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The Aegis Opinion
“The freedom to do your best means nothing unless you are willing to do your best.”
-Gen. Colin Powell
Op-ed
The presence of Generals Mattis, McMaster and Kelly in the Trump inner circle lends some reassurance of professional advice.
Op-ed
As chief of staff, John Kelly should be well up to coping with a White House staff that has been riven by internal friction and divisive leaking, says Jules Witcover.
Politics
President Donald Trump tweeted Wednesday that the military would no longer "accept or allow" transgender people to serve.
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Op-ed
Ironically, my friends on the left now obsess about President Trump and the Russians, much as a certain unhinged 1950s Cold Warrior, Joe McCarthy, fretted about President Truman. (To be clear, Mr. Trump is no Truman.) For Democrats, appeasing Mr. Putin was statesmanlike when Barack Obama did it; treasonous for Mr. Trump.
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Baltimore City Paper
It’s the sex issue, and I want to write a sex-themed column to stay on theme and everything, but I have to say, a Trump administration is a serious boner
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Op-ed
Unsupervised, Donald Trump and Steve Bannon could bring the world closer to the brink of a nuclear holocaust.
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Op-ed
A small number of Republican senators soon face a "profile in courage" challenge as President Trump and his clique of advisers run roughshod over the U.S. Constitution, its guarantees and the national interest of the American people. Republicans hold a narrow 52-48 edge in the Senate, which must approve cabinet-level nominees, treaties and judicial appointments. No one has to switch parties, but a temporary alliance across party lines would halt the Trump-Bannon machine in its tracks.
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Carroll County Times Opinion
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Editorial
Trump's immigration order is as un-American as it will be ineffective (or worse); the public can't let him get away with it.
Obituaries
George Donald Riley Jr., a Navy veteran and author of local history books, died of lung disease Dec. 18 at the Fairhaven retirement community in Sykesville. He was 92.
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Op-ed
Donald Trump is the antithesis of who a commander-in-chief ought to be. He has shown himself, time and again, to be a belligerent, impulsive bully toward our oldest allies and friends. He openly admires dictators, actively promotes military adventurism and war crimes, and encourages strong-arm tactics. Do you really want him in charge of our nuclear arsenal?
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Politics
Officials and business leaders in Maryland are backing a Pentagon proposal to elevate U.S. Cyber Command to a unified combatant command — one of 10 charged with carrying out missions around the world — a move they hope will bring prestige and more jobs to the state.
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Op-ed
We don't know why 16 black female cadets at West Point raised their fists in a pre-graduation photo, which unleashed a torrent of controversy when it was posted on social media last week. But it's likely that they were showing their support for the military itself, which has been a major source of black pride and achievement over the past half-century.
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Maryland
The Defense Department has called on military hackers at Fort Meade to disrupt the operations of the self-declared Islamic State, adding cyber weapons to the bombs and missiles the United States has been using to batter the terror group.
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Carroll County Times Opinion
In October, a runaway U.S. Army surveillance blimp caused havoc across parts of Maryland and Pennsylvania. Its broken tether brought down power lines, causing a black-out in some areas, and triggered more than $300,000 in damage claims. Begun in 1998, the JLENS blimp system is designed to detect cruise missiles and enemy aircraft, and has cost taxpayers over $2.7 billion. Though a 2012 Pentagon assessment said JLENS had "low system reliability," it is still being funded. A runaway blimp —
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College Football
A night in Iraq forged a friendship that will continue when two Army veterans attend their second straight Army-Navy game together Saturday in Philadelphia.
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Politics
The Pentagon's glitch-prone, $2.7-billion system of radar-equipped blimps — designed to safeguard the nation's capital against cruise missiles and other airborne threats — has long been a source of frustration to military leaders. A month ago, it became a punch line.
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News from around Baltimore County
Op-ed
It is troubling to think that four countries whose forays into affecting change in Syria have had tepid results at best have the audacity to discuss peace and a post-Assad regime without including the two main belligerents to the conflict.
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Events around Baltimore County
Carroll County Times Opinion
While Congress is keen on the idea of ignoring spending limits for the benefit of the Pentagon, it can't seem to find a way to fund domestic spending on such items as roads, bridges, education and health care. Any extra spending in those areas require cuts in other areas according to Republicans; a rule they ignored for defense spending.
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Politics
As Sen. Angus King pressed national security officials to open up about their ability to wage war over the Internet, he turned not to some think tank white paper to make his point, but a 5-decade-old film about the dangers of nuclear brinkmanship.
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Nation-World
Giant high-tech blimps deployed east of Baltimore were developed to provide an early warning if the nation were ever attacked with cruise missiles, drones or other low-flying weapons. But after 17 years of research and $2.7 billion spent by the Pentagon, the system known as JLENS doesn't work as envisioned.
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News and events around Baltimore County
Op-ed
If, as seems likely, President Barack Obama retains enough support to complete the nuclear deal with Iran, it will be largely because enough members of the House and Senate are persuaded by his argument that the only other real option is war. This was the rhetorical gauntlet the president threw down at his press conference last week. Equally significant, Mr. Obama omitted the until-now obligatory warning that "all options, including the military one, remain on the table."
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News and events from religious organizations in Baltimore County
Worship brief
Op-ed
It has been an Iranian tradition since 1979 to end Friday prayers with chants of "Death to America!" In a purely rational world, that would be all one needed to know that Iran is not a reliable negotiating partner. Alas, we do not live in such a world. But there's more evidence.
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Events taking place in Baltimore County
Elderly Jewish Holocaust survivors living in the Baltimore area will be given a substantial increase in funds for aid this year thanks to an ongoing agreement reached between the Jewish Material Claims Against Germany, or the Claims Conference, and the German Finance Ministry. Jewish Community Services, a human services agency in Central Maryland, will receive $1.4 million this year — an increase from $600,000 in 2014 — for services, mainly home care-related, for survivors. The
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Op-ed
President Obama's firm determination that no more American combat forces will be introduced in the Middle East battlefield may well thwart his intention to "degrade and ultimately destroy" the new threat of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.
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Business
Midshipmen at the Naval Academy in Annapolis and other students at U.S. military institutions will now be able to pass through airports with a little less hassle.
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Laurel Leader
After seven years as director of Laurel Public Works, Paul McCullagh said it's time to retire so he and his wife, Jan, can spend time with their grandchildren.
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Readers Respond
President Obama and his top advisers refer to Islamic State as 'ISIL' yet disrespectful media insists on calling it 'ISIS'
Opinion
The media gaffe police have a legitimate role in uncovering serious misstatements of elected officials, but they can take their job to ludicrous and petty levels
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Editorial
Congress and the president must not let politics dictate our strategy for combating ISIS — and they must make sure the public understands what's at stake.
Harford County
Brigadier General Bruce T. Crawford will officially assume command of the U.S. Army Communications-Electronics Command and of Aberdeen Proving Ground on Tuesday during a 10 a.m. ceremony on the post.
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Op-ed
The recently announced U.S. troop cuts are an important step toward right sizing today's forces to meet the current U.S. Defense strategy, which calls for defeating major adversaries by denying their objectives or imposing unacceptable costs, thereby deterring others from following the same path. It also calls for the ability to conduct smaller-scale, albeit highly important, missions such as humanitarian relief and counter terrorism.
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Maryland
Hours after Congress passed a range of proposals to combat sexual assaults in the armed forces, President Barack Obama ordered military leaders on Friday to conduct a yearlong review of their progress in eliminating rape from the ranks — and threatened further changes if he is not satisfied.
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Congress was poised late Thursday to pass new legal protections for victims of sexual assault in the military, but victims and their advocates already were looking ahead to what they see as the larger battle: The contentious campaign to overhaul the military justice system.
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