Rowan Scarborough
Articles by Rowan Scarborough
Hagel’s foreign policy record could doom chances for top Pentagon post
In his journey from conservative Republican to de facto Democrat, Chuck Hagel advocated several fundamental foreign policy positions while in the Senate that have not survived the test of history, an examination of his statements shows. Published December 30, 2012
Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf, a man for his times
The twist in the long military career of Gen. H. Norman Schwarzkopf is that a 35-year Army soldier is remembered more for what he did in the air than on land. Published December 28, 2012
Army rolls out brass to defend anti-IED software
The Army presented two two-star generals and three intelligence specialists Thursday to defend its $2.5 billion battlefield intelligence processor, which has failed operational tests and has been criticized by soldiers as being too slow to analyze the enemy and help find buried bombs in Afghanistan. Published December 20, 2012
Marines’ new alcohol policy strictest in U.S. military
The Marine Corps' new on-duty standard for drinking alcohol is so strict that less than one drink at lunch would trigger a "positive" and get a warrior in hot water. Published December 20, 2012
U.S. arms to Gulf allies hint of strategy
The largest infusion of U.S. arms ever for Persian Gulf allies has shifted more toward offensive weapons at the same time that President Obama's military strategy says it will rely more on allied firepower in any future war. Published December 16, 2012
Marines to test for drunkenness on duty
The Marine Corps has issued new rules for randomly testing its warriors twice yearly with a Breathalyzer to make sure they are not drunk on duty. Published December 14, 2012
Muslim Brotherhood inherits U.S. war gear
For Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood-dominated government, more battle tanks and jet fighters are on their way from the United States. Published December 6, 2012
What is the Pentagon’s policy on artistic aid? It depends …
The Navy's special warfare command granted permission for two SEALs to advise filmmakers for an upcoming movie about a doomed commando mission in Afghanistan. Published December 3, 2012
Army’s own data mining system fails test
The Pentagon's top weapons tester has given a failing grade to the Army's premier battlefield intelligence processor, which troops in Afghanistan have criticized as being too slow and unreliable in sifting data to find the enemy. Published December 2, 2012
Report clears Army brass evaluating battlefield data processor
An in-house Army investigation into why its own independent test report on a battlefield intelligence system was ordered to be destroyed and a new one written has cleared officials of any wrongdoing. Published November 30, 2012
Pentagon report defends ouster of military instructor
A military college course taught by a decorated Army officer "was overtly negative with respect to Islam" and used "extreme" hypothetical situations to discuss war options, says a Pentagon report sent to Capitol Hill. Published November 29, 2012
MacDill AFB checking its ‘friends’ after Petraeus affair
MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Fla., is scrubbing its list of 800 civilian "friends" to head off any future embarrassments in the wake of former CIA Director David H. Petraeus' sex scandal. Published November 15, 2012
Libya timeline suggests cover-up in attack
The Obama administration's public versions of events in the attack on the U.S. Consulate in Libya have been riddled with discrepancies, starting soon after the American dead and survivors left behind a charred diplomatic compound and bullet-scarred CIA building in Benghazi. Published November 14, 2012
From Iraq to Washington: Petraeus has long record of facing tough situations
The fall of David H. Petraeus as the nation's spy chief does not erase his long record as a military commander who turned the tide of the war in Iraq and set up new tactics for killing Islamic terrorists, his friends and military observers say. Published November 12, 2012
Security taken early, arrived late in Benghazi
The Obama administration's new timelines for the Sept. 11 terrorist attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya, reveal a significant delay in getting ground troops to the area and the negative impact of the State Department's decision to remove from the country a site security team and its aircraft that could have aided a rescue. Published November 11, 2012
Head of Africa Command not forced out
The Obama administration's decision to grant retirement to the top general of U.S. Africa Command is part of the internal jockeying that goes on among the military branches to win top war-fighting assignments and was not related to the terrorist attack on the U.S. diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya, a well-placed military source told The Washington Times. Published November 7, 2012
Behind the crisis in Benghazi, a commander’s lack of firepower
As Americans fought for their lives in Benghazi, Libya, the Pentagon's options for direct intervention were narrowed to one: a fleet of F-16 fighters parked across the Mediterranean at NATO's air base in Aviano, Italy. Published November 4, 2012
Congress angered by DHS failure to get flood prevention off drawing board
Earlier this year, the Department of Homeland Security announced a successful test for a giant high-pressure balloon that can plug a mass-transit tunnel, in theory preventing damaging floods such as the ones flowing through New York's subway system. Published November 1, 2012
Lack of strike force impeded Benghazi response
As U.S. Africa Command waited for any order to rescue Americans on Sept. 11 at the besieged consulate and CIA annex in Benghazi, Libya, it was missing a key unit that the Pentagon gives every regional four-star commander — an emergency strike force. Published October 28, 2012
Pentagon mum on Libya response
The Pentagon is staying mum on why combat assets were not immediately sent to Benghazi, Libya, to aid the U.S. Consulate under attack by militants for hours on Sept. 11. Published October 24, 2012
