Rowan Scarborough
Articles by Rowan Scarborough
Commandos criticize call for SEALs
Some in the special operations community are privately criticizing the wisdom of Saturday's failed rescue mission in Afghanistan, saying commanders should have sent more than the one Chinook helicopter that was shot down, killing 30 American troops, including 23 elite Navy SEALs. Published August 9, 2011
Recruiters pressed to reach out to gays once ban is lifted
An underground gay group in the military wants recruiters to reach out to the gay community in the same way they target blacks, Hispanics and women. Published July 28, 2011
‘Arab Spring’ dreams dying amid violence
The hopes for democracy that bloomed in the "Arab Spring" are drying up in a long, hot summer of crackdowns, civil war and continuing protests. Published July 25, 2011
Liberals see opportunity for big cuts in defense
The political left is pressing the White House and Congress to inflict a wave of Pentagon budget cuts not seen since the post-Cold War 1990s. Published July 18, 2011
Pakistan hesitates to eradicate U.S.-mapped militant camps
The U.S. has compiled a wide body of intelligence on the locations of militant training camps in Pakistan, but has been unable to persuade Islamabad to shut them down, current and former officials say. Published July 11, 2011
Afghan pullout seen as too much, too soon
Former battlefield commanders are warning that President Obama's accelerated troop withdrawal from Afghanistan in time for the 2012 presidential election risks reversing major gains made against the Taliban. Published July 5, 2011
Gates’ tenure successful, contradictory
Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates leaves office Thursday popular with the liberal Washington establishment, but not so with conservatives chafed by his budget cutting and his enthusiastic support for open gays in the ranks. Published June 26, 2011
Panetta to carry political baggage to the Pentagon
Defense Secretary-designate Leon E. Panetta faces an early test when he takes office July 1, as the White House pushes for deeper cuts in defense spending and congressional Republicans say no way. Published June 22, 2011
USDA gay-sensitivity training seeks larger audience
U.S. Department of Agriculture activists want to impose their intense brand of homosexual sensitivity training government-wide, including a discussion that compares "heterosexism" — believing marriage can only can be between one man and one woman — to racism. Published June 17, 2011
Rumbles on Hill as Gadhafi hangs on
Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi's tenacious hold on power forced NATO on Wednesday to extend its mission to protect civilians and caused consternation on Capitol Hill over U.S. involvement in the North African conflict. Published June 1, 2011
Navy too politically correct for ‘old salts’
The U.S. Navy is sailing into politically correct waters, sometimes at a speed too fast for the Obama administration to keep up. Published May 28, 2011
WikiLeaks bolsters argument for ‘enhanced’ interrogation tactics
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange's ongoing release of the Guantanamo Bay prison files, and large numbers of classified State Department cables, attempts to expose what he calls American corruption. Published May 19, 2011
Couriers enabled bin Laden to hide
Tracking terrorist messaging systems and clandestine couriers became a critical U.S. intelligence mission years before an al Qaeda courier led U.S. special operations forces to Osama bin Laden's hide-out in Pakistan. Published May 11, 2011
SEALs are standing taller after secret raid
After the U.S. responded to the Sept. 11 attacks by investing billions of dollars to revive neglected special operations forces, it was only fitting that Navy SEALs earned the glory of killing the most wanted terrorist in history. Published May 2, 2011
Pentagon team seeks new ways to foil buried explosives
A Pentagon agency has set up a team of experts to find ways to foil buried homemade explosives that increasingly are killing and maiming troops in Afghanistan. Published April 21, 2011
Pro-Gadhafi forces changing tactics
Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi's armed forces have shifted tactics to adapt to NATO'S limited airstrikes in support of poorly organized rebels who don't think the European allies are flying enough missions. Published April 18, 2011
Afghanistan ‘death squad’ killings fail to get media, political attention
Reports of a U.S. "death squad" in Afghanistan, complete with the publication of gory photographs, have failed to attract the intense political or media attention afforded a previous war scandal — the mistreatment of Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib. Published April 17, 2011
Taliban alters its deadly IED tactics
Insurgents in Afghanistan have changed tactics in how they place deadly improvised explosive devices (IEDs), prompting a war-veteran congressman to propose a relatively simple technique to find and detonate them. Published April 6, 2011
Europe relies on U.S. power again
Even under NATO command, the U.S. military will do the bulk of the fighting in Libya — even as the Obama administration argues that this is Europe's conflict to lead, not America's. Published March 31, 2011
Military indoctrinated on gays kissing, behavior
Four branches of the military have begun sending training material to 2.2 million active and reserve troops as a prelude to opening the ranks to gays, with instructions on, for example, what to do if an officer sees two male Marines kissing in a shopping mall. Published March 22, 2011
