Military And Intelligence News Briefs -- September 1, 2011

Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta responds to a question from the audience during a televised conversation with Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton at National Defense University in Washington, D.C., Aug. 16, 2011. DOD photo by U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Jacob N. Bailey

Pentagon Ponders Budget Cuts In Face Of ‘Perfect Storm’ -- Washington Times

May reduce personnel and delay new jets, ships, tanks.



The Pentagon is considering a range of options to meet a bipartisan call to greatly reduce defense spending in what is a “perfect storm” rocking the military’s once-sturdy budget plans.



The Army is looking at paring down combat brigades and ending some targeting and communications systems. The Navy might delay ship construction and shed sailors.



Also, the purchase of the most expensive weapon system ever, the $380 billion F-35 joint strike fighter, could be pared from a planned 2,443 stealth jets.



Read more ....

MILITARY AND INTELLIGENCE NEWS BRIEFS

“Unique Capabilities” in the Libyan conflict -- USNI



Sea trial of China's refitted aircraft carrier attained "anticipated objectives": Defense Ministry -- Xinhuanet



China's aircraft carrier succeeds in maiden sea trials -- Xinhuanet



Chinese AWACS Mutate and Proliferate -- Strategy Page



Europe Must Assume Military Responsibility, Sarkozy Says -- Bloomberg



Gurkhas bear brunt as Forces sack 2,000 -- The Telegraph



Submarine: SSGNs Finally See Combat -- Strategy Page



Oxygen System Didn’t Cause F-22 Crash -- Defense Tech



Problem Unsolved, F-22s to Return to Flight: Sources -- Defense News



Exclusive: Obama moves to sell Northrop drones to South Korea -- Reuters



Barksdale's 20th Bomb Squadron in Guam -- Shreveport Times



In Petraeus’s Retirement, the Twilight of the Celebrity General -- National Journal



Commission on Wartime Contracting Final Report: A Decade's Lessons on Contingency Contracting -- Defpro



Wanna Save Defense Cash? Then Stop No-Bid Contracts -- Danger Room



Obama: ‘We will not balance the budget on the backs of veterans’ -- Stars and Stripes



Special Ops Forces Will Remain Essential, Official Says -- US Department of Defense



WikiLeaks: Breach has exposed unredacted US cables -- Yahoo News/AP



UPDATE: Mystery package sends 3 to hospital; 14 decontaminated at Scott Air Force Base -- BND.com



National Guardsmen heckled after nearly drowning in floodwaters -- Stars and Stripes



Veterans Discover Allure of Jobs in Western Wilderness -- New York Times



Pentagon personnel chief draws criticism for leadership style -- Washington Post



End of DADT means decision time for gay troops -- Stars and Stripes



Praising NATO, and France’s Place in It -- Steven Erlanger, New York Times



The Military and the Death Penalty -- New York Times editorial



Budget crisis threatens defense -- Adm. James A. Lyons, The Washington Times



Pricey homeland security -- L.A. Times editorial