Danger Room
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New Nuke Treaty: Not So Fast?
The START treaty between the United States and Russia expires in early December and theres no chance that well have a signed and ratified replacement in the next three weeks. Not to worry, say Obama officials. The two sides will work out some kind of bridge agreement in the meantime. START allows fo …
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U.S. Struggles with ‘Electronic Fratricide’ in Afghanistan
In Afghanistan, western militaries use radio frequency jammers to keep troops safe from remotely-detonated bombs. But those jammers and other gadgets have contributed to a pollution of the airwaves so severe that over 200 systems at Afghanistans main air base cant talk to one another. This problem o …
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Atomic Watchdogs: Iran May Have More Secret Nuke Sites
Does Iran have more secret nuclear sites? The UNs atomic watchdogs are worried that the mullahs just might. Iran is being so squirrely about its recently-revealed enrichment plant, the international inspectors say, that there very well could be others, scattered around the country. Courtesy of Arms …
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Bin Laden’s Spiritual Mentor Condemns Ft. Hood Attacks
The Ft. Hood shootings were so gruesome and inhuman, even Osama Bin Laden’s former spiritual mentor is condemning them calling the massacre that killed 13 irrational and empty of thought, according to a translation provided to Danger Room by the NEFA Foundation. Salman Al-Awdah, a Saudi cleric who …
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How To: Survive a Dirty Bomb Attack
On Sunday, the National Geographic Channel will air Dirty Bomb Attack, a one-hour docudrama about a hypothetical radiological attack on Portland, Maine. Among other things, the plot features first responders who venture into the hot zone; a pregnant mother and her child who must escape from contami …
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U.S. to Afghan Militias: Don’t Throw Away Your Guns
In Afghanistans Wardak Province, the U.S. military has overseen a modest experiment in giving Kalashnikovs, cash, and power to local militias to keep insurgents out of rural communities. Now the Afghan government and the U.S. military are set to try the experiment on a much larger scale. Reporting f …
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Israelis Want a Pain Ray of Their Own
The U.S. military spent tens of millions of dollars and years of work developing a microwave pain beam, but a combination of technical difficulties and political concerns kept the Pentagon from fielding the thing. Now, an Israeli team says theyre working on their own own portable version. And itll c …
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Darpa: Freeze Soldiers to Save Injured Brains
The Pentagons mad science division has a new way to deal with the 70,000+ troops diagnosed with traumatic brain injury: freeze em. Darpa, the militarys far-out research arm, is looking for research projects that would create a therapeutic hypothermia device to prevent traumatic brain injuries from c …
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Five for Fighting 11/13/09
# Qaeda big will go on trial, blocks from the World Trade Center # Feds seize NYC skyscraper from Iran front # U.S. wants Chinas help in Afghanistan # Boston cops taking Twitter tips # Michael Jackson planned robot duplicate of himself
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New Darpa Treatment: Freeze Troops with Brain Injuries
The Pentagons mad science division has a new way to deal with the 70,000+ troops diagnosed with traumatic brain injury: freeze em. Darpa, the militarys far-out research arm, is looking for research projects that would create a therapeutic hypothermia device to prevent traumatic brain injuries from c …
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Navy Pirates Wired With Online Sea-Jacking Game
In July, Wired.com and Wired magazine launched an online strategy game, to explain how Somali pirates attacked and ransomed off ships. The U.S. Navy announced Thursday that its looking for an online strategy game centered around Somali pirates. The military game that the Navy is seeking proposals fo …
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Navy Pirates Wired with Online Sea-Jacking Game
In July, Wired.com launched an online strategy game, to explain how Somali pirates attacked and ransomed off ships. Today, the U.S. Navy announced that its looking for an online strategy game centered around Somali pirates, too. The military game wont be exactly the same as Wireds Cutthroat Capitali …
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Gates to War Strategy Leakers: STFU
When Defense Secretary Bob Gates wanted to overhaul the Pentagons budget earlier this year, he took the unprecedented step on making everyone involved sign non-disclosure agreements. His staff set up an exclusive reading room for the financial documents. Only top-ranking generals—four stars—were all …
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Bomb-Fighting Dog, MIA for a Year, is Found in Afghanistan
Amid all the gloomy news from Afghanistan (and the fingers-on-chalkboard strategy debate), heres a cheerful headline: An Australian Special Forces explosives-sniffing dog has been found alive in Afghanistan more than a year after she went MIA in firefight. According to a news release from the Austr …
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Military to Obama: We Heart Our Nukes, Don’t Give ‘Em Up
President Barack Obamas vision of a nuclear-free world has won a fair amount of attention and a Nobel Prize. So how long, exactly, will it take to get to zero? According to the general in charge of the nukes, 40 years at the very minimum. Speaking Tuesday on Capitol Hill, Gen. Kevin Chilton, the he …
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Five for Fighting 11/12/09
# Obama rejects all Afghanistan troop options # Facebook update used as alibi # Robot negotiator ends Colorado siege # Taliban ringtones # Iraq vet, Navy Cross winner busted at high school reunion (High five: KA, @stevesilberman, @AfPakChannel)
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Latest Taser Could Zap Farther, Shock Longer, Hurt Kids
A new electroshock weapon being developed by Taser could zap people up to 175 feet away and keep on applying pain for as long as three minutes in a row. Which is pretty tough to take, since it only takes a second or two of shocks to make most people cry out in agony. The new 40mm projectile resembl …
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WMD ‘Finder,��� Ray Gun Pusher Wants Anti-Muslim ‘Backlash’
First, he said he found Saddams WMD bunkers. Then, he claimed that the U.S. military was zapping animals to death with real-life ray guns. Now, full-time kook and former Air Force Office of Special Investigations agent Dave Gaubatz is calling for a professional and legal backlash against the Muslim …
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Most. Realistic. War Game. Ever.
Ladies and gents, I present to you the most realistic military video game of all time: [Sharpshooters: RW, AM]
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U.S. Nonprofit Screws up Iraq Jobs Program, Now Working on Afghanistan Repeat
Earlier this year, the U.S. Agency for International Development pulled the plug on the Community Stabilization Program, a jobs and public works program for Iraq worth a whopping $644 million. The program was supposed to keep young (read: fighting-age) men away from the insurgency by putting them to …
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