Top Military News Headlines | October 18, 2010

Ninety-Five year old Veteran receives medal for WWII rescue. And, DoD braces for another Wikileaks release of 400k secret Iraq reports.

DoD Braces For Release of 400K Secret Reports

The Pentagon scoured through an Iraq war database Monday to prepare for potential fallout from an expected release by WikiLeaks of some 400,000 secret military reports.

NATO official: Bin Laden, deputy hiding in northwest Pakistan

Kabul, Afghanistan (CNN) — Osama bin Laden and his deputy Ayman al-Zawahiri are believed to be hiding close to each other in houses in northwest Pakistan, but are not together, a senior NATO official said.

95-Year-Old Gets Medal for WWII Rescue

NEW YORK — The U.S. government has recognized the World War II architect of a mission to rescue more than 500 U.S. bomber fliers shot down over Nazi-occupied Serbia — the largest air rescue of Americans behind enemy lines in any war.

Ballots voided from 10 pct of Afghan vote centers

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Ballots from about 10 percent of voting centers in last month’s parliamentary election have been disqualified by fraud, Afghan election officials said Monday in a move likely to affect results in a number of volatile provinces.

NATO claims it is choking off insurgents’ supplies

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — The NATO coalition said Monday that Afghan and international forces have choked insurgent supply routes in some parts of Afghanistan, prompting militants to extort money from citizens to keep their operations sufficiently supplied.

D-Day vet from Va. Beach checks off ‘bucket list’ goal

The last time Norwood Thomas jumped out of an airplane, he was fighting the Nazis

US, reversing course, backs Afghan peace effort

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — The Obama administration on Thursday endorsed fragile Afghan efforts to negotiate peace with the Taliban, backing off its prior stance that talks with the Taliban were premature until the war is all but won.

Who’s Actually Running Pakistan?

When CIA Chief Leon Panetta visited Pakistan a couple of weeks ago, he sat down for separate meetings with the country’s president, the prime minister, and the head of the army. That may speak to the importance Washington ascribes to relations with Islamabad, though separate meetings may also offer a window into the competing power centers in Pakistan’s complicated political landscape.

Army Sending New Airburst Gun to 101st

The Army is set to field the first prototype of a new weapon that could deny the protection of buildings and canals to an enemy in Afghanistan that frequently uses the cover of local villages to fire on American troops.

Army finds simple blood test to identify mild brain trauma

FREDERICK, Md. — The Army says it has discovered a simple blood test that can diagnose mild traumatic brain damage or concussion, a hard-to-detect injury that can affect young athletes, infants with “shaken baby syndrome” and combat troops.

Russia Agrees To Build Nuclear Plant In Venezuela

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez reached a deal with Russia on Friday to build a nuclear power plant in the South American country and negotiated several other agreements in energy and other areas.