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...

America’s $300 Million Scrap Metal War in Afghanistan

By Ciro Scotti

Say it’s Saturday night in Kabul and you’re a $200-a-month Afghan soldier who’s a little short on cash. What to do? One easy way to raise a few Afghanis, the local currency, is to jam a clip into...
Vets in Prison Have Collected Over $100 Million in Bogus Federal Payments

By Ciro Scotti

Military veterans incarcerated after criminal convictions were improperly paid more than $100 million in federal benefits from 2008-2015, and a total of more than $300 will have been wasted by 2020...
Why Congress Should Cap the Pentagon’s ‘Slush Fund’

By William D. Hartung, Defense One

There’s too much slush in the supplemental, as shown by the fourfold jump in spending per deployed service member. The heads of the armed services committees in the House and the Senate have called...
US Marines Really Don’t Want Clinton as Their Commander-in-Chief

By Ciro Scotti

A new poll of American troops finds they are seriously bummed out about having Donald Trump as their next commander-in-chief, but even more deeply downbeat at the prospect of Hillary Clinton as their...
America’s High-Tech F-35 Is Poised to Purge ISIS from 30,000 Feet

By Eric Pianin

Is it possible that the much maligned, way over budget, F-35 Joint Strike Fighter will be ready for big-time action soon? Derided as the poster-child for troubled Pentagon programs far behind...

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