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DA NANG, Vietnam, Nov. 17, 2009 – Nearly 35 years ago, Navy Cmdr. H.B. Le left Vietnam aboard a fishing trawler. He returned at the helm of a U.S. Navy warship when the guided-missile destroyer USS Lassen arrived here Nov. 7 for a scheduled port visit. Navy Cmdr. H.B. Le, commanding officer of the guided-missile destroyer USS Lassen, speaks to reporters in front of the U.S. 7th Fleet command ship USS Blue Ridge in Da Nang, Vietnam, Nov. 7, 2009. It was Le's first visit to Vietnam after leaving the country with his family in 1975. U.S. Navy photo by...

General George Casey Jr., the Army chief of staff, said on Sunday that he was concerned that speculation about the religious beliefs of Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, accused of killing 12 fellow soldiers and one civilian and wounding dozens of others in a shooting rampage at Fort Hood, could “cause a backlash against some of our Muslim soldiers.” “I’ve asked our Army leaders to be on the lookout for that,” General Casey said in an interview on CNN’s “State of the Union. “It would be a shame — as great a tragedy as this was — it would be a...

President Obama does not have the one-on-one relationship with Gen. McChrystal that President Bush did with Gen. Petraeus, but rather a more traditional one along the chain of command. Reporting from Washington - President Obama and his predecessor differ significantly in their approach to America's wars. They differ at least as much in their relationship with their top battlefield commander. During the Bush administration, Army Gen. David H. Petraeus, the then-ground commander in Iraq, assumed the role of a trusted advisor who frequently visited the White House or talked to the president by phone.

GENEVA, October 16, 2009 -- Today's emergency UN Human Rights Council debate on the Goldstone Report predictably saw a line-up of the world's worst abusers condemn democratic Israel for human rights violations. In a heated lynch mob atmosphere, Kuwait slammed Israel for “intentional killing, intentional destruction of civilian objects, intentional scorched-earth policy,” saying Israel “embodied the Agatha Christie novel, 'Escaped with Murder'.” Pakistan said the “horrors of Israeli occupation continue to haunt the international community’s conscience.” The Arab League said, “We must condemn Israel and force Israel to accept international legitimacy." Ahmadinejad’s Iran said “the atrocities committed against Palestinians during...

The top US military commander in Afghanistan has denied that there is a rift with the White House over sending more troops to Afghanistan. Gen Stanley McChrystal recently submitted a bleak assessment of the war in which he warned of the danger of failure without adequate resources.

WASHINGTON (AFP) – The top US and NATO commander in Afghanistan warned President Barack Obama in a confidential report that the war against the Taliban could be lost within a year without more troops. In a grim assessment of the eight-year conflict leaked to the Washington Post and published Monday, General Stanley McChrystal said a new strategy was needed and warned that "inadequate resources will likely result in failure. "Failure to gain the initiative and reverse insurgent momentum in the near-term (next 12 months) -- while Afghan security capacity matures -- risks an outcome where defeating the insurgency is no...

A German commander who ordered an air strike on fuel tankers that killed dozens of Afghans used intelligence from a single observer in a possible breach of tactical rules. An American warplane dropped 500lb bombs on the tankers after they were hijacked by Taliban militants and then became stuck in a river. Reports suggested dozens of civilians could have been burned alive alongside the militants as villagers crowded round the lorries to collect fuel before the bombs struck in northern Kunduz province. The Washington Post reported grainy live video footage seen by the officer from the F15 jet had not...

(CNSNews.com) - A terror suspect charged with the attempted murder of two U.S. soldiers -- before a judge ruled that his confession was coerced and inadmissible -- returned home to Afghanistan on Monday, the same day news broke of a policy change in interrogations. After many Democrats and some Republican lawmakers called the Central Intelligence Agency’s interrogation techniques such as playing loud music and waterboarding “torture,” President Barack Obama reassigned interrogation responsibilities from the CIA to the National Security Council – which is run out of the White House, the Washington Post first reported.

FORT JACKSON, S.C., Aug. 4, 2009 – Army Command Sgt. Maj. Teresa King of the 369th Adjutant General Battalion has been selected the next commandant of the U.S. Army Drill Sergeant School. Army Command Sgt. Maj. Teresa King will become the first female commandant of the Army’s Drill Sergeant School in September. U.S. Army photo by Crystal Lewis Brown  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. When she assumes responsibility in September, the ceremony not only will be commemorating a new school leader, but also the school’s first female commandant. King, who learned of the selection in June, will replace Army...

When asked how they feel about President-elect Barack Obama as commander in chief, six out of 10 active-duty service members say they are uncertain or pessimistic, according to a Military Times survey. In follow-up interviews, respondents expressed concerns about Obama's lack of military service and experience leading men and women in uniform. ''Being that the Marine Corps can be sent anywhere in the world with the snap of his fingers, nobody has confidence in this guy as commander in chief," said one lance corporal who asked not to be identified. Underlying much of the uncertainty is Obama's stated 16-month timetable...

KAILUA, Hawaii – He’s not the commander in chief yet, but was President-elect Barack Obama briefly practicing his salute on Sunday? On the first morning of his vacation here, Mr. Obama arrived at the Marine Corps Base Hawaii for his daily workout. As he walked out of the Semper Fit Center, his gray T-shirt soaked in sweat, he lifted his right hand and gave a quick salute to two Marines in fatigues who were standing in the distance. The brief moment was not captured by cameras. Photographs and video were not permitted to be taken on the military base, according...

That is why I am thankful above all that the next U.S. commander in chief is a constitutional lawyer. Nothing has been more damaging to the United States than the violation of the legal principles at the heart of the American idea.

ABC News’ Matthew Jaffe Reports: Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del., blew into the Buckeye State Friday afternoon, four days before Election Day, blasting Republican attacks against Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., and declaring that come Tuesday, Obama's critics will be calling him the next commander-in-chief. "Ladies and gentlemen, we need to move past the politics of division and attack," the Democratic vice-presidential nominee told a crowd of 2000 in Kettering. "Over the past week, Republicans have gone way over the top in my view, calling Barack Obama every name in the book, and it probably will get worse in the next three...

<p>SAN DIEGO - The commander of a Navy air reconnaissance squadron that provides the president and the defense secretary the airborne ability to command the nation's nuclear weapons has been relieved of duty, the Navy said Tuesday.</p> <p>Cmdr. Shawn Bentley was relieved of duty Monday by the Navy for loss of confidence in his ability to command, only three months after taking the job.</p>

Security progress in Basra is “overwhelming” and Iraq’s second-largest city could be “another Dubai in the coming decade,” the commander of Multi-National Division - Southeast said July 14, referring to the bustling international business hub. British Army Maj. Gen. Barney White-Spunner told Pentagon reporters via teleconference from Baghdad that Operation Charge of the Knights - ordered by Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki in March - has “well and truly” turned the tide in the city. Before the operation, militias controlled large parts of the city. Militia leaders, many under control of Iran, intimidated the populace and turned the city into...

MADRID (AFP) - Spanish police said Saturday they had arrested a 57-year-old Spanish woman they claim is the leader of the Spanish cell of Colombian Marxist rebel group FARC. Maria Remedios Garcia Albert was arrested at her home in the town of San Lorenzo de El Escorial, northeast of Madrid, they said. The interior ministry said Garcia Albert had provided logistical support for FARC and had direct contacts with Raul Reyes, the FARC number two who was killed by Colombian troops inside Ecuador earlier this year. Analysis of Reyes' computer passed on to Spanish investigators by Colombian authorities had led...

Stone took over a military detention system in April 2007 that was known mainly by the legacy of abuse at Abu Ghraib, the notorious prison west of Baghdad that was given back to the Iraqis in 2006. The detention facilities had become a breeding ground for extremism, hardening the radical beliefs of those held, U.S. officials have acknowledged. But under Stone, the military’s new focus on counter-insurgency operations was brought to the detention system, said Gen. David Petraeus, commander of U.S. forces in Iraq. "[Stone] revolutionized the way we perform detainee operations in Iraq,""Petraeus said. Calling Stone a man of...

BOGOTA, Colombia - Colombia's defense minister said security forces killed a leading commander of the FARC rebel group on Saturday. The commander known as "Raul Reyes" was also the leftist rebels' official spokesman, Juan Manuel Santos said a news conference. He was killed in the southern province of Putumayo, a long-time guerrilla stronghold near the border with Ecuador. It was by far the most severe blow to the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia since hardline President Alvaro Uribe took office in 2002. A total of 17 rebels and one soldier were killed in the fighting. As well as writing the...

HABBANIYAH, IRAQ (Feb. 12, 2008) -- If there is one unit in 1st Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 1, that observes their unit’s 200 square kilometer area of operation (AO) on a daily basis, it is the battalion commander’s personal security detachment (PSD). PSD provides transportation and security for the commander as he travels throughout the AO and to other key areas in the battle space, said Sgt. Jason S. Hubbard, PSD platoon commander. “Basically, we take the commander wherever he needs to go and provide security to make sure he is safe at all times,” said the...

CAIRO, Egypt - One al-Qaida's top commanders in Afghanistan, Abu Laith al-Libi was killed in Afghanistan, a Web site used by militant groups said Thursday. Al-Libi was a key link between the Taliban and al-Qaida. He led and al-Qaida training camp and appeared in a number of Internet videos. The U.S. says he was likely behind the February 2007 bombing at the U.S. base at Bagram in Afghanistan during a visit by Vice President Dick Cheney. The attack killed 23 people. While the claim could not be verified independently, the announcement of his death appeared as a banner in a...

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan - A key Taliban commander in southern Afghanistan has been dismissed for disobeying the militant group's rules, a Taliban spokesman said Saturday. Mansoor Dadullah was "disobeying orders" and conducting activities "against the Taliban's rules and regulations," said Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid. He did not provide any details. "For this reason Mullah Mansoor Dadullah is no longer in the Taliban and no longer a Taliban commander," Mujahid said in a statement he attributed to Taliban leader Mullah Omar. Dadullah rose in the militia's ranks as a key commander in southern Afghanistan after his brother, Mullah Dadullah, was killed during...

WASHINGTON – President Bush's top Iraq war commander said Sunday that as far as he knows, his command performances now and in the future will be strictly military, not political. In fact, Army Gen. David Petraeus cited the words of Civil War-era Gen. William T. Sherman in declaring he has no interest in shedding his uniform and running for the White House, as Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower did 55 years ago. “None,” Petraeus replied, when asked on “Fox News Sunday” if he had an interest in running. “I have great respect for those who do choose to serve our country...

BAGHDAD - The top U.S. commander in northern Iraq warned Wednesday that al-Qaida in Iraq was still capable of staging spectacular attacks despite a 50 percent drop in bombings and other violence in his region. Army Maj. Gen. Mark P. Hertling said that al-Qaida in Iraq was being pushed north by the increased numbers of U.S. troops that surged into Baghdad over the summer and fall, and from Anbar province by "awakening councils" — the groups of Iraqi Sunni tribesmen that the U.S. military has backed to help fight al-Qaida in Iraq and its allies. "Many of them have transited...

WASHINGTON, Dec. 5, 2007 – Though the rapid growth of Iraq’s Interior Ministry has posed challenges, the Iraqis are forging ahead with the process, the commander of the coalition police assistance training team in Iraq said yesterday. Army Maj. Gen. Michael Jones spoke to Web journalists and “bloggers” via telephone from his headquarters in Baghdad. The Interior Ministry has grown 450 percent since 2003, he said. “As I thought about it, I tried to imagine if this was the U.S. Army,” he said. If the Army grew at the same rate, there would be an active force of more than...

WASHINGTON -- A Marine company involved in the shooting of civilians in Afghanistan last March responded appropriately to an ambush against them, and should not have been pulled out of the country, the commander of Marine Corps special forces said Thursday. Marine Maj. Gen. Dennis J. Hejlik, head of Marine Corps Special Operations Command, also told reporters that a legal tribunal investigating the incident has been postponed until mid-January at the request of one of the officers involved. "Obviously it was not my decision to bring the company out of theater," Hejlik said. "It was the theater commander's decision. I...

COMBAT OUTPOST CLEARY — “My brigade must fight the enemy, communicate with the people of Salman Pak, and bring back public service all at once,” Col. A’amer Khamees Hameed, commander of the 1st Brigade, 1st National Police (NP) Division, said at a meeting with leaders from the 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, Nov. 13. “This meeting is the first step in all three directions,” Hameed said through a translator. The leaders met at the 1st NP brigade headquarters in Salman Pak, to welcome the new commander. Hameed took command of the unit in early November, assuming command from Brig. Gen....

HAWR RAJAB, Iraq, Nov. 9, 2007 – When Army Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch, commander of 3rd Infantry Division, walked the streets of Hawr Rajab on Nov. 7, he saw real progress in the city's security climate. Maj. Gen. Rich Lynch, 3rd Infantry Division commander, (center) walks the streets of Hawr Rajab, Iraq, with Col. Terry Ferrell (far right), commander of the 3rd Infantry Division’s 2nd Brigade Combat Team, Sheik Ali (to Lynch's left) and Sheik Mahir (to Lynch's right), Nov. 7, 2007. Photo by Sgt. Jason Stadel, USA   (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Four months ago, any U.S....

Nuclear Submarine Commander Removed Friday October 26, 2007 3:16 AM By CHELSEA J. CARTER Associated Press Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) - The commanding officer of the nuclear-powered submarine USS Hampton was relieved of his duty Thursday because of a loss of confidence in his leadership, the Navy said. Cmdr. Michael B. Portland was relieved of duty after a U.S. Navy investigation found the ship failed to do daily safety checks on its nuclear reactor for a month and falsified records to cover up the omission. ``His oversight of the crew's performance did not identify these issues'' on his own, Navy...

We can attack Iran, says US commander By Alex Spillius in Washington Last Updated: 8:14pm BST 19/10/2007 America's top military officer said the country does have the resources to attack Iran, despite the strain of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Adm Michael Mullen, who took over as chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff three weeks ago, said diplomacy remained the priority in dealing with Iran's suspected plans to develop a nuclear weapon and its support for anti-US insurgents in Iraq. But at a press conference he said: "there is more than enough reserve to respond (militarily) if that,...

Ex-US commander at Iraq jail faces trialSat Oct 13, 2:25 PM ET BAGHDAD - A former U.S. commander at the jail that held Saddam Hussein will face trial next week on charges of aiding the enemy by providing a cell phone to detainees and acting inappropriately with an interpreter, the military said Saturday. Army Lt. Col. William H. Steele, a reservist from Prince George, Va., pleaded guilty on Oct. 7 to three of seven charges, which carry a maximum sentence of six years in prison, forfeiture of pay and dismissal from the Army, according to the military. He will be...

The following directive was issued by the commanding officer of all naval installations in the Middle East; includes Marines as well: To: All Commands Subj: Inappropriate T-Shirts Ref: ComMidEast For Inst 16134//24 K All commanders promulgate upon receipt. The following T-shirts are no longer to be worn on or off base by any military or civilian personnel serving in the Middle East: 1. a. "Shrine Busters" [Show burning minarets or bomb/artellery shells impacting Islamic shrines. Some with unit logos.] b. "Napalm - Sticks Like Crazy" [Both English & Arabic versions] c. "Goat - it isn't just for breakfast any more."...

WASHINGTON, Sept. 10, 2007 – Afghan national police advised by coalition forces detained a Taliban district commander in an operation designed to disrupt insurgent activities in Ghazni province early this morning. Maulawi Ahmad Jan is known to be extensively involved in coordinating insurgent activities in the province. He has directed bombings and ambush attacks against Afghan and coalition forces throughout the region. During a search of the commander’s compound, Afghan police discovered a weapons and ammunition cache. “With Ahmad Jan now detained, Ghazni will be a less dangerous place,” said Army Maj. Chris Belcher, a Combined Joint Task Force 82...

Commander killed in Pakistan mosque siege By Isambard Wilkinson Last Updated: 7:33pm BST 08/07/2007 A Pakistani commander was killed today after troops came under heavy fire from students and suspected militants holed up in a besieged mosque in the capital, Islamabad. A lieutenant-colonel was killed as his troops attempted to blow holes in the walls of the mosque compound in the hope that hundreds of women and children could escape. Troops have surrounded the Lal Masjid, or Red Mosque, in Islamabad since Tuesday when clashes between armed students and security forces began after months of tension. The known death toll...

WASHINGTON, May 31, 2007 – Iraqi troops captured a militia commander, a U.S. helicopter crew destroyed a heavily armed vehicle, and an Iraqi police chief and more than a dozen associates have been arrested, military officials reported. Iraqi special operations forces apprehended a commander in radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr’s illegal militia during an early morning raid in Kadamiyah, a central suburb of Baghdad, yesterday. The suspect allegedly is responsible for providing financial, logistical and political support for insurgent groups and terrorist organizations. He also is suspected of managing operations to murder and intimidate local Iraqis, ordering several attacks on coalition...

DUBAI (AFP) - Al-Qaeda number two Ayman al-Zawahiri praised the slain Taliban commander Mullah Dadullah and called his death a "good omen for victory" against the US-led coalition in Afghanistan, in a video posted on the Internet Tuesday. Dadullah, known as the Taliban's top military strategist, was killed in southern Afghanistan's Helmand province on May 11 in a joint Afghan and international operation. One-legged Dadullah was the most senior Taliban figure to be killed since the 2001 toppling of the extremist group's government. A purported voice recording of Zawahiri confirms Dadullah's death in the video produced by As-Sahab, a media...

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- America's top military commander in Iraq has sent a letter to troops challenging them to "occupy the moral high ground" after a Pentagon survey showed some service members were reluctant to report the "illegal actions" of fellow personnel. In the letter, dated Thursday, Gen. David Petraeus wrote he was "concerned" with the poll's findings. "This fight depends on securing the population, which must understand that we -- not our enemies -- occupy the moral high ground," he said. The survey of ethics, released last week, assessed the mental health and ethical attitudes of more than 1,300...

BAGHDAD - The top U.S. commander in Iraq reminded troops Thursday they must fight by the rules after a Pentagon survey found many of them support torture in certain cases and would not report a comrade for killing or wounding civilians. In a letter to U.S. service members, Gen. David Petraeus said that adhering to high moral values "distinguishes us from our enemy" and is essential to winning support among the Iraqi population — the cornerstone of the new U.S. counterinsurgency strategy. By contrast, Petraeus said al-Qaida's "indiscriminate attacks" had finally begun "to turn a substantial proportion of the Iraqi...

A former U.S. prison camp commander in Iraq will learn within weeks whether he’ll face court-martial for aiding the enemy by allowing detainees to make unsupervised calls on his cell phone, a charge that could carry the death penalty if he is convicted. Lt. Col. William H. Steele, a 51-year-old Army reservist from Virginia, is also accused of fraternizing with a detainee’s daughter, mishandling classified information, maintaining an inappropriate relationship with an interpreter, possessing pornographic videos, failing to obey an order and dereliction of duty for misusing government funds. Testimony wrapped up earlier this week during a two-day hearing to...

Baghdad - The commander of the US military prison in Iraq which held former dictator Saddam Hussein has been detained by military police and is under investigation, a military spokesperson said on Thursday. Lieutenant Colonel William Steele will face a hearing before a panel of officers to decide whether he should face a court martial, Lieutenant Colonel Josslyn Aberle told AFP in Baghdad, without specifying the charges. "He has been detained and is now in Kuwait. His current status is that he is in confinement and waiting for his Article 32 hearing. All other details will be released soon, including...

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip - A Hamas military commander was killed Tuesday in a shootout with Fatah gunmen shortly before the leaders of the two groups met to try to bridge their differences over a power-sharing deal. At least seven people were wounded in the gun battle in Gaza City. A spokesman for Hamas' military wing, Abu Obeidah, blamed the killing of Allah Haddad, 35, on the Preventive Security force loyal to President Mahmoud Abbas of Fatah. The security force confirmed that one of its people was wounded in a shooting incident, but said the matter was a family feud...

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan - A top Taliban commander said Wednesday the group has 4,000 fighters bracing to rebuff NATO's largest-ever offensive in northern Afghanistan, now in its second day. Suicide bombers are ready, land mines have been planted and helicopters will be targeted, Mullah Abdul Qassim, the top Taliban commander in Helmand province told The Associated Press. NATO, meanwhile, announced the capture of a senior Taliban fighter who had eluded authorities by wearing a woman's burqa. Mullah Mahmood, who is accused of helping Taliban fighters rig suicide bomb attacks, was seized by Afghan soldiers at a checkpoint near Kandahar, the alliance...

JERUSALEM (AFP) - The Palestinian Hamas movement has grown stronger since its shock election a year ago despite Israeli and Western efforts to weaken the group, a top Israeli military commander said Wednesday. "The strength of Hamas is increasing ever since it won the election (in January 2006)," Major General Yoav Galant, who heads the Israeli southern command, told reporters. "Even if we don't like the situation, this is the situation right now." At the same time, the moderate secular Fatah party of Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas is gradually getting weaker, he said. The Islamic Resistance Movement is building up...

WASHINGTON, Jan. 29, 2007 – Fed up with al Qaeda’s murderous rampage in the region, local tribes in the Iraq’s Anbar province have endorsed and joined local government efforts to drive out insurgents and establish security in the area, the commander of Multinational Force West said today. The newfound support has given Marine Corps Maj. Gen. Richard Zilmer “guarded optimism” about the progress made in that region in the past year, and he said the extra Marines earmarked for that area in the president’s planned troop increase will help secure that progress. The past year has been a fight...

KABUL, Afghanistan - NATO-led troops and Afghan forces detained a prominent Taliban commander during a raid at a compound in southern Afghanistan, the alliance said in a statement Wednesday. The commander, whom NATO did not name, was captured in Gereshk district in Helmand province late Tuesday and is the first Taliban leader captured by NATO-led and Afghan troops, NATO said. The captured militant is wanted for questioning by Afghan security forces and managed to flee the latest offensive operation by Afghan and foreign security forces in southern Afghanistan, the statement said. "This seizure of a Taliban commander once again shows...

KABUL, Dec 27 -- NATO-led forces killed a mid-level Taliban commander and another militant in Afghanistan while a civilian driver died in a rebel attack on a convoy of oil tankers, officials said ON Wednesday. Abdullah Jan Pashtoon, a mid-level insurgent leader and an another rebel were killed in a Nato-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) airstrike in eastern Laghman province on Friday, the force said in a statement. “Several sources of intelligence, assessed collectively, indicate that ISAF forces did indeed kill Jan Pashtoon,” spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Paul Fitzpatrick said in a statement. The statement said Pashtoon was known to...

A TALIBAN commander confirmed today that the rebels' military chief in southern Afghanistan had been killed in a US airstrike on December 19, and said his death was a blow for the Islamist movement. The US military said last week Akhtar Mohammad Osmani, who had close links to Osama bin Laden, had been killed in an airstrike in Helmand province – a claim rejected by a Taliban commander and spokesman at the time. But a senior Taliban commander who declined to be identified confirmed Osmani had been killed. “He has died. We got this information on the day of the...

WASHINGTON, Dec. 13, 2006 -- The military is doing all it can to calm Iraq, but the country needs political and economic solutions to function, the outgoing commander of Multinational Corps Iraq said yesterday. In an interview with Baghdad-based journalists, Army Lt. Gen. Peter Chiarelli, who gives up command tomorrow, said military, economic, reconstruction and political efforts in Iraq must move forward at the same time. Iraq cannot succeed with one line working and the others treading water or reverting, he said. If Iraqis get back to work, the sectarian strife would lessen, Chiarelli said. Polls in Baghdad show...

FERRIS, Iraq, Nov. 20, 2006 — What a difference one determined Iraqi can make. The Police Transition Team (PTT) under Regimental Combat Team 5 introduced Ferris to their newest commander, and immediately the new leader began whipping the station into shape. “He’s a fresh face for the station,” said Army 2nd Lt. Jill M. Glasenapp, PTT platoon leader, from Mauston, Wis. “He’s prepared to be the rock that holds this station up.” "The new lieutenant is definitely taking over smoothly and quickly. You can see the Iraqi police are listening to him and following his orders. He’s really putting them...

In his high-profile professional life, Palo Verde High School graduate Thad Allen travels with bodyguards and hobnobs with the president. But when he comes home to Tucson, the commandant of the United States Coast Guard is a regular guy who hikes Sabino Canyon and chows down on steak fingers at Lucky Wishbone. "I don't really think of myself as famous. I'm just a guy who joined the Coast Guard and stuck around," said Allen, 57, who helped revive faltering emergency response efforts after Hurricane Katrina last year. Before that, he oversaw evacuation efforts in the New York City harbor on...

BANGKOK, Thailand - The Thai military launched a coup against Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra on Tuesday night, circling his offices with tanks, seizing control of TV stations and declaring a provisional authority pledging loyalty to the king. The army commander took over the government and declared martial law. An announcement on Thai television declared that a "Council of Administrative Reform" with King Bhumibol Adulyadej as head of state had seized power in Bangkok and nearby provinces without any resistance. "The armed forces commander and the national police commander have successfully taken over Bangkok and the surrounding area in order to...