Daily Telegraph – A new £1.2 billion Royal Navy submarine which from the Channel is able to detect the QE2 cruise liner leaving New York harbour was unveiled yesterday. The Astute, the first attack submarine to be built in almost two decades, is the “most stealthy in the world” and will put the Navy at the “top of the premiership”, commanders said.
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Monthly Archives: May 2007
US Marines – 69 Afghans' Families Get a U.S. Apology
Washington Post – A U.S. Army brigade commander in Afghanistan yesterday told the families of 69 civilians who were killed or wounded by members of an elite Marine Special Forces unit in March that he is “deeply, deeply ashamed” about the incident, describing the series of shootings along a civilian thoroughfare as a “terrible, terrible mistake.”
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US Navy – Navy SEALs get a tough mission: recruitment
Virginian Pilot – The elite commando force is fighting a two-front war, battling to retain experienced warriors in the face of grueling demands and to find new recruits able to meet its rigorous standards.
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US Marines – Navy argues against Marine variant of JSF
Marine Corps Times – Despite public support by Pentagon and Navy leaders for the short-take-off/vertical-landing version of the Joint Strike Fighter, debates about the planned acquisition and operation of the F-35B continue behind the scenes – worrying Marine Corps officials and potential foreign customers who are counting on the versatile aircraft.
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Iraq – Troops at Odds With Ethics Standards
Washington Post – Thomas Ricks writes that more than one-third of U.S. soldiers in Iraq surveyed by the Army said they believe torture should be allowed if it helps gather important information about insurgents. Four in 10 said they approve of such illegal abuse if it would save the life of a fellow soldier.
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US Navy – Carrier Eisenhower heads for home after 7 months in Mideast
Virginian Pilot – The USS Eisenhower heads for home, leaving the USS John C. Stennis and USS Nimitz in the Gulf.
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Geopolitics / Hunger – How Biofuels Could Starve the Poor
Foreign Affairs – Thanks to high oil prices and hefty subsidies, corn-based ethanol is now all the rage in the United States. But it takes so much supply to keep ethanol production going that the price of corn — and those of other food staples — is shooting up around the world. To stop this trend, and prevent even more people from going hungry, Washington must conserve more and diversify ethanol’s production inputs.
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Geopolitics – The State of the World
Esquire – A special, in-depth examination of a post-Bush world by Thomas P.M. Barnett, covering the good, the bad, and the unknown.
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Iraq – Good News in Al Anbar
Marine Corps Gazette – The author reports on the progress Marines are making in the troubled Al Anbar Province in Iraq. Despite the violence, progress is being made in training Iraqis and restoring security. Unfortunately, these events are underreported by the mainstream media. (PDF format)
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US Navy – Own the blue water
Armed Forces Journal – “Partner in the brown water; secure the green water; own the blue water,” is a colorful new US Navy mantra. It refers to the need to work closely with other nations to operate in the riverine and sea-land interface environment, to ensure access in the littoral and to maintain dominance in the open ocean ó or blue water ó environment. Although the Navy will operate closer to shore, it will not cede supremacy of the high seas. And although potential adversaries are not vying for open ocean superiority today, one cannot assume that will be the case in the future.
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