Word: centcom
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...Administration spent much of last week distancing itself from McChrystal's recommendation. "There are other assessments from very expert military analysts that have worked on counterinsurgencies that are the exact opposite," Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told PBS's NewsHour. But with Centcom commander General David Petraeus and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Michael Mullen lining up behind McChrystal, some Republicans are accusing the President of risking the lives of the nearly 68,000 troops already in Afghanistan by "dithering," as the top Republican on the Intelligence Committee, Kit Bond, put it on Fox News Sunday...
...Although Petraeus quickly added "all joking aside," the collateral damage was already done. Air Force partisans got wind of the Centcom chief's comments and tracked them down to the Marine Corps Association website, which carried both the text of Petraeus' prepared remarks - including the ponytail crack - and a video of his talk. On Thursday, the Air Force Association daily newsletter called Petraeus' remarks "beyond outrageous" and said they "belittled the contributions of the Air Force to the joint force." The association, a non-profit educational group that supports the service, said the comment is "symptomatic of the long-held...
...credit they deserve. True, fighter pilots get an outsize share of attention to match their egos. But it's the flyboys-and-girls ferrying people, fuel and supplies - and piloting reconnaissance flights - around the globe that keep the war machine humming. "Petraeus, as leader of Centcom, the joint force charged with running operations in Southwest Asia, should have known better than to make such disparaging remarks, even in jest," the Air Force Association declared...
...Africom would be front and center in battling the piracy now rampant off Somalia's coast. But in fact Africom deals only with African territory, and not the seas surrounding it. Those are monitored by U.S. Central Command, also responsible for the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. This disconnect - Centcom if by sea, Africom if by land - highlights the challenge facing the Pentagon as it tries to grapple with 21st century pirates who thrive amid chaos...
...Africom's only role in battling pirates is helping Centcom hand over the captured ones - 130 so far this year - to East African nations for trial. Africom still has a lot of kinks to work out. At that House hearing on March 19, Ward acknowledged that he has only a "very small command" - headquartered in Stuttgart, Germany - to deal with Africa, and not a soul on Somali soil. But things are getting better. "Every day improvements are made," Ward said. "I count it a victory when I can pick up the phone or send an e-mail and it goes...