Most Guantanamo detainees low-level fighters, task force report says

About 10 percent of the 240 detainees held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, when President Obama took office were "leaders, operatives and facilitators involved in plots against the United States," but the majority were low-level fighters, according to a previously undisclosed government report. About 5 percent of the detainees could not be categorized at all.

President Obama will skip Memorial Day visit to Arlington National Cemetery

President Obama is skipping the traditional Memorial Day visit to Arlington National Cemetery, a move that has dismayed some veterans -- and comes at a sensitive moment in the administration's relationship with the military.

Obama redefines national security strategy, looks beyond military might

In a broad redefinition of U.S. strategic priorities, President Obama has said that the United States must revitalize its economic, moral and innovative strength if it is to continue to lead the world.

President Obama's national security strategy looks beyond military might

Military superiority is not enough to maintain U.S. strength and influence in the world, and the United States must build global institutions and expand international partnerships beyond its traditional allies, according to a new national security strategy prepared by the Obama administration.

President Obama to send more National Guard troops to U.S.-Mexico border

President Obama will deploy 1,200 National Guard troops and request an extra $500 million to secure the Mexican border, his administration said Tuesday, a move dismissed by Republicans as insufficient to win their cooperation on an overhaul of the nation's immigration system.

Popular benefit of health-care law excludes military families

By the time Congress passed the national health-care overhaul, anxiety about it was so widespread that Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates issued a statement reassuring military families. The legislation, Gates said, "will not negatively impact the TRICARE medical insurance program" for members of the armed forces.

White House can be a tough fit for ex-military officers

President Obama's firing of retired Adm. Dennis C. Blair as director of national intelligence highlights a pattern of problems involving senior officials in Obama's administration who once served in the upper ranks of the military.

Too smart to lead?

Juana Bordas is president of Mestiza Leadership International, a company focused on leadership and organizational change.

Blair's resignation may reflect inherent conflicts in job of intelligence chief

As the intelligence community was rebuilt after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, two additions were seen as crucial to addressing systemic breakdowns: a new director to force often-squabbling agencies to work together, and a counterterrorism center to connect threat data dots.

James R. Clapper Jr. is the leading candidate for national intelligence position

In the summer of 2004, as Congress was debating the creation of a spymaster-in-chief, James R. Clapper Jr., then head of a major military intelligence agency, argued forcefully at a lunch with Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld that the Pentagon's four largest intelligence agencies ought to report to the new office.

U.S. officials urge measured response in attack on South Korean warship

Seoul's dramatic accusation this week that North Korea torpedoed one of its warships, killing 46 sailors, sets up what could be one of the most combustible situations in the peninsula in years -- one that could force South Korea and its top ally, the United States, to make hard decisions.

Dennis C. Blair to resign as director of national intelligence

Dennis C. Blair will resign Friday as the nation's intelligence director after a tenure marred by the recent failures of U.S. spy agencies to detect terrorist plots and by political missteps that undermined his standing with the White House.