By Pam Benson and Carol Cratty
It may be one of the most confusing set of investigations going on. It's not just about one leak, it's at least three, all part of exclusive news reports happening within a two-week period.
We know the FBI is investigating two of the unauthorized disclosures, one involving the report about a mole who helped thwart a Yemen bomb plot targeting the U.S. and the other about how the United States and Israel were behind Stuxnet, the mysterious computer virus that caused Iranian nuclear centrifuges to spin out of control.
It is unclear whether there is an investigation of yet another story concerning the Obama administration's expansion of the drone program and how it determines which suspected terrorists will be targeted for a missile strike.
By Rich Phillips reporting from Jacksonville, FL
It's not your run-of-the-mill repair shop. The people working here are readying the Marine Corps for unknown conflicts.
At Blount Island Command in Jacksonville, Florida, bullet-riddled and wartorn equipment and trucks from Iraq and Afghanistan are being cleaned, repaired and retrofitted for the next time the phone rings.
"The goal is to never use the stuff," said Lt. Col. Rick Steele, the base commanding officer. "It's the best we have. The perfect case is to bring it back here, recycle it and never use it." FULL POST
By Jennifer Rizzo
The Defense Department has a grand vision for the U.S. military's energy future, including "green"-powered fleets, jets and trucks. But members of Congress are hung up on the dollar signs that come with going green.
Language in the House and Senate versions of the defense budget largely bans the use of alternative energy like biofuels, prohibiting the military from purchasing any alternative fuel that costs more than traditional fossil fuels like oil. The catch: Biofuels are always more expensive than oil, about four times more.
"To have the military, whose sole job is to defend this country, spending extra money simply on flying their airplanes with fuel that's available at a cheaper price, again on these restraints and the resource restraints that we find ourselves in, makes no sense to me," said Rep. Mike Conaway, R-Texas, who introduced the amendment.
The Defense Department says it needs to invest in diversifying the sources of energy that fuel almost every piece of military equipment. The biofuels are considered a "drop-in fuel," meaning no changes to equipment engines are necessary.
Sen. Mark Udall (D-CO) and Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA) write in CNN's Opinion page why they oppose indefinite military detention. Udall, who serves on the Senate's intelligence committee, and Smith, who is the ranking Democrat on the House Armed Services committee, are vocal opponents of the authority that was included in the defense authorization bill.
As Udall and Smith note, their opponents continue to strongly resist proposals to have civilian law enforcement take the lead in these terror cases:
Some, however, have argued that this approach to national security - one that involves law enforcement and not solely the military - is tantamount to ceding ground to al Qaeda. This argument, designed to paint members of Congress as "soft on terror," is wrong.
Udall and Smith argue that as far as terrorists are concerned, what happens to them once they are caught is not really an issue:
The question of civilian versus military authority is irrelevant to our enemies. It is, however, incredibly important to protecting Americans' constitutional rights and freedoms while still allowing us to effectively fight terrorism.
The United States is offering millions of dollars for the whereabouts of seven key members of the al Qaeda-linked al-Shabaab, a Somalia-based terror group behind bombings and attacks in the region.
The announcement posted on the website of the U.S. State Department's Rewards for Justice program offers $7 million for information on the location of Ahmed Abdi Aw-Mohamed, the founder of al-Shabaab.
In announcing the bounties on Mohamed and his key associates Thursday, the State Department called al-Shabaab "a threat to the stability of East Africa and to the national security interests of the United States."
Editor's note: Watch Barbara Starr's report on Sanjay Gupta MD (Saturday at 430pET/Sunday at 730aET).
By Ashley Fantz, with reporting from Barbara Starr and Larry Shaughnessy
If it were a movie, the moment would play slowly.
The big, boyish eyes of 23-year-old Marine Cpl. Winder Perez would widen. His lips would part. The sound of chaos around him would be muted as he watched a rocket-propelled grenade zooming toward him.
Then, snapped back to real time, Perez would look down and think: "Oh, crap! I have an RPG in my leg!"
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