Here Is One Pentagon Weapons System That Came In Time And Was Under Budget

USMC FA-18 Hornet. Wikipedia

1 Pentagon Weapons System That Was On Time and Under Budget -- John Reed, Foreign Policy

The Super Hornet

We're always hearing about Pentagon weapons purchases that go so far over budget it becomes hard for normal people to wrap their heads around the staggering numbers involved. Exhibit A: the Lockheed Martin-made F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF), meant to be an "affordable" supersonic stealth fighter that can fly from aircraft carriers or regular airfields and even hover like a helicopter, all while incorporating some of the most advanced spy gear and data-sharing tools ever invented. Needless to say, the program is years behind schedule and has seen its cost balloon to $396 billion, an almost 50-percent increase in cost from when the JSF program was started in 2001 and each jet was estimated to cost only (ha!) $69 million. Today, F-35s are estimated to cost $137 million apiece, according to some estimates. No surprises here: late and over budget is what we've come to expect.

Read more ....

My Comment: Hallelujah. I am speechless. There is hope for the Pentagon.

U.S. Army Veteran 'Is Found Living In Vietnam Village 44 YEARS After Being Declared MIA

U.S. Army Veteran 'Is Found Living In Vietnam Village 44 YEARS After Being Shot Down And Presumed Dead'... But His Daughters Refuse To Take DNA Tests To Prove His Identity -- Daily Mail

* Sgt. John Hartley Robertson is believed to have died in 1968 over Laos during a special ops mission during the Vietnam War
* A new documentary claims to have found him - aged 76 - still living there
* This man, who remarried, has never contacted the American wife and two children who have believed him dead for 44 years
* Doubts remain over his identity but his sister, who is filmed being reunited with him in the documentary, said she knows it is him

An elderly man found living in south-central Vietnam has claimed to be a U.S. war veteran who was presumed dead after his helicopter was shot down during a special ops mission over Laos in 1968.

But despite the potentially astonishing discovery, the man's two daughters - whom he has never contacted since disappearing - have refused to take a DNA test to prove his identity.

The wife and daughters of Sgt. John Hartley Robertson, a one-time Green Beret, initially agreed to participate in DNA testing, before changing their minds last year, according to a filmmaker behind a new documentary asking whether the man is indeed who he says he is.

Read more ....

My Comment: This is one soldier who was left behind.

A Look At President Obama From Vanity Fair

Obama talks with chief of staff Denis McDonough and Miguel Rodriguez, director of legislative affairs, in the Oval Office on February 5, 2013. His jacket hangs on a chair, and his legs rest on the Resolute Desk, which was gifted to President Rutherford B. Hayes by Queen Victoria in 1880.

The Lean-Back President -- Vanity Fair

Barack Obama receives ample flak from critics who say that he is too buttoned-up and reserved to thrive in an office that historically has required its fair share of cajoling, socializing, and even arm-twisting. But a thorough examination of the photo archives of White House photographer Pete Souza reveals quite the opposite: Obama can, in fact, be remarkably laid-back. His body language in the Oval Office, the Situation Room, and other top Cabinet-level meetings indicates a man who is ready to let it all hang loose. He’s often in shirtsleeves, with his feet up, and frequently will be the only member of a meeting with a knee on the table. Below, a photographic investigation of the “lean-back” president.

Read more ....

My Comment: More razzle dazzle.

First Female Iraq War Deserter Is Jailed For 10 Months

Kimberly Rivera (Photo from blog.amnestyusa.org)

Female U.S. Army Deserter Pleads Guilty, Gets 10-Month Prison Term -- Reuters

(Reuters) - An Army private believed to be the first female U.S. soldier to seek refuge in Canada rather than return to duty in Iraq was sentenced to 10 months in prison after pleading guilty to desertion, military officials in Colorado said on Tuesday.

Kimberly Rivera, who said she grew opposed to the war during a three-month tour of duty in Iraq, pleaded guilty at a court-martial proceeding in Fort Carson, Colorado, on Monday and was sentenced immediately.

In addition to the prison time, the 30-year-old private was reduced in rank, ordered to forfeit pay and benefits and received a bad conduct discharge, base spokeswoman Meghan Williams said.

Read more ....

More News On The Jailing Of A U.S. Army Deserter

First Female Iraq War Resister to Be Court Martialed -- Time/AP
U.S. soldier who fled to Canada to avoid Iraq war gets 10 months in jail -- Globe and Mail/AP
Female soldier who moved to Canada admits desertion -- UPI
Woman soldier who admits deserting army to avoid Iraq deployment is sentenced to 10 months in jail -- Daily Mail
US soldier Kimberly Rivera jailed for desertion -- BBC

President Obama Pledges To Investigate If The Survivors Of The Benghazi Attack Are Being Blocked From Testifying

Obama Pledges Inquiry On Benghazi Survivors’ Testimony -- FOX News

President Obama said he is unaware of longstanding efforts by Republican lawmakers to question survivors of the Benghazi attacks but pledged to investigate it.

“I’m not familiar with this notion that anybody has been blocked from testifying,” the president said during a White House news conference on Tuesday. “So what I’ll do is I will find out what exactly you’re referring to.”

Obama’s pledge to find out more came as officials at the State Department pushed back against allegations -- first aired Monday on Fox News -- that career employees at the agency have been threatened if they furnish new information about the Benghazi attacks to members of Congress.

Read more ....

Previous Post: President Obama: Denies Knowing Benghazi Terror-Attack Survivors Have Been Forbidden From Talking To Congress

Update: Benghazi whistleblowers still waiting to tell their story -- CBS

My Comment: The lawyers who are representing these whistle-blowers have already voiced their frustration in getting the proper security clearances to represent their clients. As to what is my take .... I find it incredible that after almost 7 months the survivors of the Benghazi attack have not appeared in Congress to explain what they witnessed that night. It is obvious that some of these survivors want to testify .... what is not obvious is why they have not.

Update #2: Rep. Trey Gowdy Says Eyewitnesses Will Testify Next Week at Benghazi Hearing (Video) -- Gateway Pundit

Has The Mastermind Behind The Benghazi Attack Been Identified

Source: Mastermind Behind Benghazi Attack Identified, But Not Arrested -- FOX News

It’s been seven months since the September 11 Benghazi, Libya attacks and there have been no arrests. The second of a three-part exclusive investigation digging into Benghazi aired on Special Report tonight.

Multiple sources tell Fox News that the United States has identified the mastermind behind the attack, who is still in Libya and walks free. A special operator, whose identity was concealed for safety, watched the events unfold and spoke to Fox News’ Adam Housley.

Read more ....

My Comment: If these allegations are true .... this is very disturbing. But the White house since the beginning has been obfuscating and stalling any serious inquiry or investigation on this case. To put it bluntly .... they are hiding something.

Pentagon Is Using A Chinese Satellite For US-Africa Command Communications

Pentagon Paying China — Yes, China — To Carry Data -- Danger Room

The Pentagon is so starved for bandwidth that it’s paying a Chinese satellite firm to help it communicate and share data.

U.S. troops operating on the African continent are now using the recently-launched Apstar-7 satellite to keep in touch and share information. And the $10 million, one-year deal lease — publicly unveiled late last week during an ordinarily-sleepy Capitol Hill subcommittee hearing — has put American politicians and policy-makers in bit of a bind. Over the last several years, the U.S. government has publicly and loudly expressed its concern that too much sensitive American data passes through Chinese electronics — and that those electronics could be sieves for Beijing’s intelligence services. But the Pentagon says it has no other choice than to use the Chinese satellite. The need for bandwidth is that great, and no other satellite firm provides the continent-wide coverage that the military requires.

Read more ....

More News On The Pentagon Leasing A Chinese Satellite For Communications

Pentagon using China satellite for US-Africa Command -- Stars and Stripes/Bloomberg New
Pentagon questioned on use of Chinese satellite -- South China Morning Post
Pentagon leaning on Chinese satellite for Africa Command communications -- RT
Pentagon Paying Chinese for Satellite Bandwidth -- Washington Free Beacon
Pentagon’s Use Of China Satellite For Communication In Africa Triggers National Debate -- Digital Times
US Military Leases Chinese Satellite Capacity to Provide Bandwidth for Africa Command -- Satellite Today

Comment #1: This was unthinkable 20 years ago .... but today .... everyone just shrugs their shoulders.
Comment #2: The above video of the launch of the Chinese satellite in question is super-cool to watch.

Aircraft Crashes Are Now The Biggest Killer Of U.S. Troops In Afghanistan

As Combat Role Eases, Aircraft Crashes Are Biggest Killer Of U.S. Troops In Afghanistan -- McClatchy News

KABUL, Afghanistan — With the combat roles of U.S. troops in Afghanistan tapering off, aircraft accidents emerged as the biggest killer of U.S. troops here during the first four months of the year. Since Jan. 1, 13 service members have been killed in five crashes.U.S. troop deaths remain at their lowest levels here in recent years. The number so far this year, 33 through Tuesday, is the lowest at this point since 2008.

After air accidents, the next biggest cause of death was improvised bombs, which claimed at least eight service members. Four died from causes unrelated to combat.

In all, 42 members of the international coalition have been killed in Afghanistan this year, including three of unknown nationalities, whose deaths in an explosion in southern Afghanistan were announced Tuesday night.

Read more ....

My Comment: This will probably change when the fighting season for the Taliban starts.

Unbelievable Footage Of Yesterday's Plane Crash At Baghram Airbase In Afghanistan (Disturbing Video)

Nightmarish: Unbelievable Footage Of Plane Crash At Baghram Airbase In Afghanistan -- Mediaite

A civilian cargo plane fell out of the sky near Baghram Airbase in Afghanistan on Monday, soon after taking off. According to a statement from coalition forces, all seven people aboard the plane died in the crash. A spokesperson for the Michigan-based National Airlines said that the identities of those in the crash had not yet been released to the public.

Though the footage is timestamped for February 1, 2013, but several sources authenticate that the video is from Monday’s crash.

A spokesperson for the Taliban claimed responsibility for the crash, but U.S. military personnel have shut down those claims as entirely false.

Read more ....

Update: Afghanistan's Dangerous Bagram Airfield Just Had Its Deadliest Crash -- The Atlantic

My Comment: Looking at the video .... there is no way anyone could have survived that crash.

U.S. Preparing To Send Weapons To Syrian Rebels

Obama Moving Toward Sending Lethal Arms To Syrian Rebels, Officials Say -- Washington Post

President Obama is preparing to send lethal weaponry to the Syrian opposition and has taken steps to assert more aggressive U.S. leadership among allies and partners seeking the ouster of President Bashar al-Assad, according to senior administration officials.

The officials emphasized that supplying arms is one of several options under consideration and that political negotiation remains the preferred option. To that end, the administration has launched an effort to convince Russian President Vladimir Putin that the probable use of chemical weapons by the Syrian government — and the more direct outside intervention that could provoke — should lead him to reconsider his support of Assad.

Read more ....

Update: Report: Obama Close to Sending Arms to Syria -- Military.com

My Comment: Another war to get involved in. And as so typical of today's Washington .... no debate, no discussion, no public involvement.