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Pentagon to abandon two-war strategy, but at what cost to US security?

The Pentagon has long said it must be prepared to fight two wars at once. Budget cuts and changing global threats mean that standard is no longer practical, experts say.
US weapons sales to Iraq: Still a good idea as violence escalates?

The 150 uniformed US troops still in Iraq are there to facilitate weapons sales and train Iraqi forces to use the armaments. But as violence rises in Iraq since the US military pullout, some analysts see greater risks that US-supplied weapons may be misused.
Sexual assault reports rise at military academies. How is Pentagon responding?

The Pentagon cites policy changes following the release of a study that found a 65 percent increase in reports of sexual assault at military academies between 2010 and 2011.
Fuller picture emerges of fatal, chaotic US-Pakistan firefight

US military on Monday released the full report about a late-November 'incident' on the Afghanistan-Pakistan border, in which US forces killed 24 Pakistani troops, mistaking them for insurgents.
Pew study: female vets more critical than men of Iraq, Afghanistan wars

Military women are also a more racially diverse group than US men in uniform, and they’re less likely to be married, according to a study released this week by the Pew Research Center.
Kim Jong-il dead: Pentagon war game considers worst-case scenario

News that North Korean leader Kim Jong-il is dead has not alarmed the Pentagon. But one of its worst-case scenarios for global security is a failed succession and the collapse of the regime.
Iraq war ends: what it was like on the last US flight out

The last military flight of the Iraq war left the country Saturday night. For many of the jubilant troops aboard the C-17, the Iraq war had come full circle, and it was time to go home.
Iraq ledger: War by the numbers

Reckoning the costs of war in Iraq will take years. Using federal government and other sources, analysts at the Center for American Progress have calculated an 'Iraq War Ledger.'
As US troops leave Iraq, some ask: Was the war worth it?

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said Thursday that the cost of the war was high, but that troops gave birth to a 'free and sovereign' Iraq. More than 4,400 US service members died in Iraq.
Did Iran hijack the 'beast'? US experts cautious about bold claims. (Video)

To hijack the lost US drone, Iran would have to have overcome major technical hurdles. None are impossible, but US experts question Iran's capabilities in such high-end cyberwarfare.
Mission accomplished, really: US war in Iraq officially ends

Some 4,000 US forces will be exiting Iraq in the coming days. 'Iraq will be tested in days ahead,' warned Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta, at an end-of-mission ceremony Thursday.
As Iraq war ends, strange hush descends on US bases

With all US troops set to be withdrawn from Iraq by Dec. 31, bases that once bubbled with activity are now emptying, leaving behind wistful stragglers and a shortage of Oreo cookies.
US troops scramble to hand off last-minute security 'details' to Iraqis

Joint patrols will end as the US exits Iraq by the close of December. There's trepidation on both sides, as US troops answer last-minute security questions from Iraqi soldiers.
Why some US troops are dreading end of Iraq mission

Returning home at the end of the Iraq mission is not all 'cotton-candy clouds and unicorns' for some US troops. They now have to face financial and family problems at home or the rising risk of being cut by a downsizing military.
How valuable is downed US drone to Iran?

US officials privately confirm that a super-secret RQ-170 drone has fallen into Iran's hands. Now they want to know what brought it down and how valuable is the loss.
Remains of hundreds of fallen American soldiers sent to landfill

Such a practice occurred far more often the Air Force originally acknowledged, The Washington Post reports. The partial remains of at least 274 US service personnel were handled this way.
Why Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans are finding civilian reentry harder

A Pew study finds that military veterans who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan since 9/11 are surviving more serious injuries – another one of the reasons civilian reentry is so difficult.
US considered missions to destroy RQ-170 Sentinel drone lost in Iran

The RQ-170 Sentinel drone lost over Iran is one of America's most valuable intelligence assets. It's unclear what brought it down - hostile fire or malfunction. Iran claims to have shot it down but has provided no photographs.
Doomsday war games: Pentagon's 3 nightmare scenarios

Pentagon planners have plenty to worry about these days, from Iran to Afghanistan. But in war games in Washington this week, US Army officials and their advisers debated three nightmare scenarios in particular.
How often do US military drones 'disappear'?

The US military acknowledged that one of its unmanned aerial vehicles had gone missing over western Afghanistan last week. With no pilot in the cockpit, drones can be tricky to fly.