In its first formal report on the situation in Afghanistan, the U.S. Defense Department says the Taliban is a resilient insurgency and is expected to expand its challenges to the Afghan government. VOA's Al Pessin reports from the Pentagon. The repo...
By Al Pessin Pentagon 17 June 2008 The Pentagon says reports that Taliban forces have taken over several villages in southern Afghanistan are false, and that any Taliban offensive in the area will be defeated. VOA's Al Pessin reports from the Pentag...
By Cindy Saine Washington 02 April 2008 The top U.S. military commander says the Pentagon will continue to withdraw five combat brigades from Iraq through July as planned, despite recent violence in Baghdad and Basra. But on Capitol Hill, three retir...
By Al Pessin Pentagon 21 March 2008 The Pentagon says U.S. support for efforts by Georgia and Ukraine to join NATO does not necessarily mean the countries will join the alliance anytime soon. But a spokesman says Defense Secretary Robert Gates agrees...
By Al Pessin Pentagon 13 March 2008 The U.S. Defense Department has released a study of 600,000 documents from Saddam Hussein's archives concluding that while he supported many terrorist groups he did not have a direct connection with al-Qaida. But t...
By Al Pessin Pentagon 11 March 2008 A photo exhibit was dedicated at the Pentagon last week, portraits of nine American World War I veterans, all of them more than 100 years old. VOA's Al Pessin reports from the Pentagon. The large, vivid photos are...
By Dan Robinson Washington 06 February 2008 Secretary of Defense Robert Gates says a future Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) negotiated with the Iraqi government will not include a formal arrangement requiring the United States to defend Iraq. VOA's...
By Al Pessin Washington 11 January 2008 The top U.S. military officer says he would like to be able to send 3,000 Marines to Afghanistan, as regional commanders have requested. But he says senior leaders are concerned about the impact the deployment...
By Al Pessin Pentagon 10 January 2008 U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates says he will decide pretty quickly on a request from military commanders for 3,000 additional U.S. troops to help fight the Taliban and train Afghan forces. VOA's Al Pessin rep...
By Al Pessin Pentagon 03 January 2008 The U.S. Defense Department says it is too soon to begin the next assessment of the troop surge and the new counterinsurgency strategy implemented in Iraq last year, and that the violence of the last two days doe...