Rowan Scarborough

Ex-Obama aide’s think tank hits defense budget

A Washington think tank founded by President Obama's first Pentagon policy chief has issued a report criticizing the administration's defense budget, which the think tank's founder played a role in developing. Published May 25, 2012

U.S. troops winning war against IEDs of Taliban

The U.S. military is on a path toward significantly fewer battlefield deaths in Afghanistan this year because it has become better at detecting the No. 1 killer of U.S. troops: the improvised explosive device (IED). Published May 24, 2012

Pentagon planners ordered to keep potential budget cuts from Congress

For Pentagon planners, automatic spending cuts slated to begin in January have become the $600 billion contingency they can't plan for. Published May 20, 2012

Bush policies he reviled are crux of Obama’s arsenal

This month's revival of terrorism trials at Guantanamo Bay underscores President Obama's reliance on counterterrorism tools he inherited from George W. Bush. Published May 15, 2012

F-22 Raptor pilots make problems public

The Air Force late last month convened a summit in Ohio to address the most vexing problem of its premier jet fighter — pilots becoming dizzy from oxygen deprivation while flying the supersonic F-22 Raptor. Published May 10, 2012

Defense budget casualties light on civilian side

The Pentagon's civilian workforce, which expanded dramatically during President Obama's first three years, is not facing any significant reductions even as the Defense Department is slashing ground troops by more than 10 percent, retiring ships and combat planes, and putting off the purchases of some new weapons. Published May 6, 2012

Iran is top ‘contingency’ in whittled U.S. war plans

The U.S. military is discussing significant changes in its war plans to adhere to President Obama's strategic guidance that downplays preparing for conflicts such as the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and counts on allies to provide additional troops. Published May 1, 2012

Pentagon is planning ‘contingency’ for Iran and North Korea

The U.S. military is discussing significant changes in its war plans to adhere to President Obama's new strategic guidance that downplays preparing for conflicts such as Iraq and Afghanistan, and counts on allies to provide additional troops. Published May 1, 2012

Pentagon preps chopping block for next round of base closures

Defense Department officials are quick to say the formal process of selecting U.S. military bases for closure will not begin until Congress says so. Published April 26, 2012

Doubts of victory surface in war on Afghan poppy crops

The other war in Afghanistan — the one to reduce the opium poppy crop by eradication, crop trade-offs and threats — has made substantial gains over the past five years as cultivation has dropped 32 percent. Published April 22, 2012

Official says military personnel violated curfew in Colombia sex scandal

Military personnel sent to Cartagena, Colombia, to set the stage for President Obama's recent visit violated a strict 11 p.m. curfew, a Pentagon official said. Published April 22, 2012

U.S. forces make gains after trading static Afghan outposts for mobility

Afghanistan's harsh and isolated Korengal Valley two years ago this month served as the setting for an unlikely U.S. military maneuver — a retreat. Published April 15, 2012

Being ‘Army strong’ gets weak backing with Obama’s strategy

The Army is coming out of a decade of war beat up and strapped for cash. The force that arguably did most of the fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, and suffered the most casualties, now finds itself in a new conflict. Published April 8, 2012

Army’s ‘chilling trend’ puts women at risk

The Army is pushing more women closer to the front lines and in closer contact with men even as the number of sexual attacks on female soldiers has surged during the past six years. Published April 1, 2012

Afghan Local Police key to success against Taliban

A small, little-noticed counterinsurgency force that was created in the ninth year of the Afghanistan War is proving to be the key for U.S. troops to leave the country in victory. Published March 29, 2012

Budget gridlock imperils national defense

Defense analysts and Capitol Hill insiders are anticipating that automatic federal budget cuts will occur Jan. 1 and force the armed forces to scrap plans for new weapons systems. Published March 25, 2012

Troops stressed to breaking point

A recent Army health report draws an alarming profile of a fighting force more prone to inexcusable violence amid an "epidemic" of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), the mental breakdown attracting speculation as a factor in a massacre of Afghan civilians this month. Published March 20, 2012