Topic: U.S. Armed Forces
Top galleries, list articles, quizzes
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Beyond the 'fiscal cliff': 6 reasons to be optimistic about America's future
As Americans take stock of 2012 and gear up for 2013, it's tempting to adopt "decline think" about the country, especially since there is still no deal to avoid the "fiscal cliff" of steep budget cuts and tax increases. But here are six reasons Americans should still be optimistic about their future.
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Bestselling books the week of 11/15/12, according to IndieBound*
What's selling best at independent bookstores across America.
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Are you smarter than a US Marine? Take the recruitment quiz
The Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) is made up of 10 tests. but only four are used to see if you qualify to join the US military. Word Knowledge (WK), Paragraph Comprehension (PC), Arithmetic Reasoning (AR), and Mathematics Knowledge (MK) are used to compute your Armed Forces Qualification Test (AFQT) score. Our 24 sample questions cover just those areas. The real recruitment test has 105 questions.
Are you smart enough to be a US Marine or Air Force pilot? Take our quiz.
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Iran fires at US drone: the top 3 pressing questions
Iranian military forces fired at a US Predator drone for the first time ever earlier this month, the Pentagon acknowledged this week. It’s a revelation that has raised a host of questions for the US military. Here are the top three.
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War with Iran? 5 ways events overseas could shape Obama's second term.
The threat posed by Iran’s nuclear program is the most urgent example of the foreign-policy challenges that face President Obama in his second term. Here are four others.
All Content
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Little enthusiasm among GOP for Hagel, but he has Obama's support
President Barack Obama said he saw nothing that would disqualify former Republican Senator Chuck Hagel from being nominated for US defense secretary. However, some Republicans have expressed doubts about Hagel's positions on Iran and Israel.
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General Norman Schwarzkopf, Desert Storm commander, dies at age 78
General H. Norman Schwarzkopf, who had an illustrious military career which included many high-profile commands, died Thursday of complications from pneumonia.
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Pakistan Taliban chief says TTP will negotiate, but not disarm
'We believe in dialogue but it should not be frivolous,' Pakistan Taliban chief, Hakimullah Mehsud said in a 40 minute video. 'Asking us to lay down arms is a joke.'
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Terrorism & Security
US embassy evacuated as rebels surge in Central African RepublicThe turmoil in the landlocked African nation has prompted calls for France to intervene militarily in its former colony. 'Those days are gone,' said French President François Hollande.
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Chuck Hagel: why his candidacy for Defense post is losing altitude
Critics of Chuck Hagel's potential candidacy have focused on remarks he made years ago about Israel, Iran, and Hamas. Some even called him anti-Semitic, a charge branded as outrageous, even by other critics.
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Beyond the 'fiscal cliff': 6 reasons to be optimistic about America's future
As Americans take stock of 2012 and gear up for 2013, it's tempting to adopt "decline think" about the country, especially since there is still no deal to avoid the "fiscal cliff" of steep budget cuts and tax increases. But here are six reasons Americans should still be optimistic about their future.
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Afghan bomber attacks near major US base near Pakistan border, killing 4
NATO forces and foreign civilians have been increasingly attacked by rogue Afghan military and police, eroding trust between the allies.
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Video games and shooting: Is the NRA right?
The NRA says the problem with mass shootings like the recent one at the Sandy Hook grade school in Connecticut is not too many unregulated guns but violent video games. But most academic and government research does not support the gun lobby's charge.
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Sexual assault reports jump at military academies, Pentagon finds
Despite the Pentagon's sexual assault awareness programs, reports at military academies rose by nearly a quarter in 2010-2011. Officials say women could be feeling more secure reporting the crimes.
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Violence in Iraq spikes. Are US security interests in jeopardy?
A recent rise in civilian deaths and injuries in Iraq is cause for concern, but Pentagon personnel say Iraqi security forces are proving to be 'very capable' in the year since US troops departed.
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The best films of 2012
Monitor film critic Peter Rainer remembers some of the gems he saw over the past year and those films that weren't worth his time.
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Pressure mounts on Obama to change tactics on Iran
In a letter to the White House, Iran experts insisted diplomacy, not further sanctions, will have the best results. But US actions since then indicate more sticks than carrots.
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Defense Secretary front-runner, GOP's Chuck Hagel has strong Obama ties
Hagel emerged last week as the front-runner for the Pentagon's top job, four years after leaving behind a Senate career in which he carved out a reputation as an independent thinker and blunt speaker.
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Opinion: Madison never meant Second Amendment to allow guns of Sandy Hook shooting
Adam Lanza's shooting rampage at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. renews debate over gun control. A close look shows that James Madison conceived the Second Amendment in a different time, under different circumstances, with different weapons.
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Global News Blog
Duck boat sunk in World War II found in Italian lakeThe amphibious vehicle sank in Lake Garda, killing 23 US soldiers just days before the end of the fighting in Europe. But the boat, and the remains of the soldiers, were lost until this week.
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X-37B: US launches super-secret, orbiting, robotic plane
The X-37B is designed to stay in space as long as nine months and to collect electronic signals of all kinds in a way that other countries can't stop. The Air Force is not commenting on its mission.
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Alleging US torture, terror convict Padilla appeals to Americas’ rights group
Jose Padilla's mother is alleging to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights that her son, currently in solitary confinement in a Colorado prison, was tortured during his 4 years in a naval brig.
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Secret shuttle launch: US military's X-37B to spy on Middle East?
Secret shuttle launch goes off without a hitch Tuesday. But what is the secret mission of X-37B? The robotic, military shuttle spent seven months in space during its last mission. It could be spying on terrorists, speculates one scientist.
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Focus
Which world hot spots will clamor for Obama's attention?Obama is unequivocal about his intent to refocus on US domestic issues during his second term. But the world is not likely to cooperate. Here are seven foreign-policy challenges already bearing down on him.
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Daring Special Ops rescue in Afghanistan: Why was kidnapped doc kept secret? (+video)
On Sunday, Special Operations Forces rescued a doctor held by the Taliban. Few Americans even knew a doctor had been kidnapped in Afghanistan – and that was by design.
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Too much religion at military academies? West Point cadet revives charge.
Citing overt religiosity on campus, a West Point Academy cadet publicly quit this week just months before graduation. This is not the first time the military has come under fire for practices that nonreligious students see as aggressively evangelical.
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Decoder Wire
Pearl Harbor resurrection: the warships that rose to fight again (+video)The attack on Pearl Harbor 71 years ago left a tangled mess of burning and shattered warships. But in 'one of history's greatest salvage jobs,' many of the sunken ships rose to fight the Axis.
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Why US should be wary of attacking cyberradicals, including Al Qaeda
Missives from extremist groups such as Al Qaeda can easily be found online. But launching cyberattacks to shut their websites down is problematic – and even counterproductive, a new report finds.
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Covert US-Iran war bubbles over with claims of drone capture
Most of the actions in the US-Iran covert war remain mysterious and unclaimed – until one side sees an advantage in shining light on an incident. That’s what Iran has done with the drone capture.
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Cover Story
Inside the mind of Iran's Khamenei (+video)Why Iran's iron ayatollah distrusts the US and what that means for nuclear talks and the possibility of war with the West.
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