Sanders Calls On DoD To Zero In On Contracting Fraud

Citing a recent Pentagon report that shows fraud among Defense Contractors has cost the U.S.  $1.1 trillion throughout the past decade, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) argued Thursday that the Pentagon needs to adopt stronger system for fraud prevention.

“The ugly truth is that virtually all of the major defense contractors in this country for years have been engaged in systemic fraudulent behavior, while receiving hundreds of billions of dollars of taxpayer money,” Sanders said in a statement. “It is clear that DOD’s current approach is not working.”

Obama Sends U.S. Troops To Uganda

President Obama announced Friday that he has deployed American “combat-equipped” troops to Uganda to remove Lord’s Resistance Army leader Joseph Kony from the battlefield.

In a letter to House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), the president said that the mission to take out Kony serves the national security interests of the United States. An initial team of American forces deployed on Wednesday, and Obama said that more would arrive in the next month.

According to a senior Defense official, 100 military personel, the bulk of which come from U.S. Special Operation Forces, will be sent to regional capitals to assist and advise local militaries and civilian governments. However, they are not tasked with directly combatting LRA forces.

The decision serves as a continuation of ongoing U.S. efforts to help regional governments fight the LRA. Since 2008, the U.S. has contributed $33 million in assistance to the Uganda People’s Defence Force.

Obama Salutes Troops On 10th Anniversary Of Afghan War

President Barack Obama praised American troops Friday in a statement acknowledging the 10 year anniversary of the war in Afghanistan.

“Thanks to the extraordinary service of these Americans, our citizens are safer and our nation is more secure,” the statement reads. “In delivering justice to Osama bin Laden and many other al Qaeda leaders, we are closer than ever to defeating al Qaeda and its murderous network.”

The President added that the U.S. is now “responsibly ending today’s wars from a position of strength,” pointing to the ongoing transition of security responsibilities to Afghan forces and the heavy withdrawal from Iraq.

U.S. Born Terror Leader al-Awlaki Killed

Anwar al-Awlaki, a U.S. born radical cleric residing in Yemen, has been killed.

According to CBS News, the operation against Al-Awlaki, considered a senior recruiter and spiritual figurehead for al Qaeda, was carried out via a drone and jet strike early Friday.

Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.), the Chair of the House Homeland Security Committee, issued a statement Friday applauding the operation and the White House.

“For the past several years, al-Awlaki has been more dangerous even than Osama bin Laden had been,” King said. “The killing of al-Awlaki is a tremendous tribute to President Obama and the men and women of our intelligence community.”

Couple Weds Shortly After 'Don't Ask Don't Tell' Expires

By Kenneth R. Bazinet

Gays and lesbians can finally serve openly in the U.S. military, now that the Pentagon’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy that required them to stay in the closet was wiped off the books at midnight.

One couple, Navy Lt. Gary Ross, 33, and his civilian partner, Dan Sweezy, 49, wasted no time and tied the knot in Vermont shortly after the policy expired: They were declared husband and husband.

The happy couple traveled from their home in Tucson, Ariz., to get married in Vermont, the state that led the way for the country toward the legalization of gay marriage, according to the Associated Press.

“We’re thrilled the policy is gone,” said Ross, who wore his Navy dress blue uniform at the ceremony at the log cabin bed-and-breakfast Moose Meadow Lodge in Duxbury.

Read more by Kenneth R. Bazinet at The Baz File