According to Yochi J. Dreazen’s top front-page story “Call for an Afghan Surge” in the September 16th Wall Street Journal, if approval is forthcoming there will be “as many as 40,000 new troops, in addition to 62,000 now” in Afghanistan. Yochi reports:

WASHINGTON - A criminal investigation is underway for at least seven National Guard male soldiers who allegedly photographed and filmed female officers in the barrack’s showers at Fort Dix, NJ.

Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates today recommended Army Lt. Gen. Stanley McChrystal to replace Army Gen. David D. McKiernan as the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, citing the need for fresh leadership as the U.S. takes a new approach to the region.

The U.S. Defense Department says top military officials have briefed President-elect Barack Obama's national security team on plans to withdraw thousands of troops from Iraq next year. Mr. Obama has said he wants U.S. forces to leave Iraq within 16 months. Military officials did not say whether the Pentagon's plans match Mr. Obama's.

President-elect Barack Obama is considering asking current United States Secretary of Defense Robert Gates to stay on for at least another year, the Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday.

The Pentagon says U.S. and Iraqi negotiators have reached a draft agreement establishing the legal framework for U.S. troops to stay in Iraq after the United Nations authorization expires at the end of the year. VOA's Al Pessin reports from the Pentagon.

In appearances before Congress on Wednesday, Defense Secretary Robert Gates and a top military official are expected to underscore decreased violence in Iraq. But as VOA's Dan Robinson reports, they are likely to face strong questioning from lawmakers about ongoing war costs.

General Dynamics Upgrades the Pentagon's Video Infrastructure with Harmonic's Digital Video and Broadband Access Solutions

The Chinese government has officially denied U.S. accusations that it hacked the Pentagon's computer systems in June, a Foreign Ministry spokesman said Tuesday.

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton hit back Friday at a Pentagon aide who charged that her questions about Iraq withdrawal planning have the effect of helping the enemy - calling the accusation a spurious dodge of a serious issue.

A mechanical monster grabs the F-14 fighter jet and chews through one wing and then another, ripping off the Tomcat's appendages before moving onto its guts. Finally, all that is left is a pile of shredded rubble.

The U.S. military says all 20,000 additional combat troops President Bush ordered to Iraq in January have now arrived, with the last unit set to be fully operational in a couple of weeks.