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Challenge for US forces in Iraq: align military mission with the politicalUS troops sent to Iraq to assess the humanitarian relief operation are coming home, but that's not necessarily the end of US military operations there, Pentagon officials say.
US sending troops to assess Iraq crisis: why more may be neededThe deployment of 130 additional US troops brings to more than 1,000 in Iraq. Pentagon officials say they are not there to fight, but that ground troops may be needed to rescue the Yazidis.
Could Islamic militants in Iraq bring their fight to America?To protect Iraqi civilians, the US has struck Islamic State positions. In response, the militants 鈥� including foreign fighters, some of them Westerners 鈥� are threatening the US itself.
Pentagon 'very concerned' by IS threat, sees limits to air power, general saysUS operations against Islamic State (IS) fighters are 'limited in scope to protect US citizens and facilities' and are 'unlikely to affect' their advances in Iraq, a top Pentagon official says.
US hits militants in northern Iraq again. How effective are air strikes?Obama sought to reassure Americans that the attacks in northern Iraq would not lead to another US war. But the air strikes will have limited impact against the dispersed militants without ground-based personnel, some analysts say.
General McChrystal: Does endorsement signal he may get into politics, too?Retired Gen. Stanley McChrystal, forced to step down after published remarks critical of the president, endorsed former Marine Seth Moulton for a US House race 鈥� prompting speculation that he's open to run himself.
US general killed in Afghanistan: How big is threat of insider attacks?Pentagon officials insist that the death of the highest-ranking US officer in America鈥檚 post-9/11 war effort will not change US strategy in Afghanistan. Mission No. 1 is to train Afghan counterparts ahead of US combat forces leaving.
Is US vulnerable to EMP attack? A doomsday warning, and its skepticsFormer CIA Director Woolsey tells Congress of a doomsday scenario in which a nuclear-blast-triggered electromagnetic pulse takes down the US power grid, leading to starvation and death. Some experts decry 'hysteria' over EMPs.
As Iraq crisis deepens, veterans wonder: Was it worth it?Veterans of the Iraq war are troubled by the advance of the Islamic State. Some feel their sacrifices were all for naught, others say it's time for Iraq to stand on its own.
What鈥檚 going wrong with rebuilding Afghanistan? Inspector general has a list.The office of the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, in its latest report on the $104 billion project, takes the Pentagon and Afghanistan government to task for a broad range of questionable policies.
Three ways Middle East fighting threatens US national security Pentagon analysts are grappling with what this growing unrest in the Middle East means for US national security. Here are the top three ways the advance of the insurgent group the Islamic State in Iraq and violence in Gaza could endanger US national security.
US is no safer after 13 years of war, a top Pentagon official saysThe outgoing head of the Defense Intelligence Agency says that new players on the scene are more radical than Al Qaeda, and the core Al Qaeda ideology has lost none of its potency.
Survey: many combat vets worried about exposure to 鈥榖urn pits鈥�Burn pits are open-air areas where the US military burned water bottles and plastic-foam cups, as well as human and medical waste. The VA has set up a registry for troops to detail their concerns.
Survey: A third of Iraq, Afghanistan vets have considered suicideSome 2,000 combat vets surveyed by the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America reported 'the crisis with suicide' as their number one concern.
The march of ISIS in Iraq: Can Pentagon advisers help stop it?Despite the collapse of Iraqi defenses in June, there are still 'extremely capable' units in Iraq that the US 'should not write off,' a top State Department official tells Congress.
Nominee Robert McDonald: VA can be fixed with 'urgent action'Former Procter & Gamble CEO Robert McDonald says he aims to use his experience digitizing that company to help the embattled VA free up people to take better care of veterans.
Medal of Honor: Wounded and alone, 'one American held the line'Army Staff Sgt. Ryan Pitts was awarded America鈥檚 most revered military decoration, the Medal of Honor, for聽his remarkable valor in one of the bloodiest battles of the 13-year war in Afghanistan.
Drones in the hands of Hamas: How worrisome is that?Hamas this week showed it has drones at its disposal, forcing Israel to use a Patriot missile to shoot down one that had entered its airspace. Its drones are low-tech, but they have the attention of US defense analysts.聽
If Ukrainian rebels hit Malaysian plane, where'd they get the missile?Some defense experts say it's likely Russia has provided Ukrainian rebels with surface-to-air weapons capable of taking down the Malaysian passenger plane.聽Pentagon officials say they cannot confirm that.
US commander in Afghanistan sees 'significant' risk of Al Qaeda returningGen. Joseph Dunford, the top US commander in Afghanistan, tells senators he is 'not confident' the Afghan聽security forces will be able to sustain themselves after US troops leave.