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Rowan Scarborough

Articles by Rowan Scarborough

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

Outlook glum for ‘porous’ Pakistan border

The State Department has stated in a cable from Peshawar, Pakistan, that it is skeptical about eventually winning the military struggle in Pakistan's badlands, saying peace talks go nowhere and murderous militants control key towns. Published December 5, 2010

Front-line fighters wary of repealing ‘don’t ask’

U.S. combat forces have voiced strong reservations about the effects on readiness of allowing open gays in the ranks, the Pentagon said Tuesday in a report that is likely to influence a Senate vote on whether to repeal the "don't ask, don't tell" policy. Published November 30, 2010

Under Panetta, morale up at CIA

CIA Director Leon E. Panetta, after nearly two years in office, has emerged as a fierce protector of the agency's people and its role in capturing or killing terrorists under an administration that shuns the words "war" and "Islamic terrorist." Published November 17, 2010

Gen. James F. Amos, the new commandant of the Marine Corps, fears the impact on unit cohesion and combat effectiveness of repealing "don't ask, don't tell." (Associated Press)

New top Marine backs gay ban

President Obama's first appointment to the Joint Chiefs of Staff is continuing, rather than settling, the divisive debate among the nation's top military officers on gays in the military. Published November 10, 2010

Military advocates don’t want judges making Pentagon rules

Pro-military advocates are warning against the dangers of letting federal district court judges start making significant Pentagon policy, saying it would essentially turn the military over to a network of political appointees who could be swayed by various pressure groups. Published October 27, 2010

Obama may opt for new military advisers

President Obama, who has clashed with the military top brass over war and gays, will soon have a chance to reshape the Joint Chiefs of Staff as he faces contentious decisions next year on withdrawing troops from Afghanistan and on ending some weapons systems. Published October 18, 2010

Payoff seen in Afghan surge

The U.S. military is starting to see signs that the troop surge in Afghanistan is working on a timetable similar to the Iraq reinforcement campaign in 2007, according to an outside adviser and military sources. Published October 11, 2010

General denies equating gays, blacks in military

An Army general playing a prominent role in readying the military for open gays in the ranks has equated those who resist the plan to racists who opposed racial integration after World War II, according to two service members and a civilian who heard his remarks. Published September 26, 2010

ASSOCIATED PRESS
GUNG-HO: Rep. Duncan Hunter, a Marine Corps reservist, is pleased that the Pentagon is building up a special task force to thwart deadly IEDs in Afghanistan.

Hunter lauds tactic to snuff IEDs

In a shift in tactics, the U.S. military in Afghanistan plans to rely more on old-fashioned surveillance, as compared with new-age technology, to stop the biggest killer of American service members in the field. Published September 16, 2010

Pentagon may trim IED detector budget

The Pentagon is considering cuts in a war office thought to be untouchable: the organization that devises ways to foil the No. 1 killer of U.S. troops in Afghanistan. Published September 7, 2010

Iraqi policemen search a car at a checkpoint in Baghdad Sunday, Aug. 29, 2010. While violence in Iraq has subsided significantly since the height of the sectarian bloodshed in 2006 and 2007, militants continue to target members of Iraq's nascent security forces, undermining their ability to defend the country as the U.S. ends combat operations. (AP Photo/Karim Kadim)

No letup in Iraq for some military forces

As U.S. military forces continue to stream out of Iraq, formally ending combat operations on Tuesday, one of the most effective elements of those forces missed the drawdown completely. Published August 29, 2010

**FILE** In this March 26, 2007 photo, Andrew Chapin of New York City takes part in a rally on Capitol Hill in Washington supporting legislative efforts to repeal the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy regarding gay soldiers. (Associated Press)

Survey counters backing of gays in military

A group opposed to ending the ban on openly gay troops in the military has released a national survey that challenges earlier independent polls asserting that a wide percentage of Americans favor repealing the ban. Published August 22, 2010

Low al Qaeda count stirs new war debate

With the American public growing more pessimistic about Afghanistan, war proponents are renewing their case in the face of new estimates that say no more than 100 al Qaeda operatives remain in the country. Published August 15, 2010

Military ordered to stay off WikiLeaks

The U.S. armed services are issuing internal messages to all personnel barring them from visiting the WikiLeaks website, which recently posted 77,000 classified diplomatic and military messages on the long war in Afghanistan. Published August 6, 2010

Pentagon bars staff from visiting WikiLeaks

The U.S. armed services are issuing internal messages to all personnel barring them from visiting the WikiLeaks website, which recently posted 77,000 classified diplomatic and military messages on the long war in Afghanistan. Published August 5, 2010