WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The top U.S. military officer on Friday condemned Russia’s shipment of advanced anti-ship missiles to Syria, saying it could embolden President Bashar al-Assad’s forces to keep fighting a bloody civil war.

“It’s at the very least an unfortunate decision that will embolden the regime and prolong the suffering,” General Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters at the Pentagon when asked about the weapons shipment.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Russia has sent Syria advanced anti-ship missiles, U.S. officials told Reuters on Friday, bolstering Syrian defenses despite pleas from Washington and elsewhere to stop supplying President Bashar al-Assad’s forces.

One of the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the latest Yakhont surface-to-air missiles were delivered recently. The transfer of the missiles was first reported by the New York Times.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A rash of scandals discrediting the U.S. military’s efforts to stamp out sexual assault is putting unprecedented pressure on Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel to consider options that once appeared off limits to address sex crimes in the armed forces.

On Tuesday, the military disclosed that another one of its advocates for victims of sexual assault was himself being accused of sex crimes, including allegations linking him to prostitution.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Pentagon told its civilian workforce on Tuesday that it will put most of them on unpaid leave for one day a week starting in July, a deeply unpopular move that Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel blamed on sweeping budget cuts imposed by Congress.

The U.S. defense budget has taken the single biggest hit from automatic spending cuts, known in Washington as the “sequester,” and Hagel said he had tried to spare civilians the financial hardship ahead by first cutting elsewhere.

WASHINGTON, May 14 (Reuters) – U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck
Hagel will announce on Tuesday that most of the Defense
Department’s 800,000 civilian employees will be placed on unpaid
leave for 11 days, as the military scrambles to comply with
budget cutting targets by the end of September.

Hagel will announce the decision at a town hall meeting with
Defense Department employees scheduled for 2:30 p.m. EDT (1630
GMT), U.S. defense officials told Reuters, speaking on condition
of anonymity.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Israeli missiles breached Syria’s vaunted air defense system over the weekend, but that offered little comfort to U.S. military planners weighing the risks of any intervention against President Bashar al-Assad’s forces.

With some of the possible U.S. military options in Syria involving a need for air power, the Pentagon remains concerned about Assad’s ability to shoot down enemy aircraft with surface-to-air missiles, particularly in a sustained campaign.

WASHINGTON, May 6 (Reuters) – China is using espionage to
acquire technology to fuel its military modernization, the
Pentagon said on Monday, for the first time accusing the Chinese
of trying to break into U.S. defense computer networks and
prompting a firm denial from Beijing.

In its 83-page annual report to Congress on Chinese military
developments, the Pentagon also cited progress in Beijing’s
effort to develop advanced-technology stealth aircraft and build
an aircraft carrier fleet to project power further offshore.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – North Korea has taken two Musudan missiles off launch-ready status and moved them from their position on the country’s east coast, U.S. officials told Reuters on Monday, after weeks of concern that Pyongyang had been poised for a test-launch.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry warned North Korea last month that it would be a “huge mistake” to launch the medium-range missiles, but the prospects of a test had put Seoul, Washington and Toyko on edge.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – China is using state-sponsored industrial and economic espionage to acquire technology fueling its fast-paced military modernization program and cut its reliance on foreign arms makers, the Pentagon said on Monday.

In its 83-page annual report to Congress on Chinese military developments, the U.S. Defense Department also highlighted Beijing’s efforts to develop advanced-technology stealth aircraft and to build an aircraft carrier fleet to project power further offshore.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States is rethinking its opposition to arming the Syrian rebels, President Barack Obama’s defense chief said on Thursday, even as Obama himself signaled that no decision to deepen U.S. involvement in the conflict was imminent.

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel cautioned that giving weapons to the forces fighting President Bashar al-Assad was only one option being considered by the United States. It carries the risk of arms finding their way into the hands of anti-American extremists among the insurgents, such as the Nusra Front.