Pentagon to review ethical standards
WASHINGTON — Responding to a string of recent scandals that have tarnished the military, the Pentagon’s top two leaders, Secretary of Defense Leon E. Panetta and Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, served notice on Thursday that they would strictly enforce ethical standards for their most senior officers.
Afghanistan deployment is under review
HICKAM AIR FORCE BASE, Hawaii — White House and Pentagon officials hope to determine within weeks the number of U.S. troops that will remain for the long term in Afghanistan after the bulk of U.S. forces come home in 2014, Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta said Monday.
North Korea is talking, but Panetta is skeptical
SEOUL, South Korea — Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta cast doubt Thursday on talks aimed at persuading North Korea to abandon its nuclear program despite more positive public comments from negotiators for both countries earlier this week.
Defense nominee Panetta demurs on Afghanistan drawdown
WASHINGTON — Leon E. Panetta, President Barack Obama’s nominee to be secretary of defense, deflected persistent questions Thursday about one of the most pressing issues at the Pentagon, the scope of the American troop withdrawals from Afghanistan next month.
Bin Laden raid account, hastily told, proves fluid
WASHINGTON — On Monday, the Obama administration said Osama bin Laden had been killed after a firefight with Navy SEAL commandos, and that he had used his wife as a human shield. On Tuesday, the administration said that bin Laden was not armed at all, and that his wife had not been a shield but had rushed her husband’s assaulter and was shot in the leg.
Defense secretary says US ‘well positioned’ for pullout
KABUL, Afghanistan — Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said Monday that the United States was “well positioned” to begin withdrawing some U.S. troops from Afghanistan in July, but he said that a substantial force would remain and that the United States was starting talks with the Afghans about keeping a security presence in the country beyond 2014.
Little harm found if gay ban is lifted, Pentagon report says
WASHINGTON — The draft of a new Pentagon report concluded that repealing the “don’t ask, don’t tell” law would not cause overall harm to the military but might cause temporary disruptions, people familiar with the report said Thursday.
Video shows photographer being killed in 2007 air attack
WASHINGTON —The Web site WikiLeaks.org released a graphic video on Monday showing an American helicopter shooting and killing a Reuters photographer and driver in a July 2007 attack in Baghdad.
Gates Says U.S. May Need to Keep 100 Guantanamo Detainees
Defense Secretary Robert Gates suggested Thursday that as many as 100 detainees would be held without trial on American soil if the prison camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, was closed, a situation that he acknowledged would create widespread if not unanimous opposition in Congress.
McCain Set to Announce Running Mate on Friday
Sen. John McCain has decided on his running mate, two Republican strategists in contact with McCain’s campaign said Wednesday. He is expected to reveal his choice at a rally at a basketball arena in Dayton, Ohio, at 11 a.m. on Friday.
McCain Asserts Greenhouse Gas Emissions Must Be Capped
Sen. John McCain sought to distance himself from President Bush on Monday as he called for a mandatory limit on greenhouse gas emissions in the United States to combat climate change.
Risks Seen for McCain in Politics of Economic Crisis
Sen. John McCain had intended to ride back into Washington on Thursday as a leader who had put aside presidential politics to help broker a solution to the financial crisis.
McCain and Palin: Etiquette and the Coed Ticket
For now, the rule is simple: Hug your running mate, kiss your wife.
McCain Faults Bush’s Emergency Response to Katrina Disaster
Sen. John McCain took direct aim at the Bush administration Thursday as he stood in the lower 9th Ward of New Orleans, the area hardest hit by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, and declared the handling of the disaster “terrible and disgraceful” and pledged that it would never happen again.
Pres. Candidates Converge As Iraq War Enters Spotlight
Three presidential candidates and two very different views of Iraq will be on full display on Tuesday as Gen. David H. Petraeus, the top American commander in Baghdad, testifies before the Senate in a marathon session of war and White House ambitions.
McCain Disaffirms Aides’ Concern Over Close Ties to Female Lobbyist
Sen. John McCain on Thursday disputed an account in The New York Times that top advisers had confronted him during his first presidential run with concerns about his ties to a woman lobbyist.
After Romney Bows Out, McCain Emerges As Likely GOP Choice
Sen. John McCain of Arizona all but sewed up the Republican presidential nomination on Thursday after Mitt Romney withdrew from the race, saying the war in Iraq and the terrorist threat made it imperative that the party unite.