Why Did the Pentagon Authorize Our Soldiers to March in San Diego’s Gay Pride Parade….?

When policy has been that our Military did not march in uniform in any parade……………..

In a memorandum sent to all its branches this year, the Defense Department said it was making the allowance for the San Diego event even though its policy generally bars troops from marching in uniform in parades.

The Defense Department said Thursday it did so because organizers had encouraged military personnel to march in their uniform and the parade was getting national attention.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_MILITARY_GAY_PRIDE?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2012-07-21-15-40-37

SORRY SORRY: Why Is the Obama Team So Intent on Apologies for the Koran Burning??

A senior Pentagon official apologized Friday to Washington-area Muslims for the burning of Qurans at a military base in Afghanistan.

Peter Lavoy, acting assistant secretary of defense for Asia and Pacific security affairs, said the military is investigating what occurred and that all 140,000 coalition troops in Afghanistan are being retrained in the handling of religious materials.

Lavoy apologized multiple times during a brief speech during prayer services at the ADAMS Center in Sterling, one of the largest mosques in the country.

“I come here today to apologize on behalf of the Department of Defense for the incident that took place in Afghanistan this week,” Lavoy told worshippers, saying the burnings were done “unknowingly and improperly.”

Previously, the president of the United States issued his “deep regret” to the Afghan president for the apparent accident. “I wish to express my deep regret for the reported incident,” President Obama said in a letter to President Karzai. “I extend to you and the Afghan people my sincere apologies.” The Pentagon’s apology at a Virginia mosque occurred today.

http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/pentagon-official-apologizes-virginia-mosque-koran-burnings-afghanistan_631888.html

On 9-11, All Gave Some, and Some… Gave All: A Video Tribute

Pentagon Threat Suspect ID’d as a Marine Reservist; Muslim; Recently Arrested for Grand Larceny

Update #2-  Melaku was arrested less than a month ago on four counts of Grand Larceny.

Several hours after being taken into custody, Yonathan Melaku has been identified as the suspect arrested in Arlington Cemetery earlier today.  He is a Muslim and a Marine Corps reservist.

It is also being reported:

Authorities said Friday they are investigating the man, whom they did not name, after he was found inside Arlington Cemetery overnight when the cemetery was closed.

FBI special agent Brenda Heck said during a press conference Friday that the man, described as in his 20′s, had a backpack containing a “non-explosive, unknown material” that she said will require further investigation.

“The products in the backpack are inert,” Heck said, though she described its contents as suspicious.
Though the man was “not forthcoming” when taken into custody, Heck said authorities later found his red 2011 Nissan near the Pentagon. She said authorities found “no suspicious activity” related to the vehicle.

Melaku, who lives in Alexandria, Va., joined as a reservist in August 2007 but military officials say he never deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan.

http://punditpress.blogspot.com/2011/06/yonathan-melaku-muslim-marine-corps.html

Pentagon to Issue New DADT Guidleines after Injunction Granted

 The Pentagon says it’s working to come up with new guidelines regarding gays serving in the military after a court ruling restored the “don’t ask, don’t tell” law, at least for now.

Defense Department spokesman Col. Dave Lapan said Thursday that he expects the guidelines be announced later in the day.

An injunction last week barring the military from following the “don’t ask, don’t tell” law prompted the Pentagon to order that recruiters must accept applications from gays, and military lawyers must stop prosecuting cases aimed at firing them.

But a Wednesday ruling froze that injunction. That means the military could at least temporarily return to its policy banning gays and lesbians from serving openly, while the courts continue to consider the question.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20101021/ap_on_re_us/us_gays_in_military

NOTE: Regardless of which side of this sue you are on, this is the proper manner to handle this until the Pentagon and Congress address the issue of repealing DADT, or the matter reaches the Supreme Court, whichever comes first.

Divide between Pentagon & White House results from the Strain of Afghanistan

WASHINGTON – The Potomac River is a physical as well as a figurative divide between the White House and the Pentagon, and occupants of each building often refer to the other address as a slightly foreign place “across the river.”

The gulf is suddenly on display as President Barack Obama contemplates whether to widen the U.S. commitment to the 8-year-old war in Afghanistan, a battle that is losing political and popular support even as it replaces Iraq as the military’s No. 1 priority.

The White House is now uncertain whether to stick with a long-planned military recalibration of the war, a hesitance that has stoked new tensions with the Defense Department.

After nine months of harmony, officials say it’s nowhere near the schism that cleaved the military and the Clinton administration in the 1990s. But how the young Democratic administration and its commanders navigate this turbulence will play a critical role both in the management of the war and the cultivation of support from both the military and the American public.

A senior administration official described it as “a realignment check” and played down suggestions that military leaders feel undercut. Pentagon officials insisted there is no crisis of confidence on either side but acknowledged raw feelings and a sense of impatience.

Several officials in Washington and Afghanistan spoke on condition of anonymity because Obama has not decided on his next move.

“I do not doubt that there are people in this building and elsewhere who feel very strongly about this and may be voicing some frustration at the pace of this decision,” Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell said.

For Full article: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090926/ap_on_an/us_us_afghanistan_across_the_river_analysis

Where were You?

September 11th: A Day of Remembrance

     Tomorrow, we will wake up to another September 11th, the day after Sept. 10th, and the day before Sept. 12th. But just as November 22nd, 1963 or December 7th, 1941 are etched in the hearts and minds of a generation, so too, will September 11th be the Day of Remembrance for this generation. It is a day to remember that we watched the horror of the radical Islamic attacks upon our own soil. A day to remember not only the bravery of the first responders, in the ranks of the NYPD, NYFD, and the Port Authority, but the many brave souls who did countless and untold acts of bravery within the confines of what would become their tomb. It will be a day to remember the known heroes of Flight 93 as they fought to make sure their plane did not hit its intended target, as well as the unknown heroes on the planes that hit the World Trade Center Towers and the Pentagon.

     It will be a day to remember that we were not Republicans or Democrats, but we were Americans. To remember that as proud Amricans have always done, we rose to the occasion to aid those in need. To remember, as Alan Jackson’s lyrics said, that we held hands and prayed for each other— Yes, we prayed for all of us publically and privately, and no ine dared to question it.

     We need to remember not just those who died that September day, but those who are still fighting the scars of that day. We need to remember that many of the first responders and the survivors were affected by the toxins released as the buildings collapsed and fires burnt below the great city. We need to remember the loved ones, the families and the friends, the neighbors and the communities, whose lives were forever changed.

       September 11th, a Day or Remembrance, as a Nation. Others have declared that we need to make the day a National Day of Service, which I disagree with. However, in remembering the events of September 11th, serve by giving blood so the supply is always ready should we ever, God forbid, need to address another emergency on that grand scale. Or serve with your donations to Tuesday’s Children, the children whose mother or father never came home on that fateful day.

      Whatever you do tomorrow, as we all will have our moment of remembrance, just remember that we are what makes this Nation great, we the average hard working Americans, and the best service we can do for this country is to remember our Founding Fathers and their principles, remember the sacrifice of those before us, and build on that foundation for a greater tomorrow. That will be the lasting memorial of September 11th, 2001.

For information on Tuesday’s Children: http://www.tuesdayschildren.org/index.php

CyberSpace Wars: Obama to name a CyberCzar and Pentagon Sets up for Cyberwarfare

Pentagon plans new cyberspace war command

Fri May 29, 6:22 am ET

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Pentagon plans to create a new military command for cyberspace, stepping up preparations by the armed forces to conduct both offensive and defensive computer warfare, the New York Times said on Friday.

The military command will complement a civilian effort President Barack Obama plans to announce on Friday that will overhaul the way the United States safeguards its computer networks, the newspaper said on its website.

Citing Obama administration sources, the Times said the president will detail on Friday the creation of a White House office that will coordinate a multi-billion-dollar effort to restrict access to government computers, protect systems that run U.S. stock exchanges, clear global banking transactions and manage the air traffic control system.

The Times said the civilian office would be responsible for coordinating private sector and government defenses against thousands of cyber-attacks mounted every day against the United States, largely by hackers but sometimes by foreign governments.

For full story: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090529/pl_nm/us_security_cyberspace

Related: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090529/ap_on_go_pr_wh/us_obama_cyber_struggles;_ylt=Av2EeZOAOH3VL5e8fkOv1_Gs0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTJxN2sxaW9uBGFzc2V0A2FwLzIwMDkwNTI5L3VzX29iYW1hX2N5YmVyX3N0cnVnZ2xlcwRjcG9zAzMEcG9zAzExBHNlYwN5bl90b3Bfc3RvcnkEc2xrA29iYW1hc2V0dGluZw–

Pravda USA: LATimes Rosa Brooks Suggests Government Control of the News; Sidenote: Her New position will give her Pentagon Security clearances that Most Journalists would “Kill For”!

Obama Appointee Suggests Radical Plan for Newspaper Bailout

Rosa Brooks, who has moved from the L.A. Times to the Pentagon, called for more “direct government support for public media” and government licensing of the news, which critics say would destroy the independent media.

Influential Los Angeles Times columnist Rosa Brooks has hung up her journalistic hat and joined the Obama administration, but not before penning a public proposal calling for some radical ideas to help bail out the failing news industry.

Brooks, who has taken up a post as an adviser at the Pentagon, advocated upping “direct government support for public media” and creating licenses to govern news operations.

“Years of foolish policies have left us with a choice: We can bail out journalism, using tax dollars and granting licenses in ways that encourage robust and independent reporting and commentary, or we can watch, wringing our hands, as more and more top journalists are laid off,” she wrote in her parting column on April 9.

Brooks said this would help rescue the industry from a “death spiral” and left the government unaccountable to the journalists who must keep it honest. “[I] can’t imagine anything more dangerous than a society in which the news industry has more or less collapsed,” she wrote.

But critics say her proposal would spell an end to the independent media and make journalists reliant lapdogs.

“The day that the government gets involved in the news media you see the end of the democratic process, because an independent news media is absolutely essential to the success of a democracy,” said L. Brent Bozell, president of the Media Research Center, a conservative watchdog group.

For Full disturbing article: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/04/16/obama-appointee-suggests-radical-plan-newspaper-bailout/