping, but many feel ill-prepared to conduct investigations and interact with Iraqis.'

Military.com, 04 Aug 08, by PO3 James Harless
Coast Guard Celebrates 218th Birthday
'The Coast Guard is one of America's five armed forces and traces its founding to Aug. 4, 1790, when the first Congress authorized the construction of 10 vessels to enforce tariff and trade laws, prevent smuggling, and protect the collection of federal revenue.'

International Herald Tribune, 04 Aug 08, by Donald G. McNeil Jr.
'War Surgery in Afghanistan and Iraq: A Series of Cases, 2003-2007'
'A new book, quietly issued by the U.S. Army, is the first guidebook of new techniques for U.S. battlefield surgeons to be published while the wars it analyzes are still being fought.'

Christian Science Monitor, 24 Jul 08, by Gordon Lubold
Military revisits Afghanistan plan
'A key component is likely to be more troops, but the strategy must go beyond that, experts say.'

Washington Post, 10 Jul 08, by Dana Hedgpeth
Tanker Bidding To Be Reopened
'Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said yesterday that the Pentagon will hold a new, fast-tracked competition to replace the Air Force's aging fleet of aerial refueling tankers, a move that overturns the previous award of the contract to Northrop Grumman. The decision follows criticism of the selection process by the Government Accountability Office and underscores the sharp divisions over the contract. The deal to replace the Air Force's entire fleet could be worth up to $100 billion over the next two decades.'

Assiciated Press, 09 Jul 08, by Pauline Jelinek
Pentagon plumbing Iran's missile tests for clues
'The Pentagon is studying Iran's latest missile test to figure out exactly what was launched and what it shows about Tehran's missile capabilities.'

Christian Science Monitor, 09 Jul 08, by Gordon Lubold
Top task for Air Force: rebuild credibility
'New leaders must better secure nuclear weapons after snafus led to firing of their predecessors.'

FOX News, 04 Jul 08, by Elizabeth Downey
A Fitting Tribute to a Slain Navy SEAL Gains Attention
'A little-known tribute some Navy SEALs gave to a fallen comrade is gaining notice.'

NewsHour, 01 Jul 08, with Paul Solman et al
After Delays and Criticism, Pentagon Shifts Priorities to Protect Soldiers
'Beginning in 2007 the Pentagon shifted its spending priorities to meet the deadly threat of roadside bombs leading to the procurement of the MRAP, or 'Mine Resistant Ambush Protected'. The fourteen-ton vehicle is credited for a drastic decline in roadside bomb fatalities, but why did it take so long?'

Christian Science Monitor, 03 Jul 08, by Sam Dagher
A 'surge' unit sees change, but questions its permanence
'As the US Army soldiers of the 1st Battalion, 64th Armor Regiment prepare to return home this month, many question whether the sacrifices they made will have been worth it in the end.'

The Telegraph, 02 Jul 08, by Tim Shipman
CIA given green light to bomb Osama bin Laden
'The US intelligence agency does not have to ask permission from the Pakistani government to attack his hideout, presumed to be in the lawless tribal areas on Pakistan's border with Afghanistan.'

International Herald Tribune, 02 Jul 08, by Scott Shane
U.S. interrogators were taught Chinese coercion techniques
'The military trainers who came to Guantánamo Bay in December 2002 based an entire interrogation class on a chart showing the effects of "coercive management techniques" for possible use on prisoners ... What the trainers did not say, and may not have known, was that their chart had been copied verbatim from a 1957 air force study of Chinese techniques used during the Korean War to obtain confessions, many of them false, from American prisoners.'

NewsHour, 01 Jul 08, with Gwen Ifill et al
New G.I. Bill Aims to Provide Expanded Educational Benefits to Troops
'A new G.I. bill signed into law Monday doubles funding for education benefits available to military personnel who have served since Sept. 11, 2001, and allows transfer of benefits to a spouse or children. Analysts discuss the law and its meaning for veterans.'

NewsHour, 01 Jul 08, with Ray Suarez et al
U.S. Lacked Clear Plan for Postwar Iraq, Army Report Says
'The U.S. Army released a report Monday outlining the problems that kept it from being able to stabilize Iraq after the U.S.-led invasion in March 2003. Military experts discuss the report's findings.'

NewsHour, 27 Jun 08, with Jeffrey Brown et al
Resurgent Taliban May Step Up Attacks, Pentagon Says
'A report released by the Pentagon Friday showed growing instability in Afghanistan and a continuing rise in Taliban forces. A reporter and a regional expert size up new security threats and discuss the new report.'

International Herald Tribune, 30 Jun 08, by Rachel L. Swarns
A step up for women in the U.S. military
'Last week, President George W. Bush asked [Lieutenant General Ann] Dunwoody to take over a new army command as a four-star general. If confirmed by the Senate, she would become the first woman in the armed services to achieve that rank.'

Stratfor, 11 Jun 08, by George Friedman
The U.S. Air Force and the Next War
'U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates ... has sharply criticized the Air Force for failing to reorient itself to the types of conflict in which the United States is currently engaged. Where the Air Force leadership wanted to focus on deploying a new generation of fighter aircraft, Gates wanted them deploying additional unmanned aircraft able to provide reconnaissance and carry out airstrikes in Iraq and Afghanistan. These are not trivial issues, but they are the tip of the iceberg in a much more fundamental strategic debate going on in the U.S. defense community.'

StrategyPage, 25 Jun 08
U.S. Navy Seeks Sailing Sailors
'The U.S. Navy is recruiting sailors to serve on the last remaining sail powered warship still in commission.'

International Herald Tribune, 25 Jun 08, by Eric Schmitt
U.S. Army, unaware of dealer's past, awarded contract
'... With AEY's business dealings now shut down and its top executives charged last week with defrauding the government on the Afghan contract, lawmakers on Tuesday criticized four State and Defense department officials for what the legislators called a case study in military contracting gone wrong.'

Christian Science Monitor, 25 Jun 08, by Jill Carroll
G.I.s challenge injuries with new athletic efforts
'Running, cycling, and swimming give them new strength and purpose.'

Christian Science Monitor, 18 Jun 08, by Gordon Lubold
Boeing wins Air Force tanker contract appeal
'A US congressional watchdog group said Wednesday that the Air Force erred when it awarded a $35 billion contract – one of the Pentagon's biggest ever – to a partnership of Northrop Grumman and Airbus parent Aeronautic Defence and Space Co,. to build its next generation refueling plane known as the KC-X.'

International Herald Tribune, 14 Jun 08, by William Glaberson
Defense lawyers to challenge Guantánamo trials
'A day after the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling granting detainees at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, the right to challenge their detention in federal court, military defense lawyers said they planned to use the decision to mount new attacks on the government's war crimes prosecutions that could stall or stop trials.'

International Herald Tribune, 17 Jun 08, by James Risen
Lost army job tied to doubts on U.S. contractor in Iraq
'The U.S. Army official who managed the Pentagon's largest contract in Iraq says he was ousted from his job when he refused to approve paying more than $1 billion in questionable charges to KBR, the Houston-based company that has provided food, housing and other services to American troops.'

Human Events, 11 Jun 08, by Robert Maginnis
Air Force's Cultural Shake-Up
'Last week, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates made history when he simultaneously fired the Air Force's top military and civilian leaders. Most press accounts attribute the head chopping to a series of institutional failures but the truth is that Gates' real objective is to radically change the service's culture.'

Asia Times, 09 Jun 08, by Gareth Porter
Pentagon blocked Cheney's attack on Iran
'Pentagon officials firmly opposed a proposal by Vice President Dick Cheney last summer for airstrikes against the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) bases by insisting that the administration would have to make clear decisions about how far the United States would go in escalating the conflict with Iran, according to a former George W Bush administration official.'

The Guardian/AP, 10 Jun 08, by Lolita C. Baldor
US military seeking trainers for Afghanistan
'The Pentagon is scrambling to find trainers to send to Afghanistan, but it will be difficult to do that before commanders reduce the number of U.S. troops in Iraq, the top military officer said Tuesday.'

International Herald Tribune, 10 Jun 08, by Carlotta Gall
U.S. marines apply lessons learned in Iraq to Afghanistan
'The marines, originally sent to Garmser District on a three-day operation to open a road, have been here a month and are likely to stay longer. The extension of the operation reflects the evolving tactics of the counterinsurgency effort in Afghanistan, building on the knowledge accumulated in recent years in Anbar Province in Iraq.'

International Herald Tribune, 05 Jun 08, by Thom Shanker
Slowly, U.S. military gets more unmanned aircraft aloft
'Early last year, the U.S. Air Force was able to keep no more than 11 of the remotely piloted, armed Predator surveillance aircraft flying over Iraq and Afghanistan at any one time. By last Sunday, that number had more than doubled, to 25, and air force officials now say they can guarantee at least that many of the hunter-killer aircraft will be aloft around the clock, a new element of the buildup in U.S. forces for the two wars.'

• Veterans History Project
• NewsHour : Base Realignments and Closures
• Knight Ridder : Veterans Issues

See US Military Forces and Intelligence archive for past stories.