WASHINGTON, May 9 (Reuters) – Pentagon chief Leon Panetta
warned U.S. lawmakers last month not to pick apart piece by
piece the finely balanced 2013 defense budget he sent to Capitol
Hill earlier this year.

But lawmakers in the Republican-led House of Representatives
are doing exactly that.

PENN HILLS, Pennsylvania (Reuters) – The unattended steering wheel on the 15-ton military truck jerked sharply back and forth as the vehicle’s huge tires bounced down a rain-scarred ravine through mounds of mine rubble on a rugged hillside near Pittsburgh.

Oshkosh Corp engineer Noah Zych, perched in the driver’s seat, kept his hands in his lap and away from the gyrating wheel as the vehicle reached the bottom of the slope and slammed into a puddle, coating the windshield in a blinding sheet of mud.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States and China both have advanced cyber warfare capabilities and must work to avoid miscalculations that could lead to conflict, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said on Monday as he hosted the first visit by a Chinese defense minister in nine years.

Panetta, standing alongside Defense Minister Liang Guanglie, defended the U.S. military’s shift in strategic focus to Asia, saying the aim was to help friends develop the ability to confront the mutual challenges they face, and Washington wanted the same kind of ties with Beijing.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Defense Secretary Leon Panetta urged a group of Afghanistan-bound soldiers on Friday to behave with integrity in the war zone, saying thoughtless photos and actions could provoke violence that would endanger their lives and their mission.

“These days it takes only seconds, seconds, for a picture, a photo, to suddenly become an international headline,” Panetta told members of the 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team at Fort Benning, Georgia.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Chinese Defense Minister Liang Guanglie will visit the Pentagon and several U.S. military bases next week as part of a trip U.S. defense officials hope will help to deepen security cooperation between the two countries, officials said on Wednesday.

The visit comes despite a flare-up in tensions between the two countries after a Chinese dissident escaped from house arrest and fled to the U.S. Embassy, where he remained for days while negotiating with China over the terms of his return. China accused U.S. diplomats of meddling and demanded an apology.

BRUSSELS/WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. troops are seen posing with the maimed bodies of suspected Afghan insurgents in photos published on Wednesday, an incident that threatened to further fray U.S.-Afghan ties and prompted yet another apology from Washington for soldiers’ misbehaviour.

In one of the pictures, a U.S. paratrooper posed next to an unofficial patch placed beside a body that read “Zombie Hunter,” while in another photo soldiers posed with Afghan police holding the severed legs of an insurgent bomber.

BRUSSELS/WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. troops are seen posing with the maimed bodies of suspected Afghan insurgents in photos published on Wednesday, an incident that threatened to further fray U.S.-Afghan ties and prompted yet another apology from Washington for soldiers’ misbehavior.

In one of the pictures, a U.S. paratrooper posed next to an unofficial patch placed beside a body that read “Zombie Hunter,” while in another photo soldiers posed with Afghan police holding the severed legs of an insurgent bomber.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Defense Secretary Leon Panetta proposed new action on Monday to crack down on sexual assault in the military, seeking to boost prosecution of the crime and send a signal that the Pentagon aims to confront what has become a persistent problem.

Panetta, after a meeting with lawmakers on Capitol Hill, said he would take steps to ensure that sexual assault cases are pushed higher up the chain of command for review and would try to establish special victims units in each of the military services to handle the offenses.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Secret Service said on Monday it revoked the top security clearance of 11 agents and uniformed division personnel over alleged misbehavior in Colombia, and a U.S. official said more than 10 military service members may also have been involved.

George Ogilvie, a Secret Service spokesman, said of the 11 agency personnel: “Pending investigation, their top secret clearance has been revoked.”

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Secret Service said on Monday it revoked the top security clearance of 11 agents and uniformed division personnel over alleged misbehavior in Colombia, and the Pentagon said more of its personnel may have been involved than was first reported.

George Ogilvie, a Secret Service spokesman, said of the 11 agency personnel: “Pending investigation, their top secret clearance has been revoked.”