Joint Chiefs of Staff

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Obama Names Dempsey as Next Joint Chiefs Head

First reported last week, the president makes it official

(Newser) - It's official: President Barack Obama has chosen veteran Army Gen. Martin Dempsey to succeed Adm. Mike Mullen as chairman of the military Joint Chiefs of Staff. Obama's Memorial Day announcement, first floated last week , moves the president close to completion of the rebuilding of his national security team...

Gen. Martin Dempsey Expected to Be Named Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on Monday
 Meet the New 
 Joint Chiefs 
 Chairman 
and he sings, too

Meet the New Joint Chiefs Chairman

Obama expected to name Army Gen. Martin Dempsey

(Newser) - The White House is putting out the unofficial word today to the big news outlets that the new chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff will be Army Gen. Martin Dempsey. Currently the Army's top general, he is known not only for his military skills but for his political...

Mullen Sees &#39;Stalemate&#39; in Libya
 Mullen Sees 'Stalemate' in Libya

Mullen Sees 'Stalemate' in Libya

But coalition strikes have knocked off 30% to 40% of Gadhafi's forces

(Newser) - The conflict in Libya is “certainly moving towards a stalemate,” the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff told US troops in Baghdad today, adding that there were some reasons for optimism. “We’ve attrited somewhere between 30% and 40% of his ground forces,” Admiral Mike...

Libya Intervention: Admiral Mike Mullen Says Strikes Having 'Significant Effect'
 Mullen: Libya No-Fly Zone Is Up 
UPDATED

Mullen: Libya No-Fly Zone Is Up

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs stresses limited nature of mission

(Newser) - The US airstrikes launched yesterday against Libya are already having a "significant effect" on Moammar Gadhafi's military, Adm. Mike Mullen said in an interview today. Gadhafi has been unable to "fly the last couple of days," he said, “So I’d say the no-fly zone which...

Expect More Military Suicides: Mullen

Four take lives over weekend

(Newser) - Expect more servicemen and women to take their own lives in the months ahead, Admiral Mike Mullen warned today, in the wake of four such suicides over the weekend. “I think we are going to see a significant increase in the challenges that we have in terms of our...

US Military Boss: We've Got a Plan to Attack Iran

Will be launched 'if necessary to stop nukes'

(Newser) - The US has a detailed plan ready to attack Iran if necessary to prevent it from making nuclear weapons, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff revealed yesterday. “I hope we don’t get to that, but it’s an important option, and it’s one that’s...

Pentagon Holds Secret Afghan War Games

Mullen leads exercise to assess effects of troop surge

(Newser) - The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Adm. Mike Mullen, led a secret war game earlier this month to assess the Obama administration's options in Afghanistan, including a 44,000-troop surge. A team of military leaders used Gen. Stanley McChrystal's analysis to examine how Taliban insurgents and the Afghan...

Joint Chiefs Chair: Afghan War Needs More Troops

(Newser) - The drumbeat for more US troops in Afghanistan goes on: The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff told senators today that a "properly resourced counter-insurgency probably means more forces." Adm. Mike Mullen said he hasn't yet received a formal request from Gen. Stanley McChrystal but expects one...

US Military Review Calls for Afghan Prison Changes

(Newser) - Afghanistan’s prison system, including the American-run Bagram facility, needs a complete overhaul, according to a new US military review. The current system, which has a dreadful reputation with both human rights advocates and Afghan civilians, houses radical inmates with more moderate prisoners. The offensive in the southern part of...

Al-Qaeda Militants Leaving Pakistan for Yemen, Somalia

Dozens have left, US officials say

(Newser) - Al-Qaeda fighters from Pakistan have started leaving isolated tribal areas and moving far afield to Somalia and Yemen, the New York Times reports. Some US officials point to stepped up drone attacks against militants in Pakistan for the development, which involves relatively small numbers so far. But the growth of...

Military's New Afghanistan Chief Gets Free Rein

Allowed to choose own team as Obama prioritizes effort

(Newser) - With Afghanistan a priority for the administration, officials have given the new US commander there free rein to select his team, the New York Times reports. Gen. Stanley McChrystal’s job “is that important. Afghanistan is the main effort right now,” said the chairman of the Joint Chiefs....

Generals Puzzle Through Surge in Army Suicides

(Newser) - Top Army brass are meeting monthly to figure out the disturbing rise in soldier suicides, the Washington Post reports. The generals pore through case studies and examine factors such as solitude, multiple tours of duty, and interactions between anti-depressants and high-caffeine drinks like Rip It popular among soldiers. “It's...

Rumsfeld Denies He Put Bible in Briefings

GQ writer, anonymous sources better suited to gossip beat, he says

(Newser) - Donald Rumsfeld didn't decorate the president’s World Intelligence Update cover slides with biblical quotes, a spokesman says, and GQ reporter Robert Draper should've known better than to use anonymous sources "with an axe to grind." The slides, the spokesman says in an email to Marc Ambinder...

New Afghanistan Commander Is Warrior-Scholar

Workaholic McChrystal has shadowy past, links to spy agencies

(Newser) - Lt. Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the designated new American commander in Afghanistan, has a reputation for hard work and self-denial: He sleeps for just a few hours and eats only one meal a day. Colleagues describe McChrystal, the current director of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, as an ideal combination of...

US: Iran Has Enough Uranium for a Bomb

Iran's step forward worries Mullen, many others

(Newser) - Iran has enriched enough uranium to make a nuclear bomb, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Mike Mullen told State of the Union today. "Iran having nuclear weapons, is a very very bad outcome—for the region and for the world," Mullen said. A recent report by the IAEA...

Obama Challenges Troop Surge in Afghanistan

Asks for clear strategy before sending more troops

(Newser) - President Obama has called for a review of the planned deployment of up to 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan, a nation that some fear will become his “Vietnam,” the Times of London reports. Some 17,000 more troops were poised to head there last week, but defense...

New Releases Show How Vietnam Weighed on Nixon

Defense secretary urges against plan that would become 'Christmas bombing'

(Newser) - Newly declassified documents and tapes from the Nixon era show how conflicted the administration was over public dissatisfaction with the war in Vietnam, the AP reports. One October 1969 memo from Defense Secretary Melvin Laird advises the president against adopting a proposal for a massive assault on North Vietnam, noting...

Joint Chiefs Head Calls for Wider PTSD Screening

Post Traumatic Stress a 'bigger problem than we realize,' says chief

(Newser) - Every member of the US military should undergo screening for post-traumatic stress disorder upon returning from combat in Iraq, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff has recommended. As many as 1 of every 5 returning combat vets suffers from mental health problems, USA Today reports. "I think...

White House Lambastes Woodward
White House Lambastes Woodward

White House Lambastes Woodward

Denies book's claims; author unveils shocker on death teams

(Newser) - The White House has angrily rejected Bob Woodward's claim that the administration was riven by dissent ahead of the surge in Iraq, CNN reports. Woodward wrote in his new book that President Bush pushed troop levels past the Joint Chiefs, ignoring their worries about over-extending the military. The War Within...

Bush Pulled Rank on Military Over Surge

Joint Chiefs were pushed aside, new Woodward book says

(Newser) - In the months leading up to the Iraq surge, President Bush faced a revolt by frustrated Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Washington Post’s Bob Woodward writes in a new book, The War Within. Bush dumped the military leaders’ advice as Iraq spun out of control in fall of 2006,...

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