Pentagon freaking over WikiLeaks’ Iraq document dumpWith a whopping 500,000 classified documents on the Iraq War expected to leak on the WikiLeaks site this month, the Pentagon have put together a 120-person team to prepare for the expected scandal. The documents are expected to contain details on civilian causalities in Iraq.
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Shaffer plays Afghan Whispers with Pentagon … and wins
Spies, scandals, secret documents, crises in the Pentagon … and that’s before anyone’s even opened the bloody book! Controversy around Afghan War exposé Operation Dark Heart will likely drive big sales, writes Crikey intern Nick Johns-Wickberg.
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The book the Pentagon doesn’t want you to read
A former US spy’s memoir revealing the poor handling of the Afghanistan War and how the US military stuffed it up, called Operation Dark Heart, is so damaging to the Pentagon that it is buying all 10,000 copies in order to pulp them.
Pentagon can’t plug WikiLeaks
Too bad that the Pentagon is demanding that no more confidential US military documents appear on the internet, WikiLeaks has confirmed it will continue to leak damaging documents from around the world.
Daily Proposition: Don’t bake the 26-page Pentagon brownie recipe
Crikey was particularly taken with a leaked 26-page Pentagon recipe for baking soldiers’ brownies, so we asked Nicole Eckersley to make them and write it up. One sex shop visit later, this is her story.
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The Pentagon’s 26-page brownie recipe
Document MIL-C-44072C, a highly important Pentagon manual has been leaked online. It’s contents? Twenty-six pages on how to make military standard cookies and brownies. They must not exceed 3.5”x2.5”x5/8”. Download the entire recipe here.
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US military running private spy ring in AfPak
The NYT reveals the US is still is running a potentially illegal “rogue operation” of private spies in Afghanistan and Pakistan, employing former CIA agents and Special-Ops soldiers to gather information.
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Pentagon bans journalists from Gitmo trial
The Pentagon has banned four US reporters from the Omar Khadr trial at Guantanamo Bay after they reported the name of a witness whose identity is under protective order. It’s another embarrassment in a disastrous trial, says Scott Horton.
Finally: the Pentagon is developing a flying car
The US military is finally putting its time and money into something worthwhile: creating a flying car. The project, codenamed “Transformer”, is attempting to create a prototype SUV-helicopter hybrid within four years. Now, about those jetpacks…
America’s scary new toy
The US has designed a new weapon called Prompt Global Strike, capable of striking anywhere on earth in under an hour with pinpoint accuracy and the power of a nuclear warhead.
The Pentagon’s war on WikiLeaks
WikiLeaks has long been pissing off governments by obtaining and publishing their secret and sensitive documents online. And as this secret Pentagon report [PDF] reveals, it hasn’t gone un-noticed.
The Pentagon’s $56b “Black Budget”
Don your tin-foil hats: the US Defence Dept has released its new $708 billion budget — with $56 billion earmarked simply for “classified programs”, the organisation’s largest “black budget” ever. So where is it all going?
Blackwater is still working for the US
The Pentagon and CIA are still employing controversial military contractor Blackwater in Afghanistan (albeit under a new name), despite allegations of involvement in murder, gun-running, child prostitution and more, ABC News reveals.
Pentagon: Climate change threat to national security
The Pentagon is set to tell Congress that climate change is a real and present threat to national security. It is a sign of these strange times when the US military’s stance on climate change is closer to Bob Brown’s than that of any major Australian party.
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The real cost of Afghanistan
Documents leaked to the LA Times show the Pentagon calculate the 40,000-troop surge in Afghanistan being pushed for by military commanders would cost $30-35 billion — at least $750,000 a person.
The Pentagon’s secret Afghan war games
The US military has been testing new strategies for combat in Afghanistan in secret war games, an inside source reveals, including the possibility of adding 44,000 more troops for a full-scale counterinsurgency, or 15,000 more to target Taliban commanders.
Is the Pentagon funding the Taliban?
A US military aid program in Afghanistan that ensures local businesses score all contracts on projects and procurement is filtering money directly into the Taliban’s hands, says Jean MacKenzie. The Pentagon knows, but its hands are tied.
Why Obama shot down Star Wars
Obama’s decision to junk Bush-era plans for a missile defence shield in Europe isn’t a capitulation to Russia, says Mark Ambinder.
Stars and Stripes: keeping an eagle eye on the Pentagon
US military newspaper Stars and Stripes may be partially funded by the Pentagon, but its not afraid to hold the government and military to account. Editor Howard Witt talks independent investigative journalism, and why he gave Ann Coulter and Ariana Huffington the boot.
Why are Russian subs patrolling the US coast?
Two nuclear-powered Russian attack submarines are operating off the US East Coast and the Pentagon don’t know why. Is Russia flexing its muscles again? Or just trying to give Tom Clancy something to write about?
Crikey Says: Boom times for guns, irony
US government-to-government arms sales are growing fast and will likely exceed $40 billion for 2009. It’s all part of their strategy for international diplomacy, you see…
US backs good, rich Shi’ites against the bad, poor ones
Why are the Americans fighting for Iranian-backed theocrats in Basra, even as they complain about Iranian interference? Jeff Sparrow investigates.
