Defense

Factbox: What happens in a U.S. government shutdown?

By Richard Cowan and Susan Cornwell and Amanda Becker and Richard Cowan and Susan Cornwell and Amanda Becker, Reuters

In shutdowns, nonessential government employees are furloughed, or placed on temporary unpaid leave. Workers deemed essential, including those dealing with public safety and national security, keep...
The Mysterious Threat to Pilots That the Pentagon Can’t Solve

By Ciro Scotti

Episodes of oxygen deprivation affecting the pilots of F/A-18 Hornet and Super Hornet — and other military aircraft including the F-35 — are on the rise and remain an unsolved mystery.
What Game Theory Tells Us About Trump’s ‘Madman’ Approach to North Korea

By Rob Garver

Is Donald Trump out of his mind? Maybe he wants North Korea to think so.
Does the Army’s $580 Million Handgun Have a Fatal Flaw?

By Ciro Scotti

Last January, the Army made a $580 million decision: It would replace its longstanding sidearm, the M9 Beretta, with a new modular handgun made by the U.S. arm of the German-controlled gunsmith Sig...
Why the Escalating Threats Between Trump and Kim Won’t End in War

By Patrick Smith

The supercharged threats volleyed between President Trump and Kim Jong Un this week bring us closer to war with the North Korea than at any time since Pyongyang tested its first nuclear device in...

Here’s the Real State of the $1 Trillion U.S. Nuclear Upgrade

By David Francis

The American nuclear arsenal is just about the same as it was when Trump took office.
Here’s Why North Korea Put Guam in Its Crosshairs

By David Francis

Hours after President Donald Trump threatened North Korea with fire and fury like the world has never known, Pyongyang announced it is "examining the operational plan" to attack Guam, a tiny U.S...
Why the Price of the F-35 Keeps Soaring

By Ciro Scotti

The most costly fighter ever built is getting even more expensive. A new General Accounting Office report says the Pentagon will spend an additional $3.9 billion over the next five years on “...
The Media Has to Stop Provoking Trump’s Worst Instincts

By Rob Garver

For a man constantly boasting about his extraordinary negotiating prowess, President Trump made a pretty obvious rookie mistake on Tuesday, with his apocalyptic-sounding promise to deliver “fire and...
Five Things You Need to Know About Plans to Privatize the Afghan War

By David Francis

The White House is actively considering a plan to turn a big chunk of the war in Afghanistan over to private contractors. That’s according to Erik Prince, founder of the Blackwater security firm, who...

No safe way out as Syrian forces grind down besieged Qusair

By Erika Solomon and Tom Miles, Reuters

BEIRUT/GENEVA (Reuters) - As Syrian government forces try to grind down rebel resistance in the besieged town of Qusair, trapped civilians have had to choose between sheltering from the bombs or...
Pentagon Has No Idea What 108,000 Contractors Are Doing

By David Francis

Two new report show that the Pentagon is unable to determine how the billions its spending on private contractors is being spent, or what actual work these contractors are performing.
Red Cross pushing for access to Syria's besieged Qusair

By Stephanie Nebehay, Reuters

GENEVA (Reuters) - The International Committee of the Red Cross said on Monday it was still seeking a formal Syrian response to its request for urgent access to the besieged town of Qusair after a...
Four dead in Lebanon's Tripoli, shots fired at Sidon cleric

By Reuters

TRIPOLI, Lebanon (Reuters) - Four people died in clashes in Lebanon's northern city of Tripoli and gunmen attacked a cleric in the southern port of Sidon on Monday, security sources said, in more...
Blast by school in Afghan east kills six students, two U.S. soldiers

By Reuters

GARDEZ, Afghanistan (Reuters) - A suicide bomber targeting a U.S. military convoy detonated a motorbike packed with explosives outside a boys' high school in eastern Afghanistan on Monday, killing at...

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