To the Point
What's Next for the US Army?
Combat veterans are coming home to a nation exhausted by 13 years of war, and plans call for reducing the size of the Army. Will arming and training the soldiers of other countries make the world safer or backfire as it has in Iraq? Will extended reliance on private contractors make military action immune to accountability?
By Warren Olney • • 52m ListenCombat veterans are coming home to a nation exhausted by 13 years of war, and plans call for reducing the size of the Army. There may be agreement that the nature of warfare is changing—but there’s heated debate over how to maintain security and keep US troops prepared. Will arming and training the soldiers of other countries make the world safer or backfire as it has in Iraq? Will extended reliance on private contractors make military action immune to accountability in a democracy?
Plus, a Congressional subcommittee grills the CDC on Ebola, and the “law of the jungle” works both ways in Ecuador’s Amazonian rainforest.
Banner Image: Troops First brought out five wounded warriors to Regional Command-East as a part of Operation Proper Exit at Bagram Air Field, Afghanistan, July 9-11, 2014. The five-member team sustained injuries through Afghanistan or Iraq.; Credit: The U.S. Army
In this episode
3 storiesHouse Grills CDC on Ebola Control
School superintendents in Texas and Ohio have closed schools after reports that students were on the same plane as a nurse diagnosed with Ebola. Meantime, a Congressional sub committee grilled health officials in Washington, including Thomas Frieden, Director of the Center’s for Disease Control.
Read the story7 minWhat's Next for the US Army?
After 13 years of war in Iraq and Afghanistan, plans call for reducing the size of the US Army. But, even though the days of soldiers massed on sprawling battlefields are long over, retiring Chief of Staff, General Ray Odierno, says he’s worried about the future.
Read the story35 minPaul Barrett on "Law of the Jungle"
A court in Ecuador awarded indigenous farmers in the Amazonian rainforest $19 billion for the environmental destruction created by American oil companies. But then the oil companies discovered dirty work on behalf of the lawyer who argued the case.
Read the story8 min
