Nuclear Navy Frets Over Panetta’s Concessions To New Zealand
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WASHINGTON: As the administration courts New Zealand’s support for its new Pacific strategy, at least some submariners are uneasy that the US might make too many concessions at the expense of the nuclear navy. “The SecDef for some reason became fascinated with New Zealand,” said Rear Adm. Robert Thomas, noting the country’s contributions in Afghanistan… Keep reading →
Panetta Will Take ‘Whatever The Hell Deal’ Congress Can Make On Sequestration
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PENTAGON: After a year of pleading, cajoling, wheedling, warning and whining, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has clearly reached the end of his rope when it comes to sequestration and Congress. Panetta and other senior defense officials have repeatedly argued the country must avoid sequestration because any deals would mean instability over time and thus pose… Keep reading →
Hungary Is Hungry for Hueys; Defense Minister Hopes For ‘A Donation’ EXCLUSIVE
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UPDATED: Friday Sept. 14, 6:52 p.m.. WASHINGTON: Hungary’s defense minister, Csaba Hende, went to see Defense Secretary Leon Panetta at the Pentagon today and won praise for his tiny Central European nation’s contributions in Afghanistan and elsewhere in the world. A spokesman, though, said Hende didn’t raise another issue he discussed in an exclusive interview… Keep reading →
Early Hill Praise For Next JSF Director As Deputy Nominated To Replace Venlet
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WASHINGTON: The Lockheed Martin Joint Strike Fighter is the biggest conventional weapons program in history and Vice Adm. David Venlet has run it to much acclaim and quite a bit of backbiting, depending on who you talk with. This afternoon the Pentagon very quietly sent out notice that Defense Secretary Leon Panetta had nominated Venlet’s… Keep reading →
Pentagon, Congress Must Break ‘Logjam’ Over Japan, Guam Bases: CSIS
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CAPITOL HILL: Senate Armed Services Committee leaders released a 100-plus-page report on the administration’s Asia strategy today, including — perhaps inadvertently — four pages of comments from Defense Secretary Leon Panetta. Congress commissioned the study from the Center for Strategic and International Studies in the authorization bill for fiscal year 2012. SASC chairman Sen. Carl… Keep reading →
Sequester Would Force 100,000-Troop Cut, Panetta Tells HASC
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Panetta: sequestration would require getting rid of 100,000 troops – http://bit.ly/MMCbXc. Our past coverage: http://aol.it/K5YGSp SydneyFreedberg
We Spend Too Much On Defense
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Washington, DC is echoing with a chorus of “sequester fear.” It is an election year and the cacophony is deafening: sequester is a budgetary Pearl Harbor, a “doomsday machine” that will shred our national security. The Pentagon says it, members of Congress from both parties say it, and the defense industry is jumping up and… Keep reading →
BREAKING: Pakistan Reopens Supply Lines – Free of Charge; Clinton Apologizes – Sort Of
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WASHINGTON: After months of deadlock and $2.1 billion in extra costs to the Pentagon, Pakistan agreed to reopen NATO supply lines to Afghanistan after getting the high-level civilian apology it had long sought from the US. The price besides American pride? Zero. Top Afghanistan commander Gen. John Allen and other military officers had expressed regret… Keep reading →
BREAKING: SecDef Panetta Says Pakistan Reopening Supply Lines
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BREAKING: SecDef Panetta says Pakistan has reopened PAKGLOC supply lines – for real this time? http://1.usa.gov/P34Etc SydneyFreedberg
Panetta & Dempsey Slam Sequester, Defend Afghanistan Strategy
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PENTAGON: Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and Joint Chiefs chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey took the stage together at the Pentagon this afternoon, 12 months after Panetta took office, to urge Congressional action against sequestration and to defend the administration’s strategy in Afghanistan. The normally calm Panetta became audibly emotional as he discussed the sacrifices of the… Keep reading →