Department of Defense

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Military's Budget Plan: Cut Pay, Benefits

Defense Dept. looking at options as budget set to shrink

(Newser) - It's long seemed unthinkable, but US military personnel could soon see cuts to their pay and benefits. Top commanders are considering such cuts as they deal with a decreasing budget, the Joint Chiefs of Staff chair said this weekend. While acknowledging that "we can't pay [soldiers] enough,...

CIA&#39;s &#39;Cruel, Inhumane&#39; Torturers? Doctors

 CIA's 'Inhumane' 
 Torturers? Doctors 
NEW REPORT
Nov 4, 2013 7:41 AM CST

CIA's 'Inhumane' Torturers? Doctors

New report finds disturbing ethical violations

(Newser) - The doctor's ethical directive, "first do no harm," would seem to not-so-subtly indicate that medical professionals not engage in torture ... but an independent taskforce finds that the CIA and the Pentagon asked doctors and psychologists working at US detention facilities (including Guantanamo Bay) to do just that....

US Plan to Arm Syria Rebels Gets a Boost

But Pentagon cites continuing concerns

(Newser) - Last month, the White House said it planned to arm Syrian rebels —but members of Congress haven't been thrilled with the idea. Now, however, Capitol Hill seems to be coming around, Reuters reports. Despite "strong reservations ... We got a consensus that we could move forward with the...

Socialite Sues FBI, Pentagon in Petraeus Scandal

Jill Kelley says officials deliberately leaked false info

(Newser) - The Florida socialite whose complaints about threatening emails ended up exposing David Petraeus' affair with his biographer is suing the FBI and the Department of Defense for leaking her name—and "false and defamatory" information about her. Jill Kelley's lawsuit says she and her husband were dragged into...

Military's Latest Sex Scandal: Recruiters

Defense Dept. has promised to address

(Newser) - The latest sex crime scandal for the military involves recruiters, the Washington Post reports in a detailed look at some of the cases of sexual assault and rape found in its ranks recently. One example: An Air Force recruiter is charged with raping or committing other crimes over three years...

After Closest Vote Ever, Chuck Hagel Sworn In

He'll next address Pentagon workers

(Newser) - Chuck Hagel's 58-41 confirmation vote wasn't just close; it was the closest ever for a defense secretary, notes Reuters , with just four Republicans voting in favor of the Republican, who was sworn in this morning. The closed-door ceremony will be followed by an address to Pentagon workers at...

5 Cuts Pentagon Should Make Now
 5 Cuts Pentagon 
 Should Make Now 
OPINION
Feb 26, 2013 12:08 PM CST

5 Cuts Pentagon Should Make Now

Start with the F-35 mistake: Paul Barrett

(Newser) - To hear the Pentagon tell it, the looming sequester cuts will hurt military readiness and put the nation at genuine risk. "Flapdoodle," writes Paul Barrett at Businessweek . "The military is manufacturing a crisis to protect its wasteful, bloated, poorly designed budget." He suggests five cuts the...

Hagel Nomination Clears Filibuster

Senate will vote to confirm in a matter of hours

(Newser) - The Senate has voted 71-27 to end debate on Chuck Hagel's nomination for secretary of Defense, paving the way for his all-but-guaranteed confirmation later this afternoon. Republicans had been filibustering Hagel's nomination, with the last vote to end debate on Feb. 14 falling just short of the 60-vote...

New Drone Medal's Rank 'Degrading', Say Veterans

Award for remote control operators outranks combat medals like Bronze Star

(Newser) - The Pentagon's new medal for drone operators has sparked a backlash from veterans whose medals were earned on the battlefield but are ranked lower than the Distinguished Warfare Medal, the Military Times reports. The new medal is higher in the military's "order of precedence" than the Bronze...

Drone Pilots Eligible for New Military Medal

New Pentagon honor doesn't require being on battlefield

(Newser) - They fight the war from computer consoles and video screens. The troops that launch the drone strikes and direct the cyberattacks that can kill or disable an enemy may never set foot in the combat zone, but now their battlefield contributions can be recognized. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta announced today...

Pentagon to Extend Benefits to Same-Sex Spouses

Panetta announcement expected this week

(Newser) - In another big step forward for gay rights in the military, the Pentagon is planning to extend certain benefits to the same-sex partners of military personnel. The new benefits are expected to include housing benefits and access to facilities like spouses' clubs, but many more benefits will be out of...

Chuck Hagel Hearing: What He'll Face

Unprecedented opposition campaign could make for an interesting vote

(Newser) - Chuck Hagel heads to Capitol Hill for his confirmation hearing today, and one thing we can say with confidence: It won't be a John Kerry-esque cakewalk . Hagel's facing skepticism and outright opposition from both sides of the aisle over past stances, particularly on Israel and nuclear proliferation. But...

What Hagel Said to Impress Obama
 What Hagel Said 
 to Impress Obama 
Bob Woodward
Jan 28, 2013 9:49 AM CST

What Hagel Said to Impress Obama

Bob Woodward: Hagel is Obama's foreign policy 'soul mate'

(Newser) - Why did President Obama pick Chuck Hagel as his new secretary of defense? It all goes back to a never-reported conversation Hagel had with Obama right after his first term as president began, Bob Woodward reports in a Washington Post column. Obama asked Hagel his thoughts on foreign policy and...

Actually, Hagel Nod Is Great for Israel

Roger Cohen argues that Hagel is a real friend of the country

(Newser) - One reason the president's decision to nominate Chuck Hagel as defense secretary is the right choice: We'll finally have "a serious debate on what constitutes real friendship toward Israel," writes Roger Cohen in the New York Times . Jewish groups have come out against Hagel , but their...

Obama Taps Hagel, Brennan for Pentagon, CIA

He praises both men at White House event

(Newser) - President Obama officially announced his nominations of Chuck Hagel as secretary of Defense and John Brennan as CIA director today, praising both men for their records of service at a press event in the East Room of the White House. Hagel, Obama said, "knows that war is not an...

Obama Will Tap John Brennan for CIA Director

Will nominate Brennan, Chuck Hagel today

(Newser) - President Obama will make two potentially controversial nominations this afternoon: Chuck Hagel as defense secretary and John Brennan as CIA director, the AP reports. Brennan, Obama's top counterterrorism adviser, has a close relationship with the president and was very involved in planning the Osama bin Laden raid. He was...

GOP: Hagel an &#39;In-Your-Face Pick&#39;
 GOP: Hagel an 
 'In-Your-Face Pick' 
TALK SHOW ROUNDUP
Jan 6, 2013 11:27 AM CST

GOP: Hagel an 'In-Your-Face Pick'

GOP is not thrilled with Obama's reported pick for Defense secretary

(Newser) - No sooner had rumors of Chuck Hagel's pending nomination to head up the Pentagon leaked than lips were flapping about what a bad idea it was. Hagel "is an in-your-face nomination by the president," charged Lindsey Graham , who "would be the most antagonistic secretary of defense...

Obama Picks Chuck Hagel for Pentagon: Report

Announcement expected tomorrow

(Newser) - President Obama has settled on a nominee to succeed Leon Panetta at the Pentagon, and it is indeed Chuck Hagel, reports Mike Allen at Politico . “Chuck Hagel is a decorated war hero who would be the first enlisted soldier and Vietnam veteran to go on to serve as Secretary...

Is This Our First Female Defense Chief?

Michele Flournoy is on Obama's shortlist

(Newser) - It's possible the nation might have its first female defense secretary soon. With leading candidate Chuck Hagel running into stiff resistance , the name of Michele Flournoy is standing out on President Obama's shortlist, reports the Los Angeles Times . Its profile describes the 52-year-old Democrat as a policy wonk...

Source of Leak to Makers of Zero Dark Thirty Investigated

Vickers rumored to succeed Petraeus

(Newser) - Michael Vickers, a senior Defense official rumored to be a possible replacement for David Petraeus at the CIA, has been referred to the Justice Department after Pentagon investigators concluded that he leaked restricted information about the Osama bin Laden raid to Zero Dark Thirty filmmakers, two senior US officials tell...

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