Rowan Scarborough
Articles by Rowan Scarborough
Obama sought repeal of Bush war statute now used to justify Islamic State strikes
President Obama's first initiated war against an Islamic terrorist group is authorized, the White House says, by George W. Bush-signed legislation that Mr. Obama has criticized and wanted to repeal since last year. Published September 14, 2014
Pentagon downplays role in destroying Islamic State: ‘It’s about defeating its ideology’
The Pentagon on Friday downplayed the U.S. military's role in defeating the Islamic State, saying the prime target is not it's army, but its ideology. Published September 12, 2014
Obama inevitably will need to use U.S. ground troops to defeat Islamic State, experts warn
Trying to uproot and destroy the Islamic State's army of terrorists in Iraq without American ground troops, as President Obama promoted Wednesday night, is doomed to failure, national security experts say. Published September 11, 2014
Islamic State leaders to be targeted in new U.S. strategy against terrorists
President Obama's monthlong, limited air war against the Islamic State so far has spared assassination strikes on its leaders, a policy that experts say must be reversed if the White House now plans to destroy the American-killing terrorist group. Published September 7, 2014
Islamic State using Edward Snowden leaks to evade U.S. intelligence: NSA official
A former top official at the National Security Agency says the Islamic State terrorist group has "clearly" capitalized on the voluminous leaks from former NSA contractor Edward Snowden and is exploiting the top-secret disclosures to evade U.S. intelligence. Published September 4, 2014
Obama underestimated Islamic State, misread motives of Putin, Assad: critics
From Russia to Syria to Iraq to al Qaeda, President Obama and his aides have underestimated the motives and capabilities of U.S. adversaries. Published September 2, 2014
Islamic State employs brutality, threats in effort to entrench caliphate without interference
The Islamic State terrorist army's brutality and threats against America on Aug. 19 are signs it's focusing on entrenching its so-called Muslim caliphate — without interference. Published August 24, 2014
A war by any other name? U.S. military action in Iraq still lacks a moniker
Guns, troops, bombs — the U.S. military action against the Islamic State has everything, except a name. Published August 22, 2014
Islamic State targets Americans at home and abroad
The vicious Islamic State group now is vowing to broaden its war campaign to include killing Americans wherever and whenever it can. Published August 20, 2014
Army quits tests after competing rifle outperforms M4A1 carbine
EXCLUSIVE: A competing rifle outperformed the Army's favored M4A1 carbine in key firings during a competition last year before the service abruptly called off the tests and stuck with its gun, according to a new confidential report. Published August 19, 2014
Critics of George W. Bush’s foreign policy now taking heat themselves
Dogged critics of President George W. Bush's foreign policies suddenly have found that managing the world, and radical Islam, is not as easy as it looked from the outside six or more years ago. Published August 17, 2014
Airstrikes can’t break momentum of Islamic State in Iraq: Pentagon
The Pentagon acknowledged Monday that its limited airstrikes in northern Iraq have done nothing to slow the overall operational goals of an al Qaeda spinoff group, the Islamic State. Published August 11, 2014
Pentagon: Airstrikes haven’t slowed Islamic State’s goals in Iraq
The Pentagon acknowledged Monday that its limited airstrikes in northern Iraq have done nothing to slow the overall operational goals of the al Qaeda spinoff group, the Islamic State. Published August 11, 2014
Islamic State builds forces, targets for Baghdad bomb attacks
The al Qaeda offshoot terrorizing Iraq is in the process of consolidating territorial gains and increasing the target list in Baghdad, a U.S. official and defense analysts say. Published August 3, 2014
Obama military strategy too weak for future security, panel reports
An independent panel appointed by the Pentagon said Thursday that President Obama’s military strategy for sizing the force is too weak to meet growing national security threats. Published July 31, 2014
Family of Marine killed in Afghanistan pushes back against cover-up
The family of a Marine murdered in Afghanistan as he worked out in a gym is accusing the Corps of a cover-up by refusing to turn over documents that would show the dangerous environment inside Forward Operating Base Delhi. Published July 27, 2014
Afghan who killed three U.S. Marines in 2012 to serve over 7-year prison sentence
An Afghanistan man has been given a 7-1/2 year prison sentence for murdering three U.S. Marines in a forward operating base in Helmand Province in August 2012. Published July 25, 2014
State Department indicates Nouri al-Maliki’s days numbered as Iraq prime minister
The State Department on Thursday all but showed Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki the door, saying he had been particularly hard to work with. Published July 24, 2014
Marine Corps whistleblower lands new Pentagon position
A Marine Corps officer who took on the top brass, and lost, has started a new career path in a legal job under the Pentagon's Joint Staff, not the Corps. Published July 23, 2014
Elusive target: U.S. believed Iraq terror mastermind al-Baghdadi killed 3 times
A special intelligence adviser to Army Gen. David H. Petraeus during the 2007 troop surge says the terrorist leader now ruling over large swaths of Iraq and forcing Christians to convert to Islam has long been the most elusive big game for the U.S. Published July 20, 2014
