Word: pentagons
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Public beheadings in Afghanistan are usually associated with the Taliban, but on Monday it was Defense Secretary Robert Gates metaphorically wielding the ax from the Pentagon platform. Gates announced that he had asked for and received the resignation of his top commander in Afghanistan, Army General David McKiernan, after McKiernan spent only 11 months in that theater. The 37-year veteran will be replaced by Army Lieut. General Stanley McChrystal. Army Lieut. General David Rodriguez, the Defense Secretary's own top military aide, is to serve in a newly created post as McChrystal's deputy...
...Gates took pains on Monday to avoid criticizing McKiernan. He told the four-star general that his Army career was effectively over during a face-to-face meeting in Afghanistan last week. "This was a kick in the teeth, but McKiernan took it extraordinarily well," a senior Pentagon official said. Other military officials were less courteous. "I still can't figure out why they put an armored guy with no Afghan experience in charge," one said. A second senior official said, "Dave McKiernan is clearly part of the Army's old guard - he led troops in [1991's] Desert Storm...
...downside, however, the Arbil three are, in the Pentagon's eyes, hardened Iranian agents dedicated to undermining stability in Iraq. Washington believes the Revolutionary Guard remains an active sponsor of militant and terrorist groups throughout the region. And the U.S. is wary of establishing a precedent of seeking the release of detained civilians by freeing government operatives held for involvement in espionage or other covert activities...
Sexual assault cases in the military have risen significantly in recent years as well. A Pentagon report released earlier this year said 165 cases of sexual assault were reported among troops serving in Afghanistan and Iraq in 2008, up 26% from the year before. The overall incident rate was up 8% among U.S. service members serving worldwide, with 2,923 cases of sexual assault reported. U.S. military officials have stressed that some of the rise in the figures may be attributable to an increase in the reporting of incidents but acknowledged that the trend was troubling in any case...
Suicides in the U.S. military are at record levels and rising too. Pentagon data show that in 2008 military suicides rose for the fourth year in a row to reach nearly a 30-year high at 128. The actual number is almost certainly greater, since more than a dozen cases presumed to be suicides were still under formal investigation when the report was released in January. (See pictures of the families of military recruiters who have committed suicide...