Military recruiters work hard to leave no child off their lists

10-10-2006 • Seattle Times

My daughter started high school. Marked by the arrival of a ream of paperwork. Tucked into this package a seemingly innocuous form. Failing to fill it out might result in my daughter being harassed, assaulted, or being fast-tracked to fight in Iraq.

Lower Standards Help Army Recruit More

10-10-2006 • AP

The U.S. Army recruited more than 2,600 soldiers under new lower aptitude standards this year, helping the service beat its goal of 80,000 recruits in the throes of an unpopular war and mounting casualties.

Guantánamo defense lawyer forced out of Navy

10-9-2006 • McClatchy News

The Navy lawyer who took the Guantánamo case of Osama bin Laden's driver to the U.S. Supreme Court — and won — has been passed over for promotion by the Pentagon and must soon leave the military.

US eating crow in the Caribbean

10-07-2006 • Barbados Free Press

The 2003 decision by the US to cease providing military aid to Barbados and other Caribbean area nations who refused to sign agreements exempting US troops from prosecution under the International Criminal Court ended up being

Russian Bombers intercepted off Alaska coast

10-02-2006 • Denver Post

A new US push for greater Russian military openness collided with Cold War habits last week as Russian long-range bombers flew within 15 miles of US airspace off Alaska. Fully-armed US fighter jets responded, intercepting the 2 bombers.

China is Arming with High-Tech Super weapons to Counter Threats Like This...

10-01-2006 • www.globalsecurity.org/military

The DD(X) program focused on developing 10 [initially 11] key Engineering Development Models (EDM) to demonstrate technologies critical to future warships. (NeoCons love arms races,... here we go again)

Coast Guard conduct live ammo drills on Great Lakes

09-30-2006 • Globe and Mail

The US Coast Guard have started to patrol the Great Lakes with machine guns mounted on their vessels and are conducting live-ammo training drills on the US side to prepare officers to combat terrorists flooding across the border from Canada by boat.

Iraq, Overstretched Army Bring Bush New Grief

9-26-2006 • by Jim Lobe (AntiWar.com)

The news of Schoomaker's [budget demands], which is almost certain to intensify the growing debate over what to do in Iraq, comes just days after reports the Army is considering activating substantially more National Guard troops or reservists.

Army Warns Rumsfeld It's Billions Short

9-25-2006 • LA Times

The Army's top officer withheld a required 2008 budget plan from Pentagon leaders last month after protesting to Defense Secretary Rumsfeld that the service could not maintain its current level of activity in Iraq plus its other global commitment

For reservists the bill is due

9-25-2006 • NY Times

When they were called up for military service in the wake of 9/11, hundreds of uniformed city workers in the Reserves faced the suspension of their city health and pension benefits. The city offered them an option: it would keep paying their salaries

U.S. INTELLIGENCE ON RUSSIAN AND CHINESE NUCLEAR TESTING ACTIVITIES, 1990-2000

9-25-2006 • National Security Archives

The prospects of a Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty in the early 1990's led China to accelerate its testing schedule and discuss differences within the Russian government over testing, according to documents obtained through the Freedom of I

Attacks Spark Tougher Guantanamo Stance

9-24-2006 • AP

The military is toughening a new jailhouse for suspected al-Qaida and Taliban militants to protect guards after a spate of attacks and evidence that detainees have organized themselves into groups to mount uprisings, officials said.

Rumsfeld favors U.S. military command for Africa

9-22-2006 • Reuters

Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said he favors creating a new U.S. military command responsible for Africa, as the Pentagon aims to guard against potential threats to U.S. security arising from the continent.

Pentagon says it was too incompetent to stop 9/11

9-22-2006 • AP

The Pentagon inspector general's office said that a review of records from the unit, known as Able Danger, found no evidence it had identified ringleader Mohamed Atta or any other terrorist who participated in the 2001 attacks.

Strained, Army Looks to Guard for More Relief

9-22-2006 • NY Times

Strains on the Army from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have become so severe that Army officials say they may be forced to make greater use of the National Guard to provide enough troops for overseas deployments.

Conduct Unbecoming an Officer and a Gentlemen: Lieutenant Ehren Watada Charged Again

9-21-2006 • DemocracyNOW! (audio)

Lieutenant Ehren Watada, the first officer to publicly refuse to serve in Iraq, has been charged again by the military, this time for 'conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentlemen.' We speak with Watada about the latest charges. [includes ru

Judge orders more Gitmo papers unsealed

9-21-2006 • AP

A federal judge ordered the Department of Defense to release documents containing the identities of some detainees at the U.S. prison camp in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, who were released or who suffered mistreatment by their handlers or other detainees.

VA underestimated war veteran's care costs

9-22-2006 • AP

The government used prewar data to estimate the cost of caring for veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan, which contributed to a $3 billion budget shortfall at the Veterans Affairs Department since 2005, congressional investigators say.

Plans to Torture US Demonstrators

9-22-2006 • Huffington Post

The Wynne story came and went so quickly that radio journalist Charles Goyette from KFNX in Phoenix tried to follow up. An interview was scheduled with the Air Force Secretary's spokesman, USAF Major Aaron Burgstein, to get elaboration on the Sec

Rumsfeld adviser resigns as Pentagon shake-up looms

9-20-2006 • Washington Times (kudos Steve A.)

The Pentagon's top special operations policy-maker is quitting in a move that several Bush administration sources say is the first negative fallout from a major reorganization of advisers in the office of Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld.

The Battle for Guantánamo

9-14-2006 • NY Times

Col. Mike Bumgarner took over as the warden of Guantánamo Bay in April 2005. He had been hoping to be sent to Iraq; the job of commanding guards at the American detention camp in Cuba was considered not particularly challenging and somewhat risky to

Gulf War Syndrome Doesn't Exist

9-13-2006 • AP

There is no such thing as Gulf War syndrome, even though U.S. and foreign veterans of the war report more symptoms of illness than do soldiers who didn't serve there, a federally funded study concludes. U.S. and foreign veterans of the Gulf War

Wiccan Sign Allowed on Soldier's Tombstone

9-14-2006 • AP

The widow of a soldier killed in Afghanistan won state approval to place a Wiccan religious symbol on his memorial plaque, something Veterans Affairs had refused. The VA allows only approved emblems of religion on government headstones.

US Military to be Tagged with Spychips?

09-12-2006 • Consumer Affairs

If microchip maker VeriChip has its way, the armed forces will soon be trading in their dogtags for radio-frequency identifier (RFID) microchips, implanted under the skin and containing all of their medical and personal information.

War Music Videos

09-10-2006 • www.grouchymedia.com

Large accumulation of War Images to music from all over the Internet. Very Interesting and often informative.

Sen. Graham: Bush's military tribuneral law DOA

9-11-2006 • McClatchy News

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) said that he's confident the Senate will reject President Bush's plan to try accused terrorists without letting them see classified evidence against them. Graham, a military lawyer who's a colonel in the Air For

Sgt. Kevin Benderman goes home

9-7-2006 • AntiWar.com

Last week, a 41-year-old U.S. Army sergeant from Hinesville, Ga., was released from prison after serving 13 months of a 15-month sentence for refusing to board a plane bound for Iraq.

Revised Army Manual to Prohibit Torture, Provide Geneva Convention

9-6-2006 • LA Times

Bowing to critics of its tough interrogation policies, the Pentagon is issuing a new Army field manual that provides Geneva Convention protections for all detainees and eliminates a secret list of interrogation tactics.