Military Leaders

Leaders of Egypt's transitional military government, at times faced with angry shouting and interruptions during a meeting with activists Wednesday night, declined to address controversial issues such as the "virginity tests" female protesters say they were subjected to by security forces, participants said. The crowd of about 1,200 people at a theater in the Cairo suburb of Heliopolis pressed the four generals on issues including the alleged virginity tests, the number of people killed during this year's popular uprising and whether former President Hosni Mubarak would be tried.

Very few Argentines were on hand for the proceedings, for the white smoke followed by the traditional proclamation, Habemus papam - "We have a pope. " But on the other side of the world, the people of Buenos Aires erupted with jubilation when they learned that the new pontiff, Pope Francis, was Argentine. The celebration was more about national pride than religious pride, however. At the moment that Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio has become the face of Catholicism in the Southern Hemisphere and the world, his own country is becoming far less religious.

Ecuador's top military commanders have offered to resign, four months after the high command refused to put down an abortive rebellion that toppled the president, officials said. Gen. Telmo Sandoval, head of the joint chiefs of staff, Vice Adm. Enrique Monteverde, head of the navy, and air force Gen. Ricardo Irgoyen presented their resignations Monday. The military-backed uprising Jan. 21 led to the ouster of President Jamil Mahuad, who was succeeded by Gustavo Noboa.

JERUSALEM -- Retaliating for a recent barrage of rockets fired by Gaza Strip fighters, Israel on Wednesday killed a senior Hamas military commander as he traveled by car through Gaza City, the militant group said. Ahmed Jabari, the 52-year-old head of the Hamas military wing, and three other people in the vehicle were killed in the airstrike. Shortly after, Israeli forces also struck other targets in the seaside enclave. The attack marked the launch of a new Israeli military assault, dubbed Operation Pillar of Defense, aimed at “defending the people of Israel who have been under rocket attack and crippling terrorist organizations' capabilities,” said Israel Defense Forces spokesman Lt. Col. Avital Leibovitz.

Preparations for the repeal of the "don't ask, don't tell" policy that prohibits gays from serving openly in the military are going better than expected, military leaders told Congress on Thursday. Top officials from the Army, Navy, Marines and Air Force testified before the House Armed Services Committee, and several said that training would be complete as early as June. "I'm looking specifically for issues that might arise coming out of the training, and the reality is that we've not seen them," said Gen. James Amos, commandant of the Marine Corps.

Western military leaders meeting in Stuttgart, Germany, agreed on scenarios to help refugees in Zaire. But they did not specify how many troops might be needed under any of the options, which must now go to political leaders for consideration. They also did not say where a mission could be based or what soldiers' rules of engagement might be. Lt. Gen.

Bela Kiraly, one of the military leaders of Hungary's short-lived anti-Soviet revolution in 1956, has died, the government said. He was 97. A brief Defense Ministry statement provided no other details. The daily newspaper Magyar Nemzet reported that Kiraly died Saturday morning in Budapest. Kiraly served in the Hungarian army during World War II and later led its military academy.

A hoarse but upbeat Bill Clinton, fresh from what he clearly regards as a debate victory, unveiled Monday a new slate of endorsements by top former military leaders even as he eyed independent candidate Ross Perot with increasing wariness. Among the military men and women who endorsed the Democratic presidential nominee were a former head of the National Security Agency, an ex-Army chief of staff and two generals who played leading roles during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm.

Only five shaky days old, the fledgling Clinton Administration is about to face head-on what well may become one of its most bitter and divisive issues. On Monday morning, six officials of the Joint Chiefs of Staff--the nation's most senior military officers--will march into the White House with a single mission in mind: to dissuade President Clinton from proceeding with a plan to lift the longstanding ban on homosexuals in the military.

The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said Friday that no decision had been made to stop the withdrawal of troops in Iraq this summer, a subtle rebuke of the top U.S. commander there, who suggested that reductions would pause after the current round of cuts was completed in July. The comments underscore the divergent views among top Defense Department officials over the long-term troop commitment to Iraq.

TAMPA, Fla. - When Jill Kelley believed a reporter was trespassing at her white-columned mansion in a wealthy neighborhood this week, the Tampa socialite called 911 and claimed diplomatic immunity. "I'm an honorary consul general, so I have inviolability," an exasperated Kelley told the dispatcher in recordings released by police. "I don't know if you want to get diplomatic protection involved as well. " Kelley isn't a diplomat; she holds the ceremonial title of "honorary consul" for South Korea, one of many informal ties to prestige and power that the energetic 37-year-old mother of three has brandished to climb to the top rungs of the social ladder in this conservative military community.

FT. MEADE, Md. -- Top officials in the George W. Bush and Obama administrations, including the two presidents themselves, repeatedly and publicly pronounced a group of senior Al Qaeda leaders guilty in the Sept. 11 conspiracy and created an “unlawful command influence” that pressured the U.S. military to bring capital murder charges against them in a military commission trial, defense lawyers said Friday. The lawyers, speaking at a pretrial hearing at the U.S. Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, asserted that the Washington officials unfairly prejudged their clients.

NBC's much-hyped reality series “Stars Earn Stripes” has been roundly criticized by military veterans and peace activists alike and on Tuesday night, Stephen Colbert added his voice to the chorus of dissenters. In a withering segment broadcast in a week in which Colbert is hosting a concert aboard the aircraft carrier/tourist attraction Intrepid, Colbert argued the show isn't about “honoring the troops” so much as a disingenuous ploy to appeal to males aged 18-34. Colbert likened host Wesley Clark to the great military leaders of the past, such as Dwight Eisenhower and George Patton, but wasn't convinced the former Army general has “what it takes to be a Jeff Probst.” As for former 98 Degrees singer Nick Lachey, who described being on the show as a “once-in-a-lifetime experience for people like myself to step in there and get in the trenches,” Colbert quipped, “Yes, once in a lifetime, other than all the times you could have enlisted.” He also expressed his skepticism over the repeated claim that the challenges "Stars Earn Stripes" simulated an “authentic war experience.” “Yes this is real, with real weapons and real ammunition and real jet skis zipping in at the first sign of trouble,” Colbert said.

CAIRO - Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi on Sunday purged the nation's military leadership in a provocative move to expand his power and push aside generals who epitomized the inner circle of deposed leader Hosni Mubarak. The dismissals, including the forced retirement of Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, who led the military council that had ruled for more than a year, stunned a nation engulfed in months of political turmoil. The president also scrapped a constitutional declaration by the generals that had dramatically constrained his authority.

CAIRO - The power struggle between Egypt's president and military leaders is becoming increasingly murky, leaving many Egyptians confused over who is running the country and whether laws and court rulings even apply amid the persistent political disarray. The struggle is driven by newly elected Islamist President Mohamed Morsi's attempt to weaken the secular army's grip on a country it has controlled for six decades. Morsi is determined to herald an era of political Islam, which the generals view as a threat to Egypt's international stature as well as to their personal and business interests.

Re "Egypt's Islamists step up pressure on ruling generals," June 20, and "A crushing blow for Egyptians," News Analysis, June 19 Recent events in Egypt are making it very clear that deposed ruler Hosni Mubarak was not the main obstacle to democracy in that country. The Egyptian military is. Our continued funding of this military regime must be called into question. To provide aid to these generals as they suppress democracy puts us on the wrong side of history.

The turf wars of the armed services of the United States are the stuff of lore and legend. Probably no battle against foreign foe has been fought with greater commitment, if less bloodshed, than the battles the services have waged against each other and their reform-minded civilian bosses over the last half-century, in defense of their roles and missions and to preserve or expand their separate budgets.

Saturday was to have been a day of promise for Haiti, of restoration, of celebration. It turned out to be a day of gloom, resignation and fear. Instead of the return of exiled President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, Saturday saw streets mostly emptied by fear. Instead of the restoration of democracy, there were more threats of yet another military-backed coup. Instead of action, it was a day of talk and more talk. "I hoped Aristide would return," said Joseph Leon, a grocery store clerk.

Relations between Washington and Cairo plummeted further when Egypt's military-controlled government announced that 19 Americans working for pro-democracy groups, including the son of a Cabinet official, would be ordered to stand trial on licensing and financial charges. The provocative decision Sunday by investigating judges comes as the U.S. has threatened to suspend $1.3 billion in annual aid to Egypt's military. It highlights the widening divide between Washington and one of its closest allies over democratic reforms at a time of sweeping political upheaval across North Africa and the Middle East.

When Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak was overthrown last year, there was immediate concern in Washington about the future of U.S. relations with Egypt. Mubarak, though a tyrant, had been a reliable ally, which explained why the Obama administration temporized about whether he should step down. Once he was gone and a supposedly transitional military council promised elections, a new concern arose: that the Muslim Brotherhood and other Islamist groups would dominate a new elected government and - in the worst-case scenario - renounce the 1979 Egyptian-Israeli treaty.