NewsTrust - Defense Industry - Most Recent Stories: News (Independent)

Strategic revelation | Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists

Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0800

thebulletin.org - By John Issacs - Feb. 23 (Special Report) - The back story is that the Obama administration is following up on the April 2010 Nuclear Posture Review -- a major Pentagon assessment of nuclear strategy, forces, and readiness -- with options for the future size of the US nuclear arsenal. This study has been delayed for many months; thus, it comes as little surprise that this leak would occur in the middle of a hot political campaign.

NewsTrust Rating: 3.8 average (not enough reviews) - See Review » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

U.S. Wasting Billions While Tripling No-Bid Contracts After Decade of War in Iraq, Afghanistan

Fri, 02 Sep 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Democracy Now - By Amy Goodman - Sep. 02 (News Report) - As the war in Afghanistan approaches its 10th anniversary, a pair of new reports reveal how the Pentagon has squandered tens of billions of dollars while tripling the amount of no-bid contracts. The bipartisan Commission on Wartime Contracting concludes that between $31 billion and $60 billion spent on projects in Iraq and Afghanistan over the last 10 years has been lost to waste and fraud. In Afghanistan, the commission found the United States is indirectly funding the Taliban as money diverted from U.S.-backed projects is paid out to militants to ensure safety. Meanwhile, the Pentagon’s use of no-bid contracts has tripled since the United States was attacked on 9/11, in spite of promises to reform the controversial practice. A new investigative report from the Center for Public Integrity says no-bid spending has ballooned from $50 billion in 2003 to $140 billion in 2011.

NewsTrust Rating: 4.6 average (not enough reviews) - See Reviews » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

Boeing pocketed millions by overcharging Army, IG report finds

Thu, 30 Jun 2011 00:00:00 -0700

iWatch News - By Ben Wieder - Jun. 30 (News Report) - Boeing Co. overcharged the U.S. Army by about $13 million for Apache and Chinook helicopter parts, according to a Pentagon inspector general report obtained by the Project on Government Oversight.

NewsTrust Rating: 3.6 average - 5 Reviews » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

Republicans Packed Defense Spending Bill With Earmarks, Says Sen. Claire McCaskill

Fri, 27 May 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Huffington Post - By Colin Clark - May. 27 (News Report) - One of the Senate's top campaigners for good government is charging House Republicans with quietly loading their new defense policy bill with earmarks that are currently banned by the GOP's own rules. Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, has pledged to keep all earmarks out of the Republican version of the Defense Authorization Act.

NewsTrust Rating: 3.2 average - 5 Reviews » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

The Mosaic Philosophy at Gitmo

Sat, 30 Apr 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Harper's - By Scott Horton - Apr. 30 (News Report) - Several in the U.S. leadership became aware of this lack of proper vetting very early on and, thus, of the reality that many of the detainees were innocent of any substantial wrongdoing, had little intelligence value, and should be immediately released.

NewsTrust Rating: 3.9 average - 3 Reviews » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

A Professional Military and the Privatization of Warfare

Fri, 22 Apr 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Miller-McCune - By Jeff Shear - Apr. 22 (Special Report) - The antics of private military contractors are increasingly known, and they're the ones taking over for departing uniformed American troops in Iraq.

NewsTrust Rating: 4.0 average (not enough reviews) - See Reviews » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

U.S. Military Spending Has Almost Doubled Since 2001

Mon, 11 Apr 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Think Progress - By Judd Legum - Apr. 11 (Research) - A new report released today by SIPRI, a Swedish-based think tank, reveals that U.S. military spending has almost doubled since 2001. The U.S. spent an astounding $698 billion on the military last year, an 81% increase over the last decade.

NewsTrust Rating: 3.3 average (not enough reviews) - See Review » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

‘Punisher’ Gives Enemy No Place to Hide

Sat, 05 Feb 2011 00:00:00 -0800

Military.com - By Christian Lowe - Feb. 05 (News Report) - A new Army weapon designed to target the enemy hiding behind barriers is being affectionately called "The Punisher" by Soldiers fighting in Afghanistan.

NewsTrust Rating: 3.4 average - 3 Reviews » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

F.A.Q. on U.S. Aid to Egypt: Where Does the Money Go—And Who Decides How It’s Spent?

Tue, 01 Feb 2011 00:00:00 -0800

ProPublica - By Marian Wang - Feb. 01 (Research) - We’ve taken a step back and tried to answer some basic questions, such as how as much the U.S. has given, who has benefitted, and who gets to decide how its all spent.

NewsTrust Rating: 3.9 average (not enough reviews) - See Review » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

Watchdog: U.S. Risks Wasting Billions In Afghan Security Aid Given 'Inadequate Planning'

Thu, 27 Jan 2011 00:00:00 -0800

Huffington Post - By Amanda Terkel - Jan. 27 (News Report) - The United States is at risk of wasting roughly $11.4 billion unless it comes up with a plan for constructing and maintaining nearly 900 Afghan National Security Forces facilities, according to a new report by a top federal watchdog. The news comes as U.S. President Barack Obama considers a military-backed proposal significantly boost the size of those forces.

NewsTrust Rating: Not rated yet - See Info » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

Fueling the Afghan War

Sat, 08 May 2010 00:00:00 -0700

The Nation - By Aram Roston - May. 08 (Investigative Report) - This is the story of two interlinked and secretive offshore companies run by a former Army intelligence officer. The firms run a specialized monopoly of massive proportions. Their niche: supplying aviation fuel for US military operations in Afghanistan--enough to fill two Olympic-size swimming pools each and every day of the year.

NewsTrust Rating: 4.0 average (not enough reviews) - See Reviews » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

Stimulus Workers Confront Legacy of Contamination at Nuclear Sites

Mon, 03 May 2010 00:00:00 -0700

ProPublica - By David Epstein - May. 03 (News Report) - he $2 billion in federal stimulus money came as blessedly as rain to the desert of southeastern Washington state, where the government has spent decades trying to clean up the most productive A-bomb factory of the Cold War era. Phones at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation rang off the hook with calls from people in the nearby metropolitan area of Kennewick, Pasco and Richland who hoped to land one of 4,000 new stimulus jo

NewsTrust Rating: 4.1 average (not enough reviews) - See Review » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

Boeing: Boeing-built Orbital Test Vehicle X-37B Begins 1st Flight

Mon, 26 Apr 2010 00:00:00 -0700

boeing.mediaroom.com - Apr. 26 (Special Report) - The X-37B has the potential to bring to space the flexibility that unmanned systems provide warfighters and combatant commanders today," said Dennis Muilenburg, president and CEO of Boeing Defense, Space & Security.

NewsTrust Rating: Not rated yet - See Info » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

US Pays Mechanics in Iraq $5 Mil to Work 43 Minutes a Month

Fri, 26 Mar 2010 00:00:00 -0700

Mother Jones - By Adam Weinstein - Mar. 26 (Special Report) - It was just a single contract for a single job on a single base in Iraq. The Department of Defense agreed to pay the megacontractor KBR $5 million a year to repair tactical vehicles, from Humvees to big rigs, at Joint Base Balad, a large airfield and supply center north of Baghdad. Yet according to a new Pentagon report [PDF], what the military got was as many as 144 civilian mechanics, each doing as little as 43 minutes of work a month, with virtually no oversight. The report, issued March 3 by the DOD's inspector general, found that between late 2008 and mid-2009, KBR performed less than 7 percent of the work it was expected to do, but still got paid in full.

NewsTrust Rating: 4.2 average - 7 Reviews » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

Clinton Says Iran Headed For “Military Dictatorship |

Thu, 25 Feb 2010 00:00:00 -0800

atlanticfreepress.com - By Sherwood Ross - Feb. 25 (News Analysis) - Well may Secretary of State Hillary Clinton warn students in Qatar that “Iran is moving toward a military dictatorship.” She is, after all, an authority on the subject, representing a country where the Pentagon has long been ascendant.

NewsTrust Rating: 4.1 average (not enough reviews) - See Review » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

Alexander Haig's Last Years

Sun, 21 Feb 2010 00:00:00 -0800

Mother Jones - By Ken Silverstein - Feb. 21 (Special Report) - The early part of 1999 found retired general Alexander Haig in constant motion. In February, he was off to Seoul, South Korea, where he was a VIP at Blessing '99, a Unification Church event at which some 40,000 couples exchanged wedding vows at a sports stadium during a ceremony conducted by Sun Myung Moon himself. The following month, Haig returned to Palm Beach, Florida -- where he owns a mansion worth more than $4 million -- for a party to celebrate the 60th birthday of former Canadian prime minister Brian Mulroney. In April, Haig was in Washington, D.C., for yet another birthday party -- NATO's 50th -- as well as a dinner sponsored by business groups at the Willard Inter-Continental Hotel in honor of Chinese premier Zhu Rongji, who was on an official visit to the U.S. capital. Soon thereafter, Haig was named a "Strategic Board Advisor" to SDC International Inc., a Palm Beach-based firm that is in negotiations to acquire Tatra, a Czech truck manufacturer. The press release announcing his appointment said that Haig would "draw on his extensive contacts in government, business, and diplomatic circles" in helping SDC export its equipment.

NewsTrust Rating: Not rated yet - See Info » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

Mysterious Private Security Firm Gets Control Of Empty Jail In Small Montana Town

Thu, 01 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Talking Points Memo - By Justin Elliott - Oct. 01 (News Report) - A shadowy private security company that has no known clients but claims to have helped foreign governments combat terrorism and will protect anything from cruise ships to Pakistani convoys has taken over a jail in a small Montana town, with plans to build a law enforcement training facility on the property.

NewsTrust Rating: 3.3 average - 3 Reviews » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

Flushing Blackwater

Wed, 26 Aug 2009 00:00:00 -0700

The Nation - By Jeremy Scahill - Aug. 26 (Investigative Report) - Blackwater, the private mercenary company owned by Erik Prince, has been thrust back into the spotlight by a series of stunning revelations about its role in covert US programs. Since at least 2002, Blackwater has worked for the CIA in Afghanistan and Pakistan on "black" contracts. On August 19, the New York Times revealed that the company was, in fact, a central part of a secret CIA assassination program that Dick Cheney allegedly ordered concealed from Congress. The paper then reported that Blackwater remains a key player in the widening air war in Pakistan and Afghanistan, where it arms drone aircraft. These disclosures follow allegations--made under oath by former Blackwater employees--that Prince murdered or facilitated the murder of potential government informants and that he "views himself as a Christian crusader tasked with eliminating Muslims and the Islamic faith from the globe."

NewsTrust Rating: 5.0 average (not enough reviews) - See Review » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

Sometimes It’s Not Your War, But You Sacrifice Anyway

Mon, 17 Aug 2009 00:00:00 -0700

ProPublica - By T. Christian Miller - Aug. 17 (News Report) - These low-paid foreign workers face many of the same risks soldiers do. Mortars have killed Filipinos who served meals in mess halls. Assassins have targeted Iraqis translating for soldiers. Roadside bombs have ripped into trucks driven by Turkish

NewsTrust Rating: 4.1 average (not enough reviews) - See Reviews » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

Blackwater Seeks Gag Order

Mon, 03 Aug 2009 00:00:00 -0700

The Nation - By Jeremy Scahill - Aug. 03 (Special Report) - It became common practice during the Iraq occupation for the US State Department to work with private security companies like Blackwater to help facilitate giving what amounted to hush money to the families of Iraqis shot dead by private security contractors. In fact, Blackwater's owner, Erik Prince, discussed this practice when he testified in front of Congress in October 2007 and admitted to paying $20,000 to a Blackwater victim's family and $5,000 to another.

NewsTrust Rating: 3.9 average - 3 Reviews » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

Where's My Flying Tank?

Mon, 06 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Mother Jones - By Rachel Morris - Jul. 06 (Special Report) - A quick primer on the problem programs Gates wants to cut and the ones he left intact.

NewsTrust Rating: 3.7 average - 4 Reviews » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

KBR Got Bonuses for Work that Killed Soldiers

Sat, 23 May 2009 00:00:00 -0700

The Nation - By Jeremy Scahill - May. 23 (News Report) - Senator Dorgan said there are "tens of thousands of examples" of unnecessary risks to US soldiers, including deaths that have arisen as a result of KBR's work. "Why should [KBR] be getting more contracts now that we know all this information?" asked Sen. Bob Casey. "The Defense Department has not answered these questions."

NewsTrust Rating: 4.5 average - 10 Reviews » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

Warnings about compromised parts in U.S. Navy subs go unheeded

Sun, 17 May 2009 00:00:00 -0700

tampabay.com - By William R. Levesque - May. 17 (News Report) - Robert Castro was a career Marine, a combat veteran of Vietnam and a trained intelligence officer who spent much of his life protecting secrets. So why won't anyone listen when he warns about the high-tech computer parts his Tampa company helped sell to the Navy? Some of the equipment is now installed on U.S. submarines, operating part of a secret communications network. Castro says the equipment is counterfeit.

NewsTrust Rating: 2.9 average (not enough reviews) - See Review » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

Weapons programs re-branded as jobs programs

Sun, 15 Feb 2009 00:00:00 -0800

The Real News - By Miriam Pemberton - Feb. 15 (Special Report) - As unemployment in the US rises, old War on Terror appeals to national security are taking a backseat to economic justifications. The US military industry has adjusted to this new reality by crafting its requests for government funding on the basis of its capacity to provide employment. This despite evidence that military spending is one of the least effective means of job creation.

NewsTrust Rating: 3.5 average (not enough reviews) - See Review » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

U.S. Weaponry Facilitates Killings In Gaza

Thu, 08 Jan 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Inter Press Service - By Thalif Deen - Jan. 08 (Investigative Report) - The devastating Israeli firepower, unleashed largely on Palestinian civilians in Gaza during two weeks of fighting, is the product of advanced U.S. military technology. The U.S. weapons systems used by the Israelis -- including F-16 fighter planes, Apache helicopters, tactical missiles and a wide array of munitions -- have been provided by Washington mostly as outright military grants. The administration of President George W. Bush alone has provided over 21 billion dollars in U.S. security assistance over the last eight years, including 19 billion dollars in direct military aid as freebies. "Israel's intervention in the Gaza Strip has been fueled largely by U.S. supplied weapons paid for with U.S. tax dollars," says a background briefing released Thursday by the Arms and Security Initiative of the New York-based New America Foundation.

NewsTrust Rating: 4.6 average (not enough reviews) - See Reviews » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer