Dueling ISIL Ops Costs Estimates: $3B Or $15B A Year?

Dueling ISIL Ops Costs Estimates: $3B Or $15B A Year?
Dueling ISIL Ops Costs Estimates: $3B Or $15B A Year?

UPDATED: Former Defense OMB Head Begs To Differ On Estimates CORRECTED Adams’ Estimate Is For A Year, Not A Month WASHINGTON: The Pentagon has been pegging the operations against the terror group known as ISIL at $7 million to $10 million a day. If you extrapolate that across a year it comes very close to…

300 US Advisors Heading To Iraq; Obama Pledges To Eye ‘Mission Creep’

300 US Advisors Heading To Iraq; Obama Pledges To Eye ‘Mission Creep’
300 US Advisors Heading To Iraq; Obama Pledges To Eye ‘Mission Creep’

WASHINGTON: President Barack Obama today outlined a careful commitment of US forces to Iraq, pledging to watch any “mission creep” as he sends an initial 300 special operations advisors to gauge the strengths, weaknesses and cohesiveness of Iraq’s security forces as they battle the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). The U.S., Obama…

Budget Deal: Does the Pentagon Really Need An Extra $20 Billion?

Budget Deal: Does the Pentagon Really Need An Extra $20 Billion?
Budget Deal: Does the Pentagon Really Need An Extra $20 Billion?

Much of official Washington likes the budget deal struck this week by Sen. Patty Murray and Rep. Paul Ryan, chairs of the two chambers budget committees. No more stupid and debilitating showdowns. No more federal shutdowns. Perhaps Congress can actually do what it is expected to do and pass some spending bills. At least we…

Sequestration Cuts Leave Army With Only 2 Brigades Ready To Fight: CSA Odierno

Sequestration Cuts Leave Army With Only 2 Brigades Ready To Fight: CSA Odierno
Sequestration Cuts Leave Army With Only 2 Brigades Ready To Fight: CSA Odierno

UPDATE: Odierno Clarifies. It May Be Three Brigades WASHINGTON: The Army has had to cancel so much training that only two of its 42 combat brigades are ready for combat, Chief of Staff Gen. Ray Odierno told reporters at the Association of the US Army conference here today. It’ll take until June to get a…

Sequestration: Buck McKeon’s 3-Front War Will Fail — But At Least CR May End

WASHINGTON: As House Speaker John Boehner went to the White House for fruitless talks on sequestration, House Armed Services Committee Chairman Buck McKeon convened reporters to tell both the President and his own party leadership, “we are done cutting our defense.” But the very fact that McKeon had to send this message via the media…

DepSecDef Lynn Going; Navy Sec Mabus Rises as Likely Pick

Washington: Few people doubted that Deputy Defense Secretary Bill Lynn might go when Leon Panetta was announced as the Pentagon’s new leader. Then Lynn stayed for a bit and word went out that he would be with us for at least a while. Then an official announcement went out today suddenly announcing Lynn’s pending departure,…