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Typically military posture hearings are a chance for lawmakers to grandstand and spout political soundbites that they promote to constituents in their home districts.
Those at the witness table often stick to their script of talking points, rarely deviating from the party line, and often times don’t even get a chance to respond as a member’s time for questioning expires.
But every now and then, tensions boil over and witness goes off script. That’s exactly what happened Thursday. More
House Armed Services Committee Ranking Member Adam Smith, D-Wash., says US military action in Syria would be unlikely to tip the balance in that nation's civil war. (Will Seberger/MCT via Getty Images)
President Barack Obama is taking heat from the left and right for what members of both political parties are calling his murky policy toward Syria, where the U.S. intelligence committee believes government forces used “small” amount of chemical weapons.
Many Republicans and Democrats are calling for Obama to steer the United States into the years-old civil war, hopeful American military intervention or other direct actions could tip the balance toward rebel forces and oust Bashar al-Assad’s regime. They are criticizing Obama for carrying out an incoherent strategy on Syria.
Those searching for insights about why Obama so far is reluctant to get directly involved should carefully study the words of Washington Rep. Adam Smith, the top House Armed Services Committee Democrat and an Obama administration ally. On Syria, Smith’s stance appears to capture the commander in chief’s conclusions about a U.S. mission there quite accurately. Just call him the “Obama Whisperer.” More
Members of the Al-Ezz bin Abdul Salam brigade hold their weapons sitting in the back of an open pickup truck on their way from al-Rabeea to the al-Turkman mountains in the Latakia province, western Syria on April 25. ( MIGUEL MEDINA/AFP/Getty Images)
The Obama administration said Thursday U.S. intelligence agencies believe Syrian forces have used chemical weapons in that nation’s civil war, but it remains unclear if officials believe the alleged actions cross a “red line” that will lead to U.S. military involvement there.
U.S. President Barack Obama has said any evidence that Syrian leader Bashir al-Assad’s forces were using chemical or biological weapons against civilians or rebel forces would cross a “red line” that could cause the U.S. to step in. On Thursday, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said the administration has notified lawmakers in a letter that Assad’s forces have done just that. Lawmakers already are pressuring Obama to get involved in the years-old civil war, revealing, for any commander in chief, the problem with establishing “red lines.” More
COMMANDERS IN CHIEF -- (L-R) U.S. President Barack Obama, former President George W. Bush, former President Bill Clinton, former President George H.W. Bush and former President Jimmy Carter attend the opening ceremony of the George W. Bush Presidential Center on Thursday in Dallas. All five living U.S. commanders in chief together is among the rarest occasions in politics and national defense. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
Retired U.S. Army Gen. Stanley McChrystal pauses while speaking during a January discussion at the Brookings Institution in Washington. (BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images)
This is America. Land of opportunity. The global hub of capitalism. A place where a mentor once told your correspondent: “Figure out what you’re good at. Then use that to make some money.”
Retired Army Gen. Stanley McChrystal, fired by President Barack Obama after an embarrassing incident involving a Rolling Stone reporter, is good at something: Killing Islamic extremist terrorists. And he wants to help you use what he’s good at to make money.
No, really. Your correspondent is not making this up. It’s all described in a lengthy email that landed in the inbox this morning with this subject subject line: “Applying GEN McChrystal’s Combat Tested Military Principles To Make Business Better at Beating the Competition and Innovation.” Just click “more” for a few McChrystal gems on, as the email put its “What Business Leaders Can Achieve from the ‘Terrorist Targeting Cycle’ for Their Companies.” More
U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel (L) walks with Deputy Minister of Defense Prince Fahd bin Abdullah upon his arrival at King Khaled International Airport on April 23, 2013 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Hagel arrived in Mideast at the start of a six-day regional tour, his first since taking over as Pentagon chief two months ago, which was likely to be dominated by concerns over Iran's nuclear program and Syria's civil war. (Jim Watson - Pool/Getty Images)
Since last December, Congress has had Fiscal Cliff Week then Sequestration Week then CR Week and most recently Budget Week. The Senate even had Guns Week. And now comes Drone Week.
Two congressional panels on Tuesday are holding hearings on the role of armed unmanned aircraft in future military operations — and the very legality of using armed drones to kill al Qaeda leaders and operatives. Yet, data about the frequency of U.S. drone strikes reveals several interesting things. More
U.S. Air Force pararescuemen from the 48th Rescue Squadron conduct swift water rescue training April 10, 2013 near Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz., during Angel Thunder 2013. Angel Thunder is the largest joint service, multinational, interagency combat search and rescue exercise designed to train personnel recovery assets using a variety of scenarios to simulate deployment conditions and contingencies. (Staff Sgt. Tim Chacon/USAF)
US Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel and Israeli Minister of Defense Moshe Yaalon speak during a joint press conference at the Ministry of Defense in Tel Aviv, Israel on April 22, 2013. (AFP PHOTO/POOL/JIM WATSON)
Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel is in Israel, working out deals for the V-22 and helping to firm up plans for future military aid. Stay tuned to DefenseNews.com, where we’ll have updates as news breaks.
U.S. President Barack Obama speaks from the White House about the capture of Boston marathon and Watertown, Mass., shootout suspect Dzhokhar A. Tsarnaev on Friday evening. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)
President Barack Obama appeared late Friday night in the White House briefing room to applaud local and federal law enforcement officials for their efforts in capturing the second suspect in this week’s dramatic and deadly events in the Boston area. As he did, several Republican senators he has courted in recent weeks were pressing him to treat the young suspect as an enemy combatant.
The president called the dramatic capture in Watertown, Mass., of 19-year-old Dzhokhar Tsarnaev “an important chapter in this tragedy.”
But it’s hardly the end for Obama and his administration. Local and federal law enforcement officials, in a nationally televised press conference, acknowledged they opted against reading the suspect his Miranda rights. Federal terrorism laws allow such moves in situations of national security, the officials said. Soon, the commander in chief will face a crucial decision that will shape U.S. counterterrorism and legal policy for years to come. More
