


CNN's Barbara Starr reports on the mistake in classification that led to North Korea intelligence being revealed. General James "Spider" Marks explains what the report means about North Korea's military and nuclear weapons capabilities.
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Post by: Anderson Cooper Filed under: Barbara Starr • North Korea • Nuclear Weapons |
According to an NBC report, the Syrian military is loading chemical weapons inside bombs, awaiting final orders from President Bashar al-Assad to use them against its own people.
CNN has not confirmed this report.
FULL POST
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Post by: Anderson Cooper Filed under: Barbara Starr • Fran Townsend • Robert Baer • Syria |
A source tells CNN's Barbara Starr that David Petraeus will acknowledge he knew "almost immediately" about the terrorist group linked to the attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya.
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Post by: Anderson Cooper Filed under: Barbara Starr • Benghazi • David Petraeus • Raw Politics |
New U.S. intelligence suggests the Assad regime keeps a firm grip on Syria with military and material support from Iran. Anderson is joined by Pentagon Correspondent, Barbara Starr, who broke the story. Also, former CIA Officer and Time.com intelligence columnist, Robert Baer. And Fouad Ajami, Senior Fellow at Stanford University's Hoover Institution.
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Filed under: Anderson Cooper • Barbara Starr • Fouad Ajami • Robert Baer • Syria |
Barbara Starr
CNN Pentagon Correspondent
Washington (CNN) - Navy Capt. Owen Honors, who produced profanity- and slur-laden videos while second in command of the USS Enterprise, has been relieved of his command of the ship, a senior defense official told CNN Tuesday.
Excerpts from the videos and descriptions of their content were first published Saturday by The Virginian-Pilot newspaper in Norfolk, Virginia.
The videos on the paper's website, reviewed by CNN, feature a man identified by two Navy officials and The Virginian-Pilot as Honors, who at the time was the executive officer, or second in command, of the aircraft carrier. He recently took command of the carrier, winning one of the most coveted assignments in the U.S. Navy, which has only 11 aircraft carriers.
Navy spokesman Cmdr. Chris Sims said the videos, which were shown to the crew of the Enterprise while on deployment supporting the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan in 2006 and 2007, are "inappropriate."
Honors is shown cursing along with other members of his staff in an attempt to demonstrate humor, according to the videos.
There are also anti-gay slurs, simulated sex acts, and what appear to be two female sailors in a shower together.
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Filed under: 360° Radar • 360º Follow • Barbara Starr |
Barbara Starr
CNN Pentagon Correspondent
Washington (CNN) - The Navy has opened an investigation into how a series of raunchy videos, full of sexual innuendo and anti-gay remarks, were produced and shown to the crew of the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise while on deployment supporting the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Navy spokesman Cmdr. Chris Sims said the videos, which were shown to the crew in 2006 and 2007, are "inappropriate."
Excerpts from the videos and descriptions of their content were first published Saturday by The Virginian-Pilot newspaper in Norfolk, Virginia.
The videos on the paper's website, reviewed by CNN, feature a man identified by two Navy officials and The Virginian-Pilot as Capt. Owen Honors, who at the time was the executive officer, or second-in-command, of the Enterprise. He recently took command of the carrier, winning one of the most coveted assignments in the U.S. Navy, which has only 11 aircraft carriers.
Navy investigating lewd videos
Honors is shown cursing along with other members of his staff in an attempt to demonstrate humor, according to videos. There are also anti-gay slurs, simulated sex acts, and what appear to be two female sailors in a shower together.
The investigation was ordered Friday by Adm. John Harvey, the four-star head of the Navy's Fleet Forces Command, after the videos were detailed in The Virginian-Pilot. The paper also posted a link to some of the material, but edited it so that expletives were censored and some identities of junior Navy crew were disguised.
CNN left a message for Honors on Saturday. The Virginian-Pilot said he did not respond to requests for comment.
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Filed under: 360° Radar • Barbara Starr |
Barbara Starr
CNN Pentagon Correspondent
(CNN) - Despite President Barack Obama's signing of a law repealing the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy, Defense Secretary Robert Gates sent a memo to troops warning them that it remains in effect until 60 days after the government certifies that the military is ready for implementation.
The Pentagon says it does not know how long the certification process may take.
In the meantime, Gates is essentially telling gays and lesbians serving in the military not to come out until 60 days after that determination is made.
"In order to prevent any confusion, I want to be perfectly clear: at this time, there are no new changes to any existing Department or Service policies," said the the memo, released Thursday.
"Service members who alter their personal conduct during this period may face adverse consequences," Gates wrote.
Before the ban is completely lifted, the president, the secretary of defense and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff will have to certify that the repeal can move ahead without negatively affecting unit cohesion and military readiness.
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Filed under: 360° Radar • 360º Follow • Barbara Starr • Gay & Lesbian Issues |
Barbara Starr
CNN
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Filed under: Afghanistan • Barbara Starr |
Barbara Starr | BIO
CNN
Defense Secretary Robert Gates will unveil the Pentagon's plan to prepare for repealing the controversial "don't ask, don't tell" law regarding gay soldiers at a committee hearing Tuesday, a Pentagon spokesman said.
"The Defense Department leadership is actively working on an implementation plan and the secretary will have more to say about this next week," Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell said on Thursday.
President Obama said in his first State of the Union address Wednesday night that he would work with Congress and the Pentagon this year to repeal the law that prohibits military members from acknowledging openly that they are gay.
According to the Senate Web site, the Senate Armed Services Committee has scheduled an hour to discuss the issue at Tuesday's hearing on the fiscal year 2011 defense budget, which Gates will attend.
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Filed under: 360° Radar • Barbara Starr |
Barbara Starr
CNN Pentagon Correspondent
"Solid intelligence" from U.S. and Yemen services finally persuaded Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh last summer to accept increased help in fighting al Qaeda in his country, a senior U.S. official told CNN.
After years of pressure from the United States to crack down on al Qaeda in Yemen, Saleh was persuaded to accept help after he was presented with intelligence that al Qaeda "was targeting inner-circle Yemeni leaders," and that there was a growing number of terrorist training camps in Yemen, the official said.
The official, who declined to be named due to the sensitivity of the situation in the wake of the attempted attack on Northwest Airlines Flight 253, detailed to CNN growing U.S. involvement in fighting al Qaeda in Yemen.
A Nigerian man is accused of trying to blow up the Northwest flight carrying 300 passengers from the Netherlands to Michigan on Christmas Day. A federal security bulletin obtained by CNN said suspect Umar Farouk AbdulMutallab claimed the explosive device used Friday "was acquired in Yemen along with instructions as to when it should be used."
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Filed under: al Qaeda • Barbara Starr • Terrorism |
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