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The US military has geographically divided up the world into six regional “commands.” Northern Command, which was created in the wake of the September 11 attacks, is based in NORAD in Colorado. European Command is based in Stuttgart, Germany, so it is right in the middle of its area of responsibility (AOR). Pacific Command has […]

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Afghanistan, NATO and the Warsaw Pact

From 1979 to 1989, the Soviet Army attempted to occupy Afghanistan and defeat an insurgency of Afghan rebels. They failed and two years later found their own country falling to pieces and with it, the Soviet Bloc's collective security alliance, the Warsaw Pact. Although, the Russian Afghan War was not the main reason the Soviet Union […]

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DOD's New Defense Budget

The Department of Defense released its figure for the 2009 budget: $518.3 billion. As this article points out, that number is only the military portion of the budget. There are other expenditures that could be easily classified as funding national security also. First, the $70 billion the DOD requested to fight the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Secondly, […]

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The Real MRAP Controversy

The Real MRAP Controversy

Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles are a family of armored fighting vehicles designed to survive IED attacks and ambushes in Iraq and Afghanistan. In an article called “Hopes for Vehicle Questioned After Iraq Blast,” the New York Times described the first loss of a soldier in a MRAP. However, this soldier was a turret gunner […]

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The Sanctuary of Pakistan

America is already operating in Pakistan covertly, with CIA and Special Forces on the ground and Predator drones in the air. However, whether the US Army itself will cross the border and cut off the insurgent sanctuary as it did in Cambodia in 1970, remains to be seen. President Musharraf has repeatedly warned Bush about the consequences […]

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Recruitment standards and the Army

MSNBC cites a report from a research group “that nearly 71 percent of Army recruits graduated from high school in the 2007 budget year.” MSN goes on to state that “the Army's goal is 90 percent high school graduates, which it hasn't met since 2004. Each year since, the number of recruits with at least […]

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Gates on the Marine deployment to Afghanistan

Recently, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates criticized NATO troops in Afghanistan for not understanding how to fight a counter-insurgency campaign. Now that 3,200 US Marines will be deploying to the country, Gates is saying they are there to help the overall war effort and the move is not intended to be a statement about NATO's efforts. However, the Marines are considered to […]

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