Blog Profile / Battleland

How the Iraq War Got Off on the Wrong Foot

It’s always fascinating to listen to an eyewitness to history recount what was happening when the rest of us were relying on press releases and government spin. That’s what makes the comments from a retired Army colonel about the 2003 invasion of Iraq by the U.S. Show More Summary

The Increasingly Inefficient Triad

A new Congressional Research Service report contains this interesting chart, which tracks the sharp reduction in the nation’s strategic nuclear warheads alongside the scant reduction in its strategic nuclear launchers. The Obama Administration,...Show More Summary

The Military Aerospace Market: Sky’s No Longer the Limit

As the industry’s all-important Paris Air Show gets underway, the outlook for the defense sector appears like a UFO blip on a radar screen: something’s definitely there, but how much of a threat it poses is uncertain. One thing, however,...Show More Summary

Who Knew Calendars Could be So Grim?

June is PTSD Awareness Month. May was Mental Health Awareness Month. September will be Suicide Awareness Month. More public-service announcements about “seeking help is a sign of strength.” Despite the monthly exhortations, most service members do not seek help for PTSD or the related illness of depression. Show More Summary

Award-Winning Journalist Michael Hastings Dies

(LOS ANGELES) — Award-winning journalist and war correspondent Michael Hastings, whose unflinching reporting ended the career of a top American army general, died early Tuesday in a car accident in Los Angeles, his employer and family said. Show More Summary

New Video, $65K Reward in ’08 Times Square Bombing

(NEW YORK) — New video footage of a suspected bomber riding a blue bicycle was offered Tuesday along with a $65,000 award in an effort to generate leads in the 2008 blast at the military recruitment station in Times Square. Photos and...Show More Summary

Tornado Spotted Near Denver Airport Terminal

(LA JUNTA, Colo.) — A tornado warning for Denver International Airport is over and no damage has been reported. Passengers had to take shelter in bathrooms and stairwells for about a half-hour Tuesday after the warning was issued. The National Weather Service said a confirmed tornado was spotted in the area. Show More Summary

Chrysler Agrees to Recall of Jeeps at Risk of Fire

(DETROIT) — Chrysler says it has resolved its differences with the government and will recall older Jeep Grand Cherokee and Liberty SUVs that could be at risk of a fuel tank fire. Earlier this month the company refused the government’s request to recall the Jeeps. Show More Summary

Women in Combat Marching Orders Issued

One thing the U.S. military can do is draft reports. The Pentagon has released the services’ plans detailing how women are to be integrated into front-line combat units over the next couple of years. The reports are from the Army, the Navy, the Air Force, the Marines and the Special Operations Command. Show More Summary

Utah Church Shooter Charged with Attempted Murder

(OGDEN, Utah) — A Utah man charged with attempted murder in the shooting of his father-in-law during a Father’s Day Mass has made his first court appearance. The 35-year-old Charles “Ricky” Jennings Jr. made a brief video appearance Tuesday in Ogden. Show More Summary

Civil Rights Groups Sue NYPD over Muslim Spying

(WASHINGTON) — Civil rights lawyers urged a federal judge to declare the New York Police Department’s widespread spying programs directed at Muslims to be unconstitutional, order police to stop their surveillance and destroy any records in police files. Show More Summary

Viewpoint: The Real Proof of Citizenship

Women in Combat: The Numbers Racket

The Pentagon will detailed Tuesday when women will be eligible to train for and join the U.S. military’s most elite units, including Army Rangers and Navy SEALs. But it’s not those dates on the calendar – 2015 for Rangers and 2016 for SEALs — that are going to be the most important. Show More Summary

The Fulcrum of Sexual Assault in the Military

Experts say sexual violence isn’t about sex as much as it is about power. That may help explain why the problem has long seemed intractable in the U.S. military, where hierarchy defines everything, and a commander’s order is accepted without hesitation. Show More Summary

Does This Mean the CIA Might Soon Have Access to Your Amazon Wish List?

More bad news on the government-prying front. It seems the Central Intelligence Agency wants to award four-year contract worth up to $600 million “for commercial cloud services” to Amazon Web Services, part of the huge and growing Amazon.com family. Show More Summary

Top Secrets

One of the reasons Edward Snowden was apparently able to snag a well-paying job at Booz Allen Hamilton – to the firm’s eternal regret, no doubt – is that he already possessed a Top Secret security clearance he obtained while working for the CIA. Show More Summary

Ex-hitman: I Was Heartbroken Bulger Was Informant

(BOSTON) — An ex-gangster who admitted killing 20 people was unemotional Monday when describing his line of work at the trial of his former partner, James “Whitey” Bulger, but called himself heartbroken when he learned that Bulger had become an FBI informant. Show More Summary

Google Settles Suit, Clears Way for Stock Split

(SAN FRANCISCO) — Google has resolved a shareholder lawsuit blocking a long-delayed stock split, clearing the way for the Internet search leader to issue a new class of non-voting shares later this year. The settlement announced Monday...Show More Summary

Ex-NFL Star Chad Johnson Released From Jail

(FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla.) — A contrite Chad Johnson apologized Monday for disrespecting a judge when the former NFL star slapped his attorney on the backside in court last week and was released from jail after only a week instead of 30 days. Show More Summary

Court: ‘Pay to Delay’ Generic Drugs Can Be Illegal

(WASHINGTON) — Deals between pharmaceutical corporations and their generic drug competitors, which government officials say keep cheaper forms of medicine off the market, can sometimes be illegal and therefore can be challenged in court, the Supreme Court said Monday. Show More Summary