Rowan Scarborough
Articles by Rowan Scarborough
House panel seeks briefing on senator’s contacts with Pentagon IG
The chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee has asked the Pentagon inspector general to report whether Sen. Carl M. Levin is trying to influence the wording of a report that exonerates a Pentagon war-briefing program. Published November 18, 2011
Agreement elusive on women in combat
Top defense officials are grappling to find a unified position on whether to allow women in direct ground combat, as the Pentagon prepares a landmark report to Congress on the military's coed future. Published November 17, 2011
Attack on Iran could risk Gulf oil supplies
Iran is contemplating violently shutting down shipping in the Persian Gulf as one of several counterattack options if Israel strikes its nuclear facilities, regional and intelligence analysts say. Published November 14, 2011
Military mortuary draws scrutiny
Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta on Thursday ordered new reviews into mismanagement at the military's national mortuary. He said he wants the Air Force to determine if there were reprisals against whistle-blowers and if those who oversaw remains of fallen heroes were disciplined adequately. Published November 10, 2011
Critics on left hit Pentagon on talk of budget disasters
Left-leaning Pentagon critics are panning congressional testimony by Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta and his top officers, who warned of catastrophes if the military is forced to cut $1 trillion if congressional budget talks fail. Published November 6, 2011
Senator pushes for last word on Bush-era war briefings
The chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee is intervening with a Pentagon investigator to influence the final wording of a report that exonerates George W. Bush-era officials who gave war briefings to retired military TV and radio commentators. Published November 3, 2011
Service chiefs warn $1T cut would be ‘catastrophic’
The Army's top officer told Congress on Wednesday that he would have to cancel nearly every new weapons system now planned if automatic, across-the-board spending cuts of $1 trillion-plus hit the Pentagon. Published November 2, 2011
Government to disclose evidence against WikiLeaks suspect in pretrial hearing
The Army is preparing to hold a pre-trial hearing that for the first time will disclose the government's case in detail against the soldier accused of disseminating thousands of classified documents that were aired on the anti-secrecy website WikiLeaks. Published October 29, 2011
General: Cuts risk Marines’ war-fighting missions
A top Marine Corps general told Congress on Thursday that cutting the Corps to 150,000 Marines, as some analysts project, would mean it could not fulfill its mission during a major war, or respond adequately to crises and humanitarian disasters around the world. Published October 27, 2011
Full story of SEAL mission in question
U.S. Central Command released hundreds of pages of interviews and exhibits that showed there were at least two tactical moves that came in for second-guessing. Published October 24, 2011
Key general: Iraq pullout plan a ‘disaster’
President Obama's decision to pull all U.S. forces out of Iraq by Dec. 31 is an "absolute disaster" that puts the burgeoning Arab democracy at risk of an Iranian "strangling," said an architect of the 2007 troop surge that turned around a losing war. Published October 23, 2011
U.S. pegs Haqqani as most lethal foe
The family criminal enterprise known as the Haqqani Network conducts terrorist attacks inside Afghanistan by keeping in constant phone contact with its suicide bombers before and during attacks. Published October 17, 2011
Panetta warns of retreat in Africa because of budget cuts
Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta on Thursday warned Congress that automatic cuts in defense spending would force the Pentagon to reduce its presence in some trouble spots, including Africa, a hotbed of al Qaeda franchise groups. Published October 13, 2011
Defense-cut projections seen as risk to recruitment
Looming defense budget cuts not only threaten new weapons, ships and planes, but also endanger the all-volunteer force itself. Published October 10, 2011
Activists push partner benefits for military gays
A prominent gay advocacy group has issued a five-point manifesto of new rights it wants from the U.S. military since the Sept. 20 repeal of the longtime ban on open homosexuals in the ranks. Published October 6, 2011
Al-Awlaki would have been difficult to try as a civilian
Taking Anwar al-Awlaki alive would have presented a difficult challenge for U.S. government prosecutors seeking a terrorism conviction, legal experts say. Published October 3, 2011
Report: Budget cuts would hollow military
A new congressional report spells out in detail how the military would become "hollow" if Congress' super committee fails to agree on deficit reductions and $1 trillion in automatic spending cuts kick in. Published September 29, 2011
After demise of ‘don’t ask,’ activists call for end to military ban on transgenders
With homosexuals now able to serve openly in the military, the gay rights movement's next battleground is to persuade the Obama administration to end the armed forces' ban on "transgenders," a group that includes transsexuals and cross-dressers. Published September 28, 2011
Inspector general: Bush-era Pentagon officials cleared of wrongdoing
A three-year government investigation has found no wrongdoing by Bush-era Pentagon officials when they gave war briefings to retired military analysts who served as TV and radio commentators. Published September 24, 2011
Military warned not to harass openly homosexual troops
The nation's highest military leaders warned troops Tuesday not to harass gays who emerge from the closet as the ban on coming out officially ended. Published September 20, 2011
