Free Republic

WASHINGTON, April 27, 2010 – Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates today expressed satisfaction with the level of planning by the Defense Department and other elements of the U.S. government to counter threats from Iran. “I'm very satisfied with the planning process both within this building and in the interagency,” Gates told Pentagon reporters. “We spend a lot of time on Iran, and we'll continue to do so.”Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak, appearing alongside Gates after a meeting at the Pentagon, endorsed diplomatic efforts and sanctions to steer Iran away from its nuclear ambitions.“We think that they should be blocked,” Barak...

4/23/2010 - JOINT BASE BALAD, Iraq (AFNS) -- Air Force and Army members here performed a joint, force-protection patrol April 14 near one of the U.S. Air Force's Central Command's main airbases in Iraq. Members of the Air Force's 532nd Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron and the Army's 1st of the 28th Infantry Battalion teamed up and armed up to conduct a mounted and dismounted patrol in search of hidden weapons caches and improvised explosive-making materials. The 532nd ESFS Airmen conduct outside-the-wire missions, specifically tasked with protecting assets here from potentially deadly indirect-fire attacks. "Terrain denial and preventing (indirect-fire) attacks are...

WASHINGTON, May 17, 2007 – Supporting the global war on terror remains U.S. European Command’s top priority, but the command also is striving to strengthening partnerships within the region and in Africa, the command’s leader said today. EUCOM’s strategy of “active security” is aimed at defeating transnational terrorists and violent extremists who threaten the United States, its allies and U.S. interests, Army Gen. Bantz J. Craddock told Senate Armed Services Committee members during a hearing on the command’s fiscal 2008 budget request. The goal, Craddock said, is to deny enemies of the United States the freedom to operate and...

GARMISCH-PARTENKIRCHEN, Germany, July 26, 2006 – Scores of representatives from almost two dozen nations left the George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies here with what could be new directions in the fight against terror after a week-long seminar. Representatives at the seminar, which ended July 21, included Marshall Center alumni from Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Estonia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Kyrgyzstan, Lithuania, Macedonia, Moldova, Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovenia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, and Ukraine, as well as speakers and observers. The alumni seminar is an annual event during which the center invites a select group of alumni who...

WASHINGTON, March 24, 2006 – A document released today outlines the Defense Department's strategy for combating weapons of mass destruction and will serve as the foundation for assigning specific responsibilities throughout DoD toward that goal, a senior military official said. The "National Military Strategy for Combating Weapons of Mass Destruction" deals with "the greatest risk" confronting the United States and other free societies, Army Brig. Gen. Robert Caslen Jr., the Joint Staff's deputy director for the war on terror, said. "And that's weapons of mass destruction in the hands of terrorists," he said. Caslen said there's no doubt that...

Guidelines for Countering Racial, Ethnic and Religious Profiling Diversity > Guidelines for Countering Profiling On Oct. 6 at its National Convention in Seattle, the Society of Professional Journalists passed a resolution urging members and fellow journalists to take steps against racial profiling in their coverage of the war on terrorism and to redouble their commitment to: Use language that is informative and not inflammatory; Portray Muslims, Arabs and Middle Eastern and South Asian Americans in the richness of their diverse experiences; Seek truth through a variety of voices and perspectives that help audiences understand the complexities of the events in...