Word: pentagonals
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...weeks ago, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates trooped up to Capitol Hill to answer questions about the new Pentagon budget. This is an unseemly spectacle under the best of circumstances. Even reasonable members of Congress have been known to empretzel themselves shamelessly, attempting to defend weapons the Pentagon doesn't want or need, but which provide jobs for their constituents. Usually, they win, too. It is just too difficult for a Secretary of Defense to argue against shiny new weapons systems with subcontractors in 46 states, even if they are fantastically over budget and designed to counter a missile threat...
Ever since the release of the Pentagon Papers, which detailed America’s extensive involvement in the Vietnam War, including the controversial decision to bomb then-neutral Cambodia and Laos, the American people have learned the hard way that there is often a massive credibility gap between what Washington tells them and the realities on the ground. The Bush administration’s refusal to be honest about what happened at Guantánamo Bay and Abu Ghraib not only hurt its credibility at home but also inspired much hatred, indignity, and anti-Americanism abroad. If the Obama administration...
...shed some light on the dark practices; the ensuing uproar, from both sides of the political divide, has only made things murkier. For many, the controversies make the case for an independent inquiry: what better way to sweep aside the politics and get to the facts? (Read about the Pentagon's role in torture tactics...
...western provinces. Defense Secretary Robert Gates told reporters in mid-2007 that "given the quantities that we're seeing, it is difficult to believe that it's associated with smuggling or the drug business or that it's taking place without the knowledge of the Iranian government." (The Pentagon declined a follow-up inquiry) (Check out TIME's cover story on how to save Afghanistan...
...this year to put the brakes on its nuclear-weapons program. If Tehran refuses to budge, the U.S. says it will push for sanctions. If those fail, Washington is keeping open the option of a military strike. Security sources tell TIME that soon after taking office, Obama urged the Pentagon to come up with a military plan to take out Iranian nuclear facilities in 2010, just in case. No doubt this pleases the Israeli Premier. As Israeli newspaper columnist Nahum Barnea wrote recently, "For Netanyahu, preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons is everything." (Read about world leaders' view of Obama...