If you are not prepared to go to war, you cannot threaten that “nothing is off the table” as you search for diplomatic solutions. Thus there are completed plans, updated daily, at Israeli military headquarters in Tel Aviv and at the Pentagon for carrying out attacks on Iranian facilities in a last-ditch effort to prevent Tehran from acquiring a nuclear weapon. Read full article > >

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At the Pentagon and in Israel, plans show the difficulties of an Iran strike

When authorities caught up to Yonathan Melaku, it was more than six months after a mysterious spree of overnight shootings at the Pentagon and other military buildings in Northern Virginia. Melaku was lurking in Arlington National Cemetery with a backpack filled with bags of ammonium nitrate and a can of black spray paint. Read full article > >

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Yonathan Melaku admits shooting at Pentagon, military buildings 

TEHRAN — For the American government, the crash of the RQ-170 drone in Iran was an embarrassment. For the Iranian government, it was a propaganda victory. And for at least one company, according to state radio, it could be a windfall. Read full article > >

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U.S. drone that crashed in Iran goes miniature

A Pentagon pilot program that uses classified National Security Agency data to protect the computer networks of defense contractors has had some success but also has failed to meet some expectations, according to a study commissioned by the Defense Department. Read full article > >

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Cyber defense effort is mixed, study finds

As President Obama stood at the podium in the Pentagon briefing room Thursday to outline the nation’s defense priorities, the military stood with him. Their primary audience was a few miles across the river — in Congress. Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, whose beloved army will face a significant troop reduction under Obama’s plan, was at the president’s side. Marine Corps commandant Gen. James F. Amos, whose service will also shrink, stood just behind him. And over Obama’s right shoulder loomed Gen. Ray Odierno, the former commander in Iraq who is now the army chief of staff. Read full article > >

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In creating new defense strategy, Obama attempts to outflank Congress

As the Pentagon confronts the prospect of cutting its budget about 10 percent over the next decade, some are warning that the potential impact on scientific innovation is being overlooked.

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The Next War: A Hidden Cost of Military Cuts Could Be Invention and Its Industries

PRESIDENT OBAMA pledged that the $489 billion in defense cuts he has proposed over 10 years would be governed by a concerted strategy, and on Thursday he delivered one. At the Pentagon, Mr. Obama unveiled a “strategic guidance,” which aides said reflected a considerable investment of his personal time and ideas. The president’s thesis is that the need for fiscal austerity coincides with a global “ moment of transition ,” in which the United States is winding down a decade of land wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and facing the need to turn toward a very different set of challenges, particularly in Asia. Read full article > >

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Editorial Board:
President Obama’s defense strategy rests on shaky assumptions

The U.S.S. Kidd rescued thirteen people whose fishing vessel was seized in the North Arabian Sea in November, the Pentagon said on Friday.

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The Lede Blog: U.S. Navy Rescues Iranians Who Were Captured by Pirates

In an unusual appearance in the Pentagon briefing room, President Obama put his mark on a new military strategy driven by $450 billion in Pentagon budget cuts over the next decade.

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Obama at Pentagon to Outline Cuts and Strategic Shifts

The Obama administration on Thursday unveiled a new military strategy that shifts the Pentagon’s focus towards Asia and says the country’s dire budget problems necessitate a more restrained use of military force and more modest foreign policy goals. The strategy will almost certainly mean a smaller Army and Marine Corps as well as new investments in long-range stealth bombers and anti-missile systems that are designed primarily to counter China’s military buildup. It explicitly states that America can make due with a smaller nuclear force. Read full article > >

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Obama announces new, leaner military approach

Until it was over, the raid that killed Osama bin Laden was one of the best-kept secrets in the history of Washington. Whether the Obama administration later went too far in spilling secrets about the operation to Hollywood is now getting at least a cursory look. Newly released letters from the Pentagon and the CIA indicate that they will examine their cooperation with Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. and movie director Kathryn Bigelow on a forthcoming bin Laden film. Read full article > >

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Backstory to bin Laden film gets another look

When it comes to national security issues in 2012, the person who faces the toughest choices is Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta. Look at what’s on his plate: the Pentagon’s budget crunch, the war in Afghanistan, the postwar period in Iraq, Iran’s nuclear ambitions , Israeli issues, U.S.-Pakistan relations, China’s growing military and the biggest challenge of all — Congress. Read full article > >

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Defense Secretary Panetta faces tough choices on national security in 2012

WASHINGTON — The United States has reached a deal to sell $3.48 billion worth of missiles and related technology to the United Arab Emirates, a close Mideast ally, as part of a massive buildup of defense technology among friendly Mideast nations near Iran. Pentagon spokesman George Little announced the Christmas Day sale on Friday night. Read full article > >

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US seals deal on $3.48 billion sale of missiles, technology to UAE, a close ally in Mideast

A wrong guess on a size led Nancy Scott and her daughter Laura to Nordstrom at the Fashion Centre at Pentagon City, where they were waiting in line Monday afternoon to return a pair of shoes given as a holiday gift — and score some deals. “We came to do an exchange, and we ended up buying more,” said Nancy Scott, who lives in Alexandria, while holding a stack of shoe boxes. “We are a retailer’s dream.” Read full article > >

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On day after Christmas, bargain hunters aren’t disappointed

The Pentagon cultivated close ties with retired officers who worked as analysts for television and radio networks.

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Pentagon Finds No Fault In Its Ties to TV Analysts