Government and private Web sites were recently hit in a cyberattack

Suvro Banerji
AC360° Intern

The United States government faces an increasingly formidable threat: a cyber attack.

The term ‘cyber attack’ is used to define the use of computers and the internet to conduct “warfare,” or attacks, in cyberspace. Cyber-attacks use the global computer network to cross international boundaries with ease. Critical infrastructures such as gas, water and propane lines, power grids and chemical manufacturing systems can be easily accessed from a remote location via cyber space. An enemy could potentially infiltrate these systems and manipulate them without even getting caught. In some cases, they may even cause physical damage.

In the past few weeks, The White House, the Pentagon and State Department joined a roster of large corporations such as the New York Stock Exchange and Yahoo Finance that have been threatened with cyber-attacks since the 4th of July. The Department of Treasury and Federal Trade Commission websites were shut down because of these attacks. The Pentagon and the White House, however, faced little disruption.

Keep reading

A U.S. soldier on patrol in Khost province in February 2009.

Barbara Starr
CNN Pentagon Correspondent

The Pentagon is considering a significant overhaul in how it deploys critical military units to Afghanistan to fight the insurgency, a U.S. military source tells CNN. The change is based on the experience in Iraq of special operations units commanded by Lt. General Stanley McChrystal. McChrystal is slated to become the next top commander in Afghanistan if he is confirmed by the Senate.

The plan is evolving as Defense Secretary Robert Gates is expressing growing concern that American public support for the war in Afghanistan will begin declining unless the Obama Administration can demonstrate progress in improving the security situation by the end of this year according to his top spokesman.

Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell tells CNN that Gates believes “its critically important” for both the US and Afghan governments to make progress in the coming months although “that doesn’t mean you have to have decisive gains,” Morrell said.

Secretary Gates believes the Taliban has momentum in southern Afghanistan at this time, Morrell said. But with more than 20,000 additional US troops on the way to the warzone, people want to see “tangible” progress, Morrell said.

Keep reading

Program Note: Tune in tonight to hear more about the situation in Afghanistan on AC360° at 10 p.m. ET.

Lt. Gen. Stanley McChrystal will be taking command of NATO forces in Afghanistan.

CNN

The United States replaced the top allied commander in Afghanistan on Monday, deciding "fresh eyes" are needed to reverse the course of the seven-year-old war there, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said.

Gen. David McKiernan, who has held the post for less than a year, will be replaced by Lt. Gen. Stanley McChrystal, a former special operations chief, Gates announced. He told reporters there was "nothing specific" behind McKiernan's removal, but that "new leadership and fresh eyes" were needed in a war that Washington admits it is not winning.

"We have a new strategy, a new mission and a new ambassador. I believe that new military leadership also is needed," Gates said.

McKiernan will remain in place until the Senate confirms the appointments of McChrystal and his designated deputy, Lt. Gen. David Rodriguez. Both have previous experience in Afghanistan and more history with counterinsurgency operations than McKiernan.

Keep Reading...

Mike Mount
CNN Senior Pentagon Producer

Thousands of confidential files on the U.S. military's most technologically advanced fighter aircraft have been compromised by unknown computer hackers over the past two years, according to senior defense officials.

The Internet intruders were able to gain access to data related to the design and electronics systems of the aircraft through computers of Pentagon contractors in charge of designing and building the aircraft, according to the officials, who did not want to be identified because of the sensitivity of the issue.

In addition to the intrusion into files of the Joint Strike Fighter, hackers also gained entry into the Air Force's air traffic control systems, according to the officials.

Once broken into, the internet hackers were able to see such information as locations of U.S. military aircraft in flight.

The Joint Striker Fighter plane is the military's new F-35 "Lightning II," also known as the Joint Strike Fighter, it will be the future aircraft used by all of the branches of service.

Keep reading

The body of Staff Sergeant Phillip Myers, who was killed in Afghanistan, is returned to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware. This was the first time the return of the body of a fallen member of the U.S. armed forces was opened to news outlets since media coverage was banned in 1991.

The latest satellite image shows a rocket sitting on its launch pad in the north east of the country.

Mike Mount
CNN Senior Pentagon Producer

Talk at the Pentagon about the expected missile launch by North Korea early next month is not what you might expect.

Most, if not all, officials we have spoken to are underwhelmed at the prospect that Pyongyang could fire a ballistic missile.

“Look there’s not much we can do, if they want to launch it, they’re going to launch it,” said one senior Pentagon official, echoing the thoughts of many in the building.

Don't get me wrong, there is definitely a worry about where the missile will go and what it will do, the real worry is what the missile launch means for the future of North Korea's missile program.

Pyongyang has said they will launch a communications satellite sometime in the first week of April. But the test is widely thought to be a cover for testing a ballistic missile the North Koreans would be able to use if it ever wanted to launch a nuclear weapon. Both actions are banned by a United Nations Security Council resolution.

Keep reading

CNN's Abbie Boudreau reports on the shoddy electrical work performed by the Halliburton subsidiary, KBR, in Afghanistan. The faulty wiring has lead or contributed to the deaths of as many as 18 US military personnel. The Pentagon has ruled one death as a possible negligent homicide, but still KBR remains on the job, and now is wiring bases in Afghanistan with faulty electrical systems.

Ralph J. Begleiter
Special to CNN

The reversal of two decades of policy on images of returning war casualties is an important and welcome milestone for the American people.

The Pentagon's decision announced Thursday allowing media coverage of coffins of war victims returning to Dover Air Force Base - if families agree - restores to its rightful, honorable place the immense value of the sacrifice American troops make on behalf of their nation. It allows the American people to honor the dignified and respectful return of war casualties to home soil for the last time.

Although no one should have a veto over the nation's ability to pay respects to its fallen troops, I believe most families will decide that their sons and daughters deserve to be recognized publicly for their sacrifice.

Read more...

CNN The Pentagon will lift its ban on media coverage of the flag-draped coffins of war victims arriving at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Thursday. Military vehicles carry coffins containing U.S. troops in this photo the Pentagon released in 2005. 1 of 2 But the families of the victims will have the final say on whether to allow the coverage, he said. President Obama asked Gates to review the policy, and Gates said he decided after consulting with the armed services and groups representing military families to apply the same policy that is used at Arlington National Cemetery. "I have decided that the decision regarding media coverage of the dignified transfer process at Dover should be made by those most directly affected - the families," he said at a news conference. Watch Gates announce reversal » Not long after Gates' announcement, the political action committee VoteVets.org issued a written statement saying it is "fully supportive" of the decision. Advocates of opening the base to coverage point out that the unmarked coffins make it impossible to identify specific remains. Not everyone had a positive reaction. "Military Families United is disappointed in the president's decision to overturn the ban that has been in place for over 18 years," the group said in a release.   Read More...

Adam Levine
CNN Supervising Producer

If ever a phrase has given "earmark" a run for most scorned fiscal term in Washington, "war supplemental" could well be that contender.

President Barack Obama has made a big deal of saying that he wants to stop what had been a contentious Bush administration habit of using the war supplemental, requests for funding that occur outside of the regular budget process, to get the billions of dollars needed for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"No longer will we hide its price," Obama declared Tuesday in his speech to the joint session of Congress. War supplemental, you've been warned.

His spokesman Robert Gibbs called it "Enron accounting." BAM. POW. Take that war supplemental.

Keep reading