Noah Shachtman got an interview with Adm. Michael Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and asked about the likely prospective NATO-Afghan offensive in Kandahar. Specifically, Shachtman wanted to know how a U.S. military that’s emphasized the need for local buy-in from Kandaharis for the attack is More…
Haaretz reports on comments the undersecretary of defense for policy, Michele Flournoy, made in Singapore about Iran:
The U.S. has ruled out a military strike against Iran’s nuclear program any time soon, hoping instead negotiations and United Nations sanctions will prevent the Middle East nation from developing nuclear weapons,
To take one more crack at Adm. Michael Mullen’s comments after a Columbia University address yesterday, it’s certainly clear that the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff took pains to keep any military option against Iran as a last resort. But he may have shifted his emphasis about More…
Noah Shachtman attends a Columbia University address by Adm. Michael Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, that featured the admiral tamping down the persistent speculation that the U.S. or perhaps certain anxious Mideastern allies will attack Iran:
Sure, U.S. strikes might set back Tehran’s atomic
At noon in the Pentagon briefing room, flanked by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, Energy Secretary Steven Chu and Adm. Mike Mullen, Defense Secretary Robert Gates will unveil a Nuclear Posture Review that rejects U.S. nuclear retaliation for a non-nuclear strike. It’s a consensus administration document. Which means More…
At a White House briefing on the “New START” treaty on mutual nuclear weapons reductions with the Russians, senior Obama administration officials pressed the case that there ought to be what Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called “broad bipartisan support” for the accord, which requires 67 votes in a More…
Kalsoom Lakhani over at Changing Up Pakistan takes a look at the conclusion of this week’s ministerial talks.
[A]s expected, a diplomatic “We’re Just Not That Into You” move on the civilian nuclear deal and drone strike technology, but a thumbs up on the substantial topics, i.e. development.
Lt. Dan Choi — the West Point graduate, Iraq veteran, Arabic linguist and arguably most forceful advocate for repealing “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” — had a simple question for Defense Secretary Robert Gates after Gates’ announcement of changes to the implementation of the ban on open gay military service. More…
McClatchy’s Nancy Youssef has a big story: as a dividend for leaving Iraq, the Marines will spend twice as much time at home as deployed in a combat zone, reaching the desired two-to-one so-called “dwell to deployment” ratio that the Army won’t see until at least 2012. As the Marines More…
I’ve confirmed with Pakistan’s Washington embassy that Gen. Ashfaq Pervez Kayani, the chief of staff of the Pakistani Army, will arrive in D.C. early next week. He’ll spend four days in town, probably joining Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi for Wednesday’s big bilateral talks at the State Department, and definitely More…
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