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Washington (CNN) – Defense Secretary Robert Gates Thursday announced a 45-day review of military policies in response to the Fort Hood killings, telling reporters the November 5 massacre raised questions that "demand complete but prompt answers."

The review will examine whether Pentagon policies fall short in identifying service members who pose "credible threats to others," or in personnel screening programs and security and emergency response at U.S. bases.

Gates said the investigation won't ease the pain of the families of the 13 people killed, but said the Pentagon must do "everything in our power to prevent similar tragedies from occurring in the future."

"In all of these, I promise the Department of Defense's full and open disclosure," he said.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – The Pentagon expressed disappointment that the Senate departed for a month-long August recess without finalizing the nomination of the Secretary of the Army.

On Tuesday, the Senate Armed Services committee approved the nomination for Rep. John McHugh to become the new Army Secretary and Joseph Westphal to be his undersecretary.

The nominations were sent to the full Senate for a vote which did not come to pass because Kansas senators Sam Brownback and Pat Roberts put a "hold" on the nominations. The two Republican senators made the parliamentary move on Thursday because they want the administration to give them information about reported plans to transfer Guantanamo detainees to jails in Kansas or Michigan.

"The Senators requested either assurance that Leavanworth, Kansas was not an option or answer" to questions about the reported plans, according to a statement put out by the senators' offices.

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Sen. McCain is fighting to discontinue funding for seven new F-22 fighters.

WASHINGTON (CNN) - President Barack Obama is getting the help of his former political rival in seeking to stop a defense program his administration no longer believes is necessary, but some in Congress want to continue.

Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona, who ran against Obama in the 2008 presidential election, wants to remove funding for constructing seven more F-22 jets.

The program is included in the Senate's defense authorization bill even though Defense Secretary Robert Gates said he opposes building any more of the planes. The White House said it would veto a bill that funded more of the jets.

On Monday, McCain and Senate Armed Services committee chairman Sen. Carl Levin (D-Michigan) introduced an amendment to strip the funds from the bill. The Armed Services committee, on which McCain serves, approved the amendment.

"Neither the president nor the Pentagon asked for F-22s or the alternate engine in the budget request," McCain said Monday on the Senate floor. "Secretary Gates has consistently opposed the need for additional F-22 aircraft and has indicated on a number of occasions that additional F-22 aircraft are not required to meet potential threats posed by near-term adversaries."

McCain even tweeted about his opposition to his followers on Twitter, saying he was "fighting the good fight."

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First Lt. Dan Choi, shown at a gay protest rally in May in California, disclosed in March that he was gay.

(CNN) - A panel of New York National Guard officers has recommended that an Iraq war veteran who acknowledged his homosexuality must leave the service, his supporters said Tuesday.

First Lt. Dan Choi disclosed in March that he is gay, challenging the 1994 "don't ask, don't tell" law that requires the military to discharge troops who disclose their sexual orientation. Tuesday's ruling, made after a daylong hearing, is a step toward stripping Choi of his officer's commission and ending his career.

"It's disappointing, but not unexpected," said Sue Fulton, a spokeswoman for Knights Out, a group of gay and lesbian West Point alumni Choi helped found.

Fulton said the Guard's Federal Recognition Board heard from members of Choi's unit, his commanding officer and fellow soldiers who served in Iraq, and reviewed more than 150 letters of support for Choi, a 2003 West Point graduate and an Arab linguist.

"At the end of the day, they did not consider any of that material [to] whether he was a good soldier," she said. "It was solely about whether he said he was gay."

The closed-door hearing began Tuesday morning before the board, which certifies that Guard officers meet the standards of the regular Army. Its decision came after several hours of deliberation Tuesday afternoon.

The hearing is considered a confidential personnel matter, and the service won't comment on the results, said Lt. Col. Paul Fanning, a National Guard spokesman.

The board's recommendation must be approved by the commander of the U.S. 1st Army, which oversees the National Guard and Army Reserve. But Choi's public declaration is "a finding of fact that the board has to deal with," Fanning said.

"The Army has no choice but to follow through with that," he said.

More than 12,500 gays have been forced to leave the military since "don't ask, don't tell" went into effect - including dozens of Arabic speakers, people highly valued by the military since the invasion of Iraq.

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Defense Secretary Robert Gates Tuesday signed a memo establishing a military command aimed at cyber warfare and defense.

WASHINGTON (CNN) - Defense Secretary Robert Gates Tuesday signed a memorandum establishing for the first time a military command aimed at conducting cyber warfare, and defending the military's computer network.

The so-called Cyber Command - -also known as USCYBERCOM - is expected to be headquartered at Fort Meade, Maryland, and headed by the director of the National Security Agency, according to Pentagon officials. The new command will report to the U.S. Strategic Command, which has overall military responsibility for protecting military networks.

"We're increasingly dependent on cyberspace, and there's a growing array of cyber threats," said said Lt. Col. Eric Butterbaugh, a Department of Defense spokesman. To counter the risk, the department "requires a command possessing the required technical capability and which remains focused on streamlining cyberspace operations," he added.

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Gen. David McKiernan is being replaced as commander of NATO forces in Afghanistan.

WASHINGTON (CNN) - The commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan - Gen. David McKiernan - will be replaced by Lt. Gen. Stanley McChrystal, Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced Monday afternoon.

Lt. Gen. David Rodriguez has been tapped to serve as McChrystal's deputy.

McKiernan, who was asked to resign, will remain in his current position - which as top U.S. commander means he is the head of NATO forces in Afghanistan - until McChrystal and Rodriguez are confirmed by the U.S. Senate, Gates said.

"Today we have a new policy set by our new president," Gates said at a Pentagon news conference.

"We have a new strategy, a new mission, and a new ambassador (in Afghanistan). I believe that new military leadership also is needed."

Gates stated that "nothing went wrong" under McKiernan, but that it was his "conviction ... that a fresh approach (and) a fresh look in the context of a new strategy was in our best interest."

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Pentagon officials said the photographs are from more than 60 criminal investigations from 2001 to 2006 and show military personnel allegedly abusing detainees.

WASHINGTON (CNN) - The Pentagon will release "hundreds" of photographs showing alleged abuse of prisoners in detention in Iraq and Afghanistan between 2001 and 2006, Pentagon officials said Friday, but they maintained they did not show a systemic problem.

"I think it will be in the hundreds," said one official, who said the photos - not yet seen by the public – would be released by the end of May.

On Thursday the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) said the Pentagon had agreed to release a "substantial" number of photographs by May 28 in response to an open-records lawsuit filed by organization. Pentagon officials said the photos were taken at facilities other than Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq.

Friday, Pentagon officials said the photographs are from more than 60 criminal investigations from 2001 to 2006 and show military personnel allegedly abusing detainees.

The officials rejected ACLU allegations that photos show a systemic pattern of abuse by the military.

"These photographs provide visual proof that prisoner abuse by U.S. personnel was not aberrational but widespread, reaching far beyond the walls of Abu Ghraib," Amrit Singh, an ACLU attorney, said in a statement. "What this demonstrates is that we have always been serious about investigating credible allegations of abuse," said Pentagon spokesman, Bryan Whitman.

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U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates is pushing a 2010 Pentagon budget that reflects major changes in Defense Department priorities.

(CNN) – U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates is pushing a 2010 Pentagon budget that reflects major changes in Defense Department priorities.

One of the high-profile programs on the chopping block is the Air Force's most expensive fighter, the F-22 Raptor.

The proposed budget, unveiled Monday, cuts several traditional big-ticket items while investing in programs designed to bolster the military's ability to wage an ongoing conflict against terrorists and other extremist elements in multiple regions at the same time.

Gates acknowledged that parts of the budget are likely to run into significant opposition on Capitol Hill, where lawmakers are concerned in part about preserving valuable defense contracts for their districts and states.

"This is a reform budget, reflecting lessons learned in Iraq and Afghanistan," Gates said. "There's no question that a lot of these decisions will be controversial."

He called on Congress to "rise above parochial interests and consider what is in the best interests of the nation as a whole."

Fareed Zakaria spoke to CNN about the Pentagon plan:

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WASHINGTON (CNN) – The Defense Department will pay for families of fallen soldiers to travel to Dover Air Force Base to be present for the return of their deceased family member, Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced Wednesday.

The announcement comes as the Pentagon prepares to allow the media to record the return of fallen soldiers from overseas at Dover, if the families of the troops permit it.

The media has been prevented from doing so since 1989.

The military will use incentive programs to encourage extending service.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – The military will phase out its "stop-loss" program - the controversial practice of holding troops beyond their enlistment dates - for all but extraordinary situations, Defense Secretary Roberts Gates announced on Wednesday.

The military will use incentive programs to encourage extending service. Soldiers who have been extended already will get a monthly payment of $500, retroactive to the date Congress passed the law to pay them.

The stop-loss program was put into place to ensure that units deployed fully. Those whose enlistment dates were to end in the middle of their unit's deployment could have their tour prolonged.

Currently, the Army is the only service that uses the stop-loss program. As of January 2009, 13,217 soldiers had tours extended under the policy.

The Army also used the stop-loss policy during Operation Desert Shield, and after September 11.

Robert Gates announced the new policy Thursday.

(CNN) - The Pentagon on Thursday lifted its ban on media coverage of the coffins of war victims when they arrive at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware, according to a senior U.S. defense official with direct knowledge of the decision.

The coverage must be approved by families, however.

Sixty-seven percent of those questioned in a CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey released Thursday say they think the government should allow the public to see photos of caskets of U.S. troops at an air force base. Thirty-one percent of the those surveyed disagree with the decision to release photos of the event.

The CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey was conducted February 18-19, with 1,046 adult Americans questioned by telephone. The survey's sampling error is plus or minus 3 percentage points.

President Obama pointed out that the Bush administration submitted a separate funding request for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, effectively keeping them off the books of the main budget.

WASHINGTON (CNN) - President Barack Obama criticized "dishonest accounting" in the past when he announced his first annual budget Thursday.

Obama pointed out that the Bush administration submitted a separate funding request for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan - effectively keeping them off the books of the main budget. Obama's plan won't do that.

"This budget will transparently present the full costs of providing national security. The budget will clearly show the costs of the base defense budget and the incremental costs of ongoing military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan for 2010," the budget summary says.

Click on the jump for more info about defense funding in the budget.

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The Obama White House chose to make the announcement that it was adding 17,000 troops to Afghanistan at the end of a day dominated by coverage of President Barack Obama's signing of the multi-billion dollar stimulus package.

(CNN) - A funny thing happened as the White House tried a relatively low-key approach to announcing that it was adding 17,000 troops to Afghanistan. The military didn’t seem to be on board with the message.

The announcement by the Obama administration contrasted with how the Bush administration announced both its increase of troops in Iraq, the “surge,” and even a later addition of troops to Afghanistan last year. Both of those announcements were made in a speech from then-president George Bush.

But the new administration was stuck – it knew it needed to get troops to Afghanistan to satisfy the immediate need to stabilize things, but it also knew it was not ready to announce what its strategy for Afghanistan was. You see, the administration has a review underway for a new, comprehensive strategy that looks at both the military and diplomatic needs for the war.

So the Obama White House chose instead to make the announcement at the end of a day dominated by coverage of President Barack Obama's signing of the multi-billion dollar stimulus package. The announcement came out late afternoon via Pentagon leaks and then a four-paragraph e-mail(subject line: “Statement by the President on Afghanistan”), and outlined a 50% increase in troops to Afghanistan.

Full story at AC360 Blog

The Senate Armed Services committee has approved four nominees - including William Lynn - to serve under Secretary Gates at the Pentagon.

WASHINGTON (CNN) - The Senate Armed Services Committee on Thursday approved all four Pentagon officials nominated by the Obama administration, including a Raytheon lobbyist whose potential conflict of interest led to objections to the nomination.

The nominations still need to be voted on by the entire Senate.

Ratheon executive William Lynn was nominated to be deputy secretary of defense, the number two position under Secretary Robert Gates. Lynn was given
special waivers so that he could be appointed despite President Barack Obama's
ethics rules, which would have seemed to make him ineligible to operate in that
key position.

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Sen. Levin, who chairs the Senate Armed Services Committee, commented Friday on the nomination of William Lynn.

WASHINGTON (CNN) - Michigan Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI), who had raised questions about deputy defense secretary nominee William Lynn’s lobbying activities, stressed today that he still supported the nomination. The deputy defense secretary is the second highest position in the Pentagon, under the Secretary of Defense.

“I haven’t seen anything that would cause me not to support it,” the Democrat said Friday.

The comments from the chairman of the Senate’s Armed Services Committee come a day after Arizona Sen. John McCain sent Lynn a stern letter charging that the nominee had not given the committee the right answers about his lobbying, and how he might recuse himself in relevant situations.

Levin said that information could be sent to the committee soon, and that he was hoping to vote soon after it arrives. Lynn has been asked for information about what projects Lynn lobbied on for Raytheon, as well as the more complicated issue of what areas he may have to recuse himself from if he is confirmed.

Levin said the issues raised regarding Lynn are not new - they’ve been raised before about others – and the senator feels that there are appropriate provisions to deal with the nominee’s conflicts in the near term as he divests himself from his Raytheon stock holdings and gets his final bonus from the company.

President Obama's pick for undersecretary of defense has drawn questions about his business ties.

WASHINGTON (CNN) - The head of the Senate Armed Services committee said Thursday that he needed more information on how the nominee for deputy secretary of defense would handle conflicts of interests in his Pentagon post.

President Obama has nominated William Lynn, an undersecretary of defense during President Clinton's second term, to be deputy to Secretary Robert Gates.

Lynn was a senior vice president at Raytheon, which has billions of dollars in Defense Department contracts. It is is the maker of the Army's Patriot missile system and the Navy's Tomahawk missile and is developing a global positioning satellite communication system for the Air Force.

As deputy secretary, Lynn would be involved in the process of budgeting and acquisitions, in addition to running the day-to-day operations of the Defense Department.

Full story

President-elect Obama's campaign speeches often mentioned reducing the influence of lobbyists and special interests on the federal government.

WASHINGTON (CNN) - President-elect Barack Obama, who campaigned on lessening the influence of lobbyists in government, has chosen a defense expert who is currently a vice president and lobbyist for one of the country's biggest defense contractors to be his deputy secretary of defense.

Obama's transition office announced that William Lynn, an undersecretary of defense in President Bill Clinton's second term, is nominated to Defense Secretary Robert Gates' deputy.

Lynn is currently a senior vice president at Raytheon, which has billions of dollars in Defense Department contracts and is the maker of the Army's Patriot Missile system and the Tomahawk missile used by the Navy. The company is also developing a global positioning satellite communication system with the Air Force.

As deputy secretary, Lynn would be involved in the process of budgeting and acquisitions, in addition to running the day-to-day operations of the Defense Department.

Obama's transition office acknowledged that appointing a lobbyist did not, on the face of it, seem in line with the president-elect's ethics stance but that Lynn's qualifications and the recommendations that came from both Republicans and Democrats made him the top candidate.

"Because Mr. Lynn came so highly recommended from experts across the political spectrum, the president-elect felt it was critical that he fill this position," said Obama transition spokesman Tommy Vietor.

Vietor said Lynn and the transition team would create guidelines that would fit the ethics standards of the new administration.

"We are aware that Mr. Lynn lobbied for Raytheon and are working with Mr. Lynn to craft a role for him that is consistent with the president-elect's high standards while balancing the need to fill this critical national security position," Vietor said.

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[Editor’s Note: A photo caption published Wednesday morning with this report erroneously stated that Gen. David Petraeus and President-elect Barack Obama were unable to reach a consensus on future plans for troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. The caption was in error and does not reflect CNN’s reporting of the issue. CNN apologizes for the error.]

WASHINGTON (CNN) – Although President-elect Barack Obama will become the next commander-in-chief in just two weeks, several key military issues remain to be resolved regarding the drawdown of U.S. troops in Iraq and the buildup of U.S. forces in Afghanistan.

A closed door meeting Monday at the Pentagon with the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Gen. David Petraeus - who is in charge of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars - ended with no consensus on troop plans for either country, several top U.S. military officials told CNN.

The officials, who did not want to be identified because the meeting was private, all offered CNN similar accounts of the discussions. In addition, a review of the Afghanistan war strategy being conducted by Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman Adm. Michael Mullen is still under review and has not been approved by the Joint Chiefs. That review, according to one official, will not be finished until the Obama administration is in office.

The Monday meeting was polite, one official said, but also interesting and intense. A second official described the discussion as lively, and said it ranged further than originally anticipated.

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Obama's Pentagon transition team has left the building after finishing its policy reviews and reports.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – Members of the President-elect's transition team at the Pentagon have completed their reviews and reports and are no longer working in the building, making way for the next wave of Obama staffers to come in, according to Pentagon officials.

The initial transition team was conducting policy reviews and getting to know the inner workings of staffing and logistics as well as talking to the Secretary of Defense and other staffers that will be staying on through the transition.

"All of their reports are written and turned into the Obama transition team and they have left the building," said Bryan Whitman, a Pentagon spokesman.

Most of the group of more than 20 transition members left before Christmas, but the team kept two or three on to help prepare Obama appointees through the Congressional confirmation process as they are named.

CNN=Politics Daily is The Best Political Podcast from The Best Political Team.

(CNN) – Want to apply for a job in the Obama administration? You may think twice when you hear about the privacy-invading background search. In the latest installment of CNN=Politics Daily, what happens to that personal information when the application process ends? From credit reports, private emails, and incriminating photos, CNN’s Jason Carroll has the details.

Also: Online thieves attempt to gain access to top-secret information from the pentagon, state department, and NASA every day. One commission says that the Obama administration will face more cyber attacks than any previous administration. CNN’s Jeanne Meserve takes a closer look.

America’s infrastructure has been neglected for decades as water systems, bridges, roads, and electrical grids are currently out-of-date. Barack Obama says he can fix it, and create jobs. So how exactly will the president-elect do it? CNN’s Chris Lawrence has the story in the latest “Memo to the President.”

Plus: President-elect Obama and former Vice President Al Gore met Tuesday to discuss environmental policy and job creation, but their talk is raising speculation. CNN’s Elaine Quijano tells us why.

Finally: President Bush gets down. CNN’s Jeanne Moos takes a look at the lighter side of the presdent

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