Free Republic

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta announced today he would extend certain benefits to the same-sex partners of U.S military service members. Panetta's statement reads as follows: “Seventeen months ago, the United States military ended the policy of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” We have implemented the repeal of that policy and made clear that discrimination based on sexual orientation has no place in the Department of Defense. “At the time of repeal, I committed to reviewing benefits that had not previously been available to same-sex partners based on existing law and policy. It is a matter of fundamental equity that we...

A new administration policy? Barack Obama disarmed the US Marines at the Inaugural parade this year. Dishonored and disarmed: Bolts are clearly missing from these Marine rifles during President Obama’s inauguration parade. This is an unmistakable insult to the honor of the Marine Corps ... It’s not the first time the Obama Administration disarmed US Marines at an event. In March 2012, US Marines were told to leave their weapons outside the tent during Leon Panetta’s speech in Afghanistan.

We all remember when Bill Clinton argued that it all depends on what the meaning of 'is' is. We were all disgusted that the office of the President had become so low that we were deciphering legalistic terms and arguing about sex acts. Oh for the good ole days. President Obama's disregard for the truth has made Bill Clinton seem like a novice. His statements are always riddled with inconsistency. Many could easily have been dissected with a curious media, but that hasn't happen. Very few people can lie as well. Leon Panetta testified yesterday before congress that the President...

Finally, we have the answer, thanks to Defense Secretary Leon Panetta. In his reluctant Senate testimony, he provided the missing piece of the puzzle: The commander in chief was MIA. The coverup was created to protect his absence. According to Panetta, President Obama checked in with his military team early on during the attack, then checked out for the rest of the night. The next day, we already knew, he blamed the video maker and flew to Las Vegas for a campaign event. Meanwhile, half a world away, Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans had been slaughtered by Islamists....

While the NBC and CBS morning shows on Friday both covered troubling Thursday testimony from outgoing Defense Secretary Leon Panetta that revealed President Obama's lack of engagement during the Benghazi terrorist attack, ABC's Good Morning America completely ignored the story. In addition, none of the networks mentioned the testimony on their Thursday evening newscasts.

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta testified this morning on Capitol Hill that President Barack Obama was absent the night four Americans were murdered in Benghazi on September 11, 2012:Panetta said, though he did meet with Obama at a 5 o'clock prescheduled gathering, the president left operational details, including knowledge of what resources were available to help the Americans under siege, "up to us." In fact, Panetta says that the night of 9/11, he did not communicate with a single person at the White House. The attack resulted in the deaths of four Americans, including Ambassador Chris Stevens. [snip],a href="http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/petraeus-and-panetta-speak-not-president_659902.html">(As Bill Kristol)...

Can you say 'Dereliction of Duty'? So Senator Ted Cruz (TP-R, Texas) is the man who FINALLY got to the bottom of what the White House/MSM have worked so hard -for months- to obfuscate: yesterday the GOP risingsoaring star forced Leon Panetta to admit in sworn testimony that SoS Hillary Clinton was simply not available on the day the Benghazi consulate was attacked... nowhere to be found. Yes, the US Secretary of Defense had ZERO contact with US Secretary of State Clinton until long after four American heroes were dead. Where the hell was she all day, partying with Huma?...

The United States is at risk of becoming a second-rate power if automatic budget cuts go into effect, plunging the U.S. armed forces into the most significant readiness crisis they’ve faced in more than a decade, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta warned Thursday. Panetta, who is retiring soon from his post, told the Senate Armed Services Committee that if the reductions are allowed to stand he would have to throw the country’s national defense strategy “out the window.” But Panetta also assured lawmakers the Pentagon would take the steps necessary to deal with possible threats in the Persian Gulf region after...

(CNSNews.com) - Retired Army Lt. Gen. William G. Boykin--formerly commander of U.S. Special Forces Command and deputy undersecretary of defense for intelligence—told CNSNews.com that, if it had been asked, the Defense Department could have sent a plane to Libya on Sept. 11, 2012, to transport a rescue team of U.S. security personnel that instead ended up taking a chartered private plane from Tripoli to Benghazi that night. “There is no question that we could have moved an airplane in there and we could have also put boots on the ground at the embassy,” Gen. Boykin told CNSNews.com. “State should have...

Today's hearing on Benghazi is just sad. We have the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the outgoing Secretary of Defense testifying to the Senate hearing that even though it was 9/11, who everyone and their mother understood is the anniversary of the worst attack on American soil...even though, due in no small part to Obama's actions, Libya had become a hotbed of al-Qaeda activity, AND even though the ambassador to Libya had sent warning of impending threats, they did nothing to ensure the security of the embassy and our citizens. Their excuse? “The United States military is...

Panetta being questioned by Congress regarding Benghzi.

Just days before he leaves office, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta is recommending military pay be limited, effectively decreasing troop salaries next year. Panetta will recommend to Congress that military salaries be limited to a 1% increase in 2014. The Pentagon has calculated that the Labor Department's 2014 Employment Cost Index is expected to be above 1% but wants to still cut back on pay because of "budget uncertainties," a department official told CNN. In 2013, a 1.7% increase was approved, based on the index, which has been the basis for military pay for the last several years. Three Pentagon officials...

WASHINGTON -- U.S. officials say Defense Secretary Leon Panetta is poised to extend some benefits to the same-sex partners of military members. The policy change would come about 16 months after the Pentagon repealed its ban on openly gay service. Officials say Panetta has not made a final decision on which benefits will be included, but the Pentagon is likely to allow same-sex partners to have access to the on-base commissary and other military subsidized stores, as well as health and welfare programs.

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta says it would “really be a shameful and irresponsible act” for Congress to allow sequestration to happen. “We have to prepare for it, because, you know, there are members up on the Capitol Hill that are saying, ‘Oh no, we're gonna stand back and let sequester happen,’” Panetta said in an interview aired Sunday on NBC’s "Meet the Press." “Let me tell you: If sequester happens, it is gonna badly damage the readiness of the United States of America. We have the most powerful military force on the face of the earth right now.” If sequester...

Panetta: Iranian Threat Spreads By JULIAN E. BARNES and ADAM ENTOUS In an exclusive interview with the Wall Street Journal Thursday, outgoing Defense Secretary Leon Panetta sited illicit arms trafficking by Iran for what he called a "dangerous escalation" of tensions. WSJ's Julian Barnes shares his take-aways from the exit interview. WASHINGTON—Defense Secretary Leon Panetta accused Iran's paramilitary force of an intensified campaign to destabilize the Middle East by smuggling antiaircraft weapons to its militant allies. Iran's export of so-called manpads—antiaircraft missiles that can be carried by a single person—represent what Mr. Panetta called a dangerous escalation. "There is no...

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said Thursday that whether they are male or female "everyone is entitled to a chance" to become a combat soldier in a military that will now adopt "gender netural" standards. “If members of our military can meet the qualifications for a job--and let me be clear, we’re not talking about reducing the qualifications for a job--if they can meet the qualifications for the job then they should have the right to serve,” Panetta said at a Pentagon press conference. The Defense Department announced today that it would rescind its 1994 policy restricting women

Military-readiness advocate Elaine Donnelly warns that the Obama administration’s decision to put women in ground-combat roles amounts to “social engineering to achieve a political end in the name of diversity.” She adds that the policy shift means “lives could be lost unnecessarily, not just women, but men.” Donnelly’s organization, the Center for Military Readiness, released a 42-page report earlier this week exploring the unintended consequences of putting women on the front lines. “It will do great harm to women in the military, especially those who will find themselves in the infantry—something there’s no indication they wanted,” Donnelly said Wednesday in...

Just a couple minutes ago, presidential advisor Valerie Jarrett, who is personally close to President Barack Obama, tweeted, that "If there's one thing we should all agree on, it's protecting women from violence." Jarrett's tweet comes the same hour Defense Secretary Leon Panetta announced that the Obama administration would allow women to serve in combat. The AP reports: Senior defense officials say Pentagon chief Leon Panetta is removing the military's ban on women serving in combat, opening hundreds of thousands of front-line positions and potentially elite commando jobs after more than a decade at war. The groundbreaking move recommended by...

Panetta removes military ban on women in combat, opening thousands of front line positions.

<p>No place to hide: Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, pictured today in London, said there was 'no justification for the kidnapping and murder of innocent people' in Algeria and warned militants there was 'no place to hide'</p> <p>Islamist militants have today offered to free two American hostages held captive at an Algerian gas field in exchange for the release of two renowned terrorists jailed in the United States.</p>