Threats

Top General Wants 10,000 U.S. Troops in Afghanistan until 2017

Gen. Joseph Dunford is reportedly pushing a plan to keep 10,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan until 2017. By Stephanie Gaskell

Business

Hagel Orders a Review of the Nuclear Force

The decision follows a string of incidents that have raised questions abut morale and security. By Jordain Carney

Ideas

Do U.S. Troops Really Need to Stay in Afghanistan?

A top U.S. commander says Afghan security forces can take on the Taliban. Does the U.S. need to stay for Afghanistan to succeed? By Stephanie Gaskell

Business

Playing the Defense Jobs Card Isn’t Working Anymore

By our count, there are half the F-35 jobs as Lockheed claims. Using defense jobs to fight budget cuts isn’t working like it used to, for good reason. By William D. Hartung

Business

Budget Cuts Are Hurting the Pentagon's Ability to Identify Budget Cuts

Budget cuts are hampering the Pentagon's effort to track and identify areas to find savings. By Charles S. Clark

Science & Tech

BlackBerrys Will Make Up 98% of Mobile Devices on New DOD System

The system is intended to secure a mix of smartphones will primarily support BlackBerrys when it launches later this month. By Aliya Sternstein

Policy

Sen. Gillibrand Is Still Optimistic on Military Sexual Assault Reform

Sen. Gillibrand is looking longer-term, hoping to build off her first try to gather support for a future attempt to take the chain of command out of military sexual assault cases. By Stacy Kaper

Policy

HASC Chairman Rep. Buck McKeon to Retire

The longtime chairman of the House Armed Services Committee will not seek re-election. By Kevin Baron

Business

Former Pentagon Deputy Beth McGrath Joins Deloitte

The Pentagon's former deputy chief management officer Beth McGrath is joining Deliotte Consulting. By Charles S. Clark

Threats

Is Edward Snowden Really a Whistleblower?

The answer depends on whether you believe the National Security Agency was doing anything illegal. By Allison Stanger

Ideas

How Hollywood Helps Recruit for the Military

War films like Lone Survivor are essentially multi-million dollar recruitment videos. By Calum March

Business

Gates, Obama and the Use of Military Force in the Middle East

Bob Gates’ new memoir illuminates a fundamental, post-Iraq and Afghanistan change in how Americans view the use of military force. By David Rohde

Ideas

Hagel’s Nuclear Site Tour Is a Good Start

Perhaps Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel has come around on nuclear disarmament in visiting the troops this week. It’s a good bet he won’t like what he hears. By Rep. Mike Rogers

Business

Gates’ Love-Hate Relationship with Bureaucracy

“Up close, Congress is truly ugly,” former Defense Secretary Bob Gates writes in his new memoir. By Tom Shoop

Business

The Day Bob Gates Almost Quit

Former Defense Secretary Robert Gates praises and criticizes Obama, while revealing a deep exasperation for national security politics. By Kevin Baron

Policy

The Next Fight Over Military Sexual Assault Is Already Here

Senators Claire McCaskill and Kirsten Gillibrand are set to clash over competing proposals to reform military justice once the Senate returns. By Stacy Kaper

Threats

Poll: Cyber Attacks Biggest Threat to National Security

60 percent of respondents also say that the Army's budget should be cut as money becomes more scarce. By Jordain Carney

Business

How Sequestration Weakened the Defense Lobby

Warnings that sequestration would be Armageddon for the defense industry only hurt its credibility. By Sara Sorcher

Policy

The 600 Doomed Defense Bills of 2013

Believe it not, members of Congress introduced 600 defense-related bills last year. More than two-thirds went absolutely nowhere. By Jordain Carney

Business

Senate Backs NDAA With 1 Percent Pay Raise for Troops

The measure also extends the Pentagon's ability to provide housing allowances, reenlistment bonuses and foreign language incentives. By Eric Katz