military / defense
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TACOMA, Wash. — U.S. military officials finally named the suspect in the massacre of 16 Afghan civilians as Army Staff Sgt. Robert Bales, who was brought late Friday to the military detention facility in Fort Leavenworth, Kan., to face murder charges.
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DRONES
In 2010, the Pentagon prepared to award Blackwater, now known as Xe Services, a $1 billion contract for Afghan police training under the Counter Narcoterrorism Technology Program Office. The contract had nothing to do with counternarcotics or technology; the police were being trained in basic skills such as using weapons and riot control techniques. But by using the CNTPO contract, the Pentagon could avoid holding a new full and open competition.
Windfalls of war: Pentagon's competition for contracts abysmal compared to other agencies | iWatch News
White House, Pentagon won't probe Medal of Honor | McClatchy
WASHINGTON — The White House and the Pentagon said Thursday that they wouldn't investigate embellishments in the Marine Corps' account of the actions that led to Marine Sgt. Dakota Meyer receiving the Medal of Honor.
(U//FOUO) Joint Chiefs of Staff Commander’s Handbook for Counter Threat Finance | Public Intelligence
This handbook provides an understanding of the processes and procedures being employed by joint force commanders (JFCs) and their staffs to plan, execute, and assess counter threat finance (CTF) activities and integrate them into their joint operation/campaign plans.
US Quietly Assumes Military Posture in Africa
NAIROBI, Kenya -- While putting few U.S. troops at risk, the United States is playing a growing role in Africa's military battles, using special forces advisers, drones and tens of millions of dollars in military aid to combat a growing and multifaceted security threat. Once again, the focus is Somalia, the lawless nation that was the site of America's last large-scale military intervention in Africa in the early 1990s. By the time U.S. forces departed, 44 Soldiers, Airmen and Marines had been killed and dozens more wounded.
The Air Force, in response to an exclusive report published by Truthout earlier this week, has withdrawn materials used in a training session that relied upon Bible passages and a quote from an ex-Nazi SS officer to teach missile officers about the morals and ethics of launching nuclear weapons.
Air Force Pulls Christian-Themed Ethics Training for Nuclear Missile Officers After Publication of Truthout Report | Truthout
The military children left behind: Decrepit schools, broken promises | iWatch News
Catie Hunter is only 11 years old.
From SourceWatch Xe is a private military contractor co-founded by former Navy Seal Erik Prince .
Xe - SourceWatch
Every time a Blackwater centurion discharged his weapon in Iraq, the company filed a written report with the U.S.
'Gentlemen, We Shot a Judge' and Other Tales of Blackwater, DynCorp, and Triple Canopy's Rampage Through Iraq
Erik D. Prince, the founder of the private security firm formerly known as Blackwater Worldwide, has reached a deal to sell his embattled firm to a small group of investors based in Los Angeles who have close ties to Mr. Prince, according to people briefed on the deal.
Blackwater Founder in Deal to Sell Company - NYTimes.com
Blackwater Founder Forms Secret Army for Arab State - NYTimes.com
The Colombians had entered the United Arab Emirates posing as construction workers.Panetta: Obama Can Unilaterally Use Military to Protect ‘National Interests’ | CNSnews.com
Defense Secretary nominee, CIA Director Leon Panetta, testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, June 9, 2011, before the Senate Armed Service Committee hearing on his nomination. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta))“So whether it’s a tank, an M-16 or a computer virus, it’s going to follow the same rules so that we can understand how to employ it, when you can use it, when you can’t, what you can and can’t use,” a senior military official said. The integration of cyber-technologies into a formal structure of approved capabilities is perhaps the most significant operational development in military cyber-doctrine in years, the senior military official said. The framework clarifies, for instance, that the military needs presidential authorization to penetrate a foreign computer network and leave a cyber-virus that can be activated later.
List of cyber-weapons developed by Pentagon to streamline computer warfare - The Washington Post
9/11 & the War on Terror
Wired for War - Peter Singer
Brookings scholar Peter Singer's book "Wired for War," explains the realities of technology like unmanned drones, in modern warfare. Singer comes to UNLV as a visiting scholar at Brookings Mountain West and he'll give a lecture Tuesday (3/22) night called "Wired for War: The Robotics Revolution and Conflict in the 21 Century." Peter Singer joins us to talk about the current state and future of drone warfare.ThomasBarnett