Inside the Ring - Bill Gertz, Pentagon News - Washington Times
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FILE - The Pentagon is seen in this aerial view in Washington, in this March 27, 2008 file photo. The Pentagon has revised its Law of War guidelines to remove wording that could permit U.S. military commanders to treat war correspondents as unprivileged belligerents if they think the journalists are sympathizing or cooperating with enemy forces. The amended manual, published on July 22, 2016, also drops wording that equated journalism with spying. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak, File)

Pentagon issues handbook on sex change in the ranks

Political correctness remains a central characteristic of the Obama administration's policies. Take the Pentagon's new anti-discrimination policy on what a newly-published handbook calls "gender dysphoria," or "the distress that some transgender individuals experience due to a mismatch between their gender and their sex assigned at birth."

A man plays "Pokemon Go" at a popular PokeStop in Hanoi, Vietnam on Saturday 13 August 2016. One week after being released in Vietnam, the game has become one of the most talked-about topics in the Southeast Asian country. (AP Photo/Hau Dinh)

Inside the Ring: Pokemon Go security worries

- The Washington Times

The hugely popular augmented reality video game Pokemon GO, where users chase virtual creatures in the real world with handheld devices, is creating new security worries around the world, according to a State Department report.

CORRECTS THE SECOND SENTENCE TO REMOVE REFERENCE TO "NUCLEAR-CAPABLE" - A U.S. B-1B bomber, right, flies over Osan Air Base with a U.S. jet in Pyeongtaek, South Korea, Tuesday, Sept. 13, 2016. The United States on Tuesday sent two supersonic bombers streaking over ally South Korea in a show of force meant to cow North Korea after its recent nuclear test, and also to settle rattled nerves in the South. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

North Korea seeks aid while building nukes

The North Korean regime of Kim Jong-un is spending hundreds of millions of dollars to develop nuclear weapons and missiles at the same time the government is begging international aid groups to provide flood relief.

The Pentagon's Office of Net Assessment (ONA) is coming under fire from critics inside the military and in Congress for failing to do its job, with some officers calling ONA the "Office of No Threat Assessments." (Associated Press)

Office of No Threat Assessment

The Pentagon's storied Office of Net Assessment (ONA) is coming under fire from critics inside the military and in Congress for failing to produce more of its signature product, namely, top-secret net assessments.

Sen. Bob Corker, Tennessee Republican, withdrew himself from consideration on Wednesday to be Donald Trump's vice presidential running mate after sharing the stage the night before with Mr. Trump at a rally in the swing state of North Carolina. (Associated Press)

Senate chairman hits Obama on test ban treaty

The chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee has warned President Obama not to circumvent the Senate's constitutional authority by seeking United Nations approval of a nuclear test ban treaty voted down 17 years ago.

U.S.-backed fighters on Thursday closed all major roads leading to the northern Syrian town of Manbij, a stronghold of the Islamic State group, and surrounded it from three sides, officials said. (Associated Press)

U.S.-backed rebels move on Syrian city of Manbij

American-backed rebels in Syria on Wednesday closed in on the northern city of Manbij, a key stronghold for Islamic State terrorists who have used it to control access to the Turkish border, around 28 miles from the city that is located about 18 miles west of the Euphrates River.

A suicide bomber struck a parking lot near the Prophet's Mosque in Medina in one of three terrorist attacks in Saudi Arabia on July 4. The blast set several cars on fire, killed four security officers and injured five others. (Associated Press)

Islamic State attack in Saudi Arabia targeted U.S.

The recent spate of suicide bombings in Saudi Arabia by the Islamic State terrorist group reveals that the al Qaeda offshoot is having difficulties operating inside the kingdom. One of the attacks appeared to target the U.S. Consulate in Jeddah. The report said the attack could signal "the first incident directly involving U.S. diplomatic missions in Saudi Arabia by ISIL."

Russian President Vladimir Putin (Associated Press/File)

Russia to release Clinton emails?

U.S. intelligence agencies are said to be closely watching Russian online blogs and other postings for any signs that Moscow hackers have covertly obtained the bulk of Hillary Clinton's email messages stolen from her private email server and are preparing to make them public.

Omar Mateen had been under an extensive FBI investigation before he killed dozens of people inside the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida, on Sunday. (Associated Press)

FBI under fire over Orlando

The FBI is facing new scrutiny after it failed to prevent the weekend terrorist attack in Orlando despite conducting a fairly extensive investigation into the shooter.

A RC-135 Rivet Joint, assigned to the 763rd Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron, flies over Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, June 19, 2011. The RC-135 Rivet Joint reconnaissance aircraft supports theater and national level consumers with near real time on-scene intelligence collection, analysis and dissemination capabilities.

Chinese jet threatened U.S. intel jet

A Chinese fighter jet conducted an unsafe intercept of a U.S. reconnaissance aircraft over the East China Sea this week in the latest showdown between China and the United States over the American military presence in the region, U.S. officials said.

Iraqi federal police covered in dust arrive to join the forces surrounding Fallujah. (Associated Press)

U.S.-backed Iraqis prepare for battle for Fallujah

Iraqi military forces, backed by U.S. air power and Sunni militias, are massing forces in preparation for a major assault on the Islamic State-held city of Fallujah, says Army Col. Steven Warren, the U.S. military spokesman in Baghdad.