Rowan Scarborough
Articles by Rowan Scarborough
In new poll defense leaders see China rising, U.S. declining
Most defense leaders believe the United States is weaker today than five years ago, according to a poll by Gannett's Defense News. Published January 8, 2014
U.S. troops prevented from helping even as al Qaeda overruns Iraqi cities
The U.S. has inserted 200 troops in Iraq since 2012, but they cannot directly help the Iraqi military repel a surge of al Qaeda fighters, even as the country succumbs to sectarian violence and insurgents claim control of two key cities. Published January 5, 2014
Pentagon pivots to social issues; providing for common defense a lower priority
As the armed forces shrink and withdraw from some global hot spots, their agenda for the battle of the sexes grows. Published January 1, 2014
With demise of Pentagon’s ‘Early Bird,’ military readers hunt bootleg copies of ‘Morning News’
The Pentagon has killed its "Early Bird" compilation of news and opinion stories, and now provides "Morning News" only for the top brass. Published December 24, 2013
Pentagon to review case of Marine who defied general in Taliban defilement case
A Marine Corps whistleblower says the Pentagon is investigating whether higher-ups retaliated against him for filing complaints against the Marine commandant. Published December 22, 2013
Robert O. Work to be named Pentagon’s No. 2 official
A former top Navy official is the leading candidate to become the next deputy defense secretary. Published December 20, 2013
Medal of Honor: General orders review of tracking battlefield awards
The top U.S. commander for the Persian Gulf has ordered a review of how recommendations for battlefield awards are tracked by the Afghanistan command, which lost the paperwork for a Medal of Honor nominee and for other heroes. Published December 18, 2013
U.S. Army mulls wiping out memory of Robert E. Lee, ‘Stonewall’ Jackson
The U.S. Army War College, which molds future field generals, has begun discussing whether it should remove the portraits of Confederate generals, including Robert E. Lee and Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson. Published December 17, 2013
Administration can’t answer basic queries costs of war in Afghanistan
President Obama's brain trust on Afghanistan does not know much the U.S. spends on the war each year or the American cost in lost lives on the battlefield. Published December 12, 2013
Obama’s Afghanistan experts stumped on U.S. death toll, war costs during hearing
President Obama's brain trust on Afghanistan does not know how much the U.S. spends on the war each year or the American cost in lost lives on the battlefield. Published December 12, 2013
Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel in Kabul, gets no invitation from Afghan President Hamid Karzai
Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel traveled halfway around the world for a rare visit to the Afghanistan war zone, but he did not meet with the man holding up an agreement to keep U.S. troops there after 2014. Published December 8, 2013
Spike in battlefield deaths linked to restrictive rules of engagement
The number of U.S. battlefield fatalities in Afghanistan exceeded the rate at which troop strength surged in 2009 and 2010, prompting national security analysts to assert that coinciding stricter rules of engagement led to more deaths. Published December 5, 2013
Rules of engagement bind U.S. troops’ actions in Afghanistan
The new U.S.-Afghanistan security agreement adds restrictions on already bureaucratic rules of engagement for American troops by making Afghan dwellings virtual safe havens for the enemy, combat veterans say. Published November 26, 2013
Navy SEALs cite shabby treatment as Obama administration helps Hollywood instead
Navy SEALs are the toast of America, but revelations show that the top brass has not always watched their backs during the Obama administration. Published November 17, 2013
Delta Force Marine awarded Navy Cross for fight at CIA annex in Benghazi
In a unique battlefield commendation, a Marine Corps member of Delta Force has been awarded the nation's second highest military honor for coming to the defense of Americans last year at a CIA annex in Benghazi, Libya. Published November 16, 2013
Army intelligence says it needs good cloud computing to save lives in Afghanistan
The U.S. military's main battlefield intelligence processor, so crucial to the war in Afghanistan, still lacks an element common to civilian computer networks — a cloud. Published November 11, 2013
Missiles flow into Syria, risk falling into hands of al Qaeda
One of terrorism's most feared weapons, the shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missile, has begun to flow into war-ravaged Syria in numbers that alarm the West because they may fall into the hands of al Qaeda, according to national security analysts. Published November 6, 2013
Questions about Navy officer’s cremation deepen mystery of Chinook crash in Afghanistan
A lingering mystery in the August 2011 helicopter crash that killed 30 U.S. servicemen in Afghanistan is why some bodies were cremated and some were not. Published November 3, 2013
U.S. military commandos fought in Benghazi
EXCLUSIVE: Masked from public view, two of the U.S. military's elite special operations commandos have been awarded medals for bravery for a mission that further undercuts the Obama administration's original story about the Benghazi tragedy. Published October 30, 2013
Former judge advocates ask Congress to investigate top Marine officer
More than two dozen former Marine Corps and Navy judge advocates are asking Congress to investigate the Corps' top officer for what they say is unlawful conduct in the Taliban urination cases. Published October 23, 2013
