Department of Defense

Sam Stein

Obama Staffs Defense, Danzig's Future Up In Air

HuffingtonPost.com | Sam Stein | Posted 01.08.2009 | Politics

Read More: Politics News, Obama Staffer, Robert Gates, Obama Staff, Richard Danzig, Obama Department of Defense, Obama Defense, Department of Defense, Gates Deputy, Robert Gates Pentagon, Deupty Secretary of Defense, Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton Foggy Bottom, Deputies, Politics News

The Obama transition team announced on Thursday afternoon the staffing of key positions in the Department of Defense, ending a process that proved a b...

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Regarding Panetta: Let's Not Forget About Gates

Kristen Breitweiser | Posted 01.06.2009 | Politics

Read More: Obama Transition, Department of Defense, Cia, National Security, Cia Director, Jay Rockefeller, Central Intelligence Agency, Dni, Leon Panetta, Dianne Feinstein, Director of National Intelligence, CIA Torture, Leon Panetta Obama, Barack Obama, Feinstein Panetta, Bush Administration Torture, Panetta Torture, Obama Cabinet, Dennis Blair, Obama Appointees, Obama Appointments, Central Intelligence Agency Obama, Torture, Leon Panetta CIA, Politics News
Kristen Breitweiser

Placing an inexperienced person like Leon Panetta at CIA for his clean hands and "managerial expertise" will cost lives on the day of the next domestic terrorist attack.

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Time for Action

Aubrey Sarvis | Posted 12.29.2008 | Politics

Read More: Melissa Etheridge, Don't Ask Don't Tell, US Military, Human Rights Report, Department of Defense, Proposition 8, President Obama, Rick Warren, H.R. 1246, Army Recruitment, Frank Rich, Carl Levin, Barack Obama, State Department, President Clinton, Politics News
Aubrey Sarvis

Obama has long been a supporter of lifting "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," but since the election, fairness, justice, and civil rights for the LGBT community seems to be delayed.

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Sam Stein

Pentagon Problems: Obama Runs Into Delays Staffing Defense Team

HuffingtonPost.com | Sam Stein | Posted 12.23.2008 | Politics

Read More: Clinton Deputies, Gates Deputy, Deupty Secretary of Defense, Department of Defense, Obama Department of Defense, Barack Obama, Obama Defense, Obama Staffer, Hillary Clinton Foggy Bottom, Robert Gates, Robert Gates Pentagon, Obama Staff, Politics News

President-elect Barack Obama has run into some difficulty staffing the top rungs at the Department of Defense, with the expected short tenure of Secre...

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The Military Coup of 2012 Revisited

Bernard I. Finel | Posted 12.22.2008 | World

Read More: American Security Project, Military, Department of Defense, Iraq, Counter-Insurgency, World News
Bernard I. Finel

The United States has not undertaken a serious defense policy review since the Cold War. We have not paused to ask the most basic question, which is what precisely our military is for in this day and age.

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Potentially Lethal: Increased Relationship Between Military And Aid

Virginia M. Moncrieff | Posted 12.22.2008 | World

Read More: Usaid, Department of Defense, Elizabeth Ferris, Robert Gates, Afghanistan, Military Spending, Humanitarian Intervention, Catholic Relief Services, American Red Cross, Mercy Corps, Save the Children, Brookings Institution, State Department, Humanitarian Aid, Interaction, US Foreign Policy, Military Civilian, Usaid Policy, World News
Virginia M. Moncrieff

Who will have the final say if U.S. foreign policy and development goals conflict with military objectives in unstable countries?

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Navy Sinks Billions into Spare Parts

Sen. Bernie Sanders | Posted 12.18.2008 | Politics

Read More: Senate, Government Waste, Navy, Gao, Military Spending, Video, Department of Defense, Defense Spending, Politics News
Sen. Bernie Sanders

For too long, the Pentagon has been exempt from economic scrutiny. We must make it illegal for the military to spend appropriations on spare parts that it cannot justify.

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Change Out at Defense

Zoë Baird and Alec Gewirtz | Posted 12.15.2008 | Politics

Read More: Defense Secretary Robert Gates, Duke Basketball, Homeland Security, Department of Defense, Coach K, Basketball, Defense Department, Defense Secretary Gates, Politics News
Zoë Baird and Alec Gewirtz

In a sport Obama loves, there is an analogy which captures the changes needed at the Department of Defense. For DOD to equip itself for 21st century threats it needs to learn to be both the big man and the point guard.

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U.S. Military Now in the Christian Reality TV Business -- Putting Muslim Interpreters in Christmas Pageants

Chris Rodda | Posted 12.15.2008 | Politics

Read More: Religion and the Military, Military Religious Freedom Foundation, Department of Defense, Evangelical Christians, Afghanistan, Discovery Channel, Iraq, Mikey Weinstein, Trinity Broadcasting Network, Religion, Video, Politics News
Chris Rodda

Today, legitimate reasons to justify the military's participation or assistance in entertainment productions range from making the military look cool to aid in recruitment and retention effort.

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Bush: On the Line

Jayne Lyn Stahl | Posted 12.14.2008 | Politics

Read More: Geneva Conventions, George Bush, Bill of Rights, Bush Administration Torture, Bush Administration, Freddie Mac, Department of Defense, Wall Street, George W. Bush, Enron, Auto Industry, Fannie May, Politics News
Jayne Lyn Stahl

President Bush and his henchmen are working overtime to ensure that the full extent of damage inflicted upon detainees never sees the light of day.

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Defense Budget '09: Still Fighting the Soviets, or Preventing Genocide?

Lorelei Kelly | Posted 12.10.2008 | Politics

Read More: Left, US Military, Department of Defense, National Security, Somali Pirates, Genocide, Progressives, Mumbai, Obama National Security, Defense Spending, Peacekeeping, Cold War, Pentagon, Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, Obama Defense Spending, Politics News
Lorelei Kelly

We have to do something about our current situation. We're spending more and more on defense and purchasing less and less security for it.

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Don't Tell, But the Military Is Now Recruiting Foreigners

Aubrey Sarvis | Posted 12.07.2008 | Politics

Read More: Don't Ask Don't Tell, Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, Bush Administration, Dennis Baron, Department of Defense, Blackwater, Halliburton, Bob Gates, Civilian Contractors, Enlistment Bonuses, Enlisting Felons, Military Recruiting, Border Fence, Translators, Major Margaret Witt, Politics News
Aubrey Sarvis

Foreigners on student or work visas are probably at least as good a bet as the serious felons the armed forces have been reduced to chasing after. Provided they're straight, of course.

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The Department of Defense and The Arrogance of Chu

Hal Donahue | Posted 12.07.2008 | Politics

Read More: Department of Defense, Veterans Affairs, David Chu, Robert Gates, Appropriations, Healthcare, Walter Reed, Secretary of Defense, Politics News
Hal Donahue

David Chu, the Undersecretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, has struck once again.

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Obama: Elixir or Delegator?

Jayne Lyn Stahl | Posted 12.05.2008 | Politics

Read More: Obama Cabinet, Change, Robert Reich, Robert Gates, Department of Defense, Delegator, Hillary Clinton, Delegation, Paul Volcker, Barack Obama, Jim Jones, Obama Administration, Politics News
Jayne Lyn Stahl

It takes wisdom to seek counsel and courage to take a stand. We know Mr. Obama has courage, that he'll act when he thinks the time has come. We can only hope that he sees the time is here.

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New Nixon Documents Show Conflict Over Vietnam

AP | CALVIN WOODWARD | Posted 12.02.2008 | Politics

Read More: Vietnam War, Christmas Bombing, Department of Defense, Richard Nixon, Politics News

WASHINGTON — In Richard Nixon's time, all the president's men fretted about threats on every front: disquiet out on the streets, disloyalty insi...

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Don't Ask Don't Tell: Getting Repeal Right This Time

Aubrey Sarvis | Posted 11.23.2008 | Politics

Read More: Joint Chiefs of Staff, 111th Congress, Gays in the Military, Pentagon, Dadt, 538.Com, Nate Silver, Department of Defense, Barack Obama, President Clinton, Politics News
Aubrey Sarvis

To get rid of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" we must proceed deliberately and according to a plan, which will not require grandstanding, but rather actual leadership.

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Robert Gates: Obama's Defense Secretary

Huffington Post | Posted 11.19.2008 | Politics

Read More: Obama Cabinet, Defense Secretary Robert Gates, Department of Defense, Barack Obama, President Barack Obama, Robert Gates, Obama Defense Secretary, Robert Gates Obama, Gates Obama, Obama's Defense Secretary, Obama Gates Defense, Gates, Eric Holder, Politics News

***Check back for updates. For the latest on President-elect Barack Obama's cabinet picks, check out HuffPost's Obama Cabinet Big News Page*** ***U...

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Spying on Americans Is Missing the Mark, Obama Would Rein in Culture of Secrecy

Frank Naif | Posted 10.27.2008 | Home

Read More: Maryland Spying, Warrantless Wiretapping, Department of Defense, Federal Terrorist Database, Terrorism, Domestic Intelligence, Barack Obama, Bush Administration, Intelligence, Bush Spying Program, Spying on Americans, Election 2008, Campaign 2008, John McCain, US Spying Iraq, Home News
Frank Naif

It's hard to imagine that the McCain-Palin vision of a toughened, empowered intelligence community will be somehow more respectful of the rights of Americans than our current state of affairs.

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Afghanistan: Endless Army Mission Creep?

Luis Carlos Montalván and Gene Dewey | Posted 10.21.2008 | Politics

Read More: Iraq War, Secretary Gates, Senator McCain, Army, u.s. Foreign Policy, Condoleezza Rice, Department of Defense, Senator Obama, UN Assistance Mission, Afghanistan, Iraq, Foreign Service, Stability Operations, State Department, Unama, Politics News
Luis Carlos Montalván and Gene Dewey

To fill the vacuum of meaningful statecraft, the Department of Defense now finds itself both war-fighter and diplomat.

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Rescue Ratchet

Michael Markarian | Posted 10.20.2008 | Living

Read More: Army, Norm Coleman, Military, Keith Ellison, Iraq, Animals, Amy Klobuchar, Minnesota, Dogs, Ratchet Dog, Department of Defense, Animal Rights, Iraqi Dogs, Uniform Code of Military Justice, Human Society Legislative Fund, Human Society of the United States, Human Society International, Department of Defense Animal Policy, Gwen Beberg, Living News
Michael Markarian

While serving in Iraq, Army Sgt. Beberg adopted a stray puppy named Ratchet. But the military snatched the pup before he could reach the Baghdad Airport to catch a flight bound for the US.

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New DOD Interrogation Guidelines: No Waterboarding, No Dogs

Think Progress | Posted 10.15.2008 | Politics

Read More: Department of Defense, Cia, War Wire, Prisonner Abuse, Waterboarding, Dogs, Torture, Politics News

The LA Times reports that the Pentagon has issued a new directive on detainee interrogations, explicitly prohibiting the use of dogs in interrogations...

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The Surge "Success" Debunked

Luis Carlos Montalván | Posted 10.07.2008 | Politics

Read More: Refugee International, General Petraeus Surge, Shi'a Truce, Iraqi Benchmarks, United Nations, Internally Displaced Persons, US Congress, Sunni Ethnic Cleansing, Department of State, Ngo, Muqtada Al Sadr, The Surge, Unhcr, Justice and Accountability Law, Iraqi Refugees, Ehtno-Sectarian Violence, Sadrist Shi'A, Department of Defense, Siic, Kurds, Constitutional Review Committee, Abdul Al-Hakim, Baghdad, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, John McCain, Government Accountability Office, Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction, Basra, Kirkuk, Ethnic Cleansing, Badr Corps, Marine Corps General Jones, Population Shifts Baghdad, Ucla, Kenneth Katzman, Congressional Research Service Report, Second Largest Refugee Crisis, Shi'a Militias, Center for American Progress, War on Terror, De-Baathification Law, Sons of Iraq, Second Presidential Debate, Transparency International, Crc, 2008 Presidential Race, War in Iraq, International Crisis Group, Sigir, Msm, Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council, Peshmerga, Maliki, Sectarian Violence, Dr. John Agnew, General Petraeus, Sunni Awakening, Icg, Krg, Igos, Isf, Idp, Politics News
Luis Carlos Montalván

Iraq remains a powder keg. "The Surge" has done little to increase security, a state of civil war remains and regional conflict threatens greater problems for the future.

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Gates: US' Afghanistan Strategy May Change

AP | ROBERT BURNS | Posted 09.18.2008 | Politics

Read More: Afghanistan, Robert Gates, Afghanistan War, War in Afghanistan, Department of Defense, Politics News

LONDON — In an echo of a time when things were going from bad to worse in Iraq, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Thursday the Bush administra...

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Company Tied To Abu Ghraib Kinda Worried About Politics Now

Footnoted | Michelle Leder | Posted 08.28.2008 | Business

Read More: War Profits, War Money, Warwire, Department of Defense, War, Abu Ghraib, Business News

Caci, for those who don't remember, has been a major beneficiary of the current Administration. Over the past five years, Caci's revenues have doubled...

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Removal of Petraeus Endorsement from "Spiritual Handbook" Not Enough

Chris Rodda | Posted 08.21.2008 | Politics

Read More: Religion and the Military, Religion, Military Religious Freedom Foundation, Department of Defense, Mikey Weinstein, David Petraeus, Politics News
Chris Rodda

As a result of the exposure by the Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF) of endorsements by Gen. Petraeus and Maj. Gen. Mark Hertling on the co...

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