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...

Egypt court acquits 169 Brotherhood supporters

By Reuters

CAIRO (Reuters) - An Egyptian court acquitted 169 Muslim Brotherhood supporters charged in connection with unrest that followed the overthrow of president Mohamed Mursi last year, breaking a pattern...
South Korea's Park weeps as she apologizes for ferry disaster

By Jack Kim, Reuters

SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korean President Park Geun-hye, tears rolling down her cheeks, formally apologized on Monday for a ferry disaster that killed about 300 people, mostly school children, and...
Obama May Have to Fire the Head of Veterans’ Affairs

By Rob Garver

Eric Shinseki may lose his job after all. President Obama’s Secretary of Veterans Affairs hold on his job seemed a bit more tenuous on Sunday as anger over mismanagement and possible fraud at VA...
Hang on…Has Obama’s Plan Stopped Putin After All?

By Rob Garver

A former senior U.S. official says the sanctions placed on Russia after its invasion of Ukraine, and the president’s insistence that the U.S. and Europe present a united front, may have prevented...
Vets Blow the Whistle on Negligent VA Management

By Brianna Ehley, The Fiscal Times

Veterans groups aren’t wasting any time waiting for federal investigators to uncover more negligence at VA hospitals across the country. They’re taking matters into their own hands. On Thursday, the...

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