When the Senate Intelligence Committee passed the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act by a vote of 14 to 1, committee chairman Senator Richard Burr argued that it successfully balanced security and privacy. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel will ask for permission to downsize the United States Army to levels not seen since before World War II when he presents the Pentagon's budget plan to Congress on Monday. Mr. Hagel will also request to end funding for Cold War era U-2 spy planes and A-10 attack jet's. The Defense Department will need Congressional approval for both of these requests.
In a tent at Nellis Air Force Base on the northern edge of Las Vegas, the officer in charge of a U.S. Air Force drone unit strolled into a meeting with the 20 or so pilots and sensor operators under his command. It was in the winter of 2005-2006, and the officer just wanted to try out some ideas he had for boosting unit morale, he recalled later in a conversation with an Air Force historian. The cold and snow that walloped Washington didn't stop Ashton Carter from reporting for work at the Pentagon Tuesday. Carter was sworn in as the 25th U.S. Secretary of Defense on Tuesday. Sworn in by Vice President Biden at the White House Tuesday, Carter formally replaces Chuck Hagel, becoming President Obama's fourth defense chief in the past six years. Carter's debut at the Pentagon this morning was briefly interrupted when his wife, Stephanie, "slipped and fell on the icy pavement," the AP reports. "She laughed it off, and officials indicated she was not injured." Ashton B. Carter officially became the 25th U.S. secretary of defense on Tuesday, taking the oath of office at the White House in a ceremony with Vice President Biden. Carter, standing next to his wife, Stephanie, took the oath of office in the Roosevelt Room at the White House. He said that becoming secretary of defense was the “highest honor,” and he thanked his wife, two children and others who have helped him prepare for the job. “I am honored to rejoin the men and women of the Defense Department in what is the highest calling, which is the defense of our country,” he said. Do you like watching Internet videos and then drawing broad, sweeping, pseudoscientific conclusions about the people involved? If so, congratulations, you might be qualified to join the Pentagon’s secret team investigating the nonverbal cues of powerful world leaders. Yesterday, following Freedom of Information Act requests by a group of news organizations including Politico, the Pentagon released two studies, both published here in full for the first time, analyzing Vladimir Putin's inner demons—or at least those inner demons that you can observe from watching a ton of publicly available videos. Congress’ abomination of a defense spending bill is all about pleasing weapons manufacturers and diverting funds to useless projects. Who says Democrats and Republicans can’t get along? This week president Obama signed a massive one-stop bill (a.k.a “Cromnibus”) that will keep the government funded until the end of the fiscal year. Among other things, the bill appropriates $1.1 trillion in funding—including over $550 billion for the Department of Defense. It was the end of the road for Chuck Hagel last week and the Washington press corps couldn’t have been more enthusiastic about writing his obituary. In terms of pure coverage, it may not have been Ferguson or the seven-foot deluge of snow that hit Buffalo, New York, but the avalanche of news reports was nothing to be sniffed at. There had been a changing of the guard in wartime Washington. Barack Obama’s third secretary of defense had gone down for the count. In the phrase of the moment, he had “resigned under pressure.” Sayonara, Chuck! With a unanimity that crossed political lines, the accounts read as if written by a single reporter. Today's the last day for Congress to pass a budget deal and avert a government shutdown. Part of the $1.1 trillion "Cromnibus" package is the 2015 defense budget. While there's been some wrangling over pay and benefits for service members, finalizing the Pentagon budget has been relatively uncontentious. President Obama is closing in on appointing his new Secretary of Defense to replace Chuck Hagel, and "barring any last minute complications," he will choose Ashton B. Carter, report CNN's Jamie Crawford and Barbara Starr. And an Associated Press report says that, according to a senior GOP senator, Carter has already been chosen.
Videos on The Pentagon |  | Tue Feb 17, 2015
Vice President Joe Biden administers the oath to new Secretary of the Defense Ashton Carter. |
|  | Fri Dec 05, 2014
President Obama announced that Pentagon veteran Ashton Carter will be his nominee to succeed Chuck Hagel... |
|  | Tue Dec 02, 2014
President Obama is expected to nominate Ashton Carter as Chuck Hagel's successor for Secretary of Defense. |
|  | Mon Oct 06, 2014
Former CIA director Leon Panetta discusses the threat posed by Islamic State and offers a critical review... |
|  | Sun Jul 27, 2014
America’s nuclear bomber fleet is aging (think Dr. Strangelove). How can the U.S. deter future enemies... |
|  | Thu Apr 25, 2013
United States Deputy Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter joined moderator Graham Allison, Director of the... |
|  | Fri Feb 08, 2013
President Obama delivers remarks at a farewell tribute for outgoing Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta.... |
|  | Fri Mar 30, 2012
Just this week Reuters obtained new projections from the Pentagon about the ballooning cost of the... |
|  | Sun Mar 25, 2012
Via Wired: "The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, the supposed backbone of the Pentagon's future air arsenal,... |
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