Rowan Scarborough
Articles by Rowan Scarborough
Ray Mabus, Navy secretary, celebrates gay pride, hits ‘bigots’ who backed ban
Navy Secretary Ray Mabus said Wednesday that activists who opposed lifting the ban on gays are just like the bigots who fought against racial desegregation. Published June 8, 2016
Pentagon brags of killing terrorists even as transferred Gitmo detainees return to battlefield
The Pentagon is boasting of the al Qaeda operatives it has killed to make America safer, yet the same type of terrorists have been transferred out of the Guantanamo prison to countries with a poor history of security, and some have ended up back on the battlefield. Published June 5, 2016
Congress seeks to strengthen U.S.-Taiwan military alliance amid China aggression
The United States is required by law to go to war to defend Taiwan if communist China invades — an alliance that conjures up visions of a close working relationship between the democratic nation and the Pentagon. Published May 30, 2016
Bowe Bergdahl’s defense says Donald Trump traitor charge taints the case
The Army on Tuesday provided a behind the scenes look at the prosecution of Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, releasing pages of internal court communications that show the defense believes it is hamstrung in responding to Donald Trump's charge that their client is a traitor. Published May 24, 2016
ISIS seeks to destroy Israel, ‘liberate’ Jerusalem with Sinai Peninsula terrorist force
With a media blitz, the Islamic State has set its sights on Egypt's Sinai Peninsula as the next shot at expanding its empire and establishing a base from which to attack neighboring Israel. Published May 22, 2016
Ray Mabus, Navy secretary: No politics in warship-naming
Navy Secretary Ray Mabus says in a letter that he has the power to name warships as he chooses, in response to a former Marine and congressman who charges he has politicized the process. Published May 18, 2016
Army goes all-in on Bowe Bergdahl’s defense, assigns four military lawyers
Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl has no less than four military defense lawyers, plus his civilian lawyer, to try to beat the Army charge of desertion on the battlefield in Afghanistan. Published May 17, 2016
Brian Losey gets Ryan Zinke’s help with Navy whistleblower retaliation protection
Congress' lone former Navy SEAL is mounting a counteroffensive for his former battle mate and current top SEAL who the congressman says is a victim of vengeful whistleblowers. Published May 15, 2016
Al Qaeda’s online magazine tells terrorists to target U.S. business leaders in their homes
Al Qaeda's Inspire online magazine is calling on jihadists to damage the American economy by killing business leaders and entrepreneurs in their homes. Published May 15, 2016
Trump adviser defends Wayne Simmons against fabrication charge
One of Donald Trump's foreign policy advisers has taken up the cause of Wayne Simmons, the former TV military analyst who stood accused of fabricating a career in the CIA as a paramilitary officer. Published May 13, 2016
Congress moves to increase Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman’s war powers, term length
Congress is moving to increase the war powers and longevity of the nation's top military officer, while removing any whiff of politics by delinking Senate confirmation from presidential election years. Published May 12, 2016
Green Beret blasts Afghanistan command over ‘moral cowardice,’ ‘profound lack of strategy’
A combat-hardened Green Beret has unleashed a barrage of indictments against the command in Afghanistan and policymakers in Washington, saying the 14-year-old war effort suffers from a "profound lack of strategy" and that special operations overseers show "moral cowardice." Published May 10, 2016
U.S. airstrike on Afghan hospital the culmination of a tragedy of errors
Several times in the hours leading up to the disastrous U.S. airstrike on a hospital in Kunduz, Afghanistan, American military operators came tantalizingly close to making the right decision that could have averted the deaths of 42 patients and staff. Published May 8, 2016
Iran’s Basij militia infiltrates society as Obama outreach fails to reform Islamist rule
Iran plans to spread its notorious Basij militia into nearly every aspect of life, from villages to schools to sports clubs to factories, in a sign that the Washington-Tehran nuclear deal has not led to reforms in the 36-year-old Islamic revolution. Published May 5, 2016
Umm Issa Al-Amrikiah, female American ISIS recruiter, and husband killed in airstrike
An American couple who joined the Islamic State in Syria were killed in an airstrike over the weekend, depriving the terror army of one of its most conspicuous woman recruiters and propagandists. Published May 2, 2016
Hillary Clinton emails ‘far more egregious’ than data breach that has Marine facing dismissal
Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton is not alone in being sloppy with classified information on her computer during the war on terror. The Marine Corps was too. Published May 1, 2016
Charles Martland discharge reversed by Army in rape-protection case
The Army on Thursday reversed a decision to discharge a decorated Green Beret for roughing up an Afghanistan police chief accused of raping a boy. Published April 28, 2016
Iran touts Israel invasion to recruit teenage boys to fight in Syria
Iran has begun to ask its teenage boys to volunteer to fight in Syria in a sign the hard-line Islamic regime's military is suffering rising casualties in the five-year war and needs a morale boost, an opposition group says. Published April 28, 2016
William McRaven: Whistleblower hostility may have cost admiral promotion
The nation's former top special operations officer has taken on the leadership of the Senate Armed Services Committee in defense of a fellow Navy SEAL. Published April 26, 2016
Obama’s limited troop deployments to Syria pose no threat to ISIS in Raqqa
President Obama's decision to send a few hundred special operations forces into Syria is a good step, military analysts say, but the limited deployment underscores his opposition to any significant American ground forces to directly fight the Islamic State. Published April 25, 2016
