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's army chief Sisi seen edging closer to presidential bid

By Yasmine Saleh and Tom Perry, Reuters

CAIRO (Reuters) - In Egypt, it no longer appears to be a question of if, but when army chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi will declare his candidacy for president. For the second time in three days, local...
Iran rejects U.S. suggestion of Syrian peace talks role

By Parisa Hafezi and Arshad Mohammed, Reuters

ANKARA/BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Iran on Monday appeared to rule out participation in Syrian peace talks later this month, dismissing a U.S. suggestion that it could be involved "from the sidelines" as...
Insight: Fuelled by Syria war, al Qaeda bursts back to life in Iraq

By Suadad al-Salhy, Reuters

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Al Qaeda gunmen seeking to form a radical Islamic state out of the chaos of Syria's civil war are fighting hard to reconquer the province they once controlled in neighboring Iraq...
U.S. woman known as Jihad Jane sentenced to 10 years in plot

By John Shiffman, Reuters

PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - A U.S. judge on Monday sentenced an American woman who called herself Jihad Jane to 10 years in prison - at least a decade less than prosecutors had sought for her role in a...
Hamas says rival Fatah men exiled from Gaza can return

By Nidal al-Mughrabi, Reuters

GAZA (Reuters) - The Hamas premier of Gaza said on Monday hundreds of members of the rival Palestinian Fatah group, exiled from the coastal enclave since a 2007 civil war, could now return in what he...

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