US MILITARY FORCES, THE PENTAGON, & INTELLIGENCE :

New York Times, 22 Jun 11, by Thom Shanker
2012 Troop Pullback Worries Military Experts
'On Afghanistan’s battlefields, the most significant effect of President Obama’s latest orders will be felt at this time next year, when as many as 23,000 American troops who would have been on missions at the peak of the summer fighting season will instead be packing for home.'

Wall Street Journal, 04 Jun 11, by Julian E. Barnes
Gates Urges Focus on Outcome Despite Afghan War Cost
'U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said the U.S. could begin a "modest" drawdown of forces next month but that the military should not change its strategy this year to keep military pressure on the Taliban.'

New York Times, 07 Jun 11, by Michael Cooper and Sam Roberts
After 40 Years, the Complete Pentagon Papers
'It may be a first in the annals of government secrecy: Declassifying documents to mark the anniversary of their leak to the press.'

Christian Science Monitor, 05 Jun 11, by Anna Mulrine
Military interrogators: Waterboarding didn't yield tips that led to bin Laden
'Several former military interrogators refute assertions that waterboarding and other 'enhanced' methods provided intelligence that led the US to bin Laden. Some lament lost opportunity to grill Al Qaeda's leader.'

New York Times, 03 Jun 11, by Thom Shanker
U.S. Won’t Become Isolationist, Gates Tells Worried Asian Leaders
'Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates pledged Saturday that the United States would sustain its military presence and diplomatic involvement in Asia, as he sought to calm regional worries about the potential for a new isolationism brought on by fiscal difficulties at home.'

New York Times, 22 May 11, by Thom Shanker
Gates Warns Against Big Cuts in Military Spending
'... Robert M. Gates, said Sunday that budget pressures must not limit Pentagon spending such that the military is unable to defend American interests in an unpredictable world.'

Washington Post, 02 May 11, by Manuel Roig-Franzia
Who shot bin Laden? Former SEALs fill in the blanks
'He’s out there somewhere, an instant icon in the annals of American conflict, the ultimate big-game hunter. But an enigma, too, his identity cloaked for now, and maybe forever.'

Christian Science Monitor, 02 Apr 11, by Jina Moore
The peacebuilders: Making conflict resolution permanent
'Out of the UN comes a new idea for ending war. Peacebuilders: An intensive process that gives permission for foreign 'interference' in conflict resolution.'

Washington Post, 27 Apr 11, by Greg Miller and Greg Jaffe
Petraeus would helm an increasingly militarized CIA
'CIA teams operate alongside U.S. special operations forces in conflict zones from Afghanistan to Yemen. The agency has also built up a substantial paramilitary capability of its own.'

New York Times, 28 Apr 11, by Mark Mazzetti And Eric Schmitt
Obama’s Pentagon and C.I.A. Picks Show Shift in How U.S. Fights
'President Obama’s decision to send an intelligence chief to the Pentagon and a four-star general to the Central Intelligence Agency is the latest evidence of a significant shift over the past decade in how the United States fights its battles — the blurring of lines between soldiers and spies in secret American missions abroad.'

New York Times, 13 Apr 11, by Martin Fackler
U.S. Airmen Quietly Reopen Wrecked Airport in Japan
'Using skills honed in war-torn nations like Iraq, the airmen had within hours [of arrival] cleared part of a runway for use by American military aircraft.'

Christian Science Monitor, 13 Apr 11, by Jane Arraf
Senior US military official in Iraq advocates keeping some troops longer
'The remarks, which included warnings of the increasingly volatile Middle East, follow renewed warnings by Moqtada al-Sadr that he would reactivate his militia if US forces extend their stay.'

Financial Times, 11 Mar 11, by Richard McGregor
US official says Libya ‘regime will prevail’
'Muammer Gaddafi’s superior military forces meant his “regime will prevail” in the longer term, the US director of national intelligence, James Clapper, said in comments that undermined a robust defence by Washington of its Libya policy.'

PBS NewsHour, 11 Mar 11, by Daniel Sagalyn
U.S. Military Leadership Lacks Diversity at Top
'For decades, the U.S. military has worked to create a force that mirrors the racial and ethnic diversity of the American population. Now, a congressionally charted commission has reported that while the Pentagon has achieved that goal in the lower ranks, the story is much different the higher you go up the officer ladder.'

New York Times, 02 Mar 11, by David E. Sanger and Thom Shanker
Gates Warns of Risks of a No-Flight Zone
'With rebels in Libya calling for Western airstrikes on forces supporting Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi, Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates warned Congress on Wednesday that even a more modest effort to establish a no-flight zone over Libya would have to begin with an attack on the country’s air defenses and would require “a big operation in a big country.”'

New York Times, 17 Feb 11, by Thom Shanker and J. David Goodman
Pentagon Watching Unrest in Bahrain
'The United States Navy headquarters in Bahrain ... oversees warships and combat aircraft that carry out long-range missions across Afghanistan and Iraq, conduct antipiracy patrols off the Horn of Africa — and keep a wary eye on the activities of a bellicose Iran.'

Washington Post, 11 Feb 11, by Greg Miller
Comments by Panetta stoke unmet expectations
'The agency has been under pressure to help President Obama and other policymakers navigate the crisis in Egypt, even though its outcome is largely contingent on the internal deliberations of one man.'

Christian Science Monitor, 17 Feb 11, by Andrea Shalal-Esa, Reuters
F-35 jet a waste of taxpayers' dollars, say McCain, Gates
'Defense Sec. Robert Gates, the Pentagon, the White House and Sen. John McCain all say development of a second F-35 jet engine is a waste of taxpayer dollars.'

Christian Science Monitor, 04 Feb 11, by Anna Mulrine
US-Egyptian military ties: How much leverage does the Pentagon have?
'The Egyptian military could play a pivotal role in resolving the crisis, but the Pentagon must weigh carefully how hard a line it wants to take with its Egyptian counterparts.'

PBS NewsHour, 02 Feb 11, with Charles Sennott and Jeffrey Brown
Petraeus: Afghan Army, Police Making Progress; but Retention Lags
'Charles Sennott of GlobalPost sat down with Gen. David Petraeus, commander of American and allied forces in Afghanistan, for an extended interview about where the fight for Afghanistan stands as the spring "fighting season" approaches. Sennott later spoke with the NewsHour's Jeffrey Brown.'

• Veterans History Project
• NewsHour : Base Realignments and Closures
• Knight Ridder : Veterans Issues

See US Military Forces and Intelligence archive for past stories.