U.S. Military Seeks Its Role In Troubled North Africa
The recent crises in northern Africa, from Libya to Mali to Algeria, have raised a host of questions about the role of the American military command responsible for the entire continent.Founded in...
View ArticlePentagon Remains Big Target In Likely Budget Cuts
The economy shrunk in the fourth quarter — for the first time in three years — and one of the critical reasons was a drop in defense spending. Apparently, contractors took precautionary steps and held...
View ArticlePentagon Will Brief Congress On Deadly Sept. 14 Camp Bastion Attack
More than four months after a deadly attack at a sprawling allied base in Afghanistan that killed two U.S. Marines, there are lingering questions about how it happened.Capitol Hill sources say they've...
View ArticleReview Of Deadly Attack On Base In Afghanistan Finds Troops Let Guard Down
A Marine Corps review of the deadly Taliban attack on an allied base in Afghanistan last September found that some guard towers were unattended, and the insurgents "got lucky" by cutting through the...
View ArticleU.S. Troops Train For Possible Mission To Secure Syrian Chemical Agents
Several weeks ago, Gen. Martin Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs, said the U.S. is planning what to do about Syria's vast chemical weapons program once Bashar Assad's regime falls. The Syrians...
View ArticleAs Qualified Men Dwindle, Military Looks For A Few Good Women
When the Pentagon said earlier this year that it would open ground combat jobs to women, it was cast in terms of giving women equal opportunities in the workplace — the military workplace.But the move...
View ArticleWith Eye On Budget, Hagel Seeks Pentagon Changes
Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, in his first major policy speech, laid out Wednesday how to deal with threats in an era of tight defense budgets.Hagel has ordered the Pentagon to take a hard look at how...
View ArticlePressure Builds On White House To Intervene In Syria
Transcript ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST: From NPR News, this is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED. I'm Robert Siegel.AUDIE CORNISH, HOST: And I'm Audie Cornish. The White House tried to clarify its message on Syria today,...
View ArticleU.S. Faces Fight At Intersection Of Crime And Extremism
A suspected drug kingpin from the tiny West African nation of Guinea-Bissau was captured on the high seas by agents from the U.S.
View ArticleFrom Battlefield To Boston: Marine Comforts Bombing Survivors
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hy_LNYR-MiI
View ArticleService Members Observe Memorial Day Through Sweat And Tears
At Bagram Air Force Base in Afghanistan, Staff Sgt. Michael Johnson exercises under a long, steel framework set on a wooden platform. It looks like a giant jungle gym. Above his head are pull-up bars...
View ArticleAs The Clock Ticks, U.S. Forces Scale Back Afghan Goals
As the American military winds down its efforts in Afghanistan, grand plans for nation building are giving way to limited, practical steps: building up the Afghan forces and denying the Taliban key...
View ArticleWith U.S. Forces On Their Way Out, Afghans Take The Lead
There's just a sliver of light in the eastern sky as the patrol leaves the American compound through a thick metal door.They scamper across Highway 2, a narrow asphalt road that leads to Kabul, just an...
View ArticleU.S. Worries Afghan Forces Will Divide Along Ethnic Lines
The American combat mission in Afghanistan will end in 2014. One concern for U.S. officials is the possibility that Afghan security forces will splinter along ethnic lines. The worry then is that those...
View ArticleGrandfathers' Stories Inspire Military Service
A very small percentage of Americans are now serving in the military — fewer than 1 percent. Some are looking for direction. Others are inspired by a sense of patriotism or by a family member who...
View ArticleAs Fighting In Syria Intensifies, U.S. Worries About Chemical Weapons
"Deathly afraid."That's what one U.S. official says about the prospect that Syria's vast stockpile of chemical weapons might be used against rebel forces. From a U.S.
View ArticleAir Force Chief Leaves Legacy In The Sky: Drones
The top officer in the U.S. Air Force, Gen. Norton Schwartz, is stepping down Friday after four years on the job.Schwartz got the job after his predecessor was fired for — among other things — clashing...
View ArticleU.S. Confronts Growing 'Insider Attacks' In Afghanistan
Gunmen wearing Afghan police and army uniforms have killed 40 U.S. and NATO troops so far this year, and the top American commander in Afghanistan says there is no single reason — and no simple...
View ArticleAntietam: A Savage Day In American History
On this morning 150 years ago, Union and Confederate troops clashed at the crossroads town of Sharpsburg, Md. The Battle of Antietam remains the bloodiest single day in American history.The battle left...
View ArticleFirst Female Marines Take Combat Leadership Test
Women in the U.S. military have been flying warplanes for years, and recently began serving in artillery and tank units. But they're still barred from direct ground combat.Now, for the first time in...
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