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This past July, a week after taking charge--as the chief of what the military calls Central Command--of all U.S. forces in the Middle East, the four-star Army general John Abizaid [...]

Byline: Sydney J. Freedberg Jr. The last time that Army Sgt. 1st Class Trevis Goods served in Iraq, during the troop surge of 2006-07, he said, 'it was pretty rough.' [...]

Byline: James Kitfield and Sydney J. Freedberg Jr. These are confusing times for the military industrial complex. Defense spending levels are high, but many experts doubt that a faltering U.S. [...]

The article focuses on the reduction of U.S. troops in Iraq. It is hoped that this troop reduction will relieve the political pressure in the 2008 campaigns of U.S. Republican candidates. Meanwhile, as the number of military troops decreases, the citizen-soldiers of the U.S. Army National Guard are said to be increasing.

The article discusses the dilemma of U.S. military professionals on whether to shoot insurgents in Iraq. It mentions that the mission of Marine Lance Corporal Robert Pennington in Faluja has shifted from an all-out assault to counterinsurgency in Hamdaniya. It emphasizes that it is better to avoid unnecessary firings and to make amends to the survivors. The author argues that condolence payments, courts-martial and stop signs can only control the cost of war but they cannot eliminate it.

The article looks at the military and foreign policies of India. During the Israeli air strike on Lebanon, the Indian navy evacuated people from the country including Indians, Sri Lankans and Lebanese while the Indian government sends its payments to Israel for the $1 million worth of military equipment that it has purchased. It notes that the close ties of India with both Israel and Iran is a part of its strategy to extend its influence from Lebanon to South Africa to Japan. It discusses the relation of India with the U.S.

The article focuses on the efforts of the U.S. Army to create an effective training for face-to-face fighting for soldiers without permanent psychological effects. It cites the increasing investment gap between soldiers and military equipment. It details the Battlemind training program developed by Lt. Col. Carl Castro, chief of military psychiatry at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, and his colleagues that emphasizes that combat stress is both normal and controllable.

The article describes a new form of warfare in Iraq. It says that Arabs make more effective guerilla fighters than troops in military formations. It states that Iraqi President Saddam Hussein had assigned two special police units to develop techniques for creating improvised explosive devices (IEDs). Also noted is that Iraqi insurgent groups combine (IEDs), snipers as well as suicide bombers into a coordinated attack.

The article focuses on the need for the U.S. Army to replace and upgrade the High-Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicles, better known as Humvees, that are being used by U.S. troops in Iraq in order to minimize the number of troops that have died from improvised explosive devices (IEDs). The military's new "Mine-Resistant Ambush-Protected" vehicle program is awarding contracts to build wheeled transports as heavy as 40 tons. But most powerful IEDs can penetrate the armor on a 70-ton tank.

The article praises U.S. soldiers who received medals for their valor in fighting their enemies in Iraq and Afghanistan. By military regulation, an award for valor entitles the recipient to wear a strip of colored cloth precisely one-and-three-eighths-inches wide on the left breast of the uniform, over the heart. Each ribbon, dearly bought, stands for a day that someone did the hard, right thing when everything else went wrong.

The article discusses the possible implications of the absence of Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf for the political stability of his country. Stephen Cohen, a senior fellow at Brookings Institution, raised concerns on the reckless behavior of Musharraf. The people of its western borderlands see the national army as an occupying force. His government has cleared the way for Islamic parties.

The article focuses on plans to replace the M1 Abrams main battle tank of the U.S. Army with the Future Combat System (FCS) equipped with a linked computer network of sensors, robots and weapons. Its downsides include its weight which makes it too heavy for the C-130 transport plane of the Air Force. Its uses computerized communications-and-command network based on an old principle. Robert Scales, a retired Army major general, stresses the use of combined arms instead of a uniform FCS force.

The article focuses on the history of the U.S. military. Defense spending is the main reason for the institution of import duties and income taxes, and largely responsible for the country's large federal debt. In the 1930s, the standing military was small, affordable and politically marginal, with peacetime forces averaging less than one-fifth of 1% of the people.

The article discusses the efforts of U.S. government in searching for Taliban movement leader Osama bin Laden after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Bin Laden has evaded his pursuers in Tora Bora, Afghanistan and disappeared into the badlands of the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. American missiles exploded in the Pakistani border village of Damadola which led the central government of Pakistan to refuse to permit U.S. forces to pursue Taliban and Al Qaeda fighters. It emphasizes the dilemma faced by Pakistani President Pervez Musharaff in dealing with Al Qaeda and the U.S. INSETS: Dialogue and Aid Can Bring Peace;Patience, Not Rashness.

The article focuses on the improvements to the equipment of U.S. infantrymen at the Infantry Training Brigade in Fort Benning, Georgia. It differentiates soldiers at Fort Benning from their predecessors. Changes include body armor and knee pads. Soldiers are trained with targets depicting men, women and children. INSETS: More Than a Uniform;Future Force Warrior.

The article discusses the implication of the efforts of private sector in responding to the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina for the U.S. government. Wal-Mart Stores played a major role in the command post, the forecasting and the pre-positioning of supplies to disaster victims. Many private companies offered help into the Federal Emergency Management Agency through its Web site. The nonprofit organization BENS contributed to the disaster efforts in the country.

Focuses on the role of the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in the recovery of Plaquemines Parish in New Orleans, Louisiana. Views of Colonel Charles Guey, operations chief for the parish's sheriff, I.F. Hingle, on the damage caused by Hurricane Katrina on their parish; Decline in the job approval ratings of U.S. President George W. Bush due to the response to the hurricane; Problems in the disaster-response system of FEMA.

Contemplates on the possible outcome of nuclear terrorism in the U.S. Possible case scenario of launching a nuclear attack between the White House and the Capitol; Health risks associated with exposure to fallout or radioactive dust; Assessment of the long-term costs of recovering from the nuclear attack.

Profiles government officials in the U.S. Department of Defense under the administration of President George W. Bush. Secretary Donald Rumsfeld; Undersecretary for Intelligence Stephen A. Cambone; Acting Undersecretary of the Army Raymond DuBois.

Presents information on the measures being done to detect nuclear weapons in the Port of Los Angeles, California, according to Noel Cunningham, director of operations and emergency management for the Port. Security challenge being faced by Cunningham; Commissioning of nuclear security workups in the port; Tightening of security at the foreign ports that feed shipments into the area.

Focuses on the improvements in the human intelligence service of the U.S. Defense Department. Factor that affects the ability of the U.S. military to proceed with missions without the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency; Transformation of the U.S. Strategic Command; Increase in the number of trained experts in human-intelligence teams.

Reports on the difficulties being experienced by the U.S. military in securing Iraq. Tactics being used by the U.S. Armed Forces in eradicating insurgency; Effect of the tactics on civilians; Extent of violence in Iraq.

Provides information on several potential cabinet members should U.S. presidential candidate Senator John Kerry win the 2004 presidential election. Massachusetts Representative Stephen Lynch at the Department of Labor; North Carolina Governor Jim Hunt at the Department of Education; Minnesota Representative James Oberstar at the Department of Transportation.

Discusses the efforts of U.S. President George W. Bush to transform the military. Pledge of Bush to skip a generation of technology to invest in radical leaps forward in weaponry; Increase in the shipbuilding budget of the Navy; Procurement of military weapons.

Characterizes the U.S. troop fatalities in the U.S. anti-terrorism operations, particularly the war in Iraq. Profile of an archetypal fatality in the war in Iraq; Month-by-month death toll, hostile and nonhostile, for the war in Iraq from March 2003-May 2004; Geographical distribution of dead troops according to their U.S. state of origin; Ethnicity of the U.S. troop fatalities.

Focuses on fundamental change in weapons, organization and unit manning in the U.S. Army. Shortcomings of the army; Basic approach implemented by the army to warfare; Details of previous high technology devices used in military missions.

Examines the relationship between U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean and Democratic legislators, as of January 2004. Criticisms of Dean against his fellow legislators; Support of several Democratic legislators for presidential bid; Success of his Internet fund raising initiatives.

Comments on the lack of attention given by 2004 U.S. political candidates to homeland security issue in the U.S. Possible reason for not engaging into the issue; Homeland-security lessons to be learned from the 2002 elections; Campaign proposals of candidates for homeland security.

Examines the Iraq war and the war against terrorism. Root cause of Iraqi resistance; Types of Iraqi fighters that plague U.S. military troops; Irony of the events.

Provides information on the efforts of the U.S. to establish a legitimate Iraqi police and a military force in charge with security functions as of October 2003. List of Iraqi forces fighting alongside the U.S.; Increase in police salaries; Challenges posed by the clannish culture in Iraq; Assessment of the status of the Iraqi army. INSETS: IRAQ'S NEW POLICE CHIEF;'NOBODY SAID THIS WAS GOING TO BE EASY'.

Assesses the effectiveness of the Stryker Brigade of the U.S. Army in its mission in Iraq in 2003. Advantages and disadvantages; Comparison with the Bradley fighting vehicle; Information on its high-technology equipment; Problem with its fuel consumption system; Criticisms against the brigade. INSETS: WHAT COULD STRYKER HAVE DONE IN THE IRAQ WAR?;THE STRYKER, BY THE NUMBERS.

Focuses on the appointment of the U.S. Secret Service agency to provide security services in the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah. Commendation on the performance of the agency; Background of the agency; Historical perspectives on the agency; Application of the Internet in security management.

Argues that the U.S. war with Muslims are just a spillover from the war between moderates and extremists within Islam. Historical background of the clashes between the U.S. and Muslims; Views of the U.S. government on Muslims; Criticism from liberal academics and neo conservative ideologues against the clash of civilizations thesis; Geographic and cultural groups adhering to Islam; Relationship between Islam and terrorism.

Focuses on the possible successors of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein after the war in 2003. Background on the political system in the state; Consequences of the sanctions imposed by the United Nations on the state in 1990; Role of expatriates in rebuilding the state.

Explains that U.S. war planners are trying to get an insight from the book 'Sharp Corners: Urban Operations at Century's End,' by Roger Spiller on how to seize control of Baghdad, Iraq. Discussion on the challenges facing U.S. forces in Iraq; Efforts of the U.S. military commanders to avoid urban combat; Discussion on the views expressed by the author in his book.