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...

Attack on prison in Yemeni capital kills 11

By Khaled Abdullah, Reuters

SANAA (Reuters) - Eleven people were killed when attackers mounted a bomb, grenade and gun assault on the main prison in Yemen's capital on Thursday to free inmates, security sources and witnesses...
Treading softly, Thai riot police reclaim Bangkok protest site

By Orathai Sriring and Amy Sawitta Lefevre, Reuters

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thai riot police reclaimed a main Bangkok thoroughfare on Friday that has been occupied for months by demonstrators seeking to topple Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, and said...
Sunni Islamists overrun Iraqi town after seizing city

By Ahmed Rasheed and Ghazwan Hassan, Reuters

BAGHDAD/TIKRIT, Iraq (Reuters) - Sunni Islamist insurgents took over much of a northern Iraqi town on Thursday and laid siege to its town hall, weeks after militants seized a whole city from the...
Four al Qaeda Groups Gunning for the United States

By David Francis

Late last month, the U.S. military fired a series of missiles into southern Somalia, aiming to take out a leader of al-Shabaab , the radical Islamic movement with ties to al Qaeda. This follows an...
Syria 'failure' looms, mediator seeks U.S., Russian help

By Stephanie Nebehay and Tom Miles, Reuters

GENEVA (Reuters) - Warning that "failure" was staring him in the face, the Syria peace talks mediator said on Thursday that the United States and Russia had promised renewed support to keep their...

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