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...

Four bombs hit central Baghdad, killing 23

By Kareem Raheem, Reuters

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Four bombs exploded in central Baghdad near the heavily-fortified "Green Zone" and a busy square on Wednesday, killing at least 23 people, Iraqi security sources said. The blasts...
U.S. bugged Schroeder when he was German chancellor: paper

By Reuters

BERLIN (Reuters) - The U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) bugged the phone of former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder from at least 2002, a German newspaper reported on Wednesday, compounding the...
Thai protest leader mocks, PM defends rice-buying scheme

By Amy Sawitta Lefevre and Pracha Hariraksapitak, Reuters

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thailand's fiery protest leader denounced the government's battered rice-buying scheme as corrupt and the prime minister leapt to its defense on Wednesday, days after an election...
North and South Korea to hold reunions in shadow of war drills

By James Pearson, Reuters

SEOUL (Reuters) - North and South Korea agreed on Wednesday to allow some families separated by the 1950-53 Korean War to hold brief reunions, despite a campaign by Pyongyang that Seoul cancel...
Lawmakers warn 'clock is ticking' on surveillance reforms

By Doina Chiacu, Reuters

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. lawmakers warned on Tuesday that time is running out to make specific reforms to the National Security Agency's telephone surveillance program and promised Congress would...

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