Author: Anne Flaherty
-
Pentagon scrambles to assess Wikileaks damage
WASHINGTON — The Pentagon said Monday it was trying to assess the damage caused by the Internet leak of some 91,000 classified documents on the Afghanistan war. The documents are described as battlefield reports compiled by various military units that provide an unvarnished look at combat in the past five years, including U.S. frustration over…
-
Lawmakers question Army on Arlington Cemetery
WASHINGTON — Angry lawmakers on Wednesday sharply questioned the Army on its confusion over the location of some veterans’ remains at Arlington National Cemetery, as service officials described the slow “laborious” process of ensuring every grave was properly identified. Rep. Ike Skelton, chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, called for a “100 percent survey”…
-
Obama to meet with Pentagon’s pick to lead Marines
WASHINGTON — Marine Corps Gen. James Amos is set to meet with President Barack Obama at the White House to interview for the job as commandant. Amos has been hand-picked by Navy Secretary Ray Mabus and approved by Defense Secretary Robert Gates, but he will need a nod from Obama as well as the Senate.…
-
Top House Democrat against lifting military gay ban
WASHINGTON — The chairman of the House Armed Services Committee says he opposes repealing the 17-year-old “don’t ask, don’t tell” ban on gays serving openly in the military. Rep. Ike Skelton, D-Mo., told reporters Tuesday that he traveled throughout his congressional district over the Memorial Day recess, shortly after the House voted to repeal…
-
Congress to vote on military gay ban
WASHINGTON — Congress neared precedent-setting votes Thursday on whether to allow gays to serve openly in the military. A House vote, which could come Thursday evening, would repeal the 1993 law known as “don’t ask, don’t tell” that has effectively required gays wishing to join the military to hide their sexual orientation. The Senate Armed…
-
Bill ending ban on gays expected to pass panel
WASHINGTON — The Senate Armed Services Committee has enough votes to approve a bill overturning the ban on gays serving openly in the military, according to supporters of the effort to end the 17-year-old “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy. The bill would still face scrutiny by the full Senate, where 60 votes are usually needed…
-
Gates agrees to proposal to repeal gay ban
WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Robert Gates gave lukewarm support Tuesday to a White House-backed plan for a congressional vote as early as this week to repeal the “don’t ask, don’t tell” law against gays serving openly in the military. Gates indicated he’d prefer more time to study the sweeping change before Congress acts. Gates “continues…
-
Proposal to lift ban on gays in military in doubt
WASHINGTON — A lukewarm endorsement from Defense Secretary Robert Gates and opposition among some lawmakers cast doubt Tuesday on whether Congress this week would lift a 17-year-old ban on gays serving openly in the military. Gay rights’ groups predicted that the bill might pass the House but face a tough road in the Senate. “The…
-
Gates, Clinton press Senate to ratify nuclear treaty
WASHINGTON — The Obama administration on Tuesday pressed the Senate to ratify a landmark treaty with Russia, that would shrink both nations’ massive nuclear arsenals. Top officials said that passage is vital to U.S. efforts to persuade other countries not to build atomic weapons. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Defense Secretary Robert Gates…
-
Ammunition production surges at Missouri plant
INDEPENDENCE, Mo. — With wars under way in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Lake City Army Ammunition Plant is experiencing its biggest surge in production since the Vietnam War. This year the plant will produce about 1.5 billion rounds of small-caliber ammunition. The Kansas City Star reported Monday that the complex is also in the middle…