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WASHINGTON, April 10, 2007 – Taliban capabilities have gotten more robust, but so have the capabilities of the Afghan National Army and police to deal with them, the commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan said today. Army Maj. Gen. David Rodriguez told ABC reporter Diane Sawyer it will take a long time to rid the country of the “scourge of terrorism.” The Afghan National Army now has 35,000 soldiers trained and equipped. The Afghan police number about 63,000. Ultimately the Army will have 70,000 soldiers, and there will be 82,000 police in the nation of 25 million. There are...

BRATISLAVA, Slovakia, March 30, 2007 – While NATO’s International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan is a success, more help is needed from the international community, the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said during a speech here yesterday. Navy Adm. Edmund P. Giambastiani spoke to about 60 members of the Slovak Foreign Policy Association, Euro-Atlantic Center, and Center for European and North Atlantic Affairs about NATO efforts in Afghanistan. Giambastiani said NATO has a Combined Joint Statement of Requirements, or CJSOR, to fill military missions. “The inability of NATO to fill all of these CJSOR requirements is...

WASHINGTON, Jan. 11, 2007 – The United States will need a detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, for as long as the country is fighting a war on terror, the admiral in charge of operations there said today. “I think that we’ll have a detention facility and a detention mission for the foreseeable future,” Navy Rear Adm. Harry Harris Jr., commander of Joint task Force Guantanamo Bay, said in an interview here today -- the fifth anniversary of the start of detention operations at Guantanamo. “The president has said that he would like to see Guantanamo closed when it’s...

Few would call it a dream job. But the position of slaughterer at the Swift & Co. plant in Greeley, Colo., was drawing some interest last week... The Rocky Mountain News observed that the line of applicants “was out the door” at the county employment office.... ...Meanwhile in Nebraska, union officials said Tuesday that 40 to 50 workers had been hired at the Grand Island plant, one of six Swift plants raided by the ICE in a sweep that led to nearly 1,300 arrests. And funny thing —they say Swift has been improving its wages, benefits and bonuses since before...

Hundreds more troops are needed to beat Taliban, warns Nato chief By Richard Westmacott in Kabul (Filed: 08/09/2006) Nato's senior military commander yesterday called for hundreds of reinforcements to combat the Taliban in southern Afghanistan, where he said fighting was reaching a "decisive moment". 35 British troops have died since 4,500 began arriving earlier this year US Gen James Jones said that the commander of Nato forces in Afghanistan, British Lt Gen David Richards, needed more troops soon. "We have to give the commander additional insurance in terms of some forces that can be there, perhaps temporarily, to make sure...

WASHINGTON, July 27, 2006 – Today's Army is the best the U.S. has ever sent into combat, and initiatives under way will ensure it remains that way, the Army chief of staff said in a statement released last night. Gen. Peter J. Schoomaker said he's confident that efforts from the Army and Defense Department staffs, in Congress and the White House will ensure the Army is equipped and financed to face “the many challenges that lie ahead during these dangerous times.” Schoomaker, who came out of retirement to accept the Army's top military job, disputed recent public statements criticizing...

WASHINGTON - Sweeping reforms to the nation's intelligence system after the 9/11 attacks have done little to improve information-sharing or generate a greater sense of urgency among U.S. intelligence agencies, a House report concluded Thursday. The report by the House Select Intelligence Committee also gave National Intelligence Director John Negroponte a tepid review after 15 months on the job, noting he "is trying to do a little of everything, which slows down improvements in key areas." In their 41-page review of how the nation's 16 intelligence agencies have adjusted since Congress overhauled the system in December 2004, lawmakers found a...

NOTE: If you have security concerns,please respond with private message. Hijacking 4 airliners on 9/11 required a helluva lot of planning - especially as to "flight plans". It might have been "relatively simple" to hijack the planes ,and, since some of the hijackers had taken lessons,they could operate aircraft controls to some degree ; but how about the navigation? Think about it for a minute.You take over an aircraft,but cannot reliably predict how long the takeover efforts will require,and what your location will be when this occurs. You now have to change course and altitude precisely so you hit your...

Wildlife Awareness Needed with Summer Heat Servicemembers need to be cautious and alert for animals than can cause serious injury or death. By U.S. Army Spc. Anna-Marie Hizer 133rd Mobile Public Affairs Detachment KIRKUK, Iraq, June 2, 2006 — Being aware of one’s surroundings is a skill soldiers constantly maintain and seek to improve. However, one potential hazard for troops in Northern Iraq may be easily missed. And it is right under their feet. "Prevention is the best cure. Use common sense; don’t put your hands in places that could house a snake." U.S. Army Maj. Ken Brooks Temperatures...

AL ASAD, Iraq (May 10, 2006) -- Many service members deployed to a combat zone receive wounds and injuries that require medical attention from Al Asad Surgical. Unfortunately, the doctors and nurses are forced to cut the uniforms off of these injured men and women, thereby causing them to lose one of their very limited pieces of clothing. One man wanted to help. Larry Murray, a video storage wide area network technician with DataPath Inc., wanted to ensure that the service members who are tended to are comfortable and are not left with nothing to wear. "One evening I went...

UDAIRI RANGE, Kuwait, May 3, 2006 – Training never stops in the push to ensure American soldiers and Marines are ready for duty in Iraq. As part of a training scenario at Udairi Range, Kuwait, actors playing an Iraqi policeman and drivers argue at a traffic accident while an American convoy waits to enter the village. The scenario gives a realistic look at what challenges lie ahead for the soldiers when they move north into Iraq. Photo by Jim Garamone  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Servicemembers polish their skills here just prior to deployment "up north." Earlier this...

WASHINGTON, April 27, 2006 – A broad coalition of like-minded nations is essential to winning the war on terrorism, the Joint Staff's director for strategic plans and policy said here today. "Terrorism is not a fight of just the U.S. to lead, it is a fight that a broad coalition has to engage in to be successful," Air Force Lt. Gen. Victor Renuart said during a Pentagon press briefing. Renuart discussed the Multilateral Planners Conference, a biannual conference attended by 91 countries at the National Defense University here this week. The conference brings together senior military strategy planners from various...

Issues involving illegal immigration and border enforcement will be in front of Congress and President Bush this week. Over the weekend, governors from across the United States began their push for the federal government to address illegal immigration. Republicans and Democracts asked for action, ranging from better technology on the border to a guest worker program. This comes before the Senate begins consideration of several immigration proposals, the latest coming from Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa. Cochise County Sheriff Larry Dever is scheduled to testify before the Senate on border issues. The governors’ plea shows that this is a national issue...

WASHINGTON, Jan. 18, 2006 – Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice today highlighted the importance of promoting a more cooperative working relationship between American diplomats and the U.S. military in order to achieve global objectives. "Over the past 15 years, as violent state failure has become a greater global threat, our military has borne a disproportionate share of post-conflict responsibilities because we have not had the standing civilian capability to play our part fully," she said in a speech at Georgetown University here. "This was true in Somalia, in Haiti, in Bosnia, in Kosovo and it is still partially true in...

What has $4.5 billion and provides millions of dollars per year to the left in California and won’t stop until California has universal, government-run, and fully unionized healthcare? The answer, three foundations created by Blue Cross’ conversion from non-profit to for-profit status from the late-80s to the mid-90s: The California Endowment, The California Wellness Foundation and the California HealthCare Foundation. These three entities, hijacked by the liberal activists on their boards, fund political activity, liberal consumer rights groups such as the Consumers Union (the publisher of Consumer Reports), and the ACLU, the CTA teachers union, Planned Parenthood, the National Center...

Education is prime. In order for the world to know the reality of Islam, education is absolutely imperative. Therefore, the TV series, "Sleeper Cell," is a must. It should be viewed worldwide. True. There are some Muslims who are sheltered, particularly the young who live in freedom-based countries. They may not know that much about the Koran. They may attend mosques irregularly. They may be like some churchgoers who attend sanctuary several times a year and still call themselves "Christians." But the real truth about Islam is found in reading the killing passages in the Koran. (See footnote). It is...

An employee of the Ninewa Middle School for Girls assits members of the 401st Civil Affairs Unit deliver school supplies in the Al-Faisaliya neighborhood Mosul, Iraq, Nov. 29, 2005. The supplies were provided by Operation Iraqi Children. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Clydell Kinchen Iraqi Girls’ School Receives Needed Supplies Iraqi security forces, along with the 401st Civil Affairs Battalion, provided security for the delivery of the supplies. By Multinational Force-Iraq MOSUL, Iraq, Dec. 2, 2005 — The Ninewa Middle School for girls in the Al-Faisaliya neighborhood in Mosul accepted school necessities from Operation Iraqi Children Nov. 29. "The...

Trustees of San Diego's embattled retirement system yesterday urged consultants they hired two months ago to get their report out first on how the pension fund came to be saddled with a deficit of at least $1.4 billion. Navigant Consulting, a Chicago-based company that advises public agencies, is at least the fifth firm examining decisions made in 2002 to underfund the system while also increasing employee benefits. The teams of consultants appear to be competing in a race to see "who will be last" to finish their work, said pension board President Peter Preovolos. He added that one of the...

MARINE CORPS LOGISTICS BASE BARSTOW, Calif. (Oct. 6, 2005) -- In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina federal, state and local agencies dispatched teams of personnel to provide much needed assistance to the thousands of evacuees who were forced to leave the cities along the Gulf Coast to include New Orleans, which was nearly destroyed. Katrina made landfall on Aug. 29 as a high Category 4 hurricane and by all accounts, it has been considered the most destructive hurricane ever. Joining in to provide much-needed assistance to evacuees were MCLB Barstow civilian employees, Gary Heidorn, supervisor of the PAXMAN Shop at...

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa - Saudi Arabia's oil minister said Tuesday that world oil reserves are more than enough to meet rising future demand but that without new refineries prices will remain high and markets volatile. "These are turbulent times for oil markets. Prices are under pressure because the petroleum industries infrastructure is stretched thin," Ali Naimi told the 18th World Petroleum Congress in Johannesburg. "Most of the spare capacity of the 1980s and 1990s has disappeared, resulting in a system that has a much smaller margin for error." Naimi said the havoc and disruptions caused recently by hurricanes Katrina and...