Rowan Scarborough
Articles by Rowan Scarborough
SEALs are standing taller after secret raid
After the U.S. responded to the Sept. 11 attacks by investing billions of dollars to revive neglected special operations forces, it was only fitting that Navy SEALs earned the glory of killing the most wanted terrorist in history. Published May 2, 2011
Pentagon team seeks new ways to foil buried explosives
A Pentagon agency has set up a team of experts to find ways to foil buried homemade explosives that increasingly are killing and maiming troops in Afghanistan. Published April 21, 2011
Pro-Gadhafi forces changing tactics
Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi's armed forces have shifted tactics to adapt to NATO'S limited airstrikes in support of poorly organized rebels who don't think the European allies are flying enough missions. Published April 18, 2011
Afghanistan ‘death squad’ killings fail to get media, political attention
Reports of a U.S. "death squad" in Afghanistan, complete with the publication of gory photographs, have failed to attract the intense political or media attention afforded a previous war scandal — the mistreatment of Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib. Published April 17, 2011
Taliban alters its deadly IED tactics
Insurgents in Afghanistan have changed tactics in how they place deadly improvised explosive devices (IEDs), prompting a war-veteran congressman to propose a relatively simple technique to find and detonate them. Published April 6, 2011
Europe relies on U.S. power again
Even under NATO command, the U.S. military will do the bulk of the fighting in Libya — even as the Obama administration argues that this is Europe's conflict to lead, not America's. Published March 31, 2011
Military indoctrinated on gays kissing, behavior
Four branches of the military have begun sending training material to 2.2 million active and reserve troops as a prelude to opening the ranks to gays, with instructions on, for example, what to do if an officer sees two male Marines kissing in a shopping mall. Published March 22, 2011
Diversity panel wants military to look like U.S.
Just as the U.S. military is indoctrinating troops to accept open gays in their ranks, a federal commission is pressing the Pentagon to make the force more diverse by, among other ideas, opening infantry and armor units to women. Published March 17, 2011
U.S., allies assisting Libya need awareness of nation’s driving forces
A decision by President Obama and NATO to use its militaries to aid rebels in Libya would have the alliance siding with factions that it does not fully understand and not knowing what type of government they would bring to Tripoli. Published March 8, 2011
Retired brass oppose Libya action
Former U.S. military officers are warning against any direct military action in Libya and other unsettled Arab nations, as the Pentagon works furiously on a list of options to give the president. Published March 3, 2011
Combat troops to get gay sensitivity training
American combat troops will get sensitivity training directly on the battlefield about the military's new policy on gays instead of waiting until they return to home base in the United States, the senior enlisted man in Afghanistan said Thursday. Published February 24, 2011
Ex-pilots shoot down timeline of Navy
A foundation set up to celebrate Navy aviation's 100th birthday has disavowed an official history on its website, after former combat pilots complained of inaccuracies and political correctness. Published February 20, 2011
Mubarak’s military vital to free elections
Deposed Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak spent three decades in office hand-picking his military generals on the basis of absolute loyalty to his regime, not to any Islamic or democracy movement, analysts on one of the world's largest armies say. Published February 13, 2011
Reagan the commander in chief of rearming
When Ronald Reagan took office in 1981, he inherited a broken all-volunteer military force, still reeling from the traumas of the post-Vietnam era. When he left the White House eight years later, he left the nation a well-equipped, highly professional military on which the country has depended for three decades. Published February 3, 2011
Key military, intelligence assets imperiled in Egypt
U.S. military and intelligence agencies would lose vital air, land and sea assets if Egypt falls into the hands of radical Islamists, as Iran did in 1979, foreign policy analysts say. Published January 31, 2011
Some Democrats seek to dial back overheated rhetoric on shootings
ANALYSIS: Some Democrats are calling for a cease-fire in a heated liberal campaign to pin blame for the Tucson, Ariz., massacre on conservative speech and specifically on former Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin. Published January 12, 2011
Army will evaluate mental state of suspect in WikiLeaks
The Army is assembling a special board to evaluate the mental state of Pfc. Bradley Manning, who is being held on charges that he illegally obtained thousands of classified documents and turned them over to the anti-secrecy website WikiLeaks in what might be the biggest security breach in U.S. history. Published January 3, 2011
Special forces wary of ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ repeal
Special-operations troops think the elite force is facing difficulties by accepting open gays into one of the military's more politically conservative communities. Published December 27, 2010
Gay troops advised to wait before coming out
Advocates are advising military gays to stay in the closet for now, as the Pentagon begins months of scene-setting to make sure removing the ban does not hurt combat readiness. Published December 20, 2010
Pakistani forces ‘hamper’ U.S. Embassy
Pakistan's military and intelligence service took the extraordinary action of going to war against the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad this year, harassing employees, sabotaging contracts and denying the purchase of protective gear. Published December 12, 2010
