First Read : Jim Miklaszewski

Army suicides rise

firstread — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 18:36:00 GMT

From NBC's Jim Miklaszewski and Courtney Kube
Despite the fact that the Pentagon just announced last Friday that 133 active duty soldiers have committed suicide so far in 2009, today the Army admitted that there have actually been 211 possible soldier suicides so far this year.

Why the discrepancy? Last week's announcement did not factor in soldiers who were not on active duty at the time of their death -- that is, National Guard and Reserve soldiers.

As of November 16, 140 active duty U.S. soldiers are either confirmed or suspected to have committed suicide so far this year ... AND another 71 Army National Guard and Army Reserve soldiers who were NOT deployed at the time of death are also possible or confirmed suicide victims.

Of course, with so many Guard and Reserve soldiers serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, a soldier could be back from the war zone for only a matter of weeks before being inactivated -- but last week's announcement did not factor them in.
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Italian Job: Italy convicts 22 CIA agents

Domenico Montanaro — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 18:12:00 GMT

From NBC’s Pete Williams
In the world's first criminal trial of CIA officials over the practice known as "rendition," an Italian judge today found nearly two-dozen American citizens guilty of kidnapping. The U.S. has used renditions to take suspected terrorists from one foreign country to another for questioning or to the U.S. None of the U.S. defendants were ever in the courtroom: they were tried in absentia.

The case involved a radical Egyptian cleric, Abu Omar, who was picked up on a street in Milan in February 2003 and taken to Egypt. When he was released four years later, he claimed he was brutally tortured by the Egyptian intelligence service. Italian authorities then prosecuted the Americans and members of Italy's military intelligence service.

Today, the judge sentenced 22 of the Americans to five years in prison. The other, a former CIA station chief in Milan, was sentenced to eight years. Three other Americans were originally charged, but the judge ruled today that they had diplomatic immunity. Because they were not in Italy during the trial, they remain free.

The trial has been a sore point in relations between the U.S. and Italy. Despite calls from international human rights groups, the Italians have not sought the extradition of the Americans. Prosecutors there say they will try again, but that will be up to Italy's justice ministry.

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Gates open to more troops in Afghan.

Domenico Montanaro — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 19:15:00 GMT

From NBC's Jim MiklaszewskiIn today's Pentagon briefing, Defense Secretary Robert Gates indicated he's prepared to drop his reluctance for a big U.S. military "footprint" in Afghanistan and may be willing to sign onto a large increase in U.S. troops. Gates indicated that Gen. McChrystal's new strategy which puts a larger emphasis on "protecting the Afghan people" may be a game changer. "It's not the size of the footprint, but the nature of the footprint" that matters, Gates said,...(read more)

WH to delay release of abuse photos

Domenico Montanaro — Wed, 13 May 2009 16:51:00 GMT

From NBC's Jim Miklaszewski

Defense and military officials tell NBC News that White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs will announce that President Obama will seek to delay the release of hundreds of photos which reportedly depict the abuse of prisoners by U.S. military in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Gen. Ray Odierno, the top U.S. military commander in Iraq met with President Obama at the White House yesterday to ask the administration not to release the photos. Defense officials say Odierno is "vehemently opposed" to the release, because he fears it could create a widespread "backlash" against military forces in both war zones. According to one official, "It would put a bull's eye on the backs of our forces."

According to military officials, many of the photos are similar to the infamous prisoner abuse photos out of Abu Ghraib prison, but many of these photos reportedly include mug shots of prisoners who appear to have been badly beaten during their capture or interrogation.

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North Korea fueling missile

Domenico Montanaro — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 16:13:00 GMT

From NBC’s Jim Miklaszewski With President Obama abroad for the G-20 summit, U.S. officials tell NBC News the North Koreans today have begun fueling a Taepodong-2 missile. The North Korean government says the missile is intended for satellite launch into space. The officials say now that the fueling process has begun, the missile could be launched as early as tomorrow. While precise timing is impossible, the last test launch of a Taepodong-2 came at 3:30am, Korean time, 2:30...(read more)

Pentagon mum on Pelosi flights

Domenico Montanaro — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 18:23:00 GMT

From NBC’s Jim Miklaszewski

Pentagon officials are carefully deflecting questions today about House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's flying habits on military aircraft.

The conservative watchdog group Judicial Watch has posted a series of e-mails from Pelosi staff members with stern complaints whenever the speaker does not get the specific G-5 plane she prefers.

"This is totally unacceptable. The Speaker will want to know where the planes are," said one email.

In another, a staffer wrote, "This is not good news and we will have some very disappointed folks as well as a very upset Speaker."

Another email complained of Pelosi canceling trips at the last minute, which rack up excessive time and money in plane and food preparations.

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Tensions with China?

Domenico Montanaro — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 15:30:00 GMT

From NBC’s Jim Miklaszewski and Courtney Kube
A senior defense official confirms that five Chinese ships "aggressively maneuvered" and shadowed a U.S. Navy surveillance ship yesterday.

The Chinese vessels moved into "dangerous proximity" to the USNS Impeccable, "in an apparent coordinated effort to harass the U.S. ocean surveillance ship," which was operating on a routine mission in international waters, the senior defense official says.

A written statement from the U.S. Defense Department says the Chinese vessels surrounded the USNS Impeccable, and that two of them closed in to within 50 feet and began waving Chinese flags and telling the U.S. ship to leave the area.

Video: Chinese ships allegedly harassed a U.S. Navy ship in international waters.

Unaware of the Chinese ships' intentions, the USNS Impeccable sprayed its fire hoses at one of the vessels to defend itself. Chinese crewmembers "disrobed" to their underwear, and continued to move closer, coming within 25 feet of the USNS Impeccable, officials said.

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Afghan violence spikes

Domenico Montanaro — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 16:44:00 GMT

From NBC’s Jim Miklaszewski and Courtney Kube
The Pentagon's semi-annual report on Afghanistan, which shows a sharp increase violence in Afghanistan, will be released at 1 p.m. ET today.

The report primarily covers events through Aug. 28th of 2008, but will include some update numbers through the end of the year.

Video: A suicide bomber dressed as an officer kills 21 people at a police training facility in southern Afghanistan on Monday.

Below is the most recent report from military commanders in Afghanistan obtained by NBC News nearly two weeks ago, which may be more complete than today's formal Pentagon report.

A startling new report from U.S. and NATO forces obtained by NBC NEWS shows that overall violence in Afghanistan has not only skyrocketed but the enemy attacks have become more deadly.

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Obama GITMO order rebuffed

Mark Murray — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 17:40:00 GMT

From NBC's Jim Miklaszewski U.S. military officials confirm that a military judge at Guantanamo Bay has refused the Obama administration's request to suspend the military commission proceedings for one of the detainees for 120 days.The judge is presiding over the case of Abd Al Rahim al-Nashiri, a Saudi accused in the October 2000 bombing of the U.S.S. Cole that killed 17 American sailors. The officials could not immediately comment on why the judge refused to suspend the proceedings....(read more)

Suicides in U.S. military on rise

Domenico Montanaro — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 20:37:00 GMT

From Jim Miklaszewski and Courtney Kube
Suicides among soldiers in the U.S. Army rose to an alarming number in 2008, NBC News learned today.

While the Army continues to investigate at least 17 deaths as possible suicide, they have already confirmed that at least 125 soldiers took their lives last year.

That is up from 115 in 2007; 102 in 2006; and 87 in 2005.

Video: The Army says it's working hard to change the military stigma attached to suicide so soldiers can get more help.

A senior defense official tells NBC that the Army will release the final numbers at a roundtable tomorrow, and that they will include all possible suicides in their figure. That means they will report upwards of 145 total suicides last year.

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