Military / Pentagon

News You Need to Know

Worst Attack in 18 Months Shocks U.S. Military

December 22, 2015

by Nancy Youssef, Sam Yousafzai | The Daily Beast

The Taliban weren’t supposed to able to get to American forces like this. But somehow, a suicide bomber, riding a motorcycle, just took out a half-dozen U.S. troops.

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Rights group: U.S. airstrike on hospital should be probed as potential war crime

December 22, 2015

by Michael Crowley | POLITICO

The Pentagon should investigate an October U.S. airstrike on an Afghan hospital as a potential war crime, Human Rights Watch has urged Defense Secretary Ash Carter in a letter obtained by POLITICO.

Backstory

Ash Carter: First Year as Pentagon Chief

December 17, 2015

Defense Secretary Ash Carter has been serving for less than a year, but he has instituted two major changes at the Pentagon: allowing women to serve in combat and adopting anti-discrimination measures to protect gay and lesbian troops. Gwen Ifill spoke to POLITICO's Michael Crowley who describes Carter as a "creature of the Pentagon" -- someone familiar with building and how to get things done.

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General Hides Gitmo Detainees

December 16, 2015

by Nancy Youssef | The Daily Beast

It’s been months since reporters have been allowed to see the U.S. military’s War on Terror prisoners. What is it trying to keep out of the public eye?

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Obama Steps Up Talk on ISIS: "You Are Next"

December 15, 2015

by Alexis Simendinger | Real Clear Politics

President Obama on Monday confronted the same domestic question that presidential candidates in both parties have found challenging.

Web Clip

Obama defends ISIS strategy

December 14, 2015

President Obama defended his administration's strategy to fight ISIS in a rare appearance in the Pentagon briefing room after a meeting of his National Security Council. "As we squeeze it's heart, we'll make it harder for ISIL to pump it's terror and propaganda to the rest of the world," Obama said.

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Obama Urges Congress To Authorize Use Of Military Force Against ISIS

December 8, 2015

with Susan Davis | NPR

In his address to the nation on Sunday, President Obama asked Congress to authorize the use of military force against the Islamic State. The ongoing U.S. military campaign against ISIS in Iraq and Syria is being conducted under the same legal authority Congress granted the president to combat terrorism after the September 11th attacks. It hasn't been updated since.