REPORT: RUSSIAN HACK ON PENTAGON THE ‘MOST SOPHISTICATED’ IN MILITARY HISTORY

The Pentagon took down the Joint Staff unclassified email system after Russian hackers attacked the emails of 4,000 military and civilian personnel. The email has been offline for the past 11 days.

US officials called the hack the “‘most sophisticated’ cyberbreach in U.S. military history.” In fact, the level of sophistication is so high the officials did not rule out is a “state entity” took part in the hack.

They also told The Daily Beast they are “creating mock hacking scenarios” before the personnel can access the system. The hackers used a “spear phishing attack” to obtain personal information on numerous users.

The attack occurred on July 25, only 16 days after Marine General Joe Dunford, a nominee to be the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told the Senate Armed Services that Russia is the greatest threat to American national security. Dunford placed Russia above China, North Korea, and the Islamic State because of its “rapidly expanding military.”

“My assessment today, senator, is that Russia presents the greatest threat to our national security,” he declared.

Relations between Russia and the West soured immensely after Moscow invaded Ukraine in March 2014, annexed Crimea, and issued threats against other former Soviet republics. The European Union and America passed numerous sanctions against Russian companies and oligarchs while NATO added more security to Eastern Europe nations who fear they might be Russia’s next target.

US State Department spokesman Mark Toner fired back that Secretary of State John Kerry does not agree.

“The secretary doesn’t agree with the assessment that Russia is an existential threat to the United States, nor China, quite frankly,” retorted Toner. “You know, these are major powers with whom we engage and cooperate on a number of issues, despite any disagreements we may have with them. Certainly we have disagreements with Russia and its activities within the region, but we don’t view it as an existential threat.”

Kerry has also made similar claims, despite working close with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in the past 16 months. Kerry denied many times that Russian soldiers are stationed in east Ukraine until February, even though he constantly faced a mountain of evidence. He added more pain to American allies when he admitted Russian propaganda worked on him.

“The question asked earlier about… how they present things and the lies about their presence in Ukraine and the training, I mean, you know, it’s stunning but it has an impact in places where it isn’t countered,” he said. “Propaganda works.”

Via: Breitbart

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Wide Political Fallout Expected From Massive Nuclear Bomber Deal

Sessions called the deal "a huge procurement."

In a few weeks, the Pentagon will announce the companies picked to develop America’s next bomber jet, sparking a budget war that will last for years and reshape the defense industry, experts say.

The Long Range Strike Bomber, which will probably be called the B-3, will provide more bang for the buck than several fighter jets. But it won’t be cheap. It is likely to cost at least $111 billion to acquire 100 planes, says Todd Harrison of the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments. That’s almost twice the amount the Air Force has quoted before, and it assumes no cost overruns. The higher price tag is due to the service previously understating the costs, not to any real hike in expenses, Harrison says.

Adding the cost to operate the planes more than doubles the price tag yet again to in excess of $200 billion, experts say. Plus, the B-3s are expected to only replace the oldest U.S. bombers, the B-1s and B-52s. An additional program will probably be required in a couple of decades to replace the younger bombers, the B-2s, the experts say.

“It’s a huge procurement,” says Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., chairman of the Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Strategic Forces. “We will pay much more attention to it as we move forward.”

The B-3 bomber is just one of several multi-billion-dollar weapons to be produced in the 2020s, and advocates for those ships and planes will fight each other tooth and nail, analysts say. The bomber program will also be a test case on Capitol Hill for whether the Pentagon can buy major weapons without massive cost overruns and schedule delays.

The bomber contract decision will lead to changes in the companies bidding for it. If the team that includes Lockheed Martin Corp. wins, it could give that one company unrivaled—and perhaps unhealthy—power as a central player in all three of the newest U.S. warplane programs—the bomber plus the F-22 and F-35 fighter jets—on top of the company’s newly expanded role in the military helicopter market.

What’s more, the bomber award may result in the losing bidder being purchased by another company or at least entering new markets or selling parts of its business. That in turn could reorder which politicians are champions of which companies in the coming budget battles.

“We shouldn’t underestimate how consequential this contract award is going to be for the future of this sector of the aerospace industry,” says Harrison.

Via: Roll Call

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ISIS’ Worst Nightmare Just Got In The War

Turkish planes bombed Islamic State targets for the first time Friday, representing the country’s first armed foray into the conflict against the group.

The airstrikes, which reportedly destroyed three terrorist sites in Syria, represent a serious change in the country’s approach to ISIS. Just months ago, Turkey was attracting criticism for its lax enforcement of the 500-mile border it shares with Syria, which countless jihadi groups use for smuggling fighters to the front lines of battle.

The announcement came just a day after reports emerged of American pilots conducting raids out of two Turkish airbases for the first time. Turkey’s government confirmed the reports Friday, stating that “Turkey and the US have decided to further deepen their ongoing cooperation in the fight” against ISIS. (RELATED: Pentagon: Airstrike Killed Infamous Syrian Al-Qaida Leader)

Previously, the airbases only hosted U.S. surveillance drones, not aircraft with striking capability.

On Monday, a suicide bomb killed 32 people in the southern town of Suruç. The town’s population is majority-Kurdish; while Kurds have been among the strongest fighters against ISIS in Syria, Turkey is suspicious of its own Kurds’ aspirations to independence.

In the days since, Turkey has cracked down on suspected Islamic State sympathizers, as well as Kurdish nationalists and radical leftist groups.

The United States has been pressuring a hesitant Turkey to join its coalition against Islamic State since it first began bombing the group last summer. Monday’s attack may have precipitated the government’s response.

But government statements claimed the air raids were in response to gunfire Thursday by Islamic State militants against a Turkish military installation, which killed a soldier. It is unclear whether Turkey will continue to participate in the campaign after an initial series of attacks.\

Via: Daily Caller

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Disaster: Today's Warrior Purge in the U.S. military

“Where do we find such men?”

That memorable line comes from James Mitchner’s Korean War novel, The Bridges of Toko-Ri.  It refers to intrepid aviators lifting from a carrier, flying into untold danger.  They know they may not return.  They launch anyway.  In boldness unfathomable to many, they willingly, artfully fly into peril.  They are warriors, men of rare talent, intellect, and courage – a combination essential for victory.

Needed warriors are now being purged from the U.S. military.  If America went to war right now with China or Russia, we could lose because of these purges.  We’re losing top-level warrior-leaders to make the crucial differences in battle.  They’re being systematically drummed out as politically incorrect.  When the going gets tough, political correctness (PC) is useless.  Then the brilliant, wily fighters, the coolest heads, the most courageous warriors, are needed to lead regardless of social views or record.

Today, in large measure, our fighting forces are led by briefcase-carrying busybodies, yes-men more interested in enforcing political beliefs and social change than leading in battle.  They care more about their careers than what’s happening to the military and thus the country.  Just last week, a new downsizing of the army was announced – without a protest.

Warriors are not prized.  They are criticized and ridiculed.  Up-and-coming warriors who admire the purged want to emulate them, see what’s happening, and are exiting as a result.

“Soldiers like George Patton or Curtis LeMay are no longer wanted,” writes LCOL Greg Lee, USMC (ret.) in a well-circulated internet forward.  “The fundamental job of the military, ‘kill bad people and break things,’ has become critically hampered by ‘rules of engagement’ [and policies] who’s [sic] guiding logic is political outcome, not successful combat. If the US military is ever defeated, it will be because [rather than honing fighting skills, nurturing fighting thinkers and leaders] it is running the best Day Care centers in the world.”

Political correctness, social change, even care for the enemy are now the battle cries of the U.S. military hierarchy in the Pentagon.  The rules of engagement (ROI), changed to limit civilian deaths under President Obama, are now so dangerous that American soldiers have been made into sitting ducks.  In years past, generals and admirals resigned over such disregard for their troops.  Today’s leaders acquiesce and espouse confusing non-military goals.  The president confounds Coast Guard graduates saying their enemy is climate change.  He sends 3,000 troops to battle...Ebola?

Pentagon priorities are women’s and gay rights and defeating the world’s social ills – disease, hunger, and poverty.  These are worthy causes for a Peace Corps, church group, or diplomat, but not for the military, whose sole constitutional purpose is defending Americans against military threats.  Do you send a sniper to nurse a baby?

Via: American Thinker

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[VIDEO] OBAMA’S GIFT TO AMERICA: TRANNY TROOPS

US NEWS – Pentagon leaders are finalizing plans aimed at lifting the ban on transgender individuals in the military, with the goal of formally ending one of the last gender- or sexuality-based barriers to military service, senior U.S. officials told The Associated Press.

An announcement is expected this week, and the services would have six months to assess the impact of the change and work out the details, the officials said Monday. Military chiefs wanted time to methodically work through the legal, medical and administrative issues and develop training to ease any transition, and senior leaders believed six months would be sufficient.

The officials said Defense Secretary Ash Carter has asked his personnel undersecretary, Brad Carson, to set up a working group of senior military and civilian leaders to take an objective look at the issue. One senior official said that while the goal is to lift the ban, Carter wants the working group to look at the practical effects, including the costs, and determine whether it would affect readiness or create any insurmountable problems that could derail the plan. The group would also develop uniform guidelines.

During the six months, transgender individuals would still not be able to join the military, but any decisions to force out those already serving would be referred to the Pentagon’s acting undersecretary for personnel, the officials said. One senior official said the goal was to avoid forcing any transgender service members to leave during that time.

Several officials familiar with the planning spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk about the issue publicly before the final details have been worked out.

In a statement to The Associated Press, Carter said, “we must ensure that everyone who’s able and willing to serve has the full and equal opportunity to do so. And we must treat all of our people with the dignity and respect they deserve. Going forward the Department of Defense must and will continue to improve how we do both.”

Via: The Right Scoop

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New Pentagon manual declares journalists can be enemy combatants

The Pentagon’s new thick book of instructions for waging war the legal way says that terrorists also can be journalists.

The description appears in a 1,176-page, richly footnoted “Department of Defense Law of War Manual” that tells commanders the right and wrong way to kill the enemy. It says it’s OK to shoot, explode, bomb, stab or cut the enemy. Surprise attacks and killing retreating troops also are permitted. But a U.S. warrior may not use poison or asphyxiating gases.

Going back decades, this is the Pentagon’s first comprehensive, all-in-one legal guide for the four military branches, who over the years had issued their own law of war pamphlets for air, sea and ground warfare.

The manual pushes aside the George W. Bush-era label of “unlawful enemy combatant” for al Qaeda and the like. The new term of choice: “unprivileged belligerent.”

An eye-catching section deals with a definition of journalists and how they are expected to stay out of the fight.

The manual defines them this way: “In general, journalists are civilians. However, journalists may be members of the armed forces, persons authorized to accompany the armed forces, or unprivileged belligerents.”

Lumping terrorist writers with bona fide scribes prompted one officer to call the paragraph “odd.” A civilian lawyer who opines on war crime cases called the wording “an odd and provocative thing for them to write.”

Michael Rubin, a Middle East expert at the American Enterprise Institute, said the manual reflects today’s muddled world of journalism.

“It’s a realization that not everyone abides by the same standards we do,” said Mr. Rubin. “Just as Hamas uses United Nations schools as weapons depots and Iran uses charity workers for surveillance, many terrorist groups use journalists as cover.”

Mr. Rubin recalled that two al Qaeda terrorists posed as journalists to assassinate anti-Taliban leader Ahmad Shah Massoud. Chechen Islamists went on missions with camera crews.

“Journalists are the new consultant. Anyone can claim to be one,” he said. “No American serviceman should ever be killed because a politician told them they had to take a foreign journalist at his or her word.”

Army Lt. Col. Joseph R. Sowers, a Pentagon spokesman, explained the reasoning behind the inclusion of “unprivileged belligerents” as journalists.

“We do not think that there is any legal significance to the manual listing unprivileged belligerents as sometimes being journalists because the manual does not, itself, create new law,” Col. Sowers said.

“That last sentence simply reflects that, in certain cases, persons who act as journalists may be members of the armed forces, persons authorized to accompany the armed forces or unprivileged belligerents rather than civilians. The fact that a person is a journalist does not prevent that person from becoming an unprivileged belligerent.”

Via: Washington Times

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Ignoring Terrorism but Celebrating Gay Pride

President Obama and his administration apparently haven’t had enough time—though it’s been more than a year—to develop a strategy to combat the anti-American terrorist group known as the Islamic State. But the Department of Defense has certainly found enough time and money to celebrate June as “Pride Month” at the Pentagon and highlight the “husbands” of top male generals

.

The celebrations include events inside the Pentagon, posters and PowerPoint presentations, and even a special video from the news agency of the Department of Defense. The Department of Defense also conveyed its approval by “rainbow-ing” its website.

DoD News quotes Defense Secretary Ash Carter as saying that diversity and inclusion are critical to recruiting and retaining the force of the future. He made the comments at Tuesday’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) “Pride Month” event held at the Pentagon.

Surveys show about one or two percent of the population is homosexual, and the percentage in the military is probably even lower. Yet, considerable Pentagon resources are now being devoted to highlighting their involvement in the Armed Forces and getting more of the LGBT community to join.

This month’s rainbow-colored Pentagon “pride” poster celebrates “victories that have affirmed freedom and fairness,” to quote President Obama, except for the more important but elusive “victory” over the Islamic State.

Obama’s embarrassing disclosure about having an incomplete strategy to win over global Islamic terrorism has certainly received its share of media attention. “We don’t have, yet, a complete strategy,” he said. “The details are not worked out.”

The comments were followed by a report that the Islamic State is more of a tough fighting force than previously believed because the wives of the leading terrorist figures in the group “may play a greater role in operations and communications,” and the U.S. has been ignoring them, according to CNN.

Via: Canada Free Press

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Watch: Unexpected Military Exercise In US City Shocks Residents And Raises Serious Questions

For the past few months, Western Journalism has been reporting on Jade Helm 15, the so-called “military exercise” the Pentagon claims is a training mission being conducted in Texas and other states in the southwest United States. Ted Cruz — the senator from the Lone Star State who’s running for the GOP presidential nomination — has said he appreciates those, including Chuck Norris, who are skeptical of the government’s explanation for the widespread troop and equipment movements and maneuvers.

As B. Christopher Agee noted in a recent post on Western Journalism:

Jade Helm 15, a planned military exercise that has sparked speculation of an underlying effort to institute martial law, is now getting the attention of some high-profile figures in the southwestern states affected.

Chuck Norris spoke out recently, echoing the fears many have regarding the actual scope of the domestic mission. He made it clear, however, that his grievance is not directed toward the enlisted men and women ordered to take part.

Now, as WNEM-TV reports, the U.S. Army is also conducting military exercises in Flint, Mich., where residents say they were caught off-guard when explosions rocked portions of the city. A spokesman for Flint city government says the blasts were part of a training program to help prepare the military for combat in urban environments.

Via: Western Journailism

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Sen. Coburn Demands Pentagon Show How $500B Budget Is 'Squandered'

Retiring Sen. Tom Coburn has called on Congress to force the Pentagon to start showing American taxpayers exactly where the military is spending – and overspending – its $500 billion annual budget.

In a commentary for The Washington Times, the Oklahoma Republican said the Department of Defense is violating the Constitution by never having "passed a single audit," while also attacking the agency for its "wanton mismanagement" of government money.

Coburn wrote that the Pentagon is the only government agency that cannot produce auditable financial statements "in accordance with the law."

"Not knowing where this money is going isn’t just lawless, it is a threat to both our economic and national security," he said, adding that "Congress is fully complicit in this scam on American taxpayers."

He said that without an annual financial audit, the Pentagon has no idea where its tax dollars are going, whether it’s getting good value for money or even if it got what it paid for last year.

"Sadly, few in Congress seem to care that untold billions are squandered every year through wanton mismanagement and neglect," wrote the senator, who was diagnosed with a recurrence of prostate cancer last year and is stepping down after the November elections, two years before his term expires.

"The only way this cycle can be broken is for the American people to demand that Congress use its power of the purse to demand accountability at the Defense Department, rather than simply rubber-stamp the defense budget."

In his guest column, Coburn said that an "open amendment process" would result in the push for an annual Pentagon audit being debated in Congress.

He singled out Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid for criticism, saying that the Nevada Democrat would not even allow amendments to be introduced and debated on the nearly $700 billion, 600-page annual defense authorization bill.

Via: Newsmax
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Amid military cuts, Obama urges $300B for roads and railways

Just two days after the Pentagon outlined major cuts to the U.S. Army and other military programs, President Obama is calling for a whopping $300 billion commitment for America's roads, bridges and mass transit systems -- though as much as half comes from a tax plan that has bleak prospects on the Hill. 

The president talked about the stimulus-style plan during a stop Wednesday afternoon in St. Paul, Minn. Officials say the money, as proposed, largely would come from "pro-growth business tax reform." But aside from the challenges in pushing tax reform, Obama could have a hard time making the sell when his military leaders, just days ago, were complaining about the budget crunch. 

Moments before the president took the podium, the Republican National Committee also questioned whether new transportation spending would be the jobs engine the administration claims. 

"President Obama claimed that the $830 billion stimulus would spend money on shovel-ready projects that would repair our country's infrastructure," RNC spokesman Jahan Wilcox said in a statement. "If the president couldn't fix our economic problems the first time, then why would we trust him with another blank check?" 

On Monday, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel proposed shrinking the Army from its current level of 522,000 to between 440,000 and 450,000, which would be the lowest level since before the World War II build-up. He called for a range of other cuts including retiring the A-10 fleet for a savings of $3.5 billion. Military officials said they need to cut $75 billion over two years, to comply with congressionally mandated reductions. 

The $302 billion infrastructure fund Obama is talking about would last for four years, but more than eclipses the budget shortfall the military is grappling with. 

Via: Fox News

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THREE-STAR GENERAL: MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD HAS INFILTRATED PENTAGON, DOD IN ‘HIGH SECURITY CLEARANCE’ POSITIONS

(THOMAS MORE) ANN ARBOR, MI – U.S. Army Lieutenant General (Ret.) William “Jerry” Boykin, in a recent World Net Daily radio interview, confirmed that people with high security clearances connected to the Muslim Brotherhood hold important positions in every major federal agency including the Pentagon and the Department of Defense.

The Muslim Brotherhood is a radical Islamist organization that has vowed the destruction of America from within.

Click here to hear radio clip.

General Boykin has the credentials to back up his conclusions. He was one of the original members of the U.S. Army’s Delta Force which he ultimately led in combat operations. He also served a tour in the CIA during which time he participated in clandestine operations throughout the world. He served his last four years in the Army as Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence.

Lt. Gen. Boykin, who currently serves as Executive Vice President of the Family Research Council, blasted Republicans for condemning Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., who sounded the alarm by questioning the Brotherhood ties of Huma Abedin, a top assistant to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Boykin said that neither Republicans nor Democrats want to protest too loudly over concerns of being branded intolerant.

The Thomas More Law Center now represents LTC Matthew Dooley, a 1994 graduate of the U. S. Military Academy at West Point.

GEN Martin Dempsey, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff had LTC Dooley fired as an instructor at the Joint Forces Staff College in order to appease Muslim groups and the White House who wanted all training materials offensive to Islam purged and all trainers using those materials disciplined.

Via: Pat Dollard

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Pentagon training manual: white males have unfair advantages

A controversial 600-plus page manual used by the military to train its Equal Opportunity officers teaches that "healthy, white, heterosexual, Christian" men hold an unfair advantage over other races, and warns in great detail about a so-called "White Male Club."

“Simply put, a healthy, white, heterosexual, Christian male receives many unearned advantages of social privilege, whereas a black, homosexual, atheist female in poor health receives many unearned disadvantages of social privilege,” reads a statement in the manual created by the Defense Equal Opportunity Management Institute (DEOMI).

The manual, which was obtained by Fox News, also instructs troops to “support the leadership of people of color. Do this consistently, but not uncritically,” the manual states.

The military manual goes into great detail about a so-called “White Male Club.”

The Equal Opportunity Advisor Student Guide is the textbook used during a three month DEOMI course taught at Patrick Air Force Base in Florida. Individuals who attend the training lead Equal Opportunity briefings on military installations around the nation.

The 637-page manual covers a wide range of issues from racism and religious diversity to cultural awareness, extremism and white privilege.

Via: Fox News

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Holder Names Benghazi Victims in 9/11 Memorial Remarks

Attorney General Eric Holder added the names of the Benghazi fallen to his short 9/11 remembrance speech at the Justice Department this morning, while President Obama mentioned the attack in his remarks at the Pentagon’s wreath-laying ceremony.

“Especially this morning, here at the United States Department of Justice, as we lift up the memories of those who were taken from us so suddenly, we must also renew our shared commitment to the uniquely American values that have always defined this great nation, and must guide this department’s work every single day,” Holder said in remarks to department staff.

“This is the only fitting legacy we can build for the innocent victims of that terrible morning. The public servants and the military personnel who lost their lives at the Pentagon. The workers who were struck down in their offices at the World Trade Center. The heroic passengers who brought down a hijacked airliner in a field in Pennsylvania. And so many first responders and ordinary, but really extraordinary, citizens who ran toward burning buildings and saved countless lives, as so many others were racing away,” the attorney general continued.

“We pay tribute to each of them, and to many others who have given their lives in the service of this country since 9/11, from the soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines who have fought on the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan, to patriots, like Glen Doherty, Tyrone Woods, Sean Smith, and Ambassador Chris Stevens, who were taken from us just one year ago in Libya.”

Via: PJ Media

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Morning Bell: What Shoes Are You Wearing Today?

Look down at your shoes. 

Could you break into a run in those if you needed to?Twelve years ago, the men and women getting ready to go to work at the World Trade Center and the Pentagon didn’t know they would be running that day.

For many New Yorkers, the shoes they picked up off the closet floor that morning would later carry them down flights of stairs and through the streets of the city. They would become worn, covered with dust, and perhaps broken in a matter of minutes.

Some would become pieces of history.

Finance executive Michele Martocci was one of the New York survivors. The shoes she woreon September 11, 2001, will be in the National September 11 Memorial Museum, which is slated to open next Spring.

So will Mickey Kross’s helmet. Parade magazine reports:

At 10:28 a.m., FDNY lieutenant Mickey Kross was in the third-floor stairwell of the north tower when he heard a “tremendous roar,” and the building began to crumble. Kross crouched down in a corner. (“I tried to crawl into my fire helmet … to protect myself,” he recalled.) Hours later, Kross and 15 others climbed out of the rubble—among the few survivors of the collapse.

That day will forever serve as a generation’s reminder of the fragility of life. Today, we give thanks for those who survived. We remember those who were lost in the horrific terrorist attacks. And we salute all the heroes who set aside their own safety in the chaos of that day to help their fellow Americans—whether firefighters, police, emergency responders, or strangers in the crowd.

We will never forget.

Via: The Foundry

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Where were you on Sept. 11, 2001 -- when America changed forever?

At 8:46 a.m. on Sept. 11, 2001, America was changed forever.

A passenger plane which had left Boston bound for Los Angeles crashed into the north tower of the World Trade Center in New York. As news crews showed the American Airlines plane sticking out of the iconic building, a stunned national audience initially thought it might be some sort of horrible accident. But when another plane struck the south tower just 17 minutes later, the awful truth could no longer be avoided. This had been an act of terrorism, conducted by terrorist hijackers on unthinkable suicide missions.

Click here to post your 9/11 comments.

One of the darkest days in American history would get worse in the ensuing hours. Yet another plane would crash into the Pentagon at 9:37 a.m. and a fourth — believed bound for Washington — went down in a field in Shanksville, Pa., at 10:03 a.m., after brave passengers fought with hijackers and forced the plane to crash.

Meanwhile, at the World Trade Center, office workers poured down the smoky stairs of the burning buildings, passing New York firefighters and NYPD and Port Authority police on their way down. As burning jet fuel melted the buildings' steel skeletons, the awful realization sank in that the towers, which terrorists had tried to bring down in 1993, were not going to withstand the attack. Office workers trapped above the point of impact and unable to flee down the stairs jumped out of windows, some holding hands.

Via: Fox News

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A war the Pentagon doesn’t want

Robert H. Scales, a retired Army major general, is a former commandant of the U.S. Army War College.

The tapes tell the tale. Go back and look at images of our nation’s most senior soldier, Gen. Martin Dempsey, and his body language during Tuesday’s Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearings on Syria. It’s pretty obvious that Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, doesn’t want this war. As Secretary of State John Kerry’s thundering voice and arm-waving redounded in rage against Bashar al-Assad’s atrocities, Dempsey was largely (and respectfully) silent.

Dempsey’s unspoken words reflect the opinions of most serving military leaders. By no means do I profess to speak on behalf of all of our men and women in uniform. But I can justifiably share the sentiments of those inside the Pentagon and elsewhere who write the plans and develop strategies for fighting our wars. After personal exchanges with dozens of active and retired soldiers in recent days, I feel confident that what follows represents the overwhelming opinion of serving professionals who have been intimate witnesses to the unfolding events that will lead the United States into its next war.

Via: The Washington Post

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Pentagon Can’t Afford Syria Operation; Must Seek Additional Funds

The U.S. military, struggling after defense cuts of tens of billions of dollars, will be unable to pay for attacks on Syria from current operating funds and must seek additional money from Congress, according to congressional aides.

President Barack Obama, meanwhile, said on Friday he has not made a final decision on a military strike against Syria. He sought to play down both the scope and duration of the anticipated punitive missile and bombing campaign.

“As you’ve seen, today we’ve released our unclassified assessment detailing with high confidence that the Syrian regime carried out a chemical weapons attack that killed well over a thousand people, including hundreds of children,” Obama said.

The president said the use of the deadly weapons had violated international “norms” and that action was needed to prevent the further use of the arms.

A future military operation would not involve troops on the ground as part of a long-term campaign, Obama said. “But we are looking at the possibility of a limited, narrow act that would help make sure that not only Syria but others around the world understands that the international community cares about maintaining this chemical weapons ban and norm,” he said.

The White House on Friday released an intelligence assessment that concluded with “high confidence” the Bashar al-Assad regime conducted a deadly poison gas attack using a nerve agent. It stated, “Our high confidence assessment is the strongest position that the U.S. intelligence community can take short of confirmation.”

Via: WFB

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