Topic: Leon Panetta

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Top 3 threats to the United States: the good and bad news

The annual Worldwide Threat Assessment of the US Intelligence Community is out this week, a widely-anticipated report compiled by the nation’s intelligence agencies. Here is the good and bad news about the top three threats facing the United States, according to an unclassified version of the report.
Briefing
Petraeus scandal: Did anything illegal happen? Five questions so far.

An investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation has now called into question the private lives and careers of two of the nation’s top national-security officials. Here is an accounting of what is known so far.
Briefing
Defense cuts: three things Americans should know

The US House approved a bill in July that’s likely to spark a showdown on military spending.
Iran's nuclear program: 4 things you probably didn't know

Do the US and Israel believe that Iran has a nuclear weapons program? Did President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad really promise to "wipe Israel off the map"? The answers may surprise you.
US tax time: A later deadline and other tax facts

Thanks to a holiday in Washington, D.C., the federal tax-filing deadline this year is April 17, two days later than usual. The extra time provides an opportunity to peruse some random tax-related facts.

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Backchannels Are the assassinations of Iranian scientists an act of terrorism?

Iran has many capable engineers, and none of the victims appear to have had indispensable knowledge. But spreading fear among the living can slow them down and deter young recruits.
Underground Iran nuclear enrichment makes diplomatic path suddenly rockier (+video)

The nuclear enrichment at a once-secret underground facility in Iran, confirmed Monday by the UN, is seen as both an argument to resume negotiations and an obstacle to their resumption.
Q&A: What's with the war talk surrounding Iran?

Tensions over Iran’s nuclear program have escalated in recent weeks as the US and Europe ramp up sanctions against the Islamic Republic.
Global News Blog World reacts to Obama's new military focus on Asia

Chinese newspapers call on China to assert itself, while India and African nations ponder the implications of becoming 'strategic partners' with the US.
China stays cool as new US defense strategy targets Asia

Some Chinese scholars worry that the new US defense strategy could promote strategic competition in the long term. The most likely theater for crisis? The South China Sea.
Under new defense strategy, what is biggest threat facing US now?

The new defense strategy rolled out by the Pentagon Thursday centers on military priorities that are, in many cases, dramatically different from the ones that dominated the post-9/11 decade.
New Pentagon strategy recasts military in Obama's image (VIDEO)

The new Pentagon strategy unveiled Thursday is aimed at trimming defense spending. But Obama took the opportunity to overhaul the military's priorities so they match his own.
Leaner military, weaker military? Obama must tread tricky line. (VIDEO)

The defense strategy released Thursday faces up to budget realities, but the Obama administration will have to balance the need for cuts against Pentagon warnings about undermining security.
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.
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.
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.
The Monitor's View: Iraq, after US ends its war role, must now define 'mission accomplished'

Obama praises role of US troops in creating Iraqi democracy. Now he must still help Iraq keep its fragile government and sovereignty.
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.
Exclusive: Iran hijacked US drone, says Iranian engineer (Video)

In an exclusive interview, an engineer working to unlock the secrets of the captured RQ-170 Sentinel says they exploited a known vulnerability and tricked the US drone into landing in Iran.
US formally draws curtain on the unpopular war in Iraq (video)

At the official flag-furling ceremony in Baghdad to end the war in Iraq, Secretary Panetta spoke highly of US soldiers' sacrifice. But both Iraqis and Americans appear happy for it to be over.
How the Iraq war has changed America

A conflict that was supposed to be a quick in-and-out operation lasted nearly nine years – and has left a deep imprint on the policy of American intervention.
Air strikes against Iran nuclear program? Israel reconsiders.

Israel's former spy chief has warned against a preemptive strike on Iran's nuclear program, as has the US, citing its potential to boost Iran's regime at home and endanger US troops in the Middle East.
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.
Pakistan border strike: For NATO and US, 'sorry' is the hardest word (video)

NATO and US have expressed 'regret' over NATO bombing of Pakistani border post, promising investigation. But full apology seems to be some time away.
Pakistan scoffs at US apologies after NATO strike

US attempts to soothe tensions after a NATO strike killed 24 Pakistani soldiers have been mostly rebuffed. NATO claims the strike was 'unintended.'
NATO strike on Pakistan military 'couldn't come at a worse time'

US officials are scrambling to avoid a further breakdown in US-Pakistan relations after a mistaken NATO strike killed 24 Pakistani soldiers.
Supercommittee triggers automatic budget cuts. What now?

The automatic cuts triggered by the Congressional supercommittee's failure to come up with a budget plan will be evenly split between defense and non-defense. But some members of Congress are trying to spare the defense budget.
Pentagon 'doomsday'? Or are super committee failure fears overblown?

Pentagon leaders have said the automatic cuts set to kick in now that the deficit super committee has failed would be catastrophic. But in reality, the cuts might not be too bad, experts say.
Will spike of violence in Egypt push US to act more forcefully?

Competing US demands for democracy and stability in Egypt have led to a stand-back policy approach. But a surge of deadly violence and signals from the Egyptian military may change all that.
Debt deal prospects sour amid partisan wrangling

Fanning out to the sets of the Sunday morning talk shows, Democrats and Republicans on the deficit-cutting "super committee" blamed each other for a deepening impasse that has all but doomed chances for an accord.